After Transmigrating, I Bent the Female Lead O - Chapter 20
Normally, when it came to matters concerning the company’s girl group, He Lingxing only needed to provide funds and sign contracts. Most operational tasks didn’t require her direct intervention from above.
However, He Lingxing had previously given instructions and would periodically check in, so the department head and instructors for this section would contact her for important matters.
Le Jiaxuan was the youngest and prettiest girl in that group. Although she was an Alpha, she had a face that could be both sweet and cool, and her cheerful and lively personality made her very likable. He Lingxing had a strong impression of her.
“How did she break her leg just like that?”
She remembered the group was about to have its first roadshow. Girl groups usually built popularity through various promotional methods before their official debut, and their first public appearance was quite important for every member.
Of course, the girl group could perform as usual without Le Jiaxuan, but for Le Jiaxuan, who couldn’t go on stage, it was undoubtedly a devastating blow. Her popularity would be significantly lacking when the group officially debuted, especially if her injury was severe enough to prevent her from dancing for several months—the consequences would be unthinkable.
The person on the other end briefly explained the situation at the time.
Meanwhile.
In the hospital room, filled with the smell of disinfectant, the slender girl was moved from the operating table to the bed, her clear, beautiful eyes involuntarily brimming with tears.
The man in the neighboring bed was curiously observing her, his gaze not lecherous, but rather surprised. Le Jiaxuan, who always loved socializing, paid no attention to his gaze. Her pale hands clenched into fists, almost unable to suppress the trembling in her voice as she called out to the doctor:
“Excuse me… how long will it take for my leg to fully heal?”
“Fully?” The doctor, considering her identity, paused slightly, a hint of sympathy in his tone. “You’ll be able to get out of bed and walk in half a month, but you’ll need assistance or crutches. As for dancing intensely, don’t even consider it for at least a month and a half. Don’t force yourself to dance, or it might get worse.”
One and a half months?
Even in half a month, she wouldn’t be able to participate in that roadshow. One and a half months later would be close to their official debut. Would she have to take promotional photos in a wheelchair?
Fear, like dense thorns in a forest, instantly clutched her heart. Le Jiaxuan suddenly grabbed the bedrail and sat up. Her face turned pale from the pain as her movements strained her wound:
“Then is there any medicine that can make me recover faster? Any kind of medication, money is not an issue…”
“Sorry, young lady, a leg injury can’t fully heal bone perfectly in a short period. If you want to recover quickly, you can only rest. You’d best not get so agitated, or it won’t be good for your wound healing.”
Le Jiaxuan only felt a numb blankness in her mind.
It wasn’t until the doctor closed the door and left that a sudden sharp pain belatedly reached her brain.
She had merely helped an elderly person across the street, a slight delay in her movements, and as a result, she was hit by a motorcycle that suddenly rushed out from an angle, knocking her to the ground.
The speed was so blindingly fast that it was hard to see clearly. The moment she was unexpectedly struck and sent flying by that powerful force, her strongest emotion wasn’t the instinctive fear of death, but worry about her injury.
Her greatest fear wasn’t death, but that the injury would prevent her from continuing with the upcoming activities. The instant she landed, when piercing pain shot through her leg, the agony in her heart was even more intense than the physical pain.
The olive branch fate extended to her seemed like a pleasant surprise, but in reality, its other side was a bl00d-soaked blade. She had thought that being selected for this girl group would be the perfect starting point for her life, but an unfair accident dealt Le Jiaxuan a harsh blow, forcing her to face reality.
Indeed, just as her parents said, she was a useless waste, only consuming food by being kept at home.
If the motorcycle had simply killed her, perhaps she wouldn’t feel this overwhelming distress now.
Her nails dug deeply into her palms, but the pain was less than a thousandth of what she felt in her heart. The freshly done champagne-colored nail polish was pressed so hard it almost broke, yet Le Jiaxuan looked blankly at the empty white wall in front of her, feeling her vision begin to black out.
A gentle, low male voice intruded into her ears at that moment, starting with an unoriginal opening: “Hello, can I help you with something?”
After receiving the girl’s polite refusal, Murong Feng didn’t give up. Instead, he bent one arm and lightly tapped her shoulder with his knuckles. His gentle voice was like the last straw offered to a drowning person, very light, but enough to ignite the fiercest will to survive.
“If it’s a financial problem, I think I can help you solve your urgent needs.”
••••
The sudden car accident of one of the debuting girl group members, while not a devastating blow to the company’s important plans, was enough to cause significant headaches for many.
Fortunately, this girl group was not debuting through public voting or a talent show, otherwise, if the hard-working fans knew their idols had an accident, it would lead to all sorts of issues. However, silhouettes of the girls had already been released to build popularity, so finding a replacement was now of paramount importance.
This was also the common procedure for most companies.
Lin Qingyan, the leader who had a very good relationship with Le Jiaxuan, was so anxious she was almost fuming. The other members, though worried, couldn’t blame anyone, as Le Jiaxuan hadn’t wanted this to happen. They even knew that Le Jiaxuan yearned to be on that stage more than anyone.
There were actually quite a few people who could replace Le Jiaxuan. Outstanding trainees were not one in a million; the main challenge was simply coordinating them in a short amount of time.
He Lingxing had already agreed for the instructors and heads to select another trainee, but she still harbored doubts about Le Jiaxuan’s sudden car accident.
The book had very little description of He Lingxing’s storyline. Lin Qingyan, who would become one of the male lead’s harem members, and Le Jiaxuan were actually just cannon fodder characters, not appearing much. However, there was no mention of Le Jiaxuan ever being in a car accident.
This must have been a sudden plot development.
The at-fault driver was, of course, sued by He Lingxing, but drunk driving, without causing fatalities, only resulted in a few years of imprisonment, which could never repay the girl’s future.
He Lingxing naturally knew that these girls practiced day and night just to shine on stage. But fate played cruel tricks. As CEO, she couldn’t let emotions dictate her decisions and postpone the girl group’s debut plans for one Le Jiaxuan; she had to find a replacement first.
This kind of uncontrolled frustration deepened a week later, with the emergence of a new trending topic.
The hashtag #ShuMinglanMistressTakesOver# instantly surged to third place upon its appearance, even climbing to the number one “throne” under constant clicks from netizens and rapid promotion by marketing accounts, with a “HOT” red label beside it.
The trending Weibo post was also from a marketing account. It began with a long, sarcastic critique of Shu Minglan’s title as “Nation’s First Love Sister,” and then directly “dropped the hammer.”
An married actor and a woman in a trench coat were intimately standing at a hotel entrance. The slender woman stood on tiptoes to hook her arms around his neck and kiss his mouth. They kissed passionately, completely oblivious to the hidden camera filming them.
The person in the trench coat wasn’t wearing high heels. Judging by the difference in their heights, even with loose clothing, her height could be roughly estimated. The footage was clear enough to show their facial expressions distinctly. The person in the picture was closing her eyes in enjoyment, and that face, so familiar to everyone, was Shu Minglan.
She wasn’t stunning at first glance, but she indeed possessed the ability to leave a lasting impression on most people.
The internet was in an uproar, with fans from both sides and passersby tearing into each other.
He Lingxing’s cursor hovered over the black and red “HOT” character, and she gripped her mouse tightly.