""".
The group indulged in high-spirited debates over the topic of "internet celebrities," frequently peppering their speech with critical comments...
Even in a time when financial success was prioritized over ethical behavior, public speculation and malice toward certain groups would not diminish. It was human nature, unrelated to anything else.
Li Cheng felt a wave of discomfort on behalf of Zhou Wang, yet he didn’t know what to argue.
Faced with Yu Peipei holding his hand, Li Cheng forced a smile and eventually remained silent.
...
"Growth moves onward, welcome back to the live stage of the 2024 Wuyou Night gala. I am your host..."
After the contracted artist "Buy Spicy Pepper Without Coupons" led a song titled "Wind Rises," fireworks erupted inside the lotus-wrapped main venue of the Hang City Olympic Sports Center, accompanied by the enthusiastic shouts of thousands of spectators.
In a private restroom within the backstage dressing room, a gown was hung nearby. Amidst the fading noise, Endme sat on the toilet in nothing but her underwear, her legs tautly stretched out, lost in her phone.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
Messages from her boyfriend Chen He kept coming, evolving from initial questioning to nearly irrational rage. Endme didn’t know how to respond and felt increasingly irritated...
She thought for a moment and then opened her chat with Chen He, scrolling to the top, where Chen had confronted her with his "evidence."
In the photo, she was elegantly dressed, holding Zhou Wang’s hand, walking closely as if they were a glamorous couple. But this wasn’t the point; the point was the perfect timing of the candid shot, capturing her gazing up at Zhou Wang with a meaningful expression...
There was something sparkling in her eyes.
From a photographic standpoint, the picture was almost perfect.
Unfortunately, she and Zhou Wang weren’t truly a couple.
She also knew that Chen He’s anger wasn’t solely due to their intimate posture—after all, that could be explained as "company arrangement." Although now, she wasn’t sure of Zhou Wang’s true role...
But that look in her eyes, she really didn’t know how to explain.
As she stared at it, Endme’s mind began to wander again. Almost unconsciously, she clicked "Save Original Photo" on the picture, reflexively pulling her legs back in slightly...
Bang!
At that moment, the restroom door was pushed open, startling Endme and almost causing her to drop her phone. Just then, she heard Hua Suisui’s voice.
"Xixi, why aren’t you out yet? Come on, ’The Cat on the Roof’ wants us to rehearse one more time. We’re about to go on stage..."
"Oh, oh, I’m coming!"
Endme hurriedly tidied herself up, took some effort to put on her gown, and walked out of the restroom.
The two girls hurried through the bustling backstage hallway, with Endme asking, "Where’s Xiaoxiao?"
"She’s already gone to the audience seats, but I have no idea what happened to her earlier. She looked really unwell..."
Hua Suisui replied.
Just as Endme was about to say something, a commotion arose ahead. The two girls exchanged puzzled glances and took a few more steps forward, discovering the source of the dispute—
It wasn’t really a dispute; it was more of a one-sided outburst.
One of tonight’s celebrity guests, Zhang Dada, along with his agent, had cornered the show director, surrounded by several staff members who didn’t dare breathe too loudly.
"How could you arbitrarily cancel our Zhang Dada’s red carpet appearance? It was already announced publicly, and fans are waiting. Do you realize how much damage this could do to Zhang Dada’s reputation?"
Zhang Dada looked down his nose and said nothing while the agent angrily questioned, "And you let a minor internet celebrity and an unknown newbie take their place. What will the fans think if they hear about this, that Zhang Dada’s status is not enough, and he has to give up his place on a tiny internet celebrity event’s red carpet?"
"Uh, this must be a misunderstanding. I’m not in charge of that area..."
The gala director explained, sweating profusely.
"The red carpet is empty; you’re the director. If we don’t call you out, who are we supposed to?"
The manager snapped, "Our Zhang Dada lowered his price to sign with Wuyou, not to suffer such indignity!"
At that moment, when the gala director didn’t know how to respond, the hurried footsteps heralded the arrival of Zheng Shifeng, the overall event manager and vice president of the planning department.
Upon seeing Zheng Shifeng, the gala director breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to explain a few things, then slipped away.
Even before arriving, Zheng Shifeng was already in a foul mood... stemming from a tantrum thrown by the Qian Yu and Qian Xun sisters.
These sisters were a handful. Hearing about Hermes dresses being handed out, and while others were unaware of where to collect them, they were already waiting in Zheng Shifeng’s office.
A small dress was a trivial matter, so Zheng Shifeng waved generously and let them pick when the dresses arrived.
But he never expected such an issue to arise. When he heard Biaozi had directly taken people backstage to take the dresses, Zheng Shifeng was quite alarmed.
The Qian Yu and Qian Xun sisters didn’t know Biaozi, but of course, he did.
But... why would Mr. Zhang bother with such trivial matters?
Including the earlier humiliation at the closed meeting, Zheng Shifeng suspected Zhang Shihao was trying to bring him down, but after thinking it over, he deemed it impossible.
All because he had slept with a few minor internet celebrities and received a bit of Brioni’s favors?
"""