Chapter 3

It was a large round dining table made of fire-burned stone, but only two sets of chopsticks and bowls were placed on it, besides the dishes. Yang Han sat by the table, his tall figure still looking somewhat lonely.

Of course, the atmosphere was not so bleak. After all, the Yang family's dinner was still quite sumptuous! Apart from the fried lotus box that Yang Ruo Yi had seen earlier, there were also stir-fried shrimp with fermented black beans, Yang Han's electric pot char siu, steamed pork ribs with taro, blanched vegetables with a secret soybean sauce, and a stewed soup of lotus root and large bones that filled the house with its aroma.

Yi Yi was still growing and needed a lot of nutrition!

As soon as the lid of the soup pot was lifted, Yang Ruo Yi, who was in the bedroom, pouted and reluctantly twisted her bottom, slowly sitting down next to her father.

"Hmph, you can buy my stomach, but you can't buy me!"

A father knows his daughter best. Yang Han, as a father, had long understood Yi Yi's temperament.

She was actually an outgoing and cheerful girl, always full of positive energy! She could bring a lot of joy to those around her!

Occasionally, she would throw a little tantrum with her father—after all, she was a girl—but she wouldn't be unreasonable. As long as he didn't argue with her, she would eventually get bored and "deflate" on her own.

So, Yang Han smiled and ladled soup for his daughter, looking lovingly at the girl as she slurped it down. Before long, he saw Yi Yi's furrowed brows slowly relax.

The power of good food was indeed strong!

"Yi Yi, do you want to go on a trip this summer?"

Seeing her mood improve, Yang Han smiled and asked, "Dad hasn't taken you abroad before. Now that your high school entrance exam results are out and you did pretty well! As a reward, Dad will take you to get a passport tomorrow, and once it's ready, Dad will take you to Italy, okay? And you've read about the city of water, Venice, in your textbook, right? Venice is in Italy!"

Venice?

Yang Ruo Yi's face lit up with surprise at the news, but soon, as if she thought of something, her head drooped.

"No..." Yang Ruo Yi's lips curled, and she said somewhat dejectedly, "I didn't get into Shengshi, just into Xiguan No. 2 High School. How is that considered doing well?"

The reason for not wanting to travel wasn't this. Yang Ruo Yi was just looking for an excuse to brush it off.

Yang Han thought his daughter was still upset and quickly waved his hand, smiling, "Ah, it doesn't matter whether you got into Shengshi or not! Dad didn't set such a high goal for you. As long as you tried your best, Dad is very satisfied!"

"Umph..." Perhaps it was the rebellious phase of adolescence, but a girl like Yang Ruo Yi, who had always been obedient, started to feel impatient with adults, making a pig-like snort.

Seeing this, Yang Han didn't bring up the topic of traveling abroad again. Whatever he said now, Yi Yi probably wouldn't agree, so it was better to ask her in a couple of days.

"I'm going to Feifei's house to play!" After dinner, Yang Ruo Yi quickly helped her father wash the dishes, then rushed downstairs after leaving a message.

"Pengpeng, have you finished eating? Come to Feifei's house quickly!" After coming out, Yang Ruo Yi called out in their "Beilang Shan" QQ group.

Pengpeng's full name was Peng Xueyuan, and Feifei's was Tang Wenfei. Yang Ruo Yi and they were all from Beilang Village. Because they lived close to each other and played and went to school together since childhood, they naturally became close friends.

Tang Wenfei's parents liked to play mahjong and were often not at home in the evenings, so her house and the teahouse at Ruo Yi's house basically became their base!

...

"Did you sign up for 'The Birth of a Girl Group'?"

Peng Xueyuan didn't hesitate to pick up a pack of finger cookies from the coffee table. Before he even started eating, he heard Yi Yi say that she and Feifei had signed up for this popular talent show, and he was so surprised that his jaw almost dropped.

"To be precise, we both signed up successfully!" Tang Wenfei's voice was soft, matching her gentle and beautiful appearance—she was wearing a white nightgown, a conservative style that covered her knees.

Being able to sign up for a TV show, aside from other factors, the two girls, Tang Wenfei and Yang Ruo Yi, had very good looks! They were considered school beauties, of course, based on some boys' idle evaluations.

Although Xiguan No. 2 High School couldn't compare to Shengshi, it was still one of the top high schools in Xiguan District, with a strong academic atmosphere and not many distractions.

Of course, Tang Wenfei and Yang Ruo Yi had slightly different personalities.

Tang Wenfei was a classical beauty, with delicate features and a small mouth, and a soft and smooth face! Just sitting there with a stuffed animal gave off a sense of tranquility and elegance, and a gentle scholarly aura—of course, this was just a perception. In reality, her grades were worse than Yang Ruo Yi's, and Yang Ruo Yi wasn't much better; neither of them were top students.

Yang Ruo Yi had a standard oval face, with full apple cheeks, making her look especially cute! Her personality was very sunny and lively, with thin lips that curved into a sweet smile, and she had dimples, making everyone who saw her feel a sudden brightening of their mood and a cheerful heart!

