But the moment the words left her mouth, Jiang Ling felt her voice was a bit strange. It was dry and carried a hint of strain, making her usually smooth voice sound particularly off.
She frowned as she finished those few lines, then apologized of her own accord before Shen Yue could even open her mouth. “I’m sorry, I feel like my throat isn’t in the right state.”
Hearing this, Shen Yue didn’t find it strange. After all, it was normal to be nervous during a first recording. She pointed to the water on the small stool nearby. “Take a few sips to moisten your throat. It’s okay, just relax.”
“Phew…”
Jiang Ling let out a breath and obediently picked up the water bottle to take two sips. After feeling her throat improve a bit, she stood back in her previous position.
Seeing that Jiang Ling was ready, Shen Yue pressed the record button again, her eyes focused intently on Jiang Ling’s every move.
However, the subsequent recording didn’t go smoothly because Shen Yue felt that Jiang Ling wasn’t displaying her full strength. She was in a very ambiguous state.
To put it bluntly, it didn’t sound bad.
But to say it sounded good, it lacked that certain soul.
After going back and forth a few times, Shen Yue hadn’t even gotten angry yet, but Jiang Ling’s brow was already furrowed. Her voice deepened as a result. “Sorry, I think it’s better to let someone else record first.”
Shen Yue remained silent for a long moment, looking as if she wanted to say something. But before she could speak, she was interrupted by Bai Xue, who was standing beside her. “Let Xiao Ran record first. I need to talk to Lingling about something.”
Bai Xue maintained a perfect smile as she efficiently arranged everything.
Naturally, Shen Yue had no objections. She simply watched the backs of Jiang Ling and Bai Xue as they walked out the door side by side, a trace of worry flashing in her eyes.
‘Should be fine, right?’
After stepping outside, Jiang Ling instinctively lowered her head, staring at the tips of her toes as she apologized. “My condition is too poor, I’m sorry.”
“You should be sorry.”
Unexpectedly, Bai Xue didn’t comfort her. Instead, she said something quite sharp, which made Jiang Ling’s already flustered heart even more disoriented. She clenched her fingers, unable to find any words to argue back.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Jiang Ling took several deep breaths before finally raising her eyes to look at Bai Xue. No matter what, it was her own poor state that was to blame; she deserved to be scolded.
But when Jiang Ling looked at Bai Xue, she didn’t see any look of blame on her face. Instead, it was her usual warmth, even carrying a bit of helplessness.
“You should be sorry to yourself, Jiang Ling.”
Bai Xue gripped Jiang Ling’s shoulders, as if trying to give her a steady stream of strength. “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself, okay?”
At this, Jiang Ling instinctively protested, “I don’t — “
“You do.”
Bai Xue shook her head and reached around to give her shoulder a firm pat. Jiang Ling’s previously shrinking body immediately straightened up a bit from the pain, leaving her somewhat at a loss.
“From the moment you walked into the recording studio, you’ve been hunching your shoulders, constantly sighing, and your expression remained tense after hearing you were the first one to record. Not to mention, you were looking around every now and then… and you say you aren’t putting pressure on yourself?”
Hearing Bai Xue’s clear and organized explanation, Jiang Ling was immediately stunned. She hadn’t realized her behavior was so obvious.
But a sense of inexplicable pride made Jiang Ling grit her teeth and argue, “Because it’s the first time recording, being nervous is inevitable. Just like when I first started singing…”
Seeing her stubborn attempt to explain, Bai Xue sighed with a hint of helplessness. Then, she reached out and pulled the girl into her arms.
Just as Jiang Ling had once done for her.
A hug might seem insignificant, but it was enough to make the current Jiang Ling shut her mouth. Buried against Bai Xue’s chest, her voice was no longer calm. “I’m sorry.”
Bai Xue stroked her head as if smoothing out fur. Her voice was very soft, but every word drifted clearly into Jiang Ling’s ears.
“When I first created this girl group, I knew everyone was carrying their own secrets. You only revealed one or two things to me, but I didn’t care much. I feel that as humans, we all have secrets and immature sides.”
