When will I be the queen

Chapter 475 Stage
Cai Cai often encounters this kind of emotional atmosphere on set, but outside of set, she only feels it in situations where people of high status, position, and influence are present.

Now, Zhou Haoran has clearly become the one affecting everyone's emotions because of what she said. So, when she was embarrassed just now, the one who created the emotional atmosphere was probably herself.

What embarrassed her just now was the girl group that Zhou Haoran was talking about now, whose names she couldn't recall, that liked to eat Chinese jianbing guozi (Chinese savory crepes).

In other words, the root of the problem lies with her.

Cai Cai realized the key point in a few seconds, and then realized that Zhou Haoran was helping her.

Followed instantly.

"I don't know their names either, because I don't recognize them at all. It's a pity I didn't get to see their performance."

Zhou Haoran was startled. He knew Cai Cai was a bit naive and simple-minded, and he hadn't expected her to understand his good intentions, so he was prepared to put on a one-man show. However, Cai Cai understood immediately, though she was clearly still confused. But because she understood he was helping her, she responded and agreed without question.

She is truly a kind and good child who is grateful and knows how to repay kindness.

Zhou Haoran had encountered countless instances where he helped people by setting up ladders, only to have the ladders removed and people kicking him. Over time, it seemed like that was normal, and Cai Cai's reaction was abnormal. It really was abnormal, wasn't it?
"Then let's invite them up again and perform for us one more time, shall we?" Zhou Haoran handed the microphone to the crowd, receiving several rounds of applause and cheers.

Cai Cai met the Immortal Lord's gaze from across the table. She felt a little uneasy.

Logically, giving her another chance to perform on stage should be a good thing, providing another opportunity to showcase her talent, especially on such a glamorous stage. However, Zhou Haoran is helping her, while the opposing group is that girl group. Therefore, bringing them up again at this point is definitely not a good thing, at least not a bad one. But is this really a good idea?

Everyone's just trying to make a living in this industry; all sorts of tricks and dislike for colleagues are normal. In this circle, whether competition is fair or unfair depends entirely on one's own heart. Cai Cai doesn't want to bully others because she doesn't want to be bullied either. Even if that girl group is malicious towards her, she hasn't actually been harmed; mere malice won't hurt her. So, is bullying someone like this really okay?

In Cai Cai's mind, this was wrong. She wasn't a particularly saintly person, but she clearly knew it was a bad thing, and Cai Cai just didn't want to do it.

When the Immortal Lord met Cai Cai's eyes, he knew she was pleading for help. The key point was that she was resisting. But because Zhou Haoran had initiated the move, and it was for her sake, Cai Cai dared not refuse. Given Zhou Haoran's position, Mei Zhang certainly wasn't qualified to stop it or raise objections, so she looked at him—inquiring, but also pleading for help.

Ugh.

How should the Immortal Lord tell Cai Cai that the press release about that girl group hasn't been released yet because a high-ranking member of their company had the platform block it, and then privately approached the company demanding money. They paid a seven-figure sum, and that's why the press release couldn't be released. As for the content of the press release, it's a complete distortion of the truth. They posted a photo of Cai Cai with her head down and another of the girl group looking terrified, claiming that Cai Cai, as a junior, was abusing her power and preventing her seniors from following her path. This disgusting senior-junior dynamic is based on the fact that they debuted earlier than Cai Cai, therefore, by seniority, they are Cai Cai's seniors.

H country is very particular about the hierarchical relationship between seniors and juniors. But they were clearly pretending not to understand, because in H country, actors have a much higher status than idols. This point was left unmentioned. To avoid a direct comparison of looks, they deliberately chose a photo of Cai Cai with her head down, which is quite an effort. It was probably taken by their own photographer, because given Cai Cai's demeanor, she wouldn't bow her head in such a setting. It was truly meticulously planned!

The incident with Jianbing Guozi that Zhou Haoran mentioned is also one of the black marks on that girl group. When they came to perform in China before, they spoke in broken Chinese that was incomprehensible without subtitles, saying that their favorite Chinese food was Jianbing Guozi. While the Chinese audience found it quite amusing, and the girl group seemed very down-to-earth, people in South Korea accused China of mistreating foreign performers. They argued that with so many delicious foods available, they were only given Jianbing Guozi, and even presented evidence claiming that Jianbing Guozi was only sold at roadside stalls, an extremely lowly food, and certainly not a delicacy.

