I'm Just Getting Your Luck - Chapter 24
Talent Show
“Meow meow.”
After a soft meow, a black cat was already perched on the balcony window, looking down.
The moment the cat locked eyes with Ying Yu, who was sitting on a blue electric scooter, she pulled out a backpack and gave Long Qiuqiu a determined nod.
Everything was ready.
Three minutes later, the property management knocked on Jiang Jiuji’s door.
Jiang Jiuji, still drowsy, answered the door. The butler, accompanied by some workers, apologized:
“Hello, gas maintenance. Sorry to disturb you.”
“Come in.”
Grape, the cat, was napping in its bed on the sofa with a paw over her eyes. Jiang Jiuji went over, kissed her, and was about to carry her into the bedroom.
Unfortunately, his phone rang just then.
Being a doctor, his phone was always on and loud — Long Qiuqiu had been woken up by it multiple times.
Jiang Jiuji put Grape down and went inside to answer. When he saw the caller ID, he realized it was Ying Yu.
“Miss Ying, do you need something?”
Outside the front lobby, Ying Yu was anxiously fiddling with her fingers.
“Oh! Dr. Jiang? Sorry, wrong number.”
“It’s fine, I’ll hang up now—”
“No, wait! I just remembered something I wanted to tell you. Um, it’s about Zhou Chenyi. Didn’t he dislocate his elbow? He’s got no one to take care of him. He’s too embarrassed to contact you himself, but I know he’s thinking about you.”
Jiang Jiuji checked the time and confirmed that he was not dreaming.
Zhou Chenyi missed him? Was Ying Yu crazy or was Zhou Chenyi?
“Miss Ying, if Zhou Chenyi is really thinking that way, then it’s serious. My specialty fits — he should make an appointment and come to my hospital.”
Ying Yu was stalling Jiang Jiuji, while Grape quietly slipped past the security cameras and dashed out the front door, racing down the stairs.
Long Qiuqiu had arrived!
“Okay, I’ll pass that along to Zhou Chenyi. Goodbye, Dr. Jiang.” Ying Yu hung up, opened her messenger bag, and Long Qiuqiu jumped inside perfectly.
Ying Yu zipped the bag shut, hopped on the scooter, and sped off.
The bag was specially modified by Ying Yu — a row of ventilation holes on top, a plastic panel in front with a layer of fabric. Now the fabric was pulled back, so Long Qiuqiu could observe the outside world.
Not that she stayed inside for long. Ying Yu booked a short-stay hotel room so Long Qiuqiu could change clothes, then the two headed for the high-speed rail station.
They finally relaxed once on the train.
Ying Yu handed her a drink:
“Cat-sis, what if Jiang Jiuji notices you’re missing?”
“He’s going to work soon. If he doesn’t find me, he’s not going to skip work over it. We’ll be back tomorrow afternoon anyway — it’s just one day, no big deal.” Long Qiuqiu used Jiang Jiuji’s old tablet at home, but it was too bulky for travel, so she used Ying Yu’s instead.
The variety show recording was in the evening, but they had backstage passes, so they could go in the afternoon.
The high-speed rail was much faster than the transportation in the demon realm. Unless you could fly, the train was definitely better.
They had to follow human rules while in the human world. Sure, they could take shortcuts through the demon realm, but as they had human identities, suddenly dropping from the sky wasn’t ideal.
Long Qiuqiu had sent her desired outfits to Ying Yu in advance. Ying Yu had an entire wardrobe at home just for Long Qiuqiu’s clothes. But she rarely got to wear them, so she took every chance she could to dress up and take pictures for the memories.
Ying Yu brought two large suitcases — both filled with Long Qiuqiu’s outfits.
After arriving at the hotel and grabbing a meal, Long Qiuqiu had already changed six times.
The hotel room became her runway. Ying Yu was the tripod, snapping photos nonstop.
