CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 46: VIRAL SENSATION

Xie Qingci didn’t notice, but Song Xi did. Seeing Pei Lu’s uncomfortable expression, he sneered inwardly.

But he just glanced over, and then mildly chimed in with the others’ conversation.

Interestingly enough, Song Xi and Pei Lu are from the same company.

However, they have different managers, and it is said that Pei Lu was being trained as an actor, unlike Song Xi, who was determined to follow the idol route. Pei Lu hasn’t been with the company for long; if not for this selection, they would hardly have known of each other’s existence.

There’s competition within the same company, and the two of them have little camaraderie.

The sixteen teams gradually finished their performances, and it was time to determine the team with the highest votes and the player with the highest individual votes.

Yu Xia had some idea in her mind.

Shu Ran, Yu Kuang, and He Mingjie respectively voted for the teams of Xie Qingci, Song Xi, and Ning Yunchao. Yu Xia cast her vote for a group that’s not very popular but showed significant improvement.

The total votes tallied, and Song Xi’s team had the highest.

However, the individual with the highest votes was Xie Qingci.

Yu Xia clearly heard some audience members expressing dissatisfaction from below the stage.

Song Xi was popular and capable, with a large existing fan base, making him among the top in the hundred contestants.

If he had the highest votes, probably no one would oppose it, considering his numerous fans can easily suppress dissatisfaction. But this fact falling on Xie Qingci led to unhappy fans.

She tapped her pen lightly on the table, lost in thought.

This was the first step in a public relations debacle.

The program favoured Xie Qingci, but they weren’t willing to give him a favorable position, nor maintain his reputation, appearing a bit cunning.

Wondering how he would handle it.

She glanced at the stage, where the players who scored highest in each team were gathered. Amid Shu Ran’s announcement, some were shedding tears and hugging, with mixed emotions visible.

Xie Qingci and Song Xi weren’t overly dramatic, not even embracing, just exchanging a handshake and a few words, neither appearing overly happy.

This was her first time seeing so many young contestants performing on stage together. Knowing their diligent training, their performances today made her proud.

When Shu Ran finished announcing, she rose with everyone to applaud.

Thus, the first public performance of "Limited Youth" concluded, and the contestants’ popularity saw a reshuffle.

...

Tomorrow morning, the theme song will be released. Yu Xia, accompanied by Mei, confirmed the schedule with the program team without lingering, and rushed back to the company to shoot several photos.

Today’s outfit shouldn’t be wasted; the pictures needed for the fans, also for the brand and the production team.

Post photo shoot, He Ci swiftly led her to the photography studio for a newly received endorsement commercial.

By the time work finished, it was eleven at night, and Yu Xia was exhausted, reclining in the back seat of the nanny van.

The car was silent, He Ci continuously receiving and sending messages until his eyes started to blur.

A sudden vibration came from Yu Xia’s position.

Yu Xia drowsily opened her eyes, squinting at the phone. An actor friend asked if she’d like to take part in a costume drama.

She replied, "Send it over," then leaned against the car window, watching the city lights flash by outside.

The thick darkness was sliced into fragments by colorful lights, reflecting off the car window, glaringly vibrant.

"Click."

Yu Xia turned, saw Mei snapping a photo of her.

"Didn’t you get enough pictures today?" she asked.

Mei took several more shots, head down editing, saying, "You can never have too many good photos. This side profile has an ethereal vibe. Wait, I’ll make you look like a fairy descending to the mortal realm."

He Ci, still managing affairs, threw in a comment, "Today’s look isn’t a fairy descending; it’s the Jade Emperor coming down to handle official business."

Yu Xia shook her blazer, "Nicely described, I feel like I’ve been ruling the world today."

He Ci didn’t retort, appearing in a good mood.

"You do wear this outfit well. The deputy director of that show already hinted to me that we could sign the contract soon after a few more days."

Yu Xia’s eyes light up.

"The show will be on TV, and the filming won’t take long. If nothing goes wrong, I could take on that web drama too."

"Are you sure you can adjust yourself for back-to-back productions? Besides, you should choose another TV show or a movie; having award-worthy work gives you a ticket to walk the red carpet more often."

Then proceeding to sarcastically criticize others: "Don’t be like Fan Chu, no works to his name, yet constantly crashing the red carpet. Seems she moved into the two-meter-wide carpet, and still has the guts to subtly jab at you."

At times like these, silence is golden, so Yu Xia played dead, not joining in.

Having finished editing, Mei sent the pictures to the two of them, then switched to the studio account to post them on Weibo.

Yu Xia continued admiring her photos, praising Mei without looking up.

"Your editing skills keep getting better; I’ll reward you two hundred and fifty as a bonus later."

Usually, upon hearing this, Mei would first be happy, then show bemusement about the amount, but today was different, she didn’t say a word.

Yu Xia looked up to ask, when suddenly Mei howled dramatically.

Scaring He Ci beside her.

With hormonal imbalance and a fright, he cursed and swore with eyes wide open:

"What are you up to? Edited so hard that your phone crashed?!"

Yu Xia: "..."

Pure innocent people endure baseless accusations from time to time.

Mei ignored him, holding her phone aloft, saying, "Xie Qingci’s stage performance went viral! It’s trending! Then Song Xi’s fans started attacking Xie Qingci, with many even storming the program’s Weibo, accusing Xie Qingci of favoritism."

Yu Xia lazily murmured, "Oh."

Both incidents had been anticipated, so she wasn’t surprised.

Nor did she intend to go online to check, she languidly asked, "Has the program responded?"

"Not yet."

He Ci snorted, "These talent shows are sheer chaos, steering fans to argue for the sake of some buzz."

"Indeed, things will get more heated in the next few days," Yu Xia said.

He Ci paused, squinted at her, "How do you know?"

She yawned, "Didn’t Pei Lu claim he injured his leg? There’s more to this, he’ll definitely stir up some trouble."

"Does his leg have anything to do with you?"

Yu Xia’s second yawn got lodged in her throat.

"I’m not a weird collector, why would I have anything to do with his leg?!"

Mei: "He was talking about ’having a leg,’ but you’re discussing cutting a leg in rainy nights, right?"

Yu Xia opened her mouth, then replied honestly, "No relation. I even arranged for Song Xi to accompany him to the infirmary."

He Ci: "If the program cuts out the footage, nobody knows you meant well. But no need to worry, if he’s just a trainee targeting others, whatever; going after mentors is just waiting to be kicked out."

She shrugged, speaking lightly, "Who knows, but—if he dares to drag me down, I’ll break, him, on the spot."