Chapter 23

Lilith noticed that Qing Liu was different from before, at least not as easy to manipulate. She thought that Qing Liu might be trying to take advantage of the situation and challenge her for some benefit.

Lilith looked at her impatiently and said in a low voice, “Come with me. It’s not convenient to talk here.”

Although Qing Liu’s live stream orb was turned off, there were still a few guests upstairs. She had also just seen Han Luofeng outside, so she felt that the villa wasn’t safe. It was possible that their conversation could be overheard.

Qing Liu also agreed that it wasn’t the best place to get information from Lilith, especially since Lilith was being so cautious.

So, Qing Liu followed Lilith out. As they were leaving, Lilith took out a mask and handed it to Qing Liu, saying, “Don’t let anyone see your face.”

Qing Liu: “……”

The more Lilith acted like this, the more curious Qing Liu became about what Lilith was planning to do next.

There was no one else in the villa, and Lilith had been worried about running into Han Luofeng, but fortunately, they didn’t.

They arrived at a private small conference room outside the villa. There were no surveillance cameras in the room, and the program’s office was on the other side of the villa, so the place was very quiet and private.

As soon as Qing Liu entered, she saw the girl with the mask. She raised an eyebrow, immediately making the connection to her role as a “blacklisted” guest. She quickly came up with a guess.

Once inside, Lilith had no more reservations. She got straight to the point, saying, “Qing Liu, the cat’s popularity is very high. Honestly, any newcomer who has this kind of popularity, we could make them a superstar.”

“You know your situation. The online hate is still going strong. Before you joined this variety show, how long had it been since you last received any job offers?”

Qing Liu looked at her in silence and said, “So?”

She glanced at the white-haired, green-eyed girl and asked Lilith, “Are you planning to have her replace me and continue the live stream?”

Lilith, without any shame, replied, “Yes.”

Her tone was condescending: “I know it hasn’t been easy for you to make it from the barren star to here. As long as you cooperate well, your upcoming contribution value assessment will definitely pass.”

Qing Liu sneered, “Lilith, think about it yourself. How many times have you used this ‘contribution value assessment’ as an excuse to deceive me? Do you really think I’m stupid and don’t know you’re lying?”

Although Qing Liu didn’t know exactly what the “contribution value assessment” process entailed, from the original owner’s memories, she knew that it was a regulation of the Empire. The Empire provided some special privileges for residents of the barren star, such as in education and employment.

However, these permits were not permanent. They had an expiration date. Once the time was up, the person had to undergo the individual contribution value assessment. They had to prove that they contributed value to the Empire in order to be allowed to stay.

Qing Liu believed that as her manager, Lilith could indeed help her communicate with the company and facilitate the process.

But based on what Qing Liu knew of Lilith, she felt that Lilith would never help her with this matter.

Lilith was selfish and arrogant, with the same superiority complex that most of the residents of the main star had. From the very beginning, Lilith had valued Qing Liu for her looks, hoping to use her to create value, but in reality, she held Qing Liu in contempt.

Once Qing Liu was no longer useful, there was no doubt that Lilith would kick her back to the main star without hesitation.

Qing Liu found a chair and sat down, then looked at Lilith and said, “You used this excuse to trick me into toasting a man named Eric at the banquet. You even told me to intentionally trip and spill wine on his suit. Then you took a lot of photos, and the next day, rumors started that I was Eric’s lover.”

Lilith: “……”

Damn, Qing Liu had had rumors with so many men, but why did she specifically bring up Eric now?

Did she know that the snow eagle was actually Eric?

In her shock, Lilith even forgot to get angry.

Qing Liu thought of this and scoffed coldly, “Don’t even look at who Eric is. He’s obviously an aloof, high-class man. Anyone who could have a relationship with him is probably a deity. Do you think I’m a match for him? It’s all just reckless hype. Don’t you feel guilty?”

Lilith: “……”

Her lips twitched, speechless: “What are you talking about? You’re going further and further off-topic. We’re supposed to be discussing you quitting the show.”

Qing Liu was immediately angered by these words. With a “smack,” she slammed her hand on the table. She felt that Lilith was so evil, taking advantage of the original owner’s naivety and her desperate desire to stay on the main star. She had used what the original owner wanted most to deceive her.

But it was all without any real plan or strategy. Seeing that there were no resources to push Qing Liu, Lilith resorted to cheap tricks, all sorts of scandalous publicity stunts.

At first, it wasn’t even about publicity, Lilith had simply hoped for Qing Liu to cling to the right connections. She took her to various banquets, to anyone with a good background, high status, or even just a little money—almost all of them had had wine thrown on them by Qing Liu.

