“You’ve got to pay taxes for your intelligence, right?” Lin Xiaoman said seriously, “Remember the cameras next time.”
With that, she leisurely left the monitoring room.
“Teacher Fang, what should I do?” Chu Daizi was lost and desperately sought help.
“You made the mistake,” Fang Laoshi avoided her and walked out the door, “Don’t drag me into this.”
Chu Daizi stared blankly as he left, then realized her industry reputation might be ruined and began to scream uncontrollably: “Ahhhhh—”
Ning Yumei and her groupmate Zhang Jiajia happened to pass by. Ning Yumei asked with concern, “What’s wrong with Chu Daizi?”
“Yumei, you don’t know yet,” Zhang Jiajia laughed disdainfully, “She deliberately locked Lin Xiaoman in a room to prevent her from participating in the competition.”
“How could that be? Is it true?” Ning Yumei looked shocked, “She’s not that kind of person. I chatted with her before and thought she was nice.”
Zhang Jiajia hugged Ning Yumei, “My dear, you’re too naive. Besides, this was told to me by my friend. How could it be fake?”
Zhang Jiajia’s friend worked at the radio station, so his words were likely true.
“She’s really stupid,” Ning Yumei shook her head regretfully, “She’s ruined herself in one go.”
Zhang Jiajia curled her lip in disdain, “Without any backing, she’d go crazy trying to grab this rare chance to become famous.”
“But it’s her own doing,” Zhang Jiajia lost interest in Chu Daizi and changed the subject, “I heard the heir of Tianming Group is returning home soon. There’s a party. Are you going?”
Zhang Jiajia always felt that among these trainees, only Ning Yumei, who like her came from a wealthy family, could share common topics. So she usually only associated with Ning Yumei.
“Won’t your friend from the TV station be angry if you go to the party?” Ning Yumei teased.
Zhang Jiajia was only averagely pretty, with no standout features, and her singing and dancing were ordinary. But her friend who worked in post-production always amplified her strengths, giving her personas like “tomboy” and “foodie” in the program’s daily videos, helping her maintain a decent audience base.
“Would he dare to be angry?” Zhang Jiajia said proudly.
Just as Ning Yumei was about to speak, her phone rang – it was her agent calling.
“Quick, check Weibo. What’s the story behind the video?” her agent’s voice was very anxious.
Uneasy, Ning Yumei separated from Zhang Jiajia and returned to the makeup room to check Weibo.
A small Weibo account suddenly released a video of Ning Yumei smashing things in the dressing room, accompanied by the caption “Persona collapse?” It was instantly reposted over ten thousand times and became a Weibo hot topic.
Some people even made a meme video of the smashing scene, repeatedly playing it with her sharp “Ah!” instantly becoming the top meme.
Ning Yumei looked at her enlarged, ferocious face and angrily threw her phone to the ground. Recalling some particularly disgusting comments, she couldn’t swallow her anger and wanted to pick up her phone to curse back, only to find it was broken.
Irritated, she tossed the phone onto the sofa, opened a drawer filled with unopened phones, and casually took one out, switching her SIM card.
As soon as it turned on, she received a text message – “Someone has hired a marketing company for Lin Xiaoman.”
Ning Yumei gripped her phone tightly. She knew this wasn’t just luck – Lin Xiaoman’s ability to enter the semi-finals must have been manipulated behind the scenes.
“Who did it?” she immediately sent a text.
They’re keeping it very quiet.”
Ning Yumei frowned. Could she have found a sponsor?
Her family would never help her, and there’s no such thing as a selfless benefactor. There’s only one possibility: she found a sponsor and climbed up the social ladder.
Who could it be?
Ning Yumei forgot about her own matters and hurried to find Lin Xiaoman.
Indeed, not finding Lin Xiaoman in the dormitory, Ning Yumei inquired around and learned she had gone to the stairwell.
Ning Yumei quietly approached the stairwell and saw Lin Xiaoman talking to a man, who only showed his back, which Ning Yumei couldn’t see clearly.
She only saw the man give Lin Xiaoman an envelope. After he left, Lin Xiaoman opened it to find a room key card.
Caught red-handed!
Ning Yumei laughed. This time, she would ensure Lin Xiaoman couldn’t turn the tables!
Lin Xiaoman found a sponsor? They were going to meet?
She would make sure Lin Xiaoman couldn’t meet her sponsor and create trouble for her.
“3014…” Chu Daizi muttered, looking at the room number, her heavily made-up face showing a hint of nervousness.
This was her first time in such a high-end hotel.
The soft wool carpet felt wonderful; she decided that when she had money, she would carpet her entire home.
Though she’d heard these carpets were hard to clean, she wasn’t worried – she’d be rich, and if it got dirty, she’d just throw it away. Classy.
“As long as you serve the person in the room well, forget about making the finals – your future in the entertainment industry will be smooth sailing,” Ning Yumei’s words when giving her the card made her even more excited.
She had long heard that the entertainment industry was chaotic, and without connections, one needed a sponsor. When entering the industry, she was prepared to sacrifice everything, but later discovered sponsors weren’t easily found. In the years since signing with her agency, she hadn’t even had a chance near a sponsor, let alone meet one.
This time, thanks to Ning Yumei, she was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate – she even had the room key!
Thinking this, she pulled down her V-neck, exposing what she was proud of, and confidently swiped the key card at the door.
“Beep-” The door opened, and Chu Daizi carefully walked in.
Seeing the room’s full view, she gasped. Beyond the massive floor-to-ceiling window, the sunset was golden, with gorgeous clouds like a fairy’s skirt falling on the horizon, reflecting on the shimmering river like a flowing ribbon. Chu Daizi unconsciously walked forward, with high-rise buildings beneath her feet, suddenly feeling a sense of supreme power.
She now understood why ancient kings loved building high towers – the view from up here was truly amazing.
Shower sounds came from the bathroom. Chu Daizi’s mouth involuntarily curved upward.
Suddenly, her gaze fell on a contract nearby – a sponsorship agreement.
Chu Daizi grew even more excited, feeling this was becoming more reliable. She could almost see herself wearing an expensive gown, waving to reporter friends under the spotlight.
The bathroom sounds stopped. Chu Daizi suddenly felt panicked. Hearing footsteps approaching, she quickly fixed her bangs and put on what she thought was a seductive smile, turning around.
And then she froze.
It was actually Ji Zhixian!
The faintly visible abdominal muscles, hair dripping with water droplets, deep eyes like a desolate night sky, and that handsome face that would make one’s legs go weak – Chu Daizi felt like she wanted to scream.
However, reason told her she must hold back and maintain her composure.
Men are most cherished when they are unattainable.
“I can sign this contract right now,” she quickly picked up the contract and handed it over, all pretense of restraint gone. “The terms are flexible.”
Ji Zhixian’s cold gaze swept over her body, finally landing on the room card in her hand.
“Where did this room card come from?” Ji Zhixian asked coldly.
“A friend from the program gave it to me,” Chu Daizi said nervously, clutching the contract. Ji Zhixian’s gaze made her somewhat afraid.
Ji Zhixian frowned slightly.
“Don’t blame her for being nosy,” Chu Daizi noticed his displeasure and hurried to explain, “She was just trying to help me.”
“Help you?” Ji Zhixian’s gaze grew even colder.
