Chapter Twelve: Demotion Warning

After a moment of silence, the group tacitly bypassed Gu Huailang's painful experiences and began to discuss the bullying incident directly.

Ren Yuchen spoke first: "So, according to you, Qu Liangze started targeting you after you were selected, just out of jealousy?"

Xu You said, "It's very possible. They all submitted their resumes, but only Gu Huailang was accepted by Weir. He became jealous and lost his mind."

Gu Huailang himself was quite puzzled: "As far as I know, although I was the only one in the class who got into Weir, others, including Qu Liangze, also got into other companies one after another. Qu Liangze never had any expectations of getting into Weir in the first place, and he even advised me to apply to more companies. I can't understand his change of heart."

“If he’s also a trainee, he should be even more careful. Why is he bullying people at school instead? Why don’t you send the evidence you’ve collected to the school and his company so he can be punished as he deserves?” Meng Fanxi was inclined to resolve the matter immediately.

"As for whether he will retaliate more, why don't we ask the company to arrange a few bodyguards for you? If the company doesn't care, we'll hire them ourselves."

Xu You nodded repeatedly, agreeing with the method.

“I did find evidence taken by a third party and considered this method, but I always felt that something was wrong,” Gu Huailang said.

"That's right, Qu Liangze is definitely jealous, but something else might have happened. Otherwise, why wouldn't he have been wary from the moment he saw your face, and instead helped you with the application?"

"He went to so much trouble to find other people to ambush you, and they were all minors, yet they all had an unusual level of vigilance. This is clearly not something a junior high school student would do. Is it possible that there is someone else hiding behind the scenes?"

Ren Yuchen's analysis was reasonable and well-founded, but the listeners were stunned. Who would be so ruthless to a junior high student like this? Unless Gu Huailang had something to hide.

The three looked at Gu Huailang, who pondered for a moment and said, "I usually keep to myself, and it's been even more so since I joined Weir. I don't have many people I can talk to, let alone enemies."

He continued, "The only thing that struck me as odd was that when that group first approached me, Qu Liangze was laughing at me for being demoted. But at that time, I only received a demotion warning; I wasn't actually demoted."

"Later, because I was beaten, it was difficult for me to perform the moves properly, so I was demoted. They seemed to have found out about it, and I noticed them muttering something on the phone."

"Moreover, I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel like they're more active when my monthly exams are coming up."

"They want you to keep getting demoted until you're fired." Xu You's words reflected everyone's thoughts at that moment.

Meng Fanxi added, "The problem is that you are the only trainee of Will at your school. How could they know about the internal rankings? This means that someone in the company may be leaking information, either a trainee or a staff member. Things are probably not that simple."

All four understood that if someone was still hiding in the shadows, whether it was a trainee, an employee, or even a high-ranking executive, they wouldn't be able to find them easily with just a few people.

"How about asking my uncle?" Xu You suggested. His uncle, Xu Cangyan, is not only a senior artist in the industry, but also a shareholder of Will.

"No, it's too conspicuous and will alert the enemy," Ren Yuchen immediately objected.

The air grew still again, and time had unknowingly passed midnight. Everyone was preoccupied and unable to sleep.

"Perhaps, someone I know can help." After a long silence, Meng Fanxi suggested a candidate.

Wei Ye.

As far as he knew, the chairman of the company was surnamed Wei, and the person who helped him with the procedures last time was the chairman's secretary. All signs indicated that Wei also had a close relationship with the chairman.

After several encounters, Meng Fanxi concluded that Wei was a very trustworthy person, and the two have maintained contact since Wei joined the company.

Upon hearing the suggestion, the other three reacted with varying expressions.

Gu Huailang and Xu You looked confused, while Ren Yuchen was somewhat surprised: "Him? We can give him a try, but can he be trusted?"

He had a vague impression of Wei Ye, but had never met him. If he asked Wei Ye for help, Gu Huailang's past might fall into the hands of those in power. The more people who knew, the greater the risk, and the more harm it would cause to Gu Huailang.

"You know him?" Xu You was surprised that Ren Yuchen knew someone he didn't even know.

"It's that buzz-cut guy who used to hang around outside the practice room all the time. Lately, he's been jotting something down in a notebook around the practice room too. I overheard his name before," Ren Yuchen explained.

Outside the company's practice room, there are always people from the planning team or other departments recording the practice progress, which everyone is used to.

Gu Huailang and Xu You then realized what was going on.

Meng Fanxi didn't join their chat. After thinking for a moment, he revealed the process of leaving Baihe and joining Weir.

“Wei has been kind to me, so I trust him a lot. We haven’t known each other for long, but I can tell he’s a good person.”

Meng Fanxi said all he could say. He really didn't have much confidence in Wei Ye's ability to meet everyone's expectations. He was just sharing his experience to give everyone some basis for their judgment.

Xu You shifted the focus again: "You're really a hidden talent, managing to transfer in from Bai He. It seems this Wei is quite something too; many people in the company don't like Bai He."

Meng Fanxi smiled helplessly. Compared to these future masters, he was nothing.

“I think it’s feasible to ask Wei for help. You don’t need to worry about me. If you want to solve this problem quickly, you can only ask an adult for help. Even if the final result is not good, it won’t be worse than it is now.”

