"I……"
Seeing her unconvinced look, Yao Xuetong shook her head in disappointment and followed Xia Shiyu to the practice room, leaving only Lina and Tian Sisi behind.
Tian Sisi, at a loss, grabbed Lina's hand: "Lina, what should we do?"
Lina gritted her teeth: "We'll practice too. If Xia Shiyu can do it, I don't believe we can't!"
The group hadn't lowered their voices when they were talking, and most of the girls nearby had heard them. The complaints subsided considerably, and many people went to the practice room, quickly emptying the lobby.
Sitting in the control room, watching the footage transmitted from the camera, Zhang Li looked much better than before: "I originally thought they would have to suffer some more setbacks before they realized it, but now it seems that these girls are quite ambitious."
The director laughed: "Yes, but Sister Zhang, you have a good eye. Xia Shiyu is really suitable for our show."
As she spoke, Zhang Li looked at Xia Shiyu in the practice room. Compared to other girls with dance backgrounds, Xia Shiyu's movements were much more rusty. However, she was very smart and learned quickly. After memorizing the movements, she would go to the side and practice quietly by herself, improving at a speed that was almost visible to the naked eye.
Zhang Li's gaze fell on her, but unexpectedly reminded her of another person—Ye Cang.
Back in the elimination rounds of "Rising Star," she didn't have a clear impression of Ye Cang, only remembering his pretty face. It wasn't until he entered the top ten that Ye Cang changed his manager and seemed like a completely different person, gradually rising to his current status, a position that even she had to look up to.
Looking at the artists under Shen Huai's management, each one of them is exceptionally talented, as if they were born to shine brightly.
Thinking of this, she sighed and said to the director.
"It's not that I have good judgment; I was just lucky to meet a discerning person."
-
Over the next few days, the contestants practiced the theme song day and night.
The astute Mr. Shen naturally wouldn't waste such time. After uncovering the truth behind Xia Shiyu, he continued to deal with Huayu while simultaneously bribing people within Huayu.
The reason An Yuanjie was able to climb up to the top of Huayu Entertainment over the years was because of Huayu's president, Feng Yankai. Feng Yankai treated An Yuanjie well, but An Yuanjie was insatiable. He used Huayu's resources to line his own pocket, embezzling an unknown amount of money. However, because of Feng Yankai's trust in him, and because he also bribed several key figures, even if someone knew, they dared not speak out.
In the past, when Huayu Entertainment was at its peak, even if Feng Yankai knew about this, he probably wouldn't have cared too much. At most, he would have given An Yuanjie a warning, and An Yuanjie would have kept a low profile for a while, and the matter would have been over. But now, Huayu Entertainment is in a difficult situation, and Feng Yankai is overwhelmed with problems every day, like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. If he finds out about this now, An Yuanjie will probably be in deep trouble.
An Yuanjie probably knows that Huayu Entertainment is in its most precarious state, but recently, instead of restraining himself, he has become increasingly arrogant.
An Yuanjie thought he had been careful and hadn't left any evidence, but little did he know that Shen Huai had been watching him closely and was about to give him a "big gift."
Shen Huai watched the drama unfolding within Huayu Entertainment with a smile, but he had no intention of stopping there. He stared intently at the computer screen and issued his orders.
Only after he finished all that did he begin to handle his work for the day.
On the other side of his office, Ye Cang was wearing headphones and writing and drawing on a piece of paper.
His schedule has come to an end, and he has nothing else to do except for "Everybody's Idol," so he can finally calm down and write songs.
Since Mingwei discovered their relationship and Shen Huai said he would go public with it at some point, Ye Cang completely let go and simply moved his workplace directly to Shen Huai's office.
One of them was busy with work, and the other was focused on writing songs. They didn't bother each other and seemed to be in perfect harmony.
Ye Cang wrote for a while, then seemed to get tired, took off his headphones, and stretched.
His position was next to Shen Huai, so he could see Shen Huai's profile perfectly.
Shen Huai's hair seemed to have grown a bit long, with a strand of hair hanging down in front of his forehead. He was focused on his work and didn't notice it, but Ye Cang was itching to help him tie that strand of hair up. He simply stood up and walked towards Shen Huai.
Shen Huai had long since stopped writing. He wasn't dead; he'd definitely sense being stared at. He felt Ye Cang's footsteps approaching and turned his head: "You..."
Ye Cang's fingers were originally going to tie up that strand of hair for him, but Shen Huai suddenly turned his head and almost knocked his glasses off.
