Chapter 126: Sleeping Together Is Fine, But Falling in Love Is Not

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Backstage control room.

Mu Xin’s eyes were cold.

She wanted to leave the stage?

Dream on!

Mu Xin immediately picked up the microphone and connected to Qiao Yuezhu’s earpiece. “Qiao Yuezhu, according to the program’s contract, the contestant ranked last must unconditionally enter the challenge round to ensure the show has more exciting content. What do you mean by giving up the challenge now?”

There really was such a clause in the contract.

This episode had introduced a new challenge round.

Therefore, no matter what happened, the challenge had to go ahead.

Qiao Yuezhu had naturally noticed that clause when she signed the contract, but at the time, she had never imagined that she and Zheng Wenyan would end up in last place as partners.

Qiao Yuezhu’s face stiffened.

It was obvious.

They did not want her to leave the stage.

“I’m warning you. If you refuse to enter the challenge, I’ll consider you in breach of contract. You’ll have to pay the program team more than three million in damages.”

Mu Xin was determined to force her.

He would push Qiao Yuezhu until she broke down!

At those words, Qiao Yuezhu finally began to cry.

Three million!

Even if she sold herself, she could never afford to pay it.

Besides, Qiao Yuezhu was not stupid. Zheng Wenyan was surely in a panic himself by now. There was no way he would produce three million to solve her problems.

When all was said and done, her relationship with Zheng Wenyan was nothing more than a casual sexual affair.

When they were in bed, anything could be discussed.

But the moment trouble arose, Zheng Wenyan would run faster than anyone else. Without the slightest hesitation, he would sell Qiao Yuezhu out to protect himself.

Mu Xin’s eyes lit up.

She was finally crying!

That was exactly what he had been waiting for.

“Where’s the camera?”

“Get right up in her face!”

“Capture every pore on her face in perfect detail.”

Mu Xin shouted angrily.

Still, he looked down on her in his heart.

With such flimsy emotional resilience, she still dreamed of making it in show business? Young people these days really were naively adorable.

Qiao Yuezhu became famous overnight.

She became the focus of the entire venue.

In fact, she became the focus of the entire internet.

Viewers watching the Starlight Road program saw Qiao Yuezhu shedding crocodile tears, and they clearly were not buying it. Every kind of vile insult poured forth, flooding the live-stream page as people cursed her mercilessly.

Of course,

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the viewers did not let Zheng Wenyan off either.

After all, flies did not gather around an uncracked egg.

Zheng Wenyan was no good man. On the surface, he cultivated the image of a devoted male superstar, but behind the scenes, he was climbing into bed with young girls.

Imagination Entertainment was dragged into the backlash once again.

The official Imagination Entertainment account was bombarded with abuse until it practically collapsed. In desperation, the company could only disable comments. The account’s follower count also began plummeting, while even the company’s other performers started voicing their dissatisfaction.

Years ago, when Future Stardom began its decline, the situation had looked exactly the same.

Qiao Yuezhu’s eyes were red, and tears kept sliding down her cheeks. After remaining silent for a long while, she picked up the microphone.

“I’ll enter the challenge.”

She could not afford three million.

So she could only obey.

This woman, who had spent her entire life acting like an innocent schemer, was given a brutal lesson before she had even officially stepped into the entertainment industry’s black mire.

The four judges were stunned again.

What?

Little girl, are you playing with us?

The Fox-Charming Diva could tell that Qiao Yuezhu was in terrible condition. “Forgive my bluntness, but even if you enter the challenge in your current state, you’ll probably still lose.”

If she was going to struggle through the whole thing only to lose anyway, she might as well leave early. It would be better for everyone.

“I want to challenge!”

Qiao Yuezhu wiped away her tears.

Fine.

The hope of getting off work early had been shattered.

Just as the diva judge was about to announce the challenge, Dong Fen, who had remained silent until then, spoke up.

“Judges, may I join the challenge round?”

“Of course.”

Any contestant ranked below the top position was eligible to challenge the leader.

Naturally,

each contestant had only one opportunity.

Du Ke glanced left and right.

He seemed somewhat embarrassed.

How should he put it?

He was ranked third.

If he challenged Chen Fang and Wang Situ, the two leaders, he would simply be wasting everyone’s time. There would be no point. But if he did not challenge them, he would seem rather unusual, especially since both Dong Fen and Qiao Yuezhu were entering the challenge.

After thinking it over for a long while, Du Ke ultimately gave up.

He knew his own abilities.

If he had been ranked second, he would have been just as unwilling to accept defeat as Dong Fen and chosen to challenge again.

But he was only third.

There was no need to take it so seriously.

Besides,

he could not come up with another original song of any quality.

…

The challenge round began.

Chen Fang and Wang Situ were the defending champions.

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Dong Fen and Qiao Yuezhu were the challengers.

In the first round, Qiao Yuezhu chose to challenge Wang Situ.

Two women faced off.

Both had fought their way through the auditions and emerged as outstanding contestants. One had chosen to join Future Stardom, while the other had joined Imagination Entertainment.

In terms of ability,

they were evenly matched.

They had all made it through round after round of auditions. Neither was inferior to the other.

But anyone with discerning eyes could tell that Wang Situ was certain to win this challenge.

Qiao Yuezhu was in far too poor a condition. Her mind seemed hazy, and she clearly had not taken the upcoming challenge seriously at all. It was more like she was merely going through the motions to fulfill an obligation. Wang Situ, on the other hand, had prepared for the challenge long ago, and her eyes were filled with anticipation and passion.

The difference between them was obvious.

According to the rules, the defending contestant would perform first, giving the challenger more time to prepare.

Chen Fang smiled and patted Wang Situ on the shoulder. “You haven’t had much time to practice this song, but I still believe in your ability.”

Wang Situ clenched her tiny fists. “I absolutely won’t betray the trust the organization has placed in me!”

Chen Fang was rendered speechless, then laughed.

Afterward, the other contestants left the stage.

Only Wang Situ remained beneath the lights.

The challenge performance had only one requirement: the song had to be original. Beyond that, there were no other requirements and no restrictions on theme. Any original song would do.

Chen Fang returned to the lounge.

Xi Yuanyuan was baffled. “Is there really any need for this? With Qiao Yuezhu in that condition, she’s obviously bound to lose.”

It was purely a waste of time.

Chen Fang naturally agreed.

But he had observed the changes in Qiao Yuezhu’s expression while onstage. Entering the challenge clearly had not been her own decision. It had been forced on her by the production team backstage.

The process of the competition was not important.

The result was not important either.

To the production team,

the most important thing was that the people participating in the competition themselves possessed enough publicity value.

With that thought, Chen Fang pulled out his phone and checked the trending topics online.

In such a short time, Zheng Wenyan had already issued a statement, claiming that he and Qiao Yuezhu were merely partners who had met through the program. As for the photos exposed by the paparazzi, they were maliciously edited and completely untrustworthy.

Zheng Wenyan really was a piece of work.

To divert attention, he had hinted throughout his statement that Qiao Yuezhu had once tried to seduce him, only to be rejected. Perhaps, he claimed, he had stood a little too close to her while helping her practice her songs, which was why certain paparazzi had sensed an opportunity to fabricate rumors and used edited photos to mislead the public.

He had shifted all the blame away from himself, leaving not even the slightest stain on his own reputation.

He was still the devoted family man.

As for Qiao Yuezhu, no one cared whether she lived or died.

To Zheng Wenyan,

getting into bed with someone was acceptable.

But if it affected his career and family, that was out of the question.

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