Chapter 52

Will you leave after completing the task?

Wei Jiangxue chuckled dryly a few times: "It's just like acting. I play the Alpha, and I have to act according to her role in the script."

"...So from the beginning, you knew you would meet me?" Mi Rui'an gripped Wei Jiangxue's wrist tightly. "And you were deliberately getting close to me?"

"Hmm." Wei Jiangxue had no way out, so she answered with a forced smile, "I'm sorry, but if you feel uncomfortable, you can tell me, and we can discuss how to resolve it."

"I am indeed feeling a bit unwell." Mi Rui'an never expected that she would learn the details of her cohabitation again.

When she confessed her feelings, Wei Jiangxue's honest words made it clear that she didn't have any romantic feelings for him. However, Mi Rui'an had always firmly believed that he was deliberately getting close to her and that he liked her.

After her confession failed and she was thoroughly embarrassed, Mi Rui'an dismissed everything that had happened as mere coincidence. Wei Jiangxue's words, however, proved that her initial misperception wasn't an illusion; it was simply that Mi Rui'an had mistaken Wei Jiangxue's ambition for affection.

Mi Rui'an continued, "But that's my own problem, it has nothing to do with you. Let's talk about something else now. You said you'd play an Alpha, what do you mean? Don't you have distinctions like Alpha and Omega among humans where you're from?"

“Yes, we don’t have glands either,” Wei Jiangxue said honestly. “My glands were set up for me by the system and have no connection with you, so there’s no possibility of a high compatibility. And I should have been affected by your pheromones, but I only discovered during the system mission that I seem to be an exception.”

Mi Rui'an figured it out in just a few seconds: "It has something to do with me, right?"

"I guess so. 233 said my Alpha abilities would be suppressed by you, but I haven't felt any changes in my daily life. We don't know the more specific criteria either. 233 just said it all depends on your impression of me. If you think I'm strong, then I'm strong; if you think I'm weak, then I'm weak..." Wei Jiangxue is still confused about this standard.

“I think what it actually means is that it depends on how much I like you. I like you, so you’re unaffected,” Mi Rui’an said with a smile.

"Hey! This and that!" Wei Jiangxue exclaimed, interrupting Mi Rui'an, her face flushed. "Let's talk about something else! We've been talking about these things for so long today, my head is so messed up! Let's quickly talk about how you'll plan my follow-up work after I sign with your company."

Mi Rui'an, who had intended to ask them if they would leave after completing their mission, pursed her lips and went along with Wei Jiangxue's suggestion: "Okay."

Actually, there was no need to ask this question; she already knew the answer in Wei Jiangxue's heart.

*

"You trust me that much? Aren't you afraid I'll put some clauses in the contract that are unfavorable to you?"

In the office, Mi Rui'an guided Wei Jiangxue's hand to the correct position on the paper, and then watched as she wrote her name with remarkable skill.

"No, 233 figured it out faster than I did. It's already summarized everything for me, and I think everything is fine. There's no need to discuss it further. Besides, I trust you wouldn't try to trick me on something like this," Wei Jiangxue said with a smile.

"It's good that you know how to be wary of people. I'm afraid you're too naive and won't read anything before signing the contract." Mi Rui'an gestured for her assistant to take the contract away, and the others left as well, leaving only her and Wei Jiangxue in the room.

Wei Jiangxue reached out to grab Mi Rui'an and silently moved to the sofa where the latter was sitting.

This behavior pleased Mi Rui'an greatly. Ever since that day when she disguised herself as Mi and met Wei Jiangxue, Wei Jiangxue seemed to have unlocked her full potential and became unusually proactive. The two were no longer in a chase-and-run dynamic.

Mi Rui'an simply lay down in Wei Jiangxue's arms and looked up at her: "Next is to build momentum for you. Some of your previous looks have already made you a little famous, and several popular beauty streamer compilation videos have also included you, but that's not enough."

"What? They're not going to say I'm a singer?" Wei Jiangxue's confidence suffered a slight setback.

Mi Rui'an smiled and pinched her sullen face: "It's just because your face is too attractive. I've seen the comments in the video section, and quite a few people are into your style. Your viewers in the live stream are also praising your singing."

Wei Jiangxue was relieved to hear this, and things proceeded as Mi Rui'an had arranged in advance.

Their signing ceremony was low-key, but the news that "blind anchor Wei Jiangxue signed with a talent agency" quickly sparked discussion.

This surge in popularity came very easily, and we should even thank Mi Feng for it.

Mi Rui'an originally didn't want to push everything so fast; she wanted to wait until Wei Jiangxue had safely passed the preliminary rounds before releasing the news.

The entertainment company specially prepared for Wei Jiangxue was formerly a small, nearly bankrupt company that Mi Rui'an acquired. He originally intended to have Wei Jiangxue work there under the identity of Mi. However, plans changed, and Wei Jiangxue ultimately joined at Mi Rui'an's personal invitation.

The company's reputation was too small, and hastily posting it on the trending topics would only generate resentment and damage Wei Jiangxue's public image. Therefore, Mi Rui'an decided to temporarily suppress the news of her signing a contract, but clearly "Mi Feng" couldn't sit still any longer.

Or rather, Bai Rong.

Mi Rui'an's whereabouts are a mystery, but Wei Jiangxue is not.

Wei Jiangxue's live streaming account is still functioning normally, and Bai Rong has been warned in advance on several occasions when he tried to take action against the platform.

With the simplest route blocked, Bai Rong naturally chose another way immediately, which did not surprise Mi Rui'an.

