Chapter Seventy: Cell Phones (Three-in-One)

Meng Fanxi and Ren Yuchen crouched down quietly, approaching Jin Ziran step by step, hiding in the nearby bushes, completely out of Jin Ziran's sight.

Fearing that their jade crowns would be too conspicuous, they almost huddled behind the bushes.

I felt a little uncomfortable, but Jin Ziran's voice came through clearly.

"...I don't care, I've already said we've lost this round. If I can't put pressure on them in the media, I've completely lost."

"It's no use. I've been checking, and the door to that practice room hasn't opened since. It must be that Will made some kind of deal with the production team to create hype for Will."

“I don’t have time to argue with you anymore. Just steer the conversation toward how cold and selfish they are. Will has quite a few haters, so if you just guide them a little, they’ll swarm you. What are you afraid of?”

The person on the other end seemed about to say something more, but Jin Ziran hung up the phone immediately.

The woods fell silent instantly in the night, with only Jin Ziran's footsteps tormenting them.

Meng Fanxi wanted to know what Jin Ziran was doing, but he didn't dare to look up for fear of being discovered, so he could only let the rustling sounds continue to come from that direction.

Ren Yuchen, standing next to him, raised his gaze slightly, signaling him to go out now, seemingly wanting to confront Jin Ziran directly. He was about to get up and walk out the next second, but was pulled back by Meng Fanxi.

He shook his head and mouthed silently, "Don't act rashly."

Meng Fanxi instinctively felt that now was not a good time. Even if they rushed out now and caught Jin Ziran using her phone to contact someone outside, they wouldn't have any equipment to capture evidence. Based on his understanding of Jin Ziran, she would definitely not admit it, and might even turn around and do something else that was unpredictable.

Everyone on the production team is currently busy with the recording of the first performance. Even if the evidence is presented to the production team, do they have the energy and time to handle it objectively and rationally?

This time, they were in the shadows while Jin Ziran was in the open, giving them more time to plan and ensure that this matter wouldn't be easily swept under the rug.

After a while, Jin Ziran's footsteps gradually faded away, and they emerged from the bushes, stretching as they watched Jin Ziran brush the dirt off his hands.

After Jin Ziran had completely disappeared, they walked to the spot where Jin Ziran had been standing, where a spot had clearly been disturbed.

Meng Fanxi recalled what she had overheard at the restaurant not long ago and then realized, "No wonder we couldn't find Jin Ziran's phone; he hid it in the woods."

He had previously witnessed Jin Ziran burying CDs at school, and Jin Ziran still preferred places like the back hill and woods as always.

"Even so, aren't you afraid of being discovered if you come all the way to this grove? There may be no cameras here, but there are plenty on the road." Ren Yuchen found it unbelievable.

Knowing the exact location where the phone was hidden, they couldn't linger any longer and attract attention.

“He knows how to find the right moment. Like now, who cares where he went?” Meng Fanxi turned and led Ren Yuchen out, making sure to clean up the messy footprints left on the ground. “He probably comes when no one is looking for him.”

To avoid running into Jin Ziran, who might suddenly return, the two of them took a longer route back to the studio.

On the way, Ren Yuchen asked, "He said he wants public opinion to guide us to be indifferent and selfish. Is it that easy?"

After a moment's thought, Meng Fanxi knew which matter Jin Ziran was referring to.

The second episode of the show is about to air. The second episode mainly revolves around the elimination and disbandment of the initial stage and the evaluation of the theme song. The only thing that can influence public opinion is the part where the Fancy group refused to add members when they were disbanded.

They did act quite aggressively at the time, and even when faced with Fan Na's provocations later, their tone was not very friendly.

Meng Fanxi briefly told Ren Yuchen his guess and analyzed, "It may indeed cause controversy under the deliberate guidance of public opinion, but the impact will be limited. Some people will not like our handling, and some people will like it."

Ren Yuchen: "I don't think there's anything wrong with what we did."

Meng Fanxi hummed in agreement. "In a competition, ability is ultimately the most important thing. Our priority is to do our best."

He pondered for a moment, "But who knows if Jin Ziran will set a trap for us later? We need to be careful."

