Naturally, Jiang Xuxu could not bear to see Qiu Yan doing well. Hence, when she saw that Qiu Yan's loud comment attracted a lot of attention, she scowled and muttered, "Karma will bite you one day!"
Qiu Yan had been walking over in their direction, so when she spotted Jiang Xuxu muttering to herself with her head lowered, she promptly walked over.
With her hands planted on her hips, Qiu Yan demanded, "Are you badmouthing me again?"
Jiang Xuxu rolled her eyes.
"You must think that because you're always badmouthing me."
Qiu Yan glared but did not keep arguing with Jiang Xuxu. Instead, she cleared her throat and turned to Qi Wu.
"I need to speak with you, Qi Wu."
As soon as she said that, the other three women at the table instantly snapped their heads up to warily stare at Qiu Yan, causing her to subconsciously shrink back.
"What do you want?"
"What do you want with Qi Wu?"
The person who retorted was Tong Luo.
She was staring straight into Qiu Yan's eyes as though she was trying to dig deep into Qiu Yan's mind for any ulterior motives.
Her stare caused Qiu Yan to panic. However, Qiu Yan soon calmed down. "It'll only be a few minutes. Qi Wu hasn't even said anything yet. Why are you panicking?"
"We all know what you're after," Jiang Xuxu spat out.
In her eyes, Qiu Yan clearly had sinister intentions. Perhaps Qiu Yan wanted to speak with Qi Wu in private so that she could lie and badmouth Jiang Xuxu.
"Don't go."
Even the ever-silent Ke Lu had spoken up as well.
Qiu Yan felt the corners of her mouth twitch, seemingly rendered speechless by how protective they were. "I'm only going to talk to her. Do you need to do this?"
Just as Qiu Yan was about to fight with the three women, Qi Wu, the person they were arguing over, stood up.
"Where to?" Qi Wu calmly asked.
Joy flashed in Qiu Yan's eyes.
As she shot a smug look at Jiang Xuxu and the others, she boasted, "See? She's willing to go with me."
"Come, let's speak over there," she then said to Qi Wu.
"Sweetie…"
Jiang Xuxu stared at Qi Wu in worry.
Qi Wu turned around and shook her head in response. "It'll be fine."
Qiu Yan dragged Qi Wu over to a quiet and remote corner.
She only stopped after examining their surroundings to ensure no cameras were pointed in their direction.
"What do you want?" Qi Wu asked as she watched Qiu Yan look around.
"Just as I told you last night, you'll go nowhere if you stick with Jiang Xuxu."
Qiu Yan held her head up high as she eagerly continued, "I looked into you last night. You're not an industry plant."
In the talent show, industry plants refer to those who had signed on with an agency and had already gotten a foot in the door.
Qi Wu might be extremely talented, but she really was a nobody.
"Jiang Xuxu will only drag you down. I'm not like her. I've signed on with an agency before joining the show."
Her excitement grew more obvious the longer she spoke.
However, her excitement ended up being extinguished when she saw how calm Qi Wu's deep eyes were.
"Don't you believe me?"
Aggravation and anger were laced in Qiu Yan's voice as she barked out, "I wouldn't be offering my help if you hadn't saved me!"
Qi Wu tilted her head and continued staring at Qiu Yan.
Upon seeing that, Qiu Yan clenched her jaw and pulled out her phone.
"Let me show you a photo."
She then pulled up a photo and handed the phone to Qi Wu. When Qi Wu looked at it, she found that it was a picture of Qiu Yan and… a middle-aged man.
The man was visibly balding.
Even so, there was a look of adoration on Qiu Yan's face as her voice softened into a sweet tone. "This is my boyfriend. I am only here because he helped me."
Qi Wu blankly looked at Qiu Yan. "Do you love each other?"
"Of course!"
Then, as though Qiu Yan was trying to prove something, she promptly retorted, "He's great and gives me what I want. Isn't that enough?"
"If we end up in the same category, would you still help me?"
Qiu Yan was stunned.
There was a shifty look in her eyes as she responded, "You are a great singer, so you must be going into the Musician category."
Qi Wu sighed.
"I won't be going into that category."
"Well, I…"
Emotions warred inside Qiu Yan. There was now a look of wariness in her eyes as she examined Qi Wu.
This was a face that had everyone enthralled as soon as they looked at her.
Qiu Yan knew that most of the idols' careers depended on their beauty.
If Qi Wu chose to go into the Idol category, then she would instantly be the star of the show with everyone else only playing supporting roles.
Qi Wu calmly stood there and let Qiu Yan scan her up and down while observing every change in Qiu Yan's expression.
Just then, Qiu Yan's phone buzzed.
After glancing down at it, Qiu Yan smiled. She then glanced at Qi Wu once more before walking away.
She did not say another word about her offer.
Qi Wu did not feel anything as she watched Qiu Yan walk away. She merely shook her head. "What a pity."
When she returned to Jiang Xuxu and the others, she was the focus of their attention.
"Qiu Yan didn't say anything bad to you, right? Ignore her, sweetie. This isn't the first time she has gone off her rocker," Jiang Xuxu said.
"She looks like she prefers underhanded tactics. Be careful," Tong Luo added.
"Yes…" Qi Wu responded.
Her tone of voice was very nonchalant.
She had wanted to tell them that Qiu Yan would never have the chance to do anything.
However, as the beholder of the Eyes of Clarity and the most talented high priestess of the millennium, Qi Wu knew that some destinies were set in stone. She was only a spectator.
"Will all contestants please gather in the stadium? Filming is starting soon."
As soon as the announcement was heard, the contestants swiftly left the cafeteria to head to the stadium.
*
Meanwhile, in the control room, Song Qi was languidly sipping from his mug while watching the contestants through the many cameras around the area.
Qu Man walked into the room with her shoulders slumped in exhaustion. When she saw how relaxed Song Qi was compared to herself, she instantly rolled her eyes.
"You sure know how to enjoy life, Song. You leave all the hard work to me."
Song Qi glanced at her. "You're a very capable subordinate. Nothing can stop you."
"Ha."
Qu Man pursed her mouth. "You weren't there when the Tong family came for Tong Fei last night. It was complete chaos."
She sighed. "I've never met a woman from high society who was as troublesome as her."
"I hear Tong Fei was not raised in the Tong family. She was only brought back at around ten years old."
Qu Man frowned. "The Tong family has a lot of drama."
"Are you still expecting Tong Fei to just calmly walk away?"
Song Qi shot her a meaningful look.
Qu Man stared in shock and silence as realization struck her.