A Book
Xi Nancheng held up the next namelist. “That’s enough.”
Obviously, he had made up his mind not to watch the recording. Even the second place would pale in comparison to an outstanding individual like Ye Shuning, let alone Meng Fu.
Tang Ze shook his head helplessly. He had wanted to say, ‘I think she will be a hit’ but swallowed his words in the end.
**
Outside the individual assessment venue.
After the performance, Meng Fu noticed that Zhao Fan was holding onto her sunglasses and waiting for her in the blind spot of the security cameras.
Seeing Zhao Fan, Meng Fu slowed down her pace, turned sideways, and glanced at Zhao Fan. With her lips curled up, Meng Fu tapped her slender finger on the brooch in front of her chest unhurriedly, motioning to Zhao Fan to look at it
Zhao Fan was initially stunned. She then saw the obvious ‘C’ grade on the brooch in front of Meng Fu’s chest. She could not help but widen her eyes.
Meng Fu was tone-deaf, her singing was out of tune, and her pronunciation was unclear. She could barely get an ‘E’ with such abilities. Yet, she was graded a ‘C’ today?
Seeing Zhao Fan’s expression, Meng Fu retracted her smile. Raising her eyebrows, she smoothed her slightly wrinkled sleeves and then walked into the waiting room. It was only after Meng Fu’s departure that Zhao Fan cupped her cheeks with both hands.
At this moment, the waiting room was already filled with the Group A girls who had already been assessed. After an audition and many rounds of selection, there were only five groups left: ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘E’. Each group comprised 6, 8, 12, 15, and 24 members respectively.
At the end of the television program, the six most popular members from Group A, would form a band. The eight members of Group B would be offered engagement contracts, and the rest of the participants would be eliminated.
At this juncture, a group of five was chatting softly amongst themselves.
They were surrounding a girl with waist-length hair. Meng Fu knew who this girl was: Ye Shuning.
The group of five cast a friendly glance at Meng Fu when they saw her walking towards them. They then continued their conversation with Ye Shuning.
“Ningning, Meng Fu got a ‘C’ this time. Did she improve that quickly?” Staring at Meng Fu, a girl with a baby face said.
She was Jiang Ran, now ranked fifth based on the online voting results. She had been portraying a “candid and forthright’ image, a “dare to speak the truth” public persona, in the show, and had garnered a lot of fans.
Ye Shuning neither turned her eye nor glanced at Meng Fu. She merely smiled at the words of the surrounding people but did not express any agreement with their sarcasm. This was not out of courtesy. This was because she did not see the need to lower herself to their level by deriding someone who had nothing but a pretty face.
Despite being ostracized, Meng Fu did not feel the slightest bit awkward. She sat down in the furthest seat in the last row and crossed her long and slender legs. From the back pocket of her shorts, she took out a very small book, placed it on her lap, and then flipped through it slowly.
The rest of the members successively entered the place after their assessment.
Meanwhile, the program planner was at the backstage photography office, surveying the grounds with the cameras. He saw Meng Fu, often a busybody who liked to gain the favor of others, sitting on a stool quietly. Surprised, he pointed to the screen quizzically and asked, “What is Meng Fu doing?”
As the program planner, he knew Meng Fu’s character.
The crew member replied, “Reading a book.”
Reading a book? The program planner could not help but laugh.
‘What book is she reading? Will she be able to ingest the contents with a camera filming her?’
This act was too deliberate. Meng Fu had dropped out of school, resulting in much discussion online.
“Do a close up and find out what book she’s reading.” Nevertheless, the program planner loved gossip. As he directed the camera at Meng Fu’s book, he was hunting for the next hot, trending topic.
This might be bad publicity for Meng Fu but it would boost the show’s popularity.
The crew member immediately adjusted the camera and zoomed onto the cover of Meng Fu’s book. The cover looked slightly yellowed and on it was written: “A Guide to Swine Diseases and Intractable Diseases”.
The program planner and the crew member were speechless.
Meng Fu put away the book. Clad in the red group outfit, she inadvertently glanced at the camera. Her alluring eyes had a mysterious and bold look to them. Her gaze was uninhibited and wild.
All was well when she was reading. However, as soon as she looked up, the few trainees sitting beside her immediately turned into servants surrounding the queen. They looked very dull in comparison to her.
The crew member, whose mind had been preoccupied with “pigs,” was jolted to his senses. “Did she notice us doing a close-up on her?”
No, how could that be possible?
The crew shook their heads and felt that he was being overly paranoid.
**
More than three hours of assessment had passed and all the trainees had been re-graded.
Tang Ze came in to announce the rules of the upcoming public performance. At this moment, the 65 trainees were chatting excitedly with one another.
