After the Top Idol Omega and I Started Living Together - Chapter 56

Chapter 56

For a moment, the corridor suddenly became quiet. The staff, bustling back and forth, gradually faded into the background.

This wasn’t just the same shade; it was clearly from the same lipstick.

Unlike her bare-faced state at home, Lu Zhao’s makeup was clean and bold to suit the stage lighting, especially her lip color.

Sheng Jingyu’s lips, however, were pale, a perfect canvas for color.

The corridor’s lights reflected off their nearly identical red lips, boldly stamped with the words “unrestrained.”

The secret hidden in the storage room was now exposed under the fluorescent lights, its allure undeniable, making hearts race with guilt.

Chenchen’s gaze remained innocent. She analyzed seriously, “It’s like one is a light coat, and the other is a heavy coat.”

Lu Zhao kept the smile she had while walking over. “Is it? That’s quite a coincidence. I didn’t even notice.”

She spoke lightly, but her words carried a hint of trying to cover up.

Fortunately, Chenchen’s focus wasn’t on this coincidence. She didn’t notice Lu Zhao’s nervousness.

She stared at Sheng Jingyu, her eyes curving with a smile as she praised, “Ah Zhao aside, this color looks great on Miss Sheng too. It wasn’t obvious from the audience, but now, this color makes Miss Sheng glow. It really suits her.”

Sheng Jingyu, usually reserved, rarely heard such words used to describe her.

And this color was something Lu Zhao had given her.

Sheng Jingyu paused briefly, then met Chenchen’s sparkling gaze and raised her hand. “I don’t recommend you buy this lipstick, though.”

Chenchen tilted her head. “Is it not good to use?”

Sheng Jingyu nodded, her calm gaze briefly flickering over Lu Zhao. “The staying power isn’t great.”

“A heavy coat rubs off too easily. A simple touch, and it’s gone.”

Sheng Jingyu described it matter-of-factly, as if she was merely sharing her user experience with Chenchen.

But she didn’t even own this lipstick, so where did this so-called user experience come from?

Lu Zhao mentally translated her simple description in real-time, her ears burning red.

She never thought someone like Sheng Jingyu would make such bold yet subtle moves.

But then again, she realized she didn’t know Sheng Jingyu all that well.

Sheng Jingyu wasn’t just cool and aloof; there were many sides to her that Lu Zhao didn’t know.

Their current closeness was only because they had crossed a line drawn by desire that day, crossed it too far.

“Oh, I see… then I won’t buy it,” Chenchen said.

Chenchen earnestly accepted Sheng Jingyu’s warning and gave up on buying the lipstick.

At that moment, applause suddenly came from the large screen in the staircase hall nearby.

The screen showed a clear vote count. Zhou Huanyin’s team won again.

Chenchen blinked, speaking in disbelief. “Has Teacher Wu lost three rounds in a row?”

“Yes,” Lu Zhao nodded from the side.

“Is this a total defeat?” Chenchen glanced at the people passing by and whispered to Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao didn’t answer, but her eyes told Chenchen, “How could it not be?”

Such a three-game losing streak was a first in three seasons.

Though the director might later shuffle the broadcast order to save face, it couldn’t change the fact of their defeat.

On the other side of the big screen, Wu Ai looked calm, but her brows showed displeasure.

And she wasn’t the only one struggling to keep it together.

In the RV, Si Liaoliao’s face was furious.

She slammed the table, scolding Chen Ruozhi like he was a child. “What did you promise me? What did you promise me?”

“I’m really baffled. How is it that since last month, every task I gave you, you messed up? Are you doing this on purpose? If you don’t want to work for me, get out now!”

Chen Ruozhi was helpless. “Liaoliao, you can’t say that. I really tried my best. Who knew they’d change their minds at the last minute?”

Unlike the powerless rage after last time’s failure, Chen Ruozhi now felt too drained to even be angry.

This sense of helpless frustration loomed over him, lasting so long he was almost used to it. “I told you from the start this side wasn’t easy to bribe. I said don’t force it. I went to see Li Qinqin several times this month, and she wouldn’t meet me.”

Si Liaoliao immediately shot back, “Why didn’t you tell me she wouldn’t meet you? If you had, would I have picked this song?”

“I did tell you. You didn’t listen and rushed to find Wu…” Chen Ruozhi started.

Chen Ruozhi tried to argue, but Si Liaoliao didn’t want to admit her fault and cut him off. “So it’s my fault? I did something wrong, is that it?”

Her angry voice echoed harshly in the RV. Chen Ruozhi shut his mouth.

He wanted to nod at Si Liaoliao’s words, but he knew he couldn’t, so he stayed silent.

Her furious breathing filled the RV, her shoulders shaking with each rough breath.

Chen Ruozhi felt a bit of pity and couldn’t help but advise, “Liaoliao, you really don’t need to compete with Lu Zhao. Why do you always have to fight her? Your voice is great on its own. You don’t need to…”

Before he finished, Si Liaoliao snapped her head up to look at Chen Ruozhi. “What do you know?”

