Chapter 52.1

The night was deep, and clouds in the night sky moved with the wind, resembling the sky’s smoke.

The forest was quiet and serene, embracing all living beings as they slipped into dreams together.

In a cozy bedroom illuminated by warm yellow light, a young girl’s shadow fell on the pristine curtains.

After an unknown amount of time, the girl sitting on the edge of the bed suddenly moved. She raised her hand abruptly and pressed the fragrant hard paper card against her face. In a fluster, she got up and plunged into the soft bedding.

“Oh!”

Her slender fingers clenched the bedsheet tightly, and her whole self buried her head in the blanket, her ears turning red beneath the cascade of purple hair.

“Oh!”

Xin Nuo kept her face buried in the bedding as if afraid that her own voice would be heard by a second person. She lay prostrate, with her other hand fumbling beside her, finally finding a pillow. Hastily, she covered her head with it.

As if this way, she could hide her embarrassment.

Xu Heran… How could you do this!

The nerve…

The girl lay stiff as a board, realizing that the thing she feared most now was someone knocking on her door. She felt completely at a loss, not knowing how to face the girl who had given her such a precious gift.

She began to mimic a tactic that someone often used to play dead. She lay there motionless, not moving a muscle, until her breath grew slightly stuffy. Only then did she cautiously lift the pillow.

A layer of mist covered her black pupils, hiding her shyness. Her long eyelashes partially concealed her eyes, but they couldn’t hide the emotions flowing from the depths of her gaze.

“Xu Heran,” Xin Nuo called softly, staring at the wall in front of her.

Between her and Xu Heran was a narrow dressing room.

“Xu Heran, you’re so skilled at this now. What will you do in the future?”

Although she was the one who had received the gift, Xin Nuo murmured in worry for Xu Heran, “Where did you learn this from?”

She spoke softly, her fingers clutching the bedsheets beneath her. Her gaze darted to the tightly closed door, one glance after another. However, fortunately or unfortunately, on this night, a certain little pearl didn’t disturb her.

Ignoring the strange emotions within her heart, Xin Nuo slightly sat up, rolled off the bed, and reached for the bedside table. She carefully picked up that precious gift and cradled it in her palm.

The pearl born from the depths of the ocean was carefully placed into the perfectly fitting transparent box. Along the junction where the pearl met the box, a soft transparent film covered it. It was not meant to be casually played with but rather kept like this, in careful preservation.

The transparent box did nothing to diminish the pearl’s radiance. It shimmered with a mysterious light, where blue and purple hues overlapped and complemented each other without interfering. They coexisted harmoniously, a testament to the incredible craftsmanship of nature, delicate and exquisite.

Xin Nuo’s fair fingers held the square transparent box, gazing at the pearl’s lustrous glow. Yet, it was as if she saw a pair of brilliantly bright eyes. Those eyes were the true treasure, their radiance more beautiful and captivating than the pearl itself.

The girl’s lips curved into a smile as she placed the transparent box against her lips, gently kissing the pearl through the box.

Thank you for the gift you’ve given me. Thank you for the wishes you’ve bestowed upon me. May these wonderful blessings multiply a hundredfold and be returned to you.

Xu Heran, you must always be a happy little pearl.

SGS’s first album “Seeing You in Summer” went online for just an hour, and its sales exceeded five hundred thousand. Many people who had been working tirelessly on the album until their eyes were tinged with exhaustion took a deep breath of relief and went to sleep upon seeing this good news.

By the next afternoon, nearly ten hours away from the twenty-four-hour mark, the album’s sales had surpassed two million.

Xu Heran immediately made phone calls to her family.

“Hey, Grandma, are you having tea? Have you secretly bought the album behind my back… What album? Never mind, Grandma, just keep drinking your tea.”

“Hey, Grandpa—why haven’t you returned from the sea yet? Are you floating on the water every day without catching a cold?”

