The Fake Daughter is a Max-Level Green Tea [Transmigrated into a Book] - Chapter 49

Chapter 49: The Sasaeng Rear-end Incident

The woman’s voice was sharp, her words dripping with disdain for Lu Chaoqing and Ji You. Her companions seemed to stay quiet, leaving only that unsuppressed voice to continue its mockery: “They’ve been leeching off NG since they debuted. One is ‘royalty’, and the other is a social disaster. I really don’t know why this show invited them. Having them judge us for our debut feels like a downgrade. What can Bell Orchid members do besides media play and acting?”

She paused, her tone turning more sarcastic: “No wonder Lu Chaoqing went into acting. They used to pretend to have such a great relationship, and now she’s acting with that Lin-something person. So boring. This is Xia Lanlan’s idol? I saw those two talking earlier like they were best friends; I bet a new ‘royal’ is about to be born since she has the great Miss Lu backing her up. No wonder Senior Meng doesn’t scold her.”

“What ‘Miss Lu’? Tiantian, you’re giving her too much credit. That Lin girl is the real eldest daughter of the Lu family; she’s just a fake who took her place!” another girl sneered. “Now she’s selling a ‘gl’ (girls’ love) ship with that Lin girl for hype. Once that movie flops, they’ll probably say goodbye or start tearing each other down. Oh, actually, who knows—maybe they really have some inappropriate relationship in private.”

“There’s definitely something inappropriate. My sister said long ago that Lin Chumu used to sponsor that person surnamed Fan, but they had a falling out. EM’s PR is just good because they pay enough.”

“It’s not good to gossip about seniors in private…” another girl interjected. “Anyway, Lu Chaoqing and Ji You are our seniors. And Tiantian, you really did make a mistake in the dance. It was Senior Meng who criticized you, not Sister Xiaoqing or Sister Xiaoyou. If someone hears this, the impact on our group…”

Her words were interrupted by a “thud-thud” sound. The people inside immediately shut up and opened the door. The girl who had looked impatient a moment ago froze instantly when she saw Lu Chaoqing.

The girl standing at the door gave her a half-smile. Even before Lu Chaoqing spoke, the girl knew her words had been overheard; her face turned as red as a tomato.

This was the girl who had just made a mistake on stage and been scolded by Meng Lixi—the very person Lu Chaoqing had come to comfort. It turned out she didn’t need comforting at all.

The other girls in the group were also restless, especially the one who had joined in the gossip. It was likely her first time being confronted by the person she was badmouthing, and she looked like she wanted to vanish into the floor.

“Wanna battle?”

Her gaze swept over their faces, and Lu Chaoqing quickly locked onto the trainee named Deng Tiantian. Though she didn’t like losing her temper, she wasn’t about to let this slide. She wouldn’t resort to petty tricks, so the only solution was to prove her strength on stage.

“Since you’re so unconvinced, why not try on stage? Let the strength speak for itself and have the other mentors judge.”

Lu Chaoqing could sense that the girl only looked down on her and Ji You, while remaining respectful—or at least silent—toward the other three seniors. But Lu Chaoqing was no pushover.

Deng Tiantian’s face flushed white and red in turns, but she gritted her teeth and accepted the challenge: “If I lose, I’ll apologize to you. What is Sister Xiaoqing betting?”

Lu Chaoqing said airily: “I’ll invite you to my next concert as a special guest for a one-minute solo.”

So, before the next segment began, Lu Chaoqing went to the production team to briefly explain that she wanted to go on stage for a friendly sparring match with the trainees, though she didn’t specify the reason. Since the original plan allowed mentors to give demonstrations, the production team saw it as a great highlight and didn’t refuse.

Once all the teams finished their performances and before the random draw battle segment, Lu Chaoqing signaled the host. She announced with a smile that she wanted to have a solo切磋 (sparring match) with a member.

While the other confused mentors looked on in surprise, Deng Tiantian stepped forward from the crowd, raising her hand to accept. The host went with the flow and cleared the stage, leaving the next few minutes to the two of them.

