Chapter 12: She Became Famous, So Why Is She Even More Competitive?

After stirring up a wave of resentment, Jin Li didn't just walk away.

*Cough, cough*, there was no helping it; she just couldn't bring herself to do something so heartless.

She was bombarded with colorful language by the other members in the group chat for ten minutes, but peace was finally restored when Jin Li said, [When everyone is free, let's go out for a meal together. My treat.]

After a brief chat to relax, Jin Li was just about to put her phone down when she suddenly received a private message from Ji Qinglian.

Qinglian: [Can your body really handle a stage performance? I recently officially announced that I’ll be a mentor on "PICK~ Next Station: Diva." It’s a talent show, and mentors can invite a partner to co-lead their team during the second episode of recording. I want to invite you.]

The other five members of Pink Girls all had a straightforward way of speaking; they didn't beat around the bush when dealing with those close to them.

Without Jin Li needing to ask, Ji Qinglian spilled everything like beans from a bag.

Which company was backing the variety show, which video platform was producing it, how powerful they were, how the young idols selected were quite talented, and how leading a team wouldn't be tiring...

Most importantly, the last few years had been "the years of talent shows," and such programs were always explosive hits.

Ji Qinglian felt that using this show as Jin Li's comeback debut would have excellent results.

Jin Li thought so too.

She had inherited all the original owner's memories and knew that the mentors selected for these hit talent shows were all A-list stars; once they aired, they were guaranteed to be blockbusters.

The top-tier celebrities who had been pushed to the forefront in recent years, regardless of gender, had basically all come out of talent shows. This showed just how explosive the subsequent impact of such variety shows could be.

However, there was a problem—

Jin Li: [Will your company agree to you bringing me along?]

Ji Qinglian fell silent for a moment.

The overheated atmosphere was doused with a bucket of ice water.

Talent show, guaranteed blockbuster, subsequent impact... these were all things Ji Qinglian had said.

When the first term appeared, Jin Li felt she could give it a try.

When the second term appeared, Jin Li felt she could barely manage it.

But when the third term appeared, only one thought crossed Jin Li's mind: *None of my business.*

Fans only saw the peace and prosperity on the outside, and Ji Qinglian’s status steadily rising, leading them to say she had found a good company.

But all the members of Pink Girls knew that Ji Qinglian was very much not in control of her own fate within the company.

Yes, she had signed with a big company and secured her A-list status, that was true.

But the benefits and the revenue splits from various announcements provided by the big company were exceptionally low.

If Jin Li remembered correctly, Ji Qinglian only had a 3-7 split with the company—she got three, the company got seven—leaving her very much at the company's mercy.

Would Ji Qinglian's company be willing to give such a good partner spot to a former teammate who had nothing to do with them?

After a while, Ji Qinglian finally sent a message: [I'll communicate with the company.]

[Li-bao, sometimes I really feel like I can't keep going.]

Jin Li replied with a [Hug].

Sigh, the world of adults is always full of bitterness.

...

Although Ji Qinglian might not be able to make the final call, Jin Li still searched for information on "PICK~ Next Station: Diva" and watched the related videos.

How should one put it? This show had already had a hit predecessor, "PICK~ Next Station: King," which was popular two years ago, and back then, it was promoting a boy group.

Two years in the making, and now it was the girl group's turn to record.

Jin Li looked up the boy group that had been launched, the current top-tier boy group "March Sky." Every one of them was handsome, and their skills and foundations were all on point.

In other words, even if they hadn't come from a talent show, they would definitely have had the strength of an A-list boy group.

Coming from a talent show was just a catalyst that added to their explosive popularity, making them famous faster.

In short, "PICK~ Next Station: King" being able to produce a boy group of "March Sky's" caliber was just a stroke of heaven-sent luck; other talent shows simply couldn't replicate it.

This wasn't Jin Li's opinion; it was what the fans of "March Sky" said, but Jin Li thought it was quite accurate.

What Jin Li worried about was whether netizens would become particularly harsh in their selection of the girl group, given the benchmark set by the boy group.

If that were the case, it wouldn't be fun at all.

Jin Li put down her phone and spent two hours doing online courses.

She had originally planned to study for only an hour before going to sleep, but she was too excited today to fall asleep.

So, she pushed herself for another hour, making her brain feel dizzy, which made it easier to fall asleep.

Waking up the next day.

Jin Li felt like she had come back to life!

This [Twice the Result with Half the Effort] ability was just too strong. Wasn't this just a real-life version of "getting stronger by grinding through problems"?

She didn't have any arrangements from the company today, so she went back to her usual routine of livestreaming her online classes.

As a result, netizens were surprised to find: Jin Li was popular, but Jin Li was even more of a "study-holic" now!

A fan of Jin Li commented

[I'm breaking down. I've spent the whole morning accompanying her in class, and I have to accompany her for the whole afternoon later. Although her foundation is visibly improving and her speed at solving problems is getting faster and faster—university is in sight, she might even get into a good one—I'm still breaking down!]

[Take them away and behead them! Is this a new type of "humble-brag" literature?]

[I'm breaking down, really breaking down. My Li-bao loves studying so much, she's grinding through problems so fast I can't even keep up. Even though she's a celebrity, and was once an A-list celebrity, and many people have heard her songs, I'm still breaking down~]

Jin Li had no gigs and couldn't go out to burn incense, so she could only focus on studying.

She had to rely on this stuff to keep her life going!

But the netizens didn't know that; instead, they felt that Jin Li's health had really improved.

She used to look like she would faint after walking a few steps, but now she had the energy to engage in high-intensity mental study.

It was just that Jin Li's fans were a little worried. Jin Li had become popular again, so why did she still have so much time to study? Didn't she have to go run errands and attend events?

Could this so-called "comeback" be watered down?

On the other side, at Morning Sun Entertainment.

The agents were all busy selecting gigs.

Contrary to what the fans guessed, Jin Li really had made a comeback. Ever since it was announced that she was the "Black-Clad Koi," the company had been receiving invitations for Jin Li to participate in various events.

But there were just too many invitations, and many were from companies they hadn't worked with before, so they didn't know the details.

That was why the company decided to let Jin Li take it slow while they finished a round of screening and investigation.

So, at the height of Jin Li's popularity, she was actually at her most leisurely.

By now, the agents at Morning Sun Entertainment had pulled two all-nighters, and most of the gigs had been screened out.

There were still many more invitations arriving in their inbox, but Morning Sun Entertainment didn't have the time to look at them; they had to pick out the ones that seemed decent from the earlier batch and arrange them for Jin Li.

Although Jin Li's body was better than before, it was still weaker than an average person's. They couldn't possibly let Jin Li do high-intensity labor, so they had to schedule her time very carefully.

However, just then, a phone call came in—it was from the agent of one of the mentors on "PICK~ Next Station: Diva."

Here it comes, here it comes. Goodnight, my brain's CPU is about to burn out.