“Hey, Mom, how’s the weather over there today? Oh, you’re not awake yet? Okay, everything’s fine. Go back to sleep, Mom.”

“Hey, sis! Did you secretly buy my album, a whole bunch of them? Really, you didn’t? Swear to it! Fine…”

“Hey, Xu Junran! What? You only bought one album! That’s not very considerate! Shouldn’t you have bought two, one to listen to and one to keep?!”

From the speaker, a young man’s voice sounded handsome with a hint of sarcasm. “Well, I bought it to eat, for cooking.”

In the living room, others who were paying attention to the album’s sales burst into laughter: “Hahaha!”

“As expected, they’re twins,” Jian Yueyin remarked.

Xu Heran looked at her warily. Xin Nuo patted Xu Heran’s head. “Good job, you can talk.”

“I didn’t go overboard like this!” Xu Heran angrily hung up the phone, heaved a sigh of relief, and opened her arms to embrace the air. “So our results are genuine!”

Haya raised her hand. “I confess, I had my mom and dad each buy ten copies to give to relatives as gifts.”

Xu Heran immediately turned to Jian Yueyin. “Minus twenty.”

Laurel touched her nose. “I bought three copies.”

“I got two copies,” Jiang Qiong said while munching on potato chips.

Song Fenghua made a “five” gesture. Lin Weining sheepishly touched her hair. “I also bought five copies.”

Jian Yueyin sighed. “I got two copies.”

Xu Heran looked at Xin Nuo. Xin Nuo raised an eyebrow. “Two copies.”

Little Pearl walked around the living room in anger.

“What’s going on? How can people buy their own albums? Aren’t you ashamed of your actions?” Xu Heran shook her head repeatedly.

At this moment, Cui Qi and her assistant walked into the living room. Behind them were Qiu Qiu and Tang Tang carrying loads of stuff, and they were each carrying additional items.

“Xu Heran!” Cui Qi shouted before even putting down her things. “Who allowed you to use me and the assistant’s names to buy albums? You actually bought a hundred copies!”

“Oh~”

All eyes in the living room focused on Xu Heran. “Shameful!”

“Embarrassing!”

“Deceitful!”

“Faking it!”

“Twisted sense of right and wrong!”

Xin Nuo raised her hand and tapped Xu Heran’s forehead, chuckling. “Turning the tables.”

“I’ve canceled your order. Are you stupid? Filling in this address.” Cui Qi said helplessly, “You can’t be stopped by purchase limits, you scatterbrain.”

Xu Heran said seriously, “Who says? Your phone, your name. Why should it be said that I bought them?”

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

“Me and my colleagues from the marketing department predicted during the meeting that based on everyone’s enthusiasm, this time the results wouldn’t be bad. But I didn’t expect them to be so good beyond expectations. So, to seize the opportunity, we’re planning the next album around Christmas.”

Cui Qi took out her notebook and discussed the follow-up work with the girls.

“For the Christmas album, we’re planning to make a mini-album. We’ll include the songs that weren’t recorded in the current release album into the mini-album, and the number of songs will be around five.”

Xin Nuo chuckled, “After this chaotic month, suddenly being told that we only have to record five songs in the next two months. I don’t know why, but it feels very relaxing.”

Others nodded in agreement.

Cui Qi turned a page of her notebook and smiled, “Relaxing? Have you forgotten my nickname? Please call me ‘Cui Skin-Peeler.'”

“Xiao Qiong, put down the potato chips in your hand. You don’t need to gain weight anymore. Let’s start the joyful promotional activities!” Cui Qi said.

Jiang Xiaoqiong replied, “I wasn’t planning to gain weight!”

“First, we have our own 《Voice of the Stars》 show on our own channel. Tomorrow we’ll go record it. I’ve applied with the station to do an online music concert for you all. You’ll have the stage for this episode of 《Voice of the Stars》”

All eight girls clapped in response.

