Chapter 69 Shengjing Entertainment: He just wanted to kiss him.
After the performance stage was opened for the whole day, the trainees rushed to perform. The songs and dances they had learned with their respective mentors during this period came in handy. The online voting system also resulted in a much higher number of votes than the previous on-site voting.
The public screen in the lobby displays a live broadcast of the stage, showing the number of viewers in the live stream and the real-time ranking of the trainees' popularity.
At its peak, the live stream had over 100,000 viewers, and even at its lowest, there were still 10,000 viewers online. This means that even the worst performance could easily garner several thousand votes. As long as you weren't afraid of hard work and performed on several stages, the dislike factor would be cleared.
For three consecutive days, the stage was never empty.
Some of the more talented trainees, such as Yun Yi, Qi Xue, Liu Zhuangzhuang, and even Qiu Xiaoyuan, have already cleared their dislike values and started increasing their like values, because the final debut spots are based on the ranking of like values.
The popularity rankings on the public screen have also changed. Yun Yi has risen to first place, Shi Yu has dropped to second place, Qi Xue remains in third place, and Qiu Xiaoyuan, who was in tenth place, has risen to sixth place.
While everyone else was giving it their all on stage, Shi Yu continued to go to Lu Chengjing's place during the day and return to Xiao Jue's place at night, seemingly unconcerned about her grades.
Shi Yu had already maxed out Lu Chengjing's favorability, and Lu Chengjing's favorability could be used to exchange for points at a 1:1 ratio to eliminate dislike. Therefore, Shi Yu hadn't been idle these past few days; he had taken a different approach by using Lu Chengjing to accumulate points and eliminate dislike.
The specific operation is as follows: when the favorability reaches 100, you can exchange for 10 points; when it reaches 100 again, you can exchange for another 10 points, and you can do this infinitely.
During this period, Lu Chengjing's favorability towards him rose sharply. If Lu Chengjing was in a good mood, he could even raise his favorability to 50 points in a day.
The public chat in the lobby only displayed the trainees' likes and like rankings, not their dislikes, so no one knew that Shi Yu's dislikes were about to be cleared as well.
The system messages Shi Yu received over the past few days were as follows:
Side Quest 2: Gain 100 points of favorability with the president of Shengjing Entertainment. (Progress: 100/100)
Congratulations on completing side quest 2!
[Points redemption successful, Lu Chengjing's favorability -10]
Side Quest 2: Gain 100 points of favorability with the president of Shengjing Entertainment. (Progress: 90/100)
[You have gained +10 points of favorability with Lu Chengjing]
Side Quest 2: Gain 100 points of favorability with the president of Shengjing Entertainment. (Progress: 100/100)
Congratulations on completing...
Points redemption successful...
...
Shi Yu was bombarded with these messages.
Later on, the system probably got annoyed and stopped sending messages, only showing the progress of side quest 2 in the taskbar.
With only seven days left after the update, Shi Yu has already wasted three days.
However, compared to performing on stage to increase his popularity, he has more important things to do. There is probably no one else doing side quests except him, so he needs to complete three side quests.
According to the current rules, all that's needed to complete the game is to debut as part of a group, but he feels that debuting won't be that simple. He needs to obtain the rewards from the three side quests, just in case.
However, there has been no progress in the third side quest, Lu Chengjing's secret. In an attempt to extract Lu Chengjing's secret, he even fabricated a detailed life background and experiences from childhood to adulthood. Lu Chengjing also told him some interesting childhood stories, but he felt that Lu Chengjing was also making them up.
Shi Yu also secretly sneaked into Lu Chengjing's study and searched it when Lu Chengjing was not there, but did not find anything useful.
Shen Su gave him a rather simple and direct suggestion:
—Get Lu Chengjing drunk.
It's said that people speak the truth when they're drunk. Even if they don't, people tend to let their guard down when they're intoxicated. Plus, Shi Yu has already gained at least three-tenths of Lu Chengjing's trust these past few days. It remains to be seen how much information she can extract from that trust.
Of course, there are techniques to getting people drunk.
Especially when facing a shrewd businessman like Lu Chengjing.
Shi Yu already had a plan in mind. Before officially carrying it out, he practiced with Shen Su.
After dinner that day, Shi Yu told Shen Su about his plan. Shen Su remained silent for a moment, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Shi Yu asked him to pretend to be Lu Chengjing and act it out with him to see the results. Shen Su agreed.
Shi Yu is not an actress and has no experience.
He went to the bathroom to wash his face and spent ten minutes in front of the mirror before he finally found his rhythm.
When Shi Yu came out of the restroom, her eyes were red, her lips were pale, and her fingers holding the phone were trembling slightly. Water droplets clung to her pale face, making her already unhealthy complexion almost transparent. Her white shirt was also slightly damp at the collar, revealing a section of her delicate white collarbone.
