Chapter 158: Jealousy and Destruction (Part 2)

Though Cheng Xiaoyu felt a slight sense of insecurity, the girls of Idol Project showed very little outward emotion, other than practicing with even greater dedication. No one mentioned the Oriental Kagura incident, nor did anyone discuss the afternoon evaluation.

Except for Su Yuqi, none of them knew that the afternoon evaluation involved something as major as whether Cheng Xiaoyu’s music could make it onto the album. They all assumed that, given Cheng Xiaoyu’s status as the young master of Shanghe, as long as they performed well enough, he would be able to get these tracks onto the album. They had no idea that things were far from being that simple.

Cheng Xiaoyu had once considered pulling out the trump card of Poison, but it was hard to say whether traditional record labels could accept Poison’s novel style, let alone halt the progress of an already scheduled album just for the songs he wrote. While Poison was immensely popular, that popularity was rooted in the internet. Before having record sales or winning awards, he was merely a potential asset to record companies, not a guaranteed generator of sales. Record companies excelled at avoiding risks. They would never have the courage to experiment with music as unconventional and unpredictable in style as Poison's.

As for music websites, their profit model was completely different from that of record companies, and they didn't even need to cover production costs—providing a little promotional resource was enough. Whether a song became a hit or flopped did not entail a heavy investment for the website, making them incomparable to record companies. If Poison had initially relied on traditional record companies to break through, he would probably still be struggling away in some obscure corner right now.

Time certainly does not move according to human will. If Cheng Xiaoyu had possessed more time, or had intervened in Idol Project much earlier, he would have commanded more say in the matter. But there were no "ifs" in the present; he could only passively await the final verdict, yet he remained steadfast in his belief that fate is held in one's own hands.

Another person who did not believe in fate was Ma Guoli. Today, he followed closely behind Department Head Xiang Fengxing to the small theater, tasked with calling the artists onto the stage and recording each judge's critique of them. Given his usual disposition, if he were assigned such an opportunity to stand out, he would have considered it a sign of imminent favor and beamed with pride. Yet today, he could not manage to feel happy at all. Yesterday's scene felt like a venomous snake coiled around his heart, biting deeply into him every time he recalled the image.

Last night, as he looked at Qin Senmei sleeping beside him, he felt that everything was utterly tasteless and began to resent the unfairness of the world.

Upon entering the small theater and looking around, Ma Guoli felt slightly relieved not to spot Cheng Xiaoyu anywhere.

Before the evaluations officially began, Su Changhe and his secretary also arrived at the small theater right on time. At that moment, everyone who was seated stood up from their chairs.

Although Su Changhe was the president, he traditionally focused solely on business operations and rarely interfered with the highly specialized realm of album production. Therefore, he almost never attended monthly evaluation sessions, and even when he did, it was merely a formality. But today was Su Yuqi’s final evaluation before her debut, so it was hardly unusual for him to come and observe.

Su Changhe motioned for everyone to sit down and said nothing further. Seeing Su Changhe, Xiang Fengxing showed no excessive surprise and instructed the staff to bring over two chairs to place beside him. Ma Guoli eagerly rushed off with a staff member to fetch the chairs. It was his first time seeing President Su Changhe, and he felt a flutter of excitement within.

Su Changhe's appearance noticeably tightened the atmosphere in the small theater. The previous chatter vanished completely, leaving most of the observers too intimidated to speak loudly. Those who couldn't contain themselves had to resort to whispering quietly into one another's ears.

Not only did Ma Guoli help bring a chair for Su Changhe, but noticing that Su Changhe had no evaluation materials in hand, he eagerly and attentively handed him a rating sheet. Su Changhe smiled and thanked Ma Guoli, whose heart felt as sweet as honeyed water upon receiving a kind smile from the handsome and benevolent president.

Su Changhe glanced over the evaluation sheet. As artists preparing for debut, their performances were naturally scheduled at the very end of the evaluations. There were no recommender evaluations for this monthly assessment, meaning the performance by Idol Project would be the grand finale of the entire session.

Under Cao Danian's instruction, Ma Guoli announced the first trainee to take the stage.

