“What private meeting?!”
Jiang Ling’s face flushed red as she immediately retorted, “It’s just, just—”
“Just?”
Standing too close, Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes lowered slightly to stare at her shoulder. Because she had grabbed Jiang Ling’s clothes, a thin black strap on Jiang Ling’s smooth shoulder was exposed to the air, forming a stark contrast with her fair skin.
“Just a friend!”
Jiang Ling found it hard to explain what had happened before, so she simply lied. When her gaze landed back on Lin Xiaoyu, she saw her raising a hand toward her and then placing it on her shoulder.
Raised, then lowered.
“Snap.”
A crisp sound.
Jiang Ling was stunned by the slight sting on her shoulder, looking incredulously at Lin Xiaoyu’s expressionless face. Her voice stammered, “You, you…”
What are you snapping for?!
Of course, she was too embarrassed to say that out loud, so she flustered and hurriedly stood up, tugging her clothes up a bit, then puffed up her cheeks with dissatisfaction. “Did you learn this from that pom-pom manga of yours again?”
Unexpectedly, Lin Xiaoyu shook her head.
“No, it’s just that it was tempting me right in front of me, so I had to snap it once.”
Who’s tempting you?!
Jiang Ling felt increasingly unable to understand this roommate’s train of thought. She shouted angrily before turning and entering the bathroom, closing the door with a huff to start washing up.
Because she had played for too long, Jiang Ling felt an inexplicable fatigue and spent some time daydreaming while showering.
When she finally lay in bed scrolling through her phone, she unexpectedly found a post about herself.
Encounter with Jiang Ling
Seeing this, Jiang Ling had a premonition that it must be a post written by Xu Nuo, so she clicked on it out of curiosity.
The post was from a user named “I Want to Stir-Fry Thick-Breasted Lingling Sauce”… Wait!
Jiang Ling’s hand trembled involuntarily as she swiped the screen.
So that woman really is a pervert!!!
“What are you trembling for?”
Lin Xiaoyu, reading a comic beside her, looked a little puzzled.
“Ah? Nothing, it’s nothing.”
Jiang Ling mumbled vaguely, subtly turning her phone screen away, afraid Lin Xiaoyu would see the outrageous ID. She casually changed the subject, “Are you still reading that thing about the Imperial Princess?”
“Hmm, I just switched to the story where the older, predatory big sister discovers a borderline ASMR streamer and takes her home to make pom-poms.”
Lin Xiaoyu summarized seriously.
“Are you the Pom-Pom God?!”
“Hmm?”
Lin Xiaoyu seemed indifferent, tilting her head slightly and continuing to read the R18 manga on some unknown website with great interest.
Jiang Ling helplessly withdrew her gaze, opened the post, and saw a photo of herself and Xu Nuo taken today. Both pictures were posted, but Jiang Ling had blocked herself out, so only Jiang Ling appeared in the shot.
She looked carefully for a moment, found nothing strange, and then scrolled down with relief—
I Want to Stir-Fry Thick-Breasted Lingling Sauce: I’ve died without regrets! This hand that Lingling Sauce touched will never be washed again! Dream material for today secured, hehe…
Jiang Ling’s face flushed with embarrassment as she turned off the screen.
She didn’t have the courage to read any further!
It was all that damned perverted green-haired, glasses-wearing woman’s fault!
Come to think of it, she hadn’t even asked that woman’s name, but since they probably wouldn’t meet again, it didn’t really matter.
Jiang Ling thought, drowsiness slowly creeping over her.
- After going to the seaside, Jiang Ling felt the training had become more rigorous, even Mo Ran—the kindest to her—started frowning and correcting her sternly.
“You can’t make mistakes here anymore, got it?”
Mo Ran furrowed her brows slightly and reached out to twist Jiang Ling’s stiff body around. “You’ve made this mistake several times already. Don’t make me repeat the same thing over and over.”
The atmosphere in the room seemed tense.
Jiang Ling glanced cautiously at Mo Ran’s expression and nodded hurriedly.