One was the ACE of a former top girl group, and the other was a popular trainee ranked in the top five. While Deng Tiantian had made a mistake today, her usual skill was well-known to the audience from teaser videos. She was very eye-catching in the practice room; honestly, one mistake wouldn’t hurt her popularity.

The director immediately gave the two of them close-up shots.

“Let’s try your theme song, Girl Under the Starlight. I practiced it a few times before coming here.”

Lu Chaoqing didn’t take any unfair advantage. After speaking, she turned back to the audience with a bright smile: “If there are no objections, let’s do this. Actually, I filmed a practice vlog, and a slightly embarrassing mistake happened during it. If I lose, I’ll release the unedited version as punishment, okay? If I win, I’ll release the edited one!”

The audience erupted in cheers and applause, giving Lu Chaoqing the psychological upper hand before the battle even started. Though she couldn’t see light boards, she could pinpoint the smiling faces in the crowd blooming for her. She waved happily and took her position once the backstage was ready.

The moment the music started, the smile on Lu Chaoqing’s face vanished.

Girl Under the Starlight was a high-energy dance track, a mix of sexy and cute that required immense control over rhythm. After the light, airy intro, it intensified, feeling like a fairytale princess meeting her prince, with the sweetness of lovers filling every inch of the air.

Her thin bangs were blown slightly messy by the stage air currents, and the heels of her combat boots hit the floor in perfect sync with the beat. Lu Chaoqing’s short skirt bloomed like a flower during her spins, her smile bright and radiant. Whether it was the high kicks or the twisting steps, she didn’t miss a beat. She even executed the “Moonlight Waltz,” the hardest part of the song, flawlessly.

Before the dance ended, there was a big move where Lu Chaoqing casually shrugged off her restrictive suit jacket. At the finale, she grabbed her polka-dot bow tie and pulled it down slightly; the collar button strained on the edge of snapping. This closing move caused a wave of screams from the crowd, including fans of other artists.

Xia Lanlan, resting offstage, had her phone confiscated and could only frantically hit her own thigh in excitement, screaming internally.

In comparison, although Deng Tiantian didn’t make any more mistakes, her performance lacked the “wow factor” that mere practice couldn’t provide. Lu Chaoqing definitely hadn’t practiced as much as she had, yet her timing was perfect, making their movements almost perfectly synchronized.

Unsurprisingly, the other three mentors gave the high scores to Lu Chaoqing.

Knowing her performance was inferior, Deng Tiantian had nothing to say. Shame and anxiety flooded her face. To maintain her persona, she lowered her head and whispered, “Thank you for the guidance.”

She still wanted to debut, so she couldn’t show her true colors to the public. The best outcome now was to admit her shortcomings and chat with Lu Chaoqing. But to her surprise, the girl who was usually warm and polite in public didn’t even look at her. She returned to her seat, leaving Deng Tiantian standing there awkwardly.

After a full day of recording, the mentors were sore from sitting. Meng Lixi, who had a back injury, ran into Lu Chaoqing while heading to her massage therapist. Outside of her strict stage requirements, Meng Lixi was quite easy-going. She greeted Lu Chaoqing with a smile and cut straight to the point.

“Xiaoqing,” Meng Lixi looked at her. “Do you dislike Deng Tiantian? You shouldn’t have treated her like that on stage.” She paused, making sure no one was around before leaning into her ear. “She was sent here by RV.”

Large companies might “buy” debut spots or send trainees to popular shows to build hype. RV was a top-five company, second only to EM and MT. Meng Lixi was hinting that this girl had powerful backing.

Giving someone the cold shoulder on camera was something few people dared to do in the industry, even for someone as blunt as Meng Lixi. She liked Lu Chaoqing as a senior likes a junior and didn’t want her making that mistake.

