There's Something Wrong With My Little White Flower - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Obscure Idol X Top Girl Group Member

Saturday, June 26th.

Today was the day of the first public performance recording for Road to Stardom. From early morning, long queues of fans crammed the entire performance hall. Many held light-up signs displaying the names of the mentors and trainees, eagerly anticipating a glimpse of their idols.

This was the first time they would publicly face an audience after nearly a month of being in the show, and many contestants had ice-cold hands and feet from nervousness, constantly reciting the prepared lyric cheat sheets.

Whether they would be seen, appreciated, and recognized all hinged on the short few minutes of performance time on stage. The opportunity was fleeting, and no one wanted to be the star that ultimately faded.

The path from the waiting area to the stage was a long, dark corridor. The “Safety Exit” sign faintly glowed at the end, and deafening music pulsed overhead, making hearts beat rapidly.

This was the path leading toward the light.

The auditorium was already packed with mostly young girls whose eyes shone brightly. When they saw the mentors, including Jiang Peifeng, enter, the screams nearly blew the roof off the studio.

Xiao Tao was brought along by her cousin to watch the idols. She had just gone through the biggest misfortune of her life: her boyfriend of three years from university cheated on her, shattering her beautiful vision of going from school uniform to wedding dress. Her graduate school entrance exams were severely affected by this; though she tried to study every day, she couldn’t absorb a single word.

Her family was worried about her emotional state and tried every means to distract her with new things. This eventually reached her cousin, who was close to her since childhood and urged her to come watch this public performance.

“The tickets were so hard to get! The mentor panel includes the pop queen Meng Yao, Fu Xinxin, and the girl group leader you used to love, Jiang Peifeng,” her cousin marketed enthusiastically to get Xiao Tao interested. “Just come with me.”

Xiao Tao couldn’t resist the persistent persuasion and reluctantly packed her bags and came along. Though she was sitting in the stands, her mood was still low.

She felt like everyone else was happily pursuing their goals, while she was the sole failure. Every girl on stage looked like she was shining. They might be her age, but they must have lives a hundred times happier, a hundred times more successful than hers, right?

Her cousin’s favorite contestant was a trainee named Xin Lu. When she appeared, her cousin cheered quietly, raising her meticulously crafted light-up sign.

Xiao Tao looked toward the stage. It was a well-built, exceptionally glamorous girl. Standing among a group of pretty girls, her costume was particularly eye-catching, with sequins all over her short skirt, glittering brightly.

This dance… it must have been spectacular, right? The lighting was dazzling, constantly shining spotlights on the girls. The stage effects were clearly elaborately designed—sparkling crystal swings, and falling petals of a flower shower—seeming to weave a colorful visual feast that was almost overwhelming.

It was beautiful, yet it felt like a meticulously packaged piece of candy; beneath the glittering cellophane and gold foil was an interchangeable sweetness. Xiao Tao blinked tiredly, feeling depressed again.

She thought that she would never shine in this lifetime. All those glorious, brilliant futures belonged to other people.

Then, she suddenly heard the melodic sound of a bamboo flute, floating lightly into her ears.

The stage lights had gone out at some point, leaving only a single small spotlight resting in the corner. Accompanied by the flute music, a soft, clear female voice slowly emerged.

The voice was highly distinctive. She was singing in what sounded like a Jiangnan dialect, the voice crisp and sweet, like raindrops falling into a lotus pond, each sound clear and flowing into the heart.

A girl had appeared where the light shone. She wore a moon-white gauze dress, and her dark hair was styled into two braids draped over her chest. She looked like a beauty who had walked out of an old-fashioned pictorial. Her pair of intelligent black eyes, slightly upturned at the outer corners, shimmered with light, washed with a watery glow by the stage lights. It felt as if one glance would draw you into the endless gentle night.

As her opening began, the singing gradually rose. Lamp after lamp lit up the stage, revealing the figures of six girls in similarly toned gauze dresses. Their voices blended, responding to each other, forming a beautiful and exquisite harmony.

The singing was clear and soaring, gradually permeating the air like water. The audience below the stage quieted down. The somewhat unfamiliar melody carried an ancient yet flowing rhythm, yet it was inexplicably pleasant, as if slipping right into the heart.

Xiao Tao looked at the person on the stage in astonishment. She remembered this song. It was so old, a tune her grandmother used to hum to lull her to sleep. It carried the soft, romantic tones of the Wu soft-speech, blooming a tiny, clean gardenia in her heart—a memory of her hometown, in the misty water-filled night.

Her eyes suddenly felt hot.

The girls on the stage had no overly flashy decorations. They stood quietly, pouring their hearts into singing this song that belonged to them, doing their best to sing it better, and even better.

A soothing, gentle melody.

The highlight remained the girl who first chanted the chorus in the dialect. When the flute sounded again, her voice reappeared, soaring with the flute’s melody. Accompanied by this song, bright pinpoints of light illuminated the stage.

Like starlight polished bright by the singing.

Xiao Tao struggled to keep her eyes open. Through her tear-blurred vision, she saw the girl also like a small star, quietly and gently shining in the night for an unknown length of time, as if she had been waiting all along to light up Xiao Tao.

