Once the show began.
The host asked the question they had rehearsed beforehand.
"Chenchen, I hear you and Xixi are very good friends off camera. Is that true?"
Wang Chen lowered her eyes. "We're acquaintances."
"Oh?" The host froze for a moment. That wasn't what they had agreed on backstage.
Had she changed her lines at the last minute?
That was understandable.
"Haha, but Xixi said you often go out to eat together and get along really well." The host tried to steer the conversation back on track.
Wang Chen gave a soft laugh. "Is that what she told you?"
The host looked at Wang Chen in confusion, sensing that something was wrong.
Gu Luoxi frowned slightly, too.
"Gu Luoxi and I only go out to eat when we're discussing work. I'm busy the rest of the time. I don't have time to hang out with other people," Wang Chen said coolly.
"Chenchen, what's wrong? Haven't we always been close?" Gu Luoxi stepped forward and gently tugged at Wang Chen's clothes.
Wang Chen instinctively stepped back, her tone distant. "Teacher Gu, we don't know each other that well. Please don't do that, or your fans will accuse me of riding your coattails."
-Whoa, what's going on?
-Is Gu Luoxi deliberately trying to ride our Chenchen's coattails?
-You're just an actress. What right do you have to compare yourself to our Chenchen?
By now, the livestream chat had noticed something was off.
"No, Chenchen, we..." Before Gu Luoxi could finish, the host cut in again.
"Ahem, I also heard from Xixi that Chenchen wrote a song especially for her?"
-Whoa, Wang Chen personally wrote a song for Xixi! Our Xixi is amazing.
-What? Chenchen personally wrote a song for someone else? That's insane... My Chenchen, we don't do things like that.
-Is that even true? The young queen of pop has never done anything like that, okay?
-Isn't Gu Luoxi just an actress? Is she worth our Chenchen writing a song for her?
The chat erupted.
Knowing that Wang Chen would be appearing on this variety show, a large portion of the viewers in the chat were her fans.
Wang Chen had an enormous fan base, with tens of millions of followers across the internet, approaching a hundred million.
And her fans were very levelheaded. They didn't blindly idolize celebrities and had no interest in someone like Gu Luoxi.
Only after Wang Chen felt the chat had discussed it enough did she leisurely speak.
"I've never said I would write a song for Gu Luoxi. I wonder where the host heard that."
"What?" The host was stunned, too. She hurriedly checked the cue cards in her hands several times. It was indeed clearly written there.
"These... were given to me by Xixi. She said everything on them was true," the host explained.
Wang Chen scoffed. "My fans all know I've never written a song for anyone else. Why would I promise Gu Luoxi something like that?"
After Wang Chen finished speaking.
The chat filled with: Yes!
-Haha, I knew it. Our Chenchen has never been in the habit of writing songs for other people.
-This Gu Luoxi sure is ambitious.
-What a bitch. Deliberately saying on a platform like this that our Chenchen would write a song for her-isn't she just trying to use our Chenchen?
-So calculating. Get off the stage already, Gu Luoxi. Just looking at you makes me sick.
Gu Luoxi was starting to panic, too. She had thought she was on good terms with Wang Chen, which was why she had asked the host to pose those questions. She had assumed Wang Chen would play along, but who would have thought... she would expose her on the spot?
"Chenchen, don't be angry. Maybe the host wrote it down wrong." Gu Luoxi licked her lips and grabbed at an excuse.
"Oh? Really?" Wang Chen stared at Gu Luoxi and scoffed. "But I heard you wrote these cards yourself... That's your handwriting on them."
"I..." Gu Luoxi was momentarily speechless.
"Teacher Gu Luoxi, I know you're a big name in the industry, but we still need to stick to the facts. We can't mislead our fans, can we?" Wang Chen enunciated every word.
-Exactly! We support Chenchen.
-Chenchen has such solid values. Unlike a certain someone. Get lost already.
-Now that I've got someone to compare her to, even Gu Luosheng beside her looks pretty.
-Stop talking nonsense. Our Xixi is the best.
-Then tell us what's so great about her. Is she great at riding our Chenchen's coattails, or at fooling you?
Gu Luosheng swallowed, struggling to make sense of it all.
This... wasn't how things had unfolded in the novel.
In the novel, Wang Chen really had helped Gu Luoxi release a song later on, and this variety show appearance had gone perfectly. Why... had things suddenly changed?
Gu Luoxi was at a loss for words, and her expression changed. "I... wasn't misleading the fans. Maybe I misheard you last time. You said you had a new song, and I thought you had written it for me."
"Haha, don't just keep reading my questions, host. There are Shengsheng's, too." Gu Luoxi shot the host a meaningful look, eager to change the subject.
The host immediately caught on. She cleared her throat and continued, "Shengsheng, I hear you really like singing. Since Teacher Chenchen is here, why don't you sing a song... and let her give you some feedback?"
Haha, I knew they'd pull this trick.
In the novel, this was exactly how Gu Luoxi had put Gu Luosheng on the spot to embarrass her.
-This host is killing me. Does Gu Luosheng's wailing even count as singing?
-I suggest everyone turn the volume down. Don't let her scare you.
-I'm going to puke. What's wrong with this variety show today?
-Hahaha, Gu Luosheng should be able to leave the show for good after this, right?
-Gu Luosheng can sing? I'll wash my hair while doing a handstand if she can, okay?
-If Gu Luosheng doesn't sing off-key, I'll go eat shit right now.
Gu Luosheng raised her brows, then chuckled. "I hope everyone who just said those things in the chat keeps their word."
After saying that, she looked at Gu Luoxi. "I hear Teacher Xixi is a great singer, too. Why don't we both sing? Otherwise, people will accuse me of hogging the spotlight again."
Gu Luoxi curled her lips. "Shengsheng, are you sure?"
Gu Luosheng nodded firmly. "Of course. We're both on this variety show to help everyone have a good time anyway. How about this... Let's make a bet. We'll each sing a song, and Teacher Chenchen will judge us at the end. Whoever gets the lower score gives all the fans here a treat. How about transferring a hundred yuan to each person?"
Once Gu Luosheng finished speaking, the livestream's viewer count surged to ten million.
It had doubled outright.
Gu Luoxi widened her eyes, feigning surprise, though inwardly she was ecstatic. "Are you crazy? You'll lose a fortune doing this."
Gu Luosheng spread her hands. "We don't know who'll win or lose yet. Don't tell me you're scared, Teacher Xixi?"
"Haha, me, scared? What a joke. Gu Luosheng, everyone knows you can't carry a tune. If you admit defeat now and say something nice to everyone, we can let this go. Otherwise, you'll be crying when you lose."
Gu Luoxi spoke as though she were being very considerate.
Gu Luosheng blinked. "It's fine. I'll just consider it a treat for everyone."
Before you continue