Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 31

June 3rd.

There were neither motivational quotes nor a looping "Red Sun" to greet the trainees this morning. (ref. Chapter 26)

Instead, the trainees woke up to the theme song playing through the loudspeakers at 9 AM.

Song Yingshi had a reliable internal clock. No matter how late she went to bed, she could always wake up early so long as she had a schedule the next day. Hence, she was already awake at 7 AM. Yet, despite having slept for less than four hours, she was brimming with energy.

Initially, Song Yingshi didn't plan on waking Huai Xu. She wanted to let Huai Xu sleep for at least another half-hour. However, even though she had taken extra care when lifting her blanket, her actions still alerted Huai Xu's feline instincts.

Song Yingshi froze momentarily when she saw Huai Xu's eyes opening. Then, she dejectedly said, "Morning."

"Morning," Huai Xu responded. When she saw Song Yingshi jump out of bed, seemingly in a hurry, she added, "No one's competing with you for the bathroom."

"Says the sore loser. You couldn't beat me even if you tried," Song Yingshi said, proudly stating the facts to her defeated opponent before disappearing into the bathroom.

As there was no substance to this topic, Huai Xu refused to continue it. While Song Yingshi was in the bathroom, she used the opportunity to change out of her nightwear.

…

After washing up, Song Yingshi and Huai Xu left for the second floor, each with a piece of bread in hand. After paying for their daily expenses and going to Class A's practice room, they found that many trainees had already begun practicing.

Evidently, nobody dared to waste these final moments before the evaluation.

…

As time flew by and nine o'clock came around, all 101 trainees gathered at the second-floor auditorium.

There were no mentors in the auditorium, only cameras, and a few staff members.

"Trainees who are ready can step forward and perform. The cameras will record everything, and the recorded footage will be sent to the mentors for evaluation. Every trainee will get to record their performance twice," a staff member said, pointing at the empty area marked by tape. Then, the staff asked, "Who will go first?"

No one stepped forward.

Song Yingshi inwardly sighed at this sight and quickly decided to volunteer herself for the challenge. However, just as she was about to stand up, a hand tugged at her sleeve.

It was Huai Xu.

Song Yingshi hadn't expected Huai Xu to hold her back. While she was stunned, she heard Huai Xu saying, "They'll only grow more hesitant if they don't toughen up now."

Huai Xu didn't look at anyone in particular, nor did she name any names. She simply stated a simple fact in a distant tone.

Nonetheless, everyone present knew who she was referring to. At the same time, the scene of Song Yingshi scoring the first A during the Initial Rating Performance flashed in their minds.

"I don't see you stepping up either! Aren't you the same?" Li Tinghan, a trainee from Class B, said, feeling unconvinced as she looked in Class A's direction.

Usually, such a remark should have ignited tension among the trainees. However, when everyone recalled Huai Xu's usual aura, rather than join in criticizing Huai Xu, the other trainees started advising Li Tinghan instead:

"Does it look like Huai Xu is afraid?"

"You're not better than her. Where are you getting your confidence from? Let's not cause trouble."

"Huai Xu can't go first. Neither can Little Shi, Rong Yi, and the other aces. If they performed first, I'd be too embarrassed to go after them."

What was supposed to turn into a catfight or heated argument took a strange turn. Many trainees also began holding back the Pink Champions and other talented trainees, saying:

"You guys sit back! Let us go first!"

"My dancing is the worst, so let me go first!"

In the end, even without the production crew's urging, everyone voluntarily rushed to form a line to get evaluated.

However, although everyone was now laughing and chatting merrily, they all knew Huai Xu's words had stirred something within them. This was especially so for those struggling with their stage fright.

Oftentimes, when one's greatest enemy was oneself, it only took a push from another person for one to grit one's teeth and break through one's limitations.

After all, what did the trainees actually have to fear?

Whether they performed earlier or later, they had to perform eventually. There was no shame in taking the lead and performing before everyone else. It also wasn't as difficult as everyone imagined.

When Song Yingshi saw everyone taking the initiative to line up, she felt even more gratified than if she were the one to dance first. Gazing forward, she put on an attentive look for the camera as she slowly inched closer to Huai Xu, whispering, "Hey, what made you think of doing that?"

Rather than giving an answer, Huai Xu asked, "Isn't this what you wanted?"

Huai Xu's words surprised Song Yingshi. She hadn't expected Huai Xu to see through her thoughts. Nonetheless, she playfully said, "Who said so? I just wanted to go first and hog the spotlight."

"Is that so?" Huai Xu said in a neutral tone.

Song Yingshi silently turned to and beamed a smile at Huai Xu.