Now Qing Liu finally understood why the original owner had such a bad reputation. Who could like someone like that?

“And that actor named ^[1]Xiǎo Tián Tián (小甜甜) english is “Little Sweet”Xiao Tiantian!”

Qing Liu didn’t intentionally bring up these two men, but they left such a strong impression on her!

Eric was someone she had thrown wine on when she first debuted. Back then, the original owner was timid and nervous. Though he hadn’t scolded her afterward, she still remembered it clearly.

As for Xiao Tiantian, that was a long story.

Qing Liu was furious: “You even made me go to his fitting room to seduce him!”

Lilith: “…Lower your voice.”

How could a female artist even say something like that?

Qing Liu was beyond redemption.

She paused for a moment, staring at Lilith: “When you made me do all those things, you always said the assessment could help me, but up until now, there’s been no progress. And now you want me to quit the show? Do you really think I’ll believe you? I’m not quitting.”

Lilith glanced at the time, surprised that Qing Liu had become so difficult. With time running out, she calmed down and said, “Those things you did in the past, I also…””

“What did you say?” Qing Liu eyed her warily. “No way, no way, you don’t want to admit it, do you?”

Lilith: “…”

Lilith was usually very cautious. According to her usual personality, she wouldn’t admit something like this directly. But now, Qing Liu was being so difficult, pushing her with one question after another, which was really starting to annoy her. On top of that, time was running out. Michelle was probably already in Director Zhang Song’s office.

Michelle was their head manager. At first, Lilith hadn’t considered replacing Qing Liu, but it was Michelle who approached her and discussed the idea.

Now, Michelle was representing the company, going to speak with Zhang Song, while Lilith’s job was simply to convince Qing Liu and get her to go along with it.

But now, things are starting to get out of control.

Lilith was so angry that she lost her composure. She took a deep breath and spoke slowly, “Yes, I admit it. It was wrong of me to make you do those things. But at the same time, you’ve gained popularity, haven’t you?”

Qing Liu: “Do you want this popularity for yourself?”

Lilith: “…”

She couldn’t take it anymore. Slamming her hand on the table, she angrily said, “Enough! I’m your manager. Whatever I tell you to do, you do it. What do you mean by this, questioning me?”

Lilith was pacing back and forth in frustration. “Do you remember when you were so poor you couldn’t even afford cafeteria food? Back then, if I hadn’t signed you to the company, you’d still be handing out flyers in the low-income districts, wouldn’t you? I’ve seen too many people like you—wanting to stay on the main star, wanting to make money, but having no ability and offering nothing of value to the Empire. What makes you think you deserve to stay on the main star, huh?”

Qing Liu ignored Lilith. Taking advantage of Lilith’s ranting, she pulled out a bottle of drink, twisted off the cap, and smiled at the white-haired, green-eyed girl sitting quietly beside her, who hadn’t dared to speak.

“Feeling tired? Take a sip of water and rest a bit. This was specially bought for me by Lilith.”

The white-haired, green-eyed girl looked at Qing Liu, feeling both guilty and inferior.

Although she was here to replace Qing Liu, there was no denying that Qing Liu’s features were more delicate and her figure more appealing. The artificially created green eyes couldn’t compare to the natural gemstones that Qing Liu possessed.

The girl took the drink that Qing Liu handed her. Looking into Qing Liu’s clear, gemstone-like green eyes, she felt a little awkward. “Thank you.”

She took a sip from the bottle, noticing that the cap had already been unscrewed.

At this moment, Lilith suddenly reacted and lunged forward, sharply shouting, “Don’t drink it!”

Saying that, she snatched the drink from the girl’s hand and slammed it onto the ground with a loud “bang.”

The girl was startled by her actions and stammered, “W-what’s wrong…?”

Qing Liu deliberately said, “Yeah, Lilith, wasn’t this the drink you specially bought for me? Why can’t she drink it?”

Her voice was crisp, and she emphasized the word “specially,” causing Lilith’s face to twist in anger.

“Have you lost your mind?” Lilith turned and glared at Qing Liu. “If you don’t want to cooperate, you’d better get back to your barren star! Let me make it clear: not only will your evaluation company not help, but I’ll also write to your investigator and report your insolence!”

The word “insolence” carried a heavy connotation, implying a lack of manners, high instability, or behavior that posed a threat to planetary stability—something that could justify immediate deportation.

Qing Liu looked at her, blinked, and suddenly pouted, speaking with a mock-crying tone, “How could you do this to me?”

