Xiao Xiao was perched on Xu Yi's back. While waiting in line, Xu Yi not only had to protect Xiao Xiao from falling off, but also had to carefully avoid the teammates who were playing around nearby, for fear that they might bump into Xiao Xiao.
I'm nervous.
Xiao Xiao lay on Xu Yi's back, communicating with Xu Yi with her heart, and tightened her little arms around Xu Yi's neck.
'Don't worry, I'm more nervous than you are.'
'...' Xiao Xiao peeked around and looked around, but then looked at Gu Yueyue with a bored expression.
The two mentors were the most exhausted, having to follow the trainees to every corner of the base and take photos for them.
Fortunately, the places chosen by the trainees were all similar, except for a few places with unique scenery and special significance, which were either in the practice room, the canteen, or the villa.
Soon it was the turn of the members of Villa No. 3.
It was a little past ten in the morning. Gu Yueyue took a couple of sips of water, held a small electric fan to cool herself, and started another round of busy work without taking much rest.
Gu Yueyue took the task card from Zhang Ya; they had filled in "dance studio" on it.
I hope to capture the moment when the seven of them practice their dance.
Gu Yueyue put their task cards into the wish box, took the new mobile phone sent by the advertiser, and led them to the dance studio.
To avoid awkward silences on the way, Gu Yueyue would talk to them, focusing on Zheng Wan, which made Zheng Wan feel flattered.
But this also made her less quick-witted mind unable to distinguish between what was meant by "performing in front of the camera" and what was meant by genuine affection. Gu Yueyue chatted with her for a while longer, which made her feel that the two of them were much closer.
After taking individual photos, Zheng Wan suggested taking a group photo with Gu Yueyue.
With one member missing, the whole team can't work together with Gu Yueyue. What if word gets out later that their team is excluding Shen Ningjiao?
So Zhang Ya had Zheng Wan and Gu Yueyue take a photo together separately, without bringing the whole team, since not everyone was present.
After Zheng Wan took the group photo, the others were eager to join in. Zhuang Yan, Ruan Hanmei, and Miao Lele all suggested taking a group photo, but Han Shixue didn't. She seemed restless, as if she wasn't the one who had been clamoring to come to Gu Yueyue's side earlier.
Zhang Ya was also eager to take a photo with Gu Yueyue, after all, she had been a fan for ten years and she couldn't bear to miss this opportunity.
After the photo shoot was over, Zhang Ya beckoned Xu Yi over and smiled at Gu Yueyue, "Teacher Gu, could you take a picture of me and Xu Yi together?"
Ever since Xu Yi met Gu Yueyue, she had been paying attention to Gu Yueyue's expression. It was obvious that Gu Yueyue couldn't see Xiao Xiao at all, and couldn't even perceive Xiao Xiao's existence.
She was racking her brains trying to figure out why Miss Gu had lied about seeing Xiaoxiao that morning, and before she could come up with a solution, Zhang Ya grabbed her and pulled her over for a photo.
Zhang Ya was strong and moved suddenly, almost throwing Xiao Xiao off Xu Yi's back.
When Gu Yueyue saw Xu Yi, she thought of what Xu Yi had said about the child that morning. Her feelings were complicated. Fortunately, she was a professionally trained girl group member, and her control over her facial expressions was far beyond what ordinary people could achieve. She was also a very skilled professional actress. No matter how chaotic her emotions were, she could still maintain a gentle smile on her face.
After Gu Yueyue finished taking photos for Xu Yi and Zhang Ya, she waited for Xu Yi to suggest taking photos with her alone.
But she waited for a long time, and Xu Yi still didn't speak.
Even Xiao Xiao was urging Xu Yi to hurry up and take a solo photo together.
Xu Yi frowned slightly and declined Xiao Xiao's suggestion.
Why don't you go!
Xiao Xiao couldn't understand it. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, she would have bitten Xu Yi directly.
Xu Yi didn't explain. After taking a photo with Zhang Ya, she quietly retreated to a corner, letting Xiao Xiao tighten her grip on her neck and accuse her of inaction.
Everyone was satisfied with the filming, and Gu Yueyue also received a notification from the production team that she could rest, as there were no more members in her team waiting to be filmed.