After changing back into their comfortable training clothes, the two returned to the waiting room.

As soon as I entered, Lin Ruohe came over and asked with concern in her eyes, "How are you? Are you feeling better?"

Meng Fanxi was stunned for a second, then saw Lin Ruohe blink, and immediately covered his lips with his fist, coughing as if he was a little weak, "I'm feeling better."

Han Jia, who was sitting closer to the door, asked with concern, "Are you suffering from heatstroke?"

Jin Ziran glanced at Han Jia before slowly shifting her gaze to Meng Fanxi.

Meng Fanxi waved his hand: "It's nothing."

Ren Yuchen was also very tactful, and pretended to help Meng Fanxi walk to her seat.

The staff then went over and installed the radio equipment for them.

It turned out that not long after they left, the production crew came over to ask Lin Ruohe where they had gone. Lin Ruohe then said that Meng Fanxi was a little dizzy and went back to the dormitory to rest for a while.

The staff prepared to take a doctor to check on the situation, but Lin Ruohe declined, saying that "Ren Yuchen is taking care of the patient and there is no need to trouble the doctor for the time being."

Lin Ruohe didn't know what had gotten into them, but she guessed it must be something important, so she took it upon herself to cover for them.

However, if they had arrived any later, Lin Ruohe and Zhang Yang would have had to go out to search.

The longer they spend together, the more unspoken understanding they develop.

While reflecting on his experience, Meng Fanxi began to pay attention to the progress of the current performance.

Because of the cameras and the microphone clipped to their collars, they did not tell their teammates about their latest discovery.

On stage, the four members of the Paradox group were performing a lively dance, while their rivals, the Half Bridge group, had already finished their performance.

Although we didn't see Banqiao's performance, Banqiao is a group formed by the reorganization of the top-ranked trainees from the previous Bridge Boys and SEVEN. They are strong and should not be underestimated.

Wu Jianian had already adjusted his mindset and leaned closer to Meng Fanxi, saying, "It doesn't feel as good as Banqiao."

Meng Fanxi raised an eyebrow in surprise, and Wu Jianian gestured for him to continue reading.

As expected, Halfbridge pulled off a stunning upset against Paradox.

Gasps erupted in the waiting room; the final vote counts for both contestants were neck and neck.

Wu Jianian whispered, "Since you weren't here, I'll give you a brief explanation of the Half-Bridge Group's performance. First of all, their control of the rhythm throughout the stage is..."

He became more and more engrossed in his speech, and as Meng Fanxi listened, he realized that Wu Jianian had a very clear mind, a deep understanding of stage performance, and was able to express his ideas concisely and clearly.

The way the narrative unfolded and the rhythm felt somewhat familiar, and he couldn't help but begin to recall whether he had ever met Wu Jianian in his previous life.

There shouldn't be any, but where does that sense of familiarity come from?

After Wu Jianian finished speaking, he didn't receive any praise from Meng Fanxi. Instead, he saw Meng Fanxi looking at him strangely, with a look of great confusion on his face. "What's wrong with you?"

Meng Fanxi tentatively asked, "Do you...do you have an account?"

"Yes, isn't it the production team that's in charge?"

Before the show, they all opened social media accounts, which were managed by the production team.

"No, it's other accounts or something," Meng Fanxi asked in a low voice, "A...smurf account on a video website?"

Wu Jianian's expression immediately turned strange. "I don't know," she said, pulling away from him.

Meng Fanxi did not ask any further questions.

But he already had a guess in his mind that Wu Jianian should be the famous self-media blogger "Nian Nian Guan Ying" from his previous life.

This blogger only appears on camera with their voice. The editing, pacing, and narration are all very comfortable for the audience. They first became famous for narrating movies and TV dramas, and later they would comment on various stage performances, film and television works, and entertainment news.

Meng Fanxi remembered that he used to watch "Year After Year Movie Viewing" videos often and would leave comments on the videos with his alternate account to discuss some viewpoints.

When the nominations for the 66th Golden Phoenix Awards were announced, "Year After Year Film Review" released a video commenting and predicting the winners, which left a deep impression on him.

