Another hour passed by. Lunch time was over. The employees returned to their work after eating.
The Alarm Girls were hungry and angry. They snapped at their manager who offered to buy them lunch, telling them that they should eat while waiting.
'Fine, if you don't wanna eat then don't eat. Hmph!' he thought as he chewed on another biscuit.
Finally, after more than five hours of waiting. Mr. Chen's secretary stepped out of the elevator and found them.
She introduced herself in a detached, professional manner, observing the bedraggled appearances of the three girls. She inwardly shook her head at the girls' stupidity and bad luck for offending someone they shouldn't have offended. Only someone with a screw loose would dare offend Jin Corporation, yet these girls did.
"Hello," the manager immediately greeted the secretary with a fawning smile. "These are Wanwan, Feifei and Mimi. They're the Alarm Girls and I'm their manager. Is Mr. Chen ready to see us?"
"We've been waiting for five hours," Wanwan grumbled.
The secretary cast a cold look at the complaining girl.
The manager laughed awkwardly. He wanted to knock some sense into the stupid girl's head. He smiled at the secretary. "Please lead the way. We are looking forward to meeting with Mr. Chen."
The secretary inwardly sighed at being assigned the unpleasant job of informing these unfortunate girls that they waited for so long in vain. Alas, her boss had no d.e.s.i.r.e to meet them in person. She cleared her throat and spoke in a cold tone.
"Miss Wanwan, Miss Feifei, Miss Mimi, Mr. Manager. I regret to inform you that our company cannot continue on with this endors.e.m.e.nt deal with you. There are issues that cropped up at the last minute and we decided that the Alarm Girls aren't the best fit to endorse our products. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we stand behind our final decision. We wish you good luck on your career. The exit is that way. Please stay safe on the road. Have a good day."
The manager blinked. His mind turned blank. W-what? This wasn't happening, right? He worked so hard and so long to obtain this deal. H-how come? What in the world happened?
The three girls also froze, not believing what they just heard. The endors.e.m.e.nt deal was off? Just like that?
No way.
Wanwan: "What the hell are you saying? Say that again!"
The secretary ignored the girl's attitude and spoke in a cold voice. "Our company has decided that the endors.e.m.e.nt agreement with you is now cancelled. After much consideration, we believe that your group is not suitable to endorse our products. Please kindly leave because Mr. Chen will not be meeting with you."
"Wait! I…there must be some mistake," the manager said. He was sweating hard. "I talked with Mr. Chen a number of times and he assured me that the endors.e.m.e.nt deal will be given to my girls."
"Mr. Manager, there is no such thing as a sure thing in the business world, especially if the contract is not signed yet. I'm sure you know that." The secretary made a show of looking at her wristwatch. "Please excuse me. I am quite busy at the moment. The exit is right there. Please show yourselves out."
Feifei couldn't take it anymore. She had been the most understanding while they were forced to wait for hours. Now that they learned that they waited for nothing, she felt furious.
"Is this how you treat your endorsers?! You made us wait for more than five hours! If the deal is off, you should've told us earlier! Then we wouldn't have waited all this time!"
"Miss Feifei, you are mistaken. First of all, we treat our endorsers very well. Some of the successful ones even launched their own nail polish line with us. Many of them are our bestsellers. Second of all, you are not our endorsers so we don't have any obligation to you."
"You! How dare you?!" Mimi shrieked. Her voice was so shrill that it echoed across the entire lobby, attracting a lot of attention.
People stopped what they were doing and looked at their direction. Many of the employees recognized Mr. Chen's secretary. Some of them called for security to intervene just in case the undisciplined girls hurt their fellow colleague.
They already had a bad impression of the girls, especially after hearing them badmouthing their company earlier. Now they were even shouting at Mr. Chen's secretary. Were they crazy? How dare they?
"Calm down, girls," their manager told them. "Let's try to talk this out. I'm sure there must be some kind of mistake."
Wanwan: "Calm down?! Mistake?! They made us wait for more than five f*cking hours and now they're telling us that the endors.e.m.e.nt deal is off! How do you expect us to calm down?! This is all your fault! You're such an incompetent manager! You can't even connect us with a reputable company!"
"And what do you mean by that, Miss Wanwan? Are you saying that our company is not reputable?" The secretary's voice became colder.
Svu lofzout jmzcare dmz ovu hmqnfrw larhu lvu ezftpfout dzmq prasuzlaow. Svu vft mriw uknuzaurhut jmzcare dmz ovu hmqnfrw frt jfl suzw imwfi om ao.
Wanwan: "That's exactly what I'm saying! Because if you're really reputable, how can you treat us this way?! You're just a bunch of losers with trashy products! Who wants to endorse your cheap nail polish! We don't!"
The manager was already beyond panicking. Everything was ruined! These idiotic girls ruined all his hard work!
"I see. That's good to hear because our company doesn't want to work with you either. We don't associate with conceited spoiled brats like you who think too highly of yourselves. Who do you think you are? There are a lot of other girl groups who are more deserving to become our endorsers than you. If you don't have any more business with our company, please leave or do you want someone to show you where the exit is?"
"You b*tch!" Wanwan pounced at the secretary, pulling hard at her hair.
The secretary wasn't a pushover either. She slapped and scratched at Wanwan's face.
Of course, Feifei and Mimi jumped into the fray, ganging up on the secretary. Feifei and Mimi held the secretary while Wanwan attacked with all her might.
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.
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The manager was so shocked that he wasn't able to react in time. He was frozen and stared with blank eyes at the women viciously fighting like wild beasts in front of him.
Security guards quickly ran over to separate the women.
The employees all came over, concerned and curious. They pulled and supported Mr. Chen's secretary, protecting her from the uncivilized girls who dared bully their colleague right in front of them in their own territory.
What audacity!
Mr. Chen's secretary was in a sorry state. Her clothes were ripped. There were small bald spots on her head where clumps of hair were pulled out. There were scratches and bruises all over her face and body. Her mouth was bleeding and she had a nasty black eye.
Wanwan was also scratched and had a couple of bruises, but she was in a much better condition than the secretary. Feifei and Mimi, on the other hand, had no injuries on them at all. They only looked disheveled.
One look and it was plain for everyone to see who the real victim of this altercation was.
Each of the Alarm Girls were held by a security guard. They were struggling and shrieking about physical assault and s.e.x.u.a.l harassment. The security guards restraining them were males.
The receptionist was on the phone calling for the police.
