Chapter 17

“I…” Qiao Tingxi opened her mouth.

“It’s fine. Teacher Xu is wonderful. Of course everyone wants to work with her. I’m just a little jealous. If I worked hard, maybe I could get to one-tenth of her level.” Ji Changyin sighed dramatically.

“…”

“You’re good, too,” Xu Chaomu said, her expression serious. “One-tenth is selling yourself short. If you work hard, you could be better than me.”

Ji Changyin realized that Xu Chaomu really did take things seriously. She seemed incapable of recognizing a joke when she heard one.

“The interview’s over. You can go now.” Ji Changyin nodded to Qiao Tingxi. “Don’t overthink it. You looked nervous, so I was teasing you.”

Xu Chaomu gave Ji Changyin another look.

Qiao Tingxi nodded, bowed to them both, and left.

“I like her so much. Couldn’t she at least have humored me? That girl really is stubborn.” Ji Changyin pursed her lips. Besides, if Qiao Tingxi was a Xu Chaomu fan, there was a ninety percent chance she didn’t like Ji Changyin.

The more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

“If you still want to perform, I can team up with you,” Xu Chaomu said. She noticed Ji Changyin’s expression and, after a moment’s thought, offered to help.

“Huh? There’s no need. I don’t want to practice dancing!” Ji Changyin shuddered. “Besides, you’re so busy. We don’t have to do things that aren’t in the contract.”

Just then, someone knocked at the door.

Ji Changyin patted Xu Chaomu’s hand. “Let’s get back to the interviews.”

At least that got them through the moment.

They interviewed sixteen trainees: the top eleven, along with five others who were getting a lot of attention online. Ever since Dream Chaser began airing, its related topics had stayed near the top of the trending lists. If the show couldn’t find something interesting enough to trend, it dug into the contestants’ private lives instead.

In short, there had to be something trending every day.

After a short break following the interviews, the first performance began.

Once their hair and makeup were done, Ji Changyin and Xu Chaomu waited backstage.

Ji Changyin had originally planned to visit the trainees’ makeup room, but after finishing the interviews, she’d lost interest.

Out of sixteen trainees, seven had said they wanted to work with Xu Chaomu. Most of the rest wanted to work with one of the other four mentors. Not a single one had said they wanted to work with her. The whole thing had been painfully awkward.

That question had been Ji Changyin’s biggest mistake. The more she’d insisted on asking, the more things had gone against her.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Chaomu asked. Ji Changyin was sitting off to the side, absently playing with the charm on her phone. She looked distracted and less than cheerful.

Ji Changyin shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just bored. When does it start?”

“Soon. The A-class trainees have already gone out to open the show.”

“All right.” Ji Changyin nodded. She and Xu Chaomu were also hosting, so they’d soon have to go onstage to introduce the performers.

The opening number featured the eleven trainees in A-class.

When Ji Changyin heard the music from outside, she straightened her back slightly.

“Let’s go,” Xu Chaomu said.

Ji Changyin and Xu Chaomu left the dressing room, one after the other.

As soon as they stepped onto the stage, Ji Changyin spotted Xu Chaomu’s fan signs. They were light blue and grouped together in a conspicuous patch. Some trainees had only two or three signs to their names, while Ji Changyin searched the crowd and couldn’t find a single one for herself.

I’m the one who should feel sorry for myself. But it made sense. She wasn’t an idol or a singer.

Ji Changyin kept up her hosting duties, delivering the introduction in a perfectly ordinary manner. As they left the stage, she even helped Xu Chaomu lift her long skirt.

Maybe she imagined it, but she thought she heard someone in the audience shout, “Let her go—let me take her!”

Ji Changyin glanced at the audience, puzzled.

“Thank you,” Xu Chaomu said, nodding to her.

There were five performances in the first show. Half the trainees had already been eliminated after the theme song. Not all the hopeless ones were gone, but many of the truly hard-to-watch performers had left. A few weak ones remained, but the overall quality was much better than it had been at the start.

Ji Changyin and Xu Chaomu took their seats. Ji Changyin leaned back without thinking, settling into a comfortable position and looking much more relaxed.

Xu Chaomu glanced at her.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.” Xu Chaomu shook her head. Sometimes she envied how little Ji Changyin cared what people thought of her when the cameras were on. Of course, her posture wasn’t ugly—it just wasn’t very formal.

The first group came onstage soon after.

It was a sweet song. As Ji Changyin watched a few of the particularly adorable girls, a comfortable smile crept onto her face. She glanced at Xu Chaomu without thinking. Xu Chaomu seemed to notice, turned toward her, and smiled.

“!!!”

Ji Changyin froze. She stared at Xu Chaomu, unable to process what had just happened. The fans who’d noticed them were already screaming.

Maybe it was because she was imagining things, or maybe it was the sugary song, but Xu Chaomu’s smile seemed almost too sweet. The girls dancing onstage couldn’t compete.

If they hadn’t been filming, Ji Changyin would have wanted to reach out and pinch her cheeks.

Xu Chaomu, you’re going to kill me.

Xu Chaomu had already turned back to the stage, her expression returned to normal. Ji Changyin was still trying to collect herself. When she looked back at the performance, it somehow didn’t taste as sweet anymore.

Afterward, the mentors took turns giving feedback. The others kept their comments pretty standard.

When it was Xu Chaomu and Ji Changyin’s turn, Ji Changyin could feel the atmosphere in the room get noticeably livelier.

“The other mentors have already covered most of what I wanted to say. I’m sure Teacher Ji has plenty to tell you,” Xu Chaomu said.

Ji Changyin froze for a moment as everyone turned to look at her. She couldn’t help glancing at Xu Chaomu.

“I thought you did pretty well, but you could be sweeter. Smile like you mean it. Some of you were smiling too hard, and it looked fake. Don’t overdo it. You still need to work on your expressions,” Ji Changyin said with a nod.

Xu Chaomu took a sip of water.

While they waited for the second group, Ji Changyin edged closer to her. “What was that just now?”

“Didn’t you tell me to smile more?” Xu Chaomu asked.

Ji Changyin rubbed her temples, exasperated.

The second group came on soon afterward. Ji Changyin kept thinking Xu Chaomu might suddenly turn and smile at her again, and she grew increasingly tense.

Who knew? The performance ended, and Xu Chaomu hadn’t done a thing.

Ji Changyin let out a breath of relief.

“Were you that scared? I only smiled once.” Xu Chaomu tilted her head toward Ji Changyin.

Ji Changyin chuckled. “What can I say? One smile from you could kill a person.”