In the video, "Watching Movies Every Year" said: "Meng Fanxi's film was born at the wrong time. Last year, there was no film of this genre among the nominated works, and the chances of winning were very high. It's hard to say this year. 'South City' has a better chance of winning in terms of story topicality, box office, and discussion."

"However, in terms of acting skills alone, I think Meng Fanxi and Gu Huailang will be the backbone of the Chinese film industry in the future."

He remembered those words for a long time.

Whether it was being overpraised or just a casual remark, during that period, even after being nominated, he was still uneasy and couldn't help but keep looking at related comments and reports, most of which only mentioned him briefly.

He watched the "Watching Movies Every Year" video several times. The pauses and phrasing of Wu Jianian's words during the narration were exactly the same. Meng Fanxi was almost immediately certain that Wu Jianian was "Watching Movies Every Year".

At this time, Wu Jianian was probably just using a small account to test the waters, and his main focus was still on trainees.

Meng Fanxi didn't probe further, taking it as a casual question on a whim. It was quite strange that an account that was once on the other side of the internet had suddenly materialized into a real person.

After all the matches were over, the audience and the invited judges left the venue.

The trainees also went to the restaurant to replenish their energy so they could continue recording the results of the first performance that night.

After removing the recording equipment, Meng Fanxi and Ren Yuchen relayed the message to each teammate that Jin Ziran did indeed have a cell phone and was in private contact with the outside world, and that they should be careful so that they would be on guard.

Xu You asked anxiously, "Then when do we expose him?"

Meng Fanxi: "Wait." Only when he reveals his true colors again.

All the trainees gathered in another medium-sized studio in Mushroom Park, where they were closer together. The studio was tiered and curved, and everyone sat together with their respective teams.

All five mentors stood on the stage.

Yun Mengtao's eyes softened, and she smiled: "Congratulations on the perfect completion of the first performance of 'The Group'. I believe that many of you are facing thousands of audience members on such a large stage for the first time. You did a great job. Please give yourselves a round of applause."

The opening wasn't too serious, which eased the tense atmosphere in the room. Everyone clapped with slightly restrained smiles, and the applause gradually gathered and grew louder.

Yun Mengtao continued, "Where there is competition, there will be winners and losers. Seven teams won this performance: Wanxiang Seven Sons, Dream, Zero Degree, Eternal Six Stars, SIX, Wugu Jiangzhen, and Banqiao."

She would pause for a few seconds every time she mentioned a team's name, and applause would erupt from the audience at the appropriate time, even though many teams were reluctant to do so.

SIX is a team composed of the lower-ranked members of the Bridge Boys and Seven groups after their reorganization, and Fan Na is also among them.

Meng Fanxi glanced at where Fan Na was, and to his surprise, Fan Na's expression was very calm, and he seemed to have matured a bit more than before.

"It's a pity that the remaining seven teams were defeated in the competition."

Here comes the crucial part: all seven losing teams are completely focused, eager to know what cruel punishment awaits them.

Yun Mengtao left the audience in suspense and stopped talking, instead turning to Ye Ni and saying, "We'll talk about the bad news later. Now, please let Teacher Ye Ni announce the prize for the winning team."

Meng Fanxi perked up and looked up at the stage.

Ye Ni: "Each member of the winning team will receive an additional 90,000 votes when the first ranking is released."

The moment he finished speaking, an uproar erupted among all the trainees.

90,000 votes?! What's the point of even competing?

"It's over, it's over. The day the first ranking is released will be the day I'm eliminated."

"Isn't that too many? Why 90,000? Is it because there are 9 debut spots?"

"Why didn't you say so earlier? You always announce it only after it's all over."

"Don't you understand the production team? The more they try to hide it, the more important it is. There's only one more chance to compete, so give it your all!"

Meng Fanxi and the others were also discussing it in hushed tones.

Lin Ruohe: "We need to win every game, and the rewards should become more and more decisive as the game progresses."

Ren Yuchen agreed, saying, "The more generous the reward, the more severe the punishment will be."

Through this passage, Meng Fanxi discovered some clues. He said, "The online voting pool for the show should have accumulated a lot of votes by now, probably in the millions."

