Chapter 015: The Showdown of the Control Group

In the end, Fang Yimeng still fled the scene in a panic.

But Lu Jingshan’s hoarse, desire-tinged words continued to echo in her mind:

“Since when has something like this been enough to satisfy you, Sister?”
“Satisfy you… Sister…”

Her cheeks flushed bright red as she sat stiffly on the judges’ panel. When Li Ke saw she had returned, she hurried over with the makeup artist. The artist quickly took out a lip gloss to touch up her lips, while Li Ke cautiously held a cup of black coffee nearby.

“What’s the general flow of today’s recording?” Fang Yimeng slightly parted her lips to cooperate with the makeup artist, though her speaking range was limited.

Li Ke quickly placed the coffee on the table, pulled out the script from her backpack, glanced at it, and repeated word for word: “Today we’re mainly filming the opening for episode two and announcing the new rules. The original mentor-student pairs will be dissolved, and everyone will be randomly regrouped for an ensemble acting challenge.”

“So do the mentors still have influence over the students?” Fang Yimeng, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

“They do. The mentors’ scores can still be added to their students’ performances,” Li Ke confirmed after flipping through the script.

Just as she finished speaking, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the filming set. Everyone, including Fang Yimeng, turned their attention to the door.

The doors were pushed open, and in walked Liao Ran in a simple long dress with soft makeup and flat shoes. But it was the man beside her who captured everyone’s attention.

“President Li!” Director Zheng Xihe had just bumped into Lu Jingshan outside. The two of them arrived at the entrance to find Liao Ran and another man standing there.

The man exuded an imposing and chilly aura, while the woman radiated gentleness and warmth — a perfect contrast of yin and yang. They looked like a flawless pair.

As a humble producer, Zheng Xihe naturally bent over backward to greet these people, especially someone who could casually invest billions into a program.

Liao Ran turned her head and saw Lu Jingshan standing beside the director, hands in his pockets, expression cool and aloof. She was visibly surprised for a moment before forcing a gentle smile in his direction.

But that smile was left unanswered.

His gaze passed right over Liao Ran and Li Jincheng and landed straight on the judging panel — on the little woman getting her lips retouched, deliberately keeping her eyes raised to avoid his.

Realizing she was nervously dodging his gaze, Lu Jingshan’s cold expression finally softened with a faint smile.

That smile did not go unnoticed by Liao Ran.

Following his line of sight, she saw Fang Yimeng holding a coffee cup and frowning as she drank the bitter black brew.

In that instant, Liao Ran furrowed her brows slightly. She wanted to say something to Lu Jingshan, but Zheng Xihe pulled her attention back with conversation.

“What are you standing there like a statue for? Did you finish the business you came here for?” Fang Yimeng, now fueled by bitter coffee rather than shame, walked over to Lu Jingshan and snapped irritably.

Lu Jingshan looked down at the pouty woman beside him. He pressed his lips together, unsure how to answer in a way that wouldn’t provoke her.

“Director Zheng, my apologies. Mr. Li just came from a negotiation and dropped by the set to visit. Once we’re all free, we’ll talk in more detail — does that work?” Liao Ran’s voice floated over from the side.

But to Fang Yimeng, that sentence carried a different meaning entirely.

“She really had to mention the negotiation out loud?!” she muttered under her breath.

Lu Jingshan noticed her lips moving but couldn’t hear over the noise. He leaned in and asked, “What did you just say?”

“She’s flaunting her money! She dared to show off that she got paid right in front of us?!” Fang Yimeng grabbed Lu Jingshan’s arm and glared up at him, her eyes blazing.

Seeing her so indignant, he instantly understood what she was upset about. He wanted to laugh but didn’t dare, afraid she’d get the wrong idea again. So he simply bit back a smile and looked at her with helpless affection.

“Jingshan, youth may be your greatest asset, but when it comes to investing, you should proceed with caution,” Fang Yimeng said loudly, throwing her voice in Liao Ran’s direction on purpose.

The man in question could only look helplessly at this woman who cared so much about appearances.

Liao Ran flinched at the word “youth”, glancing subconsciously at Li Jincheng beside her.

Among the three childhood friends, Li Jincheng was older by seven years. Now matured by time, he carried a sense of solemn dignity. Fang Yimeng bringing up age so pointedly was clearly a jab — a way to say he wasn’t as young as Lu Jingshan.

Her brow twitched hard as she turned toward the woman stirring up trouble between the three of them.

That woman, naturally, was looking back at her with smug satisfaction.

“You invested over a hundred million into such a small-time show? Jingshan, after all these years, your judgment has gotten worse,”
Li Jincheng finally acknowledged Lu Jingshan’s presence, speaking without even moving closer.

“Still as fond of meddling in others’ business, I see.” Lu Jingshan’s voice was icy as he raised an eyebrow. “I just wanted to make a beautiful woman smile. What’s a hundred million to me?”

He stretched his long arm slightly, and the petite woman beside him knew exactly how to cooperate — leaning into him like a delicate bird, perfectly matching his gesture.

“Even if I had to invest a hundred billion, as long as it makes me happy, isn’t that worth more than anything else?”
His voice was light and casual, but laced with deliberate arrogance.

The words sounded like it was his own decision to invest — but in reality, he was flaunting his freedom and pleasure in front of Li Jincheng.

Liao Ran’s expression, already stiff from the start, darkened further when she heard “make a beautiful woman smile.” She looked at Fang Yimeng, who was clinging to Lu Jingshan so intimately.

“Hmph, can happiness be eaten like bread? The Lu family’s assets will all be gone at this rate,”
Li Jincheng sneered, face cold as always, and turned to leave for the lounge.

Liao Ran hesitated, then walked up to Lu Jingshan herself.

As she approached step by step, Fang Yimeng grew visibly more alert.

“You know Jincheng didn’t mean it that way. He only said those things for your own good,” she tried to explain.

Fang Yimeng’s mood instantly soured.

She stepped forward before Lu Jingshan could speak and said, “Miss Liao, how would you know what’s best for him? You’re not him. You don’t speak every year. How do you even know what the Lu family’s situation is like these days?”

“Even if the Lu family isn’t what it used to be,” Lu Jingshan added, his voice calm but firm, “even if everything collapsed — as long as I still have her, I wouldn’t consider myself empty-handed.”

He tightened his arm around Fang Yimeng’s waist, gazing down at her with unmistakable affection and longing.

Playing her role to perfection, Fang Yimeng turned her head up, face beaming with exaggerated joy as she locked eyes with him — the very picture of romantic bliss, purely to spite Liao Ran.