Faced with Jiang Ling’s uneasy gaze, Mo Ran was momentarily stunned.
She had expected Jiang Ling to point out her shortcomings, but instead, she heard such a sentence.
After a brief silence, Mo Ran spoke in a gentle tone, “Why are you suddenly asking this?”
Jiang Ling was always sensitive to emotions. She could clearly sense that the atmosphere around Mo Ran had become heavy in an instant.
This also made Jiang Ling’s urge to dig deeper calm down.
She gave a dry laugh and averted her gaze, “No, it’s nothing! I was just saying it offhand, you don’t need to take it to heart!”
After saying this, Jiang Ling couldn’t help but scold herself for her cowardice.
She really was a scaredy-cat.
The moment she sensed the slightest hint of abnormal emotion from the other person, she would get terribly afraid, not daring to understand more deeply, terrified of being met with a look of disgust.
Thinking this, Jiang Ling clenched her palm tightly and tried to change the subject in a somewhat stiff tone, “Maybe it’s just because I’m not in a good state today! That’s why I acted a bit weird, let’s practice again, we can definitely do it!”
Mo Ran stared intently at Jiang Ling’s especially tense expression from up close. Her lips parted slightly, but quickly pressed together again.
After practice ended, Jiang Ling returned to her room and let out a deep sigh.
“Sigh -~” How should she put it? It felt like she’d just gone through a tough battle. She had a premonition that if she had insisted on pressing Mo Ran for answers back then, something irreversible might have happened between the two of them.
So Jiang Ling played it safe: she retreated at the last minute.
And Mo Ran didn’t pursue the topic further either; the two of them, as if by tacit agreement, evaded it at the same time.
Jiang Ling felt her heart weighed down, as if something was blocking it, yet there was nothing she could do. All she could do was slip into the bathroom and take a hot shower to wash away the strange feeling in her heart.
In short, she’d just have to take things one step at a time for now.
On the day of the final assessment, Jiang Ling was almost as nervous as she had been for her first public performance.
But she wasn’t worried about herself—she was worried about Mo Ran.
Once the song ended.
Jiang Ling secretly glanced at Bai Xue’s expression, her heart pounding as if it was about to leap from her chest.
“Mm, this is pretty much good enough,” Bai Xue said.
She didn’t nitpick any further, giving a standard, straightforward evaluation.
Jiang Ling breathed a sigh of relief, but then she heard Bai Xue continue, “But this shouldn’t be all of your emotions. I hope next time you can perform even better, Xiao Ran.”
Jiang Ling wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but she felt there was a deeper meaning in Bai Xue’s voice, as if she had something else to say.
Mo Ran, on the other hand, simply responded with a gentle smile, “Got it! Next time, I’ll work twice as hard!”
Jiang Ling’s heart finally settled completely.
Thank goodness, everything was the same as always.
After the training ended, Bai Xue clapped her hands and called everyone together.
“You’ve probably noticed I’ve been really busy lately. That’s right, I’ve been sorting out things about NOVA’s future development.”
Bai Xue spoke directly, “I believe you all know about my situation with the Bai family. To be honest, we don’t have much time left—at most, only half a year.”
“If in these six months, I can’t make NOVA into a group that’s known and admired, then I might not be able to stay by your side any longer.”
She explained the situation as lightly as she could, and seeing that everyone was listening intently, she continued, “So these past few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be an idol.”
“Having NOVA focus only on female fans was my personal choice. I won’t elaborate here, but from any perspective, this clearly limits NOVA’s growth. In truth, it was also a form of escape and fear on my part.”
“But my mother once told me that a true idol is someone who, when people see them, allows everyone to temporarily forget the worries and frustrations of life and simply enjoy those few hours of waving glow sticks. Everyone should have the right to pursue what they love.”
Bai Xue took a few deep breaths, her gaze sweeping across everyone present.
“So after thinking it over and over, I’ve decided that NOVA will suspend public performances and fan events. Instead, for the next one to two months, we’ll launch our original album in a way that’s easiest for the public to know us, making our official debut in the entertainment industry.”