The manager finally regained sense and realized how deep the trouble the stupid girls fell into this time. He immediately rebuked the girls, ignoring their ferocious glares, and bowed and apologized to everyone, especially to Mr. Chen's secretary.
He was, as expected, ignored and even denounced.
Soon after, the police arrived.
Seeing the police officers, the Alarm Girls finally panicked. Mimi broke down in tears, sobbing hysterically. Wanwan blanched but determination flashed across her fierce eyes. Feifei trembled but the same determination also appeared on her expression.
The three girls realized that they totally lost control of themselves and the situation today. Ever since the altercation with that b*tch Iris Long last Friday at "MusicFest Tonight" and receiving an official order from their management company the day after to apologize to the b*tch, they were all in a foul mood for the entire weekend.
They thought that everything would turn for the better once they seal this endors.e.m.e.nt deal, but they were instead forced to wait for more than five hours. They were hungry, angry, and frustrated. But in the end, they were told that the endors.e.m.e.nt deal was off the table. It was the final straw which triggered the volcano of negative emotions that they were bottling up the entire weekend. They just exploded.
The police officers started asking questions to gain an understanding of what happened.
The manager knew that the situation spiralled out of control, so he insisted that he and his girls wouldn't answer any questions from the police without the presence of their lawyer. He immediately contacted their management company to ask for a lawyer and instructions on how to handle the situation.
Although the Alarm Girls and their manager refused to respond to the police officers' questioning, Mr. Chen's secretary and the people who witnessed the entire thing were more than willing to recount what really happened. Some of them even recorded the incident on their mobile phones.
Unlofazl, Mz. Cvur zuhuasut f hfii dzmq ovu zuhunoamralo. Adouz vufzare jvfo vfnnurut om val luhzuofzw, vu vpzzaut om ovu uiusfomz frt zfr tmjrlofazl om ovu imggw.
When he arrived at the scene and saw his secretary's sorry state, he was absolutely livid. How dare these girls beat up his secretary?!
"Why didn't someone call for an ambulance?!" he yelled. "My secretary is injured! She's even bleeding! Hurry up!"
"Mr. Chen, don't worry. We already called and the ambulance is on its way," someone informed him.
"Sir…" The secretary finally broke down and cried when her boss arrived. Her hands touched the bald spots on her head. "My hair…"
Mr. Chen finally noticed the bald spots on his secretary's head. He knew how she treasured her hair and would frequently catch her combing it while she was on her desk.
He was furious. Turning to the three evil girls, he roared, "You b*tches! How dare you?!"
He pounced at them, but several security guards and employees held him back. His legs flailed in the air, struggling against the people restraining him.
"Please calm down, Mr. Chen!"
"Let me go! These b*tches hurt my secretary! I'll teach them a f*cking lesson!"
"Mr. Chen, please stop! The police are already here."
"Yes, Mr. Chen. Let the police handle this case. I'm sure that they will give your secretary the justice that she deserves. All of us can serve as witnesses and we have evidence."
He calmed down a bit after hearing everyone. Finally, he noticed the manager standing protectively in front of the evil girls. He snarled at him.
"I'm so relieved that our company didn't commit the mistake of signing your three b*tches as endorsers. You would've destroyed us! Connecting with you is the biggest mistake of my career. I hope that you're ready because our company won't stop until we get justice. We will see you in court!"
He broke away from the hands restraining him. When they were sure that he wouldn't suddenly attack, they released him. He took out his phone and contacted their company CEO, informing him of what transpired.
The CEO was, of course, furious. He was currently out of town attending a business conference. Hearing about the trouble in his company while he was gone, he immediately hurried back and contacted their corporate lawyer.
Back at the nail polish company, the ambulance finally arrived. Mr. Chen accompanied his secretary to the hospital.
The police took the Alarm Girls and their manager to the police station for questioning.
As for the people left in the company, they burst into gossip. The ones who weren't present during the incident were promptly informed by their colleagues who witnessed the entire thing.
Upon hearing the Alarm Girls' total disrespect to their company and how they attacked their fellow colleague, Mr. Chen's secretary, they were all indignant.
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Bright Summit Entertainment Company.
Iris and Dom quietly entered the building and headed to Tang Yiyi's office. They encountered familiar celebrities along the way, but nobody recognized Iris because she wore a mask and big sunglasses.
She didn't want to deal with the fuss of being recognized, especially since she was currently one of the hottest topics during the weekend after her hit performances on "MusicFest Tonight" and on DJ Song's radio show.
Not to mention her previous infamy before the accident two years ago and her supposed scandal with Jin Chonglin and Fan Luo, plus the heavy promotion of both Bright Summit and JJ's record label for her upcoming album, many people were interested in Iris Long at the moment.
Inside Tang Yiyi's office.
The office was not very large, but there was enough room for a work desk, file cabinets and drawers, a couple of chairs, a couch and a low table. It looked like the typical, boring office. A small pot of Pachira aquatica (a type of money tree) was the only attempt to liven up the room.
"Sit down," Tang Yiyi instructed the two.
When the three were seated, they began discussing Iris' work schedule for the week. She would be extremely busy.
The release date of her album "Rebirth" was on Friday. They planned on holding a launch party where she would perform some of the songs from the album live. Her album in several formats and even merchandise would also be available for sale right there at the party. There would be a signing event afterwards.
"We already booked a venue for the launch party," Tang Yiyi said. "However, now it seems that the venue's size won't be enough anymore."
Iris tilted her head to the side.
"I have good news. This morning, I received a call from a representative of a group called 'The Black Stars'. They were just established over the weekend but they're already quite organized. They want to be recognized as your official fan club."
Dom gasped in delight. "What? Really? That's so awesome! And they even called themselves 'The Black Stars' after boss' song!"
Iris remained quiet, waiting for Tang Yiyi to say more.
"To be honest, I'm already impressed by them. It's only been, what, a couple days since they got together? But they already have officers running the fan club. They even have their own funding and a working website. They look very professional. The report they provided me shows that there are currently about 50,000 members signed up. And the numbers are increasing by the day."
"I see. So you mean that you invited them to my launch party this Friday?"
"Exactly. Just from the Black Stars fan club alone, they already confirmed over a thousand people who are sure to attend your launch party. And the number is still increasing at the moment. If the number exceeds 2,000 by tomorrow, we'll have to book a bigger place, perhaps even a concert hall or a stadium."
Dom: "Oh my God! Boss! This is amazing!"
