Surprise

“It’s a temporary secret! You’ll know when the time comes.”

Lin Baiyu giggled, keeping them in suspense. Then she looked at Yu Mao. “She’s a little busy. It’s already this late today, so she may not have time. She’ll probably have to wait until tomorrow. Are you in a hurry?”

Yu Mao’s eyelids drooped slightly. After a beat, she slowly shook her head.

Once she left study mode, she seemed to drift a little out of reach again, making it hard to tell whether she had even heard them.

[I’m guessing she wants to find Nan Changgeng. Somewhere Chen Xia doesn’t know about, she’s quietly owing another favor, hehe]

[Senior Nan’s like a brick; she goes wherever she’s needed. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a contestant busier than her]

[Exactly. She’s doing the job of a vocal coach; of course she’s busy]

[I just want to know whether Yu Mao can still keep up that dead-fish look after she meets the person Lin Baiyu dragged over]

“Alright, then I’m heading out.”

Lin Baiyu didn’t mind Yu Mao’s attitude at all. She waved and turned to leave.

She thought that anyone with even a shred of sympathy, after hearing about Yu Mao’s pitiful background, would never nitpick something as small as politeness.

Word about Yu Mao spread quickly among the contestants. After the members of this group went back that night, they couldn’t help telling their roommates about it, and by the time half the night was over, most people already knew.

Their dorm just happened to have no one on Wei Zhiyu’s team, so Lin Baiyu only heard about it from Yuan Li today.

At this moment, Yu Mao, abandoned by her “teacher,” sat down on the spot with downcast brows and rubbed her stiff, smiling face with both hands.

She couldn’t feel happy at all about Lin Baiyu’s promise.

After all, her goal was to learn how to control her expression and make her smile look good, not to sing well.

She knew perfectly well that her current level was enough to get through the assessment. Even if she wasn’t the most outstanding, she definitely wouldn’t be eliminated.

As for any sense of collective honor, she didn’t have that.

Standing above her, Yuan Li looked down at Yu Mao’s dejected expression and curled her lips, very “kindly” saying nothing more.

She’d let Yu Mao welcome this surprise herself tomorrow.

Now that the matter had been settled, she no longer worried about Yu Mao. She stood up and went to find Wei Zhiyu to practice singing together.

On the other side, Yirui An saw that they were done and was about to go over to Yu Mao, only to see the girl lean backward and lie down on the floor, closing her eyes to sleep.

Yirui An stopped in her tracks. “……”

Although she really liked Yu Mao’s special qualities, she was still occasionally shocked by how extraordinary she was.

Pressing her lips together, she glanced around, dragged over a yoga mat that no one was using, and set it beside Yu Mao. Then she crouched down and said softly, “Sleeping on the floor will catch a chill. If you don’t want to go back to the dorm, lie on this instead.”

Yu Mao lifted her eyelids and glanced at the mat beside her. She answered with a quiet “Mm,” then said, “Thank you.”

She rolled over and slowly wriggled onto the yoga mat. Her hair spilled everywhere, making her look like a long-haired cat melted into a puddle of water.

Finally not rejected, Yirui An smiled brightly, secretly delighted that her attempt to win favor had worked.

“You’re welcome.”

Yu Mao didn’t respond; she closed her eyes again and went back to sleep.

She was too eager for night to come, and sleeping was the fastest way to get through the day.

Yuan Li, who was talking with Wei Zhiyu, glanced back and twitched her lips, her expression hard to describe.

Wei Zhiyu had a good temperament and a strong capacity for tolerance. Even if she didn’t understand, she didn’t complain; she only said with feeling, “Her sleep quality is amazing.”

…

By night, when it was time to eat, the contestants gradually headed to the cafeteria.

But Yu Mao was still asleep.

Yirui An kept pacing around her, trying for a long time but unable to wake her.

Yuan Li, who had said she wouldn’t worry about it anymore, still walked over with very honest feet. After frowning and observing for a while, she crouched down and carefully brushed the hair by Yu Mao’s ears aside.

