The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 118 The Unexpected Center Member

Du Qiong followed behind Xu Hongdou, thoroughly enjoying the sense of accomplishment that her "work" had become the focus of attention.

Even Yang Muye, after admiring Xu Hongdou's new hairstyle, secretly gave Du Qiong a thumbs up.

Zhang Kai stretched out a hand to Xu Kaiyang beside him: "Don't just stand there, give me the money!"

"What's the rush? This is just the beginning. What if there's a dark horse later on?"

Even though that's what he said, Xu Kaiyang was already convinced that Xu Hongdou would definitely come out on top in this makeup trial.

Fortunately, he was cunning and realized that Yang Muyi paid special "attention" to Xu Hongdou, so he set the odds for Xu Hongdou to the lowest possible level.

I only lost a few hundred dollars in total, no big deal.

Xu Hongdou returned to her seat, but before she could even sit down, Chen Nanxing grabbed her hands and spun her around in a circle.

Chen Nanxing's eyes sparkled with excitement as she exclaimed, "Wow, Hongdou, you're so beautiful! Even a fairy descended from heaven wouldn't look like this!"

"Yes, with you and Zixi becoming so beautiful, the pressure has suddenly fallen on Nannan and me."

Xia Qing joined in the joke.

Chen Nanxing immediately protested: "You already have a boyfriend, why are you anxious about your appearance? I'm the one under immense pressure, okay?"

Xia Qing winked mischievously at Chen Nanxing: "Then you should hurry up and urge Hongdou and Zixi. Once they're settled, you'll be the most sought-after person in our dorm."

"Red Bean is already being targeted, so I don't need to worry about it—"

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Hongdou gave him a hard tickle under his arm.

Chen Nanxing laughed and dodged away.

"Zi Xi has too high standards. I actually think Wu Di is quite good."

Seeing that the conflict had turned against her, Yang Zixi said irritably, "It's true that I have no feelings for Wu Di."

"No matter what, the center position in Sisters Who Make Waves will definitely be the two of you—" Chen Nanxing said, glancing at Zheng Wei at the next table.

In a nine-member girl group, there can be three center positions.

Zheng Wei has a cute face but a mature body. Only girls with such contrasting characteristics can stand next to Xu Hongdou and Yang Zixi without being overshadowed.

"Sisters Who Make Waves?"

Xu Hongdou looked at Chen Nanxing with a puzzled expression. Had she missed something when she was cutting her hair?
"The senior who rides the wind and waves, or 'Sister Waves' for short, is the name that Yang Muyi gave to our nine-member group."

Chen Nanxing explained.

Xu Hongdou asked, puzzled, "Why do you call me 'senior sister'?"

Chen Nanxing pursed his lips: "Maybe he likes mature women."

Coincidentally, Du Qiong and Yang Muye were also talking about this topic.

"Do you guys not like long, straight black hair anymore, but prefer big, wavy curls?"

Du Qiong asked, looking very serious as if seeking advice.

"Not necessarily."

Yang Muye looked over at the table where Ruan Wan and Zheng Wei were sitting.

"The girl in the white dress on the right, her name is Ruan Wan. I think she looks great with long, straight black hair."

Du Qiong followed Yang Muye's gaze and, after carefully examining Ruan Wan's face, nodded in agreement.

However, Du Qiong's gaze was soon drawn to Zheng Wei, who was standing next to Ruan Wan.

"What's the name of the girl next to you?"

Yang Muye did not answer, but walked straight to Zheng Wei and Ruan Wan's table.

"Ladies, it's your turn."

The two women stood up together and followed Yang Muye to Du Qiong.

Yang Muye gave a brief introduction to both parties. Du Qiong said frankly that both women's current hairstyles were very suitable, and they only needed to change the color of their hair.

Ruan Wan dyed her hair black and straightened it, while Zheng Wei dyed her hair a natural brown.

The hair dyeing process was quick; Du Qiong's treatment also only took a little over half an hour.

Then Zhu Suosuo, Guan Wen, Xie Meilan, Xia Qing, and Chen Nanxing were called in one after another.

Zhu Suosuo got a wavy perm similar to Yang Zixi's.

Guan Wen's shoulder-length short hair remains unchanged, and she has dyed it a natural brown color as well.

Despite her petite stature, Xie Meilan still maintains her high ponytail hairstyle.

Xia Qing got a middle-parted straight hairstyle.

The biggest change was in Chen Nanxing, who, at Du Qiong's suggestion, wore two braids, making her look more playful and cute.

This made Xu Kaiyang a little flustered.

He set the odds for Chen Nanxing at 1.7. Now, Chen Nanxing's transformation after tying her hair up in a braid is huge, and she is in no way inferior to Xu Hongdou and Yang Zixi.

After finishing all the girls' hairstyles, Hu Ling suggested that the nine of them stand on the stage for a group photo.

