Volume One, Chapter Six: Don’t Doubt It—That Fool Is You

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Su Nianxi’s bold words quickly propelled her, along with the video clip, to the top of the trending list. Apart from some haters continuing to hurl insults at her, most netizens were busy speculating about whom her remark was directed at.

“Could it be Qiao Yunan? Didn’t they have some history? Back then, Qiao Yunan released quite a few press articles stepping on Su Nianxi’s rise.”

“Don’t spread rumors, okay? When did Qiao Yunan ever buy press articles? Everyone could clearly see her acting completely outshined Su Nianxi’s at the time. If Su Nianxi’s comment during the live stream was really aimed at Qiao Yunan, then I’d be so disappointed in her.”

“I think it’s directed at Ye Zhixia. She’s been pestering Song Xiao relentlessly, maybe Su Nianxi was purposely provoking Song Xiao’s current partner.”

“Please don’t drag our Midnight Snack CP into this! Our ship is solid and happy. Su Biao, just leave!”

“So, who exactly were you looking at when you said that?” Assistant Xiao Qu scrolled through the Weibo square and glanced at the person beside her, now slumped into a heap.

“No one,” Su Nianxi muttered, popping a cherry Xiao Qu fed her into her mouth. “I was just showing off.”

Who knew it would cause such a stir?

Xiao Qu fell silent. After a week of this, she should have realized that this person was utterly unpredictable.

“Well, about the icebreaker tonight, Sister Wang wants you to tone it down. You’ve already hit eight trending topics today; the company really can’t afford to clean that up for you.” Seeing the live broadcast about to start, Xiao Qu hurriedly reminded her.

“Don’t worry, I know my limits,” Su Nianxi waved her hand nonchalantly, stretching as she sat up from the sofa.

Yeah, right, your limits.

Xiao Qu thought bitterly, placing a matching baseball cap on her head. “Go on, Pikachu.”

Meanwhile, in Qiao Yunan’s dressing room—

“Crash!”

Qiao Yunan swept everything off the coffee table, her eyes burning with fury as if ready to reduce everything to ashes.

“Didn’t you promise me that Su Nianxi’s scores would be lower than mine? Didn’t you say I would explode in the first episode?” Qiao Yunan glared at her silent agent on the sofa, her face flushed red. “Were you just feeding me lies?”

“Calm down,” the agent said, covering her face, unwilling to watch her meltdown. “I can’t control Su Nianxi’s situation. Who knew her acting would improve so dramatically? If it weren’t for her, our plan wouldn’t have gone wrong.”

“Wrong? This isn’t just wrong—this is a disaster!” Qiao Yunan slammed the tablet down on the agent’s lap, veins visible on her neck. “Look closely! What are these marketing accounts you contacted cutting together? So many people are mocking my declining acting skills. Have you even seen it?”

“This is amusing, really amusing,” Qiao Yunan said, collapsing onto the sofa with a laugh. “Our own marketing accounts ended up making her look good. I don’t care how many fans those clips gained her—I won’t allow it!”

Her voice suddenly rose an octave, then she turned and snarled, “I don’t care how you fix this. I want Su Nianxi ruined, disgraced, and kicked out of the show.”

“If you say so, it’s easy,” the agent relaxed, a smile creeping onto her lips. “Just wait, she’ll only last a couple more days.”

—

Rehearsal Room.

At eight o’clock in the evening, the mentors and trainees gathered, forming a circle in the spacious rehearsal hall.

Tonight’s live stream was relatively light-hearted—an icebreaker event arranged to help students and teachers get to know each other.

Su Nianxi, along with a few trainees still having their makeup done, was happy to relax and tucked herself away in a corner, happily snacking on treats provided by the production team.

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But trouble was not willing to leave her alone. No sooner had she sat down and taken a bite than Ling Xiyue came over.

Su Nianxi’s eyes widened instantly as she swiftly stuffed the half-empty bag of chips into her lap. “This bag’s already empty.”

Crunch.

The sound of crushed chips.

Ling Xiyue fell silent.

He stared at Su Nianxi as if she were crazy before slowly asking, “Teacher Su, can I ask how you managed such a dramatic improvement in your acting in such a short time? I want to leap forward too.”

“Oh, that,” Su Nianxi realized belatedly that he wasn’t trying to steal her snacks, so she let her guard down.

