Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 52.1

Huai Xu had no intention of finishing the rest of her sentence. Changing the subject, she said, "Don't indulge your curiosity too much."

"Why?" Song Yingshi asked, growing even more curious.

"You don't get it?" Huai Xu chuckled.

Song Yingshi pursed her lips. She naturally knew why.

Curiosity was often the beginning of everything. It was the origin of emotions, representing interest and a mystery that drew one in to explore. If one acted recklessly under its influence, one would eventually be overwhelmed by it.

Since Huai Xu chose to end the topic here, Song Yingshi decided not to pry deeper. Yawning, she retreated under her blanket and said, "Good night. See you tomorrow."

"Good night," Huai Xu replied.

...

June 20, the recording of Star of Spring's second public performance's team assignment began.

Similar to the first time, Ren Qian hosted the event, and the 60 trainees, having undergone the first public performance's baptism, stepped onto the stage and took their seats in order.

Standing below the stage, Ren Qian first introduced the second public performance's songs to everyone.

There were ten songs in total, and each would be performed by a team of six.

The trainees would cry out in joy and surprise when they saw their favorite songs being played. Some would even mimic the performances displayed on the screen.

Song Yingshi held the song interest form issued by the staff in her hands. After watching and listening to all ten songs, she wrote down her three preferences without hesitation, her swift decision-making surprising many.

"Little Shi, why did you choose so quickly?" Tao Qin asked, thinking that Song Yingshi had acted too recklessly.

"I just chose the songs I like," Song Yingshi replied, smiling.

Song Yingshi didn't care about rankings, so unlike the little girls around her, she wasn't under pressure to choose the song that could yield her the best results.

Song Yingshi's quick decision-making also surprised Ren Qian. Before he even had time to explain the intricacies of each song, she had already made her decision...

"Little Shi, you can't change your choices once you submit them," Ren Qian said.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing," Song Yingshi said, patting her chest.

"Did you fall in love at first sight with those three songs?" Ren Qian asked curiously.

After saying so, Ren Qian snuck a glance at Huai Xu, who sat beside Song Yingshi.

Two trainees had left a deep impression on the mentors thus far. One was Song Yingshi, and the other was Huai Xu, who had tricked the mentors into milking the production crew for Star Cards.

Moreover, Snow-Kissed Rose, the ship involving Song Yingshi and Huai Xu, was gaining significant popularity recently. Because of this, the production crew even deliberately held a meeting with the mentors today to inform them about this rising ship.

Ren Qian might not know what the other mentors thought of this situation, but as someone who debuted through an idol talent show, he loved to play tricks. Hence, feigning ignorance, he said, "Huai Xu, help me check Little Shi's choices and tell me in secret."

At Ren Qian's words, the other trainees promptly turned to look at Huai Xu and Song Yingshi, their faces wearing the smile of a doting mother.

Faced with the mentor's request, Huai Xu helplessly shrugged and hooked a finger at Song Yingshi, saying, "Let me see it."

Hiding the interest form behind her, Song Yingshi stepped away from Huai Xu and said, "You're bullying me."

After symbolically completing Ren Qian's request, Huai Xu looked at him and said innocently, "She won't give it to me."

At this time, Rong Yi suggested enthusiastically, "You can hug her and hold down her hands! That way, she won't be able to run away or hide the form!"

After saying so, Rong Yi poked Wan Jiao and said, "Look at the two of them! Hahaha!"

Wan Jiao: "..."

Wan Jiao looked at her new roommate, terrified by the straight girl's behavior. She completely forgot that, not long ago, she used to be one of these troublemaking straight girls.

Looking back, Wan Jiao couldn't help but think that lesbians were much better people. They had integrity and morality. Most importantly, they were more self-aware and wouldn't cause trouble ignorantly...

"Huai Xu! Quickly hold down Little Shi! I'll grab the form for you!" Quan Yuanyuan, who was now a fanatic shipper of Snow-Kissed Rose, shouted. She wanted nothing more than to tie Huai Xu and Song Yingshi together so they would never be separated.

Quan Yuanyuan looked upright and innocent as she shouted, behaving no differently than an honest, straight girl. Nobody could tell her true intentions.

Wan Jiao: ?

The other budding lesbians who knew of Quan Yuanyuan's sexual orientation: ???

