Rebirth from the Ashes

Su Muyan had no idea what Xia Mi said to Mr. Xixi before he came, but things did not look optimistic judging by the usual stiff and unapproachable air around Mr. Xixi. Su Muyan was waiting for the moment Xia Mi hit the brick wall.

Xia Mi was naïve to think she could get through to Mr. Xixi as he was not one to agree to collaboration so easily!

To everyone’s surprise, Mr. Xixi nodded and glanced at Xia Mi before uttering, “Sure.”

Su Muyan was dumbstruck, unable to believe the word actually came out of Mr. Xixi’s mouth. How could it be? There was no way Mr. Xixi would say yes without a hitch!

Xia Mi was a dancer and sure, she sang too but not to the point she could take on Mr. Xixi’s songs.

It never occurred to Xia Mi that Mr. Xixi would be so forthright to go along with it just like saying hello, he answered without hesitation. Unsure whether her ears were playing tricks on her, she repeated the question. “Mr. Xixi, I’m saying that I wish to work with you on my new album.”

Shen Xi admitted the same while still glued to her phone. Still, she made it clear to Xia Mi. “I heard it and yes.”

Following the confirmed answer, Xia Mi was certain that she was not dreaming or that Mr. Xixi misheard her. She was over the moon for Mr. Xixi to give her his word yet did not want to get carried away. She pulled herself together and reached out a hand. “Here’s to a great collaboration.”

Shen Xi did not return the handshake but solemnly replied, “Ditto.”

Su Muyan, who had been standing nearby, could not believe Mr. Xixi agreed to work with Xia Mi so easily. He approached them and said with a smile, “I look forward to being able to work with you, Mr. Xixi. I wonder if I could have the opportunity.”

Lifting her head, Shen Xi indifferently swept him a glance and blurted, “No.”

The smile on Su Muyan’s face froze as he tried to hold in the scorching rage within. “Mr. Xixi, you seem to have some sort of misunderstanding about me?”

Wanwan mentioned that Mr. Xixi and Shen Xi knew each other and because of Shen Xi, he refused to give her any guidance. Su Muyan was asked to explain to Mr. Xixi so the latter would not just listen to one side of the story and misunderstand them.

However, Su Muyan felt that this was not the case. If the wicked brat had a close relationship with Mr. Xixi, he would have turned against them like Guan Yue and Jiang Yin from the very beginning.

Yet now, he had his suspicions whether Mr. Xixi knew Shen Xi.

If Mr. Xixi could agree to a collaboration with Gu Yang and Xia Mi, then why was Su Muyan not considered? Writing a few songs came as a piece of cake for the brilliant Mr. Xixi.

“No misunderstandings.” Shen Xi was fixated on her mobile screen as she faintly replied, “You’re our rival. Qi Xiu will not like it.”

F*ck!

Xia Mi nearly spat out her unswallowed water, having been won over by Mr. Xixi’s answer. The reason for rejection was mind-blowing, direct, and blunt!

It was a known fact in the entertainment world that Su Muyan had been backstabbing and dissing Qi Xiu since his debut. These two parties were the worst rivals with their fans tearing into each other.

Su Muyan choked on Mr. Xixi’s words. Clenching his fists, he tried to get a grip of himself. “I’ll excuse myself then, Mr. Xixi.”

Xia Mi looked at Mr. Xixi who was his usual detached and aloof self before glancing at Su Muyan who was about to lose it. She twisted open the bottle cap and took another sip to calm her nerves.

It was best she kept quiet. It was no secret that Mr. Xixi and Qi Xiu were close, but she never thought that Mr. Xixi was a force of nature, saying whatever was on his mind. What a bad*ss!

Still, there was a reason behind his bad*ss attitude. Others would go to lengths to work with him and it was not the other way around so that in itself was not the norm. Only the gifted and skilled had the galls to step on toes.

Shaking with raging resentment, Su Muyan was about to go off the deep end. Qi Xiu, yet again!

Qi Xiu that d*mn dingbat must have told Mr. Xixi against working with him. What did a newbie with little accomplishment have to be cocky about?

With Mr. Xixi’s words crushing Su Muyan’s dreams and giving him a blow, he put all his grievances on Qi Xiu.

Oblivious to the resentment coming from Su Muyan, Shen Xi lowered her head and typed on her phone. [Shen Xi: The show’s about to start. Are you watching it with Uncle Jin Yu?]

