Chapter 138: 0138
Chapter 138
"Yu Dan: You just woke up? We've already finished discussing it."
"Han Lemi: It's okay, I've caught up on all the message records."
She had only opened her eyes a few seconds ago, but once she picked up her phone, she couldn't put it down. The gossip queen Yu Dan had shared all the relevant links in their group chat, and Han Lemi spent about ten minutes reading through everything.
Pei Zhiping came out of the bathroom with a face mask still on, and Han Lemi immediately exclaimed, "This is too explosive!"
Dating scandals weren't rare in their industry, but it was different for them. Their company had strict rules, and they always treated such matters seriously, which had made them view rumors as something terrifying.
Han Lemi's drowsiness was completely gone.
Pei Zhiping, still wearing her face mask, held back a yawn and lay back down on her bed. Finding a comfortable position to lean back, she glanced at Han Lemi and said, "I think Jiang Producer must be the most hurt by this. I heard from Brother Yu Le that he was furious yesterday."
"Of course!" Han Lemi sat up, wrapping herself in her blanket. "He used to be the role model, and now he's suddenly fallen from grace. Jiang Producer, who built him up, must be absolutely livid."
Timetrain was the company's first group, personally trained by Jiang Producer, and the entire company definitely valued them exceptionally.
If Jiang Producer hadn't been angry last night, it might have been fine, but if he was angry, that would change everything.
"There are only a few reasons that could make Jiang Producer angry," Han Lemi said while counting on her fingers. "Either he's really dating someone, he's not dating but in an ambiguous relationship, or he dated before but broke up now."
Han Lemi pressed her lips together and looked at Pei Zhiping. "...How do you think the company will handle this?"
Pei Zhiping, who was memorizing lyrics, paused and turned around, "You know our company loves to make examples out of people..."
"Ah..." Han Lemi, being one of those potential examples, understood the meaning.
"Si Yanyu: For the company, this is the best solution. Stabilizing the fans' hearts is more important than anything."
"Yu Dan: I bet they'll use high school studies as an excuse to reduce his schedules."
"Pei Zhiping: Look how anxious you three are."
"Han Lemi: I'm a Random Entertainment career fan! Random Entertainment can't have any issues. I still want to get a position at Random Entertainment when I'm forty or fifty years old."
"Yu Dan: Do you know what this means? It means our opportunity has come!"
"Han Lemi: Yes!"
"Han Lemi: Let's quickly get up and practice, show our dedication to work, and try to get Jiang Producer to become our main producer."
"Si Yanyu: ..."
"Pei Zhiping: ...I'm up."
Only the fans think this matter has been settled. The general public just treats it as entertainment and moves on once they've had their fun. But anti-fans and haters are different - they'll keep bringing it up even if it's been clarified countless times, as if it was never explained at all.
The three members of Equals3, who also went to bed early, only learned about this after waking up. They were close to that group, so they went directly to ask what happened.
"Do you believe it?" Jiang Wangran looked at the other two.
It was still early, but because they needed to get familiar with their instruments and adjust their condition, they had left early for the practice room.
Just now in the car, those two had been typing so furiously their phones almost sparked. Only after entering the practice room did they share the cause and result of the situation with Jiang Wangran.
Regarding their group's explanation, Jiang Wangran clearly didn't believe it. "If there really was nothing going on, why would the company issue such a statement, and why would Jiang Producer be angry?"
The other two: "..."
Jiang Wangran, who was plugging in cables, looked back at the two and said directly, "Don't tell me you two naively believe there's no competitive pressure just because the group types don't overlap?"
After plugging in the cable, he straightened up and said, "I actually think this is good for us."
The company was having difficulties expanding externally, and internal resources were limited. According to the company's usual handling, if Gao Xiayu really hadn't done anything wrong, he would be fine going forward, but if he had made a mistake, resources would definitely be transferred to others.
Jiang Wangran was betting on the latter.
"..."
Their manager, who came in a bit late due to a phone call, hadn't even steadied himself after pushing open the door before telling them, "We're not going back to Beijing the day after tomorrow. We're flying to Changsha to record a show. The school has already approved the leave."
Jiang Wangran shifted his gaze to Sang Mo and Chen Wu, and they looked back at him, exchanging glances.
"Okay," they responded.
-
Because the situation had been resolved smoothly and Random Entertainment remained stable, Jiang Liuxing was in a good mood when she woke up in the morning.
"Hi! Little bird!" Jiang Liuxing opened the window and shouted outside.
Liu Yue, still lying in bed, turned to look and frowned, "What are you going crazy about?"
Jiang Liuxing bounced back after closing the window, "Quick, get up! It's already noon. By the time we wash up and get ready, it'll be time to leave!"
Liu Yue, who had been up until 4 AM following the drama, pulled her blanket back up and said directly, "Another half hour."
