Her Majesty The Empress Has Made Her Debut In The Center Position [Ancient to Modern] - Chapter 16
No matter how much they talked about it, practice was key. Even with well-paced training, the “Perfect Pair” Group was exhausted, dragging their weary bodies into the cafeteria.
A quick glance around showed the other trainees were in a similar state.
While Yu Cheng went to get her food, Pei Jia plopped down in the empty seat next to Ji Zhao, pulling a metal lunch box from her backpack. She opened it mysteriously and said, “Here’s the chicken leg from lunch. I saved it just for you.”
Ever since Ji Zhao gave Pei Jia her “salary,” Pei Jia’s work attitude had improved dramatically. She had gone from whining about quitting every half-hour to not mentioning it at all in a whole day—a remarkable improvement.
Ji Zhao didn’t hold back her praise. “You’re so thoughtful.”
Pei Jia giggled, just as she was about to cozy up further, when she suddenly felt a weight on her back. She froze, then glanced sideways and saw a pink figure standing behind her, her gaze even more imposing than her color. Pei Jia forced a laugh and turned around. “Yu Cheng, I’m just chatting with Zhaozhao for a minute. You can find another seat!”
Yu Cheng remained silent and motionless.
Ji Zhao understood her thoughts. In Yu Cheng’s eyes, this was an unknown world filled with competitors and dangers lurking everywhere. She felt she had to stay by Ji Zhao’s side at all times, or it would be a dereliction of duty.
Yu Cheng’s loyalty touched Ji Zhao, and she didn’t want to discourage her. Instead, she urged Pei Jia, “Just get to the point.”
Pei Jia felt her heart shatter.
She was the one who met Zhaozhao first! They worked at the same company! There was even a financial arrangement between them! And now… she might as well pack her bags and withdraw from the competition!
After a moment of silence, Ji Zhao gently asked, “What’s wrong?”
Pei Jia felt her heart mend a little.
Oh, that damned tenderness!
Under Yu Cheng’s icy gaze, she quickly blurted out, “The production team asked me to tell you to go to the office after dinner—the same one we went to last time.”
Ji Zhao nodded thoughtfully.
The organizers must have reached a decision, and it’s a good one. Otherwise, they would have told me to pack my bags today, not to go to the office.
“I understand,” Ji Zhao said.
Pei Jia had only joined the company two months ago, during which time the company had undergone massive changes and most people had left. Naturally, she hadn’t received systematic training, and her luck was bad this time, having been assigned to the group working on the English song.
“Not bad!” Pei Jia zipped up her backpack. “Everyone’s still memorizing the lyrics.”
Ji Zhao hesitated, then reached out and patted her head. “You’re a clever girl. I believe in you.”
Pei Jia’s eyes widened dramatically.
The next moment, she sprang to her feet, shooting Yu Cheng a triumphant glance.
Yu Cheng: “……”
If her understanding was correct, the look in the girl from the same company as Your Majesty’s eyes said, “Zhaozhao thinks I’m clever! You’re not!”
Why isn’t she?
Sitting next to Ji Zhao, Yu Cheng pushed the tray over. Suddenly, she paused and blurted out, “I’m not.”
Ji Zhao, puzzled, asked, “What do you mean you’re not?”
“I’m older than you,” Yu Cheng replied.
“…You’re trying to use age to intimidate me?”
Ji Zhao: “What do you mean by that?”
Yu Cheng shook her head, a faint smile appearing in her eyes, bringing a sudden sparkle to her face. She picked up her chopsticks, picked up a piece of braised pork, and brought it to Ji Zhao’s lips. “The braised pork looks really good today. I wonder how it tastes. Try it.”
Ji Zhao glanced down at the braised pork held to her lips, then looked back at Yu Cheng.
Yu Cheng’s heart skipped a beat. What was she doing?
The smile faded from her eyes. “I’ve overstepped my bounds.”
As she spoke, she moved to withdraw the chopsticks, but Ji Zhao suddenly bit down on them, her tongue swiftly rolling the braised pork into her mouth. She chewed slowly, never taking her eyes off Yu Cheng.
