Chapter 457: Pulled Some Major Strings

Of course, Fu Qingli knew what was going on. No sooner had Shen Xi left than Fu Qingye was so eager to go after her. He should not have let them do as they pleased. Displeasure was clear in Fu Qingli’s tone. “To find her?”

Fu Qingye calmly picked up his suitcase and gave him a strange look before answering curtly, “Work.”

Despite knowing Fu Qingye’s true intentions, Fu Qingli had no reason to stop him since it was a rightful excuse. Fu Qingli could not argue with that. “I seem to recall that your trip to China was over.”

Work?

Fu Qingye sure was good at making an excuse when they both knew that the work was only a front for him to look for Shen Xi.

“I had a new job in line.” Fu Qingye blatantly walked out with his suitcase.

Angered by Fu Qingye’s attitude, Fu Qingli’s gaze looked past him and went straight to Fu Junqiu. “Are you going to China too?”

Truthfully, Fu Junqiu had cold feet standing in front of her eldest nephew. Still, she remained unapologetic in her answer. “Jing Yu has taken off. I’m his temporary manager.”

Fu Qingli could feel a fire starting in him. “Are you going to look for her too?”

Fu Junqiu frowned strangely. “Who? I’m only going to scout potential talents for our company. This is my duty as the company’s CEO.”

To avert Fu Qingli’s further interrogation, Fu Junqiu tipped Fu Qingye the wink, as if saying, ‘Don’t just stand there and let him drill you. Get a move on!’

Fu Qingye looked back and lamented, “Qingli, it’s time for you to put aside your prejudice.”

Qingli had too deep of prejudice towards the girl.

Now keeping to himself, Fu Qingli quietly stood there and watched them leave. His eyes reflected his bitter pain.

Prejudice, huh? He had to disagree. He had the clearest head of the bunch.

Fu Qingli knew what he should and should not do as well as the necessity of doing so.

As the backbone of the family, Fu Qingli was not in the position to do as he liked solely on a hunch or preference like them.

What was he expected to do when they rather got into a row with him than let go of Shen Xi? Fu Qingli’s only option was to let them follow their hearts.

He gave Qingye the go-ahead when the latter wanted to get into showbiz.

Fu Qingli permitted Qingxuan to dive into the medical world.

What about him?

Had anyone stopped to think about or asked him what he really wanted?

As the eldest son of the Fu family, Fu Qingli was destined to shoulder the responsibility of the family. His destiny was already set in stone from the day he was born.

Fu Qingli believed he had always done a good job, whether it was in the past, present, or future. He steadfastly moved ahead just so his family could live the lives they wanted.

Fu Qingye had walked quite a distance before he turned around and looked back at his bedroom. Through the large glass window, he could see the man standing erected there, straightening his back before walking away steadily.

Finding it odd, Fu Junqiu glanced back. “What are you looking at?”

“Aunt.” Fu Qingye turned back and stared blankly at the empty room as bouts of pain ran through his veins. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have pushed him.”

He was only pushing Qingli to admit that he did not hate Shen Xi but Qingli was set in his ways. In retrospect, Fu Qingye had underestimated his older brother.

The person, who was an invincible presence to them and carried the family burden since the age of fourteen, was far more resolute than Fu Qingye had imagined.

“What are you talking about?” Fu Junqiu was confused.

“Nothing.” Fu Qingye shook his head with a bitter smile. He had made his bed, so it was time to lie on it.

This would be the last time.

For one last time, he wanted to have his way, follow his heart, and do what he wanted.

Then, Fu Qingye would return and help Qingli carry the weight of the family responsibility so that the latter would not be alone to face the heavy burden.

…

Instead of flying back to the capital, Shen Xi went straight to the set of National Idol in T Town.

She arrived there on her own at six o’clock in the morning just to avoid the peak hour.

There was no one in the lobby except for the receptionist and security guard.

As a precautionary measure, Shen Xi pulled down her hoodie. She was unbothered to be seen by strangers as her only concern was Song Wenye.

Someone on the left end of the lift kept staring at her. Hit with a realization, the person cynically said, “Shen Xi.”

