CHAPTER 32 (PART 2)

Cheng Yue lifted his eyelids slightly. “It’s real. Amethyst.”

Jiang Su finally looked pleased—so pleased that even Cheng Yue’s face seemed much more tolerable to her now.

She reached out and took the trophy with ease, hugging it to her chest like a treasure.

[Hahaha, she looks so happy. Finally, something real!]

[The show’s budget has improved! The kid finally gets a proper prize!]

[Hope the survival show next door takes notes. Next time, give her a real gold bar! She literally sacrificed herself for that W.]

Cheng Yue’s gaze lingered on Jiang Su’s wrist for a couple of seconds.

Hmm?

She’s this strong?

Was she faking it before?

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

A flicker of doubt surfaced in his mind, but he didn’t show it.

“The second place…” The host announced, “Miss Ding Xuan.”

Ding Xuan’s cheeks flushed with excitement. Her legs trembled slightly as she walked forward, too afraid to even steal a few more glances at Cheng Yue.

The man in front of her was far, far more attractive than the president of Lion Entertainment—far more powerful, too…

Ding Xuan opened her mouth. “Mr. Cheng—”

She didn’t even get the second word out.

Cheng Yue asked, “That’s it? That’s all?”

The host and the platform owner froze. The owner reacted faster and quickly whispered, “There’s a custom-made tiara and a flower wreath…”

These were supposed to be given at the very end—after all ten finalists received their trophies, they would put on their wreaths and tiaras and take a group photo…

The platform owner swallowed nervously and immediately took on the role of an awards assistant, holding a tray with the tiara and flower wreath. “Mr. Cheng, would you like to present them?”

Cheng Yue picked up the flower wreath. “What is this?”

Then he tossed it back.

Instead, he grabbed the tiara and placed it directly onto Jiang Su’s head.

Jiang Su scrunched her nose in annoyance. “You’re pulling my hair.”

Cheng Yue glanced down and saw the little thing glaring at him, her expression full of irritation.

Cheng Yue: ?

He was caught between being annoyed and amused.

Ha?

Since when did Jiang Su dare to complain about him?

Pressing his lips together, he took the tiara off and reached out—intending to fix her hair properly.

I’m going to fix it real good for you today.

Jiang Su thought, This guy is insane.

His eyes clearly held a dark, impatient look, yet he was still reaching out to fix my hair? Was he actually trying to strangle me?

Jiang Su took half a step back and coldly warned, “I just got my hair styled. Don’t mess it up.”

[Hahaha was that backstep really necessary?]

[My silly daughter, why are you like this? The big boss personally placing a crown on your head—do you know how rare that is?!]

Jiang Su couldn’t see the live chat, and even if she could, she wouldn’t care.

Before Cheng Yue could say anything else, she swiftly snatched the tiara from his hand.

Her fingers briefly skimmed over his palm—light and quick.

This time, he was the one caught slightly off guard.

She never would’ve dared to do that before…

Jiang Su placed the tiara on her own head. “Alright, next.”

She completely stole the host’s line.

Only then did Ding Xuan take another step forward.

But Cheng Yue didn’t even spare her a glance. He simply gave Jiang Su a long, deep look, let out a faint scoff, and turned to leave.

The platform owner hesitated for a second. At first, he thought about stepping in to continue presenting the awards, but then he recalled what Cheng Yue had said about Ding Xuan earlier… Forget it.

He gave Jiang Su a slight smile.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but for some reason, standing next to Mr. Cheng, Jiang Su seemed… different.

Pushing the thought aside, he simply said, “Congratulations. Keep up the good work.” Then, he left as well.

Ding Xuan stood frozen for a second, her expression nearly crumbling.

They left?!

So Cheng Yue only presented Jiang Su’s award?!

[Thank you, I feel so refreshed.]

[Ding Xuan’s face almost cracked from shock, but I, on the other hand, cracked up laughing.]

Of course, Ding Xuan’s fans were furious:

[Where’s the evidence of vote manipulation? I think the show is deliberately suppressing her! This Mr. Cheng only presented Jiang Su’s award and ignored Ding Xuan—if that’s not favoritism, then what is? The show is corrupt!]

[Why does Cheng Yue care about your second-place ranking from vote manipulation?]

[And the production team is really something… Do you even know what kind of powerhouse Cheng Corporation is? The fact that Mr. Cheng is willing to present an award is already a huge favor to them. Ding Xuan simply doesn’t deserve it!]

The comment section was once again at odds.

Ding Xuan’s fans, unwilling to accept the outcome, flooded other gossip forums, passionately starting threads to vent their frustrations.

Next up was Li Mo’er, who placed third.

Yu Xinyan, as expected, secured fourth place.

Her score hadn’t dropped significantly. In fact, it had even risen after she reached an A ranking once. Combined with a surge in votes later on, she had unexpectedly overtaken Lin Sifeng. This was truly an upset.

Following her were Lin Sifeng, Wu Qingqing, and others.

Lin Sifeng’s fans were dissatisfied and ended up clashing with Yu Xinyan’s fans over the ranking.

And with that, the fourth public performance officially came to a close.

As fans in the audience called out in reluctant farewell, Zhao Qiuying stood up, his voice tinged with emotion as he spoke:

“Congratulations to all of you. You have successfully debuted. From today on, you will form a limited-time group called ‘Sun and Moon Girls.’ I hope your future will be even brighter, and that the radiance of the sun and moon will shine upon you.”