Iris: "Hmm… I would like the launch party to be casual. I prefer for the audience to be seated around tables rather than the normal concert seating arrangement. I want them to enjoy some food and drinks and be able to chat with each other."
Tang Yiyi nodded. "Alright. So no concert hall. I'll go look for a big hall then. Maybe even a convention centre. I hope that there are still some places that are available this Friday."
Iris: "I'll leave it to you, Elder Sister Yiyi."
Dom: "Sis Yiyi! So this fan club is now boss' official fan club?"
Iris looked at Tang Yiyi, also curious.
Tang Yiyi tapped her fingers on her desk. "Not yet. Although they've impressed me, we'll still have to personally see how they operate before we make any final decision. I also need to contact some of the higher-ups here at Bright Summit to hear what they think about this matter. I'll have to observe how these Black Stars members are like when we meet them at the launch party."
Both Dom and Iris nodded.
Tang Yiyi looked at Iris and changed the subject. "I didn't book any guesting for you this week, so you can focus on rehearsing the live performances for when you promote your album. However, starting from Saturday, you'll be extremely busy every day to promote your album. You'll barely have any day off for an entire month. Prepare yourself."
Iris: "I understand, Elder Sister Yiyi."
Tang Yiyi: "How's the progress of the album's piano transcription?"
Iris: "I'm actually already finished, but I still need to do a lot of tweaking and polishing before I'm satisfied."
Tang Yiyi: "Good, good. It would be great if you finish it within a month, so JJ's record label can get everything ready and release the piano version of 'Rebirth' three to six months after the release date of the original album. Maybe even earlier. This way, the interest in your album 'Rebirth' will be prolonged. It also looks like JJ wants to widely release the piano version internationally."
Iris: "Yes, Mr. JJ mentioned it to me before. I also want to publish the sheet music of each of the songs and compile them into a piano book. So if people are interested, they can buy the piano book with the album. Or they can buy them separately. I need to ask Mr. JJ what he thinks."
Tang Yiyi: "That's a great idea. Wait, are you preparing the sheet music yourself?"
Iris: "Of course."
Tang Yiyi: "Are you sure you can do it by yourself? Just tell me if you need any help and I'll give you some people."
Iris: "Thanks, Elder Sister Yiyi. But I'm fine. It's not a problem for me at all. It's not like I'm doing the transcribing by hand, drawing the notes one by one. I have a software which automatically transcribes whatever I play on the piano. Very easy and fast."
Tang Yiyi sighed in relief and nodded.
They talked a bit more before Tang Yiyi dismissed Iris and Dom.
The two left Bright Summit and headed to a music rehearsal studio. Iris needed to rehearse for her performance at her upcoming launch party this Friday and also for her other future live performances.
She had her own band and a full symphony orc.h.e.s.tra (the very same one who performed with her at "MusicFest Tonight") to accompany her throughout this album's live performances.
Iris' blood pumped with excitement. Finally, her dream of sharing her music with the masses was almost within reach.
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After an intense rehearsal with her band and the symphony orc.h.e.s.tra at the music rehearsal studio, Iris and Dom climbed into a waiting van.
A cashmere scarf was wrapped around Iris' neck to protect her throat. It felt a little sore, so Dom bought a cup of hot ginger tea from a traditional tea house nearby. The rehearsals would only become more grueling from here on. She needed to protect her vocal chords, especially after the release of her album when she needed to perform on a regular basis.
Anticipating that she and Dom would be both extremely busy promoting her album, they hired a driver. She didn't want to exhaust Dom by making him drive them around during this upcoming busy period.
And she couldn't drive herself. She knew how to drive, but it appeared that Iris Long's body still held a deep trauma when it came to driving. After all, the previous Iris Long died in a car accident while she was driving.
She actually tried driving before when she was well enough after the coma, but when she sat on the driver's seat and started the engine, her body started trembling violently and she almost fainted.
After that, no matter how many times she tried, she couldn't seem to overcome the trauma. She thought of accepting Dr. Ching's suggestion of psychological therapy but quickly rejected the idea.
It was too dangerous.
She was a different person who mysteriously occupied Iris Long's body. At the moment, her personality change could be explained by saying that she was too traumatized after experiencing a life-and-death situation. But when faced with a psychological expert, the gap between the personalities of the old and the new Iris would be too obvious. What if she was mistakenly diagnosed with some kind of mental disorder? As a celebrity, this was far from ideal.
It was not worth the risk.
So what if she couldn't drive?
Svu hmpit bplo vazu f tzasuz. Pzmgiuq lmisut.
Iris and Dom sat at the backseat. The traffic was quite heavy.
Bach's "Brandenburg Concertos" softly played inside the van. Iris closed her eyes and relaxed while listening to the classical orc.h.e.s.tral music.
She heard Dom gasp loudly beside her. Her eyes opened and she turned her head to see her assistant looking at his mobile phone with a shocked expression.
"Oh my God! Boss! Look at this!" He held the phone in front of her.
"Turn down the music," she told the driver.
Then she watched a shaky video of what looked like some women fighting each other. No, it was three women ganging up on one woman.
Hm? They looked familiar.
"Are those the Alarm Girls?" she asked.
"Yes!"
"Who's the woman they're beating up? When did this happen?"
"According to the uploader, it just happened earlier today. Apparently, the Alarm Girls were supposed to sign an endors.e.m.e.nt deal with a company but for some reason, the endors.e.m.e.nt deal was suddenly cancelled. The woman is said to be the unfortunate employee who informed them of the bad news. Then I guess those three b*tches couldn't accept it and just beat her up. Tsk tsk. How barbaric!"
Iris leaned her cheek on her hand, looking at the video. "How stupid."
"Ahahaha! I know, right? They're gonna be in big trouble this time. Hmph! They deserve it! Especially after how they treated you boss last Friday. If they weren't girls, I would've punched their ugly, fake, plastic faces already. Hmph! Just remembering the things they said to you makes me so angry. Hmph hmph!"
"Don't think about them anymore," she told Dom before leaning back on her seat. "Turn the music back on," she instructed the driver and Bach's "Brandenburg Concertos" resumed playing inside the van softly. She closed her eyes.
Dom continued scrolling through his phone, even participating in the online discussion. Of course, he was condemning the trio for their barbaric actions. Being Iris' assistant, he learned some easy tricks from her on how to comment online anonymously without being traced. After all, if his name was dragged in the mud, her name would also be dragged alongside his because she was his boss.
