CH 104

Ever since Tan Jing began understanding the Chinese language, her mother’s favourite line was: “It’s all because you’re not a boy.”

Regardless of the context, her mother would say that. Back then, she’d wished for herself to become a boy so she wouldn’t have to listen to her mother say that everyday.

Later, when her uncle came to visit, he suggested that her physique was built for badminton.

So she ended up in the same sports school as Lin Miao.

The first day in their dorm, she felt as if she was abandoned. Her pink bed and her teddy bears were all gone.

Everything was taken away.

Little Tan Jing thought of what her mother said. She needed to win gold, her father would like her if she won a gold medal.

She still wanted her father to love her like everyone else’s fathers.

Back when she was in kindergarten, she’d often seen her classmates’ fathers pick them up, even carrying their backpacks for them and leading them out of the school.

She also wanted to be treated like that.

Then, her roommate came. It was a girl who was half a head taller, and her smile was as pretty as a blooming flower.

Little Tan Jing couldn’t think of a word to describe her. She just wanted to be best friends with her.

That night, when the sky had darkened, she curled up under her quilt. She thought of her mother, and her home. She would’ve been watching TV at home right now.

Her nose felt sour and she soon started crying, unable to resist her tears.

Her roommate then asked to sleep with her.

So she scooched further into the bed, making enough space for her roommate to sleep beside her.

Her friendly roommate hugged her, and then patted her head. Her heart felt warm.

Back when she was at school, one of her classmates was her neighbour, so they naturally knew her parents and their favourite line. Her entire class joked and teased her with the line: “It’s all because you’re not a boy.”

She barely had friends.

The two soon fell asleep that night. It was warm and cozy under their quilt. Tan Jing’s heart wasn’t cold anymore.

From that day, she would go wherever Lin Miao went, and do whatever Lin Miao did.

Her team joked that she and Lin Miao were conjoined twins. If they saw one of them, the other one would be right with her. However, Tan Jing didn’t care. She was Lin Miao’s best friend, and no one was going to change that.

However, she then realized that Lin Miao had an older brother, and she liked her older brother more.

No, it wasn’t that Lin Miao liked her older brother more, it was only because her older brother could only visit weekly.

Little Tan Jing comforted herself, thinking that all was fine as he only showed up on a weekly basis, so she was still Lin Miao’s best friend.

Then, Lin Miao became her older brother, brother Shui.

It felt as if they also became a family.

Tan Jing felt satisfied, very satisfied. She had felt love and care that her parents had neglected to give.

Brother Shui would bring her snacks, wake her up in the morning, blow-dry her hair from time to time, and even control her from buying snacks from outside.

She liked it when brother Shui stopped her. It made them feel more like a family, as only a family would care.

She later followed Lin Miao into the professional badminton team. Luckily, she had also passed. It would’ve separated them if she didn’t qualify.

Even though they switched teams, they were still roommates.

She was glad.

All kids would grow up someday, but Tan Jing thought that she was an exception. Lin Miao was already dating her childhood sweetheart, but Tan Jing was still at the naive stage of not understanding what love was.

However, she was still glad that Lin Miao was living a good life.

As for her childhood sweetheart… Forget it, she only had a childhood sweetheart without the sweet or the heart.

So… As a naive girl, she naturally entered the idol-chasing lineup.

It was mainly because his appearance itched her heart too much. It was almost as if he was made for her, super super handsome!

His smile was so sweet, luring Tan Jing right into fanning for him.

Tan Jing began her consumeristic celebrity fangirling adventures. She bought her idol’s posters, and would watch his TV shows whenever she wasn’t training.

After watching an episode of a TV show he starred in, she thought that the only reason she wasn’t deterred away from him was because she was a hardened fan. However, she also decided to drop the TV show.

Meanwhile, the coach had also noticed her chasing celebrities. He took her phone away to ensure that she focused on badminton and said that he’d only return it when she won a gold.