After a moment, Ji Zhao licked the sauce from the corner of her lips, her red lips parting slightly.
“It’s delicious,” she said.
After the meal, Yu Cheng escorted Ji Zhao to the wooden cabin.
Ji Zhao, unwilling to point out the negligible risk of an accident on the short walk, strode ahead while Yu Cheng silently followed behind, her eyes darting warily around them.
“I’ll wait for you by the door,” she said when they reached the cabin, positioning herself beside the entrance.
Yu Cheng tried to persuade her. “But…”
Ji Zhao cut her off. “I heard they’ve already got fans hanging around the estate, trying to snap photos of the trainees before they become famous. What would you be doing standing out here? What if they spot you?”
Yu Cheng frowned. “Photos?”
Initially, among all the dazzling modern technology, cameras had alarmed them the most. Not only could they capture a person’s likeness so vividly, but they could also record every moment, replaying scenes as if they were happening again.
This was utterly beyond their comprehension. Even after fully understanding how cameras worked, they still harbored a deep-seated aversion to them—especially when strangers tried to take their photos.
And fans were strangers.
But Yu Cheng’s concern lay elsewhere. “What if I’m not there and they try to take your photo?”
Ji Zhao snapped. “Then they’ll just end up with photos of both of us.”
She tugged at Yu Cheng’s arm. “Go back to the dormitory. Didn’t Jiangjiang and the others say they wanted to discuss the stage details with you? You’re the captain—you need to take responsibility for the whole team.”
As the saying goes: treat the disease according to its cause.
As expected, Yu Cheng struggled. “Then I’ll wait for you in the dorm. You have to…”
Ji Zhao smiled, turned her around, and gave her a gentle push. “Enough chattering. Go on!” Only after Yu Cheng had walked to the end of the gravel path, glancing back three times, did Ji Zhao suppress her smile and turn to knock on the door.
This time, waiting for her were not only Round Glasses but also a man in a suit.
Ji Zhao wasn’t surprised. The terms she proposed were mutually beneficial, so the Organizer naturally brought someone of higher rank to negotiate with her. The man sat behind the desk, while Round Glasses stood beside him, both looking at Ji Zhao with serious expressions.
Their faces were stern, but inside they were crumbling;
Ji Zhaozhao, don’t be so arrogant! Sending Movie Emperor Yu’s daughter to deliver the message was just to intimidate us? And when Yu Cheng tried to come in with her, you refused? The two of you stood at the door, back and forth, arguing for ages! Anyone who knew it was Debut! Girl would think it was some gay girl drama!
If it weren’t for the boss being here, he would have really stormed out to complain. He forced himself to swallow his frustration and smiled at Ji Zhaozhao. “Boss Ji is here! Please, have a seat. Director Chen has been waiting for you.”
The last sentence was gritted out between clenched teeth. “What would you like to drink, Boss Ji?”
Ji Zhaozhao gestured dismissively. “Director Chen?”
So this was the Director Chen Round Glasses had mentioned—the one who made all the final decisions? She sat up straight and nodded slightly. “I gave you two days. It’s now the third day. I want an explanation.”
Director Chen seemed caught off guard by her focus. After a moment’s thought, he explained, “This matter is of great importance. We have to be cautious.”
Ji Zhaozhao nodded in understanding. “But a leader must have the ability to make decisive decisions.”
Director Chen murmured almost subconsciously, “Yes.”
Only after speaking did he feel he’d lost face. Even if Ji Zhaozhao could invest in the program and solve the production team’s immediate funding crisis, she was still just a trainee. With a single word from him—
Before he could finish the thought, Ji Zhaozhao cut him off. “When do you need the money?”
Round Glasses, aka Xiao Sun, rolled his eyes inwardly. He’d never realized Director Chen had such a talent for being a bootlicker—this guy was even more obsequious than he was!
Despite his grumbling, his hands moved quickly, and he hurriedly presented the contract to Ji Zhaozhao.
