From afar, Nana waved excitedly at her, making it difficult for Qiao Xia not to see her.

"Is there something you need?"

Nana mysteriously pulled out her work badge from her pocket. "There's still an hour or two before entry. You can take my work badge and go directly backstage to wait."

Qiao Xia refused, saying, "That wouldn't be a good idea."

Nana shook her head. "It's fine. Consider it my way of thanking you for the eggs you gave me last time, which helped me get through the gloomy end of the month. Don't you want to see your idol up close?"

Nana was determined not to miss this opportunity to build a good relationship with the rich woman.

Faced with Nana's big, bright eyes, Qiao Xia couldn't bring herself to refuse, and fearing that a hasty explanation would cause unnecessary misunderstandings, she went backstage at the talent show in a daze.

Qiao Xia knew the importance of reciprocating kindness, so she didn't mince words with this poor college graduate. She deposited 20 million into her old shopping card and then handed the card to her.

"If there's anything you'd like to eat, you can just swipe your card."

Nana declined a couple of times, but then accepted it with a smile in her eyes, "Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Xiaomian."

Qiao Xia didn't explain further. The summer sun was indeed too strong, so she went back inside to enjoy the air conditioning.

She had been to this kind of place more than once, but this was the first time she had done it so secretly.

She listlessly found a place to sit down. At that moment, all the trainees were nervously busy preparing to go on stage.

Even if he caught a glimpse of her by chance, he would only assume she was an invited backup dancer and wouldn't give her a second glance.

Qiao Xia didn't want to put psychological pressure on Jiang Xiaomian, so she waited outside without deliberately looking for him.

"Jiang Xiaomian, come out for a moment."

A group of men in black surrounded Jiang Xiaomian and walked past her menacingly, clearly indicating that they had ill intentions.

Without thinking twice, Qiao Xia immediately followed.

The door was open, and the conference room was packed with people, except for Jiang Xiaomian who was standing.

A stack of photos was slammed on the table. The balding middle-aged man slumped in his chair, lighting a cigarette. "Dating during the talent show and then beating up a stranger with his girlfriend, this news is enough to make the headlines, right?"

Jiang Xiaomian silently raised her eyes and explained, "She is not my girlfriend."

"Is this the point?" The ashtray grazed Jiang Xiaomian's shoulder and was thrown, almost disfiguring her.

Qiao Xia's eyes widened, and she was about to rush in when suddenly a hand covered her mouth from behind.

Turning around, I saw Nana clasping her hands together, pleading in a low voice, "I'll be officially promoted after the first round of performances. Please, please don't rush in now. They won't do anything to Jiang Xiaomian."

In fact, some people did try to smooth things over, saying, "President Wang, calm down. It's normal for Xiaomian to be young and passionate and fall in love. It wouldn't be worth ruining her future because of this."

"Why don't you do me a favor, Mr. Wang, and find a way to help Jiang Xiaomian suppress this matter? Xiaomian is a grateful child, and I believe she will repay you well in the future."

Mr. Wang snorted coldly, "Our program is at a critical moment. If this happens, the whole program might be ruined because of this kid."

“Those paparazzi are all incredibly greedy. I paid them money to settle things for the sake of the show, but what about my losses? Who will compensate me?”

Feng Qianxing urged, "Xiao Mian, did you hear that? Hurry up and thank President Wang."

Although Jiang Xiaomian had a feeling that something was wrong, she still thanked him, saying, "Thank you, President Wang."

Seeing this, Feng Qianxing smiled and moved closer to President Wang, "Isn't that right? In my opinion, why don't we have Xiaomian sign with President Wang's company..."

"No way!" Jiang Xiaomian refused outright before he could finish speaking.

If it were any other teenager, they might just accept whatever others said after being subjected to this series of moves, but Jiang Xiaomian had already seen this tactic at her previous influencer company.

There are even some things he absolutely cannot hesitate about: "I will not sign a contract with any of you."

For a moment, the smiles on Mr. Wang and his companion's faces froze.

Mr. Wang cursed, "So, you're asking for it? Let me tell you, there are plenty of people like you out there. You think you're something special just because a young girl flatters you?"

"Believe it or not, I'll expose all this right now, and then let's see if your girlfriend can keep you in the industry?"

Jiang Xiaomian raised her eyes and said, "If you want to expose it, then expose it. That's my business. Don't drag other people into it."

"Good, you've got guts..." Mr. Wang had only said one curse when he saw the incoming call, and immediately changed his demeanor to a humble one. "Mr. Zhang, no problem, no problem, okay, see you tonight..."

Mr. Wang pointed at Jiang Xiaomian's nose and cursed, "Don't be so shameless. Sign the contract, and then go have a good drink with Mr. Zhang later. Otherwise, you're not leaving this house today."

As he spoke, he winked at everyone in the room, signaling them to close the door.

Qiao Xia, who was outside, couldn't listen anymore. She patted Nai Nai's shoulder reassuringly and kicked the door open before it could close.

"Such arrogance! Did Mr. Wang not brush his teeth this morning?" Qiao Xia waved her hand in front of her nose and sat down opposite Mr. Wang without a word.

Mr. Wang looked at the unexpected guest and asked warily, "Who are you?"

Before Qiao Xia could speak, Feng Qianxing, who had been sitting next to President Wang, suddenly stood up and said, "I'm sorry, President Wang."

He apologized as he jogged over to Qiao Xia and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Who are you?" Qiao Xia looked him up and down, puzzled.

Feng Qianxing's fake smile froze on her face instantly, and she completely broke down. "Qiao Xia, what are you talking about? Didn't you come here for me?"

Qiao Xia frowned, still looking at him with eyes full of unfamiliarity.

Feng Qianxing's makeup was too heavy. Qiao Xia did feel that he looked somewhat familiar, but she really couldn't remember where she had seen him before.

Feng Qianxing shouted incredulously, "Qiao Xia, I know I've wronged you, but people strive for better things, and water flows downhill. Your family is already bankrupt. Is it wrong for me to think of myself?"

"You can hate me, but there's no point in pretending you don't know me, is there?"

"Oh~" As soon as he spoke, Qiao Xia finally remembered that this was the first artist she signed when she used to run a film and television company.

He was only sixteen years old at the time, the same age as Qiao Xia, but she always called him "sister". They both debuted through talent shows. He couldn't sing or dance, but Qiao Xia still spent real money to get him into the industry.

Later, he appeared in various variety shows and TV dramas, which helped him gain some popularity.

When Qiao Xia's company went bankrupt, he was the fastest to run away. Not only did he run away himself, but he also poached several well-known people from her company.

In order to avoid paying the penalty for breach of contract, they even sued Qiao Xia in court, which became one of the many straws that broke the camel's back and led to the Qiao family's bankruptcy.