Goddess Strategy GL - Chapter 36
The studio had one less lively monkey and one more abandoned kitten.
Recently, there were fewer things to do. Little Yuan once again took charge of Zhao Xin’s daily life matters, and Ye Ruoqing became the general helper in the studio.
At first, Susan was annoyed by Ye Ruoqing’s antics, but after a few days without any noise in the studio, she felt that the studio was empty and lifeless. Seeing Ye Ruoqing looking dejected, she thought she was worried about the audition in a few days and specifically went over to comfort her.
“There is another talent show on a different channel happening at the same time as this one, so the contestants are dispersed. You don’t have to worry too much. I think you are well prepared. There aren’t many things to do these days, you can ask for leave first if you have matters.”
“Mhm, thank you, Sister Susan.”
Ye Ruoqing separated the printed documents and bound them. Little Yuan came over to help. Little Yuan knew that a large part of Ye Ruoqing’s bad mood was due to moving out, so she told her that the studio hadn’t had a bonding activity in a long time and wanted to have dinner together after the audition was over, and also invite Zhao Xin.
Little Yuan thought this was a good opportunity: “Boss doesn’t like to talk much. When you eat that day, you two can talk properly, and you can move back sooner.”
“I won’t be moving back.”
“Why?”
“She looks down on me. I don’t want to be her pet.”
Little Yuan put her arm around her shoulder to comfort her: “Why are you saying such angry things? If she didn’t treat you as a friend, how could she let you live in her house? No outsider has ever stayed overnight at her place.”
“She said it herself. She said who wants to be your friend. Forget it, let’s not talk about this. I have a competition in a few days. I need to maintain my condition.”
Susan gave Ye Ruoqing two days off. Ye Ruoqing wandered around for two days, and when she returned to the studio on the morning a week before the competition, her face was flushed, and she seemed to have a fever.
Zhao Xin happened to be in the office too. When she saw Ye Ruoqing, she frowned.
“You have a fever?”
She reached out to touch Ye Ruoqing’s forehead, but Ye Ruoqing turned her head away: “Thank you for your concern, Leader. I have already bought medicine. I just need to go back to the hotel and swallow two pills.”
“You have a competition in a few days. Hurry up and go to the hospital. If you don’t have money, you can advance it from the finance department.”
“I have already advanced several months’ worth of salary.”
Zhao Xin picked up the phone, preparing to call the finance department: “Consider it an employee benefit. You don’t have to worry about it.”
Ye Ruoqing turned around: “In that case, I’ll go collect the money. Don’t touch my head unless necessary in the future. That’s a privilege exclusive to my friends.”
“Ye Ruoqing, stop.”
“What is it?”
Ye Ruoqing looked back at Zhao Xin. Zhao Xin hesitated for a moment and said: “You can move back after your competition is over.”
“I think I’m doing quite well as a general helper. It’s better than being your personal assistant.”
“Don’t be emotional. I’m being serious.”
“I’m also serious. You told me to scram, and I did. Now you are telling me to come back. Sorry, I’ve already rolled far away~”
“I’m talking about work with you.”
Ye Ruoqing snorted lightly: “I knew it.”
She opened the door, preparing to leave, but Zhao Xin called out to her again.
“Ye Ruoqing, wait a moment.”
“What now?”
“Don’t take what I said that day to heart.”
“Mhm.”
Although she agreed verbally, Ye Ruoqing showed no intention of getting closer. After she left that day, Zhao Xin went to her room and found that Ye Ruoqing had taken all her own belongings and restored everything Zhao Xin had prepared for her to its original state. Even the rice cooker that Zhao Xin had Little Yuan give her was left at home and not taken away.
She was truly planning to move out and had no intention of moving back.
Zhao Xin walked to the door, preparing to ask Little Yuan to accompany Ye Ruoqing to see a doctor. The door opened a crack, and Little Yuan was standing outside, with Ye Ruoqing beside her. The two were talking softly. Then Ye Ruoqing lowered her head, and Little Yuan touched her forehead, looking concerned.
Zhao Xin closed the door again.
Her heart was suddenly in disarray for a moment. She didn’t know how to respond to this emotion that occasionally surfaced lately. Years ago, when she couldn’t control her emotions at all, her psychologist taught her two methods: one to vent, and one to bury. She had always tried to save herself from that boundless desolation, but ultimately found that evasion might not be a bad solution.
She hid all those thoughts deep in her heart, not looking at them, not thinking about them.
A week later, Ye Ruoqing, with the blessings of a few friends, embarked on her journey. This audition was held at the TV station building in City B. To avoid suspicion, Little Yuan and Brother Pi Dan did not escort her upstairs. After a week of recuperation, her body had largely recovered, and her voice was unaffected.
The first round of auditions had about 500 people, carried out in batches. This batch of auditions had about 100 people, judged by professional critics who would raise a paddle on the spot. Each person had only 40 seconds to audition.