He was like a soulless doll, absentmindedly passing by Shen Su, and sat down on the carpet in front of the sofa, his back against the edge of the sofa, burying his face in his knees, his thin shoulder blades trembling.
They had anticipated Lu Chengjing's reaction. When Shen Su came over carrying a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses, he sat down on the sofa next to Yu, poured two glasses of wine, and handed one of them over.
"Would you like to have a drink?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Yu slowly raised his head, his raven-feather-like eyelashes trembling. His gaze fell on the wine glass, then followed the hand holding the glass upwards to Chen Su's face.
Shen Su sat on the sofa, while Shi Yu sat on the carpet. He had to tilt his head back to see Shen Su's face clearly, which made Shen Su see him even more clearly. There were still tears on his eyelashes, and his small, round nose was red. His lips trembled, and he hesitated for a while before finally saying, "President Lu, have you ever... felt particularly powerless?"
His voice was still clear and pleasant, but it sounded weak, as if all his energy had been suddenly drained away.
His slender, white neck arched back in a beautiful, fragile curve, as if a single hand could easily snap it, or that by gripping that neck, one could force him to open his mouth.
Shi Yu spoke as she opened and closed her lips, but Chen Su heard nothing.
After Shi Yu finished his lines, he waited for a while, but Shen Su did not respond with a line. He thought Shen Su was daydreaming, but then he thought that Shen Su would not be so careless when it came to serious matters.
Perhaps Lu Chengjing would react in this way?
Shi Yu thought about it carefully and asked, "Would asking like this make it difficult for people to respond? Or should I ask it another way?"
"No." Shen Su's Adam's apple bobbed, he looked away, and spoke again in a somewhat dry voice, "I wasn't concentrating just now, let's do it again."
Shen Su could not tell Shi Yu.
His eyes were red from crying, and his almond-shaped eyes were glistening with tears. When he stared at him blankly, all he wanted to do was kiss him.
He wouldn't listen to anything I said.
They tried again, and both of them were in good form and finalized the plan.
However, rehearsals and reality are ultimately two different things.
Shi Yu still accompanied Lu Chengjing to lunch at noon. In the middle of the meal, he answered a phone call. Because of his relationship with Lu Chengjing, he was allowed to bring his cell phone. When the phone rang, he inadvertently showed Lu Chengjing that the caller's name was "ex-boyfriend".
Shi Yu went to the balcony to answer a phone call for twenty minutes, and when she came out, she was in the same state as when she was acting with Shen Su.
He sat back down at the dining table, looking dejected, to eat with Lu Chengjing. Seeing that he couldn't eat either, Lu Chengjing sat down with him on the sofa.
"What's wrong?" Lu Chengjing asked with concern, like a caring elder. "What happened?"
Shi Yu shook her head, biting her lip as if unwilling to speak, but finally opened her mouth: "When I broke up with him, he promised that he would wait for me. He said that no matter whether I could debut or become a star, he was committed to me for life, and even if it was a secret relationship, he would be with me. But he just called me and said... he doesn't want to wait anymore..."
“He and I are neighbors. We grew up together, playing together in elementary, middle, and high school. We confessed our feelings to each other in college and naturally became a couple. At that time, I thought we could be together forever…”
"Later, we had a conflict because of our dreams, but we compromised. He promised to let me pursue my dreams and promised to wait for me..."
"We promised to be together for life."
His eyes were red and brimming with tears, his voice choked with sobs, and large tears fell as he finished speaking his last words.
Lu Chengjing reached out as if possessed, tears falling into his palm, going from scalding hot to icy cold, wetting his fingers.
He wanted to wipe away Shi Yu's tears, but Shi Yu wiped her face haphazardly first, looked up at Lu Chengjing with an innocent expression, and asked, "Mr. Lu, have you ever... felt particularly helpless?"
The live stream was unusually quiet; it took quite a while before the chat started flooding with comments.
[Waaaaah, my wife's acting is amazing! Her crying broke my heart!]
Is this acting?! I actually believed there was a real heartless scumbag who betrayed my Yuyu! That scumbag deserves to be torn to pieces! That scumbag deserves to die a horrible death!
[Shen, the heartless scumbag: Thank you, it's just acting, there's no need to take it so seriously.]
...
"When you feel particularly powerless?"
Lu Chengjing leaned back on the sofa, pouring himself one glass of wine after another. After drinking several glasses, he finally spoke: "Probably when I found out I wasn't a member of the Lu family and was kicked out of the house."
Shi Yu was stunned.
Not only because of this information, but also because of the system message that suddenly popped up—
[Congratulations to the player for completing side quest 3: Find the secret of the president of Shengjing Entertainment.]