She was indeed too clumsy, so there was no room for argument.
Bai Xue looked at Jiang Ling’s obedient demeanor, as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately held back and didn’t speak.
After this reminder, Jiang Ling’s heart felt like a taut string, constantly watching her movements, afraid of making any mistakes again.
When the music ended, Jiang Ling stood nervously in her spot, clutching her fingers tightly, not daring to lift her head and instead staring straight at the floor.
“Come look.”
Bai Xue picked up the phone from the floor, and everyone gathered around carefully watching the recorded video.
After the song ended, everyone’s gaze naturally focused on Lin Xiaoyu.
“Overall it’s fine, and the details are okay too, but Jiang Ling, you were too nervous. It was obvious at a glance. Your movements were much more restrained than usual, lacking fluidity. Keep this in mind moving forward.”
Lin Xiaoyu analyzed point by point and finally pointed out Jiang Ling’s problem. Her eyes held no trace of blame, just straightforward honesty.
After all, with the first public performance approaching, it was best to fix the problems before then.
“I understand. Sorry.”
Although Jiang Ling knew she wasn’t being blamed, she still reflexively whispered an apologetic reply, looking downcast.
The group practice ended just like that.
Watching Mo Ran sling her bag and prepare to leave, Jiang Ling bit her lip, wanting to call her back but lacking the courage, and could only watch helplessly as she disappeared from view.
In the large dance studio, only Jiang Ling and Lin Xiaoyu remained.
“You’re very worried.”
Lin Xiaoyu stared at her for a moment before suddenly saying this.
“Huh?”
Jiang Ling was startled, then fell silent for a long time before quietly nodding.
“Why?”
Lin Xiaoyu stepped closer, pulling her down to sit on the floor, her tone somewhat puzzled.
This time, Jiang Ling was silent even longer.
But Lin Xiaoyu didn’t press her and instead waited quietly for her to speak, showing no hint of impatience.
“I think I did terribly, and it seems like I made Xiao Ran angry, so I…”
As Jiang Ling spoke, she noticed her vision blur. She took a deep breath and lifted her head.
It wasn’t a big deal, but tears kept flowing involuntarily. Jiang Ling suspected her body might be prone to excessive tearing, and after struggling to hold back, she managed not to cry out loud.
“She’s not.”
Lin Xiaoyu shook her head, giving a brief reply.
This made Jiang Ling pause her clenched fists, looking up to meet Lin Xiaoyu’s calm, steady eyes.
For some reason, her heart suddenly quieted down.
“…Really?”
“Really. Why do you think she’s angry?”
“Because she—”
Jiang Ling choked up.
She suddenly realized that Mo Ran hadn’t shown any unnecessary emotion; she had only corrected her movements and told her to remember.
“Your movements really were clumsy. If it were me, I wouldn’t have the patience to correct you repeatedly.”
Lin Xiaoyu said, and Jiang Ling clutched her chest and looked away. “Can’t you be a little more tactful?!”
“I can’t. That’s why Xiao Ran corrected you on my behalf. She said you might be sensitive. Nan Nan agreed, and Bai Xue didn’t say anything but smiled happily.”
Lin Xiaoyu counted off their reactions on her fingers, leaving Jiang Ling dumbfounded. “When did you all talk about this behind my back?”
“Before you came, Xiao Ran told me.”
Saying this, Lin Xiaoyu repeated again, “She’s not angry.”
“I know already.”
Jiang Ling grumbled, thinking it was time to fix her overly sensitive nature. Not only did she expect Mo Ran to watch over her emotions, but she had also wrongly blamed her.
Jiang Ling immediately perked up and suddenly stood.
“I need to practice properly!”
Lin Xiaoyu stood as well. “For the group dance, I’ll practice with you.”
She said this and turned to go switch on the speakers.
However, as Lin Xiaoyu walked over, her foot caught on the tangled lines sprawled across the floor. She wobbled uncontrollably and fell down hard.
Bang—
Seeing this, Jiang Ling panicked and rushed over.
“Xiaoyu!”