As expected, she saw a pair of earbuds, one on each side.

“……”

She exchanged a helpless look with Yirui An.

Xu Yang and He Yuan passed by with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders. After taking in the situation, they were silent for a full three seconds before Xu Yang spat out one word:

“Wild.”

Before long, everyone who hadn’t left the practice room gathered around as well.

Wei Zhiyu tentatively reached out, then withdrew her hand and said hesitantly, “Those earbuds... can they be taken off?”

“Better not.” Yuan Li shook her head, reminding them to stop while they were ahead.

No one knew what those songs playing nonstop in the earbuds meant, but there was no doubt they were extremely important to Yu Mao.

If they accidentally touched one of Yu Mao’s no-go zones and caused some kind of incident, the scene definitely wouldn’t be pleasant.

It was no wonder everyone found her hard to approach; she was too elusive, and although they were curious, few people were willing to get close on their own.

Jiang Xixi looked a little surprised. “How is she sleeping like the dead? With so many of us standing here staring at her, she should’ve woken up even if she couldn’t hear us.”

Wei Zhiyu froze, then silently reached out to check beneath Yu Mao’s nose. Only after feeling her steady breath did she let out a sigh of relief.

Yuan Li gave her a strange look.

“You want to wake her up, right? I’ve got a way. Leave it to me.” Xu Yang lifted her chin, looking smug and extremely reliable.

Then she rolled up her sleeves, swung her arms a couple of times, and stepped forward.

Everyone thought she was showing off.

But the next second, that suspicion vanished without a trace.

Xu Yang went around to Yu Mao’s head, crouched slightly, slid both hands under her armpits, and with one forceful lift, actually dragged her into a seated position.

The sleeping body was limp and soft, her waist seeming boneless; she could only stay upright because of Xu Yang’s strength. Her head drooped uselessly to one side, making her look exactly like someone unconscious.

Xu Yang couldn’t help giving her a few shakes.

The girl’s head swayed with the motion, still not waking. Her hair was a complete mess from sleep, clustered around a very small face. With Xu Yang behind her, her figure looked even more frail; held up in those hands, she seemed like a weak little kitten on the verge of stopping breathing.

Just as Wei Zhiyu couldn’t help reaching out again to check her breathing, Yu Mao slowly opened her eyes.

Still not understanding the situation, she blinked in confusion. Only belatedly did the sensation catch up to her nerves; she tensed up, suddenly sprang to her feet, threaded through the gap in the crowd, and vanished from the spot like a streak of lightning.

The speed of her takeoff was comparable to a spring wound tight.

Everyone stared, utterly dumbfounded. Especially Xu Yang, who blankly looked at her own now-empty hands.

She’d moved so fast that even Xiaofeixia hadn’t caught up; by the time the viewers in the livestream reacted, all they saw was a flash of yellow darting across the screen.

[…If that little ghost doll says now that she’s a cat spirit, I’d actually believe her.]

[Netizens really do love giving people nicknames]

[It’s a term of endearment!]

[I’m seriously seeing my own cat in her... same softness, same sleep, same agility, same craziness... Rounded up, this is basically my cat!]

[So cute and so funny; the whole sequence of shaking, startling awake, and bolting is perfect. I need to make it into a gif and admire it over and over]

Only after getting away from the others did Yu Mao stop. She turned back and looked at them from a distance, a hint of confusion and caution in her eyes. Then she took out one earbud and tucked it into her pocket.

“What are you doing?”

“Waking you up so you can go eat,” Yuan Li said, having recovered. She complained helplessly, “You sleep way too hard. No matter how we called you, you wouldn’t wake up.”

Yu Mao looked up at the clock on the wall. It showed a little after 6:30 p.m., not yet the time she had set for herself.

“No need. I’m going back to the dorm.”

Yuan Li sucked in a breath. “No, you need to go eat. You didn’t even eat lunch!”

