Chapter 14: So Stupid I Wanted to Run Into a Wall

Jin Li immediately called Sui Lingfang, briefly explained Lian Baozhi’s situation, and stated her decision.

Sui Lingfang was silent for a moment, as if pondering something.

After a long while, she replied, "If this is the only tactic she’s using, then I’m not afraid of her, and I’m inclined to let you take it."

In the entertainment industry, what hasn't happened when it comes to catfights and fighting for billing?

Buying off staff or an artist's assistant to report the wrong call time is just a petty trick; it’s unprofessional and easily exposed.

Sui Lingfang was certain that someone in the upper management at LP must favor Lian Baozhi; otherwise, if she kept playing these low-level games, she would have been taken down by her peers sooner or later.

There is no such thing as an airtight wall, and flies don't bite seamless eggs. If she can do it, why can't others?

Jin Li smiled and complimented, "Fang-jie, you always see things so clearly."

Sui Lingfang was happy for only a few seconds before sighing again, "If this comeback stage wasn't such a great opportunity, I wouldn't let you have any contact with someone like that. Not for any other reason, it’s just bad luck!"

Jin Li blinked, "That’s fine, I’m quite good at warding off that kind of thing."

"What?"

Jin Li said with a straight face, "A koi fish can also dispel bad luck."

This made Sui Lingfang burst into laughter, "If you could be this witty on variety shows, I’d have a lot less to worry about."

...

Since they decided to accept the offer, Sui Lingfang quickly contacted Lian Baozhi’s manager. Both sides were efficient, and the cooperation contract was signed that very afternoon.

That evening, when Lian Baozhi came out of the dance studio, her manager said, "It’s done!"

Lian Baozhi raised an eyebrow, her expression relaxing slightly, "That was easy. Did Chenxi Company not give you a hard time?"

The manager shook her head, "No. This stage is a good opportunity for Jin Li; they wouldn't easily pass it up."

She reminded her, "The contract is already signed, so it’s too late to say anything now, but I want to remind you again: don't underestimate Jin Li's strength.

Even though netizens call her a 'half-time diva,' even if she was slacking off in the second half, her skills are still stronger than the average singing and dancing idol."

Lian Baozhi took a sip of water, her slender neck tilting slightly upward to reveal a beautiful swan-like curve. Even in private, she was very conscious of her image.

Hearing this, she scoffed dismissively, "Then let Jin Li come and steal my spotlight!"

"I’ve watched her videos. That level of skill? I could do that too. She only got popular back then because she was lucky and rode the coattails of Pink Girls.

Setting the past aside, she’s been resting for three years, her body is weak, and she spends her days livestreaming her studies.

I looked at her posture and knew she hadn't been practicing singing or dancing at all. I might not be able to beat Ji Qinglian in those areas, but compared to Jin Li? More than enough!"

Having finally become a mentor on *PICK~ Next Stop Diva*, Lian Baozhi valued this opportunity immensely; how could she let anyone ruin it?

It just so happened that her status as an A-list star wasn't very stable, and netizens were always criticizing her online for having no representative works.

People are always defined by comparison.

If she, someone with no representative works, performed better on the show than Jin Li, let's see what those netizens have to say then!

The next morning.

Sui Lingfang arrived early at Jin Li’s apartment, bringing a nutritionist with her.

"Starting today, you need to start exercising. Otherwise, I’m genuinely afraid you’ll faint during the show. The nutritionist is here to condition your body; she won't be setting up a weight-loss plan for you, she’s specifically in charge of your muscle gain."

Sui Lingfang circled around Jin Li, "With these little arms and legs of yours, never mind high-intensity dancing, I feel like you’d struggle to carry an empty box up to the second floor. You must exercise properly."

Jin Li knew her own physical condition. If she really had to dance on stage, she couldn't challenge herself with high-difficulty choreography; she could only strike simple poses and kick her legs.

But that would be too boring.

She told Fang-jie her plan: she didn't intend to dance on the comeback stage, but would purely sing.

Sui Lingfang hesitated, and Jin Li added, "Unless you really want me to go there and be a vase, just acting cute."

"But your singing..." She dragged out the end of her sentence, very hesitant.

Jin Li said firmly, "It’s still better than dancing."

Seeing her like this, Sui Lingfang didn't say much more, "Fine, do as you please, but you have to spend two hours exercising every day."

Jin Li gave her an OK sign.

There was a place to exercise in the apartment complex. It was a high-end building, and since everyone was busy with work, it was basically empty during the day.

If she was really worried, she could also book the private gym in the building. It cost money, but the services provided were quite good.

It was a bit small, but it made up for it with complete equipment and a clean environment, so she didn't have to run around.

The company attached great importance to Jin Li’s comeback stage. Whether they could continue to capitalize on her traffic depended on whether this shot hit the mark!

Therefore, the company specifically rented a short-term apartment nearby for the nutritionist so it would be convenient for her to come over and supervise Jin Li every day.

Under the "surveillance" of others, Jin Li’s daily routine became much more regular.

Wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, exercise for an hour.

Come back, take a shower, and start a livestream to study.

Exercise for an hour in the afternoon, take a break, and instead of livestreaming her studies, she would work on music. At night, she would continue the study livestream.

Jin Li felt that this body had a bit of musical talent; ending up in a girl group could be considered a happy accident.

Drawing on inspiration from her memories, she began to revise songs.

It was complicated, to say the least. The copyrights for all of Pink Girls' songs were in the hands of their former agency, and when the agency dissolved, the copyrights were bought by someone else.

To this day, they didn't know who bought them and couldn't get in touch with anyone.

In other words, even if they wanted to sing their group songs now, they couldn't—they didn't have the rights.

However, some of her former teammates had sung full versions on shows without receiving any breach-of-contract notices. After it happened a few times, everyone tacitly assumed it was okay to sing them.

So, Jin Li planned to sing a group song on the show.

These days, playing the nostalgia card is a trump card; whoever plays it knows how effective it is. Some stars can sell nostalgia, while others want to but can't.

There was no professional vocal studio nearby, so Jin Li moved to the gym to practice singing.

The private gym had also been booked by someone else recently—a young, tall guy with a good physique. His loose clothing vaguely outlined his solid muscle lines.

This guy liked to be mysterious just like her, always appearing dressed in all black, covered from head to toe.

Usually, when he finished, it was Jin Li’s turn. When Jin Li finished, it was his turn.

The two bumped into each other often enough to have a nodding acquaintance, occasionally exchanging a few words, but it was limited to greetings like "You're here," "Good morning," or "Good afternoon."

It wasn't until the fifth day that Jin Li got stuck for a long time while revising a song. There was a small section she couldn't get right no matter how many times she tried. Her consciousness was so immersed in it that she forgot about the handover time.

The tall guy opened the door and heard Jin Li struggling to repeat that section over and over. After listening for a while, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Don't you know how to practice breath control? Where is your vocal coach?"

His voice was very clear and pleasant, with a touch of magnetism. This was the longest sentence they had ever exchanged.

Jin Li looked up at him, dazed, and suddenly discovered a blind spot—

The company all assumed that because she came from a girl group, she was proficient in singing and dancing and could handle things herself. Besides, since she wasn't dancing, there was even less need to hire a choreographer.

Therefore, they had all overlooked one thing.

That was that the current Jin Li only had a bit of a foundation, but was actually completely clueless about vocal music.

*It's over,* Jin Li thought.

She was so stupid she wanted to go bang her head against a block of tofu.

Here you go, goodnight. Thank you all for the recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, and comments; I’ve read every single one!

(End of chapter)