CHAPTER 26

The Figaro shoot didn’t take much time.

This opportunity was arranged by the CEO of the Twilight platform, who personally leveraged the Cheng Corporation’s name to secure the connection.

The fashion industry often disregarded ranking systems from other circles—they had their own set of standards. The more prestigious the publication, the more they adhered to these internal rules.

“The Cheng family’s name is just too useful,” Yu Xinyan couldn’t help but sigh.

She didn’t even face any difficulties during her shoot.

“They even poured water for me and called me ‘Miss Yu,'” Yu Xinyan said, still feeling excited. “I just don’t know how the final product will turn out… What if my magazine doesn’t sell?”

The others were filled with envy after hearing this, sneaking glances at Jiang Su. If only I could be friends with her too.

Jiang Su, however, sat coolly, half an earphone in, listening to music.

Back when she was selecting songs, people often saw her like this. At the time, they couldn’t understand why—it seemed like she was being distant, always wearing earphones. But now, they realized she had put in real effort, carefully choosing just the right songs.

“Honestly, it’s normal if the magazine doesn’t sell much… The two industries don’t overlap. Fashion is its own circle.”

“Yeah.”

“Besides, some magazine aesthetics aren’t always easy for us to accept. Like last time, I saw Chanel’s runway show, and their new limited-edition bag looked like a snakeskin sack—I was stunned!”

Everyone started discussing fashion trends, half directing their words at Yu Xinyan and half at Jiang Su.

They didn’t mean any harm—just wanted to remind them not to set their expectations too high to avoid disappointment.

Yu Xinyan nodded at the reminder. “Yeah, when I went for my shoot… the styling was kind of odd.”

She then turned to Jiang Su and asked, “Su Su, was your styling weird too?”

Jiang Su frowned. “Very weird.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Didn’t look human.”

Everyone: ???

What kind of styling could possibly make someone not look human?

“Could someone have intentionally made things difficult for Jiang Su?”

“Yeah, maybe. I heard Ding Xuan hasn’t been happy these past few days…”

“But does she really have the power to manipulate such a big-name magazine?”

“She doesn’t—but the backer behind her does.”

At those words, the room fell silent.

If they kept talking, they would be treading into some scandalous territory. After all, as fellow trainees, they still had to maintain a friendly image to the public.

Wu Qingqing remained silent.

She had a gut feeling that Jiang Su’s so-called “not quite human” was different from what everyone else imagined.

If things were truly that bad, Jiang Su wasn’t the type to just sit there and take it, right?

“Enough chit-chat.” Yelena walked into the hall and clapped her hands. “Your new partners have arrived.”

The so-called new partners were members of a boy group that had debuted from last year’s reality show Dreamer, along with some trainees who hadn’t made the final lineup but had gained some recognition.

Their participation in this show was also a way to maintain momentum and increase their exposure.

Xuan Wen and Zhao Qiuying were in charge of guiding them to the set, while Yelena and Jiang N were responsible for overseeing the trainees from Girls’ Showdown. The selection process would be based on ranking—higher-ranked trainees got to choose their partners first.

Yu Xinyan couldn’t help but complain, “The reality show I was on last year had a similar segment. The girl group and the trainees from the boys’ show filmed a little ‘get-to-know-each-other’ special… I got roasted so bad for it.”

Jiang Su: “Hm?”

Seeing that Jiang Su didn’t quite get it, Yu Xinyan quickly explained, “Whether it’s boy groups or girl groups, they’re not allowed to date. A lot of fans like you because they see you as their ideal romantic partner. If you date someone, it’s like cheating on them. Of course they’ll be mad…”

Jiang Su: “Oh…”

“Why do they keep doing this kind of thing?” Yu Xinyan grumbled.

Wu Qingqing chimed in, “For the buzz.”

“Isn’t Su Su’s buzz alone enough?” Yu Xinyan was genuinely convinced of this.

Wu Qingqing sighed lightly. “The production team will never think there’s too much buzz. The more, the better.”

As they spoke in hushed tones, the boy group members were led inside.

It wasn’t like they had never seen boys before.

And the boys had, of course, seen girls before.

But when so many attractive young men and women were suddenly placed in the same space, the atmosphere inevitably became a little awkward.

While the girls quietly sized up the boys, the boys were doing the same—though most of them were looking at Jiang Su.

After all, they had all come from reality shows. Girls’ Showdown on the Weiguang platform had been a huge hit recently. There was no way they hadn’t done their homework before coming.

“Who do you think Jiang Su will pick?”

“Definitely Ban Xu! He’s the center, after all.”

The young man named Ban Xu chuckled. “I wouldn’t say yes, though.”

“That’s our Xu-ge for you!”

“Xu-ge is obviously waiting for Lin Sifeng.”

“Then maybe it’ll be our resident artist, Mr. Han?”

“She might not pick me,” Han Jin said with a smile.

At that moment, cameras were set up around the room, and their casual chatter immediately came to a halt.

For this round, the mentors would let the trainees pick a song first. After that, they would announce their choices, and the guests would raise their hands if they wanted to team up. If multiple guests raised their hands, the trainee would have the final say.

It was a simple but effective method for creating dramatic moments.

They started with Class A.

Lin Sifeng and the others quickly chose their partners, and when it was Jiang Su’s turn, five people raised their hands at once.

Zhao Qiuying averted her gaze slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Although she had expected Jiang Su to be popular… a thought still popped into her mind—I’m way better than them! When I debuted, I left my peers in the dust!

Yelena smiled. “Alright, now it’s time for Jiang Su to choose… Jiang Su, go ahead.”

Jiang Su slowly stood up, her gaze sweeping across the room.

