Divorce Application - Chapter 38.1
Chapter 38.1: Backing Her Up
Zhao Qiran’s threat was like a small stone dropped on a lake. Before it could create many ripples, it was swallowed by the calm surface of the water.
Liu Sinan packaged the phone recording and sent it to Lan Qi.
Nan: No need to rush to fight back. Let’s slowly gather evidence first.
Lan Qi quickly replied with a message, and also told Liu Sinan the results of the investigation she had asked her to do before.
Lan: Many of Zhao Qiran’s businesses have been seized by the relevant departments. The charges, both big and small, are mainly for illegal business operations, but we can definitely uncover other things.
Lan:
You can watch this video. If we can confirm and nail Zhao Qiran, she’ll have a hard time getting away with it.
Liu Sinan wasn’t interested in Zhao Qiran’s misdeeds.
Nan: What else is there besides that? What did Li Jinping do?
Lan: CEO Li’s actions this time are huge, and her plans are very thorough. She’s almost targeted every industry and company that Zhao Qiran is involved in. It’s probably not a whim. She must have been collecting evidence for a long time. Zhao Qiran definitely won’t be able to get away with it this time.
Nan: No wonder Zhao Qiran is so angry. I guessed it was because of Li Jinping. Zhao Qiran used her power to maliciously edit the show and lead netizens to launch a large-scale personal attack and smear my image. She must have put what Li Jinping did to her on me. Remember to collect evidence. We’ll sue everyone who verbally insulted and slandered me afterward.
Liu Sinan thought that Zhao Qiran was really funny. She didn’t dare to cause trouble for Li Jinping, but instead, she went after her.
Li Jinping’s plan was thorough and hit the mark, which was why it had such a powerful effect.
On the other hand, Zhao Qiran was too stupid. Her malicious editing alone was too much. How could such a foolish woman have the audacity to compare herself to Li Jinping?
It’s not that Zhao Qiran deleted something that wasn’t there. For example, if a contestant, dissatisfied with the rules of the show, threw a table and a chair and cursed, and then admitted their mistake and apologized to others. If the production team wanted to create a buzz, they could release the clip of the contestant getting angry as a preview, or they could edit out his apology in the show, making the audience criticize him.
Because the contestant getting angry due to dissatisfaction with the rules was a fact, deleting the apology afterward wouldn’t change the fact that he had gotten angry and lost control.
But Liu Sinan had been quiet and honest from the beginning to the end. She danced when she was told to, and she danced pretty well. She did the spin when she was told to, and she only told them honestly when she really couldn’t hold on.
The production team was determined to edit black into white. After a few days, when the netizens got tired of cursing, someone would probably notice that something was wrong.
In the next few days, Liu Sinan still went to the dance studio to rehearse.
She called Sheng Ge. “Are you coming back?”
In the background of Sheng Ge’s phone call was a powerful male tenor’s voice, and she said, “I’m coming back.”
Liu Sinan said, “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”
When Sheng Ge came back sluggishly, a director from the production team even came out to greet her at the door. Sheng Ge suggested that everyone should have their own separate dance studio to avoid interfering with each other. The director immediately led her to a clean and spacious small dance studio.
Sheng Ge put her things down and called Liu Sinan over.
“Let’s practice together. After we’re done, we’ll go to the big dance studio to film some harmonious shots,” Sheng Ge’s backpack was stuffed with all kinds of snacks. She picked up a bag of watermelon seeds and said helplessly, “I used to love these when I was five. I stopped loving them after I broke my teeth in elementary school. Why did my granddad still give them to me?”
She had gone back to her granddad’s house in a fit of anger and complained about the production team’s disgusting actions. Her granddad immediately called one of the directors from the production team. The director had said submissively that it was an accident and a bunch of other things, and he was probably feeling guilty.
“I’m so envious of you,” Liu Sinan said in an exaggerated tone, picking up the watermelon seeds she had thrown aside. “My granddad passed away more than ten years ago. And even if he were still here, he wouldn’t support me in the entertainment industry. If he heard about this, he would probably tell me to go home.”
Sheng Ge scratched her head. “…My granddad is actually pretty similar. He told me that I should just quit the show, but I insisted on finishing the dance.”
“People of that generation are all pretty stubborn. But you can’t really call it stubborn. It’s more of a feeling of concern,” Sheng Ge said, sitting next to Liu Sinan. “It’s not as comfortable to be in front of the camera as it is at home. It’s not as easy to make money by dancing for others and pleasing them as it is to sit in a company.”
“It’s not just my granddad. Everyone of his generation, like my grand-aunt and the others, all have the same idea,” Sheng Ge added after a moment of thought.
It took Liu Sinan a moment to realize who she was talking about when she said “grand-aunt.”
She gave her a deadpan look and moved away a little. “Who did you give your emotional intelligence to?”
“My granddad doesn’t even have that,” Sheng Ge said with a grin, leaning closer. “So I don’t have it either.”
“Don’t have what?”
A knock came from the door, and then it opened a crack. A person peeked in and greeted them.
Their ears perked up, and they said in shock, “Ms. Han?”
Han Lanxi walked in with a smile. “I heard your voices when I was passing by, so I wanted to come in and take a look. Am I interrupting?”
Sheng Ge was already blushing shamelessly. She stood up, at a loss for what to do. “No, no, you’re not interrupting. You’re a ray of sunshine in our humble abode.”
Liu Sinan stood up and subtly nudged Sheng Ge, telling her to go and get the bag Han Lanxi was holding.
