Chapter 31: Countermeasures

Once the semi-finals were over, the 12 finalists who were fortunate enough to stay and compete for the top three spots in the finals entered another busy and fulfilling rehearsal period.

As is customary, the final will be held a week after the semi-finals. On the night of the final, the top five contestants will be selected from the top 12. After a final round of Q&A competition, the winners of this year's Miss Hong Kong pageant will be announced based on the judges' overall scores.

The final stage was set in the style of Dunhuang flying apsaras, which had been prepared in advance. However, because the Hong Kong Coliseum outside of TV City had to be rented, and the performances had to be arranged according to the individual situations of the 12 finalists, the TV station was unusually "generous" in giving the remaining 12 finalists half a day off on the second day after the semi-finals.

The thought of being able to relax in the TV station's lounge in the afternoon after the morning training, or call family and friends, made the atmosphere that morning exceptionally harmonious and pleasant in Li Sishi's eyes. Even the contestants who didn't usually interact with her greeted her with smiles.

Of course, perhaps this "harmony and harmony" only exists for her and Huo Chuying, the two who won awards in the semi-finals. Winning an award in the semi-finals basically guarantees a place in the final five of the finals, so it's understandable that she and Huo Chuying, who are likely to occupy two of the final five spots, are too lazy to bother with it anymore.

This means that after removing her and Huo Chuying, who are highly likely to enter the final five, there are only three spots left for the ten of them to compete for.

When there are at least two people racing desperately around you, who has time to look at the two who have already run too far ahead?

However, the ten people who were left behind were not actually so passive—in Li Sishi's memory and understanding, this seemed like a half-day vacation stolen from their busy schedule, which was when the TV station people were trying to take them down one by one.

In the early years, due to lax management, there were stories of contestants gaining fame through the Miss Hong Kong pageant hosted by TVB, only to be poached by rival TV stations with high salaries. In order to prevent the newcomers they had spent time and effort cultivating from being poached, senior executives would invite the contestants to "talk" when the finals were approaching.

Of course, everyone knows that this is not just a simple "talk", but a "choice" given to the contestants by the TV station: if they choose to sign a contract with TBL TV station, they will most likely have a good result on the night of the Miss Hong Kong finals.

And if

If you don't want to accept such an "unspoken rule" and sign a contract to sell yourself, then unfortunately—you will most likely be eliminated before reaching the final five.

"I heard that Huo Chuying's contract terms are to be negotiated separately, so nothing has been finalized yet..." Wan Jiamei whispered to Li Sishi, "And Zheng Liaoying and Yu Xiaobao also have objections to the contract terms..."

Since everyone was aware of the matter but kept it to themselves, no one cared if they discussed it quietly within the group. Wan Jiamei immediately put her gossipy instincts to use and went around asking around to find out information from many people.

“Actually, I think it’s not bad. It’s a bit harder than when I was a model, but there are more opportunities and I earn more money… Maybe only rich people like them would be dissatisfied.” Wan Jiamei gossiped about others while proudly patting her chest. “I listened to you and signed the contract as soon as I thought it was okay.”

Although she didn't know why Li Sishi told her to sign as soon as possible and be the first to sign so that the higher-ups would give her some preferential treatment because she was "obedient," Wan Jiamei thought about Li Sishi's current good performance and her accurate "premonition" that Lu Shi'an would definitely be restless when filming on location. So Wan Jiamei decided to trust her good friend one more time.

Anyway, although she is considered a minor favorite, she has neither won any awards, nor has a good family background, nor does she have any buzz. No matter how much the terms are negotiated, they will remain the same. It would be better to sign her sooner rather than later.

"By the way, what about you? Are you signing this early too?" Wan Jiamei asked in a low voice.

"I plan to discuss some of the details of the conditions further, since I still want to finish my studies." Li Sishi brought out the perfect excuse she had prepared long ago.

"Of course!" Wan Jiamei was very satisfied with the answer. "You have the best results in the competition and your academic performance is also good. You are definitely college material. Even if you want to enter the entertainment industry in the future, you must never give up your studies!"

If it weren't for studying making her wise, would Li Sishi, who is more than half a year younger than her, often act like an older sister and "press down" on her head?

Moreover, Li Sishi plans to study law, a major that can earn a lot of money. Not only will she be less likely to be deceived in the entertainment industry, but even if she doesn't enter the industry, she can still stand out with her academic achievements and beauty pageant results, becoming a legal beauty...

She herself didn't do very well in school and barely graduated from Form Five, but she had a smart and academically gifted female best friend who could learn a lot, so she could also benefit from her "talent".

"Look, when the time comes, there will definitely be people coming to you to sign contracts and negotiate terms. You must read them very carefully and thoroughly."

If all else fails, politely decline first, saying you need to think it over carefully, and then tell me so we can discuss it together. After thinking for a moment, Wan Jiamei then shared her experience signing contracts in the modeling industry, hoping it would be helpful to Li Sishi. "My contract was for three years, and it included things like profit sharing and work arrangements..."

