Practice room
Lu Bingbing handed out the ward milk to everyone.
"Drink a little milk, it helps with sleep."
"Bingbing-jie, are we not practicing tonight?" Wang Qingyu asked curiously.
Everyone else looked at Lu Bingbing—it didn’t quite match the style of their "demon captain"!
After spending these few days together, the others had developed a much better impression of Lu Bingbing.
She might not have the strongest singing and dancing skills, but she was undoubtedly the most responsible captain.
In the morning, she would set everyone’s als on the table, and at noon, she’d make goji tea for them.
During practice, she was extrely focused and even laid out detailed training plans—what standard to achieve by today was all clearly written down.
Moreover, she led by example. If even one person didn’t practice well, she’d practice alongside them.
Because of this, even Ge Xiaohui, who wasn’t initially fond of her, had been won over.
"No practice tonight; everyone is already very tired. We can’t afford to break down our bodies," Lu Bingbing said.
The group cheered, and after finishing their milk, they all left.
"Bingbing-jie, why aren’t you going back?" Wang Qingyu was surprised as she saw Bingbing laying a blanket down on the floor and laying directly on it.
"Not going back. The dorm is too lively; I’ll rest here for a bit."
"How is that okay? The floor is so hard, and those people..." Wang Qingyu wanted to complain on her behalf, but Lu Bingbing raised her hand to stop her.
The dance practice room had monitoring caras running day and night, so Bingbing was afraid Qingyu might say sothing inappropriate.
"They’re used to late nights because of streaming, and I’m fine here. It’s spacious."
"Bingbing-jie, I’ll keep you company," Wang Qingyu said, about to lie down as well.
"No need, go back and get so good sleep. I’ve gotten used to this from running errands outside often."
"No, I’m staying with you." Wang Qingyu’s stubborn streak kicked in, and she lay down beside Lu Bingbing.
"Take half the blanket; the floor is cold," Lu Bingbing said helplessly.
"Bingbing-jie, we should buy a yoga mat! Next ti we’ll be able to rest more comfortably."
Lu Bingbing looked at the snowy white ceiling and smiled faintly. "It’ll take three days to ship, and we’re not even sure if we’ll still have use for it."
Hearing Lu Bingbing’s words, Wang Qingyu felt a pang of sorrow as tears slid down the corner of her eyes.
"Bingbing-jie, I feel like I’m going to be eliminated."
"Don’t say such things. The biggest taboo for idols is being pessimistic. We need to be full of fighting spirit. If even we don’t have faith in ourselves, how will we ever make it?"
Wang Qingyu wiped her tears and murmured an agreent. "Bingbing-jie, I don’t want to be an actress after I leave here. I want to be part of a girls’ group. These past days, I’ve truly fallen into it."
"Haha, the ultimate goal for idols is acting! What you need to do now is fight for every shot, show your best side."
Wang Qingyu held Bingbing’s hand tightly and leaned closer. Her bright eyes looked dazed. "Bingbing-jie, even if we leave here, let’s stay good friends."
"Qingyu, we’ll be friends for life." Lu Bingbing said, taking off a jade pendant she was wearing.
"This was given to by my first fan. The material isn’t great, but I believe it brings good luck, so I’ve always worn it. Now, I’m giving it to you."
She sat up while talking and hung the pendant around Wang Qingyu’s neck, who also sat up.
"Bingbing-jie..."
"Qingyu, we have to abide by the rules here..."
Shenghai
A basent unit of a tube building.
This tiny space, just tens of square ters, had been partitioned into eight rooms, housing 35 people.
If soone stayed here for more than 15 minutes, their body would inevitably pick up a stench, as if they had taken a bath in the sewers.
Bang! Bang!
A small, partitioned space suddenly emitted noises akin to explosions.
Imdiately following that, a stench resembling a toxic gas combo and the spicy sll of bad snacks swept through the rodent-like dwelling.
The people living here quickly grabbed towels to cover their faces. Clearly, they were experienced in this routine.