When taking their positions, all nine people were courteous to each other, and no one was willing to stand in the middle.

Finally, Yang Muye came over to take command.

“Xu Hongdou, the five girls from your tourism management class will stand in the back row. You can decide on your own positions.”

"Guan Wen, Xie Meilan, Ruan Wan, Zheng Wei, you can squat in the front row, any position is fine."

In the end, of the five girls in the back row, Xu Hongdou was moved to the middle.

The four girls in front, Xie Meilan and Zheng Wei are standing in the middle.

Yang Muyi then held up his Canon 5D Mark II, a DSLR camera he had bought specifically to film Cheng Feng and Wu Di's daily videos.

"1, 2, 3, look at the camera!"

The flash went off, and nine radiant smiles were captured in the photograph.

As soon as he put down the camera, Xu Kaiyang came over, pretending to look at the photos, but actually to discuss the betting odds.

Who do you think has the biggest change in their new look?

Just then, the girl on stage asked to see the photos, and as Yang Muye handed her the camera, he suggested to Xu Kaiyang:

"How about we let them vote for the person who has changed their look the most?"

"Okay, let them vote themselves. Each person can only vote once, they can't vote for themselves, and they can't abstain."

After all nine girls on stage had looked at the photos, Yang Muyi told them about the voting.

The other four girls in the Tourism Management class all looked at Xu Hongdou.

As a result, Xu Hongdou said:
"I voted for Nan Nan. When she tied her hair up in braids, she really looked like a different person."

Chen Nanxing immediately became anxious.

"I voted for Red Bean. Have you all forgotten what everyone's expressions were when she came out with her new hairstyle?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Zixi's voice rang out.

"I'll vote for SouthSouth too."

After giving Chen Nanxing a helpless look, Xia Qing also cast her vote for Chen Nanxing.

Zhu Suosuo and the four girls were not in the same dormitory, so their relationship was somewhat distant. In the current situation, she would just follow the crowd.

Guan Wen, Xie Meilan, Zheng Wei, and Ruan Wan didn't hesitate at all and collectively cast their votes for Chen Nanxing.

Chen Nanxing was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet on the stage.

"Why are you all like this? You're only picking on me because I'm easy to bully, aren't you?"

Unfortunately, the objections were ineffective, and everyone accepted the outcome.

Xu Kaiyang and Zhang Kaixin, sitting in the audience, were extremely frustrated.

Xu Kaiyang was frustrated not only because he had misjudged Chen Nanxing, but also because Cheng Feng was the only one among everyone who voted for Chen Nanxing.

Losing 700 yuan is a small matter; the key issue is that Cheng Feng earned that money, which made Xu Kaiyang extremely unhappy.

Zhang Kai was frustrated because the thirty yuan he was about to receive had just flown away, and he even had to pay an extra 300 yuan.

Just as Yang Muyi took the camera back from Xu Hongdou and the other girls, Hu Ling followed and found him.

"What should I do? I want to sign all nine of them right now, not one less." Hu Ling's voice was filled with excitement and anticipation.

In comparison, Yang Muye was much calmer.

"We can prepare two types of contracts, namely formal members and part-time members. Formal members can get a higher share of advertising and business deals, but they must obey the company's arrangements for all activities. Part-time members have a lower share, but they can choose to participate in offline activities."

One can earn more money, the other offers more freedom.

All aspects have been taken into consideration.

Hu Ling's eyes lit up after hearing this.

While all nine girls were on stage, Hu Ling went up and gathered them together to announce the matter.

"If you choose to become a part-time member, it's actually similar to participating in club activities at school, and it won't take up much of your time."

"As for full members, they will indeed have to sacrifice more personal time, but at the same time they will receive more resources from the company."

"I just discussed it with Mr. Yang. Part-time members and full-time members can switch at any time without any restrictions. You can discuss it first and then make a decision."

As soon as Hu Ling finished explaining, Zheng Wei was the first to speak up.

“I can sign on as a full member, but I want to make it clear first that my main purpose in joining Sisters Who Make Waves is to become famous, so I hope to get more opportunities to perform in the team.”

Only in this way can Lin Jing, who is studying abroad, see this and make him regret it.

Hu Ling glanced at Yang Muye beside her and nodded in agreement to Zheng Wei's request.

Zheng Wei's qualifications certainly qualify her for the center position.

"Then I'll sign up as a full member too."

Yang Zixi then expressed her opinion.

Hu Ling nodded; another center position was secured.

The third person to speak was somewhat unexpected.

“I can also sign full members.”

Xie Meilan spoke up.

Although Hu Ling was somewhat surprised, she still nodded in agreement.

Although Xie Meilan is not the most ideal center member, she is willing to sign official members, so giving her the center position is not out of the question.

Of course, it also depends on whether other people want to sign official members, since a nine-member group can only have a maximum of three center members.

