2

Upon seeing this sentence, Ling Yi reacted faster than Fang Juexia. She immediately turned the computer to the side. "Ah, that's about it …"

Fang Juexia actually didn't think much of it. Anyway, in the online world, fake things would become true after a few times.

Just as he was about to take the initiative to change the topic, Jiang Miao brought out soup from the kitchen. "Juexia, Chang Ge just called you but you didn't answer. He asked you to go to the company for a meeting. Oh, right," she added. "Xiao Pei is already there."

"Now?"

"Yes."

Under the pressure of the captain, who was emitting a halo of motherly love, Fang Juexia finished the chicken soup before rushing back to the company.

He didn't expect even the boss to come. Although Xingtu was only considered a small agency in the company, the boss was usually very busy and didn't appear in the company often.

"You're here. Sit." The boss, Chen Zhengyun, sat in the middle of the conference room with his hands crossed and motioned for him to sit next to him. Fang Juexia sat down as instructed and looked across the long table.

There was no one else but Pei Tingsong who pulled down the gray woolen hat to cover his eyes and leaned back on the chair to sleep in public.

"Xiao Pei, wake up." Cheng Qiang, who was sitting next to him, woke him up. Pei Tingsong pushed the hat up in a daze, took it off, and scratched his hair. Sharp eyebrows emerged from the fog and aimed at Fang Juexia opposite him.

"You're finally here." The first thing he said when he woke up was not polite.

He stared at Fang Juexia. Fang Juexia subconsciously turned his face away. The birthmark at the corner of his left eye was facing Pei Tingsong. This reminded him of a kind of flower he had seen in the garden when he was a child. It was light pink with slender petals and was exactly the same shape as the birthmark at the corner of his eye.

"Since last night, the two of you have been on the hot search list. We are quite surprised." Chen Zhengyun glanced at his assistant. "Report it."

The incident happened suddenly, but Chen Zhengyun immediately sent someone to record and analyze the data. There were a lot of PowerPoint presentations. Fang Juexia did not say anything and listened quietly. Occasionally, he glanced at Pei Tingsong and saw that he was about to fall asleep on the table.

"That's more or less the case. Not only Weibo and Baidu, but some websites with less active users also have impressive figures." The assistant laughed. "It's even more popular than Kaledo's debut."

Pei Tingsong, who had his eyes closed, suddenly laughed.

So he wasn't asleep. Fang Juexia glanced at him. He didn't expect this guy to open his eyes at the same time. The two of them were caught off guard and their eyes met. Pei Tingsong was born with a pair of long, narrow, and deep eyes. The black and white of his eyes were distinct, and he looked very aggressive.

"Although it was an accident, the popularity is real. As you all know, Kaleido's development hasn't been satisfactory in the two years since its debut. " Chen Zhengyun's eyes moved back and forth between the two of them. "We're holding this meeting today to discuss the future plans."

Fang Juexia knew in his heart that the boss was quite kind to his artists. Even if their debut was not very popular in the two years, he didn't force them to crazily accept jobs to increase their exposure unless the artists themselves requested it.

Speaking of which, this group's debut was quite rushed. They were once ridiculed as "five people who picked up scraps and one person who came out of nowhere."

At that time, it was because the senior group made a name for themselves, especially the group's face, Shang Sirui, was very popular. Taking advantage of this, Star Map wanted to launch a new male group. Fang Juexia, who was once a seeded player in a big company, naturally deserved to be in the center position.

The other lead dancer, Lu Yuan, previously won the championship of a street dance competition. After the competition, she was kicked out of the original dance group because of the unequal distribution of benefits. After several twists and turns, she came to Star Map. The lead singer, Ling Yi, was born with a good voice. When she was young, she participated in a children's singing talent show. Unfortunately, she only got second place because of her connections. When she was seventeen, she participated in another talent show, but because she didn't have any connections, she couldn't make it to the finals. Later, she was scouted by Star Map to be a trainee. After practicing for three and a half years, she debuted.