Tao Qin, Lu Xuewen, and the other budding lesbians exchanged glances. After pondering, they put on a sincere expression, pretending to be straight girls as well as they joined in on the fun:

"Huai Xu, don't hold back!"

"Little Shi, if you act coquettishly, Huai Xu will definitely let you go!"

"Huai Xu's spoiling you too much!"

Everyone shouted excitedly, their behavior catching Song Yingshi by surprise. Meanwhile, Huai Xu revealed a faint smile.

As this situation went on, the VJs vehemently took photos and videos of Song Yingshi and Huai Xu. These two girls were not only pleasing to the eyes, but despite wearing starkly different expressions, the two appeared exceptionally matching in the camera.

Tao Qin was so excited over this new high-level shipping technique that she let out a squeal. Unfortunately, Ren Qian couldn't read the room and put a stop to the situation, saying, "Alright, alright. We'll know her choices later. For now, let me announce the rules for the song selection."

After saying so, Ren Qian brought the trainees to the decorated studio next door.

This place was completely different from the first public performance's layout. The two sides of the open venue were decorated in distinctly different colors. One side was decorated in blue, the other in pink. Deeper into the stage were boards used to create two isolated rooms, and nobody could see what was behind them.

"The theme of the second public performance is 'Versus.' As trainees of Star of Spring, you aren't just allies fighting alongside each other. You are also competitors fighting for survival," Ren Qian said. "In the second public performance, you will be divided into Groups A and B to compete with each other. Members of the winning group will get a 10% bonus added to their final votes, so the outcome of this competition can and will affect your placements.

"The left side is Group A, while the right is Group B. The songs for each group have already been predetermined, but you'll only find that out later. Now, you have 10 minutes to fill in your interest forms. Your preferences will be given priority based on your first public performance rankings. If you fail to get any of your three desired songs, you'll enter the adjustment stage and be given another form to complete. The production crew will only announce the group division results after tallying the results."

Song Yingshi listened attentively.

The rules sounded convoluted, but they weren't actually. Simply put, they had to select three songs they wanted to perform, and the production crew would assign them their desired songs based on their first public performance rankings.

If, by one's turn, one's first choice already had enough members, one would be assigned one's second or third choice. If all three of one's choices were filled, one would have to make adjustments.

Then, once everyone was assigned a song, the production crew would reveal which songs would belong to which of the two main groups. This, in turn, would decide which trainees would become allies and which would become opponents.

The 10-minute countdown to complete the song interest form began.

Song Yingshi already filled hers, so she dropped it into the collection box without further delay. Then, she habitually returned to Huai Xu's side and snuck a peak at Huai Xu's form.

Thus far, Huai Xu had only filled her second and third "reserve" choices. Coincidentally, the second song was Song Yingshi's first choice.

However, as they were both in the top 5 of the first public performance, they would definitely be given their first choices, so there was zero chance they would get the same song.

Nonetheless, Song Yingshi didn't show it on her face, saying, "Which song do you want to choose?"

Huai Xu was just about to speak when Rong Yi suddenly came over and asked, "What did you two pick for your first choice?"

"Are we allowed to share this information?" Huai Xu asked.

"We're not?" Rong Yi thought she had broken the rules and quickly covered her mouth. Then, like a squirrel, she said sullenly, "I don't want to butt heads with you two. That'd be too scary."

Pinching Rong Yi's cute little cheeks, Song Yingshi smiled and said, "Really? You're exaggerating."

In response, Rong Yi nodded and said earnestly, "After watching the first public performance, I've sworn never to become your opponent. Don't you know how strong you are?"

"How strong are we? How would we know if you don't tell us?" Song Yingshi teased.

Rong Yi was a little bewildered by Song Yingshi's teasing. Just as she was about to praise the two beautiful big sisters before her, she saw Huai Xu silently filling her interest form and walking to the collection box.

Rong Yi immediately forgot what she was about to say, reaching out with a hand and exclaiming, "Ah! Let me have a look before you put it in, Huai Xu!"

…

Because the production crew wanted to maintain an air of mystery, the staff on duty stopped any trainee trying to share their answers. Hence, Rong Yi never got to find out what others wrote, and she could only pray in the corner that she wouldn't get checked.

Once everyone turned in their forms, the production crew quickly tallied the results and handed them to Ren Qian.

