CHAPTER 186: CHAPTER 181 SUDDEN RETALIATION

The turbulence outside was unknown to the trainees inside; they still lived in their own world.

"Yang Ni, you’d better go find Luo Fengwu," Lin Jiayi, who had a good relationship with her, whispered during lunch.

Yang Ni used her gaze to ask why.

Lin Jiayi lowered her head and didn’t look around because she was afraid someone might notice her unusual behavior through the surrounding cameras.

"Because she’s hiding another phone."

Lin Jiayi’s words shocked Yang Ni; there was actually a phone that hadn’t been confiscated.

Immediately, she felt something bad must have happened; otherwise, Lin Jiayi wouldn’t come to warn her.

She didn’t even finish her meal and rushed to find Luo Fengwu.

Watching her friend’s hurried departing figure, Lin Jiayi couldn’t help but sigh.

Her own popularity was simply too low, basically to the point of being invisible.

Even Zhu Riri had more buzz than she did; though it consisted mostly of scolding, at least there was some splash, whereas she had nothing at all.

Still, she firmly believed she wouldn’t be eliminated because her dance skills were easily ranked among the top ten here, and in the end, Penguin would definitely give her a hand.

While Lin Jiayi was lost in thought, Yang Ni nearly fainted in the restroom.

She had already seen the comments about her from netizens on Luo Fengwu’s phone.

"This—this isn’t real!" Yang Ni instinctively wanted to explain to her, but seeing Luo Fengwu shrink back in fear, she hesitated.

"Fengwu, I..." Yang Ni extended her hand but then pulled it back.

Luo Fengwu kept her head down, seemingly too scared to look at her.

Yang Ni suddenly felt her world plunge into darkness. Luo Fengwu’s reaction was deeply hurtful to her.

Stumbling, she walked away, feeling surrounded by detestable, nauseating gazes.

She wanted to explain to everyone that she wasn’t that kind of person, but she couldn’t find a way, nor even the words to speak.

Watching Yang Ni leave with such a desperate figure, Luo Fengwu’s face broke into a cruel smile.

"I’m finished. I’m really finished," Yang Ni hid in a cold corner of the stairwell, curling up and crying bitterly.

She felt that her years of effort, her youth, had vanished in an instant.

In less than two hours, the matter concerning Yang Ni had spread throughout the base. All the girls, in spots where cameras weren’t recording, whispered about it.

Meng Meixuan and Wu Zixuan explained to those who asked that Yang Ni wasn’t that kind of person.

But people were skeptical, because matters in girl groups were always like this.

Even Yang Ni’s own teammates started to distance themselves from her, among whom Yu Xiaohong was the most obvious, hardly speaking to her anymore.

This was probably what they called "everyone pushes a falling wall."

Ye Yuwei, though confident that Yang Ni wasn’t really targeting Meixuan and Zixuan, wasn’t naive enough to send her any warmth. Some things had to be dealt with alone.

At the same time, Ye Yuwei began worrying herself. The competition was becoming increasingly fierce; rival companies had already started sabotaging each other. Without a company backing her, if someone targeted her, she would have no way to resist.

"Should I go negotiate with Penguin now?" Ye Yuwei weighed her options repeatedly but ultimately squashed the idea.

"Going now won’t guarantee me a good deal. I have to wait until the first public performance airs—this is my sole and best opportunity."

"I must gamble. If the heavens have destined me to rise, they won’t let me fail prematurely."

Ye Yuwei ultimately decided to take the risk—either lose it all or win completely.

Galaxy

Old Mu was already overwhelmed at this point.

According to the original plan, they were supposed to tarnish Ye Yuwei’s reputation. However, they now had their concerns.

This was because the few resources painstakingly acquired by Galaxy had all been snatched away, including Li Jiaqi’s role, which threw the entire Galaxy group into chaos.

Furthermore, Lu Bingbing’s fan club suddenly announced its withdrawal from this year’s general election, stating they would no longer spend money supporting her, as there was no hope of seeing her rise within Galaxy.

At this critical juncture, Old Mu could only comfort the resource-deprived idols while figuring out how to recover their reputation.

"This damned Lu Bingbing, causing trouble at a time like this!" In a fit of rage, Old Mu smashed a glass.

"Chairman Mu, please calm down! For now, we need to stabilize morale," Shen Xing urgently advised.

"Sigh! Stability requires resources, but now..."

Old Mu slumped onto the sofa, his headache unbearable.

"Chairman Mu, I think we now have no choice but to leverage Lu Bingbing and Ye Yuwei."

Shen Xing’s words stunned Old Mu, "How?"

"We can tell the idols that debuting through Penguin means becoming a star."

"Then let them understand that being able to participate in Penguin’s selection is only because they belong to Galaxy."

Old Mu thought for a moment and replied, "Sigh, for now, that’s the only option. Give them some hope, and they’ll foolishly keep working hard in the theater."

"Shen Xing, arrange this immediately. Use our channels to convey the company’s commitment to fully supporting them in their debut."

"Understood, Chairman. But what about the resources sabotaged earlier?"

"I suspect Wu Jingxiang arranged that. This time, he’s retaliated enough; there’s no need to create more conflict. I’ll negotiate about the resources."

Old Mu had no better option at the moment. The opposing side was far more powerful and hadn’t gone all out against them, so he decided not to push back to avoid infuriating them completely.

Eighth day after the first public performance, the edited footage was finally released.

The runtime actually reached three and a half hours.

Everyone watching the show was stunned. Was this a New Year gala or a Hollywood blockbuster?

But it was genuinely satisfying to watch.

At the live event, there were only 16 groups competing, but the edited version included their daily training clips.

The discussion surrounding it spiked exponentially.

However, the participating idols saw polarized reactions.

The conversations centered on Yuehua’s duo, Galaxy’s Ye Yuwei, Lv Fangxin, and a few others.

Others with some buzz included Guo Xia, Li Zimeng, and Fu Xiaoyu.

The breakout star was Gao Ziyi, who exploded in popularity thanks to her humor and a warm telephone conversation with a relative.

Simultaneously, Chen Yinghan and Liu Feiyu began gaining traction online, mainly focused on their beauty and wealthy personas.

Meanwhile, a large number of internet trolls began digging up dirt on these individuals. In conclusion, the first airing achieved a shocking result, even surprising Penguin—the show was a complete hit.

Base

A large group of girls gathered in the lobby for photos; this was their last day as over a hundred contestants together. Rankings would be announced tomorrow.

"Vitality Era members, come here!" Guo Xia shouted under the Natural Idol-themed billboard. Luo Tiantian, who had been posing for photos with Jiang Mengqi nearby, quickly ran over.

The photographer picked up his camera and captured this precious group photo.

"Zixuan, what are you doing? Where’d you get that bicycle?" Jiang Mei’er was astonished to see Wu Zixuan riding a large utility bike.

"Just over there. They said it’s for us to use as props," Wu Zixuan proudly pedaled.

"Zixuan, you’re amazing. Can you give me a ride?" Meng Meixuan approached her.

"I’ll give it a try!" Wu Zixuan said with a grin.

The two laughed and giggled, one pedaling the bike, the other sitting on the backseat.

Meng Meixuan held Wu Zixuan’s waist with her hands, leaning her upper body against the other’s back. They looked just like a couple from innocent youth days.

The program’s cameramen naturally wouldn’t miss this moment.

In truth, this was Meng Meixuan and Wu Zixuan intentionally creating a "couple" narrative for the show, an arrangement by the program. Otherwise, why would there be a bicycle here?