“But you seem to have seen everyone’s immature side.”
Bai Xue spoke softly, soothing Jiang Ling’s emotions. “I’m the one who should say sorry to you. These things should have been handled by me, as the leader. But you are very kind and truly consider everyone’s feelings because you don’t want NOVA to fall apart, even though you only joined recently.”
“But don’t put too much pressure on yourself, okay?”
She murmured, her arms tightening slowly around Jiang Ling. “We all believe in you, but we don’t want to break you because of it. That would be too selfish.”
Nesting in Bai Xue’s arms with reddened eyes, Jiang Ling finally understood where that faint sense of irritability in her heart had come from lately. She was trying too hard.
It wasn’t that working hard was bad, but she had fallen into a relentless obsession with effort.
“I haven’t been in a good state lately.”
Jiang Ling finally spoke, her voice carrying a faint sob. “But I don’t blame anyone. I’ve been pushing myself too hard, which is why I feel so burdened.”
With the official debut approaching, she was more nervous than anyone.
After speaking, she raised her head from Bai Xue’s embrace. Her eyes, brimming with teardrops, blinked. She looked pure and pitiful, yet she carried a commendable sense of determination.
“I will try to adjust my mindset and find a chance to go out and relax.”
She took a deep breath, as if dispelling the dark emotions that had been lingering in her heart for so long. Sometimes pushing oneself too hard would only lead to the opposite result.
Jiang Ling understood this logic, but if Bai Xue hadn’t pointed it out, she probably would have remained stuck in this situation, unable to free herself.
Jiang Ling then reached back and hugged Bai Xue tightly, burying her head once more into the warm embrace. She thanked her in a muffled voice, “Thank you, Sister.”
Knowing that Bai Xue was doing this for her own good, Jiang Ling intentionally acted spoiled and used the title Bai Xue liked to hear. She even rubbed her head against her a couple of times.
Bai Xue chuckled softly. Seeing that the girl was trying to please her, she drawled out her words slowly, “Are you all adjusted now?”
“Mm-hmm!”
When she looked up again, Jiang Ling no longer had that shrinking feeling from before. Instead, she looked confident and bright, her eyes sparkling.
Seeing this, a smile suddenly bloomed on Bai Xue’s face.
“Time to collect a chat fee.”
After saying that, she leaned down toward Jiang Ling’s earlobe. Her teeth pressed against the soft flesh, and she gave it a slightly forceful bite.
“Ungh!”
Jiang Ling’s body shivered. Her ear turned red from the base to the rim. A sudden mixture of pain and shame surfaced in her heart. She covered her ear and bit her lip, looking at Bai Xue.
“You… bad woman!”
After saying that, she hurriedly rushed past Bai Xue and pushed open the recording studio door with her head down, completely forgetting how happily she had been rubbing against this “bad woman” just moments ago.
As Jiang Ling returned, the gazes of Fang Wannan and Lin Xiaoyu immediately swept over her, filled with clear concern.
“Are you okay?” Fang Wannan asked in a low voice so as not to affect Shen Yue.
Jiang Ling shook her head without saying much.
But seeing her face was flushed and she no longer looked listless like before, Fang Wannan felt relieved and turned her focus back to the booth.
Currently recording was Mo Ran. It had to be said that whether it was singing or dancing, her performance was extremely stable, truly worthy of the title of ACE.
Shen Yue nodded in approval as she listened, offering her evaluation from a producer’s perspective. “Very good. You could be a bit more expressive with the emotions, but everything else is almost perfect.”
Mo Ran finished her recording quickly. She first smiled at Shen Yue, then walked over to sit beside Jiang Ling, who was repeatedly checking the lyrics. She tilted her head and asked, “Are you feeling better?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Ling nodded. Since her falling hair was obstructing her view, she raised her hand to tuck it behind her ear and continued silently memorizing the lyrics.
This movement allowed Mo Ran to clearly see the bright red mark on her earlobe.
She raised an eyebrow and looked up as if she had expected it, meeting Bai Xue’s usual gentle expression.