Rebirth naturally has its advantages. Jiang Mingqin knows which TV series, movies, and variety shows will become popular in the future. She auditioned for the Qing Dynasty court drama that will be popular both domestically and internationally yesterday. You see, that drama became such a sensation that everyone, from the main actors playing concubines and emperors to the little palace maids serving tea and water, became incredibly popular. She managed to secure the role of a maid with much difficulty.
No one knew that this actress, originally portraying a maid, would successfully rise to fame in just two years with this role. The nine members from this training camp have also become the most renowned girl group in the Asia-Pacific region, with a fanbase equally divided between males and females. Needless to say, she is bound to secure a spot.
Then there’s that milk tea advertisement featuring a girl holding milk tea, whose facial features aren’t as appealing as hers, but netizens regard her as having an angelic face and being the nation’s first love. She plans to seize the opportunity before the advertisement is released.
She had already calculated everything.
But she particularly hopes not to encounter Yin Mingluo. After all, she has just joined this girl group, and her ranking is in the F class. She doesn’t want to see the disdain or surprise in his eyes. Moreover, what she dares not say is that Yin Mingluo isn’t a reborn individual, but he possesses some sort of charm. If you don’t provoke him, everything’s fine, but if you do, he’s bound to shine brilliantly.
She didn’t originally participate in that gaming competition, which was a wise choice. However, when she joined, she unintentionally provided him with an opportunity. Her embarrassing and infamous reputation contrasted with the champion’s true talent. Those darned reports kept emphasizing that “they are in the same class and of the same age, yet their fates are entirely different.” Her first appearance probably left a bad impression on her father.
During that staged accident incident, it would have been fine if her mother hadn’t employed paid internet trolls. Online matters are usually short-lived trends, and the youth’s popularity would have faded over time. However, when the internet trolls stepped in, the youth retaliated, organizing a grand lottery event that grabbed the entire internet’s attention. Now, everyone remembered him, and her friends and family were going crazy over the substantial cash prize. When she found out about her own mother’s foolish actions, Jiang Mingqin nearly fainted from anger, thinking that she truly had unreliable teammates.
With all these incidents combined, Yin Mingluo’s popularity ended up surpassing even that of her past life. This meant that she would have to put in even more effort.
Following the same path and focusing solely on the college entrance examination was no longer an option. Once she was brought back to the Yin family, she would be just an ordinary student with no name recognition and no skills. Therefore, she had no choice but to venture into the entertainment industry. After all, gaining fame through this route was the quickest.
Of course, Father Jiang and Mother Jiang were initially against it. Their daughter was giving up her studies to pursue an uncertain career in entertainment? Singing and dancing aside, taking on minor roles, how long will it take for her to make a name for herself? They thought it would be better for her to finish her education first and then pursue her dreams afterward. However, their daughter was adamant. She would cry, throw tantrums, or even threaten to harm herself, clutching her chest and pretending to faint, looking pitiful, and claiming that this was her lifelong dream. What could the couple do? Naturally, they had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
They didn’t force their daughter to drop out of school, thinking of it as a backup plan. Although their daughter sneered at the idea, the couple firmly believed that no matter what, whether she succeeded in her entertainment career or not, she had to graduate from high school and go on to college.
Soon enough, the couple was grateful for their initial decision. Their daughter ultimately returned to school, albeit a bit dejected.
Now, let’s go back to the beginning of the spokesperson selection. When Jiang Mingqin saw the young man approaching, she immediately covered the gray Class F badge on her chest. While she was relieved that he didn’t notice her, she bit her lower lip hard and approached her tutor to request withdrawal from the selection.
Instructor Zhang was surprised and asked repeatedly, “Are you sure? This opportunity is rare. If you can get it, you must fight for it. Don’t give up.” Due to his college friendship with Jiang’s parents, he had a positive view of the girl. She was talented in singing and dancing, and her fresh appearance made her stand out among hundreds. If she could participate in this selection, there was a high probability of her being chosen.
“Teacher Zhang, I’m sure. I’m really not feeling well, and I need a few days off.” The selection will be over in a few days, right?
Teacher Zhang sighed, “Your health is really poor. You get out of breath after dancing for a while, and you can’t even sing a complete song. Your breath is unstable, and you can’t reach the high notes. When your parents were studying, they were often referred to as ‘athletes.’ Why are you so different from them?”