At this point, as long as the girl group says they ate other things in China, the dispute can be easily and smoothly resolved.

As a result, this girl group, whose members are all H-girls, had no reaction at all. When asked by H-country media later, they only said that the jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) was delicious.

This subtle malice is quite obvious. Some fans in China have unfollowed them, while many others are trying to whitewash their image.

Logically, this kind of girl group shouldn't have been on Huamei's invitation list. However, because they and the company that Jin Fu is affiliated with have domestic investments and share the same controlling shareholder, they are sister companies. They also invested money in Huamei. Based on the calculation that there's money to be made and a buy-one-get-one-free deal, Huamei let the girl group come as well. But they only arranged one stage performance, less than five minutes. Huamei earned a total of 100 million RMB, including advertising and live streaming. And that wasn't in Hong Kong dollars, it was pure RMB.

It's no wonder people say that when idols become popular, it's like printing money.

The Immortal Lord made the decision, gave the money to the high-ranking official, and then immediately asked Hua Mei for reimbursement. Hua Mei readily reimbursed everything, stating that they would not invite the girl group again and would remove them from other events. Money that comes easily doesn't mean it's spent without a second thought. The combined value of Cai Cai and the Immortal Lord is immeasurable, let alone that of a girl group.

Whether Cai Cai knows these things or not doesn't matter; the important thing is now.

Given the Immortal Lord's actions, he would simply go along with Zhou Haoran, adding fuel to the fire no matter what Zhou Haoran wanted to do. After all, considering Zhou Haoran's character, he wouldn't go too far. Zhou Haoran currently represents Huamei's position, so helping Cai Cai vent her anger might have personal emotional factors, but it's just a side effect. He doesn't need to feel any guilt about doing anything wrong. Cai Cai has drawn a line for herself, putting herself in a difficult position.

That's good, that's cute, that's really good.

However, the entertainment industry has many unwritten rules and regulations, and it's a dog-eat-dog world. A careless act can ruin one's career.

For example, in this situation, on her own turf, someone with less fame, status, and business value deliberately set a trap for her. If she doesn't retaliate, she'll not only lose face, but marketing accounts will also seize upon countless seemingly minor flaws and make a big deal out of them. Calling Cai Cai weak, a saint, or a foreign sycophant would be too kind a statement.
Cai Cai had no concept of shame; she was incredibly tolerant, unimaginably tolerant. So even when faced with malice, as long as it didn't harm her, she could ignore it. She certainly wouldn't have imagined that this would cause Hua Mei to lose face, or even worse.

The Immortal Lord nodded slightly, instructing Cai Cai to accept. If she later felt she didn't like it, Cai Cai would take action on her own, but at this point, she couldn't stop him.

The Immortal Lord's consistent idea and approach was to prevent Cai Cai from falling into the same traps he had fallen into.

Zhou Haoran was not unaware of Cai Cai's resistance, but he couldn't explain it to her. Fortunately, Cai Cai didn't really refuse him, which showed her respect and trust.

After receiving the Immortal Lord's approval, Cai Cai felt a sense of relief, as if she had done something wrong and someone was taking the blame for her.
On stage, the Gem Girls had already taken the stage. They had only prepared for one performance and had been invited up at the last minute. Although unprepared, they weren't flustered. The leader was quite happy and proud.

But actually, the backstage staff didn't prepare any music for them at all. The sound director just told them to watch and pay attention to the microphones.

After standing there for a minute, with no music playing, the girl group looked at their managers, a little panicked. Their managers and assistants were surrounded by Huamei's staff, who were communicating with them in Chinese, regardless of whether they understood or not. They didn't bother to find a translator, and even when pushed around, they wouldn't budge, just kept saying, "Surround them!" They were saying things like, "We need background music, we haven't prepared it, you bring it out," and so on—a jumbled mess of random things. Anyway, if the girl group wasn't cooperating, it was considered a dereliction of duty, and Huamei wouldn't be held responsible.

