Chapter 45: Furious
The next day marked the arrival of the fourth round of the competition.
Su Jinli, being in the top ten in terms of popularity, didn't need to worry even if he hadn't practiced much during the week.
Today, they were not required to participate in the dress rehearsal. So only after the other contestants had finished, did they arrive.
Sitting in the makeup room, Su Jinli tried his best to ignore Zhou Wenyuan sitting not far away, cooperating calmly with his makeup process. He heard Bobo asking him, "How is your health? You haven't spoken much?"
Su Jinli merely nodded in response.
"I heard you asked An Zhiyan if I could be your personal stylist?" Bobo inquired, sounding quite pleased.
Only those who were deeply valued by Su Jinli would be mentioned when forming their teams. This made Bobo like Su Jinli a bit more.
Not daring to move, fearing to disturb Bobo's work, Su Jinli responded with a nasal, "Mm-hmm."
"So, the first time you praised me, I thought you were just being polite. But it turns out, you genuinely think I'm good?"
"Mm-hmm." Sujin confirmed.
"I will consider your matter," Bobo assured. Her mood was lifted, leading to a slightly improved attitude towards Su Jinli.
There aren't many makeup artists, so everyone ends up queuing. Bobo always took special care of Su Jinli, often arranging for him to be styled meticulously under her supervision.
It was the same today.
The top ten contestants' outfits were uniformly tailor-made—each was a mature suit paired with a white shirt.
Perhaps to accentuate Su Jinli's image as a young fairylike man, his shirt was still more extravagant than everyone else's, making him look like a little prince.
Bobo neatly bundled Su Jinli's fringes to the top of his head, setting it in place, then adding a pair of retro glasses. She pinched Su Jinli's chin and looked carefully, "How come you are naturally so good-looking?"
Su Jinli responded with a smile.
"I know you haven't undergone any cosmetic surgery—I can tell by just touching your bones. Maintain this good foundation and don't mess with injections or anything in the future," Bobo advised Su Jinli.
"Okay."
After completing the styling, Bobo had Su Jinli stand up and face her, "You look as if you've grown up all of a sudden."
Su Jinli chuckled, "Heh heh."
"Today's theme is austerity. You have to control it well and not continue to implode your image. Your image is really... shattered to pieces."
"Okay," Su Jinli agreed, feeling somewhat wronged and nodding in agreement.
In a conversation where one person does all the talking and the other merely responds with noncommittal sounds, anyone but An Zhihan wouldn't be able to keep up.
Soon, Bobo stopped talking and continued to style the next contestant.
As Su Jinli prepared by the stage, An Zhihan found him. After looking around and ensuring no one else was around, he whispered to Su Jinli, "I heard they quietly told the competition contestants before the rehearsal not to challenge you during the face-off."
Hearing this, Su Jinli breathed a sigh of relief.
His voice hadn't fully recovered yet. If he really had to sing, it's likely that his voice wouldn't be in good condition. If he stubbornly insisted on singing, his voice could potentially crack.
Consequently, this news relieved him.
An Zhihan pulled Su Jinli to one side and said, "I couldn't sleep all night yesterday, just thinking about your issues. I don't know if I can continue to be your friend now that you're Shen Cheng's younger brother."
Su Jinli quickly took out his notebook and asked, "Why?"
"Because I offended Shen Cheng before."
Su Jinli's eyes widened in disbelief.
"When my brother won the Actor award, he was competing against Shen Cheng. Everyone thought that Shen Cheng was certain to win, but my brother got it. People started criticizing and insulting my brother online that night, saying that our family were purchasing awards."
Even bringing up these past events still made An Zhihan furious. He continued, "I thought maybe this was Shen Cheng's doing, too. A few days later, there was a charity banquet. I saw Shen Cheng and went to argue with him when he was sitting quietly in the garden."
Su Jinli asked by writing on his notebook: "Did you two argue?"
"You would feel embarrassed if you knew. I stood in front of Shen Cheng, talking for a long time, but he just gave me a cold glance. It felt as if I was stifled by his presence. The more I said, the more agitated I became. I even started crying."
Su Jinli wrote: What did you say? Why did you cry?
"I said that my brother didn't have it easy. His years of hard work and dedication to acting finally won him the award. It is a recognition he deserves, and 'how dare you tarnish my brother's name.'"
