Chapter 40: Press Conference

The release event for the new album was finally scheduled for December 2.

Because [The Girls] had previously announced a temporary disbandment after their former lead singer left, people were actually more interested in finding out who the band's new lead singer was than in the album itself.

Although every song in the album listed the original singer as a girl named Li Nuo, most people had never heard of her.

Some believed that "Li Nuo" was only a stage name rather than her real name.

And although the new lead singer appeared in the music videos uploaded online, her scenes were usually very brief. In some videos, she even wore a cute fox mask, leaving a strong impression. The only thing people clearly remembered was her waterfall-like sky-blue hair.

Everyone thought they would finally see the new lead singer at the press conference.

However, only The Girls' captain, An Ran'er, and their manager, Yu Haoshen, appeared.

This mystery only made netizens even more curious.

As a result, discussions about the identity of The Girls' new lead singer exploded online.

Some people claimed she was the daughter of a wealthy family who joined through connections.

Others guessed she was a third-tier singer invited to join the band.

But the most popular theory was that the new lead singer had originally been an ordinary student at a regular high school called Nanqin High School in S City.

The reason was simple.

During the period when The Girls had temporarily disbanded, their captain An Ran'er had suddenly transferred to that school.

Many people naturally connected the two events.

………………………

The day after The Girls released their new album, Amusement Park, Nanqin High School became extremely lively.

Many students, just like the people online, believed that The Girls' new lead singer was currently studying at their school.

And when it came to students related to music, the obvious candidates were the music-specialty students.

At the moment, there were only two such students in the school.

One was An Ran'er, who had transferred in.

The other was Tang Lili, a second-year student from Class Four.

Because both "Tang Lili" and "Li Nuo" contained the character "Li" in their names, rumors quickly spread around the school that Tang Lili was actually The Girls' new lead singer.

As a result, every break period brought crowds of students to Tang Lili's classroom to watch her.

Her friends also came to ask whether she had really joined The Girls.

The sudden feeling of being treated like a celebrity left Tang Lili somewhat dazed.

She neither denied nor confirmed the rumor.

She only smiled and said,

"No comment."

Because of that, many people took the rumor as fact.

Even though Tang Lili's hair was not blue, they simply assumed she had worn a wig while filming the music videos.

As for why she wore a wig?

Probably to create a mysterious image and make it harder for people to guess her identity.

However, Tang Lili herself knew very well that she had never received any invitation from a band.

In fact, she did not even know An Ran'er. Still, she had no intention of explaining.

Even if she did, nobody would believe her.

Besides, she did not dislike the feeling of being admired.

…………………………

Meanwhile, in Class 3 of the first year.

The real new lead singer of The Girls, Li Nuo, had just arrived at school and immediately put his head down on his desk for a nap.

Over the past ten days, he had been filming music videos and recording songs.

Although there were only ten songs, it was impossible to finish each recording in one take.

By the end, his throat was almost hoarse from singing.

Combined with the tight schedule and lack of rest, he was completely exhausted.

While drifting between sleep and wakefulness, he felt someone pat his shoulder.

He lazily lifted his head and saw his good friend Zhou Qikuan.

Looking at the tired Li Nuo, Zhou Qikuan asked with concern,

"Your illness should be better now, right?"

"Illness? What illness?" Li Nuo asked blankly.

Seeing his reaction, Zhou Qikuan looked confused.

"Didn't you take ten days off because you had chickenpox?"

The moment he heard that, Li Nuo instantly woke up.

Back when he requested ten days of leave for the album project, he had lied to the school and claimed he had a contagious illness.

He quickly laughed awkwardly.

"Haha... I'm fine now. Don't worry."

"As long as you're okay."

Then Zhou Qikuan glanced at the seat beside Li Nuo.

"By the way, what a coincidence. Xiao Lu told me they were also away for exactly ten days to film MVs and record new songs."

Li Nuo immediately stiffened.

Then he forced out an awkward laugh.

"Y-Yeah... what a coincidence... haha..."

But inside, he could not help complaining.

What's wrong with Ye Feilu? Why does she tell this guy everything?

While they were chatting, a twin-tailed girl suddenly squeezed herself between them.

"Li Nuo, you're back! Is your illness okay now?"

Zhou Qikuan looked at the girl in surprise before turning to Li Nuo.

"You know each other?"

Li Nuo looked at her and recognized her as Chen Zhizhi, the girl he had met once on the bus.

"I guess you could say we know each other..."

Then he answered her question.

"Uh, I'm fine."

"That's good."

Then her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"By the way, Li Nuo, do you know that The Girls have made a comeback and released a new album?"

"Uh... yes."

"Let me tell you, I bought the album yesterday! Wow, it's really amazing. The lyrics and melodies are all super good."

Zhou Qikuan nodded as well.

"I bought it too. It's really excellent."

"I-Is that so? Haha..."

Hearing both of them praise the album nonstop, Li Nuo could only laugh awkwardly. Looking at the still-smiling Li Nuo, Chen Zhizhi suddenly asked,

"You bought The Girls' new album too, right?"

"Uh... actually, no."

"Oh, that's such a shame."

Then she continued excitedly,

"You know, I even searched online for their music videos because I wanted to find out who the new lead singer Li Nuo is."

Then she sighed regretfully.

"But the new lead singer barely appears in the videos."

A moment later, her eyes sparkled again.

"Even though she doesn't appear much, I can still tell she's a beautiful blue-haired girl. She's pretty and her voice is amazing. Wow, I'm completely in love with her!"

As Chen Zhizhi continued talking enthusiastically, Zhou Qikuan suddenly said,

"I watched the music videos too. What blue-haired girl?"

Chen Zhizhi stared at him in disbelief.

"The lead singer doesn't appear much, but there's no way you completely missed her, right?"

Zhou Qikuan scratched his head awkwardly.

"Uh, I was busy watching Xiao Lu the whole time, so I really didn't notice."

"Xiao Lu? You mean their drummer, Ye Feilu?"

"Yep."

"Hmm, she's pretty cute too, but I still like Lady Li Nuo more."

"L-Lady Li Nuo?"

Hearing her call him that, Li Nuo's expression became strange.

"What's wrong?" Chen Zhizhi asked.