After waiting for a while, no one spoke up.

Hu Ling thought that this was the only way, and then asked the other six people if they were all willing to sign up as part-time members.

Ruan Wan was the first to nod in agreement.

Guan Wen then added that he had no problem.

The remaining four girls are from the Tourism Management class.

Zhu Suosuo needed Yang Muye's help regarding sponsoring the welcome party, so she had no choice but to agree.

After glancing at Xu Hongdou and Xia Qing, Chen Nanxing said he needed to think about it some more.

At that moment, Xu Hongdou's voice suddenly rang out.

"No need to think about it anymore, let's sign it together."

She said this not only to Chen Nanxing, but also to Xia Qing, who was also hesitating.

"Red Bean, you really agreed?" Chen Nanxing asked, overjoyed.

One sentence revealed her true thoughts; she actually really wanted to sign the contract.

Xia Qing, on the other hand, had already made a promise with her boyfriend Yu Tu to take the entrance exam for the finance graduate program at Tsinghua University.

Having switched schools and majors, Xia Qing wished she could devote herself entirely to her studies from her freshman year.

"I can only sign a one-year contract at most. I'll be busy with my own things in my second year of university, and I definitely won't be able to take care of things here then."

Xia Qing spoke hesitantly.

Hu Ling couldn't make a decision on this matter either, so she could only ask Yang Muye for his opinion.

"Okay, next year we'll try to find a new member from the freshmen to replace you."

Yang Muye has already been chosen as the candidate. The only uncertainty now is whether he will be admitted to Yanjingmao next year or the year after.

If that person doesn't come next year, Xia Qing can leave the group first, and the group can be changed to an eight-member group. We can then consider whether to add a new member later.

With the signing process completed smoothly, Hu Lingru breathed a sigh of relief.

Yang Muyi then announced the news to everyone in the bar.

The members of Old Boys, Plastic Brothers, and the Barbarians all stood up and applauded enthusiastically to welcome their new colleague.

Xu Kaiyang took the opportunity to suggest that everyone go out for a meal together.

Everyone else agreed, except for two people who refused.

One is Xie Wanghe, and the other is Xie Hongzu.

Xie Wanghe's reason was that he had classes at school in the evening and couldn't ask for leave.

Xie Hongzu also said that he had something to do that evening, but actually he just didn't want to join in the fun.

Xie Hongzu was dragged here by Xiao He, and even if Xiao He guessed the truth, she couldn't persuade him otherwise.

On the contrary, Zhu Suosuo, because they were from the same hometown, asked Xie Hongzu to stay for dinner.

Xie Hongzu did show a tiny bit of interest, but ultimately shook his head and refused.

After Xiaohe dropped Xie Hongzu off, she specifically went to Zhu Suosuo to explain, "That's just his personality. He's used to being alone, and he's not used to being with a lot of people."

Zhu Suosuo didn't really care.

Xie Hongzu was nobody to her; at most, they were just acquaintances, not even ordinary friends.

On the other hand, Xia Fenghua, who was seeing Xie Wang off, was in a bit of a dilemma.

Logically speaking, if Xie Wanghe was leaving, Xia Fenghua should have gone with him.

But once Xia Fenghua left, Ma Siyi was left all alone again.

Xia Fenghua felt deeply guilty towards Ma Siyi because of Grandma Ma's passing.

After weighing the options, he decided to stay and keep Ma Siyi company.

Xie Wanghe was not surprised by this, and even supported Xia Fenghua's decision.

Seeing Xie Wanghe's expression, filled with longing for Ma Siyi, during their farewell, Xia Fenghua's mood suddenly plummeted.

Ma Siyi quickly noticed Xia Fenghua's emotional change, but didn't know how to comfort her.

One of the most important reasons he left a letter and ran away was that he wanted to help Xia Fenghua and Xie Wanghe get together.

Unexpectedly, the three of them met again in Yanjing.

“Fenghua, didn’t you dream of becoming a singer when you were in high school? I remember you told me that your biggest wish was to sing on stage with Chun Chun one day.”

"Yeah, because of this, I was really teased by Xie Wang and the other three. At first, I really thought it was Chun Chun chatting with me. It was so embarrassing."

Ma Siyi suddenly asked, "Do you still want to be a singer?"

"Now?"

Xia Fenghua was stunned.

Ma Siyi looked at Xia Fenghua with a firm gaze.

"Yes, right now."

"I--"

Xia Fenghua hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

All she wants to do now is work hard, earn money and send it home to help ease her parents' financial burden.

The dream of becoming a singer is too extravagant for a girl like her, who is of average appearance and comes from an even more ordinary family.

But Ma Siyi didn't think so. She could see that Xia Fenghua still longed to be a singer.

After Xie Wanghe walked away, Ma Siyi grabbed Xia Fenghua and ran into the bar without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)