Chapter 57 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind (Part 1...)
The 16th floor of the Junyue Hotel.
Someone put away the binoculars and turned to ask the person sitting at the table, "Boss, Jiang Mingyue is talking to the paparazzi who's been following her. Did she spot us?"
The man, referred to as the boss, was wearing a white hotel bathrobe, beneath which lay a muscular physique. He had a shaved head and was slowly and methodically cutting a steak.
"You're overestimating her abilities. She's just good at archery; do you really think she's all-powerful?"
The young man returned to the table and sat down. "But that night on Highway 1 along the river, the female secretary next to Yan Qian was indeed her."
"Paparazzi photographed Yan Qian meeting with Jiang Mingyue privately, and Jinghua Group also posted on Weibo to clarify that they had business cooperation. Based on these two points, it's hard not to be suspicious."
The bald man put down his knife and fork, picked up his coffee and took a sip. "Eric, Yan Qian is extremely cunning. You can't use conventional thinking to analyze his behavior. How do you know this isn't a deliberate smokescreen? Let's not panic and keep an eye on her."
Eric is just a nickname for a young man; the bald man, Mammoth, is his superior. This time, the two received orders from the organization to come to South Island to investigate Jiang Mingyue and find out if Jiang Mingyue had interfered in He Yan's affairs.
Mammoth has always been arrogant and conceited, and he looks down on women from the bottom of his heart, especially since Jiang Mingyue is a girl group idol in the entertainment industry.
How amazing can a mere female idol with skinny arms and legs be? Netizens, unaware of the truth, only want to use the popularity of female celebrities to create a god.
Eric had worked with Mammoth three times before, and Mammoth's judgment had never been wrong. Therefore, Eric suppressed his doubts and decided to follow Mammoth's arrangements for the time being.
After returning to the hotel, Jiang Mingyue went straight to breakfast, thus avoiding the breakfast rush.
Afterwards, she went back to her room to wash up and rest. At 7:50, she met up with the staff who came to pick her up and went to familiarize herself with the concert venue.
The staff member who assisted her was a local from the South Island named Gao Feng, who was about thirty-five years old.
Gao Feng is the project manager for Shanda Guangnian stationed in the South Island, specifically responsible for coordinating the concerts of its artists.
Gao Feng was extremely humble in front of Jiang Mingyue, saying, "Sister Jiang, just call me Xiao Gao."
The next second he received a call, he immediately started criticizing the person on the other end of the line, “If they won’t do it, let someone else do it. Don’t make excuses. The stage facilities must be inspected on-site by next Wednesday. If any safety accident occurs, neither of us can cover it up!”
Jiang Mingyue's eyes flickered slightly. Sure enough, being a project manager is not an easy job. People without courage simply cannot do this job.
Gao Feng hung up the phone and quickly put on a smile as he looked at Jiang Mingyue, "I'm sorry, Sister Jiang, you must have made me laugh."
Jiang Mingyue praised, "It's alright. Manager Gao is conscientious and responsible in his work, which is something we should learn from."
Gao Feng had thought Jiang Mingyue would be difficult to please, after all, she was taciturn and cold in the live broadcast.
Fortunately, after meeting her in person, you'll find that Jiang Mingyue isn't difficult to deal with; you just need to do what needs to be done.
The concert venue is some distance from the Junyue Hotel, about an hour's drive away.
The Clover Girls' farewell concert was initially planned as a small to medium-sized concert, mainly because they were worried that the tickets would not sell out. Who would have thought that all 8,000 tickets would be sold out?
On the third day of the second season of the variety show, many fans and netizens demanded that the organizers change the venue and add more seats.
Shengda Guangnian and Xinghui Entertainment did not want to miss out on the traffic brought by Jiang Mingyue, so the two companies discussed overnight and moved the original concert venue from the open-air beach to the South Island City Center Stadium.
The stadium can accommodate 30,000 people. Due to Jiang Mingyue's recent surge in popularity, an additional 22,000 tickets were sold out immediately.
When the higher-ups give a word, the people below run themselves ragged.