Shen Xi looked back and recognized the person standing behind her to be He Lu, the prettiest girl in Shen Feng’s school. She paid He Lu no heed following the quick glance.

He Lu was taken aback by Shen Xi’s tactlessness even though the former had initiated the greeting. Furious to be given the snub, He Lu did not hide her animosity as she scoffed in disdain. “So, you’re that substitute trainee, huh?”

The program was supposed to begin its recording last week, but one of the trainees fell sick. The show could not go on with one person missing.

The production team had to source a new trainee. It should be easy to make up the number with a random pretty face since many agencies and new talents would fight tooth and nail to get a spot.

However, the investor then said they had a candidate in mind as a replacement. The group of one hundred trainees wasted so many days waiting for that one person.

The other trainees were in the dark about this as it was a secret. He Lu found out from her uncle, and it never occurred to her that the person would be Shen Xi!

Refusing to give He Lu the time of the day, Shen Xi whipped out her phone to send Li Yuan a message. [Brother, I’ve arrived and am in the lift.]

Since there was no signal in the lift, Shen Xi observed the icon spinning round and round while the message was being sent. Looking at this was more interesting than listening to scratchy noise in the background.

“You sure pulled some major strings!” Angered by the attitude, He Lu ripped into Shen Xi. “The investor must be your sugar daddy. I guess it has already been decided that you’d make your debut?”

“Rather than worrying whether others are pulling strings behind, maybe it’s better that you work on yourself.” Shen Xi was in a great mood when the icon stopped spinning. The message was sent. Hence, she nicely gave He Lu a word of advice.

“You seem smug for someone who did not play fair,” He Lu scorned. Internally, madness and jealousy were brewing. Why did Shen Xi get to have an opportunity to debut handed to her by a sugar daddy?

Her uncle was the deputy head of the TV station. He Lu must inform her uncle to have the cameraman capture Shen Xi’s ugliest moments and tamper with the editing. So what if Shen Xi made her debut? She was bound to be the laughingstock of the century

Chapter 458: Mystery Mentor

“I’m not really smug about pulling strings, but I did represent the Chinese Dancers Association to perform at the Golden Hall. I have won countless awards, and what about you?” Shen Xi clapped back with hard evidence.

The other contestants would not stand a chance if Shen Xi were to compete for a spot to debut. He Lu should be thankful that Shen Xi was the mentor, not a trainee.

“What’s the big deal about winning an award?” He Lu was not going to back down and give Shen Xi the satisfaction. Sticking to her guns, she scoffed, “Ask anyone here and they will tell you they’d at least won an award or two!”

He Lu was a great dancer and earned her fair share of awards too. The mention of the Chinese Dancers Association did not scare her.

Why would Shen Xi go through the backdoor if she was as awesome as she put it herself? A trainee backed by a sugar daddy had no right to compete with the rest of them.

“That’s brilliant.” Shen Xi let out a bright smile as she fixed her eyes on He Lu. “You better work at it then. You don’t want to be eliminated in the first round.”

“You…” He Lu’s complexion turned grimace, caught between having no comeback and keeping her public image in mind. By the time she came up with a snappy retort, Shen Xi had already exited the lift. Stamping her foot, she muttered under her breath, “We’ll see about that.”

The d*mn b*tch! How could that b*tch jinx her?

He Lu was determined to crush Shen Xi under her feet. Shen Xi must be in over her head to compete with her.

Shen Xi walked into her private accommodation. It was a Deluxe Suite specially booked for her and equipped with a bedroom, study, washroom, changing room, and dressing room.

She started on hair and makeup after putting down her luggage.

With the finished look coming to fruition, the young man in the mirror was rather attractive, carrying a sort of androgynous beauty to him. Compared to the look of Dr. Jiu Zhou, the makeup bore a more mature but less indifferent boyishness.

Following the finishing touches, Shen Xi closely examined herself in the mirror and got a jump.

Dang.

Why did she look a little like Fu Qingxuan!

A striking resemblance if she could say so herself.