Almost simultaneously with the news of Wei Jiangxue's signing, a new wave of organized public opinion attacks swept in. This time, the opposing side chose a more insidious angle and adopted a more so-called "rational and objective" attitude.

Several marketing accounts with large followings simultaneously published articles with extremely exaggerated headlines—"Is it inspirational or business? A deep dive into the capital games behind a disabled livestreamer's contract," "Beware of the over-consumption and hype of the 'disabled inspirational' persona"...

The article may seem to offer no perspective and is merely an objective analysis, but its bias is so obvious that anyone with a modicum of intelligence can see it's deliberately trying to discredit Wei Jiangxue.

As for the intention? Either it was a smear article bought by a competitor, or it was something they did themselves.

Mi Rui'an and Wei Jiangxue immediately realized that Bai Rong probably wanted the public to think that Wei Jiangxue was deliberately marketing herself and taking a controversial approach.

Bai Rong's side linked Wei Jiangxue's signing with her recent announcement that she would participate in the audition for "The Voice of China," implying that this was a carefully crafted marketing ploy by capital.

Of course, this wasn't the only thing that smeared Wei Jiangxue; the article also made veiled accusations, speculating that Wei Jiangxue had an improper relationship with the executives of her contracted company.

The online trolls who fan the flames are even more direct and malicious:

[Ugh, I used to watch her live streams on xx platform and thought she was some stubborn, innocent girl, but it turns out she's just another toy of capital.]

The blindness is real, the inspirational story is fake, the business is real.

[Was there any behind-the-scenes manipulation in the competition? The production team needs to come out and explain!!!]

[Waiting for her to "amaze" everyone in the audition; I can already guess the script...]

“That’s not entirely wrong…” Wei Jiangxue said slowly, resting her chin on her hand after listening to the text read out by the voice assistant. “We do have a special relationship.”

“It’s true that you even want to market yourself,” Mi Rui’an echoed her. “Oh dear, looking at it this way, it seems you’re in cahoots with me, preparing to stir up trouble in the entertainment industry.”

"Pfft, how could we possibly fall out?" Wei Jiangxue was amused by Mi Rui'an. "How should we handle this? Should we issue a statement and sue a few marketing accounts? Or should we just ignore it? Actually, I don't think it's worth paying attention to."

Mi Rui'an confirmed her feelings: "Aren't you angry?"

"Do I look angry to you?" Wei Jiangxue touched Mi Rui'an's face. "Wow, so you're frowning. You can't stand people criticizing me, can you? So you think I'll be sad? Don't worry, didn't you see me scolding the trolls in the live stream before? If those shady characters are so capable, let them come to the live stream and pick on me. I'll scold them one by one. You don't need to worry about me. I really don't think anything of it. 233 I always thought I would be sad, but I don't care about these things."

“I don’t like it when people talk about you like that.” Mi Rui’an grabbed Wei Jiangxue’s hand that was constantly scraping her eyebrows. “Once everyone sees you, even if they don’t like you, they won’t hate you.”

"It's no use for me to have so many people like me," Wei Jiangxue muttered. "Anyway, we don't need to care about those people. We can just put our phones and computers away, and the news online will be irrelevant to us."

"Okay, then we'll proceed at your pace. I'll still have the legal and public opinion monitoring departments continue to follow up and collect evidence. We'll provide all the help and support we need when necessary."

Following Wei Jiangxue's instructions, Mi Rui'an didn't allow her employees to deal with the public opinion. Suddenly, accusations of "capital speculation," "consumerism," and "distorted values" were leveled against Wei Jiangxue.

Public opinion pressure is like an invisible net, tightening from all sides.

But just as Wei Jiangxue said, once the phone was turned off, no noise could get into her ears.

She stayed quietly at home, continuing her daily routine of practicing singing, attending classes, and eating. Her live streams lasted only two hours each day, but she only sang and never mentioned the doubts and insults directed at her.

As she happens to be blind, she had no idea what the chat was like after the voice assistant stopped working.

233 and Mi Rui'an told her the rest. It is said that after each live broadcast, her fans were so abused that they became even more devoted to her, and some casual haters even silently switched sides after seeing her face.

Wei Jiangxue felt sorry for the fans who were arguing with the online trolls, so she specially asked 233 to send some red envelopes to the fan group in the backstage. After that, she really ignored everything else and focused on preparing for the preliminary round.

*

The preliminary round was bustling with activity.

Wei Jiangxue couldn't see; she was led by Mi Rui'an to register and queue.

She is contestant number eighty-eight.

"Wow, you've given me a really auspicious number." Wei Jiangxue clapped her hands lightly after hearing Mi Rui'an's words.

Mi Rui'an smiled and helped her pin on the number card: "Good luck. I can't lead you up here anymore; other staff members will take you up."

"Okay, then wait for me backstage." Wei Jiangxue nodded, feeling someone support her arm.

She waved to Mi Rui'an and went to wait in the wings.

A brief silence fell over the audience as Wei Jiangxue was led onto the stage by staff.

She wore a simple white dress with minimal adornment, her long hair flowing smoothly over her shoulders. A serene smile graced her face as she gave a slight bow towards the judges and audience. Without a white cane, she stood quietly before the microphone stand.

Her simple attire, like a lotus emerging from the water, was enough to captivate anyone.

Mi Rui'an looked up at Wei Jiangxue, her heart filled with uncontrollable joy.

Wei Jiangxue deserves to stand on a stage like this, so that everyone can see her and look forward to her.