Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 56.2

On June 25, the trainees practiced as usual in the morning. After lunch, they took a bus to the city center.

As it was too much for a group of 60 trainees to move together, Shi Zhi, who oversaw the outing, divided them based on the second public performance's teams.

Tao Qin had already come out of yesterday's depression. After grouping up with her teammates, she raised her hand and asked excitedly, "Director Shi, what is our task today? How long do we have to play?"

"We'll arrive at about half past two. You are required to gather at the drop-off point by five o'clock. As for the task… Besides giving the production crew a dance performance, there aren't any other mandatory tasks," Shi Zhi replied.

Everyone's eyes lit up in joy at Shi Zhi's words:

"Doesn't that mean we can play as we please?"

"Woohoo! I want to eat at McDonald's!"

"You won't get any money," Shi Zhi said, smiling.

Everyone: ???

"You heard me correctly. Although the production crew has no additional requirements for you, we won't give you any funds either. What you can do in the afternoon is up to you, but I recommend you to make as much money as possible," Shi Zhi stated.

"Really? Not even a cent?" Rong Yi asked, clasping her hands together and putting on a pitiful look.

In response, Shi Zhi pondered and said, "Okay, since everyone is well-behaved, we'll distribute some funds."

Oh yeah!

"We're super well behaved!" the trainees said happily.

Thus, when the trainees arrived near their destination and got off the shuttle bus in batches, the VJs who greeted them outside the bus handed them each…three yuan.

What could they do with three yuan in 2021?!

While standing on the curb under the scorching sun, Tang Panbo stared at the three one-yuan coins in her hand and complained, "Even a pack of spicy sticks costs five yuan these days!"

Hu Wan was similarly shocked by this development, exclaiming, "Has the show run out of budget?"

Meanwhile, Bai Yuzhou looked at the pastry shop on her left, and then at the street food stalls on her right, complaining, "Did the production crew drop us off here on purpose?"

As there was a camera-wielding VJ following the girls, they quickly drew the attention of passersby.

After the girls grew tired of complaining, they finally realized something—

Where was their team leader?

"Little Shi? Little Shi…"

"Leader! Where did you go?"

Before the girls could continue shouting, they heard Song Yingshi calling out to them, "Over here."

Everyone sighed in relief upon hearing Song Yingshi's voice. Fortunately, they didn't lose their team leader.

When everyone followed Song Yingshi's voice and turned around, they saw her standing before a Mixue (a popular budget-friendly dessert chain) about 10 meters away, holding a freshly made ice cream cone.

"This costs three yuan," Song Yingshi stated as she licked the milky white ice cream.

Everyone: ?

Under the scorching sun, the pastry of the cone was sweet and crisp, and the milky white ice cream was highly tempting. But…

Swallowing the saliva in her mouth, Bai Yuzhou said, "That's our start-up capital, leader."

After taking a large bite of ice cream and savoring it, Song Yingshi said, "What a delicious start-up capital."

Everyone: “…”

After pondering, Bai Yuzhou walked over to the Mixue shop and slapped her three coins on the counter, saying gently, "One cone, please."

With even Bai Yuzhou, the most competitive member of the team, giving in to temptation, the other members caved without hesitation.

Three minutes later, everyone in Team "Unavoidable" held an ice cream cone in their hand as they stood under a tree, their faces colored with satisfaction as they enjoyed their cooling treat.

"Mister, we're out of money, so I'm sorry to say that we can't buy you a cone," Song Yingshi said to the VJ following her team.

The camera-wielding VJ shook his head to show he didn't mind. On the contrary, he felt pretty sympathetic to these girls. After all, the ice cream cone he got from McDonald's after work every day cost four yuan.

"Let's find a place to record the dance and go back to the bus to sleep," Hu Wan suggested after finishing her cone.

"We're calling it a day already?" Tang Panbo asked, surprised.

"I don't want to go back, but what can we do without money?" Hu Wan said, shrugging.

Everyone fell silent and turned to Song Yingshi in unison.

Song Yingshi had just finished her cone and wiped her hands with a napkin, her elegant actions making it seem as if she had just finished a luxurious French meal instead of a three-yuan ice cream cone.

Sensing her teammates' gazes, Song Yingshi looked up and said sternly, "Now, it's time for everyone to contribute to the team."

Everyone was familiar with this routine, so they quickly understood it was time for them to make a living with their skills.

"Singing or dancing, you decide," Bai Yuzhou said.

"I can freestyle," Tao Qin said.

Song Yingshi shook her head, saying, "All these methods can make money, but…"

"...But?" Everyone held their breaths.

"It's too hot," Song Yingshi said, shading her eyes as she looked at the sun above them. Then, she continued firmly, "We'll get a tan if we perform in this hot weather. As girls, we must know how to protect our skin."

Everyone: “…”

Although Song Yingshi's words made sense, they felt weirdly out of place.

Before anyone could react, Song Yingshi took the lead and went to the city's largest shopping mall, saying, "Let's go make a small business proposition."

…

During summer, shopping malls were one of the main places for people to shelter from the scorching heat.

Firmly refusing to get tanned, Song Yingshi sought out the shopping mall's supervisor and made the other party an offer she couldn't refuse.

It was challenging for a shopping mall to host an impromptu event. However, since it wasn't a large-scale event, and Song Yingshi and her friends weren't asking for much compensation, the mall supervisor quickly decided to capitalize on Star of Spring's popularity. The production crew also readily agreed to the impromptu partnership.