“After that, we’ll promote the songs on various music shows and give radio interviews. You’ve all done these things before, so you should have an idea. Once these stages are done, our first album’s results will likely be ready to show. At that time, based on these results, I’ll negotiate endorsements and various variety show appearances for all of you,” Cui Qi looked at everyone and said, “This year, both big and small companies are launching idol groups of all sizes, for both males and females. The competition is fierce, especially in this period after《Starlight Girls》 ended. We are the pioneers and winners of this wave of popularity, but don’t get complacent. There are other talented individuals out there too.”

“Got it!”

Cui Qi applauded first, “But we have to be the best girl group! Girls, let’s go for it!”

“SGS, let’s go!”

After Cui Qi finished, everyone in the living room stood up one by one, preparing to pack the things they would need for the upcoming schedules. With previous experience, everyone was calm and composed.

Xu Heran lifted one leg, blocking Xin Nuo around her waist.

Xin Nuo held a glass of water in her hand, lowered her head, and glanced at someone’s fair thigh, “You don’t want it?”

She asked with a smile.

“Hmph.” Xu Heran crossed her arms, lowered her leg, and stood in front of Xin Nuo.

Xin Nuo raised her gaze and couldn’t help but curve her lips.

“What are you doing? Speak.”

“Sister, don’t you have anything to say to me?” Xu Heran asked her in a low voice. The girl’s deep green hair cascaded down, and the light in her dreamy eyes flowed. She looked like an elf born from the forest, both strange and beautiful.

Xin Nuo pretended to be puzzled, “Is there something to say? Want some water?”

She lifted her hand and placed the transparent glass near Xu Heran’s lips. The clear glass pressed against Xu Heran’s rosy lips. Xin Nuo raised her hand and fed Xu Heran water.

Xu Heran grabbed Xin Nuo’s hand, finished the water in the cup in one go, licked her lip, and smiled at Xin Nuo.

“Really nothing?”

Xin Nuo pretended to be puzzled.

Xu Heran then approached Xin Nuo’s direction. She lowered her head, and the two of them were almost forehead to forehead.

“Sister, do you like pearls?”

Xin Nuo’s voice was gentle, “Which pearl?”

She raised the corner of her eye, caught Xu Heran’s hand, and placed the empty glass in her hand.

“What color, what variety?”

“Which one do you like?” Xu Heran countered.

Xin Nuo smiled, “Which one could there be?”

“Go pour the water, idiot.”

Xin Nuo sidestepped Xu Heran, walked away from her, and their clothes brushed against each other, gently rubbing. Xu Heran lowered her head and glanced at the glass in her hand.

“Please don’t stand in the middle of the road and smile like a fool, thank you,” Jiang Qiong passed by with a cold tone, “It’s not good for appearances.”

“Hmph.” Xu Pearl raised her hand triumphantly, not bothering with barking dogs. She bit her tongue, happily brushed the cups, and left.

After Cui Qi finished the meeting with everyone, she approached Xin Nuo separately.

“《Rustling in the Wind》 is ready for shooting. I discussed with Director Li and we’ve adjusted your scenes to a later time. You’ll have a tougher two months ahead, but after the promotional schedules are done, you can confidently join the set,” Cui Qi spoke warmly, “For the movie shoot, I’ve reserved twenty days for you. Does that work?”

Xin Nuo nodded, “It’s sufficient. If the director keeps up the pace, this timing can be a compromise.”

Cui Qi smiled, “Yes, you’re just starting out, so your role is a bit lighter this time. When you truly take the lead in the future, your time on set will increase month by month.”

Xin Nuo nodded with a smile, and both of them shifted the topic simultaneously.

At least two years later, when she’s taking the lead.

That’s when Little Pearl will become Big Pearl.

The girl thought tenderly.

