Chapter 61: Night Talk

While Xiao Ling spun in place, the room was suddenly filled with the sound of clothes rubbing against each other, followed by Jiang Ling’s embarrassed, low whimper—

“W-what are you doing…”

She had just stepped inside when she was pinned down from behind onto the bed, her jacket hastily pulled off until only a thin, short T-shirt remained. Her wrists struggled to support her body awkwardly.

Song Meng held Jiang Ling from behind, leaning close to nuzzle her ear. “Isn’t it obvious? D-doing this…”

Jiang Ling’s whole body trembled at those words, her skin flushed red all over. She tried turning her face away to avoid the burning breath, but her fingers gradually lost strength.

Thud.

Her face buried itself into the pillow, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

“We’re just pretending to be girlfriends, don’t take it too seriously, okay!”

Jiang Ling said, suddenly realizing a hand was slipping inside the inner thigh of her leg. Her spine stiffened instantly as she shook her head frantically. “N-no, don’t.”

Kissing was fine, but anything more wasn’t allowed!

Wait, even kissing was off-limits originally!

Seeing her like this, Song Meng—who had only meant to tease—grew more interested, stifling a laugh as she gently bit the small, trembling earlobe swinging before her.

“Ugh!”

Almost instantly, Jiang Ling curled up, trembling like a sieve. Her toes stretched tight as she took large, desperate breaths, utterly flustered.

What exactly was this person doing!?

Song Meng’s hand slid along her smooth skin. Outside, the sound of Xiao Ling scratching at the door was unusually clear. Jiang Ling had no strength left, her voice barely above a whisper: “Too much…”

“You made such a cute sound.”

Still, Song Meng held back and withdrew her hand with a smile.

She wasn’t planning to force Jiang Ling—at least, not for now.

Yet Jiang Ling didn’t respond but instead pushed away the laughing Song Meng with her hand. Her expression was helpless and shy, tinged with a trace of annoyance. “I came all this way with good intentions to bring you tickets, and you just use me for fun?”

She struggled to steady her trembling body, lowering her eyelids as she quietly slipped her jacket back on.

Seeing this, Song Meng thought she was just embarrassed, softening her voice to coax her: “Sorry, I was only—”

“You were only thinking I was fun to tease?”

Jiang Ling looked up, her eyes cool.

She pushed Song Meng’s body away once more: “I agreed to pretend to be your girlfriend only because I didn’t want Uncle and Auntie to worry, not because I actually like you, Song Meng.”

It was rare to see Jiang Ling like this, and Song Meng felt an involuntary pang in her chest. Realizing she might have crossed a line, an apology hovered on her lips, but before she could say anything, Jiang Ling silently got up and left, closing the door behind her.

Xiao Ling watched Jiang Ling leave without looking back, then slowly crawled over to the bed, jumped onto Song Meng’s lap, and meowed once again.

“What do I do, Xiao Ling?”

Song Meng gently stroked it, but her voice carried a hint of regret. “I think I made your mommy mad.”

“Meow?”

After leaving Song Meng’s place, Jiang Ling walked quickly in silence. Once she turned into a quiet corner, she instantly covered her face and crouched against a tree.

Ahhhhhh!

What exactly does Song Meng want to do!?

If she hadn’t quickly pretended to be angry and run away, who knows what might have happened today…?

Jiang Ling shook her head wildly, her cheeks burning.

After all, what was she thinking?

It was just pretending to be girlfriends—was it really necessary to be so serious, even letting her touch like that…

Jiang Ling stood up in a daze, patted her cheeks, and prepared to go back to practice and completely forget about today’s incident.

Back at the dormitory, she saw Xu Nuo and Bai Xue discussing something in the living room. Jiang Ling perked up and moved closer to listen.

“We added another 150 tickets, and they sold out smoothly. Looks like the content we posted brought in good traffic.”

Xu Nuo analyzed seriously, pointing at the content on her phone. “Regarding the game and MC parts, there are actually a lot of moments that require everyone to improvise on the spot.”

“I know that part well. Go ahead.”

Bai Xue nodded in agreement.

“For the Special Event’s Polaroids, we need staff who are good at photography. There can’t be any actions against the members’ wishes, nor anything too intimate. Each member will hand out 200 photos once, while supplies last.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ling raised her hand to ask, “Can each ticket take a Polaroid photo? Isn’t that too many?”

Xu Nuo immediately frowned. “Good point. Then only the first two tickets can be used for photos. The rest will be chat time. I’ll have to update the announcement.”

She hurriedly made notes, then continued, “Also, I’m planning to have you all shoot a kind of Thank You Video later. Everyone’s enthusiasm is so high that the Official Account has been flooded with comments.”

“Okay, I’ll go find people now.”

Jiang Ling bounced off happily to gather everyone.

The video was simple and sincere, finished in just a few minutes. The group exchanged smiles as the atmosphere became light and lively. Xu Nuo immediately edited and posted it on the Official Account.

【I strongly suggest adding another round of tickets! It’s definitely not just me who failed to grab any twice, sob sob.】

【Ling Ling-chan, Mommy came to see you!】

【Standing tickets are fine too, standing tickets!】

Seeing the enthusiastic responses from netizens, Xu Nuo was in an excellent mood. Humming a little tune, she gulped down a large cup of coffee, feeling fired up.

All for Ling Ling-chan… NOVA!

October 31st.

“Ah, it’s over~”

Inside the Practice Room, Mo Ran stretched widely, smiling as she announced their practice was finally complete.

Jiang Ling breathed a sigh of relief, staring at herself in the mirror and zoning out for a moment.

These past two months—first being reborn, then inexplicably joining the group, going from uncoordinated to able to dance smoothly—Jiang Ling found it hard to put into words what she was feeling.

The day after tomorrow would be their first public performance.

That night, lying in bed, Jiang Ling tossed and turned, unusually unable to sleep.

Beside her, Lin Xiaoyu’s breathing was steady—she was already deep in dreamland. Not wanting to wake her, Jiang Ling tiptoed out of bed to get a glass of milk before trying to sleep again.

But just as she left the room, she bumped into Bai Xue, who was also stepping out.

The two exchanged glances. Bai Xue smiled softly. “Can’t sleep either?”

“Yeah.”

“Then have a drink with me?”

Late at night, on the balcony.

Bai Xue placed the bottle of alcohol on the table and dragged over two rocking chairs. “It’s not strong—just enough to feel a little tipsy.”

She poured two glasses, handed one to Jiang Ling, then took a slow sip herself.

Jiang Ling didn’t refuse and tilted her head back to drink.

It wasn’t harsh, even slightly sweet at the end. The alcohol really wasn’t strong. Jiang Ling pursed her lips, not quite satisfied, and took another sip.

“Are you nervous?”

Before Jiang Ling could answer, Bai Xue looked up at the scattered stars twinkling in the sky and murmured softly, “I’m very nervous.”

After a moment’s pause, she turned her face to the side. Her wavy hair fluttered in the wind.

“Jiang Ling, you probably don’t know what this means to me, but I’ve almost bet all my chips on NOVA.”