Her calm was gone, her composure vanished.

Her eyes were wide, bloodshot veins crisscrossing them. “What do you mean, no need? What do you know? You know nothing!”

“I can’t let her stand out. I won’t let her be seen, especially…”

Si Liaoliao’s voice stopped abruptly.

Her thin shoulders trembled uncontrollably, her breathing quickened, each exhale full of obsession and fear. “No way, no way…”

Though Lu Zhao triumphed over Si Liaoliao this time, the celebratory dinner wasn’t as lavish as before.

With the disbandment concert coming up, Lu Zhao, as an idol, had to maintain her figure. After eating grass for half a month, she couldn’t let herself go. She still had to restrain herself.

But this restraint was tough on Chenchen.

If not for celebrating with Lu Zhao tonight, meat-loving Chenchen would never have stayed for dinner.

The celebratory dinner was three vegetable salads, all made by Sheng Jingyu.

Perhaps to celebrate, she upgraded the salads. Hers had extra greens, Lu Zhao’s had half a portion of chicken br3ast, and Chenchen’s was piled high with beef, chicken, and pork, like a small mountain.

Looking at her salad, Chenchen shed heartfelt tears. “Miss Sheng put so much meat in mine. I’m so touched…”

Sheng Jingyu smiled faintly, her gaze passing over Lu Zhao, who sat nearby.

As if worried Lu Zhao might feel overlooked, she took a gift box from behind and handed it to her.

Lu Zhao was surprised. “What’s this?”

Sheng Jingyu didn’t say but replied, “Open it and see.”

Mysterious and intriguing, Lu Zhao’s curiosity grew.

Over the past two years, she had received gifts from fan clubs and brands, but this was the first time someone close gave her a gift.

The delicate lake-green wrapping paper was peeled off layer by layer, revealing a black box with gold lettering.

It was a line of elegant cursive English, hard to read, but Lu Zhao recognized it instantly.

It wasn’t a sentence—it was a company’s name.

And this company was most famous for its in-ear monitors.

No money was ever wasted. Inside the opened box, a small in-ear monitor lay quietly on black velvet.

The restaurant’s hanging lights cast a soft glow, sliding a smooth beam across the monitor’s surface, pooling into the shape of a deer looking forward.

Sheng Jingyu’s concern about seeming biased wasn’t toward Lu Zhao but Chenchen.

The star of this dinner was always Lu Zhao; she was just extending her kindness.

There were expensive and cheap in-ear monitors.

But until now, Lu Zhao didn’t have her own. The one she wore on stage today was the standard one provided by the show.

She had thought about buying one before but always felt she wasn’t a top-tier singer, unworthy of something too expensive.

Even after shining on stage, Lu Zhao still felt this way.

Looking at the in-ear monitor Sheng Jingyu gave her, she felt both honored and unsure, wondering if she could ever live up to it.

Sheng Jingyu’s words came at the perfect moment. “You’re a professional singer now. Wear it on stage.”

Her slow gesture stirred a breeze, brushing Lu Zhao’s hair.

The fading light outside the window was perfect. Sheng Jingyu’s calm eyes held a spark, hitting Lu Zhao’s heart in that moment.

She said she was worthy.

Right when she was doubting herself.

Their shadows fell side by side on the wall, blending seamlessly.

Chenchen, watching from across, leaned on the table and whispered enviously, “I want a teacher like that too…”

Lu Zhao wagged her finger, a hint of pride in her expression. “No way, the teacher is mine.”

“Hmph, the meat is mine!” Chenchen wrinkled her nose at Lu Zhao, eating a big bite of beef in front of her. “Miss Sheng’s salad is delicious!”

They were adults but bickered like children.

Trading quips, they even stole meat from each other’s bowls.

The cicadas’ long, sharp cries pierced through the sealed glass.

Sheng Jingyu sat in her seat, her brows calm, unbothered by the noise, silently watching the scene.

If the Sheng family’s butler saw this, he’d think he was seeing things.

Sheng Jingyu, once so sensitive to sound that she needed sleeping pills, believed everything in her life should be still and quiet. Summer was her least favorite season.

Yet here she was, in the height of summer.

Since Sheng Jingyu made dinner, per the house rules, Chenchen and Lu Zhao cleaned up afterward.

The in-ear monitor box was carefully placed on a nearby cabinet. Chenchen’s gaze drifted to it a few times before she looked at Lu Zhao. “Ah Zhao, I’ve wanted to ask you something since earlier.”

Lu Zhao was cleaning dishes, her mind relaxed, and answered casually, “What’s up? You’re being so cautious. That’s not like you.”

Chenchen pursed her lips slightly, asking carefully yet seriously, “Do you still feel the same about Miss Sheng as you told me before, like a student toward a teacher?”