CH 2

Chapter 2: Weirdly cute

The urging words that she had originally intended to say disappeared without a trace and Luan Zhen was rooted in place for a few seconds. She stared at Qiao Dai and really couldn’t say anything for a while.

Qiao Dai did not notice Luan Zhen’s strange behavior and looked at her with her clear eyes. Although she had not spoken yet, there seemed to be several big question marks on her head and Qiao Dai’s confused appearance made people think they had crashed into a pile of cotton candy.

“Change your clothes quickly, we are leaving.”

After a long while, Luan Zhen finally squeezed out a sentence. Recalling what had just happened, she really wanted to slap herself. What was going on, had she really thought Qiao Dai was so cute just now she had almost stretched out her hand to pat her head? Was she a pervert?

Thinking about it, Luan Zhen suddenly felt flustered and subconsciously touched her hot cheeks, discreetly looking at Qiao Dai’s expression. Fortunately, she did not seem to notice her blush and Luan Zhen felt relieved.

“Okay! I will be there soon!”

Qiao Dai was completely unaware of Luan Zhou’s slightly chaotic thoughts. She nodded her head seriously and walked to the closet white drying her hair with a towel, ready to change her clothes.

Luan Zhen stood silently at the door to wait for Qiao Dai; it wasn’t until she walked away that she felt a little calmer.

The room was not closed tightly and Luan Zhen could hear the sound of rustling fabric. It was only a small noise but as long as she remembered Qiao Dai’s appearance just now, Luan Zhen felt herself blush once more, her mind full of Qiao Dai’s innocent eyes.

Unlike most of the trainees that put on sweet images in the company, Luan Zhen was dressed more neutral, with straight black shoulder-length hair and sharp eyebrows, which gave her the arrogant and unique temperament that made her stand up at the top of the company’s many trainees.

Luan Zhen narrowed her eyes and began to think of what she originally thought of Qiao Dai.

“I’m sorry to let you wait this long.”

While Luan Zhen was lost in her thought, Qiao Dai had changed her clothes and walked out.

Qiao Dai was a trainee signed by an entertainment company, she did not have to worry about not having suitable clothes and she chose a pleasing outfit in her wardrobe to wear. It was just that…

“What’s wrong?”

Luan Zhen noticed Qiao Wei’s strange behavior. Her cheeks were red and she seemed to lower her head in embarrassment. Compared to her cold tone earlier, Luan Zhen voice became much gentler and revealed a trace of concern:

“Are you not feeling well?”

Qiao Yan shook her head with a shy expression. Her soft voice fell in Luan Zhen’s ears: “This skirt seems a little bit too short.”

Although Qiao Dai could transform into a human form, this was the first time she had worn such a short dress. Looking at her slender exposed legs, Qiao Dai suddenly felt a bit chilly. For the sea otters, keeping warm was the most important thing in their lives: if they could not maintain their body temperature in the cold water, they would freeze to death. The current Qiao Dai might be human, the habit of being a sea otter was still deep inside of her, and Qiao Dai could only lean pitifully towards Luan Zhen and whisper: “It’s a bit cold.”

Hearing this, Luan Zhen was at first slightly startled before starting to laugh.

“You… why are you so foolish? Now that you’re going to be on the show, be careful or they will laugh at you.” Luan Zhen looked down at Qiao Dai’s skirt as she talked. It indeed seemed a bit short. Was Qiao Dai afraid of the cold?

Thinking about it, she added: “It’s still early, it won’t be cold as soon as the sun comes out.”

How come she sounded like she was coaxing a child, now? Luan Zhen smiled and shook her head. Seeing Qiao Dai stand in place like an elementary school student, she hurriedly pulled her in the direction of the hall.

“We will leave soon, let’s go.”

Qiao Dai nodded and quickly followed her. They were going to participate in the recording of , weren’t they?

Recalling all the scenes that had poured into her mind earlier, she could not help but feel a little nervous. Was she going to meet Ruan Tao in the show? Did it mean she would be eliminated because of that and end up being killed by a car? Thinking of it, another scene suddenly came to her; one of a peach falling from the sky and hitting a little sea otter on the head and making it faint. 1

Qiao Dai: !!!

No, it was already scary just to think about it! Qiao Dai quickly shook her head to get rid of the image. How could a sea otter like her lose to a little peach?!

