Marriage Concerto (Small Thing Called Love) Chapter 25

Chapter 25: I’m looking forward to seeing a new star rise in the music industry

Gu Xin took off his dark brown sungla.s.ses when he walked into the hospital room.

Ding Meng stared at him. For a moment, she couldn’t decide if she should first dash over and ask for a signature, or first thank him for giving her pointers last time.

Gu Xin was also taken by surprise. He hadn’t expected to see a woman in Qiao Yichen’s hospital room. Not only that, she had even brought homemade soup. He quickly speculated at the relations.h.i.+p between the two and then suddenly also realized this woman looked rather familiar. He thought for a moment before remembering, “You’re Ding Meng?”

Ding Meng didn’t think he would actually remember her. She was simply too honored. “That’s me, that’s me. I’m Ding Meng! Thank you for your pointers last time.”

“It wasn’t much.” Gu Xin smiled at her, still confused about why she would be here. Last time he met her at the broadcast building so she was probably a Heavenly Voice contestant. If so then…was she taking this opportunity to curry favor with this judge, Qiao Yichen?

Qiao Yichen coughed, interrupting the wordless exchange between the two. “Superstar Gu has the free time to come here?”

Gu Xin withdrew his sight and casually looked over at Qiao Yichen. Then he took a couple steps toward the hospital bed and placed the basket of fruits in his hand onto the desk. “The Great Producer Qiao has been hospitalized. How could I not come and pay a visit?”

“Haha.” Qiao Yichen laughed sarcastically. Those words of Gu Xin’s sounded more like he was coming to take a look around a zoo.

Gu Xin really did take a look at the gauze on Qiao Yichen’s head. He spoke a little worriedly, “Will the areas that were st.i.tched become bald?”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” Qiao Yichen put on a fake smile and looked at him.

Gu Xin acted as if he didn’t notice anything and continued to talk, “I heard you were injured saving a compet.i.tion contestant? That contestant must be especially good looking.”

This surprise praise made Ding Meng feel defenseless. She shyly swept her hair behind her ear. “She’s just alright.”

…..

Gu Xin turned around to look at her and Qiao Yichen scoffed, speaking to Ding Meng, “Are you stupid? He’s obviously being sarcastic.”

Gu Xin seemed to have realized something and knowingly nodded his head. Then he turned around again and spoke to Qiao Yichen, “After Xiaoxiao found out you were hospitalized because you saved someone, she was so shocked on Weibo. She said she had always thought you were bipolar.”

Qiao Yichen, “……”

Very good. He’d meet her at the recording studio.

T/N: QYC says it in a way that’s very duel/showdown-like.

Ding Meng was still lingering in the room and hadn’t left yet. Earlier, Gu Xin and Qiao Yichen were talking so she hadn’t found an opportunity to speak. Now both people were silent so she hurriedly grabbed the chance to express her love. “Gu….Expert. I listened to your new alb.u.m. It’s awesome! Also I’ll definitely attend your concerts next year!”

Qiao Yichen coldly shot her a glance. “Weren’t you going to the training camp? Why are you still here?”

Ding Meng glared at him. Don’t get in the way of her idol chasing!

Gu Xin gave Ding Meng his thanks, and then his eyes swept over Qiao Yichen. He spoke again, “I also need to return. Why don’t we leave together?”

Qiao Yichen, “……”

Simply impossible to deal with.

Only, he also wasn’t a person who would easily admit defeat. “Leave with you? Do you want her to get caught up in a scandal with you before even officially debuting?”

Ding Meng recalled the day she had counted the number of Gu Xin’s fans on Weibo and decided it really wouldn’t be proper. “I know the way. I should probably just go on my own.”

Gu Xin put on his sungla.s.ses again and laughed quietly, “Aren’t you guys overthinking things? I was talking about leaving this hospital floor.”

He told Qiao Yichen to take care of himself and then turned around to walk out. Ding Meng lifted her thermos and happily followed him out.

The floor that Qiao Yichen was staying on was very peaceful. Only occasionally could a few nurses be seen in the hallway. Ding Meng continued to walk behind Gu Xin, not daring to get too close. She felt as though these big celebrities all seemed to have their own halos. If people got too close, they would be burned by the halos.

That’s why even those nurses in the hallway only dared to stealthily look at him.

Gu Xin stopped in front of the elevator. Since Ding Meng also needed to wait for the elevator, she had no choice but to harden her scalp and walk up to stand by Gu Xin’s side.