The last-minute change of venue required coordination of many tasks, keeping Gao Feng extremely busy. His subordinates were slacking off and uncooperative, so it's no wonder Gao Feng lost his temper.
Fortunately, Sister Jiang next to me was quiet and focused on reviewing the concert schedule.
Gao Feng wished he could only deal with Sister Jiang, even though she wasn't in the same company as him.
South Island City Centre Stadium.
Gao Feng handed the access pass to Jiang Mingyue, first leading her on a general tour of the stadium, and then taking her to the front of the stage.
Jiang Mingyue stood on the lawn, looking around. There were only stadium staff, concert staff, and construction workers busy setting up the stage.
A super wide canvas was set up in the very center of the stage, with the Clover Girls' logo printed on it. The rest of the canvas was hidden by coarse cloth.
Only when she was truly there did Jiang Mingyue experience a different feeling. She was going to sing and dance in front of thousands of people at the end of the month, so why was she suddenly nervous?
She wasn't intimidated at all during the fashion show in the ancient city.
On second thought, perhaps this time it's because it's more important, after all, it's the last performance before retiring from the industry.
After spending more than an hour at the stadium, Jiang Mingyue went to Shanda Guangnian's branch office in the city center.
A standalone office building on Haiyang Road, housing both dance and vocal training rooms.
Jiang Mingyue did not recognize the dance teacher who was leading the training. The teacher was very young, only two years older than her.
The dance teacher was very strict; she immediately asked Jiang Mingyue to perform their group's dance.
Jiang Mingyue still has videos of the group dance and practice videos from the training room on her phone, and she reviewed them twice before going to bed last night.
I've memorized the movements, but I haven't practiced them in a long time, so my body is very uncoordinated.
Sure enough, after she finished dancing the fast-paced group dance "Clover" with a blank expression, the dance teacher pointed it out without any mercy.
"Mingyue, don't mind my harsh words, but you really can't dance as well as Tan Li and Liu Mo'er. You need to train harder."
"And what's with your expression? You're not going to war. You need to learn to enjoy yourself and genuinely like what you're doing. Don't just go through the motions with the audience. They can tell. You certainly don't want them to accuse you of slacking off, do you?"
Jiang Mingyue accepted all of her teacher's advice, saying, "Please lead me through the dance a few more times, teacher."
Seeing Jiang Mingyue's sincere attitude, the dance teacher's dissatisfaction subsided somewhat.
"No problem. As long as you put your heart into it, I believe that with your intelligence and perseverance, you will definitely succeed on the day of the official performance."
The theme song of "Clover" is cheerful and lively, and the dance is healthy and positive, without any borderline moves, which is why Jiang Mingyue was willing to pick it up and practice it again.
This concert will feature six songs that require three singers to perform together: four fast songs and two slow songs.
She skipped the other three upbeat songs because their dance moves were complicated and provocative.
Jiang Mingyue also spoke directly to Li Qiang in the group chat and informed Tan Li and Liu Mo'er.
They were probably feeling guilty, and remained silent.
Li Qiang helped coordinate and agreed to her request. The dance teacher will be asked to revise the choreography, but she is required to perform the theme song dance well.
Jiang Mingyue spent the whole day in the training room. She was busy practicing dance in the morning, taking vocal lessons in the afternoon, and even tried on her performance costume before dinner. By the time she finished and walked out of the Haiyang Building, it was almost 10 p.m.
Although she was physically tired, she was still in good spirits. She declined the staff's offer to drive her back to the hotel and instead borrowed a shared bicycle by scanning a QR code on her phone, riding back the way she came.
The paparazzi following him were speechless; Teacher Jiang was truly energetic and had inexhaustible vitality.
A gossip-loving passerby posted on Weibo, revealing Jiang Mingyue's itinerary for one day in the South Island.
"To be honest, I've never met a female celebrity like Sister Jiang before. She gets up early to run ten laps, works all day at the Haiyang Building, and still has the energy to ride a bike at 10 p.m.
The secretly filmed videos of her running and cycling are in very high definition. The Shanda Guangnian branch office is inaccessible; only screenshots of the times she entered and exited are displayed.
