Chapter 38: Face the Judgment of Justice

Girls’ Dormitory, Kyoto Conservatory of Music.

Yu Xiaoxiao sat in a daze, staring at the group chat messages.

At this moment, Wang Yihan’s fan support group was unusually lively.

“What should we do? Our idol’s new song has been pushed down from first place by Xu Ze.”

“This Xu Ze’s victory is not honorable at all. He’s only getting this much traffic because of that ‘Do You Know, Do You Know’ song of his. That’s the only reason ‘Break the East Wind’ shot to number one.”

“Exactly, it’s not a fair win!”

“Everyone, let’s all help boost our idol’s download numbers again.”

“@President, @Vice President Yu Xiaoxiao, admins, think of something, rally everyone to help our idol again!”

As the vice president of Wang Yihan’s fan club, Yu Xiaoxiao saw that everyone was tagging her, but she didn’t want to reply at all. She quietly muted the group chat, then changed her status to: “Do not fear that no one understands you on the road ahead; in this world, who does not know your name?” She also set her profile to visible only to herself.

Having completed these small acts of withdrawal, she slumped into her seat.

“Hey, Xiaoxiao, you don’t look so happy today,” her roommate Tang Juan came over with concern, her hands naturally reaching from behind to rest on Yu Xiaoxiao’s chest as if it were the most ordinary thing.

“Huh?” Tang Juan sensed something was off. Usually, at such contact, Yu Xiaoxiao would jump up in alarm, but today she sat motionless, letting Tang Juan knead as she pleased.

“Xiaoxiao, what’s wrong?” Tang Juan asked, worried, squeezing even harder.

“I…” Yu Xiaoxiao hesitated, then with a face full of existential despair, said, “I’ve cheated!”

“What?” Tang Juan was stunned. Cheated? Since when did you secretly get married?

So, all this time, you’re this well-developed because your boyfriend—no, your husband—

“Xiaoxiao, cheating really is immoral, you—” Tang Juan began to lecture her with a heartbroken expression.

“I only cheated emotionally,” Yu Xiaoxiao interrupted with a sigh.

“Oh, just emotionally,” Tang Juan scratched her head, pondering seriously, “Well, does emotional cheating count? Does it? Or not?”

Tang Juan felt this question touched on a gap in her knowledge. As someone single since birth, this issue seemed a bit advanced for her.

Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly turned around, wide-eyed, and asked, “Do you think Xu Ze’s songs are all really good? Both ‘Break the East Wind’ and that ‘Do You Know, Do You Know’ of his?”

“Huh?”

Tang Juan felt her thoughts couldn’t keep up—weren’t they just talking about cheating? How did it shift to Xu Ze?

Wait a minute.

Tang Juan’s face turned to horror. “Xiaoxiao, the person you emotionally cheated with isn’t that singer Xu Ze, is it?”

“Shh, not so loud,” Yu Xiaoxiao’s cheeks reddened as she nodded slightly.

“Oh my god.” Tang Juan’s worldview felt shaken. After a long moment, she managed to ask, “So what about your husband?”

“Are you getting a divorce?”

“Huh? Divorce from whom?” Yu Xiaoxiao looked confused, then scoffed, “Tang Juan, is your brain broken? I’m not even married. I just switched from being a Wang Yihan fan to a Xu Ze fan. Where is your imagination running off to?”

She added with a look of scorn, “You should really read fewer novels.”

Tang Juan: “…”

Soon, the dormitory echoed with Yu Xiaoxiao’s cries for mercy.

“Ah, Sister Juan, please, let me go, I was wrong!”

“No, I can’t take it anymore!”

Tang Juan declared, “Yu Xiaoxiao, tonight you’ll meet your end under my mighty dragon claws! The thing I hate most in life is people who deliberately say half a sentence and mislead others!”

“Face the justice you deserve!”

…

Meanwhile, in a private room at a business KTV.

Zheng Lao Wu—no, Zheng Yu, a singer from Tides Entertainment, was lounging comfortably on the sofa, sipping a little wine and munching on peanuts. His manager was singing an old Cantonese song from twenty years ago; although the pitch was perfect, for some reason, it sounded simply awful.

But Zheng Yu didn’t care; he was in a great mood.

Just an hour ago, he’d been downcast, since his new song had been pushed down to fifth on the chart. His boss had been chewing him out, only to suddenly burst into laughter mid-scolding. Zheng Yu had thought his ranking was so bad that the boss had been driven mad.

But upon asking, he learned that Wang Yihan from Saint Emperor Entertainment had just been toppled from the top of the new song chart by Xu Ze’s “Break the East Wind.”

That instantly made for great entertainment.

Saint Emperor Entertainment and their Tides Entertainment were both among the four major companies and long-standing rivals. They had never seen eye to eye. In past years, their strengths were evenly matched, with wins and losses trading back and forth on the competitive stage.

But this year, Saint Emperor had suddenly launched Wang Yihan, suppressing the rookies of the other three companies so thoroughly they could barely lift their heads. To make matters worse, Wang Yihan had recently gone on “I Am a Songwriter,” serving as a judge alongside superstar Zhang Yingjing—a position that made him seem even more unstoppable.

Who could have guessed that just now, this Wang Yihan, whom Saint Emperor had poured endless resources into, would be overtaken on the new song chart by a complete unknown like Xu Ze? It ruthlessly cut down Wang Yihan’s momentum.

Imagining Shi Guoqiang of Saint Emperor now fuming and hopping mad, the boss of Tides Entertainment could barely contain his laughter.

So, in his delight, his attitude toward Zheng Yu turned a full one-eighty. He comforted him, “Xiaoyu, just keep your fifth-place spot for now. The company will continue to give you full support.”

Zheng Yu, still bewildered, left the boss’s office, only to be dragged to the KTV by his manager for a bit of relaxation.

At that moment, the private room door swung open.

A slender woman walked in, wearing a black mask and a gray baseball cap.

When Zheng Yu saw her, he immediately stood to greet her. “Bingbing, you’re here.”

Wang Bingbing, a singer from Fire Ice Entertainment—her new song currently ranked sixth.

Wang Bingbing took off her mask and cap, greeted Zheng Yu’s manager, and casually sat on the sofa, unceremoniously saying, “Please call me by my full name, thank you. Every time you just say ‘Bingbing,’ it gives me goosebumps.”

Zheng Yu didn’t mind, grinning, “Care for a drink?”

“I’ll just have a little.”

So Zheng Yu poured a small amount of beer into a glass and handed it to her.

Wang Bingbing downed the beer in one gulp, wiped her mouth, then remarked, “You seem to be in a good mood tonight.”

“Not bad. Mainly it’s because seeing you puts me in a good mood,” Zheng Yu replied with a smile.

“Ugh…” Wang Bingbing rolled her eyes, then grew serious. “Do you think Wang Yihan can reclaim the top spot on the new song chart?”

“I doubt he can even hold onto second, let alone get back to first.” Zheng Yu shrugged. “Their company has thrown everything they have at this song, but it still can’t beat Xu Ze’s ‘Break the East Wind.’ Now that Xu Ze is on the rise, they have even less chance.”

“And Xu Ze’s ‘Do You Know, Do You Know’ is gaining momentum no slower than ‘Break the East Wind.’ I bet it’ll soon overtake that third-place slacker’s song. In the end, it might even knock Wang Yihan down from second!”