“RV, huh?” Lu Chaoqing had been briefed by Du Yaqing on several backgrounds, but she hadn’t remembered them clearly. After all, Du Yaqing had only mentioned them in passing as things the main mentors should watch out for. She gave Meng Lixi a sweet smile, appearing truly apologetic. “Sorry, Sister Lixi. I’ll definitely be careful next time.”

Meng Lixi left it at that.

However, Lu Chaoqing remembered something from long ago. RV and EM had a terrible relationship. Their artists were constantly in competition. Years ago, they had a falling out over contracts or copyrights and even went to court. It was no secret they were like fire and water. She remembered when Bell Orchid first went to a music show, and Chen Li took them to greet people—they had encountered RV people badmouthing Lin Chumu.

It seemed that company’s artists really couldn’t keep their mouths shut.

Lu Chaoqing didn’t know how Lin Chumu had offended them, but it didn’t stop the two groups from being sworn enemies. When her assistant, Xiao Yan, heard about it, she just smiled faintly: “Don’t worry, Xiaoqing. RV people have always been like that; most people in the industry know. There’s no need to pay them any mind. I’ll tell Sister Du; she’ll handle it.”

Lu Chaoqing didn’t take it to heart, but since there was an audience, real-time videos spread quickly. Just after showering that night, Lu Chaoqing received a notification that she was trending.

In a clip recorded by an audience member, Lu Chaoqing ignored the trainee junior completely, walking right past her “thank you” to return to her seat and move the show along, ignoring the girl’s expression.

That girl, Deng Tiantian, was somewhat famous among the show’s followers. Voice of Joy had released teasers, giving more screen time to those with talent or backing. Coupled with her good performance and looks, she was easy to remember.

Deng Tiantian had very few fans compared to Lu Chaoqing, but that wasn’t a reason to “bully” her. Combined with the previous “fake heiress” incident, gossip accounts and anti-fans seized the chance to reveal Lu Chaoqing’s “true face.”

Comment 1033: I wonder if Bell Orchid’s early awards were bought. After all, the Lu family has the power. Now our ‘Princess Qingqing’ has been exposed, maybe her parents don’t want to care for her anymore. Sucking the life out of others to get to the top must be fun. I bet Jiang Qishuang and Yao Xichen were forced to leave by her. (2324 likes)

Comment 3848: Who doesn’t know she was ‘royalty’ before debut? My sister went to the audition and saw LZQ being led in by manager DYQ. Anyone who follows MT knows who DYQ is. She leeches off the real heiress to sell a persona. Now the ‘royalty’ mask is off and her true self is out. I always thought her persona was fake—how could a rich miss be so tempered? (3940 likes)

As the battles raged in the comments, an account named “@DengTiantianV” quietly came online and posted an apology to her four-digit following.

@DengTiantianV: Today backstage at Voice of Joy, I spoke disrespectfully about Senior Lu Chaoqing, Senior Lin Chumu, Senior Ji You, and the former group Bell Orchid. Senior Lu Chaoqing overheard me, and we had a sparring match. After I lost, Senior Lu was understandably upset by my earlier words. It was no big deal, but seeing the misunderstanding I’ve caused for her, I feel deeply uneasy and guilty.

Hereby, I apologize to Seniors Lu Chaoqing, Lin Chumu, Ji You, and the others. I should have thought before speaking. From now on, I will be careful with my words and actions. I’m sorry, and thank you all for your tolerance.

Although she didn’t tag anyone, clearly wanting to keep the heat low, Lu Chaoqing replied half an hour later with a concise “It’s okay.”

When the hot search was clicked again, the strong reversal forced the marketing accounts to change their content overnight.

Lu Chaoqing didn’t know how Du Yaqing had gotten RV to let Deng Tiantian apologize. Perhaps they felt deepening the grudge with EM wasn’t worth it for a trainee, or perhaps they feared a recording might be released that would destroy her completely. They simply had her “surrender.”

Badmouthing a senior before debut wouldn’t stop her from debuting if she was talented enough, but it would become a permanent black mark on her record.