While packing her things, Gu Yueyue would inadvertently glance at Xu Yi, but when their eyes met, she would look away.
"Xu Yi, Yueyue seems to be looking at us." Zhang Ya whispered to Xu Yi, who turned her head slightly away and chuckled, "It's me looking. Not us."
While the two were whispering to each other, Gu Yueyue had already packed her things and was about to leave when Xu Yi called her back.
"Teacher Gu."
Hearing the familiar voice, Gu Yueyue tensed up as if electrocuted. Hiding her nervousness, she slowly turned to look at Xu Yi and asked with a smile, "Xiao Xu, is something the matter?"
"Is Teacher Gu going straight to the cafeteria?" Xu Yi asked.
"Hmm. What's wrong?"
“No. We’re going to the cafeteria too. Can we go with Teacher Gu?” Xu Yi secretly nudged Zhang Ya’s lower back. Zhang Ya immediately understood and said, “Yes, Teacher Gu, we’re going to the cafeteria too. Let’s all go together.”
Gu Yueyue breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that she wasn't alone with Xu Yi. She had only planned to get a small bowl of porridge from the cafeteria to take back to her dorm. Going together was fine; it wouldn't take too long.
So she went to the cafeteria with Zhang Ya and the others.
In the cafeteria, Xia Lan was leading the last group of students in taking their check-in photos.
It was almost over when a dispute suddenly broke out.
When Zhang Ya and the others arrived, they saw two girls push Shen Ningjiao to the ground.
"Hey! What are you doing?" No one expected that Han Shixue would be the first to react, and also the first to run over and help Shen Ningjiao up.
Zhang Ya and the others rushed over immediately and protected Shen Ningjiao.
The two girls who just pushed Shen Ningjiao are from Villa No. 2's team. During the previous selection, Shen Ningjiao sang Xia Lan's song, and one of the two girls also sang the same song. Xia Lan gave Shen Ningjiao a high score but gave her a mediocre evaluation. Afterwards, that person made a few sarcastic remarks to Shen Ningjiao, which Shen Ningjiao happened to hear and directly retorted.
That's how the feud began, but no one expected that their next encounter would spark another flame.
When Xia Lan came over, she was still unaware of what had happened, so she began to ask Shen Ningjiao and the two girls what had happened.
As a result, both sides held their own versions of events, which put Xia Lan in a difficult position.
The two girls accused Shen Ningjiao of being unreasonable and cutting in line, but Shen Ningjiao retorted that she had kindly let the girl in their line who wasn't strong go first, instead of letting the rest of their line go ahead of her. She claimed that they were the ones bullying her because they outnumbered her.
Xia Lan was relatively young and lacked experience in handling such unexpected situations. Seeing that they both had valid points and were about to start fighting, she anxiously cast a pleading look at Gu Yueyue.
Gu Yueyue sighed softly. She didn't really want to get involved in this mess. She had experienced too many conflicts in girl groups.
A note from the author:
I want to write 10,000 words a day, I want to work until midnight, I want to empty your Jinjiang coins.
But I can't do it.
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 19:09:26 on December 30, 2021 and 20:24:07 on December 31, 2021!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Strange Dream Pavilion (20 bottles); Sherry (5 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter Thirty-Six
Xiao Xiao lay on Xu Yi's back and reached out her little hand to tug at Xu Yi's hair.
Xu Yi understood what she meant. She could tell that Miss Gu was unhappy and wanted her help to get out of the predicament.
But in this situation, as a student, her words carry little weight, so it would be better to let Miss Gu handle it.
"Trust Miss Gu, this is just a small matter; she can handle it."
Xiao Xiao became unhappy again, loosened her grip on a handful of hair, and listlessly leaned against Xu Yi's back.
Of course, Little Gu's mother could handle this little matter, but her ability to handle it and her unwillingness to handle it are two different things. Xu Mutou doesn't understand anything; let her be stupid to death.
The two girls were still criticizing Shen Ningjiao's mistakes. Shen Ningjiao was furious and clenched her fists, wanting to rush forward, but Han Shixue, who was beside her, held her tightly around the waist.
"Calm down, Shen Ningjiao!"
"Let go, Han Shixue! Don't worry about me, just let go!" Shen Ningjiao struggled fiercely, slapping the two arms binding her waist. "Let me go! I have to teach them a lesson today."