Zhou Keke was already up, standing at the bathroom door with a toothbrush in her mouth, speaking unclearly, "I've already ordered takeout..."
"OKOK!" Jiang Liuxing rushed toward the bathroom, "Let me use the toilet first!"
By this time, the music festival grounds were already open for entry, and the parking lot was bustling with activity. Young people in stylish outfits were getting out of their cars everywhere.
There were photographers waiting at the entrance, specifically arranged by the event organizers to follow and photograph these well-dressed visitors and conduct brief street interviews.
The weather was nice today, with blue skies overhead, while the festival grounds below were filled with various colors, especially at the entrance where people waiting to enter were dressed as if they were attending fashion week.
When going out to have fun, of course you want to dress up nicely to take good photos.
Even Jiang Liuxing, who never dressed up, had extraordinarily worn a strapless jumpsuit for the occasion.
Though getting out of the car was a bit awkward.
"Quick, quick! Mosquito repellent!"
The three of them shared one bottle of mosquito repellent, spraying it all over themselves, its scent even overpowering their perfume.
Liu Yue declared, "I can be smelly, I can be dark, but I can't get bitten by mosquitoes!"
They had left in such a hurry that they hadn't thought about this at all. It wasn't until they were about to get out of the car that Zhou Keke pulled out the repellent, reminding them they needed to spray it.
Liu Yue kept yawning, "I didn't sleep well last night. Just as I was falling asleep, mosquitoes started buzzing around my ears."
"You only got buzzing, look at my arm - I got three bites," Jiang Liuxing stretched out her arm to show them.
Apparently anticipating this issue, the vendors at the entrance were selling sunscreen spray and mosquito repellent.
Many people, like them, hadn't thought about this, and were now crowding around those two stalls buying supplies.
Since it was around noon, it was peak entry time, and long queues had formed at the ticket check.
The three of them stood in line holding umbrellas, thinking they'd have to wait a while, but they got in within ten minutes.
The consequence of entering right before the start was like this - many people, like them, started running as soon as they got in, not having time to appreciate the festival grounds' decorations, only wanting to quickly get to the stage front.
According to the performance order, Equals3's group was first.
Even as newcomers, just with the Random Entertainment brand name, the area in front of their stage was packed with people.
"We still came too late," Jiang Liuxing sighed.
It was a sea of people in front, and they could only see heads. Some instruments were already set up on stage, looking ant-sized from where they stood. They could only clearly see the performers on the big screen.
She turned to look at the big screen and remarked, "Thank goodness the screen is big enough."
Considering the viewers at the back, the screens broadcasting the stage were three to four times larger than usual, clear enough to see even the texture of the center stage microphone stand.
There were quite a few people who, like them, had arrived just in time, and as soon as they found their spots, the area behind them filled up with people.
"Aren't you going to take pictures?" Liu Yue noticed Jiang Liuxing hadn't taken out her camera.
Jiang Liuxing, staring at the stage, shook her head and said, "For the first performance, I just want to enjoy it together with everyone."
It's incredibly challenging to film a stage performance from a direct angle - you need to maintain the right perspective while keeping your emotions in check, as any excitement could affect both the video quality and sound recording.
But Jiang Liuxing knew her emotions would be impossible to control today, so she gave up on filming altogether.
She gazed intently at the stage, occasionally glancing at her wrist to check the time.
"It's almost time."
The staff who had been busy on stage had all cleared out, with only ten minutes remaining until the show began.
Nearly a year of waiting had been condensed into these ten minutes, and Jiang Liuxing's heart was beating faster than ever before.
Backstage, three people stood together warming up their voices, adjusting their sound packs and putting in their in-ear monitors.
Jiang Wangran took a sip of water, holding it in his mouth to moisten his throat.
Chen Wu placed a hand over his heart and took a deep breath, then extended his hand outward. Seeing this, the other two placed their hands on top of his.
He said, "Let's enjoy the stage."
"Let's tear it up!"
After their pre-show ritual, the backstage crew sprang into action. The other musicians went on stage first, while the three of them waited for their cue.
The crowd erupted in cheers as the musicians took the stage.
Hearing the applause, Jiang Wangran felt his blood starting to pump.
Aliali: 67497f3cc4f3f33ac48799b4The excitement caused him to tremble, and even the usually composed Jiang Wangran couldn't help but shake.
The backstage staff member with the walkie-talkie turned to the three of them after receiving a message: "You can go on stage now."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wangran turned first, taking the stairs in a few quick steps to reach the stage.
His appearance immediately ignited the passion of the audience below.
Showing no stage fright, Jiang Wangran waved to the crowd as he walked toward his microphone stand.
His gesture triggered another wave of screaming.
"I can't take it, I'm becoming a fan!"
"The show hasn't even started yet, keep it together!"
"Ahhhh help! Jiang Wangran is just too deadly!"
"Random Entertainment finally has a handsome guy I can get into! Ah! I'm going to start treating myself well!"