For some reason, everyone felt a subtle sense of tension, as if a sharp blade had lightly grazed them.

One of the boys chuckled. “Do you want us to introduce ourselves first?”

“Maybe say a little about our strengths?”

Yu Xinyan tensed up slightly and tugged at Jiang Su’s sleeve. “…That guy speaking is Han Jin. His fans were the ones who tore me apart last time. They’re really aggressive.”

Jiang Su: “Hm?”

She asked, “Who here is the strongest?”

Everyone was momentarily stunned.

What, is she expecting to be princess-carried during the performance?

“That would be our Han-laoshi! You were a provincial athlete before, right?” one of the boys teased.

Han Jin nodded. “Yeah.”

The others joined in the banter.

“Hey, don’t count me out—I have a gym membership!”

“Which you used for exactly one day before your fans forbade you from lifting weights…”

Jiang Su didn’t respond to their chatter. She simply stared at Han Jin for a few extra seconds.

Han Jin, for some reason, started sweating.

It was weird.

Han Jin thought to himself.

The girl in front of him looked so delicate and beautiful.

Jiang Su withdrew her gaze and turned to Yelena, asking with complete seriousness, “Can I pick more than one?”

Yelena laughed. “Haha, no, you can’t.”

Zhao Qiuying imagined Jiang Su surrounded by a bunch of fresh-faced boys and felt a bit sour.

Jiang N, on the other hand, nodded in agreement. “Right? The first-place trainee should totally have that ‘star among stars’ treatment. Otherwise, what’s the point of ranking first? I’ll bring it up with the production team next time.”

The others burst into laughter.

Jiang Su shrugged. “Oh well. I was just worried about strength…”

She raised a hand and pointed—straight at Han Jin. “I’ll take him.”

Yu Xinyan opened her mouth, looking slightly concerned.

Wu Qingqing, on the other hand, seemed to guess what she was thinking and muttered under her breath, “Maybe it’s the others who should be worried…”

Jiang Su sat back down after making her choice.

Next, it was Yu Xinyan and Wu Qingqing’s turn, and they also selected suitable partners.

Han Jin sat in his seat, recalling the song title he had seen in the chat feed.

《Da Si Chen》…

That name sounds strange. I’ve never heard of it.

But that’s normal—Jiang Su often picks rather obscure songs.

Once the song selection was finalized, everyone dispersed to practice and prepare.

Their schedule was tight.

Han Jin and his group didn’t leave right away.

He smiled and said, “I’ll go ahead and start coordinating things.”

“Go ahead, go ahead. Ban Xu is off looking for Lin Sifeng too.”

Jiang Su sat alone in the lounge, leisurely eating fruit, with an earbud plugged into her left ear.

Han Jin walked up to her and sat down. “Are we starting rehearsals today?”

Without looking up, Jiang Su replied, “Forget it. You should go back and get some proper rest, or you’ll be too exhausted tomorrow.”

Han Jin chuckled at that and gazed at the side of her face, watching her long lashes tremble slightly.

Why had he ended up on the trending list with Yu Xinyan before?

To be honest, it was mostly his fault.

Han Jin had attended a sports academy, and his family was fairly well-off. Back then, his personal life had been a bit messy. When he was discovered and brought into the entertainment industry, he was mostly excited about the opportunity to be around female celebrities.

When he first met Yu Xinyan, he found her looks appealing. More importantly, she had no dating experience. He preferred women who were as pure as a blank slate.

At the time, he was trending on the show, while Yu Xinyan was practically unknown, with barely any fans. Wasn’t it just a matter of lifting a finger?

Han Jin had casually gotten a little physically close to Yu Xinyan.

Two days later, she was getting dragged all over the trending topics.

And this woman was truly timid and afraid of trouble. With her lack of popularity, she genuinely wanted to debut. The moment she saw the backlash, she immediately distanced herself.

Han Jin turned his gaze back to Jiang Su.

She looked just as innocent—someone with absolutely no dating experience. She was even more beautiful and outstanding than Yu Xinyan.

And he had already looked into it—Jiang Su had climbed to her current position entirely on her own. Before this, no one even knew her. She didn’t have any powerful backing.

That just made things even more interesting.

After all, for a beauty like her, sooner or later, some rich man would step in. Why not let it be him first?

Thoughts flashed rapidly through Han Jin’s mind. When he recalled the words Jiang Su had just said—“not strong enough” and “too exhausting”—his mind couldn’t help but wander further…

Raising an eyebrow, he said, “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”

Jiang Su didn’t even register the vague flirtatiousness in his words.

That night, after returning home, Han Jin carefully picked out a cologne. He even hit the gym. The next day, dressed in sporty attire with wristbands, exuding testosterone, he headed straight for the rehearsal room.

He pushed open the door—

And saw a massive drum standing there.

A drum so big that two people could easily stand on top of it.

Jiang Su was lounging inside the room and lazily pointed at the drumsticks. “Pick them up. Hit it. Let me hear.”

Baffled, Han Jin grabbed the drumsticks and gave it a tap.

“Harder.”

Han Jin struck it again with more force.

“Even harder.”

He hit it again.

Passing trainees outside peeked in and couldn’t help but comment, “…Han Jin’s already flirting with another girl?”

Yu Xinyan’s eyelid twitched at those words. Worried, she instinctively reached for the door.

As soon as it opened—

She saw Han Jin hunched over, gritting his teeth, face flushed, sweat trickling down his forehead as he pounded on the drum.

Jiang Su stood off to the side, coldly critiquing him. “Did you not eat? That’s all the strength you’ve got?”

“I can’t hear a thing! Are your arms broken?”

Han Jin: “……”

Everyone: “……”