The leader, Jiang Miao, was a student of the Central Conservatory of Music. She played the zither well, but unfortunately, her family wasn't well off. In order to support her sister, she once became a live streamer and played the zither. However, because she didn't show her face, she wasn't very popular. She was scouted by Star Map to be a trainee.

The two rappers were even more "unknown" among the trainees. He Ziyan was in an underground band when he was very young. He also went to bars to sing and play discs. He was quite talented in electronic music, but he never mentioned where he came from or how his family was like. Pei Tingsong was the only one among them who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Before they formed a group, he was parachuted in, messing up their previous plans and arrangements, and stuffed in this young master.

However, it was undeniable that Pei Tingsong's rap skills and creative ability were definitely the best in the industry. He debuted two years ago, and he was only nineteen years old. His family background, talent, and appearance were all cheats. It was hard not to be arrogant.

"I'm not doing it," Pei Tingsong said bluntly. He cupped his cheek with one hand and picked up the pen on the table with the other.

Chen Zhengyun didn't seem to care too much. He turned to look at Fang Juexia and continued what he had just said. "The planning department worked overtime and gave me a new proposal." The assistant distributed the proposal. Chen Zhengyun was clear and simple. "The company is preparing to readjust your marketing. To put it bluntly, you and Xiao Pei will be a business couple. You don't need to be too intimate. Just act normal and have some camaraderie as teammates."

These words struck a chord in their hearts. The two of them didn't get along since their debut. They didn't like each other, but Fang Juexia expressed his dislike by not interacting much. Pei Tingsong, on the other hand, was different. From time to time, he would play some nasty tricks.

Otherwise, this wouldn't have happened.

"This is a very good opportunity. As long as you seize this opportunity, your future development will definitely reach a new level."

Fang Juexia stared at the proposal and was silent for a few seconds. He thought about the various conflicts between him and Pei Tingsong in the past two years. If it was like in the past, he could avoid it as much as possible and maintain a harmonious relationship within the team. But if he agreed …

The consequences would be unimaginable.

He looked up. "Boss, let's forget it. I don't really want to be a couple."

Before the boss could say anything, the other side of the table got angry. "You don't like being a couple with me?"

"Give me a reason to convince me." Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows and looked at him playfully. "Am I not good-looking or rich enough?"

His hint was very explicit. Fang Juexia's expression didn't change and he didn't answer.

"Xiao Pei, do you really want to be a couple?" Chen Zhengyun raised his chin at Cheng Qiang. "Remember, the youngest has agreed."

Xiao Pei rolled his eyes and said lifelessly, "No."

"I think you're quite anxious." Chen Zhengyun couldn't be bothered to dawdle with him. His gaze returned to Fang Juexia. "Juexia, this matter doesn't just concern the two of you. It concerns the entire team. Actually, it's fine if you don't want to, but you'll lose an opportunity to make a name for yourself. But then again, the netizens have already dug out your previous videos. As long as it's popular, it will spread. Even if you don't take the initiative to be a couple, from the moment it became a hot search yesterday, you've been tied up. "

In other words, it was better to adapt to the situation and take the initiative.

Fang Juexia looked at him. "I just don't want to use this method."

"This isn't a method. Juexia, this is an opportunity." Chen Zhengyun shrugged. "In terms of ability, the six of you can achieve better results than you are now. It's hard to have only ability but no opportunity."

"Or have you already forgotten what you said to me when you first entered the company?"

Fang Juexia's heart suddenly shrank.

He did say that he wanted to stand in the center of the stage.

But he didn't have a stage now.

Although there were many coincidences in their debut, the company still took care of it. Even the initial planning of their group was done by Chen Zhengyun. The name of the group, Kaleido, was also based on the etymology of kaleidoscope, which meant that the kaleidoscope was ever-changing. They were all very clear about the hope that was placed in this.

But there were too many factors involved in the success of a group.

A thin layer of sweat formed on their palms. Their nerves were pulled apart inch by inch and they were tense. At this moment, the phone suddenly vibrated. Fang Juexia's hand trembled. The moment he saw the caller, his brows furrowed even tighter.

