CHAPTER 75: CHAPTER 75: WELL, CONGRATULATIONS TO LITTLE STRAWBERRY THEN

Evening.

Yu Xia stayed in her room scrolling through her phone using her projector.

After scheduling tomorrow morning’s class with her dance teacher, she logged into her Weibo alt account to surf the internet, focusing on the "love stories" about her and her younger brothers.

With Wei Yaoyao, it’s the scheming life-coach sister × innocent sweet brother.

With Song Xi, it’s the teasing sister × suave yet hypocritical gentleman brother.

With Pei Lu, it’s the cold-hearted emotional manipulator × a gentle and weak green tea guy.

Some even paired her with Shu Ran, calling it the "Su Fish" couple.

And with Xie Qingci, it’s the seemingly prim yet secretly flirtatious heiress × loyal and upright guardian.

Geez, she didn’t know whether to be glad she and Xie Qingci finally had some respectable gossip or to be angry at how these netizens misunderstood her pure image.

The more she read, the angrier she got... the angrier she got, the more she wanted to read.

She casually clicked on the little stories netizens had fabricated about her and her brothers but exited halfway through when it made her more irritated.

So annoying.

Might as well cleanse her eyes by watching her brothers’ performances.

Yu Xia used her tablet to open the pure enjoyment version of the stage performance and watched her favorite ones in sequence.

Just as she was getting into it, her phone rang with a distinctive sound.

It was a long-awaited QQ voice call, definitely had to be from Yu Yue, who couldn’t afford a phone card.

"Hello? Xiao Yue?"

She spoke absentmindedly, her eyes still fixed on the projection of Xie Qingci’s movements.

The low, husky voice singing an English song, breathing heavily, and touching his adam’s apple with a cold gaze was incredibly alluring.

No wonder it was the most viral stage performance from Limited Youth, making the name Xie Qingci stand out above the other contestants—if it weren’t for Pei Lu’s dramatic antics.

"Aunt! Did you hear me?!"

She drawled, "Huh? What did you say? I was just using my wits to make a living."

Yu Yue’s voice raised with grievance, "I said! Little Strawberry and I broke up!!!"

"Well, congratulations to Little Strawberry then."

"...Aunt!" The wolf growled, "Are you really my aunt?! I broke up! I’m very upset!"

"Upset? More upset than when your dad hits you? Didn’t you still have two other girlfriends? What, were your language grades so bad that all three girls dumped you at the same time?"

Each question only added to Yu Yue’s fragile heartache.

"No, Little Mei and Little Mei’s grades dropped, so their phones got taken away, and Little Strawberry... she just found someone else! She doesn’t love me anymore!"

Yu Xia replied perfunctorily, "Well, isn’t that good? Quickly see through the mundane and focus on studying."

"You’re in your twenties and still haven’t seen through the mundane?"

"..." Now it was Yu Xia’s turn to get irritable, "You elementary kid, are you really giving advice to your aunt about her life? Go do your homework!"

"I finished my homework," Yu Yue said happily.

"Oh, really? Then I’ll ask your mom to add a few more questions for you."

Yu Yue’s voice suddenly ceased, then he firmly protested, "Aunt, you can’t do that! Homework written when in emotional pain lacks soul!"

"Then just be a soulless homework-robot. Doesn’t sound like you’re all that upset anyway, just a couple of cries and you’re done, typical player behavior."

Player Yu Yue: "...Aunt, why are you so irritable? I saw you were quite happy on TV today, so I called."

"You watched my show?"

"Of course, my mom watches it every day," he moved closer, cautiously adding, "My dad even wanted to smash the TV, so aggressive. Not sure how my mom could have fallen for him."

In the projection, Xie Qingci’s performance had finished, so she went back to watch it again while replying, "The way Little Strawberry fell for you is the same way your mom fell for your dad."

Yu Yue sighed, "That’s what I thought. Just being handsome can’t last long, and sure enough, she now seeks someone else."

"... Your birth must be the result of a genetic mutation in the Yu Family. Even your dad in his prime wasn’t as shameless as you."

Yu Yue: "But my dad says I take after you, Aunt."

"...Go to sleep! Little Strawberry seeking someone else is simply wonderful! Let lightning strike all the players!"

What a nephew, only here to cause trouble!

Hanging up the call heartlessly, she angrily watched the pure enjoyment versions of the stages twice more before calming down and going to sleep.

On Thursday, the internet was still buzzing with excitement.

Because of the recent controversial topics about Limited Youth, things were bustling, and it was even heard some brands wanted to join last-minute as sponsors.

When Yu Xia arrived at the base, she coincidentally met Shu Ran.

Probably because they were both flying to Yuan Mountain for a red carpet event tomorrow, so they picked today to come.

The two chatted amicably and when they entered the practice area, they bumped into some brothers just getting off the bus.

They were all popular, with tired faces evident.

Upon seeing the two of them, they greeted politely.

Shu Ran asked, "Did you come back from shooting an ad?"

Song Xi nodded, and Ning Yunchao said weakly, "We’ve been shooting since the morning."

Yu Xia frowned, seeing the dark circles under their eyes, and asked, "Does ad shooting take up a lot of time?"

Song Xi nodded again, eyes looking somewhat dry, blinking before speaking:

"There are many ads, and since we haven’t done it before, we stumbled a lot, took so much time."

The situation isn’t good.

The agency and production team earn money on their backs, so shooting ads is unavoidable.

But constantly delaying practice time isn’t acceptable either. Asking them to make up time from what’s left is impossible, they’ve already been working hard enough, are they supposed to cut down on sleep even more?

She glanced at Xie Qingci’s tired eyes, pursed her lips, and said no more.

"Let’s go inside. Are you going straight to practice?"

"Yes. There’s no time left, we must hurry."

"Okay, keep working hard."

Besides that, she didn’t know what else to say, but who here isn’t working hard?

She felt a bit conflicted and walked into the practice room with Shu Ran following the group.

Because of the earlier conversation, this visit mainly focused on the brothers’ time management and living conditions.

The leading members were in front of the mirror teaching others the moves, while they asked questions of those on break.

"How’s practice going? Can you smoothly sing and dance through it?"

Most brothers replied affirmatively.

"How long do you practice daily? Is your sleep enough?"

Wei Yaoyao sat on the ground, wiped his sweat, and said, "It’s different for everyone, great ones practice four to five hours daily and do well, but I can’t, I have to practice seven to eight hours."

He paused, looking at the group in the middle, sighing he added, "Like Xie Qingci, they practice even longer, he can go till midnight and start again early in the morning. I think he already dances great, but he’s not satisfied."

Wei Yaoyao seemed to frequently mention Xie Qingci in her presence, she wondered if it was just her imagination.

Yu Xia frowned, wanting to say this kind of exertion isn’t right, but she wasn’t qualified to say it.

Everyone wants to achieve perfection, every stage performance is a chance to climb higher, no one has the right to stop their diligence.