Huai Xu didn't want to look at Song Yingshi, but when she sensed Song Yingshi's gaze, she couldn't resist the urge to glance at the other party out of the corner of her eye.

Song Yingshi kept smiling. She lightly bumped Huai Xu's knee, propped her chin with her hand, and said, "What should I do? Seeing you like this makes me so happy."

Huai Xu did not know what Song Yingshi was so happy about, nor did she know what was worth being happy about. However, as she pondered this matter, her slips subconsciously curled into a faint smile, and a hint of contemplation surfaced in her eyes.

Through their usual interactions, Huai Xu noticed that Song Yingshi often behaved differently from their fellow trainees. More specifically, Song Yingshi would sometimes view issues from the perspective of caring for her peers. Whenever the trainees hesitated and backed away from challenges, Song Yingshi would stand up to protect them. At the same time, she could sense Song Yingshi's desire for the trainees to become more independent.

Huai Xu quieted her mind and tried to pinpoint the exact source of this intuition.

Perhaps it was because of Song Yingshi's selfless behavior in the past two days. Take yesterday's "square dance," for example. Rather than occupy the spotlight that she rightfully deserved, Song Yingshi had given it to Wan Jiao and several other capable trainees, letting them instruct those who needed help, which, in turn, earned them the attention of the cameras.

Or maybe it was even earlier.

While filming the promotional material, Song Yingshi helped Tao Qin, Lu Xuewen, and Wan Jiao identify and showcase their unique traits to the audience.

During closed training, Song Yingshi encouraged everyone to dance, secretly ordered takeout when they were hungry, and finally suggested taking a group photo.

And earliest of all…

The earliest instance of Song Yingshi's selflessness that Huai Xu could recall was when Song Yingshi hired all the instructors she needed for the idol survival show.

While all these actions could be chalked up to Song Yingshi's responsible and caring personality, was that the case?

Huai Xu couldn't come to a conclusion.

…

The only scheduled activity for today was the filming of the theme song performance. Once trainees completed their performances, they were given the rest of the day off. The only condition was that they could not leave the White Tower.

Without hesitation, Song Yingshi decided to take a long nap upon completing her performance. She even turned down playing cards with Wan Jiao and the others.

Was there anything more satisfying in this world than sleeping?

The answer was no.

After removing her makeup, Song Yingshi fell asleep immediately and enjoyed a thoroughly refreshing rest. Upon waking, however, she failed to see Huai Xu anywhere, even though the latter had been in the room before she fell asleep.

Song Yingshi did not consider herself a clingy person. It was just that she had been entering and leaving the room with Huai Xu the past few days, so she found it strange to not see Huai Xu upon waking up.

Song Yingshi's first reaction was to ask Lu Xuewen about Huai Xu's whereabouts. As far as she knew, only Lu Xuewen would dare to drag Huai Xu off somewhere to do something.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Song Yingshi entered the shared living room, she ran into Tao Qin, who came running at her in a hurry and said, "Little Shi, come with me quick."

Seeing Tao Qin's impatient expression, Song Yingshi asked, "Are you missing players for your card game?"

"We're not playing that anymore! There's something even more fun!" Tao Qin said excitedly.

"Don't tell me you guys got mahjong now? Have you seen Huai Xu?" Song Yingshi asked, stretching her body lazily.

Ah! A bright spark appeared in Tao Qin's eyes when she heard Song Yingshi's question. She hadn't even mentioned Huai Xu, yet Song Yingshi was already asking about the other party!

What did this mean?

Tao Qin had the urge to stamp her feet and launch herself into the air. She wanted nothing more than to act as a lighthouse for this ship. However, she quickly resisted her urges and said, "Huai Xu is on the fifth floor. The fun thing I mentioned—she's the one who set it up."

"Huh?" Song Yingshi grew interested. At the same time, she received a mission from the system:

"Special Mission: Act coquettishly towards Huai Xu in front of others."

Song Yingshi was startled. She hadn't expected this special mission to be so…simple?

…

The mentors would only evaluate the trainees' theme song performance tomorrow. At that time, trainees who received an E rating would be disqualified.

However, before that happened, a more pressing issue faced the students of Class E—they had already exhausted their Star Cards. With no Star Cards left, Class E's students would be disqualified from the show before even receiving the results for their theme song performance.

Nobody could accept being eliminated for such a reason. Hence, Class E's trainees swallowed their pride and began borrowing Star Cards from others.

Trainees with friends in the show had an easier time securing a Star Card for tomorrow, but those who weren't close to anyone faced a tough challenge. After all, even if they promised to return the Star Card they borrowed, they could only hold true to their words if they didn't receive an E rating for their performance, and nobody could guarantee what rating they would receive.