Lilith: “???”

Qing Liu paused, then turned to the girl beside her and suddenly exclaimed in shock, “Ah! She… she turned into a cat!”

Lilith looked at the girl, now transformed into a large cat, her heart filled with both hatred and fury.

She had put a drug in the drink that was meant to affect the girl’s mental power, intending to destabilize it and trigger a beastly transformation. That way, she could use it as a legitimate excuse to negotiate with Zhang Song.

But…

Lilith walked over, about to speak, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qing Liu operating her smart device. Instantly, a sense of unease gripped her, followed by an absurd realization.

“You—”

At this moment, she suddenly calmed down, her eyes locking onto Qing Liu. “Qing Liu, did you record this?”

Qing Liu looked up and smiled at her. “Yes, I did.”

After all, her acting skills were limited, and she couldn’t keep pretending to cry forever.

Lilith then suddenly realized what had happened. No wonder Qing Liu had inexplicably started bringing up old grievances, talking about pouring drinks on people, going to fitting rooms to seduce others, and even asking her if she was backing out of what had happened…

It turned out that Qing Liu knew very well that the current popularity was hard to come by. If she wanted to be accepted by the audience, she needed to clear her name.

Lilith screamed, “Are you crazy? How could you do this? You lowborn piece of trash!”

Qing Liu looked at her with an expressionless face as Lilith broke down in rage.

Qing Liu guessed that the company must have considered helping her clean up her image after seeing the popularity of the “little cat” persona. However, Lilith would never sacrifice herself. After all, for a completely blacklisted female guest to suddenly turn around and clear her name, it would inevitably drag the company down.

Someone had to take the fall.

The company wouldn’t make sacrifices, and Lilith was even less willing to. So, somehow, someone, a person with a clever mind, must have come up with the idea of replacing her.

To be honest, it was a brilliant idea. If everything went smoothly, the company would suffer no loss, and there would be no trouble.

But Qing Liu wasn’t willing to accept that.

The “little cat” was hers. Why should she just hand everything over?

What belongs to her is hers. Even if she lost it and it became a mess, she wouldn’t let go without a fight. That wasn’t Qing Liu’s style.

Lilith’s mental strength was at a C-level, much higher than Qing Liu’s. When she loses control, it could be quite dangerous. However, Qing Liu wasn’t afraid. As a healer, she could save people, but she could also harm them. If Lilith dared to make a move, she wouldn’t hold back!

Just as Lilith was cursing and closing in to make a move, the door to the meeting room was suddenly kicked open with a loud “bang.”

Both Lilith and Qing Liu turned around at the sound and saw a tall man in a suit standing in the doorway.

His golden hair was buzzed short, and his golden eyes reflected the chaotic scene in the room from the shadows.

Han Luofeng’s gaze briefly swept over Qing Liu, then shifted to Lilith. He spoke in a low voice, “Sorry to interrupt your conversation.”

He stood in the doorway, and beside him was his live streaming orb, with a small green light blinking on it. The sight of it sent a chill down Lilith’s spine.

Han Luofeng slowly walked into the room, his tall figure exuding a strong, oppressive aura. As a rare S-class, his presence was always intimidating.

After he entered, Qing Liu noticed that behind him followed a middle-aged man wearing a vest marked with “Destined Match” and a middle-aged woman with gray hair.

Qing Liu didn’t recognize them, but Lilith immediately recognized them as Director Zhang Song from the program team and Michelle, the head manager of their company.

Han Luofeng walked up to Qing Liu, gave her a careful look, and asked, “Are you okay? I heard you were crying just now.”

Qing Liu: “…”

Qing Liu was a bit surprised. “Did you hear everything?”

Han Luofeng nodded. Not only did he hear it, but his live streaming orb, with billions of viewers watching, had heard it as well.

Qing Liu: “…”

Qing Liu was speechless. So, all her recording was in vain?

But at least, it wasn’t a wasted performance.

Han Luofeng spoke in a low voice, “I heard you threw wine at Eric and tried to seduce Chester in the fitting room. I feel very sorry for you.”

His heart was already sour, as if he had eaten an entire jar of vinegar. He didn’t say who he was referring to.

Qing Liu even nodded in agreement, “I also feel sorry for myself. I was tricked at that time, and I didn’t want to do it.”

Her tone was heavy, “In the past, I had no choice. Now, I want to be a good person.”

Han Luofeng almost wanted to laugh. He patted Qing Liu on the shoulder, signaling her that it was enough—stop pretending. It was time to go upstairs and continue the live stream.

“Didn’t you see how anxious everyone is?”