Seeing that everyone was looking over, he continued his analysis: "No matter how many extra votes are awarded for the performance, there is a limit. They cannot directly determine a person's victory or defeat. They are either icing on the cake or a number that happens to help a person get through a difficult situation when they are in a dangerous ranking. They cannot directly change the trend of the votes."

Therefore, after the first episode aired, the response was probably good, and the number of people participating in the voting pool was quite substantial, which is why the production team was so generous as to add 90,000 votes to each person.

The more people watch the show, the more careful they need to be on screen, as every move they make could be magnified by those with ulterior motives.

Needless to say, the other five people understood the deeper meaning. Seeing that Ye Ni still had something to say, they immediately stopped discussing and sat down properly.

Ye Ni said, "At the same time, the winning team will have priority in choosing songs for the next competition."

The losing team felt envious and frustrated upon hearing this. Choosing the right song is crucial; selecting an unsuitable song is a major disadvantage.

The winning teams all showed their joy, and Meng Fanxi, in his happiness, suddenly thought of something.

Isn't the next competition an individual battle? How come the teams have the right to choose the song?

What's going on? Did the production team change the rules at the last minute, or did they hide the key points as always?

It wasn't over yet. Ye Ni looked at the two winning teams: "Wugu Jiangzhen, Banqiao, and SIX, you three teams have successfully defended your positions. You will return to your respective teams in the next competition and restore your original team names."

In other words, the winning reorganized teams will return to their original teams: Five Grains Harvest, Bridge Boys, Kangjin Boys, and Seven, while the losers may not be able to.

Fan Na continued back to the Bridge Boys, and his previously composed face immediately fell.

Yun Mengtao turned to the other side and looked at Zhu Lou: "Now, please let Felix announce the punishment for the losing team."

The announcement process had already been reviewed in advance, but Zhu Lou still joked, "I have indeed done a lot of things that offend people, but I still feel a little reluctant to announce the punishments to the trainees."

He looked at everyone and said, "Please don't hate me."

Although Wu Jianian lost, he was thick-skinned and didn't want to suffer any more. He immediately replied loudly, "No, just say it!" as if he was ready to risk everything.

This amused many people, and Zhu Lou also laughed: "Then I'll just say it directly, let's not be coy."

He cleared his throat. "First of all,"

A chorus of groans erupted from the audience. "First of all? Does that mean there are several more punishments?"

Zhu Lou smiled but didn't reply. "Do you guys still remember the team registration form you filled out at the Dream Chasing Hut?"

“I remember—” came the drawn-out reply from the audience, a number of reluctant and listless responses.

There were also complaints: "There were loopholes in that form? I should have filled it out carefully."

There's also the exasperated comment: "When will the team registration form finally leave me alone?"

Zhu Lou looked at them sympathetically, "Do you still remember what you filled in for the team size column?"

How many people are in the team?

Meng Fanxi remembered that it was the fill-in-the-blank exercise that took up an entire square on the screen.

At that moment, Ren Yuchen sensed something was wrong and used the pre-arranged code to hint at it: "Such a large number."

There really was something fishy going on!

The losing teams were still confused: "We just filled in the number of our team members, nothing else."

At the same time, the screens behind the mentors lit up, displaying the registration forms filled out by the four teams.

These four teams were all defeated in this battle and had previously absorbed former Fancy members.

They are WONE, Shengjing F7, E6, and Zhaoguang Imprint.

They each added one more member to their original team.

Seemingly realizing something, all four teams looked grim.

Zhu Lou: "Due to the defeat in the battle, none of your four teams can retain all of your current members. You must strictly adhere to the team size on the team registration form and each team must select one member to leave the team."

Meng Fanxi felt something was wrong. If the punishment was like this, it suited the intentions of some teams. Ultimately, the debut rules required the original members, and by kicking out the newly added original Fancy members, they were just returning to the original team composition.

They might get criticized, but since it was done through the show's production team, it's easy to clear their name later.

The original Fancy members in those four teams all realized they might have to leave their current teams, and their expressions were complicated.

A hint of smugness flashed in Jin Ziran's lowered eyes; this was the perfect opportunity to kick Zhong Chu out.