Ye Ruoqing was actually a little nervous. It was not easy to showcase her style in 40 seconds. She had been hit hard enough lately. If she failed the audition, she didn’t know if she could recover quickly.
Her phone rang. Ye Ruoqing opened her inbox and found it full of emails. Her colleagues in the studio sent her encouragement and also told her that they had prepared a surprise for her in her room.
Staff members were already calling out numbers. Ye Ruoqing stood outside the waiting hall, flipping through the messages one by one. These messages came from her colleagues, from friends she had made since coming to City B, even her older brother, and childhood friends from her hometown whom she hadn’t contacted in a long time. Only two people were missing.
One was Zeng Jie, and the other was Zhao Xin.
One was the culprit who made her come to City B, and the other was the culprit who made her feel depressed every day for the past week.
For some reason, she felt a little sting in her nose. Zeng Jie had brought her too much despair. She thought Zhao Xin would be an angel extending a hand to her in despair. But Zhao Xin was not. She harshly pushed her away, not even giving her a chance to be friends.
She turned off her phone, walked into the waiting hall, drew a number, and saw that it was ninety-four, which made her even more depressed.
This number was the sixth to last for the day. The singers would be fatigued, and the judges would be tired. Starting with this, she was already at a disadvantage.
Some contestants around her were greeting and chatting with each other. Ye Ruoqing knew that most of these people were here to scope things out. She was not professionally trained and had no commendable experience, so she found a corner, put down her guitar, and silently stared out the window in a daze.
“What’s wrong, little melancholic kitten?”
A clear female voice broke Ye Ruoqing’s thoughts. She looked up and saw a girl wearing a hat, smiling brightly at her.
She wore light smoky makeup, and her pupils were a beautiful amber color, like a cat’s. Her hair was short, pulled back into a small ponytail. She was wearing a white T-shirt and a black vest over it, with a few strands of dyed green hair floating out from under her hat, giving her a unique air.
The aura of a chūnibyō girl (someone with ‘eighth-grader syndrome’).
Ye Ruoqing was certain that most people would never call a stranger a “little kitten” when starting a conversation.
“Worried about the competition? Didn’t sleep well last night? Worried about being coerced, or thinking about your wife?”
Hearing the word “wife,” Ye Ruoqing’s heart jumped. She looked up at the girl. The girl sat down cross-legged opposite Ye Ruoqing. Seeing Ye Ruoqing’s reaction, she clicked her tongue twice: “Sure enough, you’re thinking about your wife~”
She pulled out a pen and a notebook from her vest pocket and asked: “I’m also thinking about my wife. Say, should we exchange WeChat IDs to share experiences about easing the loneliness?”
This was the third self-proclaimed friend Ye Ruoqing had met since coming to City B. Compared to the previous two, this one was even weirder. She opened with a flirtatious line. Ye Ruoqing glanced sideways and saw that the small notebook was densely covered with various contact methods.
This was a hundred-person-conqueror chūnibyō girl. Ye Ruoqing couldn’t figure out if she was here for the audition or to pick up girls.
Ye Ruoqing couldn’t afford to provoke her, but she could avoid her. She yawned and said the first thing to the girl: “I’m sleepy. I want to rest for a while.”
The hundred-person-conqueror girl asked: “What number are you?”
“You’re so annoying, Four-Furry Girl.”
The hundred-person-conqueror girl tucked the four dyed strands of hair behind her ear: “You don’t know your number? Then I’ll go ask the staff for you.”
“Number 96.”
“I’m number 95! What a coincidence!”
“…”
Indeed, a hundred-person-conqueror girl, her ability to stick to people like superglue was top-notch. She circled Ye Ruoqing, trying to dig up her QQ number, mobile number, forum ID, and game ID under the guise of exchanging information.
Ye Ruoqing was so annoyed that her head hurt. She simply stood up and walked towards the rooftop.
The hundred-person-conqueror girl stood behind her and whistled: “Wow, she’s a tall girl~ Wait for me.”
Ye Ruoqing held her forehead: “Can you stay away from me?”
“You don’t want to get to know me?”
“No interest.”
The hundred-person-conqueror girl smiled mysteriously: “I have a feeling you will regret it.”
“…”
The hundred-person-conqueror girl was too confident. To get rid of her as quickly as possible, Ye Ruoqing nodded repeatedly: “Fine, fine, I’ll regret it, okay? I need to practice my song, can you not bother me?”
“Sure, I’ll listen to you practice.” The hundred-person-conqueror girl leaned against the railing nearby and finally fell silent.
Ye Ruoqing took out her guitar, sat on the edge of the rooftop, and lightly plucked the strings, testing the tuning.
Before the strumming faded, she heard the girl beside her, with her arms crossed, quietly humming a song.
Ye Ruoqing’s hand paused. She looked at the girl in surprise. The girl took off her hat and smiled mischievously at her: “I told you you’d regret it. I’ve been listening to your songs in the underpass for several nights. Is this how you treat your first fan?”