Chapter 285

He Lele poked her head out from under Li Yiquan, then instantly fell into a daze, until she was kissed by Qin Zhixiu, who had hazy eyes, blocking her vision again.

Ruan Lin was sleeping on the sofa, Ji Jie and Mu Wei were sitting at the glass round table by the balcony, one on each side, Xiu was sleeping on her left hand side... what was the situation?

"You had a fever last night, do you remember?" Li Yiquan said softly.

He Lele shook her head and sat up, only then discovering that she was naked, so she slid into the quilt bashfully, leaving only a small head leaning against the head of the bed. Last night, whether on stage or off stage, there were countless gazes following her like a shadow. She hypnotically paralyzed her nerves and completed the performance relying on the body memory obtained from countless rehearsals, but after getting off stage... she couldn't remember.

"I'll go get you something to eat, eat and then sleep for a while." Feeling her forehead, Li Yiquan got out of bed, picked up the water glass on the nightstand, and walked out of the bedroom.

Qin Zhixiu hugged her waist and continued to sleep, leaning on her bare shoulder.

He rushed back last night?

Turning her head to imprint a light kiss on the top of his head, He Lele raised her eyes to look at the three people walking toward her.

"Morning." A hoarse and increasingly sexy, thick voice, coming from a lazy aristocratic gentleman.

"Let you worry, I'm fine." Smiling at Mu Wei.

"Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?" Ji Jie asked.

"It's okay, my head is a little dizzy."

Ruan Lin didn't speak, kicked off his shoes, and lay into the quilt, falling into a deep sleep in a few seconds.

"...Sleep a little longer, call me if you have anything." Mu Wei said.

"I'll go clean up the mess for this kid, he ran back before the commercial was finished." Ji Jie nudged Qin Zhixiu and explained.

"Mm." He Lele responded.

Walking out of the bedroom and closing the door, Mu Wei and Ji Jie looked at each other and walked side by side toward the elevator.

Ji Jie: "You really won't interfere?"

Mu Wei: "She is trying so hard to solve it herself, are you going to deny her ability?"

Ji Jie: "But—"

Mu Wei: "When she needs us, she won't forget us, will she?"

Ji Jie was silent for a moment, "Mm."

The elevator door closed slowly.

"I never want to see her like last night again, some people must pay the price." Shadows were dense in his amorous eyes.

"...Heh."

Last night, she was sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious in a high fever. When she woke up, it was as if she couldn't see anything, just trembling and crying silently, with suppressed and painful emotions in her eyes that made people's hearts ache. If Zong Jieran, who was found, hadn't guaranteed that she just had a simple high fever, they would have almost gone crazy.

They had never seen anyone suppress the pain in their heart so much.

"This woman is really cruel to herself." Zong Jieran said so.

After the top ten list was released, the popularity of "Next Stop, Queen" reached a new peak. Exclusive interviews with major media and recordings of variety shows were all put on the agenda. Some dubbing work for movies, animations, and games even found the contestants in advance, taking advantage of the popularity of the competition to hype it up. For a time, the value of the contestants increased.

While various official news, media interviews, and commercial information were overwhelming, various gossip and entertainment rumors were also rampant. The most eye-catching was undoubtedly the mysterious grievances between the predator Cui Yaran and He Lele, as well as their vastly different reputations.

Some netizens uploaded photos showing that the two were once close elementary school classmates.

Some overseas Chinese revealed that Cui Yaran's mother was a successful Chinese entrepreneur, and Cui Yaran herself had made achievements in music and painting, making her a genuine rich girl.

Others said Cui Yaran was actually a second-generation official.

As for He Lele...

After Li Yiquan's warning after the competition, major media and forums cleaned up related posts and remarks, but soon, various rumors referring to her as "He so-and-so" and "HLL" came back.

"L, don't worry about it. If she wants to spread it, let her spread it." He Lele, who was absent from various promotional activities due to "illness," said to Li Yiquan while holding red date tea.

Li Yiquan stared at the constantly refreshing news on the computer screen for a while, then "slapped" the laptop shut. "Lele, if you have your own plan, then you must hurry up, I'm afraid I can't endure it for too long."

"...Mm." Leaning against his side, a satisfied smile bloomed on her lips.

☆, Chapter 316: The Cleverness

"Hey hey! Look over there!"

"He Lele? Why would she be here?"

"This issue of the magazine has set the cover interview for the top ten of 'Next Stop, Queen', and she's here to shoot the cover today."