Wan Jiao originally had four Star Cards on hand. After lending one to each of her colleagues, she had two remaining. When another trainee came to borrow a Star Card from her, she was immediately put into a difficult position.

Playing cards beside Wan Jiao, Lu Xuewen said to the trainee facing Wan Jiao, "I can lend you one. I'll go get it for you."

"Thank you! I'll pay you back tomorrow!" the trainee in question said, overjoyed.

No one mentioned the possibility of failure.

"Even if you don't return it, I'll come to you for it," Lu Xuewen joked before running back to her dormitory.

When Lu Xuewen left her room with her spare Star Card, she coincidentally ran into Huai Xu.

Lu Xuewen greeted Huai Xu.

"Where's Song Yingshi?" Huai Xu asked.

"Huh? I'm not sure. Little Shi wasn't playing cards with us," Lu Xuewen answered.

Huai Xu nodded. As she turned to leave, she noticed the Star Card in Lu Xuewen's hand, "Are you gambling with Star Cards?"

Huai Xu's question caught Lu Xuewen off guard. However, she quickly realized the misunderstanding and clarified, "No, nothing like that. Someone came to borrow a Star Card to get through tomorrow. Anyway, you should continue looking for Little Shi. The other person's still waiting for me."

After saying so, Lu Xuewen began walking away. But immediately afterward, a voice came from behind her, "Are you close with that trainee?"

Lu Xuewen stopped again. After thinking for a second, she answered honestly, "We've greeted each other a few times. She seems like a nice person."

"..." Huai Xu stared at Lu Xuewen. After hearing Lu Xuewen's answer, she doubted the notion of "bad person" existed in her former roommate's mind.

Lu Xuewen wasn't the only gullible person in the White Tower. Huai Xu knew of at least another such gullible person staying on the sixth floor. However, said gullible person was a little smarter than the one before her.

Originally, Huai Xu didn't intend to interfere in the matters of others. However, after thinking of a certain someone, she grew a little more patient, saying, "News that you'll lend out Star Cards will spread. If more people come to you, will you lend out the rest of your Star Cards? And who will you lend them to? Who would you refuse?"

"Huh?" Lu Xuewen was stunned.

Without pause, Huai Xu challenged Lu Xuewen's brain with an even more difficult question, "If you lend out all your Star Cards, what if one of your close friends runs out of Star Cards? Will you then ask others to return your Star Cards?"

"…" Lu Xuewen wanted to say none of her friends were lacking Star Cards, but then again, what if Tao Qin and the others foolishly lent out all of theirs too? And what if she made new friends later this afternoon?

Suddenly, the Star Card in Lu Xuewen's hand felt burning hot. She had no idea whether she should keep holding it or let it go.

Huai Xu's questions overloaded Lu Xuewen's mind. Ultimately, Lu Xuewen settled on the easiest solution—stop thinking and ask for an answer.

Putting on a pleading look, Lu Xuewen asked Huai Xu, "Should I lend it to her?"

Huai Xu paused.

—Live in your own world without bothering others. Likewise, do not meddle in others' affairs.

This was one of the life principles Huai Xu had received from her inherited memories.

Not to mention, Lu Xuewen was only in Class C. It wouldn't be mistaken to say she could barely keep herself afloat. In this situation, being overly generous to strangers would do more harm than good to herself.

However, just as Huai Xu was about to say, "Don't lend," Lu Xuewen muttered, "You're right. With how easygoing I look, many people will come to borrow from me. This won't do… Also, we should remind Little Shi about this. She's the most easy-going among us. Class A also has the most Star Cards, so someone will surely go to her. If that happens, she won't know how to refuse."

"…"

Upon hearing Lu Xuewen's words, Huai Xu could already imagine a bunch of trainees looking pitifully at Song Yingshi.

"Huai Xu, why aren't you saying anything?" Lu Xuewen asked.

Lu Xuewen gained enlightenment following Huai Xu's train of thought. She no longer wanted or dared to lend out her Star Cards casually. However, since she had already promised to lend someone a Star Card, it would reflect poorly on her if she were to go back on her word. Thus, she decided to lend out this Star Card and politely refuse anyone else who asked.

Nonetheless, Lu Xuewen still wanted to hear a decisive comment from Huai Xu to give her peace of mind, so she waited expectantly for Huai Xu's answer.

However, contrary to Lu Xuewen's expectations, Huai Xu did not give her the decisive response she wanted. Instead, Huai Xu replied with a soft "Mm" and said, "You could try another way."

"?"

Lu Xuewen was dumbfounded.