CHAPTER 15

Cheng Yue’s secretary listened and wasn’t surprised.

His boss had a particular personality—

If he despised someone, and that person happened to love money, he would strip them of every last cent, kick them into the abyss, and sit on the shore laughing at their downfall.

Now, applying the same logic—

That absurd young master from the Yan family and the Zhao family’s neglected eldest son both wanted to watch some variety show on Weiguang.

Which meant that his boss would definitely make them stay put while he went instead.

It was a shame, really. Weiguang was their own platform, so all he could do was watch…

As these thoughts raced through the secretary’s mind, the car had already arrived at Weiguang’s headquarters.

Outside the building, a crowd of paparazzi loitered.

The secretary murmured, “Looks like they’re here for Zhao Qiuying and the others…”

Cheng Yue wasn’t actually interested in the variety show. He just enjoyed seeing others suffer—it made him feel better.

He slowly turned his head and asked, “Zhao Qiuying? Who’s that?”

The secretary was startled. “The big-name guest Weiguang spent a fortune to invite. The incredibly popular Zhao Qiuying. President Zhao’s younger brother…”

Cheng Yue didn’t respond, clearly uninterested.

The building’s revolving doors soon swung open, and people began trickling out. Fans crowded the entrance, shouting their idols’ names.

The first two episodes hadn’t attracted this many fans, but as the show kept trending, more and more fans couldn’t hold back from showing up.

Most of them were fans of the mentors, with only a handful supporting the trainees.

But one girl had a particularly loud voice, and as soon as the doors opened, she yelled, “Jiang Su! Mommy loves you! Go get ’em!”

Her words landed squarely on Dong Jiayu’s face.

Jiang Su already had fans showing up in person?

Dong Jiayu stopped in her tracks, her gaze shifting to the nearby work badge for Star Fans Big Shot.

“Are you here for interviews?” she asked.

The reporter hesitated for a moment but quickly remembered that Dong Jiayu’s return to the industry was still a trending topic. Taking the initiative, they held the microphone up to her.

Meanwhile, in the car, Cheng Yue pressed a hand to his ear, frowning.

Why did he hear Jiang Su’s name everywhere he went?

And Mommy loves you?

Cheng Yue cast a glance outside and coldly muttered, “…Since when did they lower the legal marriage age to the teens?”

The secretary was momentarily stunned. Wow, boss, you’re really behind the times.

But instead of saying that, he politely asked, “President Cheng, shall we head upstairs and take a look?”

Cheng Yue wasn’t interested.

“Drive around.”

And so, the driver circled the building once before stopping at the side entrance.

Cheng Yue’s face was dark and unreadable, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Jiang Su and Wu Qingqing quietly slipped out through the side door.

Zhao Qiuying rushed downstairs but still couldn’t catch up.

He didn’t want to cause unnecessary speculation that might negatively impact Jiang Su, so he could only watch as she left with her teammate.

“Still want hotpot?” Wu Qingqing asked cautiously.

Jiang Su answered instantly, “Yes!”

But the moment she spoke, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

A certain memory flashed through her mind, perfectly overlapping with the scene before her.

She saw Cheng Yue’s car.

Cheng Yue’s license plate number had long been imprinted in the original host’s memory.

The original host had broken down that string of numbers and embedded them into her mind, thinking about them every day, longing to see them.

If he had switched to a different car, I probably wouldn’t have recognized it… Jiang Su thought to herself.

“Jiang Su?” Wu Qingqing saw her suddenly stop and couldn’t help but call out softly.

Jiang Su’s gaze lightly pierced through the car window… but saw nothing.

The windows seemed to be covered with some special film, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

“Jiang Su, what’s wrong?” Wu Qingqing asked.

She hadn’t recognized Cheng Yue’s car. In fact, few people here could. The most widely circulated photo of Cheng Yue in the media was still from three years ago.

Jiang Su lowered her gaze, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

Wu Qingqing looked at her expression and inexplicably felt her heart tighten. Jiang Su suddenly seemed troubled by something, sinking into a moment of melancholy.

Jiang Su spoke softly, her voice slow and gentle: “It’s nothing… I was just thinking, what should a fox do if it runs away, only to be caught by the hunter again?”

Wu Qingqing: ?

