Chapter Two: The Delicious Bun Celebration

"I really brought this on myself, having to come to this pre-debut class. Not only is the activity room in the warehouse, but as a manager, I'm also responsible for cleaning! Honestly," Jinghao muttered to himself, regretting his decision.
"Um…we're here to get volleyballs." Several tall female students walked in.
"There are no volleyballs here!" Jinghao shouted angrily.
"Why did I choose them?" Jinghao recalled his conversation with Oliver in the office yesterday:
"Chu Jinghao, I greatly admire your abilities; you deserve better development."
"Thank you."
"Don't waste your talent; the debut class is where you should be."
But Jinghao only replied perfunctorily, "I appreciate your kindness,"
clearly still unappreciative: "But I still want to be Melody's manager. If there's nothing else, I'll head out."
Just as Jinghao was about to leave, Oliver's assistant, "Lanmi," suddenly spoke up: "You actually rejected Oliver's invitation! You'll regret it!"
"It's okay, Melody is worth it."
Just as Lanmi said, he indeed regretted it.
“Why did I have to act cool? I should have just said yes!”
Jinghao scratched his head and plopped down on the ground.
“Is there really no volleyball here?” a female student asked doubtfully.
“I already said there isn’t!” Jinghao was exasperated.
“Today, we’re introducing a remarkable new debut group, the Dorles, who’s been trending on social media lately. Are you all ready? Let’s enjoy their work together.” Su Li started talking about the news again. This time it was about the Dorles group, who were said to be very popular recently.
“From the moment they entered school, Dorles has been a unique group. Their song ‘General’ exudes a cool charm unlike anyone else’s,”
“Put away your regret for breaking the rules,
the game’s outcome is decided,
checkmate on the chessboard,”
followed by the melody of “General,”
“And their other song, ‘Running Towards You,’ showcases a different youthful style.”
“We’ll also look towards the same sunset,
hoping in our hearts that you can be by
my side, running towards you,”
the melody of “Running Towards You” began.
"After joining the debut group, Dorles released a song titled 'Fun,' and the new song quickly climbed into the top ten of the new song streaming charts. Dorles' popularity is soaring! What's their secret to success?" "
Throw aside the boundaries of doubt, complete trust is the only way,"
comes the melody of "Fun."
"Today we've invited them,"
and then, the three members of Dorles appeared before us. They wore tutu skirts with cat paw prints, rabbit or cat ears on their heads, and cat paws on their hands. The bright and sweet colors of their outfits made them look incredibly cute, lively, and playful, perfectly matching the style of their new song. "Hello everyone, we are Dorles,"
they greeted the audience.
"Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?"
"Thank you so much for your support. We will definitely work harder to bring you more wonderful performances. Please continue to support Dorles!" Ning Xueyan spoke, which was quite unlike her usual self.
At this moment, Pinky suddenly jumped out, taking up the entire screen. "I can't take it anymore!" We were startled. Why did Pinky suddenly appear?
"Pinky, what are you doing?"
"It's so fake. Ning Xueyan is never like this, don't you think?" Yeah, where did that proud and elegant Xueyan go? She's obviously faking it on TV.
But we were still envious of Doles, having so many opportunities to appear on TV. "I really envy Doles."
"I want to be on TV too!"
"We've been on before,"
Shiyu next to me nudged me, "That's different."
Pinky chimed in, "Last time was just a rehearsal, okay?"
Shiyu clenched her fist and vowed, "We must stand on a bigger stage!"
Suddenly, we seemed to see the principal and Jinghao doing something "bad." Pinky said, "What are Principal Gao Wei and Chu Jinghao doing?"
"Looking for me?"
"Principal?
" "Good morning, everyone."
Jinghao nudged him, "Why are you only arriving now?"
"I just arranged Melody's schedule."
Hearing this, we thought happily: Finally, we can perform! "We...we've got a gig!" the three of us exclaimed in unison.
"Get ready to participate in the Steamed Bun Festival!"
