"That's my guess," Gu Nan nodded, "After their limited-time group disbanded, Jiang Yue stopped having any public interactions with any of his co-stars, but Su Yuan was the only one who appeared at Jiang Yue's concerts several times, and was photographed every time..."
" Jiang Yue's fans naturally criticized him for trying to ride on someone else's popularity, but he once posted something on his alternate account that said, 'Are you even going to take away my status as a fan?' He deleted it half an hour later."
"He likes Jiang Yue." Chi Li followed Gu Nan's train of thought.
"Probably." Gu Nan pulled up Jiang Yue's file again, flipping through it casually. "However, considering that Jiang Yue hasn't had any scandals all these years... this crush is probably just going to fizzle out."
"..." Chi Li forked a small cookie and put it in her mouth, her expression completely disdainful. "The person she likes doesn't like her back, and instead takes it out on me, an innocent person... How cowardly and pathetic."
"... These are just my guesses," Gu Nan said, putting on a protective shield. "They might not actually be as I say."
Chi Li remained noncommittal.
Whatever the reason, he despised this kind of behavior that made things difficult for newcomers.
If a mild-mannered newcomer had entered that room today, they would have been left with some psychological trauma.
But soon, Gu Nan's guess was confirmed.
Just as Chi Li was about to check Gu Nan's recent training results, his phone lit up with Jiang Yue's profile picture.
Jiang Yue actually sent him a video call.
Chi Li instinctively felt that the video call was related to Su Yuan's matter, so she casually clicked to answer.
Jiang Yue on the other side of the screen had probably just finished filming; he was still wearing the ancient costume from the drama, looking like a refined scholar.
"Sorry, the video was just to prove that it's me," Jiang Yue said first.
Chi Li didn't seem to care. "It's alright, did you need something?"
Shen Xunye stopped behind Chi Li, his gaze heavy as he looked down at the person on the screen.
Jiang Yue noticed his arrival, but didn't show it on her face, only talking about business with Chi Li: " Su Yuan said he doesn't have your contact information and asked me to tell you that he's already waiting in the karaoke room and won't have to go out again."
Hearing this, even Gu Nan, who was sitting opposite him, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
If Chi Li's contact information isn't available, surely the two agents can contact her too?
It's just a simple message, yet it requires such a huge effort, even involving a former colleague I haven't contacted in years... If word gets out, people will just laugh their heads off.
Chi Li chuckled softly, but didn't ask anything, only saying, "I understand, I'll be there in a bit."
Regardless, this is his first time appearing in front of the public as a singer, and he doesn't want to give up this stage easily.
"He also wants me to apologize on his behalf," Jiang Yue continued. "He said he didn't know his subordinates would act on their own initiative and be disrespectful to you. He's already spoken to them and punished that person."
"Do I need you to apologize?" Chi Li was utterly speechless. "... Who are you to him anyway?"
I came here to practice singing, and I ended up being taken advantage of. How unlucky!
"Uh..." Jiang Yue hesitated for a moment, then answered after several seconds, "I'd say we're friends."
"Okay, I understand." Chi Li didn't want to take her anger out on Jiang Yue, so she suppressed her anger for the time being. "I'll talk to him properly."
Without waiting for Jiang Yue's reply, he hung up.
"Brother," Gu Nan said with a look of anticipation, "What are you going to do now?"
"Let's go up first and talk about it then." Chi Li put her phone back in her pocket and walked outside.
Shen Xunye and Gu Nan quickly followed.
"I feel like he's a bit more cunning than Xie Weishui." Gu Nan had already skillfully categorized Su Yuan. "Whether you wait there or not, he has a plan. I'm sure he'll either hint at his grievances to Jiang Yue, or he'll subtly put you down a few times."
Shen Xunye scoffed, "What a pointless scheme."
It's both pathetic and laughable that you need to find a reason to even talk to someone you like.
Chi Li did not comment.
But he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to practice singing well tonight.
Five minutes later, Chi Li entered the singing practice room with two little tails following her.
The staff who had gathered earlier had disappeared; only Su Yuan, Su Yuan assistant, and the vocal coach from Starlight Entertainment remained inside.
" Xiao Chi, you're here." Su Yuan caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye, put down the lyrics in her hand, and warmly greeted him, extending her right hand. " Jiang Yue should have conveyed my message, right?"
Chi Li placed her hand on it with a half-smile. "Everything's here."
"That's good." Su Yuan smiled, not mentioning any apology or punishment for the staff, simply letting the matter drop. "Let's come over and divide the parts with the teacher."
The vocal coach had given the trainees a large class and was particularly impressed by Chi Li's outstanding performance. " Chi Li, come on, sing the whole song first. Su Yuan already sang it."
Chi Li temporarily set aside Su Yuan and responded to the vocal coach, "Okay, teacher."
He warmed up his voice briefly and then began to sing.
Su Yuan only listened to two sentences before turning around and going to Shen Xunye, who had just sat down.
"Hello, Shen Xunye."
Shen Xunye, who was about to ask Gu Nan for information about Chi Li, looked up with a blank face. "?"
Su Yuan took an autographed photo out of her pocket and handed it over. "Didn't you come all this way to see me? This is a gift I prepared for you."
Shen Xunye hadn't even figured out which one of the people in the room was Su Yuan. "Who are you?"
"I'm a celebrity." Su Yuan wasn't annoyed. He placed the autographed photo on the small table. "Didn't you come to see a celebrity?"
"Big brother." Gu Nan, who had picked up a bit of Chi Li's temper, threw Su Yuan's autographed photo on the ground. "Even a fool knows that's just a made-up excuse, but you actually took it seriously."
"Oh, I see." Su Yuan glanced at the autographed photo on the ground, then quickly looked away. "I was just being presumptuous."
Gu Nan: "..."
So what exactly is this doing?
Even with his keen imagination, he couldn't fathom what benefit Su Yuan could gain from this action.
Doesn't Su Yuan like Jiang Yue? What's the meaning of her deliberately showing off in front of Shen Xunye? Is it reciprocal revenge?
"Good to know." Shen Xunye didn't bother with tact. "You can leave now."
Su Yuan agreed and slowly turned around, the smile on her face completely gone.
He stood there for a few seconds before walking away.
"... What does he mean?" Gu Nan lowered his voice and whispered to Shen Xunye.
"Who knows?" Shen Xunye didn't want to waste his breath on him and immediately changed the subject. "Tell me about Chi Li when he was little."