Jiang Su, however, quickly found the answer herself: “Just bite his throat open, of course!”

Wu Qingqing: ???

Wait, since when were prey this aggressive?

Yu Xinyan, who was now just a devoted little fangirl, didn’t think too deeply about it. She immediately nodded repeatedly in agreement, “Su Su is right!”

“So, are we taking the subway now?” Yu Xinyan asked.

Inside the car, Cheng Yue sneezed.

The secretary, startled, quickly expressed concern. “President Cheng, could you have caught a cold from handling the Yan family’s matters yesterday?”

Cheng Yue’s brows lowered slightly, a hint of disdain in his gaze. “…The Yan family? Making me catch a cold? Do they even deserve that?”

“Enough, let’s go.” Cheng Yue glanced down at his watch.

Outside the car, Jiang Su also responded with a quiet “Mm.”

And so, Cheng Yue’s car drove forward, looping back to the front entrance.

Meanwhile, Jiang Su, Wu Qingqing, and the others walked toward the subway station.

Over on the other side, Dong Jiayu was in the middle of an interview, smiling as she said, “The fans are so passionate… The moment I stepped out, I could hear them screaming.”

Manager Wang discreetly pinched her from the side.

Actually, she didn’t even need to—Dong Jiayu had already noticed.

Cheng Yue’s car was driving over!

Dong Jiayu’s heartbeat sped up instantly.

Just then, Xuan Wen walked out, and the surrounding paparazzi immediately swarmed around him.

“W hasn’t come out yet?”

“President Xuan, do you have any upcoming work plans?”

Dong Jiayu looked down at the now-empty space in front of her, unsure whether to laugh or be annoyed.

The paparazzi ran off so fast—at least it didn’t stop her from talking to Cheng Yue.

But they ran too fast…

For a fleeting moment, Dong Jiayu couldn’t help but wonder—had she really lost her relevance?

Suppressing her thoughts, Dong Jiayu walked slowly to the side of the car.

“Cheng Yue.” She called his name.

Dong Jiayu had always liked calling him by his name directly—after all, not many people had the privilege of doing so.

The car window slowly rolled down.

Dong Jiayu smiled softly, her eyes brightening ever so slightly. “Did you come here to see me? I thought you were too busy these days to—”

Before she could finish the last word, Cheng Yue cut her off.

“What are you doing here?”

Dong Jiayu: “…”

She lowered her voice, speaking delicately, “I’m a guest on the show.”

Cheng Yue: “Oh.”

Dong Jiayu waited in silence, expecting him to say more, but he never did.

Instead, the secretary spoke in a hushed tone, “That one from the Yan family kicked open the lock and walked out just like that.”

Cheng Yue completely ignored Dong Jiayu and asked, “What about Zhao Bo’ang?”

The moment she heard that name, Dong Jiayu panicked.

No wonder Zhao Bo’ang hadn’t answered her calls. He was with Cheng Yue? Did they have business dealings?

Had Zhao Bo’ang mentioned her in front of Cheng Yue?

The secretary responded, “He’s still sitting there.”

“And the others?”

“None of them dared to move.”

Cheng Yue let out a low scoff. “…Tell the Yan family to compensate me for the lock.”

The secretary was slightly surprised.

The boss didn’t seem surprised at all?

Had he been waiting for this to happen?

Was he deliberately dragging things out, fattening the Yan family up before taking an even bigger slice?

Dong Jiayu couldn’t find an opportunity to interject.

She didn’t really understand business matters.

Because when it came to Cheng Yue, to put it nicely, he was unpredictable and shrewd. To put it bluntly—he was an unfathomable madman.

When he spoke, he never cared about the consequences for others.

And whether the people around him understood or not? That was none of his concern.

“You should focus on your recording,” Cheng Yue said indifferently, then turned to his driver. “Drive. To the Zhao residence.”

The driver responded immediately, starting the car.

As Cheng Yue’s car drove away, Dong Jiayu returned to her nanny van.

Manager Wang looked at her in astonishment. “You just let him leave like that?”

Dong Jiayu hadn’t wanted to, but she didn’t dare not to.

She pressed her lips together. “Cheng Corporation is involved in a lot of classified projects, and now that he’s doing business with the Zhao family, it must be something even bigger… I heard the Yan family even sent a corporate spy to jail a few days ago. These things… I can’t afford to get involved in.”