But upon hearing Zhu Lou's next words, his expression immediately froze.

"Members who leave the team will be eliminated if they are ranked in the bottom 30 in the current online real-time rankings."

"If you are not in the bottom 30, you will be placed last in the next round of song selection and will not have the right to choose songs."

Being placed last in the queue is basically equivalent to choosing the least popular song, only slightly better than being eliminated outright.

Not only were these teams racking their brains, but Meng Fanxi was also pondering this secretly.

The original members of the Fancy group were trainees who were about to be eliminated. They were recruited into other teams either out of sympathy or to gain favor with the audience.

If you push them out, it basically means elimination.

What was once a heartwarming decision has now become a sharp weapon that directly pushes teammates to elimination.

If the original Fancy members are not selected, then people who are unlikely to be ranked in the bottom 30 of the team will be chosen, the team will no longer be complete, and the selected members will be placed at a disadvantage.

Moving forward will be disliked by the audience, and moving backward is not a good path either.

The production team's move was brilliant. Meng Fanxi looked in Jin Ziran's direction.

What will he choose?

Especially when recruiting Zhong Chu, Jin Ziran acted more exaggeratedly than anyone else in the other teams. He showed his team spirit on stage in front of everyone and the cameras before he could convince Zhong Chu to join.

Meng Fanxi lowered his head slightly, his hair falling naturally to cover his eyes, making it impossible to discern his expression.

There is only one way for Jin Ziran to resolve his current predicament: he must leave the team, thus benefiting all his teammates and winning the praise of the audience.

But can he do it?

The idea flashed through Jin Ziran's mind without leaving a trace.

His gaze swept over his teammates intently. He would never leave the team; he would never put himself in a position to be chosen. He was always the one who chose others.

He had checked the online voting rankings on his phone beforehand. Zhong Chu wouldn't be eliminated; he wasn't in the bottom thirty, probably because of the live stream.

However, they cannot simply kick Zhong Chu out, as the audience does not know that he knows about the rankings. Making such a decision would be a slap in the face and an inconsistency between words and deeds.

Today he even spread the word that he's leading a cold and selfish six-star team, and if this continues, it will soon backfire on him.

Thinking of this, his mood worsened, and when he saw Han Jia, his gaze lingered for a few seconds.

Zhong Lifu didn't want to do anything that would attract attention. As the team leader, he definitely couldn't leave the team. He habitually relied on Jin Ziran: "Ziran, do you have any good suggestions? This decision is too difficult to make. How about we vote anonymously?"

Voting? There's no guarantee they'll get the people they want voted for, and it could also expose the team's lack of unity.

Jin Ziran shook his head: "Let's discuss it directly. Let's be clear and transparent about this matter, and let's all be honest with each other."

Zhong Chu said directly, "Everyone, don't hesitate, just choose me. I'm willing to withdraw. I'm already very satisfied to be able to stay for one more round than the initial stage."

Jin Ziran stopped her immediately, putting on a pained expression, "No, if you quit, you'll likely be eliminated. Only by staying do you have a chance."

He looked up at everyone, especially Han Jia: "Since Zhong Chu has joined our team, he is our team member. Our goal now is to keep everyone here. Let's select one of the top-ranked members from our team, and we'll try our best to bring him back in the later rounds."

Han Jia naturally sensed Jin Ziran's suggestive gaze. He and Jin Ziran didn't get along in the group and barely spoke to each other. At this moment, Jin Ziran definitely wanted him to leave.

With a determined look, Han Jia said, "Pick me. My individual ranking on the initial stage was relatively high, and I don't think I'll drop directly to the bottom thirty after the online voting."

He remembered that the next episode was a personal battle, but none of the other people seemed to remember it. In any case, he didn't really want to stay here right now.

Jin Ziran immediately said, "Han Jia, then you'll have to make do for now. We'll bring you back as soon as we have the chance."

Zhong Chu became even more anxious and hurriedly said, "No, how can we lose Han Jia again?" Han Jia was a member of the team who was sincere to him, and he did not want to involve him. "The team can only have a chance to debut as a whole if it retains the original members. I wanted to leave before, so leaving was my own choice and has nothing to do with you."