Cheng Xiaoyu was still in the dressing room, arranging the styling for the members of Idol Project. For both him and them, this evaluation could not afford a single mistake. Ordinarily, this song called for a retro aesthetic, but lacking pre-prepared vintage garments, Cheng Xiaoyu had no choice but to select a set of silver sequined dresses from the performance outfits prepared by the company. He applied light, complementary makeup to each of them, elevating the entire group's visual appeal and aura by leaps and bounds.

Once Cheng Xiaoyu finished styling their hair and the flock of girls stood before the mirror, everyone else in the dressing room felt that these girls within the humble room were dazzling like superstars, too radiant to look at directly.

Yet Cheng Xiaoyu still felt something was slightly off. As a perfectionist, Xu Qinning was a bit too tall at 175 centimeters, while Quan Youli, Jing Xuexuan, and Cheng Xiujing were slightly shorter at only 168 centimeters, creating a visual imbalance across the lineup.

After a moment of thought, Cheng Xiaoyu instructed Quan Youli and Jing Xuexuan, "You two, go find a pair of heels around six centimeters to wear."

Quan Youli blinked in surprise and said to Cheng Xiaoyu, "It's hard to dance in high heels!"

Cheng Xiaoyu chuckled and patted Quan Youli’s shoulder. "I have my own ways to ensure it doesn't affect your dancing."

Cheng Xiaoyu then told Xu Qinning to wear flat shoes; her legs were already long enough that she looked stunning without heels. Xu Qinning and Bae Suzy were of similar height, both standing at 170 centimeters, so Cheng Xiaoyu had them wear shoes with a slight heel.

Cheng Xiaoyu went to fetch clear tape, and as soon as the girls returned in their shoes, he carefully taped their feet in place one by one.

Cheng Xiujing was thoroughly astounded by Cheng Xiaoyu's ingenious idea and exclaimed, "Brother Xiaoyu, you are simply too smart! This way, we can wear high heels for all our dances from now on."

Cheng Xiaoyu secured the silver high heels onto Cheng Xiujing's feet and replied, "This is an ancestral family secret! Whoever leaks this to anyone else will just have to offer themselves in marriage to repay the royal grace."

The girls burst into hearty laughter. Jing Xuexuan couldn't help but chime in, "In that case, Suzy will probably be the first to sell off Brother Xiaoyu's family secret at a loss."

Cheng Xiujing didn't let Bae Suzy off the hook either, smilingly saying, "Suzy is destined to be a mere maid. Sister Ning has been so scheming to get into the Su family; by the time Suzy manages to sell this recipe, Sister Ning will have probably sold it dozens of times over."

Xu Qinning wasn't phased by Cheng Xiujing's teasing in the slightest. "Xiujing, you little chatterbox, I think you're the one who wants to be the young mistress of Shanghe the most. Just the other day you were shouting that you wouldn't marry anyone except Poison, and yesterday you said if Brother Xiaoyu pursued you, it wasn't out of the question. You're the one clinging to Brother Xiaoyu the most during dance practice every day, yet you're making fun of Suzy! Back in the old dynasty, I'd say both of you were cut out to be servant girls."

With her sharp tongue, Xu Qinning made Cheng Xiujing blush slightly. Cheng Xiujing gave Bae Suzy—seated beside her—a gentle shove and said, "Hey, hey, Head Maid, aren't you going to pour a cup of tea for your young mistress Xu?"

Bae Suzy blinked and replied, "You're older than me, so you must be the Head Maid! At most, I'm just a junior maid."

Everyone dissolved into laughter once more. Seeing the banter turning toward him, Cheng Xiaoyu put on a solemn expression and declared, "The master hasn't given you permission to laugh yet! Whoever laughs again will be on bed-duty tonight!"

United for once, the girls launched a volley of gentle slaps at Cheng Xiaoyu, instantly engulfing him in a cloud of soft, fragrant warmth.

At that moment, a junior trainee knocked on the door and announced, "Seniors, it's almost your turn. The teacher sent me to call you."

The previously jovial atmosphere instantly quieted down.

Cheng Xiaoyu looked at the young trainee and said, "We'll be right there." Then, turning back to the girls, he said, "Once you have defined your direction, the entire world will clear a path for you. Now is the time to show them that your charm is utterly irresistible."