[Yu Mao’s running away from meals again]

[Poor Yuan Li too; if I had someone like that hanging around me every day not eating, my heart would be bad too]

[Support Xu Yang just carrying the little cat straight to the cafeteria to eat]

“I did. You saw it.” Yu Mao shot her a look as if she were staring at some strange person; she didn’t want to say more and turned to leave.

“Saw what!?” Yuan Li was starting to lose it. “You drank one cup of milk; how can that count as a meal?”

Yu Mao didn’t listen. By then, she had already reached the doorway.

“Forget it, why am I even bothering with her? She’s survived fine all these years...” she muttered under her breath, pressing a hand to her chest to calm herself.

The onlookers exchanged looks, unable to say much more. Since there was no more excitement to watch, they followed her out of the practice room and headed to the cafeteria.

Yirui An brought up the rear. Looking at Xu Yang in front, striding along with both hands in her pockets and an extremely swaggering gait, she couldn’t help wrinkling her nose in distaste.

She was thinking about whether she could try making some food for Yu Mao.

But after hitting wall after wall with her recently, all the fantasies in her head had been thoroughly shattered. If she really did that, she had a premonition she’d definitely be rejected.

A storyline where Yu Mao would be moved and therefore grow closer to her... absolutely impossible.

Facing such an unyielding person, Yirui An truly had no idea where to start.

But if she wanted to obtain the uniquely special Yu Mao in all the world, then having a difficult process was only reasonable. She encouraged herself and refused to give up.

…

After returning to the dorm and finishing her own dinner, Yu Mao looked out the window at the fading sky as the bright moon rose into the air.

A round, pure moon also rose in her own heart, transparent and flawless, preparing to welcome the woman who was about to shine into her eyes.

Judging roughly by the time yesterday’s contestants returned to the practice room to keep working, she quietly went downstairs and headed for her destination.

Just like last night, once night fell, no one would notice her hiding in the corridor.

But compared to last night, Nan Changgeng had stayed in the practice room far too briefly.

Before midnight, everyone had already left.

Chen You was still anxious and unable to settle down, but she was too embarrassed to keep Nan Changgeng there to accompany her, so even though she still wanted to continue practicing, when the time came she followed the others back to the dorm.

Nan Changgeng came back earlier than yesterday, but she was still the last one to return to the dorm.

When she entered, her roommates were still awake, lying on their beds and chatting energetically.

Lin Baiyu was wrapped in a yellow duck pajama set, squeezed onto Chen Xia’s single bed, clutching one of her arms. Smiling brightly, she swung her legs back and forth, leisurely and comfortably.

Chen Xia lay stiffly on her back, unmoving, her face cold and her jaw tense; she looked as if she wasn’t very happy. No one could see the ears hidden in her hair, red all the way through.

Lin Baiyu had always soothed people in a rough, direct way: a little acting cute, a hug and a rub, and if that didn’t work, a kiss on the face. It had never failed her; Chen Xia couldn’t resist at all, so there was no need for any roundabout approach.

Of course, even if she couldn’t stay angry, she still needed her pride; at the very least, she had to be awkward and cold to Lin Baiyu for a whole night. Lin Baiyu understood that very well.

The three of them had just been talking about clothing.

Zhao Shengxiao had never thought much of it before, but after coming to this dorm and facing these three roommates with such distinctive temperaments every day, she always felt her own image looked rustic and plain.

Lin Baiyu suggested changing the way she braided her pigtails, so she was currently sitting cross-legged on the bed, rebraiding her hair according to Lin Baiyu’s verbal instructions.

After Nan Changgeng came in, she greeted them and went to the bathroom first to wash up.

By the time she finished showering and tidying up, more than half an hour had passed. She had thought her roommates would be asleep, but when she came out, she was met by three pairs of bright, watery eyes stubbornly resisting sleep.

Even she, no matter how slow she was, could tell something was going on.