"Wow... it's spread like that outside, she looks very calm."

"There's no smoke without fire. Even if those rumors aren't all true, they are at least 30-40% true. Otherwise, if you were rumored like that, would you keep quiet?"

"...I would go crazy! But it's rumored that Lawyer Li Yiquan is her boyfriend, if the rumors are true, doesn't Lawyer Li mind?"

"Who knows, maybe this is He Lele's cleverness."

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk..."

Walking through the gazes of people who were either blatantly or secretly peeking, He Lele looked calm. Even though her body was like bathing in a raging fire, she had long been accustomed to sealing the physiological pain in her body without showing it on her face.

As for psychology... rumors are a big deal if you take them seriously, and they are nothing if you don't take them seriously.

"Ms. He, this way."

"Thank you."

Several contestants had already arrived in the makeup room. Pan Enli, her partner in the last round, even had her eyes light up when she saw her enter, but then she looked at the others and sat back down.

Just because you have struggled together doesn't mean you will become friends. She didn't expect it. She found a corner and sat down silently, waiting for the heat in her body to dissipate, and waiting for others by the way. For the past two days, she hadn't participated in promotional activities on the grounds of physical discomfort. Last night, the program team called, looking like they would kill their way to her door if she didn't appear again—if they knew where she lived.

"The photographer for this time isn't Carl? Why did he run to Malaysia?" A makeup artist holding a mobile phone said to a colleague who was touching up her makeup beside her.

"You'll know in a while."

"So mysterious, tell me! Otherwise... look at my invincible sable hair brush!" The female makeup artist grabbed the largest makeup brush and threatened.

"Hey hey! Put it down! Put it down! Don't ruin my makeup! Teacher Mu will be here soon!"

"Teacher Mu? Which Teacher Mu?"

He Lele's heart moved, and she looked at the two makeup artists.

"Ah! You mean the editor-in-chief invited Teacher Mu to shoot the cover this time? Such a big deal?"

Mu Wei? He Lele couldn't help but guess, but how could Mu Wei take the cover of such a second-tier magazine?

"Hey! A Lei, Xiao Gu, Mario, come over, meeting!"

"Coming coming!"

"Ah! I haven't touched up my makeup yet!"

After the sharp-voiced female makeup artist was dragged away by her companion, the makeup room fell into a brief silence.

"Ms. Cui, please wait in the makeup room for a while."

"Okay, thank you."

A gentle and graceful tone, it sounded like a spring breeze.

Cui Yaran bowed slightly to the staff member who opened the door for her, her long black hair sliding from her shoulders, soft and moving. Raising her hand to tuck her long hair behind her ear, Cui Yaran smiled and nodded to the contestants in the room.

"Morning."

"Morning! Why are you so late?" "Morning!" "Morning!"

"..." He Lele looked out the window. This is Xiao Ya—wherever she appears, she is always surrounded by stars.

"Lele, morning!"

Looking at Cui Yaran, who had a gentle smile on her face, He Lele didn't know whether she should admire Cui Yaran or give her a kick. "I ate a little too much for breakfast, if you continue to talk to me like this, I'm afraid I'll vomit."

A peaceful tone but an extremely disgusted emotion. Compared to Cui Yaran's friendly greeting, He Lele's sentence was almost an insult. The contestants frowned in unison and looked at He Lele disapprovingly, but no one could see the cold eyes and mocking expression on Cui Yaran's face when she turned her back to them.

"No matter how I explain, you still don't believe me, right?"

"..."

"Do you know? I came to participate in the competition just to tell you that I have always considered you a good friend. I have never done those things. Why have you always been unwilling to believe me?"

"..." He Lele turned her head away and stopped looking at her.

"Lele—"

"Xiao Ya, I brought the hairpin you borrowed from me yesterday, come sit at my place." Qiao Yiyi, one of the top ten who entered the top ten with Cui Yaran, walked over and pulled Cui Yaran away.

"Xiao Ya, why bother, with that kind of person."

"Exactly, to put it bluntly, a typical green tea bitch."

"Hey..."

"What's wrong? I'm really not afraid of her hearing."

"Don't talk about it, I grew up with her, I know she's not that kind of person in her bones, she just... was stimulated when she was a child."

"Even if she was really stimulated when she was a child, no one forced her to be promiscuous later, right? I really don't understand what kind of man is so unpicky, there really are all kinds of bitches that people are willing to fuck!"