Iris let the music gently wash the fatigue away.
She sighed softly, disappointed with the Alarm Girls.
What were they doing, ruining themselves publicly like that?
She was actually looking forward to them provoking her again, so she would gain a legitimate reason to fight with them and ultimately destroy them with her own hands. That was, of course, if they provoked her too far.
Their provocation during "MusicFest Tonight" was nothing to her. It was like the buzzing of bees. Annoying but could be ignored. They hadn't stung her yet.
She was waiting for them to up their game and try to sting her, so that she could finally crush them.
But from the look of things, she wouldn't even need to lift a finger and the Alarm Girls would already destroy themselves.
Where was the excitement in that?
This was the reason of her earlier "how stupid" comment.
It seemed like she would need to cross out Wanwan, Feifei and Mimi's names from her black notebook sooner than she expected.
How boring.
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The following days were like an avalanche of misfortune for the Alarm Girls. An oppressive atmosphere surrounded them, starting from when the police dragged them from the nail polish company to the police station to be interrogated.
The three girls and their manager refused to respond to the police's questions, resulting in the officers feeling frustrated and having a bad impression of them. Wanwan didn't help the situation either by losing control and threatening the officers of suing them for mistreatment.
Feifei and their manager tried to stop her, but Wanwan was just like a crazy beast who snapped at everyone. Mimi was too preoccupied with her nonstop wailing. As a result, the police couldn't muster any niceness or sympathy towards the girls and threw them in jail.
Their manager pleaded with all his might with the officers but he was ignored. The three girls thought that he was the most useless and incompetent manager for not only failing to secure an endors.e.m.e.nt deal for them but also for allowing the police to throw them behind bars. Now they hated him as much as they hated that sl*t Iris Long.
Finally, a lawyer arrived sent by their talent management company. The three girls grabbed at him like he was their lifeline, spilling all their grievances to him. The lawyer was able to bail them out.
However, the nail polish company's corporate lawyer also arrived not long after, bringing a horde of reporters, journalists and cameramen with him. He formally pressed charges against the Alarm Girls on behalf of Mr. Chen's secretary who was still being treated at the hospital. He also even sued the Alarm Girls' manager and their talent management company on behalf of the nail polish company for false and misleading representation of their artists, deceiving Mr. Chen and the nail polish company of almost signing such violent people as endorsers.
In other words, the three girls, their manager, and even their talent management company were all slapped with numerous counts of charges.
After leaving the police station and struggling through the bloodthirsty sea of hungry reporters and journalists, they were escorted back to their company-issued apartment.
As soon as they arrived, Wanwan wrecked the entire place and roared and screeched like a deranged animal. Mimi dove to her bed and burrowed under the covers, still crying her eyes out. Feifei did her best to control her emotions and checked what people were saying about them online.
The results were horrendous. The catfight video instantly went viral. Everyone was denouncing and cursing them. Clearly, the nail polish company moved quickly and mobilized people to defame them and exaggerate details about the incident.
Then someone brought up the incident with Iris Long backstage during the last episode of "MusicFest Tonight". Now everyone believed that the Alarm Girls really bullied Iris and even caused her to faint.
Since Iris Long's name was dragged, the Black Stars fan club members couldn't stay silent. They quickly mobilized and joined in on the online roasting.
CaptainBlackStar: "Someone exorcise these three evil spirits! First they attacked our dear Iris causing her to faint. Now they attacked a poor woman and even sent her to the hospital with injuries. Despicable!"
iEatSlippers: "Let my mighty slippers whack them all the way to the eighteen levels of hell!"
MrsLovePhantom: "How can such nice-looking girls act like savage beasts? I am aghast. Didn't their parents teach them proper behaviour?"
JJNumber2Fan: "The poor girl. She got beaten up so badly. I hope she's alright."
JJNumber3Fan: "Heavens! I only noticed that the brats pulled the poor girl's hair so hard that there are now bald patches on her head! How horrible!"
JJNumber1Fan: "Oh no! Not the hair!"
Moments later, banners with "Lock the Alarm Girls in jail" written on them in big, bold characters appeared on various popular websites. Some of them even hijacked and replaced the normal ads and had to be taken down by the websites. However, they just kept on reappearing, causing a massive headache to the website administrators.
Some sharp-eyed people noticed a small dot at the low corner of the banners. When they zoomed in, they saw that the dot was actually a simple clip art of what looked like a monkey's head.
The incident blew up to the point that even the major TV news programs and newspapers reported about the story. Following the trend online, many of them also mentioned the alleged altercation between the Alarm Girls and Iris Long at "MusicFest Tonight".
Dazuhomz Hu md ovu lvmj jfl usur arouzhunout frt arouzsaujut. Hu ftqaoout ovfo ovu arhaturo zufiiw vfnnurut frt ao jfl film ozpu ovfo Izal Lmre dfarout guhfplu md ovu lozull md guare gpiiaut. Adouz val ftqallamr, ovu numniu juzu ar pnzmfz.
Seeing the issue blowing up to such a degree, the nail polish company grabbed the opportunity to finally be in the limelight and milked the drama for all its worth, condemning the Alarm Girls as evil and painting Mr. Chen's secretary as the pitiful victim.
The masses clearly sided with Mr. Chen's secretary and the nail polish company.
The nail polish company might have lost their planned endorsers but this incident was proving to be many times better in advertising their company's name.
Of course, the Alarm Girls' talent management company wasn't happy. In fact, they were furious.
The very next morning, they banged on the girls' apartment and unceremoniously told them that their contract with the management company was terminated. They were also ordered to vacate the apartment within three days.
The three girls didn't sleep at all. They looked like zombies. Hearing that they were being kicked out, they felt that their world was ending.
Wanwan: "What do you mean that our contract is terminated? Didn't we just renew it? And leave this place in three days? Where are we gonna go? You can't do this to us!"
Mimi: "We're finished we're finished we're finished we're finished we're finished…."
Feifei: "Please, please! Don't do this to us. We'll apologize to everyone. We'll do it! We'll explain ourselves and even offer to pay for the hospital fees of Mr. Chen. Just please don't terminate our contract. Our careers will be over if you give up on us at this critical time!"
The management company's representative was unsympathetic. She scanned the three girls and told them coldly, "It seems that you still don't understand your situation. Your careers are ALREADY over."
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While the Alarm Girls were experiencing their worst life crisis yet, Iris was busy rehearsing with her band and the symphony orc.h.e.s.tra every day.
