Chapter 24 Lyra

Jiang Zhou was genuinely angry.

There are quite a few agents in the industry who make their artists sleep with them, especially those who are unknown and have no capital behind them. They can make things right or wrong as they are told. Zhao Cheng is a very generous sugar daddy, but he was offended by Yu Shuling. The duck that was about to be eaten flew away. Where will he find such a good next client in the future?

So Jiang Zhou continued to berate and insult Yu Shuling as he walked, and when he saw that she was no longer talking back like before, he felt bored.

The moment the automatic glass doors opened, the man snorted coldly and strode into the elevator, nearly bumping into a girl. Jiang Zhou glanced at him hastily, recognizing her, and became even more impatient:

"Are you blind?!"

The blonde girl lowered her eyes amidst the angry rebuke and hurriedly said, "I'm sorry."

Then he looked up and saw Yu Shuling carrying things, and nodded in greeting.

The moment she looked up, even Yu Shuling, who was used to seeing all kinds of handsome men and beautiful women, was stunned for a moment, and then a name that matched this face popped into her mind.

Kawana.

Kawana is of mixed race. The book describes her as having a face that clearly indicates her mixed heritage, but without any flaws that would contradict Eastern aesthetics.

She was slightly shorter than Yu Shuling, with a not-too-small frame. Her delicate, doll-like face possessed a captivating, innocent allure, yet her figure didn't appear childish. Her eyes were pure, her lips sensual, and her beautiful features were soft without makeup. When dressed up, she resembled a fairy burning in flames—the kind of face you couldn't forget after just one glance.

However, her loose-fitting clothes didn't match her stunning face at all.

She seemed somewhat afraid of Jiang Zhou, and Yu Shuling didn't miss the complex emotions in Jiang Zhou's eyes when he saw her.

Impatience, disdain, and a hint of flirtatious ambiguity all swirled in his complex gaze.

With a "ding," the elevator arrived at the seventh floor, which was Jiang Zhou's personal office. Next to it was their private lounge, which was quite small. Jiang Zhou had called the girls before arriving and asked them to wait there.

After hearing the noise when the door opened, someone cautiously pushed open the door to the break room connected to the office and came out. The person was wearing loose-fitting work pants and a loose-fitting short-sleeved shirt. The clothes of several teammates and Kawana were almost identical except for the pattern. Yu Shuling recognized the person walking in front by his short hair as Lin Yujie, the most unruly rapper in the team.

"Nai Nai, Ling Ling!"

Lin Yujie is rumored to have a bad temper, but she is very warm to her teammates. She was especially happy after Yu Shuling took out the small gifts she brought and distributed them to everyone. She came over and pinched her cheeks and hugged her so hard that Yu Shuling could hardly breathe.

Team leader Li Song and another teammate named Zhong Xinfan, who had a low profile, accepted the gifts and seemed to like them very much. Only Chuan Nai was indifferent, only awkwardly thanked them and put them away without opening them in front of everyone.

Kawana is indeed pleasing to the eye, but such an attitude is somewhat discouraging. An ordinary person would definitely feel a bit frustrated and would no longer be so enthusiastic towards her.

But Yu Shuling could sense a mystery in Kawana that she didn't understand, and she became curious about her.

The system told her that in the original storyline, she was the control group for the female lead, and her team was a veritable concentration camp of oddballs. There were mistresses, shrewish women who cursed and fought backstage at concerts, and even stabbing people. Among them, the mixed-race girl was the one who used her body to get ahead.

Following the original owner's temperament, Yu Shuling also became indifferent to Chuan Nai, and sat on the sofa with a blank expression after lifting her hair.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Zhou's lips twitched in an ambiguous way.

There was something to discuss when a few people were gathered together. Jiang Zhou pulled up two draft proposals from his computer, which were invitations from two variety shows.

One is a survival-themed outdoor reality show with decent popularity, but filming it was incredibly physically demanding. The other is a song and dance program created by an online TV station, which is less well-known, but its appeal lies in its relevance to their professions.

"Xiao Song's treatment has been much more relaxed, and she can now appear on variety shows. Otherwise, it would be difficult to retain fans if the hiatus was too long. We've given each of you two or three variety show spots, so you'll be appearing separately. Shu Ling has a new schedule, so she'll rest today and leave tomorrow."

Jiang Zhou suddenly raised his eyes, and said meaningfully:

"You should also thank Shuling; she's the one who secured this opportunity for you."

Before Yu Shuling appeared on the dating reality show, Lyra had been without resources for a long time and was almost abandoned by the company. However, as Yu Shuling gradually gained popularity on the show, what they had now was the best they had ever seen.

Even the usually indifferent Zhong Xinfan opened her mouth slightly in surprise, and then glanced at Yu Shuling.

After this live-streamed dating reality show, Yu Shuling's Weibo followers skyrocketed from the bottom of the group to the top by a wide margin, and this was only the live-streamed version.

