A Pair of Evil Women's Love - Chapter 30

Chapter 30

The Practice Room

<center>…“That move isn’t quite right,” in the rehearsal room, Lu Jing reached out and tapped Fu Yilan’s shoulder…</center>

Fu Haitang: “…”

Fu Haitang looked up. Lu Jing was fine-tuning the details for each person, and he had just gotten to Fu Yilan.

This interaction between the male and female leads is a big, important plot point in the novel!

<center>Fu Yilan was very focused, following Lu Jing’s guidance. Countless jealous and envious gazes were cast her way, but Fu Yilan seemed not to notice at all.</center>

Fu Haitang: “…”

“Ugh—” Fu Haitang waved her hands, as if swatting away non-existent mosquitoes, and told herself to focus on her own work. “Stop looking!”

<center>Fu Yilan chuckled softly. “Thank you, Teacher Lu. With that adjustment, the move looks so much better.”</center>

But even if she didn’t look, the plot would still uncontrollably worm its way into her mind.

Fu Haitang closed her eyes and asked a colleague, “What time does the viewing session start?”

The camera operator was getting a close-up and asked, “Isn’t it at 9 p.m.? Didn’t you see the message?”

Fu Haitang blinked slowly, then pulled out her phone and scrolled through all her work chats. “No.”

The word about Fu Haitang had already gotten around the station. The camera operator, being a shrewd person, guessed what was going on and gave an awkward laugh. “Uh… It’s fine. Just grab a notebook and come with me. It’s not like anyone’s going to kick you out, is it?”

She was back on set, but she was still a marginalized figure.

Fu Haitang frowned. It seemed Ren Qing had a deep-seated grudge against her. She was willing to waste money to keep her around but wasn’t willing to let her participate in any important work.

What exactly happened?

<center>…Lu Jing was disciplined and polite; his every move was measured. Fu Yilan was drawn in by his grace…</center>

“Ugh!” Fu Haitang said in exasperation. “Since there’s nothing for me to do tonight, I’m heading off.”

The camera operator: “Why are you trying to attract more hate?”

Fu Yilan glanced at Fu Haitang’s back out of the corner of her eye. The moment she was gone, Fu Yilan’s smile vanished. She politely declined Lu Jing’s offer. “I’ve got it. Thank you, Teacher Lu.”

Lu Jing stepped back. “Good. You’re very talented. Keep up the good work.”

Fu Yilan nodded.

Lu Jing checked the time and said, “There are two hours until 10 o’clock. Everyone, use your time wisely to practice. We’ll have a mini-test in the studio at 10 sharp. The trainee who has already secured the center position can watch with the mentors and learn from the strengths of the other trainees.”

The last half of that sentence was clearly meant for Fu Yilan. Among the 79 trainees, only the trainee with the most votes from the first public performance was guaranteed a spot as the center for the second.

Everyone looked at Fu Yilan, and their gazes made her feel like there were thorns in her back. She raised her hand to rub her arm and forced a smile. “I’ll study hard.”

Li Qingqing stepped forward. “Teacher Lu, does this mean that from now on, whoever gets the most votes in a public performance can watch the mini-test with the mentors?”

Fang Qian: “I want to know too. I’m sure everyone else does as well!”

Chen Na sighed and whispered, “I definitely don’t.”

Lu Jing: “The rules for the second public performance aren’t clear yet. But since you asked, I assume you’re confident you can win the top spot in the second performance?”

Fang Qian suddenly stammered. “…I, I didn’t mean that. I just feel that if the rules aren’t like this later, it might be a little unfair.”

Lu Jing: “Don’t question the show’s production. As long as you’re strong enough, you’ll definitely debut! Do you understand?”

“Understood!” Lu Jing’s words resonated, and he quickly settled down the trainees in Class D.

As it neared 10 p.m., the groups dispersed, and everyone headed to the studio for the mini-test.

This was a key moment before the official performance.

Fu Yilan picked up her backpack. As she passed by Li Qingqing and Fang Qian, she leaned in and said softly, “So jealous of me? Then I wish you success.”

“Fu Yilan!” Fang Qian exploded, but Li Qingqing held her back, telling her to calm down.

Li Qingqing: “Fu Yilan, don’t get too happy too soon. What goes around comes around.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Fu Yilan said with a faint smile.

…

10 p.m.

Fu Yilan sat in a seat next to the mentors. The others at the table were musician Shen Hai, celebrity producer Yi Bingchi, and renowned host Fu Rongdie.

Together with Lu Jing, they made up the mentor panel for A Station’s Show of Groups 07.

With two minutes left before filming began, the mentors chatted. Each of them was surrounded by at least three staff members, who checked their hair and makeup before the cameras rolled.

Fu Yilan was surprised by the extravagant display the mentors had.

