Chapter 15: Sweet and Sticky

Jin Li wore a mask and was dressed entirely in black; without a hat, her soft, smooth hair fell lazily over her shoulders.

Her dark eyes fixed on the young man who had just spoken up, and the atmosphere fell silent for several seconds as neither of them said a word.

Perhaps he sensed the subtle tension in the air, or maybe the thick aura of "despair" radiating from Jin Li made him aware of it.

The young man hesitated slightly before saying, "How about I teach you a few small tricks?"

Jin Li snapped back to reality, closed her eyes, and said with utter dejection, "No need; I've hired someone to teach me. I was just suddenly struck by my own stupidity."

The young man chuckled softly.

His voice was quite pleasant; Jin Li's face burned, flushed with embarrassment.

Without daring to look up at him, she hurriedly packed her things and left.

Back in the apartment.

Jin Li placed a call to Sister Xiang.

She rarely initiated calls to Sister Xiang; normally there was no need to contact her, and furthermore, having accepted the assignment for "PICK~Next Diva," the company was attaching great importance to it, postponing all other schedules.

From accepting the assignment until actually participating in the show, she had no itineraries to run.

Of course, "PICK~Next Diva" was already destined to be a hit even before its broadcast; the investors behind it had blatantly indicated that money was no object, so even though Jin Li had been invited as a mentor, the compensation offered by the program was still substantial.

Participating in just one episode equaled the base salary Jin Li would earn from three years of grinding.

Sui Lingfang was currently accompanying He Yixuan on an outside schedule.

He Yixuan was a second-tier star she had personally groomed, the company's only second-tier young flower, and she valued her highly.

Seeing Jin Li's name on the phone, she felt somewhat surprised.

After speaking for only a few minutes, she hung up with a gloomy expression.

He Yixuan, sitting beside her, could not make out what was said on the phone, while Sister Xiang's replies were brief: "Mm," "Okay," "Fine."

Curious, she asked, "Sister Xiang, what happened?"

Sui Lingfang said in a heavy voice, "There's a slight problem with Jin Li; I need to go to her place shortly. You go to the afternoon audition alone."

He Yixuan hesitated, "But... you promised earlier that you would accompany me."

Sui Lingfang soothed her, "There are extenuating circumstances; next time I'm free, I will continue to accompany you to auditions. Don't worry; this time the audition is with Director Chen, who has a good reputation in the industry."

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

She glanced sideways at Sui Lingfang with the corner of her eye, only to find that the other woman wasn't looking at her at all but was staring at her phone, fingers scrolling rapidly as if searching for something.

This time, He Yixuan felt truly aggrieved, not just pretending.

She knew Director Chen had a good reputation and that the auditions were indeed fair, especially since she had already auditioned twice before.

She was auditioning for a film; this opportunity was rare, the role being a distinct third female lead, so even if she had to audition many times, He Yixuan would gladly endure it.

But the audition room wasn't in session around the clock.

During the downtime, sitting in the waiting area was the most unbearable part, having to face mutual probing from other stars, verbal fishing expeditions, and confrontations.

Some stars would even deliberately stir up trouble to disrupt others' emotions, causing them to perform poorly during their auditions.

This was precisely why she wanted Sui Lingfang to accompany her.

With an agent present, those stars wouldn't dare go too far.

Sui Lingfang hurried back to the company, where Zou Da, having received her message in advance, joined her to go find a teacher.

The stars under Zou Da's management were a third-tier small band, all young people still attending university; they only followed him when there were schedules, otherwise not disturbing their artists' studies.

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

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

Sui Lingfang said anxiously, "It's also my fault; I didn't realize that Jin Li hasn't stood on a stage in three years, hasn't practiced singing or dancing, and whatever little she knew from her girl group days has long dried up!"

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

She angrily tapped her forehead with her hand, "It's all my fault!"

Zou Da stopped her, "Enough; the immediate priority is finding her a good teacher. The first episode of 'PICK~Next Diva' must be recorded tomorrow; let's hope everything can be done in time."

Back in the apartment.

Jin Li had also fallen into a state of decadence, feeling somewhat life-weary.

She sent messages to her teammates in the WeChat group, only for them to mock her regression one after another, showing not a shred of sympathy.

Only Ji Qinglian, being kind-hearted, sent her a [hug], but then ruthlessly added:

[Recording starts tomorrow, oh! You're joining from the second episode, but even if you're late, you'll have to be there within a week, so hurry up and cram at the last minute!]

Jin Li: [...]

I want to die.

Jin Li lay down for a while, feeling slightly unwell, and frowned.

In her current state, she couldn't focus on learning even if she started a livestream, and she might just get scolded by netizens for slacking off; so she simply geared up completely and quietly slipped away to a nearby Daoist temple.

It was the same small temple she had visited last time; taking a taxi over at noon, the road was clear all the way.

Upon arriving at the temple, Jin Li noticed there were more people here than last time, especially many young faces.

As soon as she saw the main hall, she spotted a large crowd of young people scratching lottery cards beside its entrance.

Jin Li: ...

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

"Sincerity brings spiritual response, sincerity brings spiritual response!"

"Jin Li scratched a card here and won 200,000; although this isn't the God of Wealth, Taishang Laojun has boundless magical power and can manage everything!"

"By the way, Jin Li has visited this temple before; it was photographed!"

Just as Jin Li stepped over the threshold of the main gate, she suddenly stumbled, nearly falling.

Her heart beat somewhat fast, and she forced herself to calm down.

As long as she kept her head lowered and avoided making eye contact with anyone, no one would photograph her; after all, she couldn't see them anyway!

Trembling with fear, she queued up to bow before the Grand Pure One, the Venerable Lord of Dao and Virtue, then Jin Li immediately slipped away.

What she did not know was that her all-black attire made her stand out conspicuously in the crowd; with her excellent figure and outstanding demeanor, she was indeed photographed by netizens.

The netizens did not recognize Jin Li; they posted a photo of her back on their blog, remarking, "So many people have been rushing to the Daoist temple lately to draw lucky cards. It's incredible!"

Back at the apartment.

Jin Li quickly prepared a simple meal for herself, and after eating and drinking her fill, she regained the energy to study.

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

"Hello?" A clear male voice came through the other end of the line.

"Is this Orange? Hello, I'm Pear. I got your phone number through the gym's steward."

"Mm, I know. The steward just asked me about this on WeChat and only shared it with you after obtaining my permission."

A voice both sweet and soft reached Gu Cheng's ears, causing his thoughts to drift.

Jin Li: As long as I act fast enough, none of you will see me [wry smile].

Please follow the updates, my dears! Just a daily tap of your fingers to follow the book~

(End of Chapter)