Chapter 15
When the song ended, Jiang Xian’s hand, which had been tightly gripping the microphone, relaxed. The echo of the band’s accompaniment still lingered by her ears, gradually falling like a curtain, dimming and fading.
After a brief silence, the thousand audience members below the stage erupted like fireworks. Group after group stood up, raising their arms to clap and shout.
This time, Jiang Xian did not stop their enthusiasm. Her lips pressed together lightly, and her index finger toyed with her false lashes as she cast a contemptuous glance in the direction of Cao Lin at the mentor seats.
The other woman very obviously did not dare meet her gaze. Her expression awkward, she lowered her head.
At this moment, the host stepped onto the stage in high heels, pulling Jiang Xian’s attention back. “Teacher Jiang truly deserves the title of heavenly voice.”
As the host took control of the scene, the audience slowly sat down, and the venue gradually returned to silence.
The host continued, “I have a question. I’m asking it for myself, and also for the audience members here.”
Jiang Xian tapped the microphone with her finger and folded both hands in front of her abdomen. “Ask.”
“How does Teacher Jiang maintain such an excellent state, day after day?”
Jiang Xian smiled. Her chin lifted slightly in Cao Lin’s direction. “For me, singing is as simple as breathing.”
Cao Lin’s face turned a little green.
The host teased, “Is there any secret to it?”
“Secret?”
Jiang Xian lowered her head and rubbed the microphone in her hand, saying lightly, “Having a mouth is enough.”
The audience went into an uproar.
Someone whispered, “Sister Jiangjiang is so arrogant.”
“I like it. If I’d been this amazing since I was little, I’d be arrogant too.”
“Exactly. If I were this amazing, I’d walk out the door looking at people through my nostrils.”
After the simple stage interaction, Jiang Xian was invited to the mentor seats.
She sat slightly to the left of center, with Cao Lin on her left. Silently, she thought about how to strike back at this scheming bad woman.
While she was making her little calculations inside, the host had already introduced the first contestant. The entire venue quieted down as everyone waited for the contestant to appear.
Jiang Xian moved her gaze to the stage and saw a female contestant come up holding a bass guitar. She wore a leopard-print strapless bodycon dress, black fishnet stockings, and over-the-knee patent leather boots. Around her neck, wrists, and waist hung silver accessories resembling crosses and obsidian ornaments. Her makeup was heavy, making it impossible to see what she really looked like. Her nostril, brow bone, and lips were all pierced with bright silver studs.
Once the female contestant came onstage, she briefly introduced her outfit and style, and the host also interacted with her in a friendly way. This kind of outfit belonged to a subculture.
Although Jiang Xian did not understand what kind of culture subculture was, she had never liked judging how other people dressed, so she quietly watched the performance.
The girl brought an original rock song. Its lyrics and arrangement could both be considered fairly good. She had some talent, but not much. The problem was that her voice was somewhat underwhelming. Her voice naturally carried a bubbly texture, making her pronunciation unclear.
Of course, this could also be considered her strength. Presumably, the other teachers would be able to appreciate this kind of talent.
When the song ended, Jiang Xian lazily leaned back in her chair and waited for the other mentors to fight over her.
Unexpectedly, Li Jie, who shared creative talent with the contestant, did not choose her. Instead, Cao Lin chose her.
“Xuanxuan, hello. I really like your composition, and I also like the way you dress. Although I sing traditional bel canto, the moment I heard your voice, I liked it very much. I’m also very optimistic about your songwriting.”
Hey, Cao Lin actually extended an olive branch. Jiang Xian could not sit still anymore.
When it was her turn to comment, she slowly straightened her back and tugged the microphone closer. “Xuanxuan, right? Is all that scrap metal on you worth twenty yuan a catty?”
Xuanxuan was very obviously stunned. Then she nervously lifted the microphone. “Teacher, you’re really humorous.”
Jiang Xian’s fingers tapped the microphone wire, speaking slowly and unhurriedly. “To be honest, your composition isn’t that good either. Your voice also has major flaws.” She flipped through the materials, then pointed at Xuanxuan’s profile and said, “You came from some unknown vocational music college? Tsk.”
That single “tsk” instantly made everyone fall silent.
Everyone knew that Cao Lin had just praised Xuanxuan nonstop. Jiang Xian was clearly tearing down Cao Lin’s stage right now.
At this moment, Cao Lin’s expression turned unpleasant. She smiled and said, “Teacher Jiang, you can’t say that. Are students from vocational music colleges not allowed to stand onstage?”
“Teacher Cao, right now, it’s my turn to comment.”
Jiang Xian smiled at her with one glance, signaling for her not to chatter.
The corner of Cao Lin’s mouth twitched. Her eyes emitted a light of anger that wanted to flare but had not yet flared. In the end, she awkwardly smiled and said, “Please continue.”
Jiang Xian nodded, then turned toward Xuanxuan. “So your foundation is rather poor. But overall, I appreciate you very much. Are you willing to join my team?”
At this moment, Cao Lin was shocked. Xuanxuan was shocked. The contestants below the stage, the director, and the host onstage all revealed surprised expressions as well. They had thought Jiang Xian had not taken a liking to this contestant and was therefore criticizing her. Who would have expected that the one finding fault with the goods was the actual buyer?
Xuanxuan could not help growing excited. “Teacher Jiang, is that true?”
Her two smoky eyes flashed with light, and she had already thrown Cao Lin’s olive branch beyond the ninth heaven.
“Of course.” Jiang Xian nodded. “Just don’t hang so much iron on yourself in the future. When you walk, it hurts my ears.”