Hearing this, Manager Wang fell silent.

Dong Jiayu sat there, feeling an inexplicable wave of anxiety wash over her.

Everything… was supposed to go according to her plan.

Expressionless, Dong Jiayu said, “Buy some PR articles.”

Soon, clips from her interview in front of the building were posted online, accompanied by a short video from that day.

The marketing accounts wasted no time stirring the pot, posting:

Do you guys think Film Queen Dong was throwing shade at Jiang Su?

[Some of these fandoms can be really annoying, always crowding the airport.]

[? Excuse me, did Jiang Su’s fans crowd the airport?]

[LOL, my Su Su has just one fan, and you’re still singling them out?]

[Sorry, sis, that was me. QAQ I was the one shouting. I just felt like Su Su doesn’t even have any proper fan support, so at the very least, I had to be the loudest.]

[If Film Queen Dong really can’t stand this, maybe she should cut ties with Zhao Qiuying first. He’s the actual top-tier idol in the country right now, with a massive fanbase and constant airport meet-ups…]

[Scrolling down from this post, the next thing I see is a push notification for a compilation of Dong’s past film and TV works… emmm, this PR campaign isn’t working too well. Film Queen Dong, maybe consider getting a new team.]

…

When Dong Jiayu and Manager Wang saw the online comments, they both felt a moment of awkwardness.

“Could Jiang Su have bought fake engagement?” the assistant whispered.

Manager Wang immediately dismissed the idea. “Impossible.” She sighed. “With Jiang Su’s current popularity, there’s no need. Nearly all the buzz from the entire Weiguang show is concentrated on her alone.”

“Forget it, stop dwelling on this. There’s a film festival next month…”

Dong Jiayu cut her off, her voice cold. “So what you’re saying is, as long as Jiang Su is on the same show as me, I’m doomed to be overshadowed?”

At this moment, there was no trace of fragility left in Dong Jiayu.

She couldn’t understand—how had things flipped so drastically in such a short time?

Dong Jiayu asked, “What do you think about the news of Zhao Qiuying giving her special treatment?”

Manager Wang: “…Not much.”

Dong Jiayu frowned, about to argue.

Manager Wang said, “Calm down and think clearly. Jiang Su’s talent is undeniable at this point. Even if you claim the show’s director is her father and gave her favoritism, it wouldn’t matter.”

Dong Jiayu sat back in silence.

Manager Wang turned away… Yep, it was hopeless. A few years of recovery, and she really had softened her brain. Sigh.

Who knows how much time passed before Dong Jiayu finally spoke again. “But… a trainee idol and a top-tier celebrity in a dating scandal—isn’t that naturally an explosive situation?”

…

Jiang Su and the others were eating at Haidilao.

Yu Xinyan barely took a few bites before she was glued to her phone, muttering now and then about how shameless the marketing accounts were, then suddenly cheering about how the rankings were rising.

Following Jiang Su’s surge on the trending list, the names of the other three girls also began climbing on the search rankings.

Though not too high up, for Yu Xinyan, this was already the proudest moment of her life!

“What’s the point of staring at that?” Wu Qingqing chuckled and shook her phone. “This is more important! Voting starts at 8 PM sharp. Every VIP member on the platform gets one vote per day. Buying an extra membership grants ten additional votes per month. And purchasing any Cheng Corporation product adds one vote per item, no limit…”

Even as she spoke, Wu Qingqing couldn’t help feeling a little excited. “This is… real money being thrown in.”

“The top three in each public performance round get an opportunity—a commercial, an MV, or even bigger resources like a drama or movie…” Yu Xinyan added.

As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Xinyan swallowed hard.

This was something she had never even dared to dream of.

Jiang Su casually played with her chopsticks without looking up. “Hm? What time is it now?”

“Seven fifty-five.”

By now, countless people were already staring at Weiguang’s voting page, ready to click.

A gossip forum had even started a live thread.

OP: Thank you all, I’ll start the countdown—

The densely packed page of trainee avatars quickly started shifting.

[Damn, Lin Sifeng’s fans are insane…]

[She has a solid fanbase. They probably prepped for this vote well in advance.]