"The Steamed Bun Festival?"
"Are we going to perform there
?" "No, you're going to help make steamed buns."
Help make steamed buns? That's just making us do hard labor! We're supposed to be singers! Shiyu froze, as if petrified.
"Shiyu," we tried to move her, and Fendu
said unhappily, "Seriously, isn't this just being a laborer?"
"Making steamed buns is fine, isn't it?" the principal retorted.
Fendu was also worried for them: "Why isn't it a stage performance gig?"
"It's not that simple!"
"Fendu, calm down!"
"I'm just worried for you guys. You can't even get on a small stage like a festival, what are you doing making steamed buns?" Fendu's words seemed to make sense.
"Fendu,"
"Not officially debuted, so there's no way to perform on a big stage?" Shiyu sighed helplessly.
"Let me ask you, Shiyu, is all My Melody needs just a grand stage?"
"Think about it while you're making steamed buns."
So, what does it really need? But this isn't about what it needs. We can't even get on a small stage like the celebration, and we're here doing manual labor. Aren't you worried about us?
Jinghao came over: "Principal Gaowei, don't change the subject."
"I'm not!"
Shiyu looked at Jinghao, wondering how he could help us.
Fendu also spoke up for us: "No matter what, give My Melody's debut stage back, give it back!"
"Isn't there a stage over there?"
Shiyu disappointedly took out her notebook and wrote: "Our chances of getting on stage today are only 0.02%."
Song'er comforted her: "Shiyu, don't be so pessimistic."
I also said: "There's a stage here too, maybe."
"But it's just a small stage."
Although it hadn't been long, we were already feeling aches and pains in our backs. "My back, can't I even rest?"
Finally, it was over. "My hands are so sore! This is even more tiring than dance practice!"
Two children suddenly noticed us, a little boy and a little girl. "Sister, sister, are you singers?"
I stammered, "I...we are singers, of course!" I wanted to explain that we were singers, but no one would believe me.
The little boy said, "Yeah, right, why would singers be making steamed buns here?"
The little girl said, "Will someone be performing later?"
"Do you want to see a performance?"
The little girl nodded.
"I even made a candy necklace for the singer sisters!" The necklace was decorated with colorful candies and looked very cute.
Shiyu and Song'er walked over. "We are singers!"
the little girl said. "Really? Have you ever been on TV?"
We didn't know how to answer for a moment. Our situation as a pre-debut class was really terrible. We had only been to one rehearsal as stand-ins, and although the photos were posted online, we hadn't appeared on TV. Shiyu could only say, "I guess so."
The little boy, however, kept asking, "What show is it?"
"What...what was it called again?" I could only pretend to have forgotten the show's name.
The little girl found it strange: "Then why are the older sisters making steamed buns?"
The little boy said, "I get it, you're steamed bun singers."
"That's interesting."
"So corny."
Shiyu got angry: "What?"
"Sisters, I've never seen a steamed bun singer before, can you perform?"
Song'er quickly retorted, "No, no, no, we're not steamed bun singers!"
"Then you're lying!"
"We really are!"
Lying?
"Then you really are steamed bun singers!
" "No way!"
"In that case, we should show our true skills."
"Let me show you Melody's performance!"
We could only prove we were singers with our actions. After all, we had Shiyu and Song'er here, one a main dancer and the other a high-note specialist, and I later worked hard to reach level one, so singing and dancing weren't a problem for us. Since we couldn't answer the questions, we'd surprise them with our performance.
So, we turned on the music and sang our hit song, "Whispers." To the music, we felt like we were performing on a real stage, dancing with youthful energy and singing vibrant songs.
"You dance so well!"
"Amazing!"
they exclaimed involuntarily.
A passerby asked, "Who are they?"
Compared to the dazzling presence of Fei Yang, Si Ji, and even the popular newcomer group, we were practically invisible; nobody even knew who we were.
"I think their name is Melody, they're really good," the person said, perhaps having seen our online video or heard it from the students.