Dom would update her on the latest news about the Alarm Girls during breaks, but she already mentally tossed them away as not worth her time and precious brain cells. For now, all she wanted was to focus on perfecting every single live performance of her songs.
Tang Yiyi visited her one time during rehearsals.
"Iris, I received many interview requests. They want you to talk about the 'MusicFest Tonight' incident with the Alarm Girls and your fainting episode. And I'm guessing that they also want to hear about your opinion about what the Alarm Girls are going through right now. What do you think? Do you want to accept an interview? Don't worry, I'll choose the safe ones who won't give you a hard time."
Iris sipped hot ginger tea from a thermos. She waved a dismissive hand, looking uninterested. Then she returned to studying the sheet music for one of her songs again, mentally rehearsing while she rested her vocal chords during this break.
Tang Yiyi sighed and then chuckled. She felt pleased seeing how dedicated Iris was in rehearsing. Tang Yiyi thought of one word to describe Iris at the moment: "obsessed".
It wasn't just passion, but an obsession. Iris breathed music, lived music. It was deep within her bones.
Usually, when an artist was too much of a perfectionist, nitpicking everything to the smallest detail, the band musicians would feel disgruntled and resentful for being made to work harder over and over a part that they personally thought couldn't be improved any further without changing the style.
This was why JJ was a nightmare to work with. He would frequently reduce people to tears with his extreme perfectionism and overbearing attitude. However, it was a fact that his perfectionism wasn't for nothing. The music he produced were almost always phenomenal. It was just that his methods were extremely difficult to take especially for the faint-hearted.
Iris was also a perfectionist, but her approach was totally different from JJ's. She knew what she wanted, and she also knew how to achieve it. She would explain her vision in a clear, easy to understand manner. When words weren't enough, she would just grab their instruments and personally show them the way she wanted them to sound.
Whether it were the string or the percussion instruments, she could play them all with ease, surprising and impressing the musicians. Although she couldn't play the woodwind and brass instruments, she could still patiently explain what she required of them, and how she wanted them to sound like.
Her obvious skills, creativity, professionalism and good attitude completely won their respect.
Tvu ezpuiare zuvufzlfil juro mr usuzw tfw. Dpzare ovulu tfwl, lvu zfzuiw lnmcu fimpt om nzmouho vuz smhfi hvmztl.
As a result, Jin Liwei forced her to video chat because she refused to speak more than a couple of sentences during a regular voice call and he was unsatisfied with just texts. During their video chats, Jin Liwei spoke while she typed.
Seeing his face on her phone's screen, Iris was surprised of how much she missed him. She still felt a bit sullen at how he treated her before he left, but she was really missing him at the moment. She wished that he would come home sooner, and hug and kiss her.
Iris sighed.
"What's wrong, baby?" Jin Liwei asked in the video chat.
"I wish you're here," she whispered, wanting to say the words in her own voice.
He looked surprised at first before his mouth curved into a delighted smile. "Me too. I wish I didn't have to leave you. I'll be back home soon. Wait for me."
"Okay," she returned to typing. She paused and then typed again. "Ice Cream and Popcorn miss you, too."
He chuckled. "Tell them be good and daddy will bring them some good stuff. How about their mommy? Does their mommy miss their daddy, too?"
She blushed. "Yes."
"Yes what?"
"I miss you," she whispered.
"Miss me what?"
"I miss you...darling."
His eyes darkened with d.e.s.i.r.e. "I miss you too, baby. So much."
Despite the half a day time difference and jet lag, Jin Liwei never failed to call Iris every single day. She knew that he was exhausted from all the business meetings, but he ignored her repeated suggestions of limiting their communication so that he could rest up.
"I need to talk to you or I'll feel even more tired," he told her.
She shut up after hearing his reason. She realized that she also felt the same way as him. Her exhaustion from the rehearsals would mysteriously melt away whenever she talked to him. She even felt oddly energized.
She didn't understand why. She needed to search this up.
Later, however, her search results proved uncertain. She couldn't find any concrete or verified data or evidence. Most were personal feelings and experiences from random people.
An overwhelming majority of them claimed that the mysterious feeling was called "falling in love".
She tilted her head, thinking deeply.
Was she falling in love with Jin Liwei?
She didn't know.
It was frustrating for someone like her to be unsure of anything and to not be able to find a concrete answer.
Falling in love was such a hassle.
Since she was still unsure, she would not recklessly conclude that she had fallen in love with Jin Liwei. She would wait until she had gathered enough data. She had no idea how she would gather these data, but she would find a way.
Then perhaps she could finally claim that she had experienced falling in love for the first time in her two lives.
In the meantime, officially in her mind, she had not fallen in love yet.
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Toronto, Canada.
The sun blazed brightly above the clear blue sky. The clouds floated like giant white cotton candies.
It was the peak of summer, the weather quite hot. Fortunately, cool breeze from the great lake would blow now and then, making the otherwise humid temperature refreshing.
Jin Liwei and Xu Tian exited the convention centre, alongside other business leaders from all around the world. The famous landmark tower of the city cast its tall shadow over them, as they strode to their waiting cars.
The chauffeur opened the rear door and Jin Liwei climbed inside the car. Xu Tian sat at the front passenger seat. Jin Liwei instructed the chauffeur on where to go next.
He loosened his necktie and opened the first two buttons of his dress shirt, sighing in relief. The small, red love bites were exposed on his neck.
The chauffeur just happened to glance at the rear-view mirror and saw the hickeys on his boss' neck.
"What happened?!" Jin Liwei barked when the car suddenly braked, but then smoothly resumed driving like nothing happened. Thank goodness for seat belts.
The poor chauffeur coughed. "Pardon, sir. I thought there was a squirrel crossing the road. Must be my imagination."
Ah, how dangerous. The chauffeur cautiously glanced at the rear-view mirror again. The glaring red marks on his boss' neck proved that the hickeys weren't just figments of his imagination. What the hell? Did this mean that the boss finally found a lover? But the most important question: was it a woman…or a man? The chauffeur mentally hit himself on the head. He needed to focus on driving or else they would really crash. Besides, his boss' love life was none of his business.
Xu Tian saw everything. His mouth twitched. He could guess what the poor chauffeur was thinking. As a matter of fact, he was also shocked when he first saw the hickeys but he was not as surprised as the chauffeur because he already knew beforehand about the boss and Miss Long's relationship.
