Chapter 226: Chapter 226: The Young General’s Own Army
From her features, Sang Ning could recognize the person in front of her as Qin Kai. He might have changed his appearance, but she hesitated before speaking.
The visitor didn’t say a word, just casually slid one hand into his pocket and approached her step by step.
Sang Ning felt an odd tension in the air. Her eye twitched slightly as she slowly turned and backed up against the door panel, preparing to slip into the dressing room.
But Qin Kai took a large stride forward, closing in at a 45-degree angle. He braced one hand against the door frame, pinning her with a classic kabedon. "Junior, can I get your contact info?"
Sang Ning finally snapped out of it—it was the second round of the advancement competition, and Qin Kai had been assigned to the idol drama group.
Clearly, he was fully engrossed in his role-play and had started running lines with her.
Sang Ning immediately slipped into her own role, a mischievous smile curling at her lips as she forcefully pushed Qin Kai away.
She reversed the situation, pinning him against the opposite doorframe.
With Qin Kai’s baffled expression on full display, she raised her right leg high in the air, executing a flawless split.
Her right foot landed just beside Qin Kai’s head on the doorframe, delivering a flawless "leg don."
With her left hand on her hip and her smirk turning even more devilish, she sneered, "Senior, your flirting tactics are a little outdated, don’t you think?"
Qin Kai’s role-play composure instantly crumbled. He raised both hands in surrender, reverting to his usual goofy big-brother persona. "Alright, I give up! Please, stop radiating the cringe!"
Sang Ning slowly lowered her leg. Just then, a sarcastic female voice came from the side.
"Sang Ning, if you want to show off your long legs, can you go somewhere else? You’re blocking the way for everyone else."
Sang Ning stepped away from the doorframe and looked up to see the speaker—it was Chu Xi.
She wore a bright yellow imperial robe, the collar trimmed with mink fur. Her hair was styled into delicate Qing Palace coiffures, her hands gracefully clasped below her chest while holding a small white handkerchief.
This time’s ensemble performance was a palace drama where everyone played lead roles, and Chu Xi had been cast as the Empress, with notably more screen time.
The Empress’s costume was more opulent and regal, though logically, Chu Xi’s sweet and pure face didn’t naturally align with the Empress’s imposing presence.
Yet, her slightly tilted head, disdainful gaze, and that ambiguous smirk transformed her look, appearing as though she had ruthlessness etched into her expression.
Sang Ning stroked her chin, sizing up Chu Xi with a critical eye before nodding in appraisal. "Xixi, not bad. I can sniff a bit of malice beneath your ridiculously pretty face."
Chu Xi’s tightly held expression instantly collapsed—here we go again!
Sang Ning always spoke with that sarcastic tone, making it impossible to tell whether she was complimenting or insulting her!
"Trash, good luck. Let’s see if you even get the chance to prance around on stage in the next round!" Chu Xi scoffed disdainfully.
She had intended to stride past Sang Ning dramatically, leaving her with a breezy back-view exit.
But she forgot she was currently wearing platform shoes. Taking a grand stride instantly made her back seize up.
She was inches away from falling flat on her face when Qin Kai quickly stepped in to steady her, sparing her from utter embarrassment.
"Xixi, if we’re talking about prancing, I really can’t match up to you. Look at yourself—you’re prancing around quite merrily right now, aren’t you?" Sang Ning teased, gleefully basking in Chu Xi’s misfortune.
"I’m off to get ready. I’ll be watching your performance from the audience later."
"Good luck!"
Sang Ning blew Chu Xi a cheeky kiss before striding into the dressing room with flair.
Chu Xi was so infuriated she almost grabbed her hair, but then remembered her carefully styled coiffures that the makeup team had spent two hours perfecting. She swallowed her anger instead, watching Sang Ning’s retreating figure while clenching her teeth.
The dressing room had four makeup stations in total, and when Sang Ning entered, only one was vacant. She walked over with polished composure and sat down.
The four makeup stations were arranged in pairs on opposite sides, and sitting behind Sang Ning was Qingyue. The other two positions were occupied by contestants from other groups.
After sitting, Sang Ning glanced into the makeup mirror and caught Qingyue discreetly sizing her up with ill intent.
Sang Ning wasn’t polite about it either; she immediately shot him a dramatic eye-roll through the mirror, mouthing exaggeratedly, "Ug—ly—beast!"
Qingyue’s expression instantly changed, and he withdrew his gaze, clearly understanding her silent insult.
The makeup artist had been meticulous with Qingyue’s styling. By the time Sang Ning arrived, Qingyue was already wearing his wig.
The strands flowing down from the wig were smooth and jet-black, more luminous than any other wig Sang Ning had encountered so far.
The privilege of capital-backed contestants was glaringly apparent—even their makeup and styling outshined that of regular trainees.
Sang Ning was playing the role of a General, and since she had short hair, she also needed to wear a wig and have her hair styled into a bun.
Aside from constructing the bun, Ma Liheng had specifically asked the makeup artist to minimize Sang Ning’s feminine traits, even suggesting that she stick on a fake beard.
While communicating with the makeup artist, Sang Ning vetoed the idea.
Her character was supposed to be a young General, barely twenty years old—what kind of teenager grows a full beard?
Aside from the wig and bun, Sang Ning only requested the makeup artist to draw bold sword-like eyebrows. Any additional tweaks were unnecessary.
Once her styling was complete, Sang Ning headed to the cubicle beside the dressing room to change into her costume.
The scene was set in the imperial palace, so the attire leaned toward casual wear. The stylist had picked out a black robe for Sang Ning, paired with boots embroidered with golden patterns.
The boots came with built-in 8-centimeter insoles, instantly boosting Sang Ning’s already impressive height of 172 centimeters to a towering 180.
When Sang Ning emerged from the cubicle fully dressed, casual glances from everyone in the makeup room halted as they landed on her.
Logically, Sang Ning’s upward-slanted fox-like eyes should have contrasted with the General’s casual costume, creating some discord.
But when Sang Ning stood silently in her black robe, everyone in the room momentarily overlooked her gender.
Her expression was firm, and her presence emanated an unmistakable aura of sternness, faintly exuding the aura of a young General.
Sang Ning kept repeating to herself inwardly: From this moment onward, I am a textbook example of masculinity.
She turned to the stylist beside her and lowered her voice, projecting a gruff, deep male tone. "Miss, how’s my outfit? Does it pass?"
The stylist, caught off guard by Sang Ning’s gaze, flushed inexplicably. Her eyes lowered as she hesitated to meet Sang Ning’s stare, blurting out, "So handsome! So handsome! Way too handsome!"
Sang Ning: "..."
Qingyue had already gone to the other cubicle to change his costume and was not visible in the makeup room.
Sang Ning couldn’t be bothered about him any further. Once her styling was finished, she left the makeup room and headed to the backstage lounge.
The route to the lounge passed by the mentor’s resting area. As she reached the door, Sang Ning impulsively wanted to turn the handle to check if Wen Jiu was inside.
Over the past few days, she had suppressed the urge to call and console Wen Jiu, fearing that reopening old wounds might bring her grief.
She hadn’t seen Wen Jiu in days and had no idea how she was doing.
Just as Sang Ning placed her hand on the door handle, before she could turn it, the door swung open from the inside.
The instant their gazes met, Sang Ning saw a cascade of complex emotions in Wen Jiu’s eyes.
Shock, confusion, disbelief...