Chapter 15: Sweet and Mochi-like

Jin Li wore a mask and was dressed entirely in black. She didn't wear a hat, leaving her soft hair to fall loosely over her shoulders.

Her dark eyes gazed at the young man who had spoken up to remind her. The atmosphere remained quiet for several seconds; neither of them said a word.

Perhaps sensing the subtle tension in the air, or perhaps perceiving the thick "aura of despair" radiating from Jin Li, the young man hesitated for a moment. "Would you like me to teach you a few little tricks?"

Jin Li snapped back to reality, closed her eyes, and said with utter self-loathing, "No need. I’ll hire someone to teach me. I was just suddenly struck by how stupid I am."

The young man chuckled softly.

The sound was quite pleasant, and Jin Li’s face burned—that was from embarrassment.

She didn't look up at him, instead hurriedly packing her things to leave.

Inside the apartment.

Jin Li made a phone call to Sister Fang.

She rarely took the initiative to call Sister Fang. Usually, there was no need to contact her, and furthermore, because she had accepted the gig for *PICK~Next Station Diva*, the company placed great importance on it and had pushed back all her other commitments.

From the time she accepted the gig until she went to participate in the program, she didn't need to run any errands.

Of course, *PICK~Next Station Diva* was already slated to be a hit before it even aired. The investors behind it had made it clear that money was no object, so even though Jin Li had been invited by a mentor, the compensation provided by the program was very generous.

Just participating in one episode was equivalent to Jin Li’s base salary for three years.

Sui Lingfang was currently out accompanying He Yixuan for an engagement.

He Yixuan was a second-tier star she had personally cultivated and the only second-tier celebrity in the company, so she valued her highly.

She was somewhat surprised to see Jin Li’s call.

Within minutes of answering, her face turned gloomy as she hung up.

He Yixuan sat beside her, unable to hear what was said on the phone, while Sister Fang’s responses had been brief—"Mm," "Okay," "Fine."

She asked curiously, "Sister Fang, what happened?"

Sui Lingfang said in a deep voice, "There’s a small issue with Jin Li. I need to go over there in a bit. You’ll have to go to the audition this afternoon by yourself."

He Yixuan hesitated. "But... you promised you would accompany me."

Sui Lingfang placated her, "There’s a reason for this. I’ll accompany you to your next audition when I’m free. Don’t worry, this audition is with Director Chen, and she has a good reputation in the industry."

He Yixuan bit her lip and lowered her head. "Alright."

She glanced at Sui Lingfang from the corner of her eye and noticed that she wasn't looking at her at all, but rather at her phone, her fingers swiping rapidly as if searching for something.

He Yixuan felt genuinely aggrieved now, and it wasn't an act.

She knew Director Chen had a good reputation and that the audition process was indeed fair—after all, she had already auditioned twice before.

She was participating in a movie audition, and this was a rare opportunity for a female supporting role with a distinct personality. Even if it meant auditioning many times, He Yixuan was happy to do it.

But the audition room wasn't in session all day.

When there were no auditions, sitting in the waiting area was the most grueling part. She had to face other celebrities probing each other, exchanging verbal barbs, and competing.

Some celebrities would deliberately stir up trouble to disrupt others' moods, causing them to perform poorly during their auditions.

She wanted Sui Lingfang there precisely because of this.

With an agent by her side, those celebrities wouldn't go too far.

Sui Lingfang hurried back to the company. Zou Da had already received her message in advance and went with her to find a teacher.

The celebrities Zou Da managed were a third-tier band, all young people who still had to attend university. They only followed him when there were gigs, and he didn't disturb their studies when there weren't.

Therefore, he was only busy during winter and summer breaks, and he was actually quite leisurely on regular workdays.

As they walked quickly, Zou Da asked, "Why does Jin Li suddenly need a vocal coach? Is there something wrong with her voice?"

Sui Lingfang said anxiously, "It’s my fault too. I didn't think about the fact that Jin Li hasn't stood on a stage in three years, nor has she practiced singing or dancing. The skills she had as a girl group member have long since dried up!

If she hadn't told me that her throat felt uncomfortable when singing and that her breath control was messy, and that she might need a more professional vocal coach, I wouldn't have even thought of this!"

She irritably patted her forehead. "It’s all my fault!"

Zou Da stopped her. "Alright, the top priority now is to find her a good teacher. The first episode of *PICK~Next Station Diva* records tomorrow. I hope everything is in time."

Inside the apartment.

Jin Li had also fallen into a decadent state, feeling a bit hopeless.

She sent a message to her teammates in their WeChat group, only for them to mock her for regressing, showing no sympathy at all.

Only Ji Qinglian had a kind heart and sent her a [Hug], but she also heartlessly said

[Recording starts tomorrow, oh! You’re coming in the second episode, so at the latest, you have to be there in a week. Hurry up and sharpen your blade at the last minute!]

Jin Li: [...]

I want to die.

Jin Li lay there for a while, feeling a bit physically uncomfortable, and she frowned.

In her current state, she couldn't even study while livestreaming; she might even get scolded by netizens for slacking off. She simply armed herself fully and quietly ran to a nearby Taoist temple.

It was the same small temple she had visited last time, and the taxi ride there at noon was smooth.

When she arrived at the temple, Jin Li found that there were more people than last time, especially many young faces.

As soon as she saw the main hall, she spotted a large group of young people scratching cards beside the door.

Jin Li:...

Passing by them, she could hear them loudly sharing their experiences.

"Sincerity leads to efficacy, sincerity leads to efficacy!"

"Jin Li scratched a card and won 200,000 because of this! Although this isn't the God of Wealth, Taishang Laojun has boundless magical powers and can handle anything!"

"By the way, Jin Li has even been to this temple before! Someone took a picture of her!"

Just as Jin Li stepped over the threshold, she stumbled and almost fell.

Her heart beat a little fast, and she forced herself to stay calm.

As long as she kept her head down and didn't make eye contact with anyone, they definitely wouldn't take a picture of her. Besides, she couldn't see them anyway!

Trembling with fear, she queued up to pay her respects to the Great Taoist of the Supreme Purity, then immediately slipped away.

What she didn't know was that her all-black outfit was quite conspicuous in the crowd, and with her good figure and outstanding temperament, she was still photographed by a netizen.

The netizen didn't recognize Jin Li and posted her back view on their blog, sighing, "So many people are running to the Taoist temple to scratch lottery cards lately, it's insane!"

Back at the apartment.

Jin Li made herself a simple meal. After eating and drinking her fill, she had the energy to study again.

After studying for a while, she suddenly thought of something, picked up her phone, and made a call.

"Hello?" A clear, pleasant male voice came from the other end.

"Is this Chengzi? Hello, I’m Lizi. I got your number from the gym manager."

"Mm, I know. The manager just asked me about this on WeChat, and I only disclosed it to you after giving my permission."

A sweet and soft female voice reached Gu Cheng’s ears, and his thoughts drifted slightly.

Jin Li: As long as I act fast enough, you won't see anything [Smirk]

Please keep reading, my darlings. Click to follow the book every day~

(End of chapter)