"Why aren't you singing?" Zhou Haoran asked in confusion, then looked around before saying to the girl group on stage, "There must be some accident. Why don't you sing a short song a cappella?" He said this in English. Two members of the girl group are dual citizens, and English is their native language. They have always marketed themselves as being good at English rap, crushing all other boy and girl groups of the same period.
Singing a cappella is a real test of vocal ability. Even now, the girl group still hadn't realized something was wrong, genuinely believing it was an accident backstage. They looked at each other, then at Zhou Haoran, then at Cai Cai, and began to sing a cappella.

They sang an English song. It wasn't even their own; it was a fairly famous rap-infused TV drama ending theme. Those who follow girl groups know they often sing this song; it's said to be the soul bond that binds them together, and they even bought the cover rights. After five or six lines, Zhou Haoran clapped, "Great, great, that was really good! But I think I've heard it before. Could you sing a song you've never sung before? On this magnificent stage, I want to hear something new."

"..." Cai Cai was prepared to stop Zhou Haoran from making them dance if he asked them to, but to her surprise, Zhou Haoran continued to make them sing. Looking at the girl group, they were completely unaware that being called up to sing was a form of disrespect, and they were even quite pleased with themselves—what an unhealthy idol entertainment culture! But thinking about it, it's probably a kind of power, whether it's an honor or a humiliation, it's a very subjective opinion.
"Oh right, I forgot, Cai Cai, what do you want to hear? They are all very good singers, you can request a song, and I'll listen to the one you want to hear too," Zhou Haoran turned to ask Cai Cai.

"..." Cai Cai tensed up for a moment. Hmm, she had this feeling of spoiled brats egging on the audience. Being a bad guy isn't easy, but...it's strangely satisfying. She really learned to be bad in no time.
The girl group then looked at Cai Cai normally. Personally, they didn't really have any feelings for Cai Cai; a little bit of dislike, the kind of normal same-sex repulsion, and a little bit of envy and liking—just normal infatuation with a stunning beauty. Their manager's accusation that Cai Cai was stealing their popularity and attention was the real reason they temporarily disliked her. Then, after a brief discussion, with their manager's help, they devised a small scheme. The key point was that they genuinely didn't dare confront Cai Cai directly. Their popularity and attention were inferior to Cai Cai's, and their looks were even less striking.

Several of them rely on their looks and have even marketed themselves internationally to secure fashion resources. If they were to be labeled as ugly by Cai Cai, all their past efforts could be wasted. Those who want to enter the fashion industry know that it's been waiting for Cai Cai, implicitly reserving the best resources for her. Only after confirming she truly doesn't want them will they be released to other artists. But many resources remain unreleased, specifically targeted at Cai Cai.

It wasn't that they really wanted to compete with Cai Cai for anything; they just wanted to get more and not let Cai Cai ruin things.

However, to this day, the press release accusing them of orchestrating the whole thing hasn't been released yet. They even prepared a perfectly crafted apology statement and plan, but those are all scrapped. They didn't really want to make an enemy of Cai Cai; they just wanted to piggyback on her fame and regain some of the attention she'd stolen. After all, Cai Cai was livestreaming while they were performing. Even if it had nothing to do with Cai Cai herself, the result was that Cai Cai had hindered their careers. So, it's perfectly normal for them to piggyback on her fame.

This practice is common in the industry, and everyone accepts it as a rule. Why doesn't it work for Cai Cai?
Fortunately, they managed to get them back on stage, and now Cai Cai is even requesting songs, which is a great compensation.

With this in mind, the girl group all looked at Cai Cai with sparkling eyes, waiting for her to request a song.

"..." It felt like scarecrows with a water gun. Cai Cai felt that at this moment, her thought process, Zhou Haoran's thought process, and the thought process of the girl group on stage were all different.

"Christmas songs." Simple and easy to sing, but Cai Cai is a little tired. Huamei really knows how to create drama; it feels like they gather a large number of artists together to put on a big show, giving the audience a reality show about the entertainment industry.

Zhou Haoran smiled at Cai Cai and said he also wanted to hear Christmas songs.

Then the girl group on stage sang a Christmas carol a cappella, along with some simple dance moves. But to be honest, it wasn't good. Several of them were showing off their skills, using various singing styles, which sounded off-key at first. Two of them did backbends and hip thrusts, and although their movements were clean and crisp, they turned the Christmas carol performance into a prelude to a hot night.