Li Sishi looked at her with some helplessness as she spoke so eloquently: In fact, from the very beginning when Wan Jiamei wanted to talk to her about the contract details, she wanted to refuse.

Although they could roughly guess the contents of Wan Jiamei's contract, this could be considered a "trade secret." It's fortunate that Wan Jiamei was truly naive and innocent, and just revealed her signing terms and the people she thought she could trust.

Fortunately, I had no intention of harming her; instead, I wanted to reach out and help her.

Before Wan Jiamei could finish speaking, she was suddenly called away with a phone call. She immediately stood up and said, "It must be my family calling back. I'll talk to you when I get back!"

After saying that, she hurriedly followed the staff.

Watching that hurried, excited figure, Li Sishi slowly withdrew her previous smile: I hope so.

Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned.

As soon as Wan Jiamei returned and sat down, Li Sishi could already sense the hidden panic beneath her forced composure.

"What happened?" Since there were only the two of them in this small lounge, Li Sishi asked softly.

"Huh?! N-nothing..."

Wan Jiamei was startled and subconsciously shook her head before choking up under Li Sishi's concerned gaze, "Ah May, how much money do you have on you right now?"

Before Li Sishi could even answer that the money and valuables they brought into the training camp were not allowed to exceed the prescribed limit, Wan Jiamei shook her head again, smiled bitterly, and shed tears: "Am I stupid?"

"Yes." Li Sishi's tone was completely flat.

Wan Jiamei ignored Li Sishi's unexpected answer and continued to cry: "That's right, I was really stupid. I knew he was deliberately calling at this time to blackmail me, but I still thought of making up a story that my family had something to do and I needed to borrow money for medical treatment..."

"I really don't know why I believed his suggestion to take photos. It was just a strange impulse. He said that since I was only fifteen years old and already had such a great figure, I should take pictures and keep them safe so that I could use them to my advantage when I'm older."

Photographs are used to recall and appreciate what you looked like when you were young...

“I developed early when I was young, and the neighborhood I lived in was conservative, so a lot of boys would come over and tease me, which made me afraid to walk with my head up straight when I was in school for the first few years of my life…”

"Only he saw me at the tutoring class and didn't point and whisper about me like those other lousy boys. Instead, he encouraged me to stand up straight with confidence and show off the beautiful figure God gave me, instead of hunching over and belittling myself like that..."

"He clearly promised me that he would dispose of all the negatives, so why is he calling me now, saying that if I don't pay him 'hush money,' he will sell my photos to reporters and let the whole world know that I took such photos!"

"Why was he able to leave behind the negatives... No, I can't let anyone see these photos, I don't have these photos!"

"You're subconsciously trying to bury this thing you don't want to remember." Seeing Wan Jiamei getting more and more agitated, Li Sishi placed her hands on her shoulders, signaling her to calm down.

This subconscious denial felt like something she knew from a past life. After the truth came out, Wan Jiamei's first thought was to join forces with her family to deny the matter.

Then, as things escalated, Wan Jiamei couldn't help but confront her ex-boyfriend, the scumbag who exposed her nude photos and caused her to fail to advance to the final five.

However, the courts naturally have requirements for such portrait rights infringement cases—first, you must admit that you are the victim in this case.

Otherwise, according to regulations, Wan Jiamei, as a non-victim, has no right to sue the other party.

At this point, no matter what she does—whether she admits it or continues to deny it—she will only become a laughingstock for the media and the citizens of Hong Kong.

That's why Li Sishi felt that Wan Jiamei's handling of this matter was extremely poor—but such a predicament would be extremely difficult for a girl in any era.

If it were me, I would probably only have two options.

First, if you're going to deny it, then deny it to the end. No matter how much others ridicule you, you have to ignore it. First, maintain everything on the surface, and then try to destroy the evidence... However, for a young girl from an ordinary family, even if she can do it psychologically, it's very difficult to do it practically.

After all, Hong Kong media will do anything to grab attention. To suppress news that is obviously going to be a huge hit, power, money, and influence are all indispensable.

Even if they could suppress the leak of the photos with force, the rumors that spread would not be resolved by simply denying them.

The only option left is to rely on the second method: playing the victim card.

Humans are naturally inclined to follow gossip, but they also have a degree of compassion. Making mistakes when young and ignorant is not terrible; what is most valuable is being able to admit and correct one's mistakes.

There won't be a situation where everyone leans to one side, so when faced with situations where even the victim gets criticized, it's necessary to try to win over "allies" and form your own opposing force.

Therefore, facing Wan Jiamei's tearful self-reproach, "What should I do now?", Li Sishi gently pressed her still slightly trembling hand: "What you should do now is go find the executive who signed you and tell them you want to withdraw from the competition."