Seeing that the situation had reached a stalemate, Zhongli Fu said, "Then let's raise our hands and vote. The one with the most votes can leave."

Jin Ziran didn't say anything more, hoping that someone would listen to what he had just said.

“Raise your hand if you want to choose Han Jia,” Zhong Lifu asked.

Jin Ziran and Han Jia raised their hands. Jin Ziran stared at the others, but with the camera right in front of him, he couldn't say much.

Upon meeting Jin Ziran's gaze, Zhong Lifu looked around and slowly raised his hand.

After waiting for two or three seconds, he asked, "Anyone else want to raise their hand?"

No one responded.

Zhong Lifu looked at Zhong Chu: "I'm sorry."

Meng Fanxi and his group kept an eye on WONE's movements.

Ren Yuchen asked, "Is it Zhong Chu?"

Lin Ruohe nodded. "It seems to be him."

Meng Fanxi frowned. He had overestimated Jin Ziran, who had once again broadened his horizons.

As Zhu Lou announced that the discussion time was up, all the teams looked serious.

After all, the upcoming situation will be brutal, and elimination is very likely.

The mentors stepped aside, and the trainees who had left the four teams came to the front of the stage. Among the four, WONE was Zhong Chu, and Shengjing F7 and Zhaoguang Yinji were also former members of Fancy.

The sight of the three people standing together evokes a sense of melancholy.

Meng Fanxi glanced at Group E6 a few more times. Only Lu Ning, the first person selected during the theme song evaluation, was from Group E6. He was also a former member of the team.

Lu Ning's performance on the first stage was quite good; their team ranked 8th, a B-level team.

However, he appeared early during the theme song test and seemed somewhat at a loss, which may be disadvantageous in terms of online voting.

Looking at their team as a whole, their strengths are quite even, and they mainly rely on their teamwork to rank in the middle. Individually, none of them are completely confident that they won't rank in the bottom 30.

The tension and worry in his teammates' eyes were genuine. Fu An, a former Fancy member of the E6 team, looked at Lu Ning with gratitude.

It's clear that Lu Ning volunteered to take a gamble to save Fu An.

Meng Fanxi cast an admiring glance at him.

Zhu Lou began announcing the rankings, and unfortunately, the original Fancy members of Shengjing F7 and Zhaoguang Yinji were ranked in the bottom 30 and were directly eliminated.

"Lu Ning, online real-time rankings..."

"49th! Congratulations on staying on this stage." Zhu Lou gently patted Lu Ning's shoulder, whose whole body was trembling slightly from nervousness.

His E6 teammates cheered and rushed up to hug him. Other teams were also moved by the scene and spontaneously applauded.

Aside from the teams that selected Fancy's original members, they mechanically clapped along with everyone else, their feelings complicated.

The last one was Zhong Chu, whose expression was very calm.

Zhu Lou: "Zhong Chu, online real-time rankings..."

"30th place! Congratulations on continuing your journey!"

30th! Not the bottom 30, but the very proper 30th!

Zhong Chu's eyes widened, clearly not expecting this result. Who voted for him? The online audience noticed him; he had always thought of himself as a nobody.

Before he could figure out what was going on, Jin Ziran excitedly rushed up to hug him, and Zhong Lifu followed suit.

Han Jia was happy for him, but she didn't react in such an exaggerated way.

Zhang Ruizheng felt very awkward. He and the other remaining teammates clapped and walked to Zhong Chu, who was surrounded, stood still and looked at him, with happy smiles on their faces.

This scene was far less touching than the one with Lu Ning earlier, and a faint awkwardness filled the air.

Xu You let out a soft "heh," clearly not expecting Jin Ziran to remain so composed.

Meng Fanxi was genuinely happy for Zhong Chu and clapped enthusiastically.

Just when everyone thought this segment was completely over and could relax, the five mentors returned to their respective positions and stood in a row.

Fu Hanfei swept his gaze across the crowd below the stage, focusing on one team, and said, "The four teams from before were unable to retain their current members, and you, Fengdeng Boys, unfortunately cannot retain your current team. Fengdeng Boys cease to exist from this moment on."

