The First Identity Revealed
Yu Shuman returned to the dormitory, greeted her roommates, and then took her things into the bathroom to freshen up. By now, there were only three people left in her dorm, including herself. Many contestants had left, and the shooting base had become much emptier.
When a contestant was eliminated, not only did she leave, but so did her assistant and the staff from her supporting company.
Because of this, Yu Shuman could now take her time in the bathroom without anyone knocking on the door. Besides, most of them had their phones by now, and the fear of being backstabbed had significantly diminished.
As soon as Yu Shuman entered the bathroom, the first thing she did was open her chat window and start chatting with her friends. Many people had messaged her, but she was hesitant to reply, worried that someone might leak her conversations to the paparazzi, wasting all the effort she and others had put in. She only chatted with two or three close friends and her mother.
Aside from them, the only person she trusted was Qin Ran.
Qin Ran was socially anxious, rarely spoke to anyone, and worked part-time with the production team. She was very close to Yu Shuman. Every time Yu Shuman was with Qin Ran, she felt a sense of relief. She didn't have to worry about Qin Ran betraying her or revealing her secrets. In fact, there were many things she couldn't share with others that she could confide in Qin Ran.
Qin Ran was weak, pitiful, and helpless—a junior who needed her help. In Yu Shuman's eyes, Qin Ran had managed to connect with Sister Li because of her. After all, Yu Shuman had no idea about any prior relationship between Qin Ran and Sister Li, so it wasn't surprising she thought this way.
Of course, Yu Shuman didn't have the arrogant thought that she was Qin Ran's savior or that Qin Ran was living better because of her. She genuinely wanted Qin Ran to have a better life.
After all, Qin Ran was Yu Shuman's lucky star. Back in her senior year of high school, when Yu Shuman was facing her most difficult time, it was on the day Qin Ran visited her that things started to turn around.
Naturally, Yu Shuman began to associate her good fortune with Qin Ran. At first, she just wanted to take care of Qin Ran a little, to repay the luck Qin Ran had brought her. But gradually, Yu Shuman noticed that Qin Ran was always alone, with very few connections to others.
At that time, Yu Shuman thought: This isn't right.
Humans are social creatures, and if someone remains isolated and loses interest in others and the world, bad things are bound to happen eventually. With this concern, Yu Shuman forcefully inserted herself into Qin Ran's world, helping her build more connections with the world.
In fact, Yu Shuman was right. Qin Ran had no parents, no friends, and before Yu Shuman appeared, she was merely living mechanically. She hadn't chosen to die simply because she didn't have a reason to; but then again, there wasn't much of a reason for her to live either. Her material desires were low, which was largely because she had no goals in life.
If it weren't for Yu Shuman, Qin Ran might have lived aimlessly and hopelessly, until she reached a point where her material and survival instincts were at their lowest, and she chose to leave this world. She didn't see this as a negative emotion because she never actually planned to die; she just couldn't find a reason to live.
In her past life, she had already enjoyed all the luxuries. She was born a rich girl, with her family offering her the best of everything. But emotionally, she was deprived. Her parents didn't love her; their marriage was more of an alliance, and Qin Ran was more like a token to satisfy her family's expectations. They raised her with the hope that she would become a suitable heir to the family.
She wasn't seen as a person by her parents, but merely as a symbol. Their twisted education taught her that others were objects to be dominated, which was the ideology they passed on to Qin Ran. Her connections with others were shallow in her past life, and in this life, she had none at all.
So, Qin Ran was actually quite resistant to forming bonds with others. She didn't need money—just enough to live on—and didn't want any relationships with others because they were troublesome.
Never in her wildest dreams did Qin Ran realize that deep down, she longed for connection. She craved relationships and affection, which is why she felt a spark when she met Yu Shuman; in the hospital, she acted on impulse. She built a connection with Yu Shuman, and from there, Yu Shuman gradually deepened that bond.
Now, Qin Ran and Yu Shuman were inseparable, even if just as friends, they were destined to be entangled for life.
When she saw a message from Yu Shuman, the cold text couldn't capture her lively voice or radiant smile, but just one line was enough to stir Qin Ran's heartstrings.
Yu Shuman: Junior, I practiced an extra hour today, but the dance wasn't difficult, so I wasn't pushing myself too hard!
Qin Ran couldn't help but smile, though she tried hard to suppress it, and replied: Senior, you're not being good. You promised not to overdo it.
Yu Shuman replied instantly with an emoji—a comic-style hamster with its head tilted, holding a seed in its little paws, looking pitiful with "Sorry" above its head and "Squeak squeak" beneath its feet. Seeing this emoji, Qin Ran immediately pictured Yu Shuman's face making the same expression.
