Suddenly confronted with this question, Jiang Ling’s face was utterly bewildered.
To be honest, the only understanding she had of romance came from novels and anime.
Jiang Ling felt that having good feelings toward beautiful people or things was perfectly normal—after all, everyone appreciates beauty—but what did it really mean to like someone?
Was it truly like how the books described, making you tremble, lost, and yet constantly overwhelmingly happy?
Jiang Ling didn’t understand at all; she had no experience.
So when faced with Mo Ran’s simple question, she couldn’t express her own feelings well at all and could only stare at the floor in silence.
If, at a time like this, she rashly blurted out “I like her” or “I don’t like her,” the problem might be resolved quickly, but Jiang Ling felt that would be unfair—to both herself and Song Meng.
Jiang Ling’s entire demeanor was taken in by Mo Ran, who looked confused at first, then tentatively asked, “You’re not sure?”
Jiang Ling nodded firmly, her eyes full of helplessness.
To Mo Ran, it didn’t seem like she was pretending to be clueless—she genuinely didn’t get it.
And this left Mo Ran, who usually knew how to comfort her, at a loss for words.
After all, she wasn’t very knowledgeable about love, either.
When it came to those mysterious feelings, she had no experiences to draw from.
So Mo Ran could only sidestep the question and try to answer from another angle: “Anyway, I think what matters most is that you’re happy.”
“If this whole thing feels like a huge burden to you, just let it go as soon as you can; on the other hand, if being with her makes you happy more often than not, then maybe you can try being together and see what happens?”
She said this, revealing an embarrassed smile: “Sorry, this advice probably isn’t all that helpful, but it’s the best I can give. I really am…completely clueless about romance.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ling hurriedly waved her hands. “No, no, just being able to talk to you makes me happy—and the cookies are delicious, too. I felt better right away.”
She wasn’t just saying that to comfort Mo Ran; she really had felt comforted, as if her complicated emotions had been eased a lot.
“I’m glad I could help.”
Mo Ran curled her lips into a smile and added, “By the way, Christmas is coming up. Unless something unexpected happens, we’ll be having a special performance, which will also tie in with the upcoming New Year’s show.”
“These next few weeks, Sister Bai Xue will probably be really busy. If you need anything, just come to me.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ling instinctively pulled out her phone to check the message she’d sent Bai Xue. As expected, there was still no reply—so that’s what she’d been busy with.
She turned off her phone and tried not to think about all those messy things, taking a deep breath.
“Got it.”
About two weeks before Christmas, Christmas trees strung with lights and gifts lined the streets everywhere, and all kinds of shops began their pre-holiday preparations.
As for Jiang Ling, she was sprawled out on the floor of the practice room, dripping with sweat and covering her face with a towel.
“So—tired—ah—”
She dragged out her words in a heartfelt sigh.
Since Christmas and New Year’s were so close together, they were preparing for two special performances at the same time this month. The practice was intensive and complicated, and Jiang Ling felt so exhausted that even breathing seemed like a luxury.
That’s why she treasured these short five-minute breaks so much.
After a brief rest, Jiang Ling propped up her aching legs and slowly got to her feet, hearing Bai Xue speak beside her: “This collaborative stage is a real selling point. Xu Nuo prepared lots of costumes, so you can discuss and pick out your favorites in a bit.”
A collaboration stage, huh.
Jiang Ling couldn’t help but recall her previous stage with Lin Xiaoyu and Fang Wannian. Embarrassing as it was, she had to admit the effect was amazing—it had really drawn in a lot of new fans.
“I’ll take you over as soon as I finish this sketch. It’ll be more efficient to pick out costumes before we start practicing again, right?”
Xu Nuo spoke with a seriousness that made Jiang Ling smile. She walked over, just about to praise Xu Nuo for her “work mode,” when she saw the large tablet screen filled with drawings of herself—realistic, chibi, full-body portraits, every kind imaginable.
Most importantly, the poses of these “Jiang Lings” were…hard to describe—actually, they were especially R18, not anything suitable for public viewing!
Seeing Xu Nuo draw such lewd pictures with a straight face, Jiang Ling blushed furiously and snatched the tablet away: “Stop your perverted harassment! Show us your designs!”
At her words, Xu Nuo looked longingly and regretfully at the tablet as it left her hands, then patted her clothes and stood up. “Let’s go!”
Everyone headed to Xu Nuo’s studio and stared at the computer, where a series of neatly categorized folders were already waiting.
“Lingling-chan’s 365-Degree Photo Collection…”
Lin Xiaoyu read the folder name with a blank expression.
“Ahem, not that one!”
Xu Nuo could feel Jiang Ling’s murderous glare stabbing into her like needles and hurriedly clicked open another folder. There, a dozen completely different costume designs appeared on the screen.
“I do take my work seriously, you know.”
Xu Nuo said, clicking one open. “For example, this set would be perfect for the Christmas performance.”
Jiang Ling looked over and, surprisingly, found nothing wrong with it. It was just a cute, playful red-and-white skirt—definitely perfect for Christmas.
The next few sets were all different styles, but all were excellent. Soon, everyone was discussing song choices for the performance.
“Right, we still have to decide who’ll do the collaboration stage.”
Jiang Ling brought it up, then immediately sensed the air in the room grow a bit tense.
“How did our last collaboration go?” Lin Xiaoyu was the first to ask, eyes fixed intently on Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling felt an inexplicable pressure and quickly answered, “It was great!”
“Mm… Didn’t I teach you a lot last time?” Fang Wannian kept tugging her hair, looking away, her voice a bit shy.
Jiang Ling recalled and nodded repeatedly. “A lot!”
“Eh~ If you two have already worked together, then it’s my turn this time, right?” Mo Ran grinned, pointing to herself, and put forth an irrefutable argument: “After all, what everyone wants to see is All-Ling!”
Bai Xue propped her chin on her hand, thoughtful: “True, pairing you with someone you haven’t collaborated with before would be a bigger surprise for the audience.”
Instantly, everyone’s eyes focused on Jiang Ling.
She shrank back half a step, a sense of foreboding rising within her, and forced a laugh. “Uh, maybe we should discuss your collaboration first…”
“No way!”
Almost in unison, her small shred of authority was completely crushed.
Jiang Ling looked up nervously as a question sounded in her ear.
“Come on, choose your collaboration partner.”