Gu Huailang knew that everyone was worried that he would expose his difficult experiences, but he had already endured the greatest pain, so how could rumors defeat him?

All he could do was face it and rise to the challenge.

Wei was writing a proposal late into the night at his residence when he received the message.

The enchanting starry sky illuminates the lonely figure busy at the computer in the empty room under the night sky.

The phone notification sounded abruptly.

The man, unusually, took his gaze off the proposal in front of him, opened his phone, and saw a message from a carrier pigeon.

A trainee I recently interviewed suddenly asked me if I was asleep. My gut feeling was that something was wrong, so I immediately called him back.

Meng Fanxi didn't expect that she would receive a call from the other party immediately after she tentatively inquired about it.

The other three, who had gotten up and stretched their stiff bodies for a while, now sat together again, holding their breath and concentrating.

Meng Fanxi turned on speakerphone.

"Brother Ye." That's what Meng Fanxi has been calling Wei Ye lately.

"That's strange. Why are you sending me a message so soon? I'm still slowly revising the proposal and I haven't gone to sleep yet."

Meng Fanxi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, thankful that he hadn't been woken up. He continued, "I'm with Ren Yuchen, Xu You, and Gu Huailang right now. We've run into a problem and wanted to ask you for advice."

Wei raised an eyebrow: "Go ahead and speak."

Gu Huailang took the phone, greeted Wei Ye, and recounted his experience and the points of doubt that the four of them had summarized.

Wei Ye's expression gradually turned serious as he listened to the words on the other end of the phone.

The four trainees may have just vaguely sensed that someone might have leaked information about their demotion, and that the leak was widespread.

He understood that it wasn't just a possibility, it was certain that someone had leaked the information, and that person wasn't a trainee.

Everyone within the company must sign a confidentiality agreement, and the trainee ranking system is clearly listed in the terms and conditions.

While both could potentially leak information, the warning that indicated the person was a company employee was the demotion warning.

Wei discussed his thoughts with the four of them for a few minutes and then understood the information gap.

Gu Huailang received a downgrade warning on the carrier pigeon app, which appeared on the same screen as the company's usual notifications. He mistakenly thought he had been notified across the entire platform.

Although it was the first time Meng Fanxi and the others had heard of a demotion warning, they overlooked this point and did not ask any further questions after Gu Huailang was indeed demoted.

Neither side noticed this suspicious point.

Fortunately, Wei had also studied the company's various platform settings and rules and regulations. He was well aware that the company's downgrade warning was sent to Gu Huailang separately through the pigeon platform.

Apart from company insiders and Gu Huailang himself, no one knew.

The leaker was not just an employee, but most likely someone in one of the departments that had access to trainees' information.

This conclusion did not bring any relief to the people; instead, it created a sense of oppression shrouded in mystery.

Wei then reassured everyone: "As far as I know, the company is very optimistic about Gu Huailang's potential. As for whether this person leaked the information unintentionally or intentionally, it cannot affect the company's overall judgment."

"But if you're really demoted to the point of being fired, then no matter how much potential you have, it's useless."

He suggested resolving the matter immediately, at least to allow Gu Huailang to devote himself wholeheartedly to his studies and life without any worries.

However, he couldn't think of a sure thing right away and needed to plan it out carefully before talking to the four people. As for the person behind the scenes, he would keep it in mind and investigate them secretly.

After the call ended, Wei Ye's words were like a reassuring pill, finally allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief. Xu You and Meng Fanxi yawned in unison.

"Thank you all." Gu Huailang took a long time to finally express the endless gratitude in his heart.

The other three smiled, and Xu You said, "Let's thank you after things are resolved. I'm so sleepy, let's all go to sleep, we have to practice tomorrow."

Gu Huailang lay in bed, his complex emotions unable to calm down for a long time. Listening to his roommate's peaceful breathing after falling asleep, he recalled the scene of tonight.

The four people's caring words still echoed in his ears, and the long-lost warmth enveloped him as he gradually drifted into a sweet dream.

Wei Ye's solution came quickly. At noon, the four of them gathered in the dormitory and quickly discussed the details with Gu Huailang before splitting up to take action.

Meng Fanxi, Xu You, and Ren Yuchen found Zhou Xingzhi, the head of the trainees, eating at the restaurant. Zhou Xingzhi was a trustworthy person whom Wei Ye had contacted in advance, and the three of them brought out the story they had discussed beforehand.

Meng Fanxi looked anxious and said that she found Gu Huailang had injuries in the dormitory. Xu You and Ren Yuchen happened to come over and also noticed that something was wrong with Gu Huailang.

Only after persistent questioning did Gu Huailang learn that he had been subjected to school bullying because his classmates were jealous of him.

Having exhausted all other options, they could only immediately run to Zhou Xingzhi to report the situation.

This attracted the attention of many trainees, coaches, and teachers in the restaurant who hadn't finished eating.

Seeking help at the restaurant was pre-arranged, deliberately chosen in a crowded place so that the person behind the scenes could see it, paving the way for a reasonable and legitimate reason later.

Then came Monday. After everyone had returned to work, Zhou Xingzhi, as the person in charge, reported the matter directly to his superiors. Through the chain of command, the company dispatched investigators.

And this investigator was Wei Ye.

A note from the author:

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