“Cat-sis, time to go. Zhu Yinghan’s car is already downstairs waiting.” Ying Yu yawned and looked in the mirror, realizing her black hair had grown out again above her ears.
“Coming, coming.” Long Qiuqiu finished her makeup and twirled in front of Ying Yu. She wore a blue denim skirt covering her thighs and had her hair tied up in a cute little bun on top, while the rest flowed over her shoulders.
“How do I look? Aren’t I stealing the show?”
“Sis, we’re audience members, not contestants.” Ying Yu noticed what looked like a tattoo on her shoulder. “When did you get a tattoo?”
“It’s a sticker. Washes off when we get back.” Long Qiuqiu pulled out a silver highlighter and added a few glowing strokes to both of their shoulders, grabbed her bag, and they headed out.
From a distance, they could already see fan-made flower walls and banners. The buses were covered with support ads.
A familiar photo flashed by, and Ying Yu wasn’t sure if she imagined it.
The driver dropped them off at the backstage entrance.
Inside, it was buzzing with noise — rehearsals were in full swing.
They grabbed some free fan drinks at the entrance — mango coconut milk — and watched the performances from the audience section. Just as they were about to leave, a girl with a walkie-talkie rushed over and blocked them:
“Where do you two think you’re going?!”
??
The girl grabbed both of them without explanation and yelled into her walkie-talkie:
“Yeah, I’ve got them. They were standing in front of the stage. I’m taking them to the rehearsal room now.”
They were dragged to the rehearsal room door, where upbeat music was blasting inside.
A staff member shoved them inside:
“The live broadcast starts in two hours. I don’t care how, just memorize the dance. Someone will teach you your positions. Pay attention!”
“Wait, wait—” Ying Yu braced against the doorframe. “You’ve got the wrong people! We’re not here to dance — we’re just audience members.”
Zhu Yinghan’s phone wasn’t connecting, so Ying Yu had no choice but to show their backstage passes.
“Zhu Yinghan invited us — we’re really just here to watch!”
The staffer eyed them suspiciously.
Plenty of people were good-looking, but not many looked good on camera.
Plus, they were dressed in matching outfits — same clothes, coordinated colors. Their style matched the team rehearsing inside perfectly. Long Qiuqiu had even done stage makeup for both of them to match the vibe.
Two girls had bailed last-minute from the 100-member group, and if they weren’t replaced, it would cause a major live broadcast error. This was the first public recording — no mistakes allowed.
The girl refused to let them leave and even called in a senior staff member.
“These two are clearly trying to sneak in with stolen passes from Zhu’s trainees who ran off. You’ve already tried running off a few times. I won’t let you leave! Start rehearsing — I’ll find Zhu myself.”
Long Qiuqiu quickly adapted, blending perfectly with the dance crew — even coaching Ying Yu on blocking.
This was hell. Ying Yu was breaking down. She couldn’t dance — all she knew was military drills!
The dance coach guided her:
“Ying Yu, you need to smile. Uh… you look like your life is falling apart. A real smile — from the heart. Squint your eyes — yes!”
The two girls who had fled were rich girls chasing their dreams in showbiz.
They couldn’t handle the grueling night rehearsals and bailed. Their penalty fees were already wired to the company, and no one could persuade them to return — they were already on a flight to Thailand.
After hanging up, Zhu Yinghan exhaled smoke.
“Drop that dance number. Missing two is too obvious.”
His assistant smiled and handed him coffee:
“No need to drop it — we found replacements. They’re learning the dance right now. They’re actually doing great.”
“They’re back?” Zhu Yinghan was baffled. “Impossible. They’re gone.”
“For real — Xiao Zhao found them. I just got the update.”
Zhu Yinghan opened WeChat. Ying Yu had called him seventeen times.
Last message:
[Han-ge, no phones during rehearsal — come rescue me!]
“Holy—!”
Zhu Yinghan sprinted downstairs.
—
Zhou Chenyi got a call from the police station — the missing scooter had been found. He and Ying Yu needed to go sign for it.