Jin Liwei frowned but didn't say anything.
He fished out his phone. His wallpaper was a photo of him and Iris holding their two tiny kittens. His baby girl looked so beautiful with her enchanting smile. As for him, although he wore his usual cold expression, his eyes looked somewhat gentle. His arm wrapped possessively around Iris. Ice Cream stared at the camera looking like everyone in the world was beneath her, while her brother Popcorn looked comical with his little paws up in the air, mouth and eyes wide open, his little pink tongue out, as if laughing like a hooligan.
Jin Liwei's mouth curved into a slight smile, pleased with their family picture.
He was tempted to call Iris, but looking at the time, he could only wait until later. She should be in deep sleep now.
Based on Dominic's daily reports, his baby girl worked extremely hard every day. Her assistant also sent him regular snapshots and even short videos of her during rehearsals. Jin Liwei was shocked to discover that she was skilled in many different instruments besides the piano.
She was only becoming more and more mysterious the longer he knew her.
He was missing her so badly. So much. It almost drove him crazy that he couldn't see her in person for an entire workday week. He wanted to return to her as soon as possible, and hug her and kiss her…and finally to make love with her.
He was starting to feel aroused just thinking about her. He took a deep breath and recited the value of pi in his mind, attempting to control himself.
After reaching a couple hundred of digits, he finally calmed down.
Aside from Dominic's daily reports, he also received a few photos and videos from his Fourth Brother, Yu Mo. Iris and Yu Mo saw each other on Monday and Tuesday for their Systema classes.
Jin Liwei watched her nimble movements during sparring. He had to agree with his Fourth Brother that Iris was talented in Systema. She looked very natural and fluid. She almost looked like she was dancing.
He had to recite the value of pi again because his body couldn't help but react thinking about her.
Farfiiw, ovuw zufhvut ovuaz tuloarfoamr. Tvu hfz tzmsu ar dzmro md ovu qfar urozfrhu md f vaev-zalu h.m.r.t.m.qarapq. Tvu qmtuzr, eifll gpaitare lommt ofii, msuzimmcare ovu ezufo ifcu. Io vft f qferadahuro sauj md ovu wfhvol frt lfaigmfol hzpalare iualpzuiw msuz ovu jfouzl. Fuzzaul ozfrlnmzout ompzalol dzmq ovu haow vfzgmpz om ovu alifrtl, frt ovur gfhc fefar.
The chauffeur opened the rear door and Jin Liwei climbed out of the car. Jin Liwei entered the building by himself. After speaking to the intercom, the sliding glass door opened.
A private elevator took him to a penthouse unit. Immediately upon entering the unit, he heard Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" gently playing in the background. Nice speakers. Very clean and crisp. He would ask later which brand they were.
He walked to the modern, minimalist style living area. Everything was white and grey. The view of the great lake outside was spectacular. It almost didn't look like a bustling city at all.
"Third Brother?" a male voice called out. "I'm at my office."
Jin Liwei headed to the office and saw a roguish man with a mischievous smile reclining on a chaise longue, a book in his hand.
"Fifth Brother, good to see you alive and well," Jin Liwei greeted his friend.
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"Third Brother, good to see you too," Lu Zihao greeted back. He carefully stood up from his reclining position.
Jin Liwei gently gave his youngest best friend a man hug. "How are you? I heard your injuries healed nicely."
"Yes. I'm now fully recovered but my doctor is too cautious. Tsk tsk. Once I get her approval, I'll immediately fly back home to China to see our other brothers."
Jin Liwei nodded, patting his friend's shoulder.
The two men sat in front of each other. Lu Zihao sat back on the chaise longue while Jin Liwei sat on an armchair.
"You scared all of us when we heard that you were comatose. Good thing you woke up after a week. Grandfather Lu told everyone that you broke your neck from jumping off a snowy mountain. He called you the most stupid grandson in history."
Lu Zihao chuckled. "I didn't break my neck but close enough. I was paralyzed, but look at me now. Aren't I just fine? You're all worrying too much."
"You're too reckless."
"You sound like the old man."
"Grandfather Lu is just worried about you."
Lu Zihao sighed. "I know. But he didn't have to burn all my ski equipment. He also used his influence to make my favourite ski resorts all around the world to ban me. Who does that?"
"He did the right thing. If I was your grandfather, I would've done the same thing."
Lu Zihao burst into loud laughter. His handsome, rakish face was hard to get angry at.
Jin Liwei noticed the book that his Fifth brother was reading before he came. His brow knitted. "What's that book? It's not Chinese or English. It looks…Russian?"
He didn't notice Lu Zihao stiffening for half a second. All he saw was his Fifth Brother's usual mischievous smile.
"Yeah, it is. Good eye, Third Brother." He held the book up.
Jin Liwei frowned. He recognized it. It was the same book that Iris was reading when they met for the first time at the hotel lobby. However, his Fifth Brother's book was a hardcover while his baby girl's was paperback. "When did you learn Russian?"
"Oh, here and there when I had some free time." Lu Zihao shrugged. His lips curved into a devil-may-care smile.
"Why?"
"To pick up some Russian ladies, of course! Russian ladies are hot, don't you know?"
Jin Liwei's eyes contracted, his eyes narrowing. This was like déjà vu.
"Hm? Third Brother, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. You just reminded me of my girlfriend."
"Ohohoho. So now you're finally telling me. I've been waiting for you to share it with me ever since I heard from Fourth Brother that you finally got yourself a woman. It's been a long time coming. To be honest, we've all been worrying about you."
"Fourth Brother is too much of a blabbermouth." Jin Liwei felt irritated for having his thunder stolen. He already told their other brothers that he wanted to personally tell Lu Zihao about Iris.
Lu Zihao chuckled. He stood up. "Cognac or whiskey? Or maybe something else?"
"Cognac is fine."
"Got it." Lu Zihao walked over to the small bar at the corner. He pulled a bottle of cognac and two snifters. He returned to his seat and poured for both of them.
The two brothers enjoyed their drinks while listening to Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique".
Jin Liwei had a weird feeling with the atmosphere. It strongly reminded him of Iris. He looked at his Fifth Brother. He was still the same carefree guy, but there was something a little off about him. It was not too noticeable, but Lu Zihao seemed more intense than usual.
Before, Lu Zihao was someone who wore his feelings on his sleeve. But now, it felt more like his usual laid-back attitude was just a façade, his real thoughts and feelings hidden within an endless, dark abyss. Jin Liwei couldn't read this brother clearly anymore.