Keep moving forward; you will always encounter light on the road ahead.

The song ended, and warm applause erupted. Many were moved by the pure and clean singing, quietly asking who the performing trainees were.

Her cousin turned around: “Hey, Sis, why are you crying?”

Her first reaction was, it’s over. She had planned to take her cousin out to cheer her up, but it seemed she had made her even sadder.

Before her cousin could frantically pull out a tissue, Xiao Tao wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. It was as if she had exhaled a great breath of pent-up frustration. She instantly looked relaxed.

“I’m fine,” she took a deep breath. “Who is this little sister? I announce that from now on, she is my daughter!”

She couldn’t be depressed. Someone was lighting the way ahead for her. She had to pluck this star and send her to a higher, brighter place.

The results of the first public performance were released. Ruan Jiyun’s group, with their rendition of “Qingzhou Serenade,” ultimately won third place in the audience voting. Among the twelve public performance pieces, this score was quite remarkable.

Xin Lu’s performance ranked after Ruan Jiyun’s. Seeing the ranking, she was so furious that she barely managed to control her expression.

What angered her even more was that many fans in the audience were hearing the old song for the first time. After the performance, many immediately searched for the original song on their phones. Others edited short videos using the song. The production team capitalized on this, including the segment in the preview trailer, gaining early attention before the episode even aired.

One comment read: “Her voice is like a clear stream, reminding one of a once-untarnished youth.”

Soon, another netizen added a picture: “Not only is her voice beautiful, but this little sister is also gorgeous. Based on my extensive experience, she definitely has a natural face, flawless! I’ll love her first, as a sign of respect!”

The picture she posted was Ruan Jiyun in her performance attire. The elegant moon-white accentuated the girl’s fresh beauty. She stood waiting in the wings, the light falling around her, like a small, isolated star.

It wasn’t that the light illuminated her; she genuinely shone. This beautiful, atmospheric image immediately swept the internet, and the name “Ruan Jiyun” quietly entered the consciousness of a segment of the audience.

Her ranking position was also constantly changing.

All of this meant different things to different people. Regardless of the jealousy or disdain, Ruan Jiyun couldn’t focus on any of it right now, because she had drawn a very difficult dance for the upcoming second public performance.

The theme of this episode was “Dance Extravaganza,” focusing on testing each contestant’s dancing ability. Ruan Jiyun didn’t know whether she was lucky or unlucky to have chosen the track dubbed the “Ultimate Challenge.”

In Jiang Peifeng’s team, there were several trainees with outstanding dancing skills, including some who had trained abroad for many years. Ruan Jiyun knew her experience was inferior and could only desperately practice to close the gap.

Her mindset was always proactive. She asked the coordinator sister to play the dance recording in the practice room repeatedly, nitpicking her own movements over and over.

“Still not resting?” It was Jiang Peifeng’s voice again. She must have just returned from outside, wearing a rare evening gown, a red one. Under the lights, it was as tempting as a blooming rose. “Why do I feel like you’re always practicing?”

Ruan Jiyun looked at her. The dance music was still looping, the voice of this person resonating repeatedly:

“I love to watch my heart burn To keep the secret that I never tell…”

Jiang Peifeng slightly narrowed her eyes, seemingly enchanted by her own song: “Hmph, I sing so well.”

Ruan Jiyun was caught off guard by her remark and was amused. When she smiled, Jiang Peifeng also blinked: “This song is very difficult. I found it very tiring when I was practicing it too.”

“It really is hard. Although I’ve been practicing for a long time, I still feel a big gap,” Ruan Jiyun said honestly. “Sister, you are truly amazing…”

“What do you think an idol is?” Jiang Peifeng suddenly asked.

Ruan Jiyun paused at the question. She thought for a moment and replied: “The most outstanding person, the one with the strongest abilities?”

Jiang Peifeng gently shook her head: “Beauty is not the only thing. Everyone’s preferred idol is different. I don’t think an idol is formulaic. It should be a style, a charisma that makes fans remember you among thousands of people. So, it’s more like a… romance. Are you ready for your fans to fall in love with you?”

“I haven’t thought about that yet…” Ruan Jiyun said a little shyly. “After all, I don’t feel like I shine enough yet…”

She hadn’t imagined someone loudly calling her name, holding trust in their hands, and burning light in their eyes. She hadn’t truly experienced what that feeling of pursuit and admiration was like.

Jiang Peifeng quietly looked at her. Since the first public performance, she had been following Ruan Jiyun’s development. Ruan Jiyun was starting to get noticed now, but she herself hadn’t realized this shift and still felt somewhat naive about how to reach a higher position.

Thinking of this, she gently tapped her forehead: “That won’t do. Every moment you stand on the stage is extremely precious. You have to communicate with your audience with all your might, telling them that you are the one who was born to do this.”

“But what if they aren’t here to see me?”

This question brought a new smile to Jiang Peifeng’s face. The smile was so dazzling that it was hard to forget: “Then you shine until they can see you.”

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