Shen Huai grabbed his wrist in time and said helplessly, "What are you doing now?"
Ye Cang said innocently, "I just saw that your hair was getting a bit long and wanted to put it up for you."
Shen Huai then noticed the stray strand of hair on his forehead and realized that he had misunderstood Ye Cang. He felt a little embarrassed and apologized softly. He then made an excuse to pour coffee to cover up his embarrassment.
While making coffee, Shen Huai finally calmed down. Ye Cang had finished his busy schedule recently, and he spent his days writing songs and doing nothing else. He was full of energy at night, which made Shen Huai sleep poorly for the past few days, and he had become somewhat sensitive without realizing it.
Shen Huai walked towards Ye Cang with two cups of coffee in his hand, but then that familiar dizziness returned.
Shen Huai's vision went black, and he staggered a few steps, dropping the coffee cup in his hand to the ground, spilling scalding hot coffee that steamed in the air.
Ye Cang immediately jumped up from his seat, rushed over, and helped Shen Huai up.
Are you alright?
Chapter 139
Shen Huai had experienced this dizziness many times before, but it always came and went quickly, hardly affecting him at all. This time, however, the dizziness lasted much longer. Not only that, Shen Huai also vaguely saw several dark shadows drifting past his eyes, and even his eyes began to ache slightly.
Ye Cang helped him back to his chair, looking at him with concern: "Are you feeling better? What happened to you?"
Shen Huai seemed not to hear him. He just pressed his brow, his brows furrowed, his face pale, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and temples. He looked like he was in great pain, and the veins on his neck were bulging.
Upon seeing this, Ye Cang panicked and grabbed his phone: "I'm calling for an ambulance!"
Just then, a hand grasped his wrist. He looked down and realized that Shen Huai had woken up at some point. He looked as if he had just gone through an extremely tiring boxing match, his face covered in sweat and he looked somewhat tired.
“No need to go to the hospital,” he said in a low, hoarse voice.
Ye Cang put down his phone, but he didn't feel any more relaxed. He frowned and stared intently at Shen Huai: "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Shen Huai hesitated for a moment, unsure how to explain it to him.
Just then, Shen Huai's phone rang. He glanced at the number on the screen, and his expression immediately turned serious. He answered the call.
The person on the other end said something, and Shen Huai's expression changed drastically, but he quickly said in a deep voice, "I understand, I will get there as soon as possible, you stay at the hospital and keep watch."
Shen Huai, who was always calm and composed, had never reacted so strongly before.
Seeing his expression, Ye Cang knew it was no small matter. Seeing that Shen Huai had already called his assistant to book tickets, he quickly said, "Book two!"
Shen Huai paused, realizing Ye Cang intended to accompany him, and said helplessly, "No need..."
Ye Cang refused him firmly: "Either order two tickets and I'll go with you, or you'll obediently come with me to the hospital later for another checkup."
Shen Huai didn't know what to say. The matter was urgent, and he couldn't argue with Ye Cang any longer, so he could only agree.
The assistant quickly booked the nearest tickets, and Shen Huai drove Ye Cang to the airport.
At this point, Ye Cang finally had a chance to ask his question: "Who called you? And what happened?"
Shen Huai kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead and said softly, "Do you remember the female student we met in Fengjing Town in Dongjiang before?"
Ye Cang looked blank, clearly having forgotten.
Shen Huai had to recount the whole story again. The two of them went to Fengjing Town for tourism and encountered a group of students sketching in the ancient town. They helped one of the chubby girls, but when she saw Ye Cang, she acted as if she had seen a ghost, pushed him away and ran away.
Shen Huai had someone check the female student's information and learned that her name was Yin Jingyi and she was just an ordinary student.
But Shen Huai couldn't forget the look of terror in the other person's eyes when he pushed Ye Cang away.
Both of them tried to conceal their identities to avoid revealing Ye Cang's true identity, but it wasn't anything frightening. Even if she recognized Ye Cang, she wouldn't have shown a look of fear.
Shen Huai had been keeping this matter in mind, so he arranged for someone to secretly keep an eye on Yin Jingyi. Unfortunately, so much time had passed and nothing had happened, and Shen Huai himself had almost forgotten about it.
Unexpectedly, just now, the person he sent to keep an eye on Yin Jingyi called him.
It is said that Yin Jingyi suddenly fell ill and has been sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.