Jin Liwei felt uncomfortable with the direction of his thoughts. What was he thinking? How could he doubt his own best friend, his brother? His Fifth Brother just survived from an otherwise deadly accident. If it weren't for the quick response of the emergency workers, his Fifth Brother would probably now be dead.
Perhaps people who brushed closely with death all experienced some sort of change in personality, like Iris and Lu Zihao. However, it looked like his Fifth Brother's changes weren't as apparent compared to his baby girl.
Yes, this must be the reason. Jin Liwei nodded to himself.
"Third Brother, tell me about your girlfriend. What is she like? Fourth Brother is gushing nonstop about her, saying how she's such a beauty. The way he's praising her like she's the most perfect woman in the world made me so curious."
Jin Liwei snapped out of his musing. "Her name is Long Xiulan. She's beautiful and I'm going to marry her."
"Hooo?" Lu Zihao raised an eyebrow. "Marry? You're engaged already? So fast?"
"No. I haven't proposed to her yet. I don't want her running away for the hills. I'm still letting her get used to me. Then I'll make her my wife. She won't be able to escape from me so easily then."
"Wow. I'm surprised that she's not jumping in a hurry to be your wife. So many women are vying for the position of Mrs. Jin Liwei. You're even telling me that she might run away if you propose too early? I almost can't believe what I'm hearing."
Jin Liwei's mouth curved into a soft smile. "She's different."
"By the way, why did you say that I remind you of your girlfriend earlier?"
Jin Liwei explained about how he met Iris, how she was reading the same Russian book and said the exact same thing as Lu Zihao.
"Hmmm…interesting…" Lu Zihao rubbed his chin. Something unreadable flashed in his dark eyes, before reverting to his usual happy-go-lucky self. "Now I can't wait to meet her in person."
"She's mine." Jin Liwei frowned, his tone frosty.
Lu Zihao laughed out loud, clutching at his abdomen. "Of course she is. Only someone stupid with a death wish would snatch Jin Liwei's woman."
Jin Liwei nodded, pleased to hear Iris being referred as his woman. Indeed, she was his woman and he would kill anyone who dare steal her away from him. Anyone who dare steal his wife and the mother of his children deserved to die a horrible death.
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Friday.
"Rebirth" album release date.
Tang Yiyi ended up booking a convention centre outside the city because it was the only place available at such short notice. All the other places she inquired at were fully-booked.
It was quite far and big for an event called a "party", so she was at first worried that nobody would come. However, she was assured after talking with the Black Stars fan club. Just the people from this fan club alone who confirmed that they would attend the launch party were enough to fill the convention centre nicely without Iris and her team losing face.
In addition to the fan club, there were also quite a lot of individuals who unofficially confirmed their attendance via the online invites posted by JJ's record label on its website and social media accounts.
At the convention centre.
Inside near the entrance, Iris Long's "Rebirth" album in several formats were displayed at a pop-up shop. There were also posters and other limited-edition "Rebirth" merchandise available only at this launch party for sale. Several cashier counters were already set up at the venue for convenience.
The guests had the option to immediately purchase the album and the other available merchandise at the pop-up shop upon being admitted inside. In fact, the majority of them did so, while the others wanted to explore the place first and to claim the best seats near the stage. They were assured by the on-site staff that the shop would be open all throughout the launch party.
When the doors closed just a few minutes before the launch party's scheduled start time, the attendance exceeded 5,000 guests. This number was above JJ's record label's original estimates.
This was no longer just a mere launch party. It was more like a concert, although an informal one at that.
The on-site representative from JJ's record label was very pleased, immediately reporting the numbers to JJ himself on the phone.
"I knew the brat can do it," JJ replied on the phone. "Do you think that a famous and award-winning music producer like myself will sign an untalented artist with no potential under my record label? Hah! I only work with the best! Make sure that there are enough albums and merchandise available for sale there. You have my authority to order an additional expedited shipment if needed."
"I was just going to ask about that, Mr. JJ," the representative said. "I understand. I will immediately make an additional order because they're selling out fast. Some people are buying more than one copy of each item. Hopefully, the shipment arrives before the party ends."
"Hmph! Tell them that they better deliver the items on time or they'll face my wrath."
"Understood, Mr. JJ."
Adouz gattare emmtgwu om val gmll, ovu zunzulurofoasu vpre pn ovu nvmru. Tvur vu qftu frmovuz nvmru hfii om mztuz fr fttaoamrfi lvanquro md ovu figpq frt quzhvfrtalu.
He had a great feeling about this album. He didn't want to jinx anything, but he had a feeling that it would make some sort of history in the music industry.
A handful of reporters were also invited by Bright Summit and were given a media badge upon entering. Most of them were very young, only starting out in their careers. With this alone, it could be seen that the media didn't really put any importance in this launch party, especially since it was held in such a faraway place from the city. They only sent their most minor staff as a courtesy to Bright Summit.
In the venue.
Following Iris' preference, the seating arrangement was rather informal. It looked more like a restaurant bar with tables of different sizes. There were catering tables along the walls with simple buffet of refreshments. Nothing too grand or heavy on the stomach, but enough to whet the appetite. No alcoholic drinks.
The guests already seated themselves. After saving their spots, many of them headed to the catering tables to grab some snacks and drinks.
Everything was very casual. Although there were a lot of people present, the open and relaxed atmosphere made them comfortable enough to start chatting, even if they didn't know each other before meeting at that moment.
Moments later, the emcee informed the guests that the launch party would be officially starting shortly.
They returned to their tables carrying plates filled with various snacks and drinks.
The lights dimmed. A hush fell over the crowd. The big screens hanging from strategic parts of the ceiling played the now viral video that Iris Long posted before on her empty social media accounts to announce her comeback.
Esuzwmru hvuuzut.
After the video, the emcee invited the representative from JJ's record label on-stage. The representative made a short speech. Next was another speech by a representative from Bright Summit Entertainment Company.
The formal speeches done, the big screens played a series of videos. They were select "making of" and "behind the scenes" footage during the album production. The full videos were available in the DVD and Blu-ray formats of the album.
They watched, impressed, as Iris argued with the legendary JJ without any fear. She held her own.
"Listen, Iris Long! I'm an award-winning music producer. I'm always right when it comes to music! I say we should change this part of the song to a faster tempo, so we should do it!"