"You are not allowed to return to your original teams at the moment." This is equivalent to being an individual trainee without a team.

The five members of Fengdeng Boys are all optimists and had long expected this outcome, but the thought of parting ways with these teammates they got along with still brought a touch of sadness.

Finally, Tan Yi added: "The remaining 6 losing teams have managed to preserve their teams to the greatest extent possible, but in the next competition, you will not have priority in choosing your songs. You can only choose your songs after the winning teams have all made their selections."

"The specific song selection rules will be explained at the second song selection event."

After being subjected to several shocks in a row, the teams were no longer able to react and were passively accepting the program team's arrangements.

After the recording ended, each team dragged their tired bodies back to their respective dormitories.

Before returning to their dormitory, Meng Fanxi and Ren Yuchen followed Jin Ziran from a distance for a while. Seeing that he didn't seem to be heading towards the grove, they slowed down.

Unexpectedly, this led to my encounter with Han Jia.

Han Jia was so distracted that he didn't even notice when he got separated from the group, which is how Meng Fanxi and the others found him.

Han Jia only came to his senses after seeing the person who had stopped him.

Thinking back to tonight, it was Han Jia's sudden question, "I wonder if Ziran has arrived at the dormitory yet?" that made him curious about their dormitory, which led him to discover Jin Ziran's phone.

Meng Fanxi asked directly, "What time does Jin Ziran usually come out at night?"

Han Jia was taken aback, and said in a low voice, "You guys know?"

Meng Fan, dressed in a suit, looked bewildered: "What do you know?"

Han Jia made a move to leave, but Meng Fanxi quickly grabbed him, "Okay, I'm not teasing you anymore. We do know, he has a cell phone."

Han Jia slumped into a lounge chair, looking deflated. “Sometimes he’d come out around 10 and come back around 11, and he wouldn’t let anyone follow him.” He paused. “Actually, we all knew he had a cell phone. Zhong Lifu said that since he could get some information with his phone, he wouldn’t do anything that would be detrimental to the group, so we all turned a blind eye.”

"Why are you helping me?" Meng Fanxi asked. "Your words were definitely an implication, weren't they?"

He and Han Jia had at least spent some time together as trainees, so he believed he hadn't misunderstood anything.

Han Jia gave a muffled "hmm," "Because I hate him."

Meng Fanxi paused, the words he was about to say stuck in his throat.

He suddenly remembered that in his previous life, Han Jia had invited him out for a meal and complained to him about Jin Ziran's various behaviors, saying that he didn't like Jin Ziran.

How did he respond at that time? It seems he didn't respond; he just listened quietly.

Ultimately, he was still jealous that he was able to debut as part of a group, and the criticisms sounded particularly hurtful to him; he didn't resonate with them.

Because at that time he not only hated Jin Ziran, but also hated the teammates who did not defend him or speak up for him when he was kicked out of the team.

Perhaps he dislikes himself even more for silently accepting everything.

Han Jia probably sensed his distance, and they never went out to eat together again. They gradually lost contact and became just colleagues who would nod and greet each other when they met at the company and interact politely at concerts.

Han Jia, oblivious to Meng Fanxi's absent-mindedness, remained lost in her own emotions. Suddenly, she looked at Meng Fanxi and said, "If only you hadn't left."

Ren Yuchen, who had been sitting quietly to the side, turned to Han Jia across Meng Fanxi and said, "Stop daydreaming."

Han Jia: "..."

Meng Fanxi was amused and smiled faintly, "Even if I don't leave, he will still come."

"They're unlikely to add us to W1, are they?"

Meng Fanxi shrugged, unwilling to continue the topic. Seeing that Han Jia was in a bad mood, he comforted her, "Instead of thinking about it, you should do it. Thinking about it here will only waste your time."

Han Jia: "I don't want to continue this show, I want to quit." Her expression was serious.

Han Jia's family background certainly allows him to make impulsive choices. With his good looks, he could also pursue an acting career in the future, and his achievements in acting in his previous life were also quite good.