Shen Xi smacked her head. She must have unconsciously painted her face like Fu Qingxuan since the guy had been nagging her ear for the past week.

She picked up a brush in position to reframe her face.

There was a knock on the door.

Shen Xi stood up to open the door.

The staff member at the door was a young girl. With her breath taken by the sight of Shen Xi, the girl nervously uttered, “Mr. Yun, the producer, told me to get you. It’s time to say hello to the trainees.”

Mr. Yun was such a hottie!

She caught wind that the mystery mentor must be ugly since he was not one to show his face. It never crossed her mind that he would be Mr. McDreamy in the flesh!

Why was there a need for a mask with good looks like that? The staff member had inside information that the prop team had prepared many different masks.

“Alright.” Shen Xi nodded before heading back to the dressing room to put on a half-face fox mask. The mask covered one eye and the left profile. She looked at the staff and said, “We can go now.”

The girl was the assistant producer. She bemoaned to see the mask covering that gorgeous face. It was a shame that the dreamy face could not be shared with the rest of the world!

Nevertheless, the mask could not hide that poised yet mysterious presence to him. It was a telltale sign that this person was a hottie just by the eyes.

The trainees gathered and all 101 of them were accounted for.

He Lu scanned the crowd but was not able to spot Shen Xi. She asked Su Ruowan who was next to her. “Wanwan, is everyone here?”

Sharing the same accommodation, He Lu and Su Ruowan really hit it off. Their closeness grew by leaps to the point they were inseparable wherever they went.

“Yes.” Su Ruowan gave a nod before softly inquiring, “Is there someone you’re looking for?”

“Who is the substitute?” He Lu followed up with another question instead.

She was puzzled by Shen Xi’s absence despite everyone being here. She did run into Shen Xi in the lift and the latter never denied being the substitute trainee. Why was she not here?

“That one!” Su Ruowan pointed at the adorable girl standing by Song Wenye and her group. Her eyes alighted with disdain.

Who the f*ck did she think she was to make them wait such a long time? Muyan mentioned something about the substitute’s delay to take care of a personal matter.

The substitute was unlikable without the face or body to show for.

He Lu looked towards the direction pointed and saw the substitute. The name displayed was Ye Weiyang.

“She’s cute and plump.” There was no need to watch her language since she and Su Ruowan were close.

So, this girl was the substitute, the one who kept her waiting for days on end. It was no wonder the investor grabbed the spot for her. The fat pig should know better than to join the show.

Noticing their glances, Song Wenye warily turned over and shot them a cocky look.

The two women had been working hand in glove since day one.

He Lu undeterredly participated in the stare-down. She really hated that girl Song Wenye since the day they joined the set. Yet, He Lu was assigned to the same room as her. Since she had a public image to keep, there was nothing more He Lu could do other than putting up with Song Wenye.

She was first worried she would be ostracized as Song Wenye and Wanwan might be close, being from the same school and all.

Surprisingly, Song Wenye gave the gentle and kind Wanwan the cold shoulder. He Lu, on the other hand, cliqued and got along well with Wanwan. Of course, they were not best friends.

Song Wenye arrogantly pulled Ye Weiyang aside and pointed at He Lu and Su Ruowan before whispering, “See that, Yangyang? Those two there are evil, so don’t be like them.”

The fine facial features on Ye Weiyang’s oval face brought out the cuteness in her. Though, the baby fat did make her appear chubby, not fat. Ye Weiyang put on a serious face and nodded. “Got it.”

Like petting a pet, Song Wenye patted her head and happily grinned. “What a good girl.”

This darling here was the last person sent by their company. She was only fifteen and was the youngest among all the trainees here. As the eldest, she had to uphold the duty to shield Yangyang against harm.

The four remaining girls, together with Ji Jingyan as the leader, were from Cosmos Entertainment. Watching as the scene unfolded, the group exchanged glances and broke into smiles.

As a substitute sent by their company, they were told to watch over Yangyang. The latter was young, innocent, and an easy target to be picked on.

“The mystery mentor is here.”

Hearing this, the trainees turned in one direction and watched as a young man in a half-face fox mask strode in with poise.