In complete darkness, five girls stepped onto the stage together, quickly finding their spots and assuming their ready positions.
Jiang Ling felt her heart pounding uncontrollably.
A prompt tone sounded in her in-ear monitor before the accompaniment began, and the other ear seemed to ring slightly, but she didn’t move. She let the noisy, static-like sound rise and fall until it blended with the gradually swelling music.
One by one, the spotlights above the stage lit up, and the sudden beams of light made her involuntarily stiffen.
Right after, Jiang Ling saw without any obstruction the previously empty seats before her now filled with all kinds of people, their faces full of curiosity, excitement, or exhilaration.
“Let’s begin!”
As the opening act, Mo Ran playfully shouted into the mic, immediately igniting the restless atmosphere in the venue. The cheers burst out almost instantly.
“Ohhhhh!”
The loud noise felt like something had violently struck her brain. An unprecedented thrill spread throughout her entire body, like a fierce, blazing fire.
She carefully and earnestly performed each move according to their training, and every time she brushed past her members, Jiang Ling seemed to feel waves of positive energy coming at her.
Everyone was happy.
That was Jiang Ling’s most direct feeling.
Her chest felt heavy, yet her movements were smooth without any blockage. She successfully finished the first group dance, which lasted three minutes and forty-two seconds.
When it ended, the music in her in-ear monitor seemed to draw a final note and fell into silence.
That made Jiang Ling hear the bustling noise—what could only be called ‘chaotic’—coming from right in front of her.
From every face of the unfamiliar yet immensely excited audience.
Some raised their arms high, some cheered wildly, and though the show had just started, the atmosphere was already this lively.
“Hello everyone! We are NOVA!”
Bai Xue lifted her bright smile and led everyone in greeting the crowd. Jiang Ling bowed along, her mood soaring.
“That was the opening dance. How did everyone like it?”
Following the flow, it was time for self-introductions, so Bai Xue naturally asked.
“So cute!”
Almost in unison, everyone answered uniformly, which made Bai Xue smile even more and step forward: “Then I’ll start the introductions.”
“Hello everyone, I’m Bai Xue from NOVA, currently the team captain. Thank you all so much for coming today!”
After her, Mo Ran stepped forward, striking a playful and cute pose.
“Hi, hi~ This is Mo Ran from NOVA. I don’t hold any position, but I’m the one who usually cooks for these guys. Hope you all have a great time today, yay!”
Fang Wan’nan bowed gracefully.
“I’m Fang Wan’nan from NOVA. You won’t be disappointed by our performance. Thank you!”
Lin Xiaoyu waved her hand.
“I’m Lin Xiaoyu from NOVA. I’m pretty good at dancing. Please support us for our first public performance.”
When it was Jiang Ling’s turn, her calves weakened, almost causing her to stumble, but she struggled to stand firm.
“H-hello everyone, I’m Jiang Ling from NOVA. Although I still have many shortcomings, I hope to bring smiles to everyone. Thank you so much for coming!”
After speaking, Jiang Ling bowed deeply, her lips trembling fiercely from nervousness.
After a brief silence, thunderous cheers erupted throughout the venue. Many had noticed their nervousness and shouted encouragement.
“It’s okay, keep it up!”
“Super cute!”
The continuous, scattered words of encouragement made everyone’s smiles even more genuine.
“Next up, a trio performance~ Pay close attention, because little Ran here is really satisfied with this stage.”
Mo Ran made a heart sign toward the audience, her tone lively and cheerful, easily rousing everyone’s spirits.
During the short break backstage, Jiang Ling unconsciously opened her mouth wide.
Really… so skilled.
Bai Xue naturally carried a big sister aura, unafraid even on their first stage. Although Lin Xiaoyu claimed to be nervous, once she was on stage, she was completely focused. But what moved Jiang Ling the most was Mo Ran.
She was like a born idol; her pink hair shimmered under the light, her dance moves and voice were extremely natural, effortlessly showing off the fruits of practice, as if she wasn’t nervous at all.
“Don’t daydream.”
While Jiang Ling was lost in thought, Fang Wan’nan annoyedly pinched her cheek and tugged hard: “If you mess up later, I’ll throw you under the overpass to sleep.”
