Chapter 17: #JinLiGoesToBurnIncenseAtTheDaoistTempleAgain#

At this question, everyone else turned to look at Jin Li with strange expressions.

Sui Lingfang spoke slowly: "Jin Li, how long has it been since you last checked the entertainment news?"

Jin Li replied: "Ever since my health declined three years ago, I haven't paid much attention to the news, only occasionally hearing about major events from my teammates."

But after thinking it over, Jin Li realized that if an event was significant enough for celebrities to discuss, it was likely nothing good for the people involved in the story.

So in recent years, she had only known about the romantic scandals of major stars and who had been caught evading taxes, nothing more.

Thinking of Jin Li's poor health, Sui Lingfang instantly transformed into a picture of kindness and gentleness: "It's right not to watch; the news online is a mix of truth and falsehood, none of it is good, and it only harms one's mood."

Zou Da spoke up: "This song is one of the signature hits of 'March Sky.' You should know this boy group; ever since your 'Pink Girls' group disbanded three years ago, 'March Sky' took up the banner for idol groups the following year, and they are a boy band."

The name 'March Sky' comes from the line 'The most beautiful days on earth are in March, when spring flowers bloom in splendid new colors,' signifying the revival of all things and the arrival of new beginnings and vitality.

This group name was chosen by fan voting, expressing the hope that this boy band would embark on a new starting point and enjoy blooming prosperity every year.

Just then, the restaurant switched to a new song; Jin Li let out an "Oh" and stopped paying attention to the matter.

Speaking of signature hits, she had many of her own, so many that she was tired of hearing them.

Night fell.

Jin Li did not start her livestream study session but continued practicing her breath control.

With the time until the show recording growing shorter, the most urgent task was to grind her breath control up to speed.

Under the effect of [Twice the Result with Half the Effort], Jin Li could feel improvement every hour; her body seemed filled with joy and encouragement, making her study with even more vigor.

This feeling of perceiving growth at every moment was utterly captivating.

However, it was also on this night that the photo of Jin Li spotted by netizens was seen again by fans.

Originally, within Jin Li's fan group, people were still discussing the fact that she hadn't started her broadcast tonight.

[Not broadcasting is a good thing; no broadcast means she's running errands for work or practicing.]

[If she's practicing, can I hopefully look forward to a stage performance? *staring eagerly.jpg*]

[That's a bit difficult; Baby Li hasn't danced in three years, and from the looks of it, she hasn't consistently kept up with stretching either. If she can recover even half her former skill, I'd think that's already quite good.]

Suddenly, a fan shared a photo in the group.

[Sisters, I saw Baby Li again!

Someone photographed her going to burn incense; it's hilarious. Does Baby Li really think that dressing all in black means no one will recognize her?]

[When was this taken?] the fans asked excitedly and happily.

[Let me check... Wow, this was actually taken at noon today!]

At this, the fans erupted again, rushing to post on their blogs.

[Baby Li went to burn incense at the Daoist temple again? Is praying at a Daoist temple really that effective?]

[Even celebrities are burning incense; how can we ordinary people still slack off? Let's get competitive!]

[Got it; tomorrow I'll buy a stack of lottery tickets, run to the Daoist temple to scratch them, money earned by the temple gets spent at the temple, don't even think about taking a cent home!]

Thanks to the fans spontaneously boosting the posts, the tag #JinLiGoesToBurnIncenseAtTheDaoistTempleAgain# was pushed up to the very tail end of the 50th spot on the trending search list.

Blog trending searches are monitored in real-time; even hanging on at the tail end, it was still a trending topic.

If a celebrity wanted to buy their way into the top fifty, they would have to spend a considerable amount on advertising fees.

The official team for the variety show "PICK~Next Stop Diva" did not want to miss this wave of heat surrounding Jin Li; furthermore, with formal recording starting tomorrow, they simply decided to leak the news that Jin Li would be joining the show, giving the program an extra push!

And so, another brand-new trending search term appeared, which was—

#JinLiJoinsPICKNextStopDiva#

As soon as this trending topic appeared, it climbed to the 40th spot and was quickly spotted by Chenxi Entertainment.

Chenxi Entertainment mobilized media resources on one hand while buying traffic on the blog on the other, and the show production team also intended to give it a push.

Half an hour later, this tag was pushed into the top ten, and along with it, the tag #JinLiGoesToBurnIncenseAgain# was also affected, leaping up to the 30th spot.

This round of marketing was a win-win situation for both the variety show and Jin Li.

Lian Baozhi walked out of the dance studio, scrolled through her blog, saw these two trending topics regarding Jin Li, and couldn't help but curl her lips.

Jin Li wouldn't appear until the second episode; making such a fuss and buying trending searches now made it seem to those unaware as if she were arriving in the first episode.

Just then, Ji Qinglian also walked out of another dance studio.

Their gazes met, sparking like "King versus King," filled with mutual hostility.

This entire floor consisted of dance studios reserved exclusively by LP for top-tier stars.

The whole floor was dance studios; top-tier stars could come over anytime, find an empty room, and enter without needing a reservation.

When designing the layout of this floor, LP Company had ensured there were enough dance studios to prevent stars from fighting over them.

It now seemed that although there were enough rooms, when stars wanted to quarrel, they did not hold back in the slightest.

Lian Baozhi smiled, making her cheeks, slightly flushed from recent exercise, appear even more brilliant and moving.

"Qinglian, I just glanced at my phone and discovered that your former teammate Jin Li hit two trending searches, one of which is the news about her joining the show; your teammate is quite formidable, netizens even think she'll appear in the first episode."

Ji Qinglian's eyes flickered slightly as she said indifferently: "Jin Li's health has only recently improved; if the announcement of her return to the stage had been made earlier, the current selection of mentors might not have been those few."

Lian Baozhi looked somewhat surprised: "Do you want Jin Li to eliminate you? Your styles are quite similar, and you are former teammates; I thought your relationship was very good!"

Ji Qinglian said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes: "Of course, the one eliminated won't be me."

She paused, then spoke leisurely: "Whoever considers their own strength insufficient gets eliminated, that's all! At the very least, I have 'signature works'; how could the production team possibly not choose me?"

Lian Baozhi caught the implication in her words, and her expression instantly turned somewhat ugly.

She let out a light laugh; because it was so brief, it sounded more like a sneer.

"I am also looking forward to Jin Li's stage performance; three years have passed, I wonder what her stage presence will have become."

As soon as she finished speaking, she walked toward the elevator to avoid Ji Qinglian retorting with more sharp words.

After Ji Qinglian watched her leave, a trace of worry appeared on her face.

"Jin Li's stage performance..."

Time flew by, and by the next day, the recording of "PICK~Next Stop Diva" began.

Before it had even aired, this variety show had bought itself three top-trending search spots, sweeping across the entire internet with great fanfare.

But none of this concerned Jin Li; she was busy cramming vocal lessons.

Her daily routine had once again settled into stability.

Mornings were for exercise, afternoons for vocal training, and evenings for studying during her live streams.

If one had to pinpoint any change, Jin Li felt that more people seemed to be entering her live stream room.

Glancing at the "Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Simulations" workbook laid out on her desk, Jin Li noted that while she had previously been listening to online lectures, she had recently started working through practice problems.

Could it be that netizens preferred watching her solve problems?