n

n

nNing Meng blinked. “What did you say? If you have the balls, go ahead and say that again!”

nLi Haojie lifted his head. “She did all these things on purpose. She is willing to stoop this low in order to win!”

nNing Meng laughed out loud. “How obedient. You really repeated what you said when I asked you to.”

n

n

n“??”

nNing Meng taunted him further. “Come. If you have the balls, say that again.”

nLi Haojie replied, “On what basis did you assume that I would repeat what I said just because you asked me to?”

nNing Meng continued to snicker. “You don’t dare to repeat what you said anymore? If you don’t have the balls, then shut your mouth!”

n

n

n“…”

nNing Meng continued with a condescending sneer. “I finally understand why you would like someone like Su Tiantian. It’s hard for a dung beetle to meet a pile of **, so of course, you would quickly kiss her ass!”

n“…!!!”

nNing Meng then looked toward Zhen Shanmei and sighed. “Forget it. Let’s not be calculative with these guys. They do have protection from the law after all.”

n

n

nZhen Shanmei’s anger subsided and she asked curiously, “What law?”

n“The animal welfare act.”

n“…”

nLi Haojie could only choke at this amusing insult. Su Tiantian, who was still pretending to be a vulnerable damsel, lifted her head. “Miss Zhen, why don’t we settle it this way. Seeing as you cannot wear an in-ear monitor in one ear, why don’t Teacher Haojie and I only wear one in-ear monitor each as well, then? That should sort this matter out?”

nUsually, those who went onstage would need two pieces of in-ear monitors. Singers who were capable would bring down one of their in-ear monitors to show off their impressive skills.

nSu Tiantian closed her eyes halfway and pressed her hand against her chest to show her anticipation of their agreement.

n

n

n“sourandsweet” had left the fandom for tens of days, but the trending topic was still on the top rank. Li Haojie had told her yesterday that he had made a bet with Zhen Shanmei. If he won, Zhen Shanmei would need to remove this trending topic. However, Lin Qingbei’s skills were too powerful. Su Tiantian was not confident that Li Haojie would win, hence, she had come up with this tactic. She was confident that the professional standards of her and Li Haojie would only require them to use one in-ear monitor. Whereas Zhen Shanmei was a newbie and had no live stage experience. One in-ear monitor would not be enough for her to take control of her environment.

nAs she said this, she looked at Li Haojie. “I do apologize for dragging you into this.”

nLi Haojie immediately waved his hand. “I’m the one who dragged you into this! Some people don’t know how to carry a song and yet they came here to mess things up. I’m sure it’s because she feels insecure about herself and wants others to feel the same way!”

nAfter both of them had voiced out their thoughts, Zhen Shanmei suddenly spoke up. “OK, deal.”

n“…”

nThe resting room was filled with pin-drop silence.

nAfter a while, one artist who was known as the King of Pop could not stand seeing the unfairness. “Miss Zhen, you’re at a disadvantage here. They’re both professional artists, one in-ear monitor is enough for them. But for you…”

nZhen Shanmei gave him an appreciative look. “Dear senior, I really cherish the thought, but there are no better solutions to this matter.”

n

n

nThe artist sighed. “If that’s the case, for a fair tournament, I will only put on one in-ear monitor as well.”

nNing Meng looked around at all the people in the room and suddenly felt that these seniors were quite altruistic, unlike their junior counterparts.

n“OK! The show is about to begin! The first group please get ready.”

nThe director would be controlling the show’s momentum when they went live.

nAs the rest of the singers went onstage for the competition, Li Haojie mocked Zhen Shanmei in a low voice. “Did you think that you could beat me by dropping one of my in-ear monitors? Your tactic is too low-grade!”

nZhen Shanmei looked at him and broke out into a smile. “Let’s see how this goes.”

n***

nThe competition had started.

nNing Meng headed to the VIP seats among the crowd. As the emcee was talking, her phone vibrated. She lowered her head to pick it up and saw that it was Huo Beichen who had sent her a text: Which row are you in?

n