Su Jinli: What happened next?
"Then... I rambled on for about ten minutes by myself; he didn't say a word. I was taken away by Jiang Pingqiu who came to my rescue. After my brother found out, he told me it wasn't Shen Cheng who was badmouthing him and took me to apologize to Shen Cheng."
Su Jinli: My brother is a good person. He wouldn't attack anyone without a reason.
Seeing the words Su Jinli wrote, An Zhihan couldn't help but roll his eyes. Shen Cheng, a good guy? That's as unlikely as rain falling sideways.
"From beginning to end, Shen Cheng only gave me a few glances, then said to my brother: 'Well, your brother is quite like you.'" An Zhihan shrugged after quoting Shen Cheng, "That's definitely not a compliment."
Su Jinli quickly wrote back: But that's not an insult either.
"You can't just blindly defend him just because he's your brother!"
Su Jinli: But it was indeed you who went to berate him without distinguishing right from wrong.
Left speechless by Su Jinli's words, An Zhihan thought for a moment then sighed, "It does seem to be so, doesn't it?"
Su Jinli: Also, last night when I woke up, you were sound asleep.
An Zhihan promptly replied: "Don't change the subject! I did suffer from insomnia - not the whole night, but at least half of it."
Su Jinli smacked his lips, looked helpless, and nodded in a way that seemed like a forced compromise.
Still feeling somewhat uneasy, An Zhihan attempted to continue arguing with Su Jinli, but was interrupted by someone.
"What are you guys conspiring over?" An Zhiyan approached, script in hand. Jiang Pingqiu was attaching a microphone to him.
"Just about his and Shen Cheng's business." An Zhihan replied.
Hearing this, An Zhiyan's brow furrowed involuntarily. Taking a look at Su Jinli, he turned abruptly and walked away.
They watched An Zhiyan leave, then An Zhihan turned to Su Jinli and said: "You're Shen Cheng's brother. I guess my brother is still not over it, likening it to inviting a wolf into the sheep pen."
Seeing An Zhihan's words grow harsher, Su Jinli's expression darkened. Ignoring An Zhihan, he headed towards the set.
With his sharp tongue, An Zhihan had to chase after Su Jinli to make amends, momentarily forgetting that Su Jinli is Shen Cheng's brother.
Turning his head, An Zhiyan saw Su Jinli and An Zhihan departing one after the other.
Su Jinli, with long legs and a good figure, looked especially striking in a suit. Walking, he seemed even more slender - a sight that made An Zhiyan sneak another couple of glances at Su Jinli's legs.
But the sight just fueled his frustration.
The rare person he found pleasing to the eye turned out to be Shen Cheng's ex-lover. Looking at the situation, they had probably gotten back together.
To this day, he had yet to adjust his downcast mood.
At this point, a crew member approached An Zhiyan, quietly informing him of the production team's latest plans.
"Zhou Wenyuan?" An Zhiyan furrowed his brows slightly, questioning.
The production team had the least amount of faith in An Zhiyan. They couldn't control him at all. When they had attempted to promote Zhou Wenyuan previously, An Zhiyan had not cooperated in the slightest.
This time, the production team member was especially cautious: "Yes."
"Is it an arrangement from the Boruo Pineapple?" An Zhiyan asked, continuing to read his script.
"Yes."
"And what about Huasen Entertainment?"
"People from the Boruo Pineapple will negotiate with them."
"Alright, I understand." After An Zhiyan affirmed, he returned to his dressing room.
Once inside, Jiang Pingqiu couldn't help but ask: "The decision to let Zhou Wenyuan withdraw from the competition at Shen Cheng's end, is it related to Su Jinli's accident?"
"Shen Cheng wouldn't do such a thing lightly." An Zhiyan understood his old rival quite well.
"So, are we to cooperate?"
"Don't forget, Su Jinli is now an artist of the Sejia Legend."
Jiang Pingqiu nodded, indicating that he understood.
An Zhiyan stood in front of the mirror, looking at himself, and took a deep breath.
Calm down.
Calm down.
On the opening of the fourth round of competition, all contestants would participate in a dance to their theme song, including the top ten.
They all knew this dance already; they'd rehearsed it thrice before the opening, ensuring their positions, and they were ready to go.
The top ten popular contestants were in the front row, at the most visible spot of the stage, standing on a lifting platform. All the other participants would serve as their backdrop.
