CHAPTER 184: CHAPTER 179: THE HEART THAT DOESN’T UNDERSTAND

In another dorm room, Lin Jiayi, Yang Ni, Wu Zixuan, and Pan Junya were playing Ludo together. In front of them was a pile of snacks, and whoever lost had to surrender theirs.

This round, it was obvious Wu Zixuan’s luck wasn’t great—her snacks were dwindling, while Lin Jiayi was grinning from ear to ear.

In the practice room, Chen Yinghan was helping Lv Fangxin correct her pronunciation, teaching her how to keep in rhythm. Joining them were Yang Han and Zhang Xinlei.

They didn’t play around much, devoting almost all their time to practice.

Though you can’t improve your singing and dancing skills overnight, practicing is certainly better than not practicing at all.

Besides, such a valuable learning opportunity shouldn’t be wasted—finding a teacher outside would cost so much money.

"Yinghan, you’re not annoyed with me, right?" Lv Fangxin asked nervously after singing a short section, looking intently at her friend.

"How could I possibly think that? You’re my prettiest flower!"

"But I feel so clumsy; I can’t seem to learn anything properly."

Lv Fangxin felt like a huge burden by Chen Yinghan’s side.

"You’re learning really fast; it’s just that your basics are a bit weak. The hardest part of learning something is always the beginning stage." Chen Yinghan encouraged her friend.

"Exactly, Fangxin! Even though I can sing now, I felt the same way as you at the start, like I couldn’t grasp anything. Once you get past that hurdle, it’s fine," Yang Han chimed in to comfort her.

"Right! Let’s just work hard together," Zhang Xinlei added, walking over to join them.

Lv Fangxin felt a warm wave of emotion in her heart. Having friends in an environment like this was truly a blessing.

"Meixuan, what’s that tattoo on your back?" Lu Xiaoman asked as she helped scrub Meng Meixuan’s back in the shower.

"It’s a mandala flower," Meng Meixuan replied, smiling.

"Hehe, it’s so beautiful—it totally suits you." Lu Xiaoman chuckled, leaning in closer to admire it. Glistening water droplets adorned it, making it look both mysterious and alluring.

After practicing dance, Yuwei sat on the floor to rest, gulping down a bottle of mineral water.

"Yuwei, could you teach me how to practice dancing?" A gentle voice called out.

Yuwei looked up in surprise—it was Li Zimeng.

This girl always seemed to live in her own little world, rarely opening up even to her former teammates. Yet here she was, asking Yuwei for dance guidance.

"Sure! Which dance do you want to learn?" Yuwei smiled faintly and stood up from the floor.

"The one you danced solo during our first recording—I absolutely loved it," Li Zimeng said, her sparkling eyes fixed on Yuwei.

"Oh, that’s a robot dance, sort of a blend of street dance and popping. Are you sure you want to learn it?"

"Yes! I love how powerful it feels," Li Zimeng nodded firmly.

Outside the practice room, Zhang Zijing watched as Li Zimeng chatted and laughed with Yuwei, feeling envious.

She really wanted to make good friends too, but for some reason, it seemed like nobody wanted to get close to her.

"Maybe I just need to be braver," Zhang Zijing whispered to herself, giving herself a little pep talk.

At that moment, Lu Bingbing was sitting in the washroom, writing a letter.

She only had one certainty in her mind: she absolutely had to debut from "Natural Idol," even if it meant going against the company’s wishes.

She had already considered all possible consequences. In the worst-case scenario, Galaxy might force her to withdraw from the competition, but she doubted they’d dare to do such a thing.

After all, the company was under the scrutiny of countless contestants and observers. If Galaxy eliminated her in favor of their own interests, it would completely lose everyone’s trust.

It would become crystal clear to the young idols that Galaxy was just stringing them along, tricking them into wasting their youth chasing an empty dream.

However, the fans who had visited recently—none of them were ones Lu Bingbing recognized. This letter could only be entrusted to her most loyal "big fan."

Time passed at its usual unhurried pace, but for the "Natural Idol" fans, it felt agonizingly slow.

Everyone was eagerly looking forward to the third episode—the first public performance.

But there were no spoilers online at all. Xiao Du took this time to bury himself in voting for his "idol" Yuwei.

Ring! Ring!

The phone rang. Xiao Du glanced at the screen and couldn’t help but feel slightly irritated.

"Sister Mu, what is it?"

"Xiao Du, my aunt’s birthday is tomorrow. Can you help me pick out a birthday gift?"

"Big sis, why are there always birthdays in your family?! It was your grandaunt the day before yesterday, your cousin yesterday, and now your aunt?!"

Xiao Du felt like he was about to lose his mind from this girl’s constant requests. He deeply regretted not saying no the first time she asked for help choosing a gift for her relatives.

"This aunt is really good to me—I must give her a gift. I don’t have any other friends, so I could only think of asking you," Sister Mu said in a pitiful voice over the phone.

After thinking it over, Xiao Du reluctantly agreed. After all, they were both diehard Yuwei fans, and Sister Mu had been handling video editing and promotional work for Yuwei.

Thrilled, Sister Mu hung up the phone, placing it beside three beautifully wrapped gift boxes on her nightstand.

Four hours later, an exhausted Xiao Du frowned and asked, "So are we done picking a gift now? Wandering the streets like this is a waste of life."

"How can it be a waste of life? Going out in weather like this with a cute girl like me is your blessing," Sister Mu replied smugly.

"Sis, it’s 40 degrees outside. Also, I’m not interested in cute girls," Xiao Du retorted.

Sister Mu almost choked on those words. If she didn’t know that he was utterly obsessed with Yuwei, she might have started questioning his orientation.

When she thought of Yuwei, Sister Mu’s feelings became conflicted—she wanted to help her "idol" but couldn’t help feeling a tinge of jealousy.

"I’m hungry! I want to eat!" Sister Mu suddenly shouted.

"What’s wrong with you now?" Xiao Du looked around at the strange looks passersby were giving him, feeling terribly embarrassed.

But Sister Mu just tilted her head and gave him a self-satisfied grin.

"Fine, fine. What do you want to eat? Take your pick!" Xiao Du just wanted to finish eating and be done with her once and for all.

The two of them ended up at a Western restaurant, where Sister Mu ordered steak and red wine.

Xiao Du didn’t care—these things might be expensive to some people, but they were nothing to him.

"Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?" Sister Mu glared at Xiao Du.

"Why would I talk while eating?" Xiao Du asked, genuinely perplexed.

"Xiao Du, actually..." Just as Sister Mu lowered her head, her face flushing red, Xiao Du cut her off. "Just as I expected."

"Wha—? You knew? I thought I hid it pretty well!"

"I figured it out after the last public performance," Xiao Du said.

"And yet all this time..."

"I’ve been gathering evidence. Today just confirmed my suspicions," Xiao Du replied matter-of-factly.

Realizing something was off, Sister Mu looked up only to see Xiao Du on his phone.

"Look at this," Xiao Du said seriously, handing his phone to her.

At that moment, Sister Mu felt like the world’s biggest fool. What was she even doing earlier?! She wished she could vanish into thin air.

To mask her awkwardness, she grabbed the phone and looked: "In the Natural Idol program, Yang Ni showed overly intimate behavior toward her teammates."

Beneath the headline were a few photos.

One showed Yang Ni picking her nose on her way to work.

Another depicted her jumping onto Meng Meixuan’s back with a feral expression.

And another captured her forcibly trying to hug Wu Zixuan and leaning in as if to kiss her.