"Yu Huan, Bai Zhu, you two come here." Ren Jing had no choice but to interrupt the rehearsal and let the remaining two continue, while he called the two younger ones to leave.
"If you have a conflict, don't show it on camera," Ren Jing said earnestly. "Netizens have very sharp eyes. Even I can see that you two are not getting along."
She is the captain and is responsible for the entire team. The two of them have conflicts, but the others want to win.
These two seemed to have a good relationship some time ago, but for some reason, they have been acting weird and awkward lately.
"Sorry, Sister Jing, can you give us ten minutes?" While Shu Baizhu was silent, Qin Yuhuan came out to apologize.
Ren Jing nodded. "Even if the conflict can't be resolved, at least act it out. We're all acting. I don't need to tell you how to act in front of the camera."
Saying this is already crossing the line, and if it weren't for Ziyu's face, she wouldn't bother to mention it.
After Ren Jing left, only Qin Yuhuan and Shu Baizhu were left in the empty corridor.
Qin Yuhuan was very serious. He looked around carefully, making sure that no one was around before speaking. "Do you want to withdraw directly from the competition? If so, you can just say so."
This makes it seem like she is bullying someone.
"It's none of your business," Shu Baizhu leaned against the door in the hallway and sighed softly, "It's my family. They've been trying to get me to contact Ziyi lately."
"So?" Qin Yuhuan didn't understand Shu Baizhu's train of thought. "What does this have to do with us?"
It was obvious that Shu Baizhu was avoiding her intentionally or unintentionally.
"I don't know, Yu Huan." Shu Baizhu couldn't sort out his thoughts. "Maybe it's because of your relationship with Ziyi. I don't want my family to find out that we have a good relationship."
Qin Yuhuan: ...
"Then you may have some misunderstanding. Our relationship should be just ordinary, a gentleman's friendship." Maybe it can't even be called a gentleman's friendship now, after all, she always wants to put people in a sack. "Ordinary colleagues."
Or they are just ordinary colleagues with a vague relationship of competition for resources.
Shu Baizhu: ...
"You're always so blunt."
"I just think sometimes people need to be open-mouthed, do whatever they want, say whatever they want. Not everyone can understand your duplicity." Qin Yuhuan finished speaking, then realized he was being too polite and added more bluntly, "Most people can't understand, and not everyone gets a second chance."
"Yes," Shu Baizhu smiled bitterly, "Xiaozi got a second chance, and you got it because of her, and I..."
"You think Ziyi got a second chance because she changed." Qin Yuhuan was furious when he thought of the hardships Ziyi had endured. "I got this opportunity because I cherish it and I'm good enough. What about you, Shu Baizhu?"
"Ask yourself, have you ever cherished her? Ziyi has been chasing you since she was sixteen, and she didn't meet me until she was twenty-five. In ten years, have you ever been honest with her? You've used a tube of burn ointment and a bowl of powder to keep her captive for ten years. Isn't that enough?"
It's not just ten years. In her last life, Ziyi was trapped for her entire life.
"I've paid more than just a tube of burn ointment and a bowl of powder!" Shu Baizhu's long-suppressed emotions finally burst forth at this moment. "My family has had a driver to take me to and from school since I was a child. For her, I took the bus every day for three years of high school, just to walk that extra distance with her. My brother asked me why I didn't get in the family car after Ziyi got on."
The roads home go in two directions, one south and one north.
Even if Shu Baizhu did this, Ziyi would not know.
"When I was standing on the bus, I could imagine what she looked like, standing or sitting, smiling or with a cold face. Our academic performance was not good, and we had decided to take the art exam a long time ago. I knew Ziyi was going to apply to Jin University, so I gave up art classes for a while. During that time, I took a lot of cram schools, went to bed at two o'clock, and got up at five o'clock, hoping to catch up with her in academic performance."
But later, the results of the monthly exam slapped her in the face. Her academic performance was neither good at liberal arts nor science. Even with the 20 points for ethnicity in the regular college entrance examination, she was still hovering around the undergraduate line. If she was not careful, she would not even be able to get into undergraduate studies.
Shu Baizhu covered her face and squatted on the spot, tears streaming through her fingers. "My family's financial situation is not bad, so I don't need to work. After graduating from high school, my family originally wanted to send me to learn to drive, but Ziyi wanted to work part-time at a milk tea shop. I persuaded my family and went to shake milk tea with her."
"I stood from eight in the morning to ten at night for two months. It's not like I didn't make any effort, but my family's situation is like this. My parents are eyeing Ziyi covetously, and all they want is to eat up Ziyi's family. Do you think I don't know that my mother always uses Ziyi's card to pay her bill? My father and brother are doing business outside, and they all rely on Uncle Zhao's face. What can I do?"
"I've been the most obedient daughter in my family since I was little. For my own good, I've argued with my family time and time again. Tell me, do I have any other options? I know most of our family's resources belong to Shu Baiqi and Shu Baizhen, but so what? They've been good to me, and I can't abandon them."
Her parents never said no to her food, clothing, and various expenses for her art studies. They gave her almost everything she wanted. She could buy paints worth thousands or tens of thousands of dollars at will, and she could take interest classes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars if she wanted.
"I like Ziyi. I love her more than you can imagine. She has given me so much and I want to protect her, but my family only schemes against her. I am also in pain. Why are my family like this? Why am I so mediocre and incompetent?"
Shu Baizhu believed she had done all she could. "You got Ziyi, the happiness I wanted most. What qualifications do you have to blame me? I've already... I've tried my best. No matter how unwilling I am to accept it, I can only tell myself that I'm just an ordinary person, an ordinary person with a dilemma."
Qin Yuhuan took a deep breath, squatted down, and patted Shu Baizhu on the back, "Sorry, I took my anger out on you."
Shu Baizhu cried uncontrollably, "I'm already trying to maintain my composure. Do you think this is easy?"
"Well," Qin Yuhuan sighed silently, "I was wrong."
Shu Baizhu just lowered his head, staring at the rough concrete floor, and murmured, "If you were me, what would you do?"
"I'll find a way to get all the family property," Qin Yuhuan replied. "I'll tell Ziyi everything and use her to suppress my two brothers, forcing them to rely on me."
This was a path Shu Baizhu had never thought of, "But..."
"If they want what Ziyi has, don't blame me for taking advantage of their desires."
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