The housekeeper had written the note in neat regular script, making it easy for Qin Ran to read. The note mentioned that she had prepared some marinated seafood and an iced drink. If Qin Ran didn't plan to eat it and wanted to save it for later, she needed to leave a note in return; otherwise, the housekeeper would clean it up the next day.
After a busy day, Qin Ran was indeed hungry.
The production team had only provided the staff with boxed meals. If it hadn't been for the snacks Pei Qi sent in the afternoon, which allowed her to enjoy a small cake, she might not have made it to dinner without her stomach growling. Even so, after working late into the night, Qin Ran was now starving and in desperate need of some energy.
She took the marinated seafood, which was covered with a layer of plastic wrap, from the refrigerator and brought it to the coffee table in the living room. Sitting on the soft rug, she called out to the smart device to lower the television, then used her phone to cast an animated show onto the screen. All the while, she was busy enjoying the seafood.
As she ate, Qin Ran couldn't help but think of Yu Shuman.
In this life, Qin Ran had been poor, and Yu Shuman wasn't well-off either. A dish like this, full of high-end seafood, was probably something Yu Shuman had never had before. This thought made Qin Ran feel a twinge of guilt.
She didn't have any excuse to treat Yu Shuman to a meal like this, especially since, in Yu Shuman's eyes, Qin Ran was supposed to be poorer than her. After some thought, Qin Ran picked up her phone and called Sister Li. It took a moment for her to answer, and from the echoing sound in the background, Sister Li was probably just parking her car at home.
"Hello, Boss, what's up?"
Sister Li's disgruntled tone came through the phone, the echo making her sound even more aggrieved. She could likely summon ten malevolent spirits with that kind of mood. But as the shameless capitalist she was, Qin Ran felt no guilt about disturbing Sister Li's off-hours. Calmly, she instructed, "After the performance, take Shijie and her friends out for a seafood dinner. Find a well-rated restaurant and book the whole place."
"...No problem!"
Sister Li's previously sour mood vanished in an instant, and she even asked cheerfully, "Any budget limits?"
"None. It's on my personal account. I'll transfer the money to you later."
Sister Li was even more pleased. She added, "Then I'll bring the staff along too."
"Sure."
Qin Ran hung up, feeling much better as she continued enjoying her seafood. Her guilt was now gone. At that moment, the system popped up, complaining, "What personal account? It's obviously coming from my funds!"
"Isn't your account mine?"
"...Yes."
After a brief back-and-forth with the system, Qin Ran felt even happier, with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She quickly finished the large bowl of marinated seafood, along with a bottle of soda. She let out a small burp and patted her stomach, feeling slightly guilty again.
Yu Shuman was already out of her league, and if she ended up gaining weight, it would only make things worse. Qin Ran pondered whether she should set up a home gym. After all, if by some miracle she and Yu Shuman got together, wouldn't Yu Shuman also need to work out?
Thinking about it, Qin Ran messaged Assistant Wu. By 2 a.m., he had replied with a simple "OK."
With rehearsals done, the first performance was quickly approaching. It was scheduled for this weekend, the end of October, with November's chill already in the air. But Qin Ran hadn't changed her usual attire, only switching to a slightly thicker sweatshirt underneath.
Just like last time, she went to the filming location with Yu Shuman's classmates. Unlike the previous internal ticket distribution, this time, a significant number of audience tickets were released. Some of the contestants participating in the talent show were minor internet celebrities, so naturally, their fans wanted to be there to vote.
But Sister Li had secured tickets in advance for their group, ensuring they had good seats. They collected support materials from 99 Entertainment's staff and, chattering excitedly, made their way to their seats. Unlike before, each person was given a voting device to cast votes for their favorite group.
Since they were all friends and classmates of Yu Shuman, they wouldn't be voting for anyone else.
Entering the venue took quite some time, and by the time everyone was seated and the lights dimmed, an hour had passed. The lights gradually darkened, and with a burst of energetic music and a dazzling light show, the host slowly appeared on stage, beginning his performance.
The light show was quite spectacular, but Qin Ran couldn't understand why every event seemed to need one before anyone could come on stage—weddings included. Although she hadn't attended many weddings in her previous life, she had seen plenty of short videos where a light show would precede the entrance of the host.