Liu Sinan smiled at Han Lanxi. During the rehearsals, Han Lanxi hadn’t made it back from abroad. During the actual performance, their order was at the beginning and the end. She also wasn’t there during the team selection. To be precise, this was the first time she was meeting this legendary acting genius, the new film empress, and the other person who received a vote from Ms. Bai Mei.
From the moment her voice was heard to the moment she walked into the dance studio, she gave off a refreshing and crisp feeling, like a clear mountain stream. When she stood there, it was as if snow was falling from a thousand mountains behind her. Her eyes, especially, were as clear as a salt lake in the middle of the country, making it impossible to look away.
Han Lanxi smiled and handed her bag to Sheng Ge. She sat down cross-legged in front of them and got straight to the point. “I’ve watched your dance, Ms. Liu, and I really like it. I chose modern dance. I want to practice with you and get some pointers.”
Besides her friends, this was the first time she had heard a contestant in the same competition praise her dancing.
When Han Lanxi spoke, she was always looking at them. Her clear eyes made them feel that she was being sincere and not hypocritical.
Liu Sinan almost blushed too. Han Lanxi was truly beautiful, and it was easy to get flustered when she stared at you. Fortunately, Li Jinping was a little more imposing than Han Lanxi, so Liu Sinan was used to being stared at by Li Jinping. She managed to keep her composure and said, “Not at all. I’m the one who admires your dancing, Ms. Han.”
“That’s because my teacher, Ms. Yang, forced me to practice for more than half a year,” Han Lanxi’s eyes were very gentle. “I couldn’t dance at all before.”
“Couldn’t dance?” Liu Sinan and Sheng Ge were equally shocked. She was the other person who got a vote from Ms. Bai Mei.
Han Lanxi smiled. “Maybe because I grew up at the foot of a snowy mountain and didn’t have any systematic training, and with Ms. Yang’s choreography, I’m able to present something more natural.”
Liu Sinan nodded in understanding, then suddenly looked up. “Then I definitely can’t teach you!”
“To be precise, I’m not asking you to teach me. We can learn from each other,” Han Lanxi paused here. “It’s just that I want to find a good atmosphere to practice dancing in.”
In this production team, besides them, only Li Chaoran was seriously practicing dancing.
Unfortunately, Li Chaoran was in the male dormitory.
The three of them looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
The practice continued steadily. The production team’s camera peeked in several times, but in the end, they left with the camera.
Sheng Ge was young and got hungry easily, so she went to eat snacks halfway through. Liu Sinan and Han Lanxi were left to adjust their moves in front of the mirror.
Han Lanxi’s next move was a wave with her arm and shoulder, like a fish swimming forward in the sea. Liu Sinan stopped and walked behind her to help her adjust the degree of her shoulder tuck.
When she left, Han Lanxi said softly, “I saw the trending topics online.”
Before Liu Sinan could react, Han Lanxi continued, “Don’t be afraid of these little tricks. What’s fake can’t be made real. I’m rooting for you.”
Liu Sinan stopped behind her and nodded lightly. “Thank you.”
Han Lanxi turned around, with a look of experience in her eyes. “You’re a very generous person. You’re not willing to spend your time and attention on insignificant people. I used to be a lot like you.”
“But in the entertainment industry, you have to be on guard against others. You have to save some of your energy for the disgusting people, not to pay attention to them, but to be ready to stay away from them in time.”
Liu Sinan looked at Han Lanxi’s sincere eyes and hesitated. “Are you talking about Feng Mingming?”
“The world is a hustle and bustle, all for profit,” Han Lanxi said. “Are you wondering why Feng Mingming is targeting you like this?”
Liu Sinan paused, looked down, and pinched her fingers. She asked tentatively, “Is it because of… Zhao Qiran? Is she Feng Mingming’s backer?”
Han Lanxi shook her head slightly. “Feng Mingming’s sugar daddy isn’t Zhao Qiran. Feng Mingming just formed a partnership with Zhao Qiran.”
“Think about it. What else have you been targeted for on the show?” Han Lanxi said.
Liu Sinan went over her experience of joining the show. Sure enough, as Han Lanxi said, she had forgotten many things and didn’t bother to care about them, but they had left many hidden dangers for her. She thought of someone and said softly, “You Yiyang?”
Han Lanxi didn’t say anything else and turned to continue her dance moves.
Sheng Ge held up her snacks and called Liu Sinan to eat. Liu Sinan walked over calmly, calmly opened a bag of konjac jelly, and chewed on it with her head down.
Li Jinping’s warning to her came to mind.
“Feng Mingming is a very cunning and malicious person.”
With Feng Mingming’s status, participating in “Crossover Dance Queen” was just barely acceptable. It was impossible for her to have a bigger waiting room than her.
Even if Feng Mingming had a good figure and her dancing was pleasing to the eye, judging by the audience’s reaction during Liu Sinan’s performance, which almost blew the roof off, Liu Sinan wasn’t the captain. The title of captain for Feng Mingming was definitely not well-deserved.
Liu Sinan wouldn’t normally think about these things. Everyone has a backer. She just thought that Feng Mingming had someone backing her up.
But later, Feng Mingming’s deliberate guidance of her words, coupled with the production team’s malicious editing, made Liu Sinan believe that Feng Mingming’s sugar daddy was Zhao Qiran.
Zhao Qiran knew that her wrist was injured, so she ordered Feng Mingming to give her the “prop on the ground spin” move. Zhao Qiran wanted to get revenge on Li Jinping, so she ordered Feng Mingming to guide her into saying things that would be misunderstood.
But it wasn’t.