The second and third days of recording continued with stage PKs. All the trainees were on their best behavior, more focused than before, and didn’t dare gossip in private. Lu Chaoqing was considered soft-tempered; it was just a private apology, and no one knew how bad the words actually were. If they had provoked someone like Meng Lixi, she might have confronted them directly on stage.

After three days, Lu Chaoqing and Ji You left the dorms, escorted by Xia Lanlan and other girls. Over these few days, the bubbly Xia Lanlan had even befriended the socially anxious Ji You. She hugged both Lu Chaoqing and Ji You, shouting that next time they came, she’d show them her special talents.

“Sister Xiaoyou, muah!” Xia Lanlan leaned in to press her cheek against Ji You’s, laughing as the girl looked flustered, and almost hung off her.

“Lanlan,” Ji You said with a rare serious expression, causing Xia Lanlan to behave.

The two seniors were heading to different places. Lu Chaoqing was going home while Ji You headed to the company, so they took separate cars. Curiously, Xia Lanlan only waved at Lu Chaoqing before going to see Ji You off.

Lu Chaoqing didn’t think much of it. She said goodbye to the staff and leaned back in the car to rest.

An inconspicuous small black car followed the SUV. At first, the driver thought they were just going the same way, but the car stayed behind them at a steady pace, always maintaining a distance perfect for a camera to get a clear shot.

As a driver in this industry, he was alert. He frowned, and upon leaving the elevated highway and entering a different stretch of road, he hit the gas to shake the tail.

Unfortunately, the car stuck to them like glue. On this quiet stretch of road, it even accelerated to catch up, seemingly unaware that it was breaking the law.

The driver accelerated again. Lu Chaoqing was jolted awake. Her assistant tapped her, and she turned to see the small car almost catching up to them.

It started to rain outside. Wet roads were dangerous. Lu Chaoqing frowned; she realized it was likely a sasaeng (obsessive fan) following the car, but there was no way to safely stop and tell them how dangerous this was.

Lu Chaoqing suddenly remembered a news report from her previous world about a sasaeng car chase that resulted in a fatal crash. Just as she was about to tell the driver to slow down slightly, a massive impact tore through from behind—BANG!

Fierce sparks were extinguished in the rain, splashing up mud and water.

“Chumu, Chumu, Xiao Lu was in a car accident!”

Lin Chumu was woken from a peaceful sleep by her phone. She looked dizzily at the screen and saw it was Du Yaqing, whose calls she never silenced. When the blunt report reached her ears, her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by a wire, lifted high in her chest.

Her ears rang as if a thousand bees were swarming. Even as she tried to force herself to stay calm and drive the emotion away, she asked in disbelief: “What did you just say?”

“Jinzhou Road, No. 128. A sasaeng rear-ended them. Hospital 27, Room 704!”

Du Yaqing recited the numbers precisely, but they pierced her eardrums like a cold blade, leaving them bloodied.

Lin Chumu didn’t even realize what she was doing. Guided by instinct, she dressed and dashed out the door, calling her driver while ending the call with Du Yaqing. Fortunately, the driver lived nearby for convenience and arrived quickly.

When she arrived, Manager Du Yaqing and her parents were already there. Even the usually stern Father Lu had red eyes, holding his weeping wife in his arms to comfort her.

Lu Chaoqing was undergoing a full-body scan. The doctors hadn’t given any results yet, but the report on the sasaeng was out. That person had a broken leg and internal injuries from the chest impact and would need a long recovery.

The accident happened because the brakes failed on the slippery wet road. The sasaeng had accelerated to try a “high-level maneuver” to pull up next to them and knock on Lu Chaoqing’s window, wanting her idol to remember her face. She had even put on beautiful makeup, which only made cleaning her blood-covered face more difficult for the medics.

The assistant and driver were also being checked. No results yet. Every minute of waiting was agonizing.

The moment the red light turned green, Lin Chumu realized her legs were so weak she had to lean on the shoulder of someone nearby for support. That person eagerly held her, but the woman pushed them away and stepped forward: “How is she?”