[Li Mo’er isn’t doing too bad either!]

[Ding Xuan is catching up.]

[Why is Jiang Su’s count barely moving?]

OP: As of 10 PM, Lin Sifeng has over 10,000 votes, Li Mo’er has 7,000+, Ding Xuan 6,000+, and… Jiang Su, 3,000+.

Wu Qingqing and Yu Xinyan exchanged glances, finding it strange but not daring to say anything to Jiang Su. They quietly closed the app.

Jiang Su remained unfazed.

But while the voting numbers weren’t shifting much, online discussions were taking a new turn.

[Does anyone remember Jiang Su claiming her special skill was “crossing rivers”? Can she actually do it? No idea if it’s real, but she sure knows how to act. She clearly knows multiple instruments and classical dance, yet never mentioned it.]

[How do you know those skills aren’t just “ordinary” for her?]

[Jiang Su trending but not gaining votes is kind of funny.]

[Thanks for the invite. At this hour, most office workers are commuting, working overtime, or eating dinner. No need to be so quick to discredit Jiang Su.]

…

Yan Yucheng was also watching the voting page. After a while, he got bored and handed the task to his assistant—along with a double salary raise.

His assistant instantly got fired up, staring at the screen and muttering to himself, “I’m actually a Jiang Su fan too.”

When Yan Yucheng woke up the next morning, the assistant, now sporting heavy dark circles, furiously reported, “After 11 PM last night, she suddenly gained 10,000 votes! No one else’s numbers moved much, but as soon as morning hit, everyone else surged even faster…”

Yan Yucheng: “Botting?”

Just then, the director arrived at the office. Sitting across from Yan Yucheng, he suddenly looked up and dryly said, “I just remembered something…”

“What?”

The director forced out a smile—one that looked more like he was about to cry. “Originally, Jiang Su’s slot… was supposed to be Tong Rui’s.”

Yan Yucheng had no clue who the hell Tong Rui was.

But the director remembered very, very well.

The director took a deep breath and added, “When we signed the contract with Glimmer, we agreed that Tong Rui’s spot on the show… was just to serve as a decorative beauty. By the fourth episode, she was supposed to be eliminated.”

Yan Yucheng’s face darkened as he sat up straight. “Are you out of your mind?”

The director stammered, “I-I…”

Yan Yucheng continued, “Or was the former CEO the one who was insane?”

The director hesitated. “He… at the time, he was busy competing with Lion King Entertainment over a woman… That girl happened to join this show, so—”

Yan Yucheng let out a cold laugh. What a complete mess.

That girl had been doing everything she could to clean up this disaster, trying to set things right. Yet, she had no idea that someone had already cut off all her escape routes behind her back.

A surge of anger flared up in Yan Yucheng’s chest.

He stood up, staring the director down, his voice icy. “Wait here.”

The director suddenly recalled why rumors had labeled this Young Master Yan as “uncultured” and “uncivilized.”

Wasn’t it because, just two days after being brought back to Beijing, he had beaten up his own father…?

Wait, where was he going?

Was he about to go beat up the former CEO?

The director panicked and frantically tried to call Glimmer. But Glimmer knew that their CEO, Cheng Yue, had been clashing with the Yan family recently—so why would they answer? They simply pretended not to hear the call.

Meanwhile, at the Zhao family estate—

Zhao Qiuying had just changed into formal attire and was preparing to leave when Madam Zhao called out, “Not having breakfast?”

Zhao Qiuying replied, “I’m a bit busy.”

Madam Zhao huffed, “With a family business this big, all you ever care about is your entertainment industry matters…”

Then she paused and added, “Go talk to your grandfather first, tell him to stop playing around. He listens to you the most.”

Zhao Qiuying nodded and went to look for his grandfather in the back room.

Old Master Zhao, in his seventies, loved listening to the radio. Sometimes, he would also watch Yue opera and Ping opera on his computer.

Zhao Qiuying stepped in, expecting to hear the usual drawn-out operatic tunes…

But instead, he saw his grandfather hunched over the computer, wearing reading glasses, his hand trembling as he clicked the mouse.

“Grandpa?”

“Oh, oh! Xiaoqiu, come here,” Old Master Zhao waved him over. “Look at this—why isn’t it working?”

Zhao Qiuying walked over to check and was startled.

