Chapter 68

The celebrities present clearly hadn’t expected this segment, and all froze for a moment, only rising to their feet one by one after the female host repeated the instruction a second time.

They had assumed standing anywhere would suffice, but the female host personally stepped down to arrange their positions.

The lesser-known second- and third-tier celebrities were the first to go onstage, yet were placed at the very edges of the stage.

Now several female stars finally understood: whoever stood in the center was the one with the highest status in the industry.

A few powerful female stars exchanged glances, their eyes flickering with restless ambition.

At their level, they usually didn’t harbor competitive impulses—but circumstances had to be analyzed case by case.

This occasion was unusually special and grand, and the women around them were all big names on par with themselves; if they could snatch the C-position here, wouldn’t it further cement their status?

Many female stars shared this thought, and once they grasped the situation, all grew restless.

As the saying goes, even men fight for a breath of air, and even Buddhas fight for a ray of light—how much more so in an industry as fiercely competitive as entertainment?

Though everyone smiled on the surface, when it came time to fight for the C-position, none would show mercy.

Luo Quan and Wen Xia, however, were more laid-back; they were the second group to go onstage, barely positioned near the center of the frame, surrounded by a circle of male celebrities.

A few of these male stars seemed to have met Wen Xia before; upon seeing her, they all approached to greet her—and naturally, also greeted Luo Quan.

At an event filled entirely with Asian faces, Luo Quan’s foreign features and elegant, luxurious black dress made her stand out sharply; even standing still, she effortlessly drew admiration from the opposite sex.

Yet compared to Wen Xia, who was constantly approached by people, Luo Quan still fell short—after all, Wen Xia had been active longer and more successfully in China; had this been Japan, the scene would have been entirely different.

While these two women chatted merrily with a group of handsome men, several of the top-tier female stars near the front were nearly coming to blows over the C-position.

Since these female stars all held nearly equal status in the industry, none could dominate the others, and the female host, after calling them onstage, didn’t dare decide who should stand in the center.

Joking, if anyone dared say something like that, they’d never survive in the industry again.

But someone had to stand in the center—so one bold woman simply stepped forward. The other female stars saw this and thought: no way, how could you steal the spotlight?

They immediately crowded together, trying to push the woman out as a group; yet she remained stubborn, her body swaying violently under the pressure, yet still wearing a graceful, polite smile.

The male stars watching nearby either smirked or turned away, finding the scene utterly amusing.

The live-stream comments surged in a flood:

“Liu Li is insane—four women are all shoving her, yet her feet are rooted like they’re glued to the floor!”

“Thank goodness this is live—if it weren’t, these women would’ve already started fighting!”

“Yesterday Tian Yuan was posting about her deep sisterhood with Liu Li on Weibo; today she’s sweating buckets trying to shove her out (laughing crying).”

"Don't talk about who's noble—switch places and Liu Li would be pushing even harder than Tian Yuan!"

“At least my two wives are well-behaved—Wen Xia and Luo Quan stood aside from the start and didn’t join in at all.”

“Every woman you see is your wife? You think you’re Si Cong?”

“Those two marketing monsters want to join too—but look at how packed it is, can they even squeeze in?”

The last comment clearly came from Wang Yan’s fan—sardonic and dripping with envy—unaware that their own idol was also placed on the outskirts, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a group of pot-bellied investors and bosses.

“The person saying this probably doesn’t know how huge Luo Quan is in Japan!”

“I’m laughing—had there been a Weibo Night in Japan, and if the veteran artists didn’t show up, Luo Quan just standing in the center would make no one dare push her!”

“Wen Xia is the undisputed senior among her generation in Korea—top of the fourth-gen girl groups isn’t something to joke about!”

“Go find your own idol first—she’s surrounded by a bunch of lecherous old men, yet you’re worrying whether others can squeeze in? What a waste of breath.”

A few scattered bitter comments had been subtly mocking Wen Xia and Luo Quan, but they were quickly drowned out by the tidal wave of incoming comments.

Meanwhile, the battle for the C-position finally ended—the center spot was claimed by Liu Li, who had been the first to take her place; despite being shoved by four women, she held her ground thanks to her exceptional physical strength.

Though sweat streamed down her face, her high-end makeup had excellent water-resistant properties, and her flawless look remained untouched.

Breathless, Liu Li stood at the very center of the stage like a victor; behind her stood a revered senior male actor from China, with ample empty space beside him—no male star except close acquaintances dared approach him.

This clearly revealed the difference: Chinese male stars’ status was always determined by talent and works, while female stars were typically judged by popularity—or rather, Weibo follower counts.

Liu Li was currently among the top five Weibo followers in China, with a staggering one hundred million—nearly the population of an entire country like Japan.

Liu Li, having secured the C-position as she’d wished, faced the camera like a victor, flicked her hair, and struck a sultry pose.

After all, she was one of China’s top young female entertainers; though her youth had passed, her beauty in her prime hadn’t been far behind Wen Xia or Luo Quan, and under the bright stage lights, she remained dazzling and radiant.

Wen Xia and Luo Quan, meanwhile, were treated like outsiders, gradually pushed further and further to the edge until they ended up standing alongside the first group of unknown newcomers.

But they weren’t the same as these newcomers—if they truly wanted to fight, they could easily push their way closer to the C-position; it was just that Wen Xia and Luo Quan weren’t the type to do so.

These newcomers, however, were different—they all tilted their heads, gazing at Liu Li, who stood bathed in spotlight with a radiant smile; that was the most glamorous position in the entertainment industry, surrounded by nearly every top star, basking in the cheers and adoration of the masses.

In the eyes of these newcomers, emotions of envy, jealousy, admiration, and longing flickered back and forth—they too wanted to stand there, even if only as one of the women shoving Liu Li!

Luo Quan watched it all, and a lyric came to mind:

“Back when I was eighteen, at the Weibo Night,

Standing like a nobody,

Back then, I wept,

Vowing that everyone must see me!”