Luan Zhen did not know Qiao Dai was thinking about the battle between sea otters and peach fruits, she only thought that Qiao Dai was very interesting today. Had she known she was so cute earlier, she would have already become friends with her.

Both lost in their own thoughts, the two of them walked to the lobby where the other three trainees were already waiting for them. They were named Jiang Ruowei, Lin Lang, and Shi Qing.

“You are finally here, I really thought someone would be late on the first day.”

Jiang Ruowei was the first to speak. Her line of sight stopped on Luan Zhen and Qiao Dai holding hands when she caught a glimpse of it until she quickly moved a gaze away. When had they both become so friendly?

Jiang Ruowei had always thought that among the five of us, the only one she had to be really afraid of was Luan Zhen. As for Qiao Dai, while she was very beautiful, she was only a country bumpkin with no background and the entertainment circle never lacked beautiful faces.

Jiang Ruowei had expected Luan Zhen would go get Qiao Dai and that they would quarrel. She had been happy thinking about losing two opponents before the program even began. Who would have thought that these two, who normally could not get along, had taken the wrong medicine today? How had they become good friends in such a short time?

Luan Zhen had the best results among all the trainees and although Qiao Dai was a newcomer, she could not be underestimated either. Seeing that the two of them were friends now, Jiang Ruowei naturally started to worry in her heart but kept an indifferent face.

Jiang Ruowei scolded Qiao Dai as soon as she appeared. Before Qiao Dai could even defend herself, another gentle-looking girl stood up and frowned slightly.

“Ruowei, how can you say that? Daidai has just joined the company and hasn’t adjusted to it yet. I saw her going to the bathroom last night after training to vomit. Please be considerate, her physical condition is not as good as ours.”

As soon as Lin Lang finished talking, everyone’s expression changed slightly, especially their agent Ling Na’s. Hearing Lin Lang’s words, she immediately frowned and looked at Qiao Dai before asking: “Qiao Dai, are you unwell? The program’s training will be stricter than the agency’s, can you stand it?”

If she could not bear it and quit halfway, it would be a waste of the agency’s quota. If it were to be the case, Ling Na would definitely choose someone else to join the program.

Luan Zhen understood what Lin Lang meant. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Lin Lang with a sneer before asking unceremoniously: “What do you mean by this?”

When she heard her, Lin Lang was not alarmed and gently curled her lips and said in a concerned voice: “I am just concerned about Daidai’s body, why are you asking me that?”

Seeing that the atmosphere had become a bit heavy, Shi Qing, who had been silently waiting in the corner, slowly stepped forward. Although she was already an adult, she gave a childish and timid feeling, like an easily shy girl.

“Sister Lin Lang, Sister Luan Zhen also cares about Daidai and…”

Shi Qing glanced at the time. Qiao Dai was not even late and she had heard Lin Lang say she would wake Qiao Dai up this morning. Not only Lin Lang kept silent about that but also raised the topic of Qiao Dai’s poor endurance. Unfortunately, Shi Qing did not dare say what she was thinking about aloud.

“Thank you sisters for your concerns, but I’m fine!”

At this moment, Qiao Dai’s soft voice reached the ears of everyone. The girl who always looked weak and fragile seemed to be searching for something. After seeing what she needed, her eyes widened and she ran over happily, just to walk back to the group after a little while.

What was she planning? Not only was Juang Ruowei confused, but Lin Lang also could not help to have a bad feeling in her heart.

When Qiao Dai came back holding something in her hand, they were all startled…

Qiao Dai came back with a 20kg barbell with no effort, as she was holding something as light as a water bottle. As if to prove her physical condition was not as bad as Lin Lang had said, Qiao Dai walked all the way and even lifted it a few times in front of everyone to demonstrate, leaving the small crowd dumbfounded.

It was quite rare to see girls easily lift a 20 kg barbell in one hand. Lin Lang herself was not confident she could do it, could she still say Qiao Dai was not as fit as them after that?

Qiao Dai had just silently hit her in the face. Thinking of this, Lin Lang’s expression slightly distorted and her lips tightened with embarrassment.

TL note: Qiao Dai’s name is written with the character “槑” which is slang for “呆”, meaning “foolish, stupid, expressionless”. This explain why so many characters make puns about her name and call her “dumb” or “foolish”. It’s usually said affectionately, kind of as a synonym for cute. They sometimes also use “懵懵” which can mean “confused” or “懵” which means “stupid” by itself. If you all feel too weird to have everyone call her stupid later, I might change it.