“Here comes Teacher Lu,” Fu Rongdie said, opening one eye and automatically ignoring Fu Yilan, who was walking behind him. “Ah, everyone’s working overtime again. Thank you for all your hard work.”

Shen Hai laughed. “I’m just doing the song arrangements for the students. My work is pretty much done. The next three days are for you guys to work on the choreography.”

Yi Bingchi: “You’re joking. It’s all for the show.”

With that one statement, the difference in their professionalism was immediately clear, making Shen Hai and Fu Rongdie seem selfish.

The air froze for three seconds.

So many hidden plots in this seemingly harmonious mentor group, Fu Yilan thought to herself.

Fu Yilan didn’t say a word, sitting on the side like a transparent person. She propped her face up and zoned out, and was surprised to see a fleeting glimpse of Fu Haitang on a large monitor.

The camera operator wouldn’t lie to me, would he?

Fu Haitang, though marginalized by her boss, was not defeated. No matter what, this can’t be worse than starting from zero, she thought, clenching her fists to give herself a pep talk.

Fu Yilan smiled faintly.

(Idiot, you’re in the shot.)

Her phone chimed, but the noise on set was too loud for her to hear it. Fu Yilan raised her phone to record a video.

“What are you filming?” Lu Jing asked.

At the same time, the camera on the monitor panned to catch a glimpse of the camera’s lens.

Fu Yilan felt a strange sense of looking at someone across a great distance.

Lu Jing: “You can’t film here.”

“Thanks for the reminder, Teacher Lu.” Fu Yilan put away her phone.

“And… action!” As the cameras in the mentor observation room began rolling, the mentors who had just been cold-faced instantly put on perfect smiles.

Fu Rongdie took control. “Hello, friends in front of the TV, good evening! It’s been a while, have you missed us? Come, come, come, let’s take a look at the trainees today. Oh! That’s right, I almost forgot to introduce our mentor panel!”

“Also, we have a surprise for everyone! We have a special guest in our observation room tonight~”

“Ta-da!”

The camera swung over. Fu Yilan pursed her lips, a dimple showing. She gave a controlled, shy greeting to the camera. “Hello, everyone. I’m Fu Yilan.”

“Wow, our Lanlan looks absolutely beautiful today,” Fu Rongdie said, then suddenly forgot her line. The director on set called “cut.” Fu Rongdie picked up her script and continued, “Lanlan, how is your recovery?”

Fu Yilan naturally transitioned her surprised expression into a touched one at being cared for. “I’m doing great. It was just a little smoke. I’ve been recovered for a while now.”

Fu Rongdie: “Hmm, I heard that our Instructor Fu from Class D wasn’t there that day either. That’s so strange. Lanlan, was it really just you on the day of the fire?”

Fu Yilan’s expression turned cold.

The observation room fell silent. The high-definition camera gently zoomed in, as if to record her every changing expression.

“Watch the rhythm,” Lu Jing interjected, breaking the tense atmosphere. “Tell the trainees in the studio to get ready.”

“Oh, goodness!” Fu Rongdie waved her hand. “I just wanted to comfort our top idol. You all should say a few words. Otherwise, when they edit it, they’ll say we mentors are being cold to newcomers!”

“That’s good, that’s good,” Shen Hai and Yi Bingchi said in agreement.

Lu Jing also said a few words of concern to Fu Yilan. After the observation room scene, the camera switched back to the trainees in the studio.

The filming wasn’t interrupted. It seemed that after post-production editing, Fu Rongdie’s moment of making things difficult would simply vanish.

Fu Yilan felt a layer of sweat on her palm. She then noticed that everyone else’s seat had a copy of the script in front of them, with a few extra papers under it. Her own seat was empty.

Fu Rongdie clearly knew that her main task for the night was to have Fu Yilan clarify her absence from the first public performance due to the fire. Why didn’t anyone tell me?

It seemed that being in the spotlight wasn’t so easy after all. Fu Yilan looked up, her gaze once again meeting Fu Haitang in the bottom right corner of the screen. Her phone vibrated.

Fu Yilan lowered her gaze, like she was cheating in a test for the first time in her life. She lowered her head and discreetly pulled out her phone from under the table to open WeChat.

A screenshot lay in her chat with Fu Haitang.

Two sentences were attached to the image.

Fu Haitang: (This is a simplified script, which is the main point of discussion in the observation room tonight. Take a look. Fu Rongdie is a well-known host and interviewer, so be careful of her intentionally making things difficult. The chart has a few sections related to you that she might use to trip you up. Think of what you’ll say in advance to get past it.)

Fu Haitang: (I’m here. Don’t be afraid.)

Fu Yilan’s stiff shoulders suddenly relaxed. She put her phone away, her thoughts uncontrollably drifting. If making things difficult for her was Gu Jingjing’s order…

Then what was the reason for this repeated help, for this timely assistance? Whose orders was she following now?