In the following period, the SGS members embarked on another round of frenzied schedules, flying in the sky and running on the ground. With experience, they became more adept. When everyone was once again complaining about singing and exhaustion, it was already half a month later. The SGS members once again secured first place on 《Music Night》 and other music shows, and their first album’s sales crossed ten million, rightfully becoming the top choice of the year.

With their solid achievements, the SGS girl group successfully advanced to the top-tier girl groups.

Cui Qi immediately arranged endorsements, having everyone endorse well-known mobile phone brands, cosmetics, and food products – all brands that were widely recognized. Meanwhile, even before Cui Qi could initiate contact, various variety shows and some casting invitations for TV dramas and movies started pouring in.

Cui Qi was the overall manager of SGS, and besides her, there were individual managers. After a unified meeting, they declined invitations for movies and TV dramas, focusing on selecting variety shows.

“Sister Cui, the director of 《Forever Young and Happy》 contacted us. They want to push back the scheduled recording,” the manager responsible for variety shows reported to Cui Qi.

Cui Qi furrowed her brows, “What’s going on?”

“I inquired about it…” the variety show manager whispered, “Angel Entertainment recently debuted a new girl group, and this episode’s recording features their new girl group.”

《Forever Young and Happy》 was a well-known variety show, broadcast on Sunday evenings on Haicheng TV. It was suitable for all ages and was one of Haicheng TV’s flagship variety shows.

As a local entertainment company in Haicheng and one of the three major entertainment giants, Angel Entertainment had good connections with many TV stations. It wasn’t surprising that they could snatch resources from other companies.

Cui Qi dropped her pen with a ‘snap’ and sneered, “A girl group that just debuted a few days ago is directly going on a variety show? Do the viewers even know them?”

“Our Xin Nuo is starting her filming next week. Who has the time to play with them? SGS’s popularity is right here. 《Forever Young and Happy》 doesn’t choose us and instead chooses a newly debuted girl group?” Cui Qi said coldly, “What’s Director Zhao thinking?”

The director of 《Forever Young and Happy》 was named Zhao.

The manager next to her tried to placate Sister Cui, “The popularity of 《Forever Young and Happy》 has always been stable. It’s understandable that Angel Girl Group, who just debuted, wants to gain recognition. But cutting in line like this is not right.”

“Director Zhao and the CEO of Angel Entertainment are friends.” someone whispered, “But it seems like Angel Entertainment intends to go against us. I had a few advertisements that had nothing to do with them originally, and when it was time to sign the contracts, Angel suddenly emerged, trying to compete by suppressing the prices of their artists.”

Cui Qi’s expression turned even colder, “Let them compete. They’re willing to undercut their own artists’ prices. If they like being a laughingstock, let them be.”

“Also, remember the advertisements that changed their minds at the last minute. We’ll be cautious in cooperating with them in the future.” Cui Qi stood up, pinching the brown notebook between her arms and pressing her left hand on the table, “Everyone, we’re sitting on the most valuable land in Haicheng, backed by a globally renowned conglomerate, and holding the most unstoppable girl group in China today. Do we need to beg anyone?”

“Since some people don’t want to cooperate, then we don’t have to cooperate. TV stations, don’t we have them? Advertisements, don’t we have them? Variety shows, don’t we have them?”

“What a joke!”

Two days later, Cui Qi stood at the villa’s entrance, holding up a megaphone. “Get yourselves together!”

“Thank you, but I can handle this myself,” Director Liu smiled as he took the megaphone from Cui Qi, “Long time no see, everyone.”

On the balcony, a little green head popped up leisurely.

Xu Pearl: “?”

“Uncle, you weren’t home stewing fish today?” Xu Heran rubbed his sleepy eyes, “Where’s Sister Liu?”

Xin Nuo walked out from the adjacent balcony, blinking slowly. “Didn’t we just finish shooting the group variety show the day before yesterday?”