This was also the reason why Jiang Mingqin could only stay in Class F.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Mingqin’s smile froze for a moment. She adjusted her hair behind her ear, and her behavior seemed a bit unnatural. She pretended to be troubled and said, “I can’t help it. Congenital factors are not something I can control.”
Instructor Zhang’s doubts were naturally similar to the questions many people had about Jiang Mingqin since childhood.
The original owner was born weighing six pounds and six ounces, always enjoying good health from a young age. On the other hand, An Meijun had a slender figure, delicate and frail, which, in the words of the elders, meant that she “didn’t look like she could bear children.” This was especially true during An Meijun’s pregnancy when she didn’t receive proper nutrition, making the child she gave birth to more susceptible to health issues.
When Jiang’s parents were young, they were both strong and could handle multiple tasks. However, Jiang Mingqin was known in the neighborhood as a fragile child who needed extra care. She couldn’t withstand any shocks and was deserving of sympathy.
It was evident that Jiang Mingqin’s physique was unmistakably inherited from her biological mother—fragile and seemingly ready to fall over with a gust of wind. Their opposite physical conditions should have raised suspicions long ago, but in this world of books, no one had noticed for eighteen years. This truly made Yin Mingluo want to comment on it.
Jiang Mingqin avoided him, and Yin Mingluo didn’t want to deliberately seek trouble. However, the director had objections, “We agreed on one hundred people. How can you drop out halfway through? I’ve already arranged the formation. If we’re missing someone on camera, how will it look?” He had a strong compulsion for numbers and was highly superstitious about them in his daily life. He firmly believed that except for the elimination rounds, a one hundred-member girl group should never have fewer members. If there were any gaps, he insisted on filling them.
“Is the one dropping out from Class F, surnamed Jiang?” The director filtered through the faces in his mind and found little impression of her, so he decided to call in one of the candidate girls to replace her. After all, being from Class F implied lower skill levels, and having one more or one less member wouldn’t matter much to him.
Instructor Zhang was about to intervene, but the director had already called in a replacement from the waiting candidates. Coincidentally, the substitute girl had also entered through connections, seemingly having some relationship with the assistant director. She had been waiting for someone to drop out of the one hundred-member group so she could step in.
Instructor Zhang opened his mouth but ultimately remained silent. After all, he was just a third-rate dance teacher in the entertainment industry and didn’t dare to offend the assistant director. Privately, he apologized to Jiang’s parents, and that was the end of it. What could he do? If your daughter could enter through connections, could others not use their own connections?
Jiang’s parents were naturally disappointed, but their old classmates apologized profusely and explained their difficulties. Jiang’s parents couldn’t hold a grudge, so they had to accept it.
So, when Jiang Mingqin returned a few days later, she was shocked to find that her position in the one hundred-member group had been taken by someone else. With a single command from the director, she had gone from being an official member to a substitute. Jiang’s parents advised her to quit, but she didn’t give up. If she could be replaced, she could also replace someone else when the opportunity arose.
However, as time passed, two months had gone by without anyone quitting. Her hopes of someone breaking their leg, fracturing a bone during dance practice, or losing their voice had not come true. She had only sat on the cold bench for two months in a corner where the camera couldn’t reach, and Jiang Mingqin was so frustrated that she began to tear at her hair, regretting not quitting the audition earlier.
What was even worse came later. The role she had initially auditioned for in the Qing Dynasty drama, the role of a little palace maid, had been taken away by someone else. When she had finished her audition, she had seen the surprised look in the casting director’s eyes, and she had felt confident that she had secured the role. However, half a month later, she received a call informing her that she had unfortunately been rejected.
She learned that initially, the casting director had been quite satisfied with her performance, praising her acting as youthful yet captivating, something that could be polished into a gem. However, these evaluations changed when he unintentionally saw another actress audition for the role of another palace maid. He said in a daze, “This is the image of Ru Yue in my mind.”
It turned out that the actress auditioning for the other palace maid role was the original actress who had played Ru Yue in her past life. History had come full circle, and the role had ultimately fallen to the other actress.
Seeing her role snatched away and returned to the lead actress after months of fruitless effort, Jiang Mingqin was beyond frustrated.