Tang Ze clapped his hands and motioned for them to be quiet. “The next performance will be based on an elimination system. You will be divided into eight teams which will compete against one another. There will be song-composing and dance choreography segments. Winners will be determined by live polling. The top team will receive 100,000 popularity votes. The second, third, and fourth team will get 50,000, 30,000, and 10,000 votes respectively. I’m giving you five minutes to find your own teammates.”
In the next round, the 20 trainees with the lowest popularity scores would be eliminated. This would be done during a public performance, as well. Everyone was very nervous, especially those who were less popular. 100,000 popularity votes could become a game gamer. They could basically team up with Ye Shuning ride her coat tails to victory. Everyone knew that Ye Shuning would certainly clinch the top spot.
Therefore, most people wanted to form a team with Ye Shuning and she was surrounded by people. There were also many people buzzing around the more popular members as well.
Five minutes later.
Eight teams had been formed. Meng Fu was the only one who had not gotten a team together and was still standing in the middle, alone. Because there were 65 trainees, she was the odd one out.
Trying to ease the atmosphere, Tang Ze laughed and said, “Which group needs a vocalist? Meng Fu can be the leader.”
With Meng Fu’s voice, she could be trained as a main vocalist. As soon as he said this, everyone averted Tang Ze’s gaze. Some even lowered their heads and exchanged looks with their eyes. A vocalist was someone with good singing skills. Could Meng Fu, someone who did not even know to read basic music score, become a lead member and vocalist?
What a joke.
Tang Ze scanned the crowd and his gaze landed on the second team. “Jiang Ran, you’re a dancer and most of your team members are the sing-and-dance type. Your team is short a main vocalist and your performance in the show will be affected. Meng Fu can…”
Before he could finish his words, Jiang Ran said hurriedly, “Mentor Tang, we have both vocalists and dancers. We don’t need a vocalist.”
Jiang Ran did not want to offend Tang Ze. However, considering the importance of the public performance, she had to speak out. Tang Ze also knew how important this performance was to the girls. Meng Fu had screwed up before and it was understandable why they were reluctant to take her in.
Suddenly someone raised her hand. “Mentor Tang, we need a vocalist.”
Meng Fu raised her eyebrows and glanced at the girl who had spoken. She was a short-haired girl with an androgynous appearance. She wore an earring in her right ear and looked like a woman of few words.
“Chu Yue?” Tang Ze stared at the person who spoken in surprise. “Sure. Meng Fu, you will be on Chu Yue’s team.”
Tang Ze added Meng Fu’s name to Chu Yue’s team and then put away the namelist. “Today’s session will end here. Seven days of closed-door training will now begin. Your first public performance will be in seven days. All the best.”
Jiang Ran heaved a sigh of relief after Chu Yue spoke.
**
In the nanny car, Zhao Fan heaved a sigh of relief after learning that Meng Fu was on Chu Yue’s team.
She gave a simple analysis. “Chu Yue is a dancer. Ding Liuyue can compose music. Both composition and dance choreography have been taken care of. You’re quite fortunate. You just need to be their tool.”
Meng Fu fished out her small book. She looked amused. “Tool?”
“Yes,” Zhao Fan responded. Seeing the title of Meng Fu’s book, she almost choked on her own saliva. “What kind of messy book are you reading?”
Meng Fu leaned her back against the car window and peered at her. “Don’t be a busybody and you will live longer.”
Zhao Fan was speechless.
“Brother Su is coming back soon. Don’t let him see that book,” Zhao Fan said tiredly.
20 minutes later, they arrived at an intersection.
Meng Fu got out of the car and tucked her book into the pocket of her black coat. She put one hand into her pocket and used the other hand to put on her sunglasses. “Babe, wait for me. I’m packing some luggage and will be back soon.”
She had planned to return to the Jiang residence to retrieve the items that the female journalist had left in the house.
“Sure, but you must rehearse with your teammates tonight. Even if you’re useless, you must pretend that you’re not. Otherwise, Mentor Xi will chide you again…” Staring at her sultry and stunning face, Zhao Fan could not help but blush.
Seeing Zhao Fan, Meng Fu laughed softly. She then waved her hands towards her back. “Okay.”
**
At the Jiang residence.
Yu Zhenling was sitting on the sofa and conversing with a woman in front of him. The woman in front of her was Madam Tong. She was a long-time friend of the Jiang family. The two families had even arranged marriages when Meng Fu was a child.
Just as the two were talking, the servants outside said softly, “Madam, Ms. Meng is back.”
Who else could Ms. Meng of the Jiang family be? She was the biological daughter whom she had acknowledged two years ago. The smile on Yu Zhenling’s face froze. She instinctively peered at Madam Tong.
Madam Tong looked down and took a sip of tea. She looked poised and elegant, and her movements were extremely graceful. She did not glance at Meng Fu, who was just entering the house. She acted as if she did not hear what the servant had said.