“…What grudge do you have against me?”
Jiang Ling pouted helplessly, looking broken: “I’m already nervous, you, I…”
“Oh, shut up.”
Fang Wan’nan suddenly remembered that Jiang Ling was a total fragile and timid soul, clicked her tongue in resignation, and eased her grip on Jiang Ling’s face: “I’m kidding. No crying.”
After a pause, she added, “I believe in you.”
Just then, the trio’s performance on stage ended. Jiang Ling adjusted her in-ear monitor, tidied her freshly changed Gothic dress, and quickly reviewed in her mind the moves she needed to pay attention to before looking at Fang Wan’nan.
Today, Fang Wan’nan had taken down her twin tails, letting her long hair fall to her waist. Combined with the somewhat dark makeup, she had a vampire-like vibe.
Jiang Ling grabbed her hand.
“Let’s do our best.”
The two went on stage, and under the expectant gazes, the music for “Dangerous Party” gradually began to play. The audience erupted in amazed gasps.
“Is it really this song?”
“National banquet! I’m all in!”
Jiang Ling couldn’t quite make out the intensifying chatter. Her mind and body were fully immersed in the duo performance with Fang Wan’nan.
Just like in practice, their coordination was seamless, with no mishaps. Whenever they performed intimate moves, excited shouts erupted from the audience, loud enough to make Jiang Ling’s ears blush.
But still in the performance, she didn’t show the slightest embarrassment or annoyance. Instead, she gave her all to deliver an amazing stage with Fang Wan’nan.
At the final ending, the music gradually quieted, and the lights dimmed. As the audience was left puzzled, Jiang Ling took a deep breath and raised her hand to pull down Fang Wan’nan’s collar.
From the audience’s perspective, Jiang Ling was on her toes with closed eyes, awkwardly pressing her lips against Fang Wan’nan’s.
Suddenly, the lights went completely dark.
……
“Ahhhhhhh! What did I just see? Am I dreaming?”
“A kiss? A kiss? Did I see that right?”
“To whoever invented this stage, I won’t let anyone slander you!”
The audience went into an uproar. Jiang Ling and Fang Wan’nan also heard the passionate shouts, their faces flushing red.
“Wow, what a spectacular performance!”
Mo Ran’s teasing voice sounded as the other three walked onstage, with Bai Xue holding a bucket full of slips of paper.
“This outfit gives off vampire vibes, right?”
While Bai Xue prepared the game segment, Mo Ran naturally interacted with the fans below: “What do you all think?”
“So pretty!”
“So sweet, marry them already!”
Despite one utterly crazy fan’s wild words, Mo Ran didn’t flinch in the slightest, instead chatting with them: “I also think this stage looks great, with a kind of youthful, ambiguous feeling. I wonder if you all get that…”
“Cough cough!”
Fang Wan’nan couldn’t take it anymore and coughed sharply, then elbowed Jiang Ling beside her, signaling her to say something.
“Uh, it’s time for the game!”
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Ling finally saw Bai Xue shaking the bucket with a beaming smile and quickly spoke up.
After Bai Xue explained the game rules, she placed the bucket in Lin Xiaoyu’s lap.
“Xiaoyu hasn’t said much today. How about you draw the lot?”
“Okay.”
Lin Xiaoyu didn’t refuse, swirling her fingers inside the bucket before pulling out a slip and calmly reading aloud: “The person who draws the lot must choose a member to stare at for thirty seconds. Whoever breaks eye contact or laughs first loses, and the loser must do three consecutive cute poses as a penalty.”
As soon as this was announced, the crowd immediately erupted.
“Choose Captain Sister!”
“Mo Ran!”
“Wan’nan’s pretty good too!”
Of course, the most popular voices were—
“Jiang Ling ahhhhhh!”
“Pick our little 0 baby!”
“The first of the 0’s is here to fight!”
Jiang Ling’s face turned bright red at these words. She earnestly brought the mic closer to her mouth:
“Though this has nothing to do with the game, I am NOT a 0!”
Her protest caused the crowd to burst into laughter.
Lin Xiaoyu naturally made her choice without hesitation: “I choose Jiang Ling.”