“Pay attention, this isn’t 《Girl’s Game Workshop》 Let me introduce myself again. I’m surnamed Liu, Liu Youshu. The new chief director of Universal TV’s Sunday evening show 《As You Wish》Until I find a suitable host, please fill in for me, temporarily hosting the show.”

On the balcony, eight heads tilted in the same direction.

“?”

“Give everyone ten minutes to freshen up. We’ll assemble in ten minutes!”

Director Liu’s voice was resolute as he raised the silver whistle hanging from his chest.

“Swoosh—”

Initially, the eight people on the balcony didn’t want to move. But for some reason, when the whistle sounded, they instinctively turned and rushed inside.

One of the SGS members’ assistants knocked on their door, carrying a bag of clothes. Ten minutes later, two girls dressed in red and blue respectively stood in front of Director Liu.

“Each color of clothing represents your team. The teams remain unchanged until the final mission,” Director Liu said.

Xu Heran looked down and saw that she, along with Xin Nuo, Song Fenghua, and Jian Yueyin, were in the blue team, while Haya, Laurel, Jiang Qiong, and Lin Weining were in the red team.

“Before the mission starts, let’s draw role cards first.” Director Liu stacked the eight cards in his hand, “Each of you come forward to draw in sequence. You can only show it to the camera, and you can’t look at it, including yourself.”

Xu Heran protested, “But I want to eat.”

Director Liu smiled, “You’ll get to eat after drawing.”

Really?

Xu Heran immediately stepped forward as the first one, randomly drew a card, and showed it to the camera.

“Food, food, food!”

After all eight drew their cards, the director immediately announced, “As the saying goes, a good start is half the battle. As idols, you need to maintain a good physique. For our first challenge, it’s ‘Heartbeat Showdown.'”

Xu Heran stared in shock.

What happened to the food?

“Put on the heart rate monitors, compete within your teams. I’ll draw a number each time. When the whistle sounds, the team whose total heartbeats are within five of that number (±5) wins the round and gets the first hint!”

Everyone: “…”

“It’s not, let us eat—”

Director Liu swiftly drew a number.

“Isn’t this too high!” The girls barely protested before the staff, who had rushed forward, fastened heart rate monitors to their wrists.

“Is this accurate?” Xu Heran doubted.

A whistle blew, and the music from 《Yaco》 started playing. The girls who had been dancing for almost half a month immediately started dancing along.

Xu Heran shouted, “A heartbeat of 640, each person needs 160. This is killing us!”

The eight girls danced on the grass while questioning, “Why are we filming this?”

“Start dancing,” Director Liu commanded, “640 beats.”

Xu Heran and Xin Nuo exchanged a glance. A heartbeat of 160 couldn’t be achieved with this dance’s intensity. Little Pearl immediately dropped her hand and started hopping in place.

“Food, food, food! I want food!”

Haya and Jiang Qiong from the red team quickly dropped their hands and hopped together, “What food, what food!”

“Egg fried rice!”

“Ahh—”

The bell rang, and the girls quickly raised their wrists.

The highest was Xu Heran with 142, while others mostly had around 120-123. Xu Heran looked left and right, grabbing the hands of her two teammates.

“Director, I want to report!” Xu Heran pulled Song Fenghua, “She’s only at 100!”

Then she pulled Xin Nuo over, “This one’s even worse! She’s only at 92!”

“What’s wrong with you two, not contributing anything to the team!” Little Pearl pointed and scolded.

Song Fenghua and Xin Nuo leaned against each other, their expressions confident.

“We’re just calm people.”

“Yeah.”

“Naturally not lively.”

“Yeah.”

“You help us be lively.”

“Yeah!”

Xu Pearl shook her head repeatedly.

“First round, failed,” Director Liu said with a smile, “Please note, if it’s not completed, you have to keep going.”

“If you don’t want to jump from daytime to noon, then try hard!”

Everyone: “…”

For the second heartbeat, it was 456.

This time the value dropped all of a sudden, and everyone’s faces showed confidence.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Sinensis

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