Netizens who had been waiting all day finally received news from Sister Jiang and cried with joy.
Seeing how dedicated Sister Jiang is, we fans are relieved.
Hey bro, you have to update Sister Jiang's schedule every day, I won't just watch for nothing, I'll call people for you!
Hey passerby, remember to say hello to Sister Jiang for us. She doesn't need to work too hard; a little dancing and singing is all she needs.
The paparazzi who love to gossip are generally considered to be on the positive side. The celebrities they photograph rarely have any scandals or scandals. In their leisure time, they either go fishing or go to beauty salons.
Netizens love to tease him on Weibo.
[Sister Jiang really let loose when she arrived in the South Island]
[Sister Jiang is so down-to-earth; she even knows how to ride a shared bike.]
[This is something to be praised too; I'm truly impressed by you brainless fans.]
[Oh, commenting on a private account? Come on, let me see what you look like, how can you be so shameless!]
Under intense criticism from Jiang Mingyue's numerous casual fans, the privacy account was so frightened that it deleted its comments.
It takes half an hour to drive from the training room to the Grand Hyatt Hotel, and an hour by bike.
For the first half hour, Jiang Mingyue followed the main road as planned by the navigation, but then suddenly started turning onto side streets and alleys.
Eric, who was secretly following them, had to brake suddenly. The alley was too narrow for their off-road vehicle to pass through, and they could only watch helplessly as Jiang Mingyue rode away.
"Boss, did she realize we were following her?"
Mammoth, in the passenger seat, was looking at a map on his phone. "No, she took a shortcut, going through the small road behind the South Island Central Hospital, which saves half the distance."
"Should we follow her tonight or not? She's been in that building all day, so we can't test her."
"Keep following, take a detour to South Island High School in front of the Central Hospital, there's only a main road there to get back to the hotel."
“Okay.” Eric turned the car around and drove east toward South Island High School.
In late December, the South Island is hot, with temperatures reaching 36 degrees Celsius.
It hadn't rained for a week, and the air was scorching hot. There was a barbecue restaurant in the alley, and the smell of smoke made you feel sticky all over.
Jiang Mingyue, focused and undistracted, quickly walked through the barbecue restaurant. She was wearing a Bluetooth earpiece in her right ear, and someone was talking to her on the phone.
"Five minutes later, someone will meet you at the Nanxiang intersection. Change into your Nandao High School uniform and return to the hotel along the same route."
Why should I follow your instructions?
“Miss Jiang, I am not your enemy. You don’t need to be so wary of me. Besides, you have been innocently dragged into this, and I will take full responsibility for your safety.”
An hour ago, Jiang Mingyue received a call from Yan Qian before leaving the Haiyang Building in the city center. Yan Qian had just landed on the South Island and informed her that she was being followed and that an assassin was waiting for her.
The assassin's identity is currently unknown, but it is generally speculated that he is part of the same group that kidnapped He Yan.
Yan Qian asked Jiang Mingyue to cooperate with him by deliberately scanning the QR code to ride a shared bicycle, as a way to test the waters.
Jiang Mingyue isn't stupid. Last night, when she checked into the Grand Hyatt Hotel, she already sensed that someone was secretly watching her. Otherwise, why would she have gone out for a fight with paparazzi this morning while she was out for a run?
“I understand that Ms. Jiang wants to live a normal life after retiring from the entertainment industry, so please leave these troublesome matters to me and don’t get your hands dirty.”
Even if Yan Qian didn't come, Jiang Mingyue could handle these two people, but in Yan Qian's words, she would let him handle what he could, and she didn't want to reveal her identity for the time being.
"Okay, see you in five minutes."
Five minutes later, at the Nanxiang Road intersection.
Jiang Mingyue met one of Yan Qian's men, one of Yan Qian's bodyguards.
The other party pushed over a black mountain bike that high school students ride, and also gave me a Nanxiang High School uniform.
Jiang Mingyue put on her school uniform, handed over her shared bicycle, and then followed the planned route through the small road behind the hospital, quickly arriving at Nandao High School.
At 10:45, it was the time when students at South Island High School finished their evening self-study session, and a large group of high school students walked out of the school pushing their bicycles.