"Please, let them perform on stage!"
"I told you it's impossible!"
Jinghao and the host were still discussing this when they turned around and suddenly saw us dancing. Their eyes widened in surprise.
"Unfortunately, another group is performing today,"
Jinghao said, "Ah,"
and then the host said, "The guest performers have already been arranged, and I can't just change anything."
The grand finale performance was about to begin. Doles arrived.
"It's them, they're here!"
"Great!"
As soon as Dolores arrived, no one paid attention to us.
"So beautiful, so elegant!"
"They're here, are they about to start their performance?"
"Great, they're here!"
Everyone was waiting to see Dolores' performance. Even though we were singing and dancing on the sidelines, no one paid any attention. We had to stop. It seemed that, as Shiyu said, we wouldn't be able to go on stage today.
"We're going over there, Sister Baozi!"
The two little girls also ignored us.
"Everyone, today's grand finale performance is about to begin!"
The host cleared his throat and said,
"Let's welcome the super popular group!"
"Dolores!"
"How could it be them?"
We were completely hopeless.
"It's Dolores!"
"I really didn't expect them to come."
Everyone was so looking forward to Dolores. Compared to them, we were so pitiful; nobody liked us at all.
"Who wants to come?" Xueyan's eyes and voice were as arrogant as ever.
They recalled the scene from this morning:
"Any announcements today?"
"First, it's Macaron's schedule. They're shooting a variety show at 1 PM, a cover photoshoot at 3 PM, and recording songs for their new album starting at 5 PM."
"That's awesome!" The three Macaron members smiled sweetly.
Xueyan tossed her hair, looking quite arrogant. She thought to herself: I, Ning Xueyan, will have more to do than them.
Unexpectedly, this sentence struck like a bolt from the blue: "As for Dorles, they only have one small stage event announcement today."
"What? How come they have interviews and show recordings, while we only get to perform at a small event!" The strong-willed Xueyan was furious.
"This… this is my arrangement."
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"Isn't this pretty good?" Xiaoli smiled, trying to comfort her. "I heard it's a super, super amazing food festival."
Xiaolan made a "shh" gesture.
Xueyan stood up defiantly: "We should perform on a bigger stage!"
Oliver spoke up: "I heard Melody and the others went to help out at that festival. If you want to perform on the big stage, prove your abilities first."
Macaron left first.
Xueyan was indignant: "Melody? They're comparing us to them?"
They went up on stage.
Xueyan's hands trembled with anger: "I'll show you just how big the gap is!"
They can only perform at small events, while we can't even get to perform at these kinds of events—isn't that even more disheartening?
The three of them changed costumes, and the stage became dazzling, brimming with youthful sweetness. Two children sat in the back, only able to hear the beautiful sounds but unable to see the performance. "Let's go to the front!" They went to the front, no longer acknowledging us, "I want to give the candy necklaces to my sisters!"
Suddenly, with a creak, the little girl tripped over an electrical wire. The stage returned to its original state, and the music stopped. The entire audience shouted, "What happened? What's going on?"
The host helped the little girl up.
"I'm very sorry, the performance will resume immediately."
"No need, it's unnecessary." Xueyan didn't care, because she didn't want to perform here in the first place!
"What?"
"Our performance is over." Then she arrogantly left the stage.
"No way, she's leaving just like that? What kind of show is this?"
Xueyan took Uncle Lin's bottled water. "This kind of stage doesn't deserve us at all."
"Let's go, Uncle Lin, I want to go back now."
"Okay, Miss."
"What's going on? "
"What kind of performance is this, just leaving like that?"
"That's too much, really!"
It seemed everyone's expectations had been dashed.
The two children also said, "We waited so long, and it's just gone like that?"
"It's all my fault for being careless, I'm sorry," the little girl apologized.
Actually, even if she was careless, Xueyan's actions were still wrong!
"That concludes Toles' performance. Today's show is now over."
"No, I want to see the show!" the little girl cried.