The elevator arrived at that exact moment. Gu Xin strolled inside and Ding Meng floated in after him. Being inside a sealed s.p.a.ce like this with Gu Xin made her even more aware of his magnetism. Ding Meng had never been so close to a celebrity before. She felt herself overcome with awkwardness.

“You are a Heavenly Voice contestant, right?”

Gu Xin suddenly spoke, breaking the elevator’s oppressive atmosphere. Ding Meng froze and then nodded, “That’s right.”

“Have you reached the finals?”

“En……”

Ding Meng had always heard the Heavenly Voice producers say that the program’s ratings were very high. Right now, it really didn’t seem to be the case……

“Then good luck in the finals.”

“……..Ah?” The big expert’s encouragement came too suddenly. Ding Meng was dumbstruck for a moment.

Gun Xin leaned his head over to give her a glance and laughed, “You still remember that I said I like your voice, right? I’m looking forward to seeing a new star rise in the music industry.”

He spoke up to here, just in time for the elevator to reach the first floor. A “ding” sound rang out, scattering away Ding Meng’s awkwardness.

“I’ll see you around.” Gu Xin gave her a wave and walked straight out of the elevator. Ding Meng stood still inside the elevator. The elevator door had almost closed when she finally blocked it with her hands and rushed out.

Gu Xin had already walked off to who knows where. Ding Meng looked around in all four directions. Then, holding the thermos, she walked toward the entrance.

On the road, she couldn’t help but think, Gu Xin and the music he made were completely different. She felt as though the person himself was very polite and didn’t put on any airs. He even generously gave guidance to rookies.

She gave Gu Xin a good person evaluation.

After the afternoon dress rehearsals concluded, the producers gathered everyone together once again. Of course, this was for the usual lottery.

This time, within the qualifying top 4 contestants, there were two that came from the Popularity team and two that came from the Merit team. Due to the compet.i.tion rules, Ding Meng believed that the most ideal outcome would be drawing a contestant from the Merit team. She didn’t dare a.s.sume that because the audience had voted for her, she could automatically beat the Merit team. Only…… she looked at Bai Jingrui who had also come from the Popularity team.

Bai Jingrui was the only male contestant in the top 4. He was tall and handsome, and had one big strength which was dancing.

Although Ding Meng had never sat off stage and watched him dance, just from listening to the screeching voices from the audience the past several times, she could imagine how exciting the mood must have been.

Ding Meng actually admired Bai Jingrui a bit. On the stage, he could both sing and dance. He had even managed to reach the finals. This showed that his strength couldn’t be looked down on. Most importantly, he was the winner of the last audience vote.

Even though Ding Meng was the winner of her small group, there was still a small gap between her and Bai Junrui in terms of the number of votes they had earned.

In the case that she actually drew him for the first round, the likelihood of being eliminated would be increased.

However, Ding Meng may have really used up all her luck in the first lottery. For the last few rounds, whatever she had been scared of would actually came true.

She looked at the red paper in Bai Jingrui’s hands. Then she looked at what was in her own hands. She wanted to cry but had no tears.

The result of the lottery: Round 1, Ding Meng vs Bai Jingrui.

A staff member nearby spoke, “This result is rather nice. The Popularity team and Merit team will each have one person enter the champions.h.i.+p compet.i.tion. How awesome!”

Ding Meng, “…….”

Awesome your head.

With a heavy heart, she returned home and collected the clothing on the balcony. That little formal dress that had been stuffed deep in her closet was also drying outside. She had fished it out two days ago and specially gave it a wash. She figured that if she ironed it tonight, she would be able to wear it tomorrow.

Even though this piece of clothing couldn’t compare to the two that Qiao Yichen had given her, it was already the best one she had.

Wu. It didn’t actually look that terrible. It even had some lovely lace. Ding Meng appreciated it for a moment and then prepared to enter the kitchen to make dinner. Right after bringing the food to the table, she heard her cell phone ringtone come from her room.

She wiped her hands and ran over to pick up the call. It was from Qiao Yichen.

Ding Meng wrinkled her brows. Did this person specifically make a call to remind her to train? He had already brought that up at the hospital earlier!

She rolled her eyes while picking up the phone. On the other side, Qiao Yichen spoke, “I kept forgetting to tell you, the final compet.i.tion clothing is in my room. I haven’t locked my door so you can enter to get it yourself. It’s right on top of the desk.”