“Tonight’s debut finale is not an end but a new beginning. It signifies that you are officially stepping into the entertainment industry as rookies in a girl group…”

Xuan Wen, standing beside him, chimed in, “Next, please look forward to Sun and Moon Girls’ first reality show.”

The venue erupted into cheers and applause once more.

For a brief moment, Yu Xinyan was at a loss.

…She had debuted.

After struggling for years, she had really made it.

As the streamers released by the production team fluttered down onto her head with a soft rustling sound, reality finally settled in for Yu Xinyan.

She had been carried to the finish line just like that…

Unable to suppress her emotions, she turned to look at Jiang Su.

She noticed that Jiang Su, too, had a fleeting moment of confusion. But just as quickly, that trace of uncertainty disappeared, and she returned to her usual calm and composed demeanor.

So Su Su can be dazed too…

Well, it makes sense—she’s still so young.

Yu Xinyan smiled at Jiang Su. She helped me debut. From now on, I have to work even harder to protect her.

Wu Qingqing suddenly turned around and gave Jiang Su a tight hug.

Li Mo’er said, “I want a hug too.”

And then she threw herself forward as well.

Seeing this, the others followed suit, thinking, Might as well. I’ve never hugged Jiang Su before—I wonder what it feels like?

[Hahaha, Jiang Su looks stunned]

[Damn, my baby looks so cute when she’s spacing out]

Only Ding Xuan remained standing there stiffly, her expression even more rigid.

She had achieved what she wanted, yet she felt no joy at all.

Dong Jiayu had mysteriously disappeared, forcing Lion King Entertainment to resort to aggressive vote manipulation. The production team’s drastically different treatment of Jiang Su compared to her was like a heavy slap across her face. And these girls… Do they even understand what teamwork is?

Now that the group was officially formed, even if it was just for show, shouldn’t they at least try to act the part? Ignoring her on purpose—what was the point of that?

Holding back her frustration, Ding Xuan forced herself to stand with them, putting on what she believed was a bright and gracious smile.

Click.

The group photo was taken.

With that, the debut finale truly came to an end, and the staff began organizing the departure of everyone in the venue.

Mentors and trainees alike headed backstage to remove their makeup.

As for those who didn’t make it into the group, all they could do was shed silent tears.

At this moment, someone in the comment section finally voiced a question:

[We’ve reached the fourth public performance, the most critical stage… Where’s our special guest, Film Queen Dong? She was supposed to be here, right?]

[Yeah, her name was on the attendance list.]

[…Check the forums. People are already digging into it.]

[Wait, what’s the gossip? I’m going to look!]

The livestream cut off at that moment, but most viewers had already caught those comments, and soon, they flooded to forums and trending searches.

Unsurprisingly, Jiang Su’s name shot straight to the top of the trending list.

The second place? The group name “Sun and Moon Girls.”

Even Yu Xinyan had made it onto the trending list. Her fans compiled clips from her years of struggling on various shows, showcasing her growth from an awkward, inexperienced performer to the confident, radiant young woman she had become on Idol Trainee Girls. They celebrated her long-awaited dream coming true.

Who wouldn’t love a girl who had worked so earnestly, overcoming her initial clumsiness to become poised and stunning?

Her fans shed genuine tears of joy for her—and even more so, they were truly grateful to Jiang Su.

Except for a small fraction of solo stans who, just moments after the group’s formation, couldn’t wait to tear down their teammate for fanbase “purification.” However, their numbers were relatively small—not everyone was delusional enough to start attacking Jiang Su at this stage—so these voices were quickly drowned out.

The internet was buzzing with excitement, with discussions about the debut finale everywhere.

Meanwhile, Jiang Su sat in the dressing room, leisurely removing her makeup.

The production team had sent over a new contract for her.

It was a reward exclusively for the first-place winner, filled with generous offers for various gigs.

Curious, the others crowded around Jiang Su, flipping through the contract. As they read it aloud, their voices were full of disbelief:

“I swear, this contract’s revenue split is insane… You get 40%, while the platform and your agency each take 30%.”

“This xianxia drama deal—how did the production team land this? I’m shocked!”

“…Holy crap, there’s even an audition for a major director’s film!”

“The number of ads you’ll be filming… your legs are gonna give out.”

Their exclamations came one after another.

To Jiang Su, all of these things silently translated into one thing—money.

Hmm, all of this is money… Nice.

Jiang Su felt just a little bit happier.

Ding Xuan couldn’t get a word in and was extremely annoyed. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to lower her status just to cozy up to someone who ignored her. So, she simply pulled out her phone to check the trending topics.

To her dismay, the screen was filled with Jiang Su’s name.

Ding Xuan grew even more irritated.

Surely, even the gossip forums weren’t singing her praises, right?

That forum crowd was ruthless.

One moment, you were the group’s darling; the next, you could be their biggest joke.

With that thought, Ding Xuan quickly opened the forum, only to be greeted by the headline:

“Huge Scandal About Cheng Yue at the Formation Night of ‘Tide One Tide’!!!”

Ding Xuan’s mind flashed back to that Cheng Yue—handsome, extraordinary in demeanor, clearly not someone ordinary people could get close to…

Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t resist clicking in.

OP: “Jiang Su is really something else—she played a literal funeral tune right in front of Cheng Yue! You could tell from his expression that he was getting irritated, but he held back. I won’t even go into how powerful he is. If you’ve ever heard Actress Dong mention him, you’d know—people dug into his wealth years ago, and it’s absolutely terrifying…”

[This is the big scoop? OP, are you a Jiang Su fan?]

Ding Xuan sneered as she typed.