[Li Yuan: No.]

Shen Xi was sent a photo of the bunny plush toy she won during their trip to the amusement park.

[Shen Xi: Where’s Toffeecito?]

[Li Yuan: Its granddad called him away.]

Shen Xi posted a LOL emoji. [Shen Xi: Call it back.]

[Li Yuan: Its granddad is home alone.]

Shen Xi had a sudden thought to tell Li Yuan to join her dad since it was sad he was home alone. Nevertheless, she replied with one word. [Shen Xi: Oh.]

Meanwhile, the mentors had all arrived. The stage light dimmed as the director started the countdown.

Shen Xi swiftly typed a reply. [Shen Xi: It’s about to begin.]

[Li Yuan: You can do it.]

Shen Xi set her phone to mute before putting it away.

At the end of the countdown, fans stirred an uproar with shrieks and screams, giving support to the contestants of their choice,

For the trainees’ fourth performance, they would be presenting their original song and dance. The mentors offered advice and direction, helping the girls hammer out their work. The stage was where their creations would premiere.

Su Ruowan’s team was the first to hit the stage. Her team of six was reduced to five after He Lu was sent to the hospital due to severe wounds and injured vocals. This was the end of the road for He Lu.

The crowd went wild the moment the music and dancing began. The catchy tune, paired with the girls’ clear voices and uniform dancing was a visual and auditory feast.

An individual’s dance skills were most telling from identical dance moves. It was easy to spot the difference in a line of uniform dancing.

Of course, the best and most consistent dancer on the team was Su Ruowan.

There was no fobbing off in a live performance. It was clear who had the best vocals among the trainees.

Throughout the singing and dancing which comprised high difficulty moves too, Su Ruowan was the only one to keep high energy. Despite her fellow teammates gasping for air, she managed to catch the rhythm and indistinctly breathed in between the lines. Su Ruowan was a worthy contestant.

Apart from Shen Xi, the rest of the mentors watched the girl on stage in awe. They highly affirmed Su Ruowan’s talent. Despite yesterday’s injuries, she was still able to shine on stage. It went without saying that Su Ruowan had all the qualities of an idol.

The performance earned earsplitting applause from the audience. Su Ruowan’s fans brought down the house as they screamed her name, overshadowing the cheers for Su Ruowan’s other teammates.

Her fans made up the majority anyway. Su Ruowan would still have more fans even if the other trainees put their fans together. The presence of her fans alone was startling.

For this performance, it was all in the hands of the fans to vote for the winners. The mentors no longer had a say in the trainees’ ranking, but they would still give their professional opinion.

With the show progressing to this point, the top seven winners were already determined if everything went according to plan. There was a wide gap in vote counts between the top seven and the rest of the trainees.

Since the production team was highly against the buying of votes, there was no chance for the trainees not in the top seven to turn the tides and change their fates.

“What an amazing performance.” Fang Yao was the first to give the stamp of approval. She gave the team a standing ovation.

“You girls are the best, especially Ms. Su Ruowan. Your song and choreography are nicely done. I hope you’d continue to keep it up and bring us more surprises,” Gu Yang commented.

The other mentors also responded favorably. At this point, the mentors had no reason to be strict. They did not spare the compliments, providing the trainees with lots of praises and encouragement.

Soon, it was Shen Xi’s turn.

All the mentors turned to Mr. Xixi in unison as they waited to hear his view. Since Mr. Xixi had never seen or heard Su Ruowan’s creation, he must be blown away by her work.

Su Ruowan’s heart was at her throat as she clenched her fists tightly and held her breath. She wanted to be recognized by Mr. Xixi yet was afraid he would dismiss her.

She firmly believed that she stood out in her performance today and would outshine the other team, except for Ye Weiyang’s singing. With all the mentors giving her high praises, she was sure Mr. Xixi would do too.

Unless Mr. Xixi was out to get her. Nevertheless, the public saw her performance themselves. Her fans would strike back if Mr. Xixi dared to spew nonsense.

Shen Xi paused as though to relive the earlier performance, and finally broke the silence under the expectant eyes of the public. “The song and choreography seem familiar.”

Mr. Xixi had the tendency to drop a bomb.

All the mentors were taken aback. Familiar? This was no good because, in other words, it was plagiarism!

Color washed off Su Muyan’s complexion.

Struck by those words, Su Ruowan’s vision began to blur and her limbs started to give out.