"Come on! Who's afraid of who? If you've got the guts, then come and fight!"
Hearing the provocation from the other side, Shen Ningjiao lost all her remaining rationality. Unable to pry Han Shixue's arms off, she simply dragged Han Shixue along and pounced on her.
Fortunately, just as Shen Ningjiao was about to hit them, the teammates of both teams reacted and formed a human wall to separate them, then pulled them apart.
Xia Lan was dumbfounded by this farce and stood there, not knowing what to do.
"Enough. What kind of nonsense is this?" Gu Yueyue's face was expressionless. Her calm gaze swept over everyone present, making them feel uneasy.
"Wu Aiyu, Ji Wenwen, Shen Ningjiao. This matter arose because of the three of you, and I hereby announce the cancellation of your eligibility for this photo shoot."
Before they could react, Gu Yueyue told the production crew to continue working, "Everyone else, keep filming."
After hearing Gu Yueyue's words, Wu Aiyu was stunned for a moment, and then accused Gu Yueyue of her actions with a sob in her voice.
"Teacher Gu, you're being biased. It's clearly her fault. She's ranked ahead of so many of us. Is that reasonable? We're all following the team. She's not with her own team but is causing trouble here. It's her fault to begin with, so why are you punishing us?"
The girl next to her, named Ji Wenwen, seemed rather timid and weak. She was the one who had been trying to stop Wu Aiyu, but because she was too soft-hearted, she was dragged into the situation by Wu Aiyu.
Now she gently tugged at Wu Aiyu's sleeve, telling her to say less and not to confront her mentor directly.
"Aiyu, let it go. Even though there's no live broadcast today, the production team is still recording footage. Let's not make a big deal out of this."
Ji Wenwen spoke very softly, but Wu Aiyu became even more furious.
"I'm going to make a big scene, I'm going to let everyone know that the mentor is biased!"
Gu Yueyue gestured to the production team, and the cameramen rushed over with their equipment. Gu Yueyue spoke in a clear, cold voice.
"Filming at Villa No. 2 has been cancelled."
Gu Yueyue's words stunned the entire Team Two, including the member who had been given a place in line by Shen Ningjiao because she wasn't feeling well. She stammered, "Teacher Gu, it's a misunderstanding. Shen Ningjiao saw that I wasn't feeling well, so she let me go first. After I took my turn, I rested on the side. My teammates didn't know that Shen Ningjiao had given me my place, so they mistakenly thought that Shen Ningjiao had cut in line."
"Okay, thank you for telling the truth now." Gu Yueyue chuckled, but her usual gentleness was gone, sending a chill down one's spine in the sweltering summer. "I hope that if something like this happens again in the future, you will stand up and explain immediately."
The girl lowered her head, her face flushed red, and dared not say anything more.
Gu Yueyue's words basically sealed their fate, and she made it clear that it was impossible for them to continue filming.
Having learned about the farce, the trainees watching the show began to feel nervous. Before the first round of eliminations even started, nine people had already displeased the mentors. As trainees, their future days would likely not be easy.
"Alright, it's getting late. Everyone, those who need to eat should go eat, and those who need to rest should go rest." Gu Yueyue returned to her previous gentle and approachable demeanor, but no one thought she had a good personality, a good temper, or was easy to talk to anymore.
The gentle and approachable feeling that she previously left on the students has now been replaced by an impression of Gu Yueyue's coldness and severity.
After these nine people were disqualified from taking photos, no one on Xia Lan's side wanted to continue filming, so she put down her equipment and rushed to Gu Yueyue's side.
"Teacher Gu, thank you for just now." Xia Lan was a little dejected. She had always followed in her idol's footsteps, but it was as if she could never grow up. These things happened in front of her, but she couldn't handle them and in the end, she still had to ask her idol for help.
Gu Yueyue packed a small bowl of porridge to go. It was too hot, and she preferred light flavors, so she didn't even take any side dishes before leaving.
Hearing Xia Lan's words, Gu Yueyue laughed, "You're welcome. You've helped me before, haven't you?"
"It's different." Xia Lan felt embarrassed. Back then, she was just asking for help, and it was good enough if she didn't cause any trouble.