Xuanxuan bowed and smiled. “No problem, no problem.”
Just like that, the first contestant Cao Lin had taken a liking to was snatched away by Jiang Xian.
Aside from that, whenever Jiang Xian encountered a contestant Cao Lin liked, regardless of whether she ultimately chose them or not, she would give them a round of verbal mockery.
For example, there was a female contestant who came up singing while dancing jazz. One could tell that she had crammed at the last minute. When she danced, her limbs did not listen to her brain at all. She touched here, scratched there. Cao Lin praised her for working hard, while Jiang Xian said, “If your body itches, go take a shower.”
Another example: one contestant came up and told everyone a joke. It was about two people on a blind date, a man and a woman chatting on WeChat.
The man: “Beauty, what are you doing?”
The woman: “I’m herding cattle.”
The man: “Stop herding cattle and come herd me, this fierce wild bull.”
Cao Lin burst into loud laughter. Only Jiang Xian coldly poured a basin of cold water over it.
“Why isn’t Teacher Jiang laughing?” the contestant asked shamelessly.
Jiang Xian was as cocky as ever. “This is a singing program. Also, your joke isn’t funny. If it were funny, Zhen would naturally laugh. Eliminated!”
In front of the television, Jing Lian saw this scene and once again deepened her bad impression of Jiang Xian. She was far too sharp-tongued.
Immediately after, she pressed the power button. The image went completely dark, and the surroundings quieted down.
After eating foods that replenished qi and blood for several days and resting for several more days, Jing Lian’s body had regained some strength. She planned to get out of bed and stroll around the market.
Xiao Ya was responsible for her outings. Knowing that she wanted to go out for a walk, she immediately selected an outfit for her and arranged transportation.
Jing Lian wore a white French-style dress, the long skirt reaching her ankles. On her feet were ginger-yellow ballet flats, and on her head was a bamboo hat of the same color. Two long silk ribbons hung from the sides. Jing Lian picked them up with slender fingers and tied them under her chin. After a soft rustle, it looked as if a butterfly the size of a round fan had landed beneath her neck.
The market was located on the beach one thousand meters to the left after leaving the villa. The two went there on foot. Xiao Ya stood on her left, holding the parasol high and following behind her at an unhurried pace.
Between four and five in the afternoon, the heat had not yet dispersed. The golden sun scattered light over the market, covering each stall in gold. Light fell through the gaps onto all kinds of dazzling jewelry and objects, making every piece look exquisite and elegant.
Jing Lian moved among the small stalls, neither hurried nor slow, never stopping for long. From time to time, stall owners greeted her warmly. The beach was never short of beautiful women dressed fashionably and boldly with exquisite makeup, but someone as plain and cold as Jing Lian was quite rare. She wore no makeup, and her lips were not painted red, naturally carrying a faint paleness. The tails of her brows drooped, giving her a soft, boneless, sickly beauty.
Someone like this always made others feel tender toward her. She usually did not respond to people, or only nodded lightly and politely refused before continuing forward.
Jing Lian seemed to be moving between the stalls, but in truth, her eyes had been fixed on the opposite shore across the sea. This island was located somewhere in the waters of Shenzhen. As for what shore it was near, she did not know.
At present, she did not know whether her whereabouts had been exposed. If the other party found her first, then she would certainly be in great danger. So what she needed to do was return home in a high-profile manner and expose herself under all forms of media. That way, her stepfather would not find it convenient to make a move, and the shareholders would also trust her.
But thinking it was one thing. She did not know exactly how to carry it out.
If any problem occurred along the way, she would lose her life in this gamble.
Thinking this, her mind had already drifted away. A man in a white suit suddenly walked toward her and bumped into her. He was tall, with wheat-colored skin, and wore a white English-style hat on his head.
Jing Lian was knocked into a stumble, her back leaning against Xiao Ya.
“Sorry, miss.”
The man gentlemanly took off his hat and bent at the waist to bow to her, his eyes looking toward her.
Jing Lian instinctively stepped back. She was not used to being too close to strangers. Even eye contact was an invasion of her private space.
Xiao Ya seemed to see this. She immediately stepped forward, put both hands on her waist, and stood in front of Jing Lian, confronting the man. “Can’t you watch where you’re going?”
“My apologies.”
The man withdrew his gaze and quickly turned to leave.
“In broad daylight, in such hot weather, what’s he wearing a full suit for?”
Xiao Ya muttered a few words, then turned around to comfort Jing Lian.
Jing Lian shook her head, indicating that she had not been harmed.
While the two lingered there, they heard a stall owner calling out from the side. “Come buy figurines! Freshly released figurines! Mini dolls of the number one female singer in the Chinese entertainment industry! Ladies, come take a look at our figurines.”
At first, Jing Lian’s gaze was not drawn over.
Xiao Ya glanced to the side, and her eyes immediately lit up. “Isn’t that Boss?”
She pulled Jing Lian over.
The stall owner energetically promoted the cloth dolls made in Jiang Xian’s image to them. “Young people like you must know her. This is Jiang Xian.”
Curious, Xiao Ya picked one up and waved it in front of Jing Lian. “It looks quite similar.”
Jing Lian could not help glancing over. The little doll wore a blue feathered evening gown, stepped in crystal high heels, and carried a white Hermès House bag on one arm. Its little expression was extremely arrogant.
That arrogance made her feel the urge to destroy it.
Unfortunately, Jiang Xian was too powerful. Jing Lian could not destroy her.
A flash of white suddenly crossed her mind. Jing Lian turned her gaze back to the cloth doll.
Just like that, she spoke the first sentence she had said since coming out.
“Boss, how much is this doll?”
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