Twenty minutes later, in the largest and most comprehensive shopping mall in N City, a gentle female voice filled the air through the mall's broadcast system:

"Good afternoon, dear guests. HL Plaza is hosting an impromptu event with Peach Tree Media's Star of Spring. Are you interested in learning the anti-aging secrets artists have started working on since their teens? Do you want to know the immortal secret of the 40-year-old actress Hu Feng? If you are interested, please visit the event venue on the first floor to interact with Star of Spring's trainees face-to-face…"

The script, personally written by Song Yingshi, was broadcast in a loop across all seven floors of HL Plaza.

Many of the shopping mall's customers were women, and what interested women the most were effective ways to take care of their faces. This was especially true for older women.

When the female customers first heard the mention of anti-aging secrets used by celebrities, they only grew slightly interested in the event. However, when they heard the mention of Hu Feng's name, many middle-aged women, or more specifically, wealthy big sisters, were greatly surprised:

"Hu Feng? That famous actress? She's actually 40? I saw her photo the other day, and she only looked like a 20-year-old!"

"Oh, her daughter seems to be on this show. Maybe the announcement is true? Let's go downstairs and take a look."

Besides fans of Star of Spring, those interested in Hu Feng's beauty secrets quickly gathered on the first floor.

…

Team "Lights On" was dropped off half a street away from Team "Unavoidable."

Unlike their rival team, Team "Lights On" did not spend their start-up capital right away.

One reason was that everyone on the team was relatively mature. Take Wan Jiao, for example. Despite her sexy appearance, she was a frugal girl at heart. When the team got off the bus, she promptly reminded her teammates not to spend their funds impulsively.

Another reason was that there weren't any Mixue on their part of the street. Hence, there was nothing they could afford with their three-yuan capital.

While looking at the three coins in her hands, Quan Yuanyuan whispered to Wan Jiao, "We'd have to pool three people's capital for our leader to get a marriage certificate."

Meanwhile, Qiu Zhixin rambled to herself, "Ahhh, I get so anxious when I think about how my Zhouzhou is suffering right now. I must make money and send it to her as soon as possible!"

"She should be able to make more money than you," Dan Silan retorted.

"You're right! My Zhouzhou can easily make a fortune from selling her autographs!" Qiu Zhixin said proudly.

…

While the rest of her teammates were bickering, Huai Xu finished surveying the surrounding shops and looked in the direction where they came from, her lips briefly curving into a smile.

Huai Xu knew that Song Yingshi had gotten off the bus right before her and that Song Yingshi's team should be at the other end of the road. However, she had no intention of meeting up with Song Yingshi when her pockets were still empty. She also knew that, with Song Yingshi's capabilities, the other party should be busy preparing a grand plan.

Just as Huai Xu was about to regroup with her team, a girl excitedly approached her and asked, "Excuse me, are you…Huai Xu?"

This was the first time Huai Xu had met a three-dimensional fan, so she was briefly stunned by this situation. However, she quickly snapped out of her daze and replied, "Yes, I am."

"Ahhh! I love you! I've watched every episode of your show!" the girl exclaimed.

Huai Xu could feel her fan's pure and passionate love, and her body warmed up from this feeling. Pursing her lips, she smiled from the bottom of her heart and said, "Thank you."

At this time, Quan Yuanyuan came up to Huai Xu's side and said to the girl, "Then, make sure to vote for Team 'Lights On' in the second public performance!"

"I will!" the girl announced.

Subsequently, the girl took out a notebook and asked Huai Xu for an autograph before leaving reluctantly.

After parting with her passionate supporter, Huai Xu faced her teammates and said, "We'll record the dance before summarizing our specialties."

Huai Xu chose an arcade as her team's recording location. The lighting here was more colorful and should give off a textured look after post-production.

Compared with Song Yingshi's collective entrepreneurship, Huai Xu's team adopted a solo mode. After completing their mandatory task, the team split up to make money according to their own expertise.

Wan Jiao was very outgoing and went to a selfie studio to work as a part-time background character.

Yan Ran originally thought of singing on the roadside to collect donations. However, due to her cool and haughty appearance, she got rented by a group of girls who had come to play crane games at the arcade. Whenever Yan Ran won a prize, the girls would cheer excitedly.

Meanwhile, Huai Xu went to find a merchant hosting a singing event, proposing to write a short, catchy song for him in exchange for payment.

As Huai Xu was representing Star of Spring, she couldn't ask for too much, so she only requested 200 yuan for her services.

When the merchant heard the finished song, he was so satisfied that he doubled Huai Xu's pay and gave her enough snacks to share with her teammates.

…

After all six members of Team "Lights On" regrouped an hour later, they pooled their money and reached a total of 1,450 yuan.

"We've finally escaped poverty!" Quan Yuanyuan said while massaging her own shoulders.

"We have money now, so let's go find our dear rivals! It's time to support my Zhouzhou!" Qiu Zhixin said happily.

"You're seriously here to be a fangirl…"

As everyone was talking and making a fuss, they all knew that…even if they didn't accompany Qiu Zhixin to look for Bai Yuzhou, their team leader would still look for the opposing team leader.

Hence, the team tacitly moved toward where Team "Unavoidable" was located. With money in their pockets, they walked with their heads high and prepared to welcome the envy and compliments of their opponents.

If their opponents spoke nicely and acted coquettishly to them, they wouldn't mind sharing half…a third of their spoils with them.