After analyzing the situation, Meng Fanxi stood up and said, "Whatever."

Ren Yuchen and he walked towards the villa.

"...Hey!" Han Jia sulked, watching the two figures disappear without turning their heads.

Jin Ziran probably didn't go to get her phone tonight because she was afraid of attracting attention. After they went back to the dormitory and discussed it, they estimated that Jin Ziran would find some time to get her phone tomorrow.

The production team has given everyone a day off tomorrow to reward the trainees who are exhausted from the first performance.

The next day, the six of them divided into three groups: morning, noon, and evening, and waited for Jin Ziran to appear during the time when there were the fewest people.

Jin Ziran was not spotted in either the morning or noon group.

As evening fell, Meng Fanxi and Ren Yuchen, two experienced individuals, appeared familiarly at the bushes where they had previously hidden, wearing their old practice clothes and sitting cross-legged on the ground.

The night was very cool, with a gentle breeze blowing. Looking up at the stars and moon created a unique atmosphere.

They even changed their shoes to lightweight, soft-soled shoes that wouldn't make much noise, making thorough preparations.

Just as I was getting a little sleepy while waiting, I suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps, and the familiar figure I had been waiting for appeared in my sight.

The two immediately snapped out of their daze and got into the zone.

Seeing Jin Ziran go into the woods to start digging, Ren Yuchen immediately turned around and left to call the production crew.

During the holiday, the production team was mostly in the office building planning new content, and they couldn't always find anyone willing to come with them at night.

So they had already agreed to go find Ying Zhuo.

Ying Zhuo is a homebody, and living in a villa with the eternal six stars has made him even more spoiled. He doesn't want to go out and doesn't go anywhere after work.

Having gained experience, Meng Fanxi slowly peeked out from behind the bushes, observing Jin Ziran's every move.

He first looked at his phone for a while, the light from the screen reflecting on his face. His hands were focused on scrolling through the content, his eyes were not blinking, and his brows gradually furrowed, creating a slightly eerie scene.

After scrolling through the contents of his phone for a while, Jin Ziran tapped the screen a few times, held the phone to his ear, and started making a call.

"Hello, it's me."

The person on the other end seemed to have a lot to say, and Jin Ziran listened without moving.

After a while, he said, "...It's alright, but we can increase the intensity a bit."

“There’s something else,” he said, turning to the side and reaching out to hold onto a tree, casually picking at the bark. “You need to prepare the materials about Gu Huailang’s affair.”

Gu Huailang?

Meng Fanxi listened intently.

“The new guy we added to our team was kicked out again after the competition failed. If there are any comments that are not good for me, remember to immediately release information about Gu Huailang to divert attention.”

What's the scoop on Gu Huailang? Could it be about his family?

Meng Fanxi suppressed his impatience and calmed down to listen.

"I don't care whether he's a victim or a perpetrator of school violence. It's a fact that he hit Qu Liangze, and it's also a fact that Qu Liangze transferred schools. Isn't fabricating stories your specialty?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Fanxi was so angry that he wanted to swear.

The person opposite seemed to disagree, and Jin Ziran immediately retorted, "I don't care if there's a twist later. As long as it gets out, it'll be enough to make him suffer. Even if there is a twist, so what? As long as the public's attention is diverted, that's fine."

Jin Ziran softened his tone and said, word by word, "Moreover, I'm not asking you to release it now, but only if there are comments that are unfavorable to me."

While the other person was still hesitating and asking something, Jin Ziran replied, "There is no conflict between the two. It is a fact that Will and the others are indifferent. I made the choice out of helplessness only because of the rules of the program."

This seems to be a response to his earlier suggestion that the other person should intensify their efforts and set the pace.

"Uncle, I've helped you so much, and you're unwilling to help me even a little?"

The amount of information, far exceeding Meng Fanxi's expectations, threw his thoughts into complete disarray.

He was particularly stunned for a few seconds when he heard Qu Liangze's name from Jin Ziran.

Before he could even sort out his thoughts, Jin Ziran had already finished the call and bent down to hide his phone.

However, Ren Yuchen has not yet arrived with the production crew.

After calming himself down, Meng Fanxi went outside.