Um, it's really hard to understand the culture of your girl group.

Zhou Haoran said "thank you for your hard work" and sent the girl group off the stage. The performance continued on stage, and by then the lighting and stage design were all set up again.

Zhou Haoran escorted Cai Cai back to her seat. Along the way, about a dozen people took photos with Cai Cai, and Cai Cai cooperated with them all.

Finally back in her seat, Cai Cai breathed a deep sigh of relief. She greeted Zhou Haoran and Immortal Lord Si Chen before leaving.

"I want to sit here forever, not go anywhere, and not move at all." Cai Cai really felt tired.

The immortal handed her a blanket, and Si Chen unfolded a handkerchief containing a handful of pistachios. "Eat up," he said. Cai Cai took it and stuffed it directly into her mouth, smearing her lipstick. Cheng Meixia quickly came over, covered her mouth, and then reapplied her lipstick. With her mouth full of pistachios, Cai Cai couldn't chew, so she could only puff out her cheeks and pull her lips apart so Cheng Meixia could reapply her lipstick.

"..." Why don't you eat them one by one?

Xianjun painfully looked away, scrolling through photos of himself with Cai Cai that had already been posted by numerous celebrities. He'd seen eleven photos already, eight of which had been posted, leaving three unposted, both male and female. Reflecting on those three, Xianjun understood why. They were currently working on promising projects and didn't want to be overshadowed by Cai Cai, so they hadn't posted. Of the eight posted photos, all showed signs of photoshopping, but Cai Cai looked consistently beautiful. This meant that while they hadn't photoshopped Cai Cai, they'd subtly edited their own images, not daring to go too far.

Cai Cai had already reapplied her lipstick, her mouth full of delicious nuts, and then Mei Zhang fed her milk tea, which immediately improved her mood.

Ah, good food is the best comfort food. It would be even better if there was a short rib.

The immortal raised his phone, gesturing for Cai Cai to come over and take a group photo.

Cai Cai didn't move. "What are we filming?"

Si Chen also raised his phone, "I'll take a picture with you two."

Cai Cai naturally wouldn't refuse Si Chen, and she couldn't refuse the Immortal Lord either, so she came over and took a picture with the Immortal Lord, and then Si Chen took a group photo with the Immortal Lord.

"On various social media platforms, group photos taken by the celebrities themselves are the best form of promotion, and they usually generate a lot of buzz." Si Chen didn't edit them and just posted them directly.

The immortal lords are too.

Some netizens analyze celebrity photos to see if they've been edited, and if so, where. Many celebrities who have had plastic surgery or minor adjustments have been confirmed through these edits.

Cai Cai was bombarded with gossip, and Si Chen even showed her those "instant fame" photos, subtly pointing out people to her on the spot. Cai Cai looked at the group photos on Xian Jun's phone. Well, how to put it? Xian Jun's camera angles were a bit unflattering, but the faces of the people were very prominent. It was a kind of fisheye-like shooting method, probably Xian Jun's own style. Si Chen's photos, on the other hand, were taken in a very celebrity-style way—glamorous, with a touch of somberness.

"Do you want to film it yourself?" Si Chen asked Cai Cai.

Cai Cai just asked Mei Zhang for his phone number, and then she could transfer the money to Mei Zhang's account.

After thinking for a moment, Cai Cai used a low angle to take the picture and adjusted the angle to get all three people in the shot.

The Immortal Lord glanced at it but said nothing. Si Chen took the phone and exclaimed, "Wow! You're really good at taking pictures! The three of us look like gods!" The photos clearly captured the divine aura, yet each of the three was distinct: Si Chen was a lively little god, Cai Cai was a gentle goddess, and the Immortal Lord was a ruthless god. Si Chen genuinely thought they were incredibly beautiful. "You didn't look this good when you took selfies with me before." Now, with the Immortal Lord included, you've taken such good photos. Si Chen felt a little envious.

Cai Cai refused to admit that adding the Immortal Lord directly lowered the aesthetic standard of the photo. Because in her eyes, the Immortal Lord had a truly divine feel to him. Even knowing that he was a picky eater, would get food stuck in his teeth, burp, have diarrhea, fart, have smelly feet, sweaty feet, and greasy hair, it still didn't change the fact that he was a god.