"No, Mr. JJ. You're wrong. That's so stupid. Are you planning to make this into a disco song?"
"What did you say, you brat?!"
The guests chattered as they watched, their hands constantly shoving food into their mouths.
"So it's really true that Iris fought with JJ."
"When did she say that she fought with Mr. JJ?"
"Aiyaya! You didn't watch DJ Song's radio show when Iris guested last Saturday? Hai. You missed out on something amazing!"
"What? Really? Dammit! I had work that day! Can I still watch it?"
"Yeah. The video is still up online. Here, I'll send you the link."
At a nearby table, a small, young woman giggled. She glanced at the man sitting beside her. The others at their table followed suit, looking at the man.
"Bro, now it's proven that Iris really did fight with Mr. JJ," she said.
Being looked at by so many, he gave a sheepish smile. He rummaged inside his backpack, finally taking out a new, clean slipper and then began chewing on it.
"Ahahaha! Bro, you're a real man!" the small, young woman exclaimed, taking photos of the man who was chewing on a slipper with her phone.
The others laughed together.
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.
..
This particular table comprised of widely assorted individuals that, at first glance, didn't look like they would match each other. However, from the look of things, they got along pretty well. The camaraderie between them was very natural. They didn't look awkward at all.
The giggling young woman taking photos with her phone looked like a teenager, but in fact she was the same age as Iris Long, a university student.
Beside her was the man posing for her while chewing on a slipper he brought just for this event. He was a thin, grumpy-looking man who appeared to be in his late twenties.
Laughing at the young people's antics were four posh middle-aged ladies wearing stylish dresses and eye-popping jewelry. If Iris could see them now, she would recognize them as the widow and her three friends who she met back then after performing "Phantom of Your Love" live for the first time at the hotel restaurant.
At the corner was a lone figure quietly eating and drinking. If one looked past his pallor and exhausted, listless eyes, he was actually quite good-looking. However, he had an unapproachable, bored vibe emanating from him. The others would ask for his opinion from time to time, but he would only give brief replies and resume minding his own business. Despite this, he still looked comfortable with this odd group.
The series of video footage finished playing on the screens. The emcee chattered a bit, hyping the guests as much as he could.
Finally, the red curtains on the stage opened, revealing a full symphony orc.h.e.s.tra at the very back. In front of them to the sides was a four-part band of acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums. Off to the corner near the front of the stage were two backup singers, one female and one male.
At the centre of the stage closest to the audience was a black, shiny grand piano. It was currently empty, but just seeing the piano was enough to make everyone cheer in anticipation, knowing who was going to play it soon.
Emcee: "I'm sure that you can't wait anymore―"
"Yeah! We can't wait anymore!"
"Stop talking already!"
"Hurry up and announce our fairy goddess Iris!"
"We want to see her!"
The emcee coughed and then laughed off all the curses being flung at him. "Alright. I'll stop talking now and get on with the show. I know that most of you have travelled quite far just to reach here today. Thank you for coming. We really appreciate that you took the time and effort to attend today's launch party to celebrate the release of Iris Long's comeback album 'Rebirth'. I heard that some of you even came as far away as―"
"What the fudge are you still talking for?!"
"You just said that you'll stop talking yet you're still yapping!"
"Stop talking already & hurry up!"
"I want more osmanthus cake! The buffet table just ran out!"
"Yeah! And more black sesame rolls too!"
"Hey, look! Someone's restocking the tables."
"Yay! Let's go get some more food before they run out again!"
"Who cares about the food?! I want Iris! I love you, Iris!"
"Please marry me, Iris!"
"You're killing us, emcee. We want Iris!"
"IRIS! IRIS! IRIS!"
Everyone started chanting her name, calling for her to come out.
Emcee: "Okay, okay. I get it already. Calm down, everyone, and let me do my job."
It took an additional couple of minutes for him to placate everyone. Finally, the audience settled down, their expressions strict, looking pointedly at the emcee, daring him to continue dilly-dallying.
Of course, the emcee knew that enough was enough. Any more nonsense from him and the people might murder him. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, putting on his very best professional smile.
Emcee: "Ladies and gentlemen! Without further ado, please give a warm welcome to the one and only, the beautiful and talented pianist, vocalist and composer with the voice of an angel, our fairy goddess who descended from the plains of the immortals to grace us with her―"
"F*ck this! Come, comrades. Let's kill this man!"
"Let's go!"
"Mr. Emcee, you wanna die?!"
"IRIS! IRIS! IRIS!"
The representatives from both JJ's record label and Bright Summit shared the same d.e.s.i.r.e as everyone else to strangle the emcee, especially after seeing the audience becoming more and more unruly. They were about to call security to control the situation, and then drag the over-talkative emcee from the stage to slap some sense back into him.
However, they didn't need to because…
A ezfhudpi jmqfr ar f lmnvaloahfout, lvfzn wuo duqararu jvaou opkutm lpao lptturiw fnnufzut frt jficut uiuefroiw om ovu lofeu. Svu immcut ofii ar himlut-omu laisuz vaev vuuil. Huz imre, gifhc vfaz jfl ljuno om mru latu ar sarofeu jfsul. Bmit, zut ianl frt gifhc iaruz tzfjr arom lvfzn hfo uwul qftu vuz immc iacu f duqqu dfofiu.
Gasp!
Hush immediately fell among the people, their eyes following the movements of the beautiful young woman. They couldn't tear their gazes away. It was as if she was the only existence in the world for them at that very moment.
So beautiful that she should be illegal.
Even the females felt themselves bending the other way upon seeing this kind of beauty.
The emcee was so mesmerized by the beautiful woman walking towards him that he dropped the mic in his hand, causing a loud boom. However, everyone else was in the same mesmerized state that the loudness failed to register in their consciousness.
Iris Long stopped in front of the emcee.
He was frozen, mouth and eyes wide open, staring at her like an idiot.
She smoothly bent her knees in an almost curtsy-like movement, and then picked up the mic from the floor. She stood straight back up in an equally smooth movement.
She scanned the people all looking at her. Tang Yiyi told her back in the dressing room that the attendance exceeded 5,000. She understood how much this number was, but seeing all of the people in front of her was a completely different experience.
5,000 wasn't just a number. They were real people who came to meet her, to listen to her music.
Her blood sang, excitement bubbling from deep within her.
This was it. This was the start. Her start.
Lifting the mic, she finally spoke.
"Hello, everyone," her lovely voice filled the entire the place. "I am Iris Long."
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