Wasn’t this the voting page for Rookie Girls?

Old Master Zhao had accounts on multiple streaming platforms, all premium VIP. The family had subscribed so he could watch Yue opera.

He clicked to vote, and the page refreshed automatically.

“See? Why is the number still the same? I’m not blind—I can see it clearly…”

Zhao Qiuying’s expression turned cold.

Was there something wrong with the voting system?

Pressing down on the mouse, he gently asked, “Grandpa, why are you voting for this?”

Old Master Zhao smacked his lips. “Oh, the other day, I was browsing randomly and stumbled upon it—whoa! That suona performance! Even better than Wang Ergou from my village back in the day! I love it!”

Zhao Qiuying: “…”

His grandfather continued enthusiastically, “And yesterday, I clicked again—whoa! A pipa playing Ambush on All Sides, right? My ears are just fine—I heard every note! I could practically see the swords clashing in the air…”

Zhao Qiuying: “…”

Old Master Zhao mumbled to himself, “Next time, they should use a bianzhong, right? I love that sound too. Dong dong… makes me feel like I’m ascending to the throne…”

Zhao Qiuying: “…………”

“Ah, never mind that. Look, why can’t I vote? I even practiced for three hours!” Old Master Zhao muttered. “Am I getting old? No, I’m not old. I’m still sharp. I picked up smartphones instantly. I even know how to vote. I’m way better than that old man from the Yan family!”

“It’s this page that’s broken!”

“Rubbish!”

Zhao Qiuying soothed him with a few words. “I’ll go find out what’s wrong for you…”

As soon as he left the house, he went straight to the Glimmer platform’s headquarters.

At the same time, after failing to reach anyone at Glimmer, the director had no choice but to call Jiang Su directly.

Jiang Su was lazily reclining on her bed. “Mm, go on.”

Hearing her slow, indifferent tone, the director suddenly felt his heart tighten, as if he had just shrunk a size.

Stammering, he repeated his conversation with Yan Yucheng.

Jiang Su finally sat up, glancing at the camera before turning toward the bathroom.

“So you’re saying, the platform is suppressing my votes to ensure I get eliminated in the next round?”

“Yes…”

Wouldn’t that mean her 60% revenue share would be gone?

Unacceptable.

Jiang Su’s tone remained calm and polite. “Well, if that’s how they want to play, then nobody gets to play. Bye.”

She hung up.

“Wait, hey, wait—” The director panicked as the line went dead, suddenly gripped by the ominous feeling that this girl might just blow up the entire production team.

Meanwhile, at Glimmer’s high-level offices, Zhao Qiuying rushed inside—only to run straight into Yan Yucheng, who was dragging in the former CEO, bruised and battered.

The Glimmer executives stared at the former CEO, momentarily dumbfounded.

Wow.

That swelling… He must’ve taken at least seven or eight punches, right?

Yan Yucheng tossed the man onto the floor.

The former CEO shrank back, muttering, “We need to revise our company contract… From now on, we listen to Young Master Yan. Jiang Su can’t be eliminated in the fourth episode…”

Zhao Qiuying swept his gaze over the scene, frowning slightly. His voice was icy as he asked, “Did you deliberately suppress Jiang Su’s votes?”

Both men spoke at the same time.

Then, they both paused.

Yan Yucheng and Zhao Qiuying exchanged a subtle look.

The executives at Glimmer were just as confused.

…Huh?

Jiang Su was indeed impressive. But they had looked through her background—she had dropped out after high school. Aside from being beautiful and possibly coming from a once-wealthy family that had fallen on hard times…

She had absolutely no backing or connections.

29th floor.

Jiang Su lay on the bed, deep in thought, rolling over as she did.

This was a civilized society, and she was no longer an assassin.

She couldn’t just kill Cheng Yue outright.

Oh… but she could give him something that would make life unbearable yet not let him die—something to make him completely obedient to her. Didn’t Yu Xinyan mention that the Weiguang platform was his business?

Meanwhile, the audience in the behind-the-scenes livestream had no idea what was going through her pretty little head. Excited, they flooded the chat with comments:

[Wuwuwu, my precious girl is so cute! I want to buy a pillow with her on it so I can hug it while rolling around!]

[She really is just a young girl.]