After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite (GL) - Chapter 6

Having been on edge all day, it was more exhausting than an all-night shoot.

Lin Qianman returned to her room to rest, feeling utterly fatigued.

The show was visibly obscure, meaning it lacked sponsors, which made it even more visibly poor.

The contestants’ dorms were slightly better, six-person rooms, very dreamy and girlish with pink and blue walls.

The mentors originally had single rooms, but due to Lin Qianman’s sudden decision to join, the production team was ecstatic and changed the mentors’ single rooms into two-bedroom suites with a living room.

Lin Qianman guessed the extra room was probably intended for her to use as a walk-in closet.

However, Lin Qianman wasn’t particularly worried about her clothes, shoes, hats, or accessories at the moment.

She was only worried about herself.

So, that extra room was used as a storage room, filled with snacks.

Lin Qianman specifically asked the nanny auntie next door, who had rich childcare experience, what kind of snacks children liked these days.

The auntie knew Lin Qianman was an actress and usually wouldn’t eat anything. When she heard Lin Qianman ask this question, she was surprised and a little troubled.

She thought for a moment and gave Lin Qianman a document listing the snacks her employer’s children frequently ate.

“Do your job, love your job,” the auntie enthusiastically told Lin Qianman: “These are a bit expensive, but they’re truly healthy and delicious. I’ve also added parentheses at the back, with allergens inside the parentheses. If possible, you can also make some small snacks for the child yourself; it’s not troublesome.”

Lin Qianman pretended to understand at the time and nodded.

Then she immediately bought five large boxes of snacks according to the document and stuffed them into the storage room.

Now, Lin Qianman looked at the overflowing snacks, wondering if these could save her life at a crucial moment—even if Tao Nian was hungry, a qilin like herself couldn’t possibly taste better than snacks, could she?

After lying down for a while, her assistant pushed the door open and asked Lin Qianman what she wanted for dinner.

Lin Qianman was a bit conflicted.

Although she was tired and a little hungry, she didn’t really feel like eating. A qilin with a good mix of fat and lean, obviously good texture, versus a dry, bony qilin, surely the one that looked unappealing would live longer.

But if she didn’t eat, since she was in human form, she would have no strength. If Tao Nian pounced and tried to bite her then, she wouldn’t even be able to escape.

Lin Qianman deliberated for a moment, then decided: “Let’s eat. You can just buy whatever you think is suitable, no need for too much.”

So the assistant went to buy dinner.

Lin Qianman sat for a while then got up, wanting to familiarize herself with the surrounding terrain and find a place to run.

Although one could practice running on a treadmill, a treadmill was too ideal. If she wanted to practice escape speed, it was best to find a more complex place.

Of course, she couldn’t just practice escaping; she also had to learn to face Tao Nian and not be a coward. After all, she wasn’t a masochist; she had been entrusted by Feng Jun to look after Tao Nian, prevent her from causing trouble, and teach her how to control her appetite, and to understand and gradually adapt to the conventional rules of the mortal world. If she chickened out every time she saw her, how could she complete the upcoming tasks?

Lin Qianman braced herself, walking slowly around the building in the garden below by herself.

She smelled a very, very fragrant scent. It was grilled sausage.

Tao Nian, who was truly hungry and had secretly hidden in an unmanned corner to eat grilled sausage because of Zhang Jingyue’s nagging in the dorm, also smelled a very, very fragrant scent.

The grilled sausage in her hand suddenly didn’t smell good anymore.

Tao Nian suddenly darted out from the short, round shrubs by the flowerbed, holding a grilled sausage and looking at Lin Qianman.

Her eyes were wide as brass bells!

Lin Qianman looked at the person who had suddenly appeared, her entire body went numb. She forced a stiff smile: “Tao Nian? What are you doing here?”

Tao Nian shook the grilled sausage in her hand, ducked down, and crawled out from under the bushes. She stood upright in front of Lin Qianman and gave her a kind smile.

Revealing eight teeth.

It was these eight teeth that had almost killed her three hundred years ago.

It was also these eight teeth that, eight hours ago, bit her eyebrow and almost tore off a whole piece of skin.

Don’t let these eight small, white, seemingly neat and beautiful teeth fool you; their destructive power is truly terrifying!

Lin Qianman instinctively wanted to flee.