-
The two arrived in Dongjiang City in the afternoon. As soon as they got off the plane, they immediately took a taxi to the hospital.
Along the way, Shen Huai told Ye Cang everything, and Ye Cang also learned the whole story from his subordinates.
The other party had been paying attention to Yin Jingyi, but Yin Jingyi was just like an ordinary college student. Apart from being a little self-conscious about her figure and personality, there was nothing unusual about her. But just yesterday, Yin Jingyi got into an argument with a girl in her class over something, and after school, they locked her in the sports equipment room.
The subordinate was negligent and only discovered her this morning, so he could only secretly notify the school teachers to bring Yin Jingyi out. To their surprise, as soon as they opened the door to the sports equipment room, they found Yin Jingyi lying on the floor, pale-faced. They immediately called for an ambulance and took her to the hospital, where she is still unconscious.
Shen Huai couldn't quite put his finger on what he felt, but he had a strong intuition that Yin Jingyi's coma was not simple, which was why he rushed to Dongjiang.
Upon arriving at the hospital, both of them felt a chill run down their spines.
When Shen Huai's subordinates saw him, they rushed over, and Shen Huai temporarily put that feeling behind him.
The subordinate said, "Yin Jingyi just had surgery and is currently in the ICU. If she doesn't regain consciousness by tonight, I'm afraid..."
Shen Huai frowned slightly and took the elevator up with Ye Cang.
However, as soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Shen Huai felt the amulet in his pocket become scalding hot. He quickly took it out, but as soon as he did, it burst into flames. Shen Huai was startled and subconsciously let go of it. The amulet quickly burned out and turned into a wisp of smoke.
At the same time, Shen Huai felt a sharp pain between his eyebrows, as if someone had inserted a needle directly into his brain through his brow.
"ah--"
The pain was beyond the limits of human endurance. Shen Huai's face turned pale instantly, and he was in so much pain that he almost hunched over.
Ye Cang hugged him tightly, looking solemnly at the corridor in front of him. In his eyes, the corridor was crowded with terrifying black shadows, which were pouring into one of the wards.
But ever since the three of them stepped into the corridor, the shadowy figures seemed to have found a new target, and some of them began to swarm towards them.
But just as they approached, a faint golden light emanated from Ye Cang's body. The shadowy figures, upon touching the golden light, reacted as if they had encountered a deadly poison, letting out piercing screams and then quickly retreating.
Even so, many shadowy figures were still stirring, their eyes greedily fixed on Shen Huai in Ye Cang's arms.
The subordinates were unaware of what had happened; they only saw their boss fall to the ground, but Ye Cang caught him.
He hurriedly said, "I'll go get the doctor!"
Before Ye Cang could stop him, he stood in front of Shen Huai, staring intently at the group of dark figures in front of him.
This floor is the ICU ward, but for some reason there is no sound at all. All the doctors and nurses have disappeared, leaving only these constantly appearing dark shadows.
Ye Cang remembered seeing these shadowy figures. Shortly after his death, when he vaguely returned to his house, he had seen them. But it seemed that they feared something about him, and they would be hurt if they touched him. Over time, the shadowy figures disappeared from his side.
He never expected to see these shadowy figures again today, and they seemed to have ill intentions towards Shen Huai.
Shen Huai was now in a semi-comatose state. Ye Cang was worried and angry, and when the shadowy figures rushed over, he reached out and tore them in half.
The dark figure let out a sharp scream, then turned into black smoke and disappeared into the air.
This scene seemed to make the shadowy figures behind them somewhat wary, but they had no intention of letting Shen Huai go. Although they dared not approach Ye Cang, they still surrounded them and refused to disperse.
The layers of dark shadows resembled an ominous black mist; they were silent, merely surging and tentatively approaching Ye Cang.
In the black mist, pairs of greedy eyes were fixed on Shen Huai behind Ye Cang, like hyenas on the grassland eyeing their prey. If Ye Cang were to be careless for even the slightest moment, they would immediately rush over and tear their prey to shreds.
Ye Cang had to protect Shen Huai, so he could only focus on them. Before long, he felt tired. Although it was winter, sweat was sliding down his forehead.
The atmosphere was tense, ready to explode at any moment.
Just then, a figure landed nimbly in front of Ye Cang. Ye Cang's nerves were already stretched to the limit, and he instinctively threw a punch. However, the other person seemed to have eyes in the back of their head and dodged his punch by turning their head.