“No rush,” Ji Zhao said, refusing to take it. “First, return my phone and laptop. I need to consult with our legal team, and they’ll handle the rest.”
Director Chen gave Xiao Sun a meaningful look, and the young man immediately dashed out to fetch Ji Zhao’s devices.
Once Xiao Sun left, Director Chen couldn’t resist asking, “Aren’t you curious about how we negotiated with Ji Jing?”
“What’s the point in being curious?” Ji Zhao replied. Having achieved her goal, she had no interest in lingering. She stood up and walked toward the door. “Compared to that emotionally unstable waste Ji Jing, working with me is far safer.”
With that, she strode out of the wooden cabin.
No sooner had she reached the dormitory entrance than she bumped into the Staff Manager, who was panting as he rushed down to deliver Ji Zhao’s bag to Round Glasses. Ji Zhao casually took it. “Thanks for your trouble.”
The Staff Manager stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.
After a long pause, he turned to Manager Sun. “Manager Sun, this… you… this Trainee…”
Round Glasses removed his glasses, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and forced a bitter smile. “Still calling her a Trainee? She’s our show’s biggest benefactor now!”
Trainee?
You’d better start calling her Emperor Your Majesty!
The legal and finance teams at Timely Entertainment were both led by trusted confidants cultivated by Ji Zhaozhao. After thoroughly vetting them, Ji Zhao entrusted them with handling the upcoming negotiations.
After giving detailed instructions, Ji Zhao hung up the phone.
She held her phone up to her eyes, marveling at its capabilities. If they’d had this kind of technology back then, how much time would we have saved? At least we wouldn’t have had to wait ten days or more for Yu Cheng’s memorials to arrive.
Maybe I should learn how to make it before I go back? Ji Zhao thought, turning off her phone and hiding it before heading back to the practice room.
The next day, the “Perfect Pair” Group’s training session was far from ideal.
Especially after their dance mentor, Lin Mengxi, critiqued them: “Your creativity is good, and your movements are coordinated and beautiful, but there’s absolutely no chemistry.”
The “Perfect Pair” Group, now gathered in a circle, was brainstorming ways to improve their chemistry.
When Ji Zhao returned to the practice room, she heard Qiao Yue speaking. She spoke slowly, taking forever to get to the point: “…I think to have chemistry, we need to get more familiar with each other first.”
Song Jiangjiang covered her face. “I even shared about the time I fell into a pond as a kid and locked eyes with a frog!”
Ji Zhao: “……”
Song Jiangjiang: “Open your hearts, people!”
Yu Cheng: “……”
Qiao Yue: “……”
Zheng Dongqing: “……”
Shen Xin: “……”
Song Jiangjiang: “Silence doesn’t mean you’re wrong~”
“Fine,” Shen Xin said, unable to bear Song Jiangjiang’s plaintive tone any longer. “I’ll share mine. Actually, before I came on the show, I spent a lot of time on a certain website studying how to make emotionally intelligent remarks.”
“…What’s the embarrassing part?” Song Jiangjiang asked. “Were you trying to establish yourself as a studious overachiever?”
Ji Zhao, curious, asked, “How did it go?”
Shen Xin pursed her lips. “I only learned…”
Before she could finish, a head popped out of the open window by the door. Ji Zhao recognized it was Jian Li, a trainee from Group B of “The Puppet Show.” Jian Li knocked on the window frame and teased dramatically, “It’s almost mealtime! Why are you still training? Trying to outdo everyone?”
The “Perfect Pair” Group fell silent.
After two seconds, Ji Zhao asked, “How should we respond with emotional intelligence in this situation?”
Shen Xin: “…Just wait.”
Under the expectant gazes of her teammates, Shen Xin walked to the window and faced Jian Li across the glass. Jian Li stared back, bewildered, just as she was about to ask what was wrong. Then Shen Xin took a deep breath, leaned close to the window, and whispered, “You’ve got food stuck in your teeth.”
Jian Li: “???”
The “Perfect Pair” Group: “…………”
Why was Shen Xin’s embarrassment making them all look bad?
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