Qin Ran, who wasn't a fan of the flashing lights, found it noisy, but the reactions of those around her indicated that the light show was a hit. When it ended, the room went dark, and several white spotlights focused on the center of the stage. By then, the host was already standing there, one hand holding a microphone, the other a cue card, passionately delivering the opening speech.
The host was a rising star at the capital's TV station, known for his excellent delivery skills, and he managed to lift the atmosphere even higher. The classmate sitting next to Qin Ran waved her support sign enthusiastically, while Qin Ran remained calm.
Noticing her calmness, the classmate grabbed Qin Ran's arm and shook it. Qin Ran had no choice but to raise her light stick, blending into the audience. After the opening speech, the host introduced the judges, with the lights and camera shifting to the judges' panel. The TV station had pulled out all the stops, bringing in big names. The panel included former girl group members, artists who had become famous through earlier talent shows, veteran girl group planners, and current popular young singers. In short, they had both star power and expertise.
Securing such a prestigious panel had required significant effort from both 99 Entertainment and Pei Qi's company. One provided the funding, the other the connections, and together they managed to bring in the judges. The panel's lineup had been kept under wraps until recently, with names being revealed one by one. To prevent the judges' identities from being fully exposed after the first performance, the production team had all the audience members sign contracts to prevent leaks, under threat of penalty.
After the judges were introduced, there was an opening performance, featuring the former girl group member and the young popular singer, who performed a song that further energized the crowd. Since the judges hadn't been announced beforehand, their fans hadn't attended this performance. But Qin Ran guessed that by the next performance, the contestants' fans would be competing with the judges' fans for tickets.
Once the performance ended, the contestants' turn began. To Qin Ran's surprise, Ling Miaohan's group was up third. Qin Ran frowned slightly—she had seen the rehearsal and knew that Ling Miaohan's group wasn't supposed to perform at this time. They had been scheduled to go on much later than Yu Shuman's group, but now they were performing earlier...
Qin Ran had a bad feeling about this. She realized that Ling Miaohan's early performance meant Yu Shuman's group would be pushed further back. This made sense; earlier performances generally had an advantage since audience members were less fatigued and had more votes left. By the time the later groups performed, the audience's votes would be running low, and fatigue and sensory overload would set in. During the first few performances, the audience might be hesitant to vote, but by the third, excitement would build, and they would be more likely to cast their votes.
But after several more rounds, by the time Yu Shuman's group performed, the audience would have fewer votes left, no matter how good their performance was. While Qin Ran was confident that Yu Shuman's group would make it through the preliminaries based on their skill level, Ling Miaohan's group changing their performance order felt like a slap in the face to the other companies.
Qin Ran had been working with the production team, and Sister Li had kept her updated on the show's progress, so she knew the performance order had been determined by a draw. Given the large number of contestants, each company's artists had been spread across different groups to prevent any one company from dominating. To avoid offending other companies, they had decided on a random draw for the first performance.
This method had been agreed upon by all the companies involved, but by changing their order, Ling Miaohan's group was undermining the others.
Qin Ran's expression darkened, and as soon as Ling Miaohan took the stage, she looked toward Sister Li. Sister Li wasn't sitting with them this time but was seated closer to the front. The stage lights were bright, and the audience area was dark except for the glow of the support lights, making it difficult for Qin Ran to see Sister Li's expression or even spot her figure.
She turned her attention back to the stage. Ling Miaohan's group had chosen a slow song, focusing more on vocals than dance. The stage was set in simple colors, primarily white with touches of pink. Ling Miaohan was clearly the center, standing in the middle and singing most of the solo parts. As the protagonist of this world, her voice was indeed as melodious as an oriole's, clear and enchanting, capable of captivating anyone who heard it. Dressed in white, with her cool, delicate features, she resembled a celestial being.
But it didn't suit a girl group.
Qin Ran couldn't help but roll her eyes. With this performance and singing style, why not participate in "The Voice of Dreams" instead of "Debut! Girl Group"? Are you afraid of losing in a singing competition, so you opted for a talent show instead? A girl group needs to sing and dance, and here you are, just waving your arms on stage, thinking you're fit to be in a girl group?
At this point, Qin Ran's resentment was strong enough to summon a hundred malevolent spirits.