Cai Cai, Senpai, Help Me Out

Lian Deng is an obscure idol in an obscure girl group ranked somewhere around 108th. For years, she's diligently practiced dance and singing and taken bit parts, never slacking off or playing the field. Thanks to all her hard work, her 108th-tier girl group finally... broke up. Her teammates couldn't stand this obscure, miserable life anymore, and the company decided there was no point keeping a group with excellent skills that just couldn't get popular. At last, the day came when they could happily disband. Her teammates all chose to leave the entertainment industry, never to return to this sad place. Only Lian Deng, who had entered the entertainment industry as a child because her family was poor and had no other skills to fall back on, reflected on things and decided to keep working in show business. A kind senior offered to help her, doing everything possible to promote her with their own connections and resources. But Lian Deng seemed to have some strange kind of deadweight constitution. No matter how well she performed or what news broke about her, people seemed to unconsciously overlook her. Whether onstage, in a role, or amid a scandal, any buzz that started around her always ended up making someone else famous instead. The marketing department was exasperated, her manager was frustrated, and Lian Deng herself remained unruffled and steady, diligently working harder than everyone else as she climbed, step by step, toward the mountain she'd always looked up to, and claimed the crown at its peak. Reader's guide: * In short, that's the gist for now. The blurb might change, just saying. * The heroine is at the center of a web of admirers and a romantic battlefield. She's a clichéd, universally adored Mary Sue: a pretty, ditzy overachiever who can't help putting on a show of artful innocence and cultivating a pure, delicate image. * Career and romance storylines run in parallel. This is my take on the entertainment industry, with a very, very, very personal setting that has almost nothing to do with reality. Please don't take it seriously. * There are no real-life inspirations, so please don't speculate about them in the comments, darlings. Muah www * I haven't decided on a CP, so it'll probably be a stock-picking situation. If you don't like guessing pairings, proceed with caution, darlings. Blurb screenshotted on 2022.02.02 Theme: Whatever difficulties or temptations you face, confront them head-on and overcome them.