After completing the theme song dance, the top ten contestants took their seats next to the judges' table to watch the competition.
In actuality, this competition system felt somewhat biased. For instance, others among them, like Su Jinli, would definitely give slightly higher scores to Fan Qianting and Chang Siyin, while everyone else was graded at standard levels.
Fortunately, the scores from these few accounted for only 30% of the total marks. The remaining 70% was decided by the panel of judges.
During the first round of competition, all participating teams perform and are scored by the top ten popular contestants, along with the judges. Their ranks are then determined by the average of these scores.
Unexpectedly, a contestant who had previously been strong entered the danger zone. If he didn't choose to challenge in the subsequent rounds, he would be immediately eliminated.
"What a shame for Luo Yaoge!" An Zhihan couldn't help but sigh after watching the competition.
Su Jinli nodded in agreement, also thinking that Luo Yaoge performed well.
Following the challenge section, Luo Yaoge indeed picked a challenge, "I choose Zhou Wenyuan."
Zhou Wenyuan was initially surprised but eventually welcomed the contest.
If challenged by a contestant in the safe zone, losing would mean at most dropping out of the top ten, instead of being eliminated.
However, if challenged by a contestant in the danger zone, and then losing, it would mean direct elimination.
Thus, this is a very exciting stage of the competition.
Zhou Wenyuan was quite popular. As soon as he appeared, many began to cheer and scream.
Zhou Wenyuan greeted them with a wave, ready to take on the normal duel.
First, they presented a song, followed by a dance. After two rounds of competition, the four judges and the host voted. The contestant with most votes wins.
This particular round ended with a surprising outcome.
Zhou Wenyuan received 2 votes.
Luo Yaoge got 3 votes.
Zhou Wenyuan was eliminated.
The judges explained this outcome by praising Luo Yaoge's creativity during his song performance. Both contestants had an equally impressive dance, but Luo's original song gave him a slight edge.
In today's entertainment industry, originality is key.
Zhou Wenyuan looked surprised at the judges. Despite the brief moment of shock, he bowed deeply to everyone against the background of reluctant screams from his fans. He simply said, "Thank you."
An Zhihan, sitting with the judges, was also shocked. Su Jinli, however, secretly clenched his fists. He seemed to have guessed what had happened.
Before everyone’s shock had subsided, the next contestant from the danger zone walked out, ready to challenge one of the top ten contestants.
Qiao Nuo stood on the stage, listening to the shouts from below.
Many fans were regretting that their idols did not perform, so they were shouting the names of their idols.
Su Jinli's popularity was very high, and his fans were unaware of Su Jinli's injury. Therefore, they all believed Su Jinli would easily defeat Qiao Nuo, and consequentially the voices calling out for Su Jinli were overshadowing others.
Looking at the top ten seats, Qiao Nuo saw Luo Yaoge had already taken his seat. This seemed to give him courage, so after a moment of deliberation, he said a name: "Su Jinli."
The whole audience cheered.
The faces of An Zhihan and Wu Yu changed immediately, and even Su Jinli himself was taken by surprise.
He was not in a suitable condition to sing. He had tried in the hospital, his voice was somewhat hoarse, dry while singing, and his high notes would break.
An Zhiyan had already left the judges and was now on stage as a host. Upon hearing Su Jinli's name, he didn't speak, but waited for the voice in the earpiece.
The earpiece fell silent.
An Zhiyan stood on the stage, repeating the question to Qiao Nuo: "Are you sure you want to challenge Su Jinli?"
Qiao Nuo was overwhelmed by An Zhiyan's aura but in the end, he still said: "Yes, Su Jinli."
Could it be that Qiao Nuo is aware that Su Jinli is injured and speculates that he might defeat him under such circumstances?
He didn't want to leave this stage.
Once, he had ridiculed Su Jinli, only to be completely overshadowed by him later. Now, he had a chance to turn the tables, didn't he?
An Zhiyan was still waiting for the voice in his earpiece, then he heard the arrangements through the earpiece: "Keep the scene steady, let Su Jinli fight. This is a live performance; we can't show any bias."
An Zhiyan heard the instructions, and his lips curled up into a cold smile. Then, he forcefully slammed the microphone onto the stage and walked away furiously.
"Damn it!"
Author's note:
The protective husband is now online.
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