Then she thought of Feng Jun’s entrustment, the debt of gratitude she owed, and her duty as the last qilin.

Lin Qianman didn’t flee. She smiled at Tao Nian again: “Have you eaten?”

Tao Nian looked longingly at the fragrant “Sister Lin” and shook her head.

Lin Qianman secretly glanced at the pile of grilled sausage skewers on the grass where Tao Nian had been squatting. Her expression stiffened, and she tried very hard to maintain her outward composure: “Let’s go eat.”

Just as she said this, her assistant, Fang Wen, walked around the corner carrying the dinner she had bought for Lin Qianman.

Turning the corner, she saw her artist.

Alone, with no camera crew following, talking to someone.

Fang Wen focused her gaze and realized it was one of the show’s contestants.

Immediately, her danger radar went up, and her entire being screamed vigilance.

You see, Lin Qianman was extremely popular with these “little gay girls” (a casual, somewhat playful term for female fans who adore female idols)!

Lin Qianman’s first movie was an art-house film, where she played a photographer betrayed by her husband.

The movie had a lot of empty shots, silent like a black and white film. Lin Qianman’s character spent most of her time on the road, with a kind of numbness after being hurt.

There was one animated GIF of her with wet hair after being rained on in the wilderness, photographing puddles. Shot from the side and back, half of her profile was cool and aloof, but her slightly pursed lips were plump, looking very sensual.

And then, with this aloof sensuality, Lin Qianman was annually voted “Dream Golden Gourd” (a term for a very attractive person who is also very desirable).

It wasn’t that no one in the entertainment industry expressed interest in Lin Qianman; they were all rejected.

So this time, Fang Wen thought it was the same, a “little gay girl” coveting her artist’s beauty.

This one, however, was even less acceptable!

This was a contestant, and her artist was a mentor. A contestant and a mentor together… who knew if this “little gay girl” not only coveted beauty but also wanted to engage in some unspeakable transaction?

Her artist was not that kind of person!

Fang Wen smiled and walked forward, unrefusably placing herself directly between Tao Nian and Lin Qianman. She smiled and nodded at Tao Nian, merely as a greeting.

With a little distance created between her and Tao Nian, and an extra person in the middle, it felt like an added barrier. Lin Qianman breathed a sigh of relief.

As an assistant, reading expressions and body language was the most basic skill. One not only needed to be multi-talented to handle various responsibilities but also to be well-versed in the artist’s thoughts and emotions.

The competent assistant Fang Wen felt Lin Qianman relax after her arrival, which further confirmed that this contestant named Tao Nian was indeed eyeing her artist.

She had pounced on Lin Qianman and hugged and kissed her, leaving lipstick on her face, the moment she saw her today. Now, she had gone to great lengths to follow her downstairs and corner her. She was even wearing her contestant uniform, which had her ID badge on it! Wasn’t this clearly trying to make people recognize her? Most importantly, this place was not safe at all! There might be paparazzi outside with binoculars taking photos.

Fang Wen could already imagine this contestant proudly showing off staged photos taken by paparazzi.

Whether it was blackmailing the studio or using it to buy marketing and create a “CP” (pairing), as long as Lin Qianman’s name was involved, it would guarantee eyeballs.

Thinking of this, Fang Wen disliked this contestant even more.

Initially, when she first saw her photo with the production team, she thought that with such divine looks, even without any special talents, she should be able to survive in this show and perhaps even successfully debut with a bright future. She never expected her to willingly fall into depravity and go down the wrong path!

She wondered how long this had been planned, and how she knew Lin Qianman would participate in the show… From the first moment she saw Lin Qianman today, she had been looking at her with such disgusting, blatant desire in her eyes!

Fang Wen, adept at overthinking, imagined many scenarios, though in reality only a moment had passed. But as Fang Wen thought about the scenes she imagined, she grew angry and couldn’t help but glance at Tao Nian with distaste again.

There it was again! That disgusting look! Truly…

Fang Wen quietly stepped aside, blocking Lin Qianman.

Then she noticed that Tao Nian’s disgusting gaze began to fall on her.

Her?!

Fang Wen didn’t know about Tao Nian’s ferocity; she just got goosebumps from being stared at. She couldn’t help but follow Tao Nian’s gaze and found its target.

It was the meal box in her hand.