Ding Meng felt like Qiao Yichen was really too dedicated to his clothing sponsor role. She originally wanted to say thank you, but she swallowed the words after upon remembering his comments about repaying with her body. “Ah, got it.”

Qiao Yichen continued, “Even though I wont be around for the next couple days, you’ll need to continue training by yourself. No slacking off.”

Ding Meng eyes rolled three times. “You’ve already said that earlier today.”

Qiao Yichen calmly replied, “Can’t you tell I’m just worried that you’ll forget?”

Ding Meng spoke, “Your head is still injured. Don’t talk on the phone so much. Bye bye.”

“I’m forgetting who I injured myself saving.”

Ding Meng, “…….”

Qiao Yichen, this fellow was really shameless.

Since Ding Meng didn’t say anything, Qiao Yichen believed that he had succeeded in awaking the guilty conscience deep in her heart. He sighed, “The finals are already tomorrow. Do you need me to give you some encouragements?”

“Nope, thanks. Gu Xin has already encouraged me.”

Qiao Yichen, “…….”

Ding Meng nimbly hung up and ran over to Qiao Yichen’s room door to took a look. The door was closed. She stepped up and turned the doork.n.o.b. The door made a “ka-ca” sound and opened.

Ding Meng blinked. He actually hadn’t locked his door. Did he trust her to that extent?

She pushed open the door and walked inside. This was still her first time entering Qiao Yichen’s room. She couldn’t help but be a little curious. His style of his room decor completely matched the living room and was pretty similar to her own bedroom. Only, his bedding was black and white while hers had English style stripes, making the ambience of the two rooms very different.

Two gift boxes were placed in a conspicuous place on the table. Ding Meng was dazed for a moment. Had he prepared two sets of clothing because she needed to sing two songs?

She walked inside and opened the first box. Inside was a blue colored dress. The upper portion was designed in the shape of the letter V. The bottom portion was a two-layered, letter A shaped pleated skirt. Ding Meng did a quick evaluation. It looked like it would just reach her knee.

She thought for a bit. This should be outfit for singing the first song.

She carefully folded the blue dress and then opened the second box. Suddenly, the feeling of opening gifts during Christmas rose up in her.

This time, a gold colored dress was inside the box. The corner of Ding Meng’s eyes immediately jumped. She felt a bit apprehensive about whether she could handle this color.

The color gold was too hard to wear. If the person who wore it didn’t have right disposition, she would seem especially tacky.

She didn’t know why Qiao Yichen would pick a dress of this color, but after unfolding the dress, it really did look beautiful. The dress had a very form fitting design, the lower portion hugged her bottom and even the length rested above the knees. She lifted the skirt and faced Qiao Yichen’s dressing mirror to quickly evaluate it. The size should be a good fit.

Only this color……she had never worn golden clothing before. It was way too flashy.

She sucked in a breath and carefully put away the two dresses.

After finis.h.i.+ng dinner and her training, Ding Meng took a shower and opened her computer to browse the web. Honestly speaking, without Qiao Yichen at home to keep an eye on her, her days had pa.s.sed by very comfortably.

She had just logged onto Penguin when Jiang Nanqing messaged her.

Step Back I’m Going To Get Pretentious: Meng Meng! Which dress should I wear for tomorrow’s compet.i.tion?! [picture] [picture] [picture]

Meng Meng Da: …….The second dress

T/N: da is just a sound. I THINK Meng Meng da is a play on “me me da” which is like xoxo

Step Back I’m Going To Get Pretentious: But the second dress is a little tight. I seem to have gotten fatter (ノへ￣、)

Meng Meng Da: Ah, then the third dress. Black and white stripes look pretty good.

Step Back I’m Going To Get Pretentious: But the third has horizontal stripes. It’ll make me look fat [points finger]

Meng Meng Da: Then the first dress (:з」∠)_

Step Back I’m Going To Get Pretentious: En, I also think the first dress is the best looking! We are truly of the same mind!

Meng Meng Da: ……. [smile]

Step Back I’m Going To Get Pretentious: Oh yeah, what are you wearing in the compet.i.tion tomorrow?

Meng Meng Da: There are two items. Hold on, I’ll send you a picture.

After a minute.

Meng Meng Da: [picture] [picture]

Step Back I’m Going To Get Pretentious: ！！！(☆▽☆)！！！

Step Back I’m Going To Get Pretentious: I’ve decided that I won’t go to tomorrow’s compet.i.tion anymore [smile]