Chapter 13

At the airport, Jiang Xian walked out of the VIP passage surrounded by six staff members. She wore a black workwear-style outfit, with a red silk scarf hanging at her waist. As her Martin boots clicked against the ground, the scarf swayed lightly at her hip, making her look even more carefree and unrestrained.

Xie Yu wore a dark blue professional suit and followed closely beside her, leaning in to whisper to her from time to time. “Once you arrive at the recording hall, you need to build a good relationship with the other teachers first. They’re all seniors in the music industry. Whether in composition or singing ability, they all have a certain degree of national influence. You absolutely must not clash with them. Also, when facing the trainees, please try your best to remain humble… Actually, you don’t need to be humble. That’s too difficult for you. Please just leave the other party some face. After all, the world is vast, and there are many people you can’t afford to offend…”

Ever since they boarded the plane, Xie Yu had been like an old mother, earnestly and patiently lecturing her.

This was Jiang Xian’s first time transitioning into variety shows. It was different from before. In the past, she only needed to sing and accept interviews, and every interview script had been carefully prepared by Xie Yu. Even if something went wrong midway, Xie Yu would smooth things over for her.

But this time was different. Xie Yu understood Jiang Xian’s personality very well, so she had become a little nagging.

“I know, I know.” Jiang Xian scratched her ear, deliberately putting on an impatient look. “Don’t worry. Let the kids bring it on and see what the real world is like after leaving the ivory tower.”

Although Jiang Xian really wanted to listen to Xie Yu, there was a voice in her mind constantly reminding her.

“Ah Xian, you must remember your character setting at all times. You can’t go OOC.”

Mm, of course she remembered. It was that character setting of someone whose mouth [Read on BaiLianTales]was dipped in poison and who looked down on everyone. So no matter what Xie Yu said, it went in one ear and out the other.

When Xie Yu heard her answer, she helplessly sighed. Worry flickered in her eyes, as if saying, When exactly will you grow up? In the end, she had spoiled Jiang Xian too much.

As soon as Jiang Xian walked out of the VIP passage, she saw a crowd surging toward her up ahead. Those people carried cameras, held flowers, raised light boards, hung long banners, and even brought two-meter-tall standees and promotional materials. Ignoring everything else, they rushed toward Jiang Xian like a swarm of locusts, shouting loudly.

“Sister Jiangjiang!”

“Sister!”

“Sister looks so cool today!”

“This is a letter I wrote for you.”

“This is a gift I picked out for you.”

“Please sign this for me.”

How had Jiang Xian ever seen such a scene before? In an instant, she was surrounded by a group of young little brats. Camera flashes kept lighting up in front of her eyes, [stolen content]and postcards were passed over from time to time. Another bouquet of flowers was hung over her elbow. She was made flustered and hurried. She could only follow her body’s habits, take the postcard, and gracefully write two large characters on it: Jiang Xian.

“Sister Jiangjiang, I like you so much. I’ve liked you since you were five years old. I watched you grow up. Do you still remember me?”

Jiang Xian awkwardly raised her head. She originally wanted to use the system to search for the name of the girl in front of her, but at this moment, the system was playing dead… Brain, hurry up and move. Why was there never any lag when it was usually scolding people?

She pretended to be calm, raised her hand, and pointed at her. “I know. You’re called Xiao Yu.”

The girl in front of her stiffened. Jiang Xian immediately knew she had said the wrong thing.

Yoyo beside her immediately leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Her name is Dahai.”

“The big sea that little fish like to swim in!” Jiang Xian tugged at the corner of her lips. Fortunately, her brain reacted quickly.

The little girl’s face immediately showed surprise, and she nodded.

Before long, another girl entered Jiang Xian’s field of vision. She carried an ultra-long-focus camera and aimed it at her while backing away and taking photos. “Sister Jiangjiang, long time no see.”

Judging by her appearance, she was probably one of Jiang Xian’s fansite photographers. Jiang Xian unauthorized copy remembered that she had a fansite girl called Xiao Mie, so she nodded confidently. “Xiao Mie, long time no see.”

A moment later, another person holding an iPhone popped out from the right and filmed her while saying, “Sister Jiangjiang, I’m Xiao Mie.”

…

Embarrassment appeared on Jiang Xian’s face. Gritting her teeth, she tilted her head and questioned Yoyo, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

The little loli Yoyo looked full of grievance. “I thought you remembered them. You used to remember them before.”

Jiang Xian disdained explaining herself to fans, but she was also afraid her eyes would reveal fear. So she took out her sunglasses with one hand and elegantly put them on, no longer interacting with the fans.

At the same time, eight men in black surrounded her from every direction, skillfully separating the fans away. Like a ring of copper walls and iron ramparts, they enclosed Jiang Xian in the middle. Surrounded by everyone, she swept away gracefully.

“Heavens, Sister Jiangjiang is so aggressive today too. I really want to be attacked by her.”

“I really want to be topped by her.”

As Jiang Xian heard those explicit words gradually fade away, she could not help letting out a breath of relief.

At the recording hall, the director, producer, host, and the other three mentors of Hear Your Voice had already arrived. The room was quiet, with a few impatient sounds of waiting occasionally heard. But everyone knew in their hearts that this variety show depended on Jiang Xian’s fame, so no one dared say it aloud.

Half an hour later, Jiang Xian arrived late. As soon as she entered, Xie Yu politely apologized, then pulled Jiang Xian over to greet the director and host before beginning to introduce the other mentors.

Jiang Xian smiled politely and sat to the side, listening to Xie Yu’s introductions.

Sitting before her were two men and one woman. One of them was already middle-aged and gaining weight. He wore glasses and a proper suit, his eyes curved in a smiling expression. His name was Li Kun. When he was young, he had played rock music. Now, he had transitioned into a music producer and could be considered a well-known figure in the music industry.

