Everyone Spends Money to Make Me Debut as Center (GL) - Chapter 8

What exactly Bai Chang was up to was a question Chi Rui finally got an answer to from Tang Yu on the day she departed for the residential training.

Originally, Tang Yu and Chi Rui were merely acquaintances who occasionally nodded to each other at the company; they weren’t familiar. If Chi Rui ever wanted to pass a message along, she usually went through the more approachable Bai Yuanyuan. Consequently, when they met today, things felt a bit stiff between them.

“Good morning, Sister Tang Yu.” Chi Rui had woken up early to groom herself from head to toe. She hoped to leave a good impression during her first real meeting with Tang Yu.

Tang Yu was driving a mid-sized professional van today. When Chi Rui boarded, she noticed two makeup artists sitting in the back row.

The recording was set for 8:00 AM, meaning they had to leave by 7:00 AM at the latest. Tang Yu had assumed Chi Rui would sleep in for at least half an hour before coming down, so she brought people to do her styling on the road to avoid wasting time. To her surprise, Chi Rui had come downstairs well ahead of schedule.

“Mm, morning.” Tang Yu nodded and pointed toward the two in the back. “Get your styling done while you listen to me talk. We won’t waste any time.”

“Alright,” Chi Rui complied.

Having read the original novel, she had total confidence in Tang Yu’s professional ability. She wasn’t worried that Tang Yu would sabotage her out of prejudice—that was Tang Yu’s greatest strength: she always kept her personal and professional lives strictly separate.

The makeup artist was a young girl, but her movements were experienced. Chi Rui followed her instructions to change clothes first, then tilted her chin up for the makeup application.

“I’ve watched all the practice videos you sent me last night. Your progress is very noticeable. I hope you maintain this proactive mindset during the competition. Although the company only sent two people this time, we take this very seriously. Ms. Bai Chang personally put in a lot of effort as well. Also, no matter what people outside are saying, you just focus on performing well on stage. Leave everything else to me.”

Tang Yu’s words were very skillful. She started by praising Chi Rui to make her feel comfortable, but the key was the final sentence: it was a subtle warning not to act on a whim like before, using Bai Chang’s name to apply pressure.

“Okay, I understand, Sister Tang Yu.”

Chi Rui’s sweet “Sister Tang Yu” made Tang Yu—who had expected a struggle to get her in the right headspace—a bit uncomfortable.

“You aren’t allowed to have a phone during the residential period; you should already know that. If there’s an emergency that needs my handling, contact the program team and have them pass a message.” Tang Yu handed over a business card and a photo. “This is the PD in charge of your daily life filming. If you need anything, try to find her; she’s easier to talk to.”

Chi Rui was genuinely touched that Tang Yu’s preparation was so thorough, even though she knew it was just her personality. She took the card and glanced at the name: Xi Yaozhi.

“Mind your temper during the stay. It’s best to avoid contact with the people from Lemon Entertainment.”

Lemon and HM (the agency for Bai Chang and Chi Rui) were arch-rivals. Lemon constantly bought marketing pieces to disparage HM’s artists. Their methods weren’t clever, just annoying. Tang Yu wasn’t afraid of them, but as the saying goes: Better to offend a gentleman than a scoundrel. It was better to minimize unnecessary trouble.

Chi Rui nodded. She was obedient throughout the drive, saying “yes” to everything Tang Yu said. If not for her past track record, Tang Yu would have thought she was managing a dream-client.

With one person on makeup and another on hair, the efficiency was incredible. In less than half an hour, Chi Rui was completely transformed.

Once the work was done, Tang Yu scanned her with her “24K gold” sharp eyes. Only when she was satisfied with the perfection did she let Chi Rui out of the car.

Before stepping out, Chi Rui turned around. She seemed to have been holding a question in for a long time. “Why was Bai Chang willing to let you manage me?”

Everyone knew Tang Yu was Bai Chang’s exclusive manager. Chi Rui had only hoped for someone who wouldn’t sabotage her like Zhou Ping; she hadn’t expected Bai Chang to send a “King-tier” professional down from the heavens to save her.

Tang Yu didn’t intend to hide it. “Because I’m easy to talk to. One head earns me a base monthly salary of 66,000 yuan. Bai Chang prepaid three months’ salary for me to manage you. Once the bank transfer hit, Tang Yu was ready for duty.”

The 66,000 was actually a “friendship price” Tang Yu gave Bai Chang. In return, Bai Chang hadn’t bothered with the small change when transferring the salary; she had sent a flat 200,000.

Chi Rui finally knew where that 200,000 in her system came from. Tang Yu’s explanation made her feel like the kind of problem-student a tutor dreads: You can be taught, but the money has to be right.

She also didn’t miss the useful information in Tang Yu’s words: Bai Chang only prepaid three months. This meant Bai Chang believed she wouldn’t last longer than that before being eliminated or quitting.

Indeed, in Bai Chang’s eyes, Chi Rui was a delicate lady who couldn’t even wash her own socks. Living in a collective dorm while competing in a brutal survival show was likely an unimaginable feat for her.

Fine then, Chi Rui thought. I’ll just have to work hard to stay a bit longer and swipe a few more ‘66,000s’ from my closet-pervert soon-to-be ex-wife.

The camp was located in a large building in the suburbs. Tang Yu’s car stopped at the main entrance. From inside, Chi Rui could see a massive, modern glass skyscraper.

Before this, Chi Rui had imagined the camp to be a vintage villa at the foot of a remote mountain, where she would be one of ninety-nine girls isolated for devilish training. The building standing before her amidst the bustling traffic instantly pulled her out of her exaggerated imagination. She felt like a regular office worker on her first day—excited, but the nervousness had dissipated in the gap between fantasy and reality.

“Once you get out of this car, everything is up to you. Be mentally prepared. At least try not to get eliminated in the first round.” Tang Yu’s words sounded more like a jab than encouragement, but her sincere tone was something Chi Rui appreciated.

She turned back and flashed a bright smile. “I’ll hold on until the very end.”

In the past, Tang Yu would have dismissed this as a boast. But now… after seeing a hundred practice videos and the change in her attitude, her perception of Chi Rui had shifted. Perhaps a little bit of expectation was warranted.

“Remember to keep your word.” Tang Yu revealed the first smile they’d shared since meeting.