Ha-ha! Ha-ha!
Satisfied, comfortable laughter echoed through the cramped space.
About three minutes later, a corpulent woman in dirty, rundown loungewear erged. Upon closer inspection, she wasn’t even that old.
Behind her was a filthy toilet streaked with yellow stains.
She swaggered to her room, squeezed through the door, and shut it with effort.
Huff! Huff!
She raised her right hand, sniffed her fingers, and displayed a peculiar smile of satisfaction. Then, grabbing a 1.5-liter bottle of cola on the computer desk, she gulped it all down.
Thick black liquid ran from her mouth full of decayed teeth, dripping onto her bulging neck fat, eventually soaking her clothes.
The woman tossed the empty bottle aside and fell heavily into a seemingly wide chair. She shook her head, reached for the mouse, and clicked. A Weibo page appeared on the screen.
The profile photo showed an incredibly handso young man—it was Lan Yening.
The girl casually scrolled until suddenly her eyes stopped—or rather, her whole body froze.
"Is this real? Brother Ning is going to be in Director Zhaang’s film? Oh my god! Brother Ning, I always knew you could do it. You’re the best!"
The girl’s otherwise blank expression transford into one of unbridled excitent.
Her cow-like figure began to rock violently in joy, causing the poor chair to creak loudly.
Next door, a 40-sothing man with a weathered face and calloused hands furrowed his brows, enduring the exasperating noise.
"What’s going on now? What’s Xiao Li doing in there?" the man’s similarly tired and worn wife grumbled.
"Don’t ask. The girl’s grown up," the man said, knowingly.
"But this is too much—she does this every other day! What should we do? We shouldn’t have brought her here. She should’ve stayed in the village," the woman sighed.
"What’s the point of saying that now? If her grandmother hadn’t passed away, we wouldn’t have brought her here. I think it’s ti to find soone and get her married off!" the man sighed again.
"It’s your fault last ti. We had already agreed with the Wu family on 150,000 yuan for Xiao Li’s dowry, and you insisted on lowering it," the woman grumbled accusingly.
"How was that unfair? Widow Liu only got 120,000 when she married off her daughter, and Xiao Li is still a young virgin! How’s that any worse? Besides, she’s not even yours—it’s not your fault she turned out poorly!" the man said, raising his voice.
"You reap what you sow! If your seeds are bad, who can you bla?" The woman shot back just as sharply.
The two glared at each other for a mont before the man eventually backed down. "Xiao Li can’t go on like this. We need to find so work for her."
"What work? She can’t do anything. Haven’t we tried? Every ti she goes to work sowhere, it’s either she gets bullied, doesn’t get paid, or complains it’s too exhausting," the woman sighed.
"Forget it. We’re still capable for now; let’s just support the girl until she gets married," the man said with resignation.
In the adjacent room, Xiao Li overheard her parents’ argunt but didn’t care. She had far more important matters to focus on.
Her favorite idol, Lan Yening, was about to star in a new movie—one directed by none other than Director Zhaang. She couldn’t contain her excitent.
Seeing her "husband" succeed in his career brought her indescribable satisfaction.
Ever since becoming a fan of Lan Yening three months ago, Xiao Li—once convinced her life was aningless—was suddenly filled with hope.
She felt she had to live, had to live well, because she had a "husband" to love wholeheartedly.
She began collecting every bit of news about Lan Yening—his appearances, his performances, even trivial details like his favorite color, preferred foods, and favorite brand of cologne.
Whenever she watched one of Lan Yening’s performances, she’d get overwheld with excitent. Even if it was just a ten-second video, she’d rewatch it hundreds or even thousands of tis.
She bought every product Lan Yening endorsed, fully supporting her "husband."
For every fan campaign, she’d try her best to join. Just a few days ago, she pooled money to buy Lan Yening a brand-new Xiaomi phone.
Later on TikTok, she saw her "husband" singing while holding that very phone in his selfie video.
Her heart lted; she felt as though she had done the most aningful thing in her life.
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