Tan Jing trained hard and actually ended up winning gold. However, when she turned her phone on again, she saw the news that a character that her idol was supposed to play was stolen by a newbie named Li Juan.

The entire fanbase was berating this newbie. Tan Jing saw that they were already accusing him of pulling strings, but Tan Jing didn’t think it was appropriate, as there was no proof to it…

But she was also too shy to say that.

However, a few days later, Li Juan publicly said that the director contacted him for his role. It displeased Tan Jing.

Her idol had already said that the director had finalized the actors, so he basically stole the role from him.

Tan Jing didn’t know how to berate people, but she was just as angry as those who did, so she commented under his Weibo: “Liar!”

It could even be considered nice compared to everyone else’s ‘disgusting’ and ‘get out of the entertainment circle.’

Meanwhile, to everyone’s surprise, her badminton team had also agreed to collaborate in a public service advertisement.

Tan Jing was naturally chosen to be the actress. She was considered one of the more attractive ones.

The focus of this ad was on widowed seniors.

People had been telling her from the start that the male actor was going to be a new star in the circle.

When Tan Jing arrived at the studio, she realized that the actor was that Li Juan.

She was wearing her athletic uniform, and he was in a suit, wearing a tie, looking very formal.

They met eyes with each other when he coincidentally turned around.

Tan Jing realized that he was even a bit prettier than he was in the photos online, but she still remembered him stealing her idol’s character.

Of course, she couldn’t let that stand in the way of their work.

These advertisements didn’t have much preparation for athletes like her. She didn’t have many shots, either.

However, in the last of the shots she did have, she needed to hold hands with him.

Tan Jing: “…”

They soon finished filming. Tan Jing went to change back into her athletic uniform and prepared to leave the building.

However, before she could even step out the front doors, she heard someone call her name.

Turning her head around, she saw that it was Li Juan.

Li Juan and her idol weren’t the same type. Her idol was a young and cute man while the man in front of her was almost 190cm, and despite also looking very handsome, appeared to be very domineering. She’d feel uneasy just from him looking at her.

Li Juan was a bit shy, but still pushed through, asking, “Hello, we’ve introduced ourselves already moments ago. I’m Li Juan, and I’m your fan. I’ve watched many of your videos… Um… Can you give me a signature? I… I brought the pen and paper.”

He spoke as he brought out a pen and a piece of paper.

Tan Jing froze. Huh? My idol’s competitor is my fan?

Tan Jing felt an indescribable feeling. It was too dramatic.

However, the person suddenly didn’t feel so annoying anymore.

Since people who had good taste were at least tolerable, Tan Jing generously gave him a signature, and chose to forget the insult she’d posted under his Weibo.

Unlike Lin Miao, Tan Jing didn’t like to read, and could never study and enroll in a university like her. It was a bit too difficult for her.

So, she chose another path, which was to work as a coach in a sports school. She felt that she knew everything about being a coach from her own coach already.

However, surprisingly, when she retired, a TV channel invited her to participate in a reality TV show.

She didn’t want to go until she saw the pay.

Tan Jing was starting to question life.

So, she agreed, as she might not have to worry about money for the rest of her life.

She decided without much consideration, as filming would never be as exhausting as when she’d still trained badminton.

Once she arrived at the set, she realized that Li Juan was also there.

Li Juan was no longer a newbie, but instead a popular star. Her old idol had already fallen out of relevance. Things change very fast in the entertainment industry.

Now that she was older and more mature, she realized that her old idol relied on winning little girls’ hearts. The most important part of an actor was his skill.

Her idol’s acting was beyond trash. She couldn’t keep chasing him now that she’d grown.

In terms of Li Juan, Tan Jing watched two of his most popular shows, and he was pretty good.

However, he probably forgot about her, as they hadn’t contacted each other for many years. Their only interaction was still that advertisement.

So, Tan Jing was pretty at ease.

The TV show’s main focus was a budget vacation around China. Yes, it wasn’t even abroad.

The program staff prepared two hundred dollars for every group. They had to use their own talents to travel and tour the places designated by the staff.