"Sorry, I … I'll go out for a while."

Chen Zhengyun nodded and simply let everyone take a break in the middle. He also went out for a smoke. Only Pei Tingsong and Cheng Qiang were left in the conference room. Pei Tingsong was bored to death and was practicing his writing on the proposal. He wanted to write his name, but just as he wrote a 'no', he heard Cheng Qiang sigh. He looked up and saw that his face was clouded with worry.

He was a little curious. "Brother Qiang, what's wrong?"

Brother Qiang was first called Brother Qiang by the fans because when they were picking him up at the airport, the group members were all calling him Chang Ge. The fans misheard and kept calling him Brother Qiang. Pei Tingsong found it interesting and followed suit.

Cheng Qiang said irritably, "F * ck, I get angry when I talk about it …"

Fang Juexia walked around a few times before he found an empty conference room on the same floor. He didn't want to answer the phone, but this Assistant Director Yang was not only the assistant director for the variety show, but also a small executive of the broadcast platform. As a small idol who wasn't considered popular, he had already lost too much face.

"Director Yang."

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be a different person, and his tone was kind. "Little Fang, are you busy now? I was a little short-tempered yesterday. I was too harsh with my words, but don't take it to heart. You also know that I quite like you, but because I like you, I was a little anxious … "

When the word "like" came out of his mouth, Fang Juexia felt nauseous. He put the phone back in his pocket and adjusted the wireless earpiece. "Director, I've already expressed my wishes clearly …"

"You child, listen to me first. You were also on the hot search list yesterday, weren't you happy? Look, you actually have a lot of potential. You're so good-looking, right? You have the ability to work, but you're still lacking a platform to climb up. "

The more he spoke, the more disgust Fang Juexia felt. It was as if this pot-bellied, arrogant, and rude assistant director was standing in front of him at this moment, his eyes full of lust, and using his thick hand to stroke his shoulder. At this moment, even the sound of breathing through the phone made him feel nauseous.

"Director Yang, if you must force me …"

Without waiting for Fang Juexia to finish, the person on the other end retorted loudly.

"How is this forcing you to do something against your will? This is each taking what he needs. These two days, the hot search list on the Internet was bought by your company, right? Not bad, you know how to flatter people. You should have done this earlier. But you have to think clearly, there are always new people in the industry. If the popularity doesn't keep up with the exposure, it'll be a waste. The money you bought for the hot search list will be wasted, understand? "

The sharp voice in the earpiece turned into the sound of burrs, cruelly cutting Fang Juexia's proud self-esteem.

At this moment, he had become a cheap commodity on the shelf. Even if he wasn't in the sad situation of being forced to buy and sell, he could be wantonly crushed inside, leaving behind a fragile plastic package. Picking it up and shaking it, it was full of the crisp sound of shattered dreams colliding with each other.

The more the other party spoke, the more confident he became. Showing off was also tempting. "What's exposure? Of course it's a reality show! Speaking of reality shows, your company doesn't have the connections I do … "

Nausea, dizziness, excessive fatigue, and lack of food made his vision dim and his legs weak. The voice in the earpiece split into countless, overlapping into bursts of buzzing.

"What's there to be on the Internet? If you want to go on it, go on a satellite program. Your national popularity will rise in minutes. Little Fang, you can relax. As long as you follow me, I promise to tailor one for you … "

Suddenly, his cheek was rubbed by cold fingertips.

The source of hatred disappeared with the earpiece. His ears were empty for a moment, and the noisy and chaotic world suddenly quieted down, as if sinking into the deep sea.

"Assistant Director Yang."

A hand casually rested on Fang Juexia's shoulder, making him stiffen and turn his head in a daze.

On the other end of the phone, the old man who had been talking non-stop was stunned, and the exaggerated words he had been praising fell to the ground. After all, this low voice didn't sound like Fang Juexia's at all, and the frivolous tone was even more different.

"I recorded it."