"Then next one," the host seemed to hear her.
"Let's perform!" I saw a great opportunity to perform; maybe Kyung-ho would let us go up!
The little boy said, "Yeah, those older sisters are singers too!"
The little girl said, "The older sisters danced really well!"
"Okay, but what group are they in?"
Kyung-ho snatched the microphone: "Sorry for the wait, everyone, next up, please welcome Melody!"
It was us! "
It's Melody! Welcome, welcome, good luck!"
Everyone was cheering for us!
"Okay, let's go on stage!"
We changed into our sweet outfits and performed our new song for everyone. This was our debut stage. Although it was small and couldn't compare to TV stations or concerts, there were audience members cheering us on. We performed brilliantly with great joy.
As we left the stage, Kyung-ho said, "Today's performance was a great success."
"Really?" I was very happy.
Pinky said, "That was an exceptional performance!"
A large crowd of audience members gathered around.
"That's awesome, Melody!"
"I even posted the video online!"
"I'm a fan of yours from today onwards!"
"Can I get an autograph? I'm rooting for you guys, keep it up!"
Someone wanted our autographs!
The principal appeared: "How does it feel? You're happy to receive praise from the audience, aren't you?"
"Don't forget, no matter how small the stage is, there are still audiences supporting you."
The shopkeeper brought over the steamed buns.
"You've worked hard today."
"They look delicious, they must be delicious!"
Xueyan arrived at the school.
"What do you want, Vice Principal?
" "Why did you cancel the performance
?" "Do you know how bad this is?" It was Lanmi's voice, Xueyan's assistant, Lanmi.
Xueyan still acted as if it wasn't a big deal: "Is it that serious? It's just a small event."
"Ning Xueyan, you handled this very unprofessionally." Olivier turned around.
"I just didn't want to perform on this kind of stage, wasting my expressions." Xueyan argued.
"Are you going to give up your stage?"
"Let Melody and the others perform on that lousy stage."
Xiaomin opened something and gave it to Xueyan.
"What?!"
"Take a good look!"
It was a video of Melody's performance.
"An incredible, dreamlike performance!"
That was the title.
"The views are...25,000?"
Xueyan couldn't believe her eyes. "What happened? What happened to Melody and the others?"
"This is the video of Melody performing in your place today. The attention that should have been yours has been taken away. This is the price you pay for abandoning your stage."
"If you had arranged a big stage, I would definitely have performed well. How could this have happened?" Xueyan still wouldn't admit her mistake.
"Is that so?"
"What...what should we do?" Lin Lili and Dai Jiali said.
We went back there.
"Sister Baozi,"
it was the two children.
"See? We really didn't lie, right?"
"Don't call us by weird names anymore."
"Sisters, this necklace is for you."
"Really? It's for us?"
The little girl nodded. "Sisters are awesome!"
"Thank you! We'll definitely become an even better group!"
"I'm your fan now!"
"Me too, I'm a fan too!"
"Let's take a picture together!"
We took a group photo and said goodbye to them, feeling satisfied.
"Goodbye, sisters! Come perform again!"
We're back!
"Welcome back, everyone! I've prepared a super delicious dinner to treat you!"
"I'm starving!"
"Perfect! Try my all-you-can-eat feast!"
"We've been making buns all day, and here we are again, still buns!" Seeing the table full of buns, we felt a little disappointed. However, this disappointment was nothing compared to when we first entered the pre-debut class.
"We'll cook dinner ourselves."
Kyung-ho made us omelet rice.
"Eat it while it's hot!"
Kyung-ho's phone suddenly rang.
"Hello."
"Yes, that's right."
"Excuse me."
"You mean you want to invite My Melody to perform?"
We were overjoyed to hear this.
"No problem, of course we'll go back, thank you."
Finally, we can perform on TV!
“Great, the next target is Dream Star,” Pinky suddenly said.
“It’s still a long way off, don’t get too cocky.”
“I was just kidding!”