Z: The scooter’s found. Want to go pick it up this afternoon?
He sent the message in the morning, but by 6 PM, there was still no reply.
Zhou Chenyi called, but no one picked up.
“That’s odd…”
Just then, Jiang Jiuji called.
“Can you get in touch with Ying Yu?”
“Not at the moment. Why?”
“Grape’s missing. I checked the cameras and can’t find her. I was hoping Ying Yu could help.”
He’d discovered Grape was missing that morning. He looked everywhere, even switched shifts with a coworker.
What if something had happened?
Could it be revenge from that thief who’d stolen the watch?
Zhou Chenyi hung up and rushed out. At Ying Yu’s building, he called several times with no answer. Just then, he ran into a neighbor he’d seen in the hallway before.
“Hi, have you seen the resident of 303 today?”
“She left this morning with some suitcases. Not sure where she went.” The neighbor muttered, “Lots of people have been looking for her today.”
“Who else?”
Just then, a middle-aged couple and a young boy came downstairs. The boy looked like he was in elementary school.
“Those people,” the neighbor said, then left.
Zhou Chenyi didn’t move.
Something about them felt very unlike Ying Yu.
The middle-aged man looked at him like a predator — sizing him up, calculating. It made Zhou Chenyi uncomfortable. The woman was aging but still striking, her expression sharp. She was dragging a large black suitcase. Behind her, the boy held a tablet blaring a loud shooting game.
“She clearly lives here — I can smell her!”
“She won’t open the door, what do you want me to do?”
“She can’t stay inside forever. She doesn’t have a job anymore? We’ll wait here until she comes out. I will teach her a lesson.”
“Don’t be like this — we need to talk things out. Don’t be so aggressive.”
“I raised her this long — she will do what I say!”
“Okay okay, keep your voice down. Don’t let Gao Gao hear. Let’s take him to the hotel — no use waiting here.”
As they turned to look his way, Zhou Chenyi quickly got into his car.
The Bentley pulled out and waited at the complex entrance. Soon, the three came out and turned into a small alley.
“Follow them — keep your distance. Don’t let them notice.”
“Got it.”
Night fell. A red neon hotel sign lit up, and dinner smells wafted from nearby restaurants.
The three argued with the hotel front desk about prices before heading upstairs.
Still no response from Ying Yu. Zhou Chenyi frowned, waiting.
As soon as her call came in, he answered immediately.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“I… I’m in Shanghai for a show recording. Not convenient to talk now — let’s talk tomorrow.”
“Shanghai?”
At least she wasn’t in Jincheng.
He remembered Ying Yu had been looking at some talent show’s official website. These shows often recruited audience members online — she’d probably gone to be an audience member.
His brows relaxed a bit.
“When are you coming back? I’ll have the driver pick you up.”
“We took the scooter to the high-speed rail station. No need.”
The live show was about to start in 10 minutes. Chaos everywhere — mics being clipped, lights adjusted, audience guided in.
A stagehand walked past Long Qiuqiu:
“What’s on your shoulder? Tattoos aren’t allowed on camera — makeup, cover that up!”
Zhou Chenyi vaguely remembered the show name.
When he got home, Zhou Fan was playing on a tablet. Zhou Chenyi grabbed it and opened a streaming platform — sure enough, a talent show was broadcasting live.
It had already been going for 20 minutes.
“Uncle, you like talent shows?” Zhou Fan leaned over. “These sisters are pretty, but Sister Ying Yu is the prettiest. You’re not allowed to sneak looks at others!”
“Kid, you sure know a lot.” Zhou Chenyi just wanted to see if the camera ever panned to Ying Yu, but even after several crowd shots, there was no sign of her.
Not surprising. So many people — finding Ying Yu would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
The crowd suddenly erupted in cheers.
A new song started.
Just as he was about to put the tablet down, Zhou Chenyi’s eyes snapped back to the stage — to the girl on the far end.
Ying Yu?! Why is she on stage?!