“Well, classmate, do you know konjac jelly?” she said calmly, meeting everyone’s gaze.

“Yeah, I know,” Ling Xiyue replied, utterly confused about what this had to do with snacks.

“You should buy some and eat it. It won’t really help, but at least it feels good.”

[LOL, Su Nianxi, since when did you get so witty?]

[I bet she spent all her quiet time hiding under the covers memorizing jokes.]

[But seriously, how did her acting improve so fast? I’m curious.]

The bullet comments filled with laughter, while Ling Xiyue’s expression was a masterpiece of bewilderment.

Seeing his reaction, Su Nianxi patiently added, “Ling classmate, remember this: don’t worry about anything else, just remember…”

Ling Xiyue was left speechless by her nonsense and returned to his seat riddled with questions.

Round one: Su Nianxi wins.

But no sooner had Ling Xiyue walked off with tears in his eyes than Su Nianxi felt a tall shadow looming over her.

Blinking, she looked up and met Shen Yizhou’s deep gaze.

“Good morning, Teacher Shen,” Su Nianxi said, munching like a hamster, reaching out in greeting.

Shen Yizhou glanced at her and coolly asked, “You have good acting skills. Why are you on this show?”

Huh?

Su Nianxi was puzzled. Had she become a suspect or something? Why was everyone interrogating her like this?

“And you? Why did you take this variety show?” she raised an eyebrow and countered.

At her words, Shen Yizhou’s expression changed slightly. After a moment, he ground out, “Money’s hard to earn, shit’s hard to swallow.”

Su Nianxi nodded in agreement and beckoned him closer with a casual wave.

“I think this show shouldn’t be called ‘Star Road Practice Room’ for you guys,” she whispered, lowering her voice. “It should be called ‘Chamber of Misfortune.’”

“Creative name,” Shen Yizhou empathized, but then pointed at the microphone clipped to her collar. “But your mic’s still on.”

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Su Nianxi: “...”

Ah, shoot, she’d forgotten.

That meant everyone on site and watching the live stream had just heard the name she’d given the show.

[What the hell, ‘Chamber of Misfortune’? You’re asking for trouble with a name like that!]

[Great, it’s Su Nianxi! Our live stream is saved!]

[No way, she’s really bold now. I want to see this.]

[I declare the production team must not silence Su Nianxi’s roasting. I want to hear it!]

With the live stream’s popularity soaring, the hashtag #ChamberOfMisfortune quickly shot up to the top ten on Weibo.

When Song Xiao and Ye Zhixia entered the rehearsal hall, they saw everyone sneaking glances at Su Nianxi, trying to smile but holding back.

Once they were all present, the staff collectively sighed in relief. The PD hurriedly threw out the first icebreaker topic according to the flow.

“For you, what does a partner mean?”

Qiao Yunan, as if well-prepared, raised her hand and spoke first: “I think a partner is an opponent who sparks creative collisions.”

Song Xiao thought for a moment, then smiled faintly. “To me, a partner is someone who connects with me emotionally and trusts me.”

As he spoke, he kept his gaze locked on Ye Zhixia.

Catching his look, Ye Zhixia blushed and smiled shyly before answering seriously: “A partner is like a book full of answers, with surprises on every page.”

[Ahhhh, Midnight Snack CP is real, I told you!]

[Did you guys forget something? Announce it officially! What are you doing staring at each other like that? If this isn’t real, I’m a fake!]

[Leopard and Cat, I’m born! This sweet Midnight Snack CP will help me grow strong!]

[Locked in! Locked in! Midnight Snack must marry immediately!]

Just as the bullet comments erupted with excitement, a lazy voice pulled everyone back from their frenzy.

“A partner is just a fancy word for a colleague. Like potatoes are also called ‘ma ling shu,’ tomatoes are ‘xi hong shi.’ I don’t know how you see your colleagues, but for me, as long as they’re not complete idiots, that’s enough.”

Su Nianxi narrowed her eyes, still sweeping the fruit platter on the table.

Her words instantly plunged the room into an awkward silence.

“That’s not quite right. I think everyone around me, whether colleagues or partners, are pretty good to me,” Ye Zhixia blinked innocently and replied.

“No, you haven’t grasped the gravity of the situation. Everyone knows there’s always an idiot around, and if you think there isn’t, then…” Su Nianxi’s expression turned serious, her eyes filled with unhidden pity, “don’t doubt it—that idiot is you.”