“Why!” Jiang Ling asked in confusion.
“Because you’re the weakest.”
Lin Xiaoyu was completely honest and serious: “If it were you, you’d definitely shyly look away. That means I win.”
Jiang Ling was speechless, but in front of so many people, she still mustered courage to retort: “That was before, this is now. Don’t treat the past as the present!”
Having said that, she braced herself and quickly walked in front of Lin Xiaoyu.
Bai Xue placed her palm between them, acting as the referee.
“Three, two, one, start!”
“30, 29, 28…”
Three seconds into the countdown, Jiang Ling’s entire body flushed from head to toe, and she struggled to hold her gaze.
Lin Xiaoyu calmly stared into Jiang Ling’s eyes, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
“27, 26…”
“Wait, Xiao Ling Dang isn’t even looking at Xiao Yu!”
Mo Ran quickly noticed Jiang Ling trying to get away with it and gleefully raised her hand to report.
“Yeah, her gaze is definitely as wandering as I thought.”
Lin Xiaoyu chimed in.
Jiang Ling was at a loss for words because she was genuinely shy!
To have to share such an intimate gaze with a roommate in public was agonizing.
But then, she suddenly realized a much bigger problem—
“Now for the punishment: three consecutive cute poses!”
Wasn’t this even more embarrassing?
Jiang Ling cried out silently inside but knew she couldn’t whine or plead like usual during a public show. She endured the shame, looked at the expectant audience, placed her hands on her cheeks, and made a cat paw pose.
“First one, next the second…”
Her mind blank, Jiang Ling fumbled for ideas, then used her fingers to draw a heart in front of her, cute and coquettish.
“Third…”
Jiang Ling wracked her brain for a long time, then shyly poked her puffed cheeks with her finger and apologized to the audience: “Sorry, I could only think of these.”
But the audience was already completely charmed and didn’t mind at all. The game segment quietly passed amidst laughter and cheers.
“Next up is the last group dance!”
After Bai Xue’s introduction, everyone began the final dance. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
However, during the mid-song repositioning, Jiang Ling seemed to accidentally bump into Mo Ran as they brushed past each other. The momentum caused her to lose balance and stumble to the ground.
“Bang!”
Worried eyes immediately converged on her—from members and the audience alike.
Jiang Ling felt sharp pain in her knee but had no time to think. Since the music was still playing, she bit her teeth, stood up quickly, and threw herself back into the dance, without affecting the performance at all.
At the end, everyone held hands and loudly spoke the last greeting.
“NOVA thanks you for coming. We’ll see you next time!”
Twenty minutes after the stage ended was the special event, allowing members to change clothes and take a short break.
Inside the restroom.
Jiang Ling closed the toilet lid and sat down quietly, staring intently at her scraped knee, silent for a long time.
It didn’t really hurt much, nor was there any bleeding; it was just a mild scrape.
She thought about it but couldn’t help clenching her fists tightly.
By rights, this should be counted as her own mistake.
During rehearsal, they never collided here, and rather than blaming Mo Ran, Jiang Ling preferred to believe it was her nervousness that caused it all.
So embarrassing.
Jiang Ling wiped her eyes.
Everything had gone so smoothly—the dance and music flawless.
Their one and only debut could have ended perfectly, but because of this small slip at the end, a permanent blemish remained.
Jiang Ling had a bad habit since she was little—she loved to overthink, especially when criticizing herself.
She stubbornly believed she could have completely avoided this mistake, causing tears to fall in big drops from her eyes, soaking her hand.
She made no sound, just silently and desperately wiped her eyes over and over until the burning pain forced her to stop.
“Ten minutes left until the special event!”
Outside, Xunuo called. Jiang Ling snapped back to reality, hurriedly wiped her tears with a tissue, and pushed open the door—
Only to meet Lin Xiaoyu’s silent gaze.
Had she been outside all this time?
Jiang Ling instinctively wanted to avoid her, not wanting anyone to see her in such a disheveled state, so she lowered her head and passed by.
But she didn’t get far before her wrist was grabbed.
“I won’t tell the others.”
“At least, let me help you fix your makeup.”