Chapter 42: Tearing Off the Mask Without Mercy

Jin Li originally wanted to buy a stack of lottery tickets for him, but on second thought, Gu Cheng carried himself with quite a bit of authority when teaching, and his problem-solving logic was impressive. Perhaps she should try harder to see if she could land him as a cheap tutor?

She asked tentatively, "I don't want the little gifts you brought from the charity gala. How about this: when you have time, you can teach me how to solve problems, and every time you teach me, I'll mail you a stack of scratch-off tickets?"

Gu Cheng said without hesitation, "Okay."

Jin Li:...

He agreed so quickly that she couldn't help but feel like she was getting the short end of the stick.

Gu Cheng sent another voice message.

"The little gifts aren't worth much, but they look nice. I took several; I'll give you one. It's no trouble."

Jin Li: "Fine."

Just then, the doorbell rang. Jin Li told Gu Cheng she was busy and put down her phone to open the door for Sister Fang.

Sui Lingfang turned on the TV, connected the screen mirroring, and cast the mobile video to the television.

*PICK~ Next Station Diva* had already begun broadcasting the first half of the second episode. There was a lot of content in the second episode, so the production team had split it into two parts.

This week was the first half.

After only a few minutes, Jin Li's stage performance appeared in the actual broadcast.

Jin Li was somewhat surprised. "I thought the opening wouldn't be mine. I didn't expect them to give it to me. The production team actually showed some kindness for once."

The broadcast order of a show isn't necessarily the same as the actual filming order.

It was common for segments filmed much later to be placed first in the final edit.

The exact sequence depended entirely on what the editor and producer wanted to achieve.

A skilled editor could make a fake look real—turning a segment without drama into one with drama, turning drama into a peaceful scene, turning a terrible stage into a legendary one, or turning a legendary stage into trash.

Sui Lingfang was also very surprised. "I told the director back then that we must ensure the integrity of your performance. As for everything else, including the appearance order, we were willing to compromise. I didn't expect the production team to put you first."

Opening the show, especially in a variety program, was absolutely the highlight; the show relied on the opening to hook the audience.

If your opening isn't good, how can you convince the audience that the rest of the show will be?

On the TV, Jin Li wore an elegant, pure white dress, with lily-of-the-valley flowers tucked into her hair, making her look fresh, cute, and possessing a hint of youthful bashfulness.

When she appeared on stage, the lights suddenly dimmed, focusing all the illumination on her. Jin Li seemed to transform into a pure white flower fairy.

She sat at the piano, played a casual sequence of notes, then nodded slightly to the side and began to sing with an easy, relaxed grace.

"The day the wind chimes rang, you stood before the blackboard... A pristine white shirt, the summer breeze blowing..."

The bullet comments flashed across the screen so rapidly they almost obscured Jin Li.

Ever since Jin Li appeared, the volume of comments in the video had surged.

[It's a lock! Li-bao has this in the bag!] [This is so good, ugh, after three years, I finally get to hear this song again!] [I miss the madness of being a fangirl. In high school, I was suffocated by heavy studies, and in my occasional free moments, I would listen to Pink Girls' songs. You could say they accompanied me through those barren years of youth; they were the only bright spot in my heavy life.] [Every time I hear Pink Girls, I am moved. It suddenly reminds me of my crush. I wonder if he is doing well now?]

Neither Sui Lingfang nor Jin Li spoke; they watched the performance intently.

When the final note faded, both of them breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously.

"Perfect." "No mistakes."

They looked at each other, seeing a shared sense of relief in each other's eyes.

Sui Lingfang smiled and said, "We really have to thank the production team of *PICK~ Next Station Diva* now. If it weren't for their powerful lighting and editing, your stage might not have been this excellent."

Jin Li nodded. "I also feel like I should thank them. If I have the chance to meet the director or producer next time, I want to send them some gifts."

Sui Lingfang lowered her head while fiddling with her phone, her voice a bit soft. "Since the production team is being so supportive, I actually feel a bit guilty about what I'm about to do next."

"Hmm?" Jin Li was puzzled and was about to ask something, but in the next second, her phone emitted a special ringtone.

Opening it, she saw a message from the official WeChat group of *PICK~ Next Station Diva*.

She had set Sui Lingfang as a special contact; any messages from their shared group chats or private messages from her would trigger a special notification.

In the official group, Sui Lingfang spoke directly using her main account.

Sui Lingfang: [@Lian Baozhi @Lü Shanjie, have you seen the second episode's broadcast? Because of your selfishness, the audience almost didn't get to see Jin Li's stage.]

Sui Lingfang: [The first episode had already aired by then. When I called to ask you, @Lü Shanjie, you told me the production team hadn't notified you about the rehearsal time yet. You were playing games with me, just refusing to tell me the specific time!]

Sui Lingfang: [Later, I had to lose my temper and confront you before you told me the real rehearsal time—which turned out to be the very same day the first episode aired! Is that what you meant by 'not knowing the time'? You took advantage of the fact that we couldn't coordinate directly with the production staff to screw us over!]

Not satisfied with just dissing her, Sui Lingfang released a recording of her phone calls with Lü Shanjie.

The entire process of both the first and second calls was included, giving her no face at all. It looked like she was determined to fight to the death.

This caused all the members in the large group to tune in for the drama.

Official groups like this contained all sorts of people, from high-level executives of the production team down to low-level staff.

Therefore, once Sui Lingfang uploaded the recording, there was no turning back.

Even if Lian Baozhi used LP's public relations methods to prevent the recording from leaking, the matter would certainly not stay hidden within the industry.

Regardless of how the people in the group viewed it, Jin Li analyzed the situation rationally after reading Sister Fang's messages and listening to the recording.

She believed this wouldn't cause much harm to Lian Baozhi—at most, it would make her look unpleasant—but Lian Baozhi would very likely "sacrifice the pawn to save the king" and replace this manager.

Because the entire conversation was between Lü Shanjie and Sui Lingfang, and Lü Shanjie never mentioned Lian Baozhi's name, strictly speaking, this was merely a management error on the part of the manager.

At least in the eyes of industry insiders, this accident would be blamed solely on Lü Shanjie.

However, that was exactly Sui Lingfang's goal.

Sui Lingfang had specifically told Jin Li, "I investigated. Lü Shanjie has been with Lian Baozhi since her debut; their bond is deep. It's hard to say that some of Lian Baozhi's tactics weren't taught by Lü Shanjie. Without Lü Shanjie, Lian Baozhi will definitely struggle for a while, and that's enough. Additionally, this will definitely affect Lian Baozhi's reputation."

An artist's reputation in the industry is vital.

Sui Lingfang didn't expect this to topple Lian Baozhi or strip her of her A-list status, but at the very least, her reputation in the circle would certainly sour.

If important brand endorsements wanted to approach Lian Baozhi, they would have to consider the artist's public image.

After all, Lian Baozhi wasn't an irreplaceable A-lister; if her reputation was bad, there were plenty of others with good reputations who could take her place.