After half a year of wasted effort, she awkwardly carried her backpack and returned to school. However, when she entered the classroom, she felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
The theme on the blackboard at the back of the classroom had changed to “Sprint for the College Entrance Exam! Decisive Battle for the College Entrance Exam!” The stacks of exercise books on each desk had grown taller. She hadn’t even felt any fear yet, but she was hit by a strong sense of oppression.
Moreover, many classmates were looking at her in surprise, their gazes resembling those directed at a new student. As she searched the classroom for her seat, she realized that her place had already been taken.
She could only awkwardly find a seat towards the back and let her classmates whisper about her behind her back. Their conversations included phrases like, “Didn’t she go into acting?” “No, I heard she’s doing commercials.” “You’re all wrong. I overheard Mr. Yu talking to other teachers, saying she took a leave of absence to become a trainee.”
“So why did she suddenly come back? Did she get eliminated?”
“It’s possible. The competition is already down to the top thirty from the initial forty-eight. Jiang student might have been eliminated.”
“That’s impressive. I heard even if you get eliminated before the top one hundred, you still have tens of thousands of fans.”
In reality, she hadn’t even made it into the top one hundred; she had been sitting on the cold bench by the water cooler all along. Jiang Mingqin stiffly put down her backpack and took out her textbooks.
“It’s been half a year since she last came. Can she catch up?” The college entrance exam was only half a year away! They had already entered the final review stage.
She couldn’t catch up, that was for sure. Jiang Mingqin stared at her textbooks for a moment, realizing she had no idea where the class had progressed in the six months she had been absent.
“Ah, it’s been half a year, and the first-place is still the same, but the second-place position has changed hands several times.” The classmate was caught up in thoughts of how time flies and how things change.
“Just ask Mingluo to lend you his notes. His notes are very organized and neat.”
She didn’t want to ask that imposter for notes! She lowered her head, and a hint of resentment flashed in the girl’s eyes. But considering her classmates’ suggestions, Jiang Mingqin almost couldn’t maintain her smile. She pinched her palm hard to control herself and forced a smile. “No need, Mingluo also needs to use his notes.”
“It’s okay; he hardly ever looks at them. We’re the ones who borrow them.”
“You should go quickly. Mingluo’s notes are highly sought after, super popular. Everyone in other classes is borrowing them.”
“Yeah, and Zheng Jiangning too! He’s not very bright; he set his college entrance exam goals too high. Mingluo started taking notes because of him.”
Zheng Jiangning, who had been secretly eating a meat bun, suddenly felt like he was being called out. He stood up with an unhappy expression, puffing up his cheeks. “What does it have to do with me? I don’t need his notes. I can get into a prestigious university on my own. I take notes myself too, you know!”
“Oh, can you even read those notes of yours?”
“Being able to get into university is all because you copied Minglu’s notes. Take a look at your previous test scores. If you’re so capable, make way for Minglu, don’t let him teach you separately.” The female classmates exposed his true colors without mercy.
As soon as he heard that he had to make way for someone, Zheng Jiangning refused outright. With a mouthful of meat bun crumbs, he shouted, “No way! Minglu is my buddy!”
The female classmates instantly grew more disdainful of him.
Listening to everyone talking about Yin Minglu, Jiang Mingqin maintained a gentle and pleasant smile on her face. However, to others, there was a somewhat inexplicable and somber strangeness about her.
Everyone felt that, since her return, Jiang Mingqin, who was originally the most popular female student in the class, had changed a lot. She had dyed her hair, painted her nails, and her demeanor and appearance had matured significantly, making her seem out of place with the rest of them.
Jiang Mingqin was unwilling to ask Yin Minglu for help. She stubbornly believed that she didn’t need those notes or whatever it was and that she could achieve good grades on her own. However, when the results of the first monthly exam came out, and she saw that her rank had dropped to over 40th place in the class, with a gap of over a hundred points between her and the first-place student, Yin Minglu, she felt as if she had been slapped in the face several times, and her face turned bright red.Her head was buzzing, and just as she had finally made up her mind and was ready to borrow, she found that the notes had been scheduled for the third month ahead.
Jiang Mingqin: ???
By that time, it would already be time for the college entrance exams. What was the point of borrowing?
Author’s note: I’m sorry for the slight delay in updates due to a busy daytime schedule. Thank you to the angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solutions~
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