A youthful vibe is palpable.
The boys were talking about basketball, anime, and games, while the girls were talking about the TV dramas, novels, and celebrities they were watching.
"Have you guys seen the post from the random guy? Sister Jiang is in the South Island today! She's staying at the Grand Hyatt Hotel!"
"I secretly brushed my teeth while I was in the bathroom! I really want to run into Sister Jiang at the Grand Hyatt!"
"Sigh, it's a pity we have to get up at six o'clock to go to school."
"It's okay, we have a day off at the end of the month, we can go to the stadium to see a concert."
Jiang Mingyue curved her lips into a smile, blending silently into the crowd. As far as the eye could see, it was all black and white, not conspicuous at all.
When Eric and Mammoth arrived, they saw groups of students riding bicycles along the main road in front of the school.
They waited patiently for ten minutes, but Jiang Mingyue didn't come over. They immediately realized that they had been tricked!
Mammoth's expression changed drastically, and he immediately reminded Eric to leave quickly.
Eric realized instantly that their whereabouts had been exposed, and these ten minutes were enough for the other side to conduct counter-surveillance on them.
"Boss, does Jiang Mingyue have this kind of ability?"
"She has someone to meet her; it must be one of Yan Qian's men. We were careless."
"What should we do then? Should we continue to follow Jiang Mingyue?"
“With Yan Qian here, we can’t show our faces anymore. Let the higher-ups switch to a different group to keep an eye on things. We should go and avoid the area for a while. Jiang Mingyue won’t be running around for the next two weeks. Her concert isn’t until the end of the month. Yan Qian can’t stay on the South Island for two weeks in a row.”
"That makes sense."
The two managed to escape, but it was too late. Yan Qian's men located the car owner's information through the license plate.
While in his car outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Yan Qian sent the message he received to a friend in Beijing, asking him to help investigate.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Mingyue arrived at the Grand Hyatt Hotel and handed the mountain bike to another bodyguard who was waiting nearby.
Yan Qian's four bodyguards had very distinctive appearances, all of them being 180 cm tall. In addition, Jiang Mingyue had a photographic memory and could remember them after just one glance.
She glanced at the black minivan next to her, then opened the back door and got in.
It had only been a few days since they last met, and Yan Qian was still the same as before, except that he had changed from a winter suit and tie to a summer charcoal gray shirt and trousers.
This person is a natural clothes hanger; everything looks good on them.
Jiang Mingyue didn't waste any words and asked him directly, "Have you found the person?"
Yan Qian glanced at her subtly a few times. She was wearing a loose white t-shirt and light blue jeans, and had a faint smell of sweat mixed with the fresh scent of her clothes, which was not unpleasant at all.
"Local license plate, rental car, the renter is an ordinary office worker who doesn't live in the South Island. Although I haven't found any specific information, I suppose they won't be showing up again in the next few days."
Jiang Mingyue sneered, "If they don't show up, they definitely won't let this go easily. They'll send others. What does President Yan plan to do?"
Yan Qian's actions tonight were somewhat alarming. Jiang Mingyue originally intended to deal with those people slowly and find the right opportunity to wipe them all out.
However, Yan Qian would never act rashly.
Upon hearing the title "President Yan," Yan Qian could sense the gritted teeth in her voice. He coughed and said, "I'm currently on vacation. The South Island is a popular resort destination, and I'll stay there until after New Year's Day before returning to Beijing."
The implication was that he would stay and handle the matter properly.
Jiang Mingyue stared directly at him, her phoenix eyes filled with blatant sarcasm.
"President Yan, you've got some tricks up your sleeve. Jinghua Group seems to be clarifying the rumors between you and me on the surface, but they're actually using me to lure us out. If you don't explain yourself clearly tonight, don't even think about getting off the bus!"
The driver in the front seat felt a chill run down his spine. If Jiang Mingyue were to beat up President Yan, should he help her or not?
Author's Note: [Winking face][Winking face][Winking face] Isn't it good? Hahaha, it's on the best-of list! Extra chapter! Second chapter this afternoon~
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