Jiang Xian glanced at him and nodded reservedly. The other party was also very polite.

The other one was also surnamed Li, named Li Jie. He was over forty-five, with a slender figure, dressed in a Chinese-style suit. He looked refined and elegant, a highly educated and powerful singer-songwriter who specialized in singing while accompanying himself. He had shoulder-length curly hair and was a man with a very artistic air.

There was also another woman around thirty years old named Cao Lin. She had a graceful figure and mainly sang bel canto. Her personality looked gentle and modest.

Jiang Xian greeted them one by one.

After Xie Yu finished the introductions, she said she had something to do and left, leaving them to get familiar with one another.

The scene immediately became just the four of them. Because the other three had arrived first, after briefly introducing themselves, they continued their earlier topic among themselves. Jiang Xian could not join in for a while. Something else also came to mind, so she simply took out her phone and searched online: “What should someone eat to replenish qi and blood?”

She knew that her main storyline was not any variety show, nor was it becoming famous across the world. It was saving Jing Lian.

At present, Jing Lian’s body was the most important. Although Jiang Xian had crossed the sea and was thousands of miles away from her, her heart still worried about Jing Lian. No, worried about those hundreds of billions.

An answer appeared on the screen. It showed that to replenish qi and blood, one should eat more pork liver, spinach, black-bone chicken, beef…

Jiang Xian immediately took a screenshot and saved it.

At this moment, perhaps seeing that Jiang Xian was very quiet, the other three realized they should pull her into the discussion too.

The first to speak was Cao Lin. She leaned over in a friendly manner and smiled. “Miss Jiang, what do you think?”

Jiang Xian was immersed in her main mission. Hearing someone ask her a question, she looked completely confused and perfunctorily said, “Whatever. You decide.”

After searching up the dish names, she needed to send a message to Xiao Ya and have her quickly bailiantales.comarrange these dishes. When Jiang Xian returned and saw Jing Lian, if Jing Lian’s complexion still had not improved, she would hold Xiao Ya accountable.

After the message was sent, Xiao Ya still did not reply. Jiang Xian crossed one leg over the other and silently waited for a few seconds, then thought that she should just call.

So she stood up and walked straight out.

At that moment, Cao Lin happened to lean close to her ear and was about to say something. But seeing Jiang Xian leave expressionlessly, her face immediately reddened.

There were cameras set up all around, so she was too embarrassed to lose her temper. She only exchanged a look with Li Kun, secretly displeased in her heart: What is she acting so high and mighty for?

After sitting for a while, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She had to smoke a cigarette and spit out the foul mood she had just received before she could feel satisfied. So she stood up and said with a smile, “Sorry, I’m going to the restroom.”

In the restroom, Cao Lin had just put down the toilet seat and placed a layer of tissue paper on it. She was about to gently sit down when she suddenly heard a cough from the stall next door.

“President Xie, you’re sure I don’t need to go onstage and sing, right? You know, my throat hasn’t been good recently. If I sing, I’m afraid I’ll embarrass myself. You don’t want my career to take a fall here either.”

Jiang Xian had just finished calling Xiao Ya when Xie Yu’s call came in.

It was nothing more than urging her to understand manners and not be too arrogant.

“I know, I know. As long as I don’t have to go onstage and sing, anything is fine.”

As long as she did not have to sing, anything was fine?

Cao Lin’s ears perked up. She bent over and pressed herself close to the wooden partition, a little burst of luck flashing through her heart.

Jiang Xian could not sing anymore?

No wonder. No wonder she had not performed onstage for three months. So there was something wrong with her voice?

Cao Lin pursed her lips, trying hard not to laugh. Only when the sound of flushing came from next door, and the sound of Martin boots gradually faded away, did she finally feel relieved and come out of the restroom stall.

At the villa, Jing Lian was startled awake by the sound of knocking. Because of muscle memory, she was instinctively frightened and struggled to sit up. She imagined that Jiang Xian would break through the door like before and do something unreasonable to her. That sort of behavior had already given her a stress response, and when she got up, her entire body was covered in cold sweat.

Only when she heard Xiao Ya’s voice outside the door did she remember that Jiang Xian had already left the island. Only then did she let out a breath of relief and get up to open the door.

It was mealtime. Xiao Ya had brought the meal. She pushed the dining cart read the original at bailiantales.com to the bedside and gently lifted the pure white lace-edged glass cover. A cloud of white steam carrying the aroma of food rushed against Jing Lian’s face, warm and hot.

When the mist dispersed, several dishes were arranged before her: stir-fried pork liver with spinach, angelica black-bone chicken soup, tomato-braised beef brisket, roast squab… and a few small side dishes.

Today’s dishes were rather different from usual. Usually, there was mostly seafood. Today, a new menu had appeared.

She did not ask and only said simply, “Just leave it there.”

Xiao Ya attentively served a bowl of black-bone chicken soup while smiling. “Miss Jing Lian, this is a new menu that Miss Jiang specially prepared for you. Because you’re lacking in qi and blood, she specifically found recipes from a nutritionist.”

Jing Lian’s pupils landed on those dishes and flickered slightly, but in the end, she did not speak. Her temper remained cold.

Seeing this, Xiao Ya added, “After Miss Jiang got off the plane today, she still had to rush to her work schedule. Even while she was so busy, she still took time out to specifically instruct me to handle this properly. It’s clear that she really keeps you in her…”

Before Xiao Ya could finish, a gust of cold air swept through the room. She abruptly lifted her head and met Jing Lian’s frost-soaked eyes.

Jing Lian thought to herself: Is she really changing for me?