“Give it up, girl. Some things you’ll never be able to do~”
Mo Ran sighed deeply, her tone tinged with regret.
Her gaze seemed to say—
You’re destined to be the bottom forever!
“Huh? Can’t do it? I’ll show you right now!”
Jiang Ling gritted her teeth and faced Mo Ran, gripping her shoulders with what she thought was a dominant air, only to shrink back the moment their eyes met, her fingers gradually loosening their hold.
Seeing this, Mo Ran didn’t retreat or dodge.
Instead, she took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them.
Her light pink hair tangled with Jiang Ling’s.
Their breaths intertwined, and Mo Ran closed her eyes, pointing to her glossy lips with a suggestive hint.
“Well? Show me.”
Her warm breath made Jiang Ling stumble back several steps.
Too… too close!
“Cough, cough, cough!”
She gasped for air, one hand covering her flushed cheeks, the other waving frantically in front of her.
“Uh, um, let’s talk about this another day!”
“I told you, you can’t do it.”
Mo Ran shrugged, the earlier teasing, inviting expression vanishing instantly, replaced by a playful smirk.
Jiang Ling was speechless and simply turned her head, no longer dwelling on why her name couldn’t come first.
Hmph, one day she’d be on top!
…Probably?
The next day.
Jiang Ling woke up sweating, as usual, and deftly pushed away Lin Xiaoyu, who was clinging to her and nuzzling wildly.
She tiptoed to the bathroom to freshen up.
In the bathroom, Jiang Ling groggily opened a video app, planning to brush her teeth while watching something.
The app opened to a video of their street performance.
Jiang Ling watched it with satisfaction for a moment before naturally scrolling to the comment section, her fingers pausing slightly.
The comment section, which had been peaceful yesterday, had taken a drastic turn today.
[“I have a question: why is it specifically stated that this is only for women? Do underground idols have such restrictions?”]
[“Usually not, right? Makes you think.”]
[“Discrimination? Or do they just look down on us?”]
Under the deliberate steering of a few netizens, the comment section of NOVA’s official account was flooded with bandwagon comments, including some extreme remarks and even insulting language.
Jiang Ling’s brows furrowed as she read.
She spat out the toothpaste foam, wiped her mouth, and gripped her phone as she headed to Bai Xue’s room.
Surprisingly, Bai Xue was already awake, sitting at her computer and typing something.
“Jiang Ling?”
Bai Xue noticed someone enter and turned, a bit surprised to see Jiang Ling.
“What’s up, coming to me so early?”
She glanced at Jiang Ling’s phone screen, filled with offensive comments, and gave a knowing “oh.”
“You saw it?”
Bai Xue turned around casually, completely unfazed.
“…It’s too much.”
Jiang Ling clutched her phone tightly, muttering.
“It’s my fault for not clarifying beforehand, which gave them an opening.”
Hearing this, Bai Xue chuckled softly and stood up, placing a hand on Jiang Ling’s slightly bowed head, gently ruffling her hair.
“This wasn’t meant to stir up conflict, nor do I have any personal issues with men, but—”
She paused, a faint trace of loneliness and bitterness flickering in her eyes, almost imperceptible.
As if recalling something.
“I have my reasons. My original intention was to provide an opportunity for women unfamiliar with underground idols. We’re not the only ones with gender restrictions—some maid cafés also specify they’re only for male guests. I don’t think it’s a serious issue; it was just my oversight for not explaining in advance.”
Bai Xue explained her thoughts clearly, word by word.
Jiang Ling tilted her head up, only able to see her perfect, gentle face.
What exactly were those reasons?
Jiang Ling didn’t pry further and instead shifted the topic naturally.
“So, what do we need to do now?”
Bai Xue shook her head.
“This has nothing to do with you; it’s my management failure. But, hmm… our first public performance is coming up soon. If you could put in some hard work at the practice room, I’d be very grateful.”
Seeing Bai Xue’s teasing smile, Jiang Ling covered her face in embarrassment, promising repeatedly, “Don’t worry! I’ll make sure to get it done!”
She fled to the practice room.
Watching Jiang Ling’s retreating figure, Bai Xue’s smile faded, her eyes lowering as she sank into thought.
As Bai Xue had predicted, after the official account released an explanation, the netizens’ emotions were quickly soothed, as if the harsh comments had never come from them.
Learning that the issue was resolved, Jiang Ling was now in the practice room, staring at Fang Wannan.
“It’s pretty much settled, huh.”
Fang Wannan scrolled through the lingering negative comments.
Jiang Ling nodded eagerly, suggesting casually, “That’s good. How about we take a break… ah, ouch, ouch!”
Before she could finish, Fang Wannan pinched her cheek, not too gently.
“Huh? I finally made time to rehearse with you, and we haven’t even picked a program, and you’re telling me to take a break?”
Faced with Fang Wannan’s sharp tone, Jiang Ling’s head drooped lower and lower until she curled up, hugging her knees, her voice barely a whisper.
“I’m really sorry, I’m so useless. How could someone as pathetic as me deserve to be in your presence, Miss? I’ll go jump in a river right now…”
Seeing Jiang Ling’s eyes lose their spark, Fang Wannan tapped her head.
“Stop overthinking. Use that energy to figure out our collaboration song. I’ve got other things to do later.”
The collaboration song, naturally, was the performance for their first public show.
Bai Xue had suggested forming duos and trios, with members free to choose their performance pieces, unrestricted by genre.
The groups were decided by drawing lots, resulting in Jiang Ling and Fang Wannan forming a duo, while the others formed a trio.
“Singing or dancing, pick one.”
Fang Wannan waved her hand in front of Jiang Ling’s face.
“You’re listening, right?”
“Uh… yeah. How about dancing?”
Jiang Ling thought it over carefully before answering hesitantly.
As an idol, dance skills were crucial.
She couldn’t keep avoiding it just because she wasn’t good at it—she’d never improve that way.
“Eh, that’s surprising. I thought you’d pick singing for sure.”
Fang Wannan withdrew her hand, resting her chin as she browsed dance videos.
“But considering your skill level, we should probably go with something simpler, right?”
“…Sorry for being such a failure.”
Fang Wannan’s tone was cold.
“Say that again, and I’ll shut you up.”
Jiang Ling instinctively covered her mouth.
Though, knowing Fang Wannan’s personality, she’d probably just clamp her hand over Jiang Ling’s mouth.
Still, for a fleeting moment, Jiang Ling imagined something… off.
She stole a glance at Fang Wannan’s cherry-pink lips.
Yeah, better not say anything.
She was scared for her life.
Fang Wannan didn’t notice her odd expression and showed her a video.
“This one.”
Jiang Ling looked down and saw it was a song called Dangerous Party.
She vaguely recalled seeing people perform it before.
But when she saw the dance moves—close, sensual actions like waist-holding, hip-swaying, face-touching, and teasing gestures—her face flushed bright red.
In other words…
She had to dance this with Fang Wannan?!