Her smile, which she had tried to hold back, fully emerged, and her gaze softened. She took off her glasses and set them aside, pulling her hair back and clipping her bangs up as she settled into the cozy spot by the window, chatting with Yu Shuman.
She told Yu Shuman that she now had a fan group with quite a few members and that her Weibo followers had reached 20,000.
Yu Shuman said she knew and confessed that she had secretly joined the fan group with a small account, where she saw Qin Ran occasionally chat with the others.
Qin Ran felt caught and a bit embarrassed: What's your username, Senior?
At that moment, Qin Ran was a bit anxious, worried that her rich lady account might get exposed. But then she realized that Yu Shuman hadn't been in the fan group for long, and since it was a small account, she probably wasn't friends with her rich lady account.
Yu Shuman replied: I won't tell you, or it won't be fun sneaking around anymore!
Qin Ran pouted, thinking her senior was being mean. So she changed the subject back to earlier: Tomorrow, I'm going to check if your feet are swollen. If they are, I'm telling Sister Li!
Yu Shuman wasn't afraid of Sister Li because Sister Li wouldn't really interfere. As her manager, Sister Li would only guide and support her career, reminding her not to date. But as for her personal health or family matters, Sister Li wouldn't get involved. Sister Li was very busy, even when she was with the production team, she was constantly on the phone.
Yu Shuman was just a small, unknown artist under Sister Li's management. Although Sister Li treated her well, Yu Shuman wasn't going to push her luck. But when Qin Ran said she would tattle to Sister Li, Yu Shuman couldn't help but feel nervous. Not because she feared Sister Li's scolding, but because she dreaded seeing Qin Ran's disapproving look. Qin Ran was someone who was very talkative online but barely spoke in real life. She didn't say much, but she had this condemning gaze that could make Yu Shuman feel guilty.
This was a junior she had taken care of for a long time, and seeing her like that would make Yu Shuman's heart ache. She didn't want to see Qin Ran looking at her with both blame and sadness, so she had no choice but to surrender.
Her heart softened as well: Okay, I won't push myself like that again. Today, I just couldn't get one of the moves right, so I spent extra time on it.
Qin Ran didn't believe her and was determined to check Yu Shuman the next day to see if she was really taking her words to heart.
After sleeping and waking up the next morning, Qin Ran was still lying in bed, scrolling through Weibo, when she saw that Ling Miaohan's ancient music circle identity had been exposed. The speed at which this happened was shocking. Qin Ran didn't believe for a second that Pei Qi wasn't behind it.
In addition, there were some dark secrets being revealed about vote manipulation. Almost every contestant, including Ling Miaohan, was exposed for buying votes. This news instantly boosted the popularity of "Debut! Girls," with netizens in shock: Wow, so it's really about who has the most hired voters?
Especially shocking was that Ling Miaohan's votes came from several different vote-buying companies. For a time, negative trends about Ling Miaohan dominated the charts, with more and more people criticizing her. But soon, the situation took a turn. It started with someone revealing that Ling Miaohan's voice was identical to that of a well-known figure in the ancient music circle, and after some detailed comparisons, it was confirmed they were the same person.
Then, a friend from that circle stepped forward, saying that this well-known figure had been out of touch for a while, coinciding perfectly with the production of "Debut! Girls." Before disappearing, she mentioned wanting to explore the outside world and see the vast ocean of stars. This statement made it clear that this well-known figure was indeed Ling Miaohan.
The dirt on vote-buying was also published. When the negative trending topics were still high on the charts, someone leaked chat logs between the voter and the leader of a vote-buying company.
Vote-buying leader: I remember Ling Miaohan isn't one of your company's artists, right?
Voter: That's none of your business, just keep buying the votes.
Vote-buying leader: Got it, this person must have crossed your company, huh?
Voter: Exactly.
Similar chat logs from other vote-buying company leaders were also exposed, and although some commenters questioned whether the screenshots were fake, they quickly went silent upon seeing who leaked them. The account belonged to a famous insider in the entertainment industry, and almost every piece of gossip they revealed had been verified as true.
With these multiple revelations, the negative trending topics about Ling Miaohan suddenly shifted to praise. Following this, Ling Miaohan's vote count surged dramatically, thanks to the ancient music circle joining the fight.
Not only were Ling Miaohan's own fans fighting, but many big names from the ancient music circle also joined in, with some even directly reposting Ling Miaohan's voting link, adding: Vote for Miaomiao. Our girl doesn't need to buy votes to take first place. Blackening Miaomiao is an insult to our entire ancient music circle!
The whole situation was exactly like what happened in the novel, the only difference being that it occurred much earlier than expected.
Qin Ran: Spent the whole day eating up trending gossip.
Trending gossip is just too good.