Then, the real grouping stage began.

The VJs quickly got into position, ensuring cameras captured both sides of the stage.

After everything was set, Ren Qian started calling out names on stage according to the first public performance rankings, and the trainees received a card with their assigned song and group written on it. They were then required to wait inside the isolated rooms on stage. Due to this arrangement, the trainees below stage could only see which group these trainees were assigned, not which song they chose or who their opponent would be.

The scene was so full of suspense that Quan Yuanyuan, who wasn't known for her patience, began sweating at the tip of her nose. Yet, Ren Qian maintained his leisurely pace at calling out names.

Tugging at her collar, Quan Yuanyuan muttered, "I really hope my turn comes up immediately... It's Little Shi's turn next, right?"

As soon as Quan Yuanyuan finished speaking, Ren Qian called out Song Yingshi's name.

Song Yingshi stepped forward, accepted her card, and walked to Group B's gathering point, which was on the blue side of the stage.

"Ah! Little Shi's in Group B!" Quan Yuanyuan exclaimed.

Huai Xu, standing beside Quan Yuanyuan, hummed softly.

After Song Yingshi's turn, it was Huai Xu's.

When Huai Xu received her card from Ren Qian and opened it, she saw that...

She was in Group A.

Closing the card, Huai Xu looked in Group B's direction before entering Group A's gathering spot and stood in her assigned location.

As Ren Qian continued the announcement and more trainees joined Group A, Huai Xu finally met her new teammates.

The trainees lined up on stage according to their chosen songs and the order in which they were called on stage. Hence, the trainees with the most votes automatically became the leaders of each team.

Because of this, once everyone was assigned a song, and Ren Qian had the staff remove the boards on stage, Huai Xu saw that--

Song Yingshi was standing right in front of her.

"You are now facing your opponents in the second public performance!" Ren Qian announced.

Song Yingshi seemed surprised by this situation, her eyebrows raising slightly. Then, her surprise turned into a smile brimming with fighting spirit.

Across the wide stage and over the mentor's chatter, Song Yingshi raised her chin slightly toward Huai Xu and mouthed something to the other party with high spirits.

Huai Xu went over Song Yingshi's mouth movements in her mind and eventually concluded that Song Yingshi had said: I will beat you this time.

Huai Xu narrowed her eyes and responded in kind: You won't always have the upper hand.

Tao Qin, who stood behind Song Yingshi, noticed the silent conversation between the two and grew even more excited than Song Yingshi. Unfortunately, she wasn't good at reading lips, so asked urgently, "Little Shi, Little Shi, what did Huai Xu say?"

"She's challenging me," Song Yingshi said, a trace of excitement flickering in her eyes.

Tao Qin: ?

Was this some new way of flirting?

After Ren Qian finished speaking, Tao Qin let Song Yingshi go to continue her flirting with Huai Xu while she turned to her teammate named Hu Wan and asked, "Hey, Huhu, could you tell what Huai Xu was mouthing just now?"

Hu Wan nodded and said confidently, "She said she won't let Little Shi always be on top."

Tao Qin: ?!

What lewd words!

The surrounding trainees promptly turned to look at Hu Wan. Even the VJs paying attention to this side nearly choked on their saliva.

Meanwhile, Hu Wan continued excitedly, "Huai Xu's too domineering! We mustn't lose to her! We must help our team leader stay on top of Huai—uu—"

While covering Hu Wan's mouth, Tao Qin politely explained to those around them, "Don't mind her words. She doesn't know what she's saying. Just pretend she didn't say anything."

Everyone showed thoughtful expressions and knowing smiles:

"Yes, yes, we understand."

"She must be talking about the second public performance's individual rankings. Otherwise, what else could she be talking about? Hehe."

"Quickly let go of Huhu. She didn't say anything wrong. You should put in more effort. I want to see Little Shi on top."

"No, it must be Huai Xu on top! I'll go cheer for Huai Xu!"

Tao Qin grew so anxious that she couldn't even be bothered to hide her true thoughts, shouting, "Little Shi! Little Shi must be the top!"

VJs: "..." Should we even continue filming this?

The VJs eventually gave up thinking and continued filming this heated debate. After all, who could bear to miss out on such unique and high-quality footage?! As for the potential consequences...let the higher-ups mull over them.