The Daily Record of Secretly Loving the Male Idol Chapter 25.1

From kurosaki-kun no iinari ni nante naranai

Oooo … from the chapter t.i.tle I'm just all prep for some heating up! lol!  I think it's about time we up the ante with our leads.  Too much thinking can't be all that good – the heart needs some action too … we can only hope!

*** Anyone interested in joining Meraki as an editor or translator, please email [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from some of you! : )

Chapter 25.1 Rival

Translated by Minodayz

Proofread by Librismuse

Li Erqin looked at Rong Si and gave him an inquiring look.

Ruan Mingxian thought this was hilarious. "Why are you looking at Rong Si? Is he your guardian?"

Li Erqin coolly swept her gaze back. "You've disrupted our rehearsals. So, what do you think about that?"

(Minodayz: you go girl – I like your feistiness!)

"Go ahead." Rong Si stood up after shutting the piano lid. "After your chat, head back to cla.s.s. I just remembered that Teacher Jiang wanted to catch up with me on some matters."

"OK." Li Erqin nodded.

Rong Si said, "You guys go ahead and chat. I'll tidy up the cla.s.sroom (before I leave)."

After Rong Si had finished tidying up, he took the stairs to head down but noticed that Ruan Mingxian and Li Erqin were at the corner of the upper level of the staircase. Ruan Mingxian was leaning against the handrail in a languid manner, draping himself across as if he had no bones. He towered over Li Erqin, who was a head shorter than he, and was looking down at her.* His eyes filled with laughter as he said, "That's why, I thought about asking you to see if you were interested."
(TN: The phrase used is 居高临下 which is to live high and look down, to  occupy a higher ground or to be arrogant.)

Rong Si didn't stop in his tracks as he rounded onto the next flight of stairs, at which point he wasn't able to hear their conversation anymore.

(MInodayz: RS, aren't you too chivalrous. C'mon mate … don't leave them alone!!! [–00–])

At this point, Li Erqin was taken aback as she looked at Ruan Mingxian and repeated, "You want me to be an emcee?"

"Yup." Ruan Mingxian nodded and added, "The other senior girl who was my co-host had to pull out because of some personal reasons."

"Why choose me then?"

Ruan Mingxian smiled, "I feel like the position would suit you."

Li Erqin looked at him; her pupils were like still water, clear and clean.

"You're a member of the Broadcasting club, your Mandarin is good**, your voice is quite distinctive," Ruan Mingxian paused before giving a mischievous smile, "and you're beautiful too."

Li Erqin nodded. "I know."

Ruan Mingxian was speechless.

"So you will agree to do it?"

"It shouldn't be a major problem." After saying that, Li Erqin hesitated and asked, "It won't take up a lot of time, right?"

From the beginning, Ruan Mingxian was waiting for her to soften up (and let him in) and then he'd work hard at the next steps. Thus, when he heard her response, he happily smiled and said, "With me around, what is there to be afraid of?"

Li Erqin looked at him with a confounded expression.

Ruan Mingxian raised his eyebrows. "You don't trust me?

Li Erqin shook her head. You're not Rong Si.

(minodayz: you got it right, he sure ain't RS!!!)

"Can I take it that you've agreed to do it?"

Li Erqin nodded.

Ruan Mingxian sighed with relief. "Okay then, during tonight's self-study session, come up to the laboratory floor room 302."

"WHY?"

"Meeting."

Seconds before the bell rang for the afternoon self-study session, Li Erqin arrived back in cla.s.s to find Su Zi sprawled on her desk napping. Peng Zige and Rong Si were nowhere in sight.

She took out her workbook and began to write. However she hadn't written more than a couple of words before someone patted her on her shoulder. At the same time, she heard Peng Zige's voice over her head. "Erqin."

She set down her pen and turned her head around to see Peng Zige and Rong Si both in their respective seats.

"What's the matter?"

Peng Zige asked, "Why was Ruan Mingxian looking for you?

Su Zi was awakened by Peng Zige's chatter and sat up in a daze.

"Said he was looking for me to be an emcee."

Peng Zige commented, "Say that again?"

Li Erqin raised her voice slightly. "To be an emcee."

At this, the students around them had overheard and curiously turned their attention towards them.

"Is it to host the Spring Festival programme?" someone asked.

Li Erqin nodded.

"Why did he ask you out of the blue?" Peng Zige asked.

"He said that the senior female student who was originally going to emcee had some personal issues come up."

Then another student piped in, "How come every good opportunity seems to land on you, Li Erqin?"

Li Erqin looked over in silence. "That's because I'm in the broadcasting club."

"Let's get back to self-study." Rong Si spoke out, stopping everyone's idle chatter.

The group obediently shut their mouths and returned to their workbooks.

Before Li Erqin turned back, she couldn't resist looking at Rong Si.

Rong Si asked, "What's the matter?"

"This was why Ruan Mingxian was looking for me this afternoon."

"OK."

Li Erqin paused with her original expression and stared at Rong Si for a while, unconsciously pursing her lips.

She felt like she had …… made an unnecessary explanation?

Minodayz: I dunno what to say about RMX turning up suddenly and offering her the co-host position – seems like he is trying hard to make a move, but I'm a little baffled by RS seemingly nonchalant reaction! I mean … still water runs deep? Even more surprising is that LEQ actually accepted RMX request – are you trying to stir things up too, beloved LEQ!?  I love the jealousy of the cla.s.smates and more so when RS shut them down! Almost hilarious! Well, happy weekend everyone … til next week where we crank up the tension I'm sure!!

**When Ruan Mingxian said that Li Erqin's mandarin is good, he means that she has a proper, standard accent, such as the one used by news reporters and emcees. Because Chinese is tonal, one's p.r.o.nunciation is often remarked on, and clear diction is an a.s.set.

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