Because Shi Yu was stuck at 90% completion for side quest 2, the system did not notify him to complete the three side quests.
The mission was complete, and Shi Yu relaxed completely. However, he still had to play along with Lu Chengjing's act. He took a sip of red wine and hesitated before cautiously asking, "You...aren't you a member of the Lu family?"
“Yes, I was born to my mother and some other man.” Lu Chengjing said this as casually as if he had eaten a few bowls of rice that day. He then downed another glass of wine. “My father had many mistresses outside, and my mother turned a blind eye to it. But one time, my father angered my mother so much that she was hospitalized. After my mother recovered and was discharged from the hospital, she found another man outside to get revenge on my father, and that’s how I was born.”
Lu Chengjing glanced at Shi Yu, a sarcastic smile on his lips: "Doesn't it sound like something out of a TV drama? But the truth is just that dramatic."
After speaking, Lu Chengjing drank the scarlet liquid in his wine glass in one gulp.
Now, Shi Yu doesn't even need to force him to drink; Lu Chengjing is already drinking himself.
“It’s quite dramatic.” Shi Yu nodded, clinked glasses with Lu Chengjing, and then drank his glass of red wine in one gulp with Lu Chengjing. “Actually, thinking about it carefully, compared with your eventful life, Mr. Lu, my sentimental feelings seem insignificant…”
Lu Chengjing chuckled lightly: "It's best if you can understand. There are plenty of men in this world. If one leaves, the next one will be even more obedient."
"Have you ever heard the saying? The best way to move on from a relationship isn't to forget it, but to cover it up." Lu Chengjing pinched his chin and lifted his face. "So, how about considering me?"
Shi Yu wanted to shake her head, but found that she seemed to have no strength left, and her body began to feel hot. It took a lot of effort to shake off Lu Chengjing's hand from her chin.
He glanced at the air conditioner in the room; it was 21 degrees Celsius, lower than usual. But why was he so hot?
He glanced sharply at the glass of red wine on the coffee table, his pupils dilated as if he realized something, then he casually got up, supporting himself on the sofa, to take his leave. "Mr. Lu, I think I'm a little drunk, so I'll head back now..."
Her arm was grabbed, and she was pulled back onto the sofa. Lu Chengjing's eyes were so clear that he didn't look like a drunk person at all. He slowly approached Shi Yu and said, word by word, "You're not drunk. I drugged your drink."
Shi Yu's gaze trembled slightly: "President Lu, you?"
Lu Chengjing stopped pretending and said, "You wanted to get me drunk so you could extract my secrets, right? You've been deliberately getting close to me and having meals with me lately, all for this, haven't you? Although I don't know what your purpose is, you can't deny that you wanted to get me drunk today, right? So it's not too much for me to drug you, and we're even."
"Since... we're even, why won't President Lu let me go?" Shi Yu tried several times but couldn't pull her hand out of Lu Chengjing's grasp. Her head started to spin, and her body grew hotter and hotter. Shi Yu had never used this drug before, but she guessed what kind of drug it was.
"How can I let you leave in this state?" Lu Chengjing held his arm, slowly leaning closer, coaxing him gently, "Don't worry, this medicine will only help you get into the right state. Using it once or twice won't harm your body. I've never properly pursued anyone before. You're the first person I've ever seriously pursued. I'll treat you well..."
Shi Yu's breathing became unsteady. He struggled to control himself and didn't tear his clothes. His mind raced: "But... I've already agreed to be with Xiao Jue."
These words successfully made Lu Chengjing pause in his actions.
Shi Yu continued, "You're right, overwriting is better than forgetting, so when Xiao Jue confessed, I said yes..."
"Last time you came to Xiao Jue's house, you asked if Xiao Jue had bullied me. I said no, not to be stubborn, but because Xiao Jue and I had already confirmed our relationship at that time..."
Shi Yu's forehead was covered in fine sweat. He stared straight into Lu Chengjing's eyes, his fingernails digging into his palms as he tried to keep his tone calm and clear.
"President Lu, Xiao Jue seems like a difficult person to deal with. Are you sure you want to turn against him for my sake?"
Lu Chengjing hesitated for a moment.
Finally, they let go of him.
Shi Yu stumbled back to Xiao Jue's residence.
The wind picked up in the afternoon, and the sky darkened as if a heavy rain was about to fall. The fallen leaves in the courtyard were blown by the wind. Chen Su stood in the wind waiting for him, his black trench coat exuding a cold aura.
Shi Yu threw herself into Chen Su's arms without a care, and only relaxed after smelling the familiar scent.
Several buttons were missing from his shirt, and his face and exposed skin were flushed an unnatural red. His arms, which were holding Chen Su, trembled slightly, and a trace of rationality remained in his cold, tearful voice.
"Carry me to...the bathroom."
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