Getting a bit off-topic, Peng Xueyuan asked in surprise, "You're going to be on TV?"

The show had already aired two seasons, and they had all watched it together. Peng Xueyuan never thought that the girls who were sitting next to him last year, shouting that "Zhou Jiayun is the handsomest in the world," would be participating in the show this year!

This feeling was somewhat unreal...

"No, there's still a round of auditions. The email said that on the 7th of next month, we have to participate in the Guangzhou station auditions. We don't know how many people will participate, but in the end, 108 people will be selected to record the show." Yang Ruo Yi explained, counting on her fingers.

Which girl doesn't have a star dream? They signed up online as soon as their high school entrance exams were over! They just didn't want to be embarrassed if they weren't selected, so they kept it a secret from Peng Xueyuan until now.

Peng Xueyuan scratched his coconut-shell-like hair and asked in confusion, "That's not right. I remember that in the previous two seasons, the people who appeared on the show were all recommended by various talent agencies. You don't have an agency, so how did you sign up?"

"Because the rules have changed this year. Didn't you see that the number of spots has increased? There were only 101 last year, but this year there are 108 trainees! Whether you have an agency or not, you can sign up." Yang Ruo Yi explained.

"Still, it's going to be tough. Without an agency, how can you compete with others? They have training, and the agencies will help them get screen time." Peng Xueyuan hit the nail on the head.

"We have to try to see if we can make it!" Yang Ruo Yi pouted, a bit不服气 (unwilling to admit defeat).

Of course, this wasn't the main point. If they couldn't go, the difficulty of the auditions would be irrelevant.

"Does Uncle Yang disagree? He doesn't seem like a traditional person?" Peng Xueyuan found it hard to believe.

Yang Han usually gave him the impression of being quite open-minded. Even when Peng Xueyuan was young, he had even thought, "Why isn't Uncle Yang my dad? Uncle Yang is a hundred times more interesting than my dad, who is a teacher!"

"Who knows why he disagrees?" Yang Ruo Yi propped her arms on a cushion, supporting her cheeks, but her big eyes were still bright, complaining, "He himself does live streaming and keeps up with trends, but he doesn't allow me to be on TV. That's too unfair!"

Peng Xueyuan knew about this. Recently, Yang Han had suddenly wanted to do live streaming. Knowing that Peng Xueyuan was somewhat knowledgeable about computers, he had even asked him to help set up the computer, live streaming software, and camera. To be honest, Uncle Yang had spent a lot of money on the equipment, and it was really luxurious, making Peng Xueyuan drool just thinking about it.

"Yi Yi, maybe we should give it up." Tang Wenfei was starting to have second thoughts. She held Yang Ruo Yi's hand and whispered, "If Uncle Yang doesn't agree, I won't go either. It's just an audition, and we don't know if we'll be selected."

"That's not possible! We will definitely be selected!" Yang Ruo Yi's thinking was a bit different from her friends. She had a strong passion for her music dreams.

"I think the key to getting Uncle Yang's approval is to understand why he disagrees!" Peng Xueyuan analyzed rationally.

Yang Ruo Yi and Tang Wenfei fell silent, their beautiful eyes shining as they looked at him.

"Have you watched Uncle Yang's live streams?" Peng Xueyuan asked.

Tang Wenfei shook her head blankly; she didn't have the habit of watching live streams.

"I haven't either, it feels weird..." Yang Ruo Yi said hesitantly.

She indeed hadn't watched her father's live streams, even though she knew he had been doing them online recently. The reason was simple, just like some young people who start live streaming but don't want their parents to watch them.

There was always an indescribable awkwardness!

"I've watched a couple of times. Uncle Yang sings very well, but his live stream doesn't have much popularity." Peng Xueyuan suggested, "I think we should watch Uncle Yang's live stream. Maybe we can find some answers! What he doesn't want to tell us, he might tell his audience!"

...

Saying it, Peng Xueyuan took out his phone and opened the Dolphin Live app, which he usually used to watch game matches. He had followed Uncle Yang's live stream, and it just so happened that Uncle Yang was live streaming now. Peng Xueyuan saw Uncle Yang's avatar in the list of ongoing live streams and clicked on it directly.

"... I'm just afraid of no results, feeling so sad that I can't even breathe, the emotions in my heart... are too overwhelming, unable to escape..." The phone played her father's singing. Yang Ruo Yi saw that her father was sitting on a high-legged round chair in front of the camera, holding a guitar and looking at the computer screen behind the camera while singing.

"Is this... Cao Jingqi's song?" Tang Wenfei perked up her ears, speaking in a low voice, as if afraid her voice would disturb Uncle Yang.

"Yes, 'Love's Dilemma,' an early song by Cao Jingqi!" Yang Ruo Yi nodded.

She still felt a bit awkward watching her father's live stream, initially keeping a certain distance, but as she listened to her father sing, she couldn't help but move closer, leaning on Tang Wenfei to peek at the phone Peng Xueyuan was holding.