Since most people are at work or school during live stream time, the content will only be used as material for editing and promotion. The viewership of the pre-recorded version will inevitably far exceed that of the live stream.

Yu Shuling's trip was essentially a fresh injection of blood into the struggling team. The company provided resources to test the waters, which was also an attempt to extract the greatest profit value within their contract period.

However, since there was plenty of time, Jiang Zhou didn't rush them to make a choice. Instead, he let a few girls go back and discuss it. When he saw them off to the elevator, Yu Shuling noticed that Jiang Zhou quietly gave Chuan Nai a look. The girl who received his look trembled as if she had been burned, and then lowered her eyes shakily to look at the ground.

Captain Li Song pressed the button, and as the door in front of him slowly closed and Jiang Zhou's face disappeared from sight, Lin Yujie yawned and leaned against the elevator wall as if she had breathed a sigh of relief.

The girl had medium-length, smoky gray hair and a slightly immature face with a cool and innocent look, which was completely different from the aggressive and defiant personality described in the novel.

Lin Yujie had one arm around Li Song and the other around Yu Shuling, her eyes fixed on the descending elevator door: "Old Jiang, he..."

"Walls have ears." Li Song's voice was gentle and clear, and the volume was not loud, but Lin Yujie quickly made a zipping motion on her mouth, smiled, and then turned to chatting with Yu Shuling.

Yu Shuling is new to the area, but she has a strong ability to learn and adapt, and adapts well to modern society. However, she has never been in a girl group before.

During their short walk of a few hundred meters from the office building to the dormitory, Yu Shuling learned about the situation of the other people.

The eldest leader, Li Song, is the main vocalist of the group. He has a gentle appearance, temperament, and personality. I heard that he has psychological problems that have recently become so serious that he needs treatment, but you can't tell from his conversation. The second eldest, Lin Yujie, is both sweet and cool. She is the rapper and has short, clean, and beautiful smoky gray hair.

Zhong Xinfan is good at both rapping and singing. She is quiet and doesn't talk much. The original book introduces her very little, almost mentioning her only briefly.

Kawana is the main dancer in the group. Her appearance is actually comparable to Yu Shuling's, it just depends on personal preference. However, Yu Shuling is more poised and can handle various styles, while Kawana has a kind of hazy and melancholic beauty.

The five of them laughed and joked all the way back to the dormitory. Actually, it was mainly Lin Yujie and Yu Shuling who started the conversation, with the others adding a few words in response.

The dormitory is on the fourteenth floor.

The company didn't treat this group well. After their debut, they were basically dispensable, so they ended up having to squeeze two or three people into one room.

Yu Shuling and Lin Yujie slept in bunk beds, with only a table, chairs and cabinets next to them and nothing else. The conditions were even more basic than those of good university dormitories.

Fortunately, the bedding was still new and the furniture was of good quality. Lin Yujie placed the gift Yu Shuling had given her—a smiling crystal glass bear—on the windowsill. The dazzling sunlight passed over the window and fell on it, refracting a colorful glow.

"Thank you, darling!"

The glass bear wasn't particularly valuable, but it was cute and exquisite. Yu Shuling couldn't really squeeze out more money to buy gifts for her teammates, but Lin Yujie's eyes sparkled with genuine joy.

Having spent many years navigating the treacherous waters of the palace, Yu Shuling, though not an actress, is still adept at discerning the sincerity of others' emotions.

Faced with such an easily satisfied girl, she still couldn't connect Lin Yujie with the seemingly manic girl described in the novel. However, the next moment, Lin Yujie changed the subject, and a hint of melancholy appeared in her eyes when she mentioned Li Song:

"Oh right, the captain, she..."

As soon as she said it, Lin Yujie swallowed it back inexplicably. She shook her head at Yu Shuling's curious gaze and said that Yu Shuling had just returned from a variety show. It was not easy for everyone to get together, so they could have a nice meal together tonight.

Lin Yujie was a chatterbox, constantly rambling on and on. She was called out briefly but quickly returned, first knocking on the door of the next room before coming back to find Yu Shuling.

"President Zheng is looking for you and Kawana."

"Mr. Zheng?"

Yu Shuling had no memory of this person, only that he was a male boss.

After entering the dormitory, she took off her slightly warm outer layer, wearing only a short-sleeved white shirt and a blue plaid skirt that reached above her knees. After checking her makeup in the bathroom and finding nothing wrong, she hurriedly prepared to leave, but was pulled back by Lin Yujie just as she reached the door.

"You little brat, Yu Shuling, I was wondering what was wrong. You're not wearing our 'team uniform' after just going out for a bit?" Lin Yujie's voice was a little urgent as she dragged her back into the room. "Change into your uniform, and tell Kawana to wait a bit."

Yu Shuling initially thought there was nothing wrong with her attire, but under Lin Yujie's urging, she had no choice but to take out clothes from the closet and change into them.

The moment Yu Shuling saw her completely concealed figure reflected in the clear bathroom mirror, her brow twitched, and she gradually sensed something was amiss.