After saying this, Bai Xue gave a somewhat helpless smile. “I know this is sudden, so take your time to process it. If you have any thoughts, you can always come talk to me.”
Actually, after receiving encouragement from Jiang Ling, Bai Xue had been planning this all along. In the past few days, things had finally started to take shape.
Once she finished speaking, the practice room instantly fell silent.
The first to react was Xu Nuo, who bounced around excitedly, her tone full of hope for the future, “Really? I’ve always dreamed that more people would know about us, and now this wish is actually coming true—waaah…”
By the end, she was crying her eyes out, already imagining NOVA sweeping up all the awards at future ceremonies.
Next, Lin Xiaoyu spoke up with a surprised look, “It really is sudden, but in every way this is only good for NOVA’s future.”
“That’s right!”
Fang Huannan nodded in agreement, her face full of indescribable joy, “I said I wanted to stand on a bigger and better stage, but I didn’t expect the opportunity to come so soon.”
Meanwhile, Jiang Ling had long since slipped into a dazed state.
They… were really about to debut in the entertainment industry?
To become the kind of idols who could perform on TV, appear on variety shows, shoot all sorts of commercials, and be surrounded by cheers?
Mo Ran, for once, said nothing, instead bowing her head in silence, staring blankly at the floor as if daydreaming.
“That’s all I have to say. Don’t overthink it; I’ll handle all the future plans.” In the end, Bai Xue summarized things in a confident tone. Everyone looked at each other, an air of excitement spreading through the room.
Who didn’t want to stand on a bigger stage? Not to mention, each of them held their own dreams and beliefs—news like this was truly something to rejoice over.
Because of Bai Xue’s sudden announcement, Jiang Ling felt like she was floating even after returning to the dorm and sitting down on the sofa.
But in a way, she could vaguely guess that this was probably the result of Bai Xue negotiating with her family, which explained why it felt so sudden.
It also proved that Bai Xue didn’t want NOVA to be a fleeting group—she wanted to lead everyone forward step by step, carrying their dreams and faith.
Mo Ran went into the kitchen to make dinner, and the others chatted about the topic here and there.
At dinner, Jiang Ling noticed that Mo Ran had made a lot of dishes today, including almost all the members’ favorite foods. She couldn’t help swaying her body, eyes turning into crescents as she smiled, “Why is it so lavish today?”
In response, Mo Ran, ladle in hand, turned her head with a playful, sly smile, “Because the supermarket was having a sale today!”
“Yay!”
Jiang Ling and Xu Nuo both raised their hands, then high-fived in perfect sync, “Thank you, supermarket sale!”
“Eh, you’re not even going to thank me for cooking?” Mo Ran leisurely knocked Jiang Ling on the head. “Hurry up and help bring out the dishes.”
“Got it!” Hearing that, Jiang Ling quickly hurried over to help.
“Before we eat, there’s something I want to tell you all.”
Mo Ran said this as she set the last plate on the table. It was full of Jiang Ling’s favorite snacks. Her eyes instantly lit up as she reached out, asking, “What is it, what is it?”
Feeling everyone’s eyes on her, Mo Ran pushed the plate toward Jiang Ling and spoke in a slow, calm voice.
“I’m preparing to leave NOVA.”
“Clatter -~”
The cookie Jiang Ling had just grabbed fell from her hand onto the table with a heavy thud at those abrupt words.
She stared blankly, unable to believe what she was hearing, at the calm Mo Ran.
The kitchen fell silent.
Everyone stared at Mo Ran in shock and disbelief.
After a long while, Jiang Ling tugged at the corner of her mouth, breaking the prolonged silence, “To-today isn’t April Fools’, Xiao Ran, what kind of joke is this? Don’t scare us…”
“I’m not joking.”
Mo Ran interrupted Jiang Ling’s stammering, her face carrying the same gentle smile as always.
“After this performance, I’ll be leaving NOVA.”
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