The Stand-in is Exceptionally Clingy [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The CEO and Her Canary

◎Can I Just Be Lazy and Not Work?◎

The guests stood in small groups in the shade. With Jian Ke, there were six in total. Those who knew each other were gathered, making small talk. There was one guest, however, who seemed particularly proactive and familiar with everyone, eagerly hopping from one group to another.

Jian Ke stood to the side with her arms crossed, watching Wang Jingyu shamelessly cozy up to the industry veterans. He called them “big brother” and “big sister,” begging for help with the mission later and claiming he was “nervous being on a variety show for the first time.” Since there were so many staff members present, a polite facade had to be maintained. Coupled with Wang Jingyu’s genuinely handsome and sunny face, the others would symbolically respond with a few pleasantries. To an outsider, it would seem like Wang Jingyu was very likable.

Jian Ke pursed her lips. Wang Jingyu noticed her as well. The smiling expression on his face stiffened slightly, then he pretended as if nothing had happened and walked over to her.

“Hello, beautiful. Nice to meet you, my name is Wang Jingyu.”

Jian Ke secretly rolled her eyes at him and replied coolly, “My name is Jian Ke.” Then she walked to another tree.

“I’m from Jixing Entertainment. What company are you with?” Wang Jingyu followed her, looking around to make sure no one else was nearby, then lowered his voice. “Jian Ke, how are you on a variety show?”

Jian Ke replied, “You can be on it, but I can’t?”

The polite, gentle expression on Wang Jingyu’s face crumbled. He frowned, his tone very impatient. “This is a live broadcast later. Don’t go saying anything you shouldn’t.”

Jian Ke gave him an innocent look. “Say what? That you had three girlfriends while you were a trainee? Or that you, as an idol, slept with your fans?”

Wang Jingyu was the first boyfriend of the original owner. At the time, the original owner had just been accepted into the Film Academy and was under both academic and financial pressure. Wang Jingyu, who had always been there to support and encourage her, had won her heart. To make a simple analogy, if Shu Yu was the eternal white moonlight in Lou Bianxia’s heart, then Wang Jingyu was the white moonlight in “Jian Ke’s” heart. However, this particular white moonlight deserved to be ground underfoot like a grain of rice. This was because in her second year of college, Wang Jingyu had “sold” the original owner to a lecherous and greedy manager in exchange for a spot in his debut group. Under the pretense of introducing her to a job, he took her to a dinner party. But after a few rounds of drinks, his plan failed because the original owner smashed a bottle over the manager’s head. Wang Jingyu was so terrified he froze, and before he could react, the original owner almost disabled him with a swift kick.

Jian Ke said, “Or should I talk about your pimping experience? I’m sure your fans would love to hear about it.”

Wang Jingyu’s face trembled with tension, his expression grim and sinister. His voice was squeezed out through gritted teeth. “Those are all baseless rumors. Jian Ke, do you think anyone would believe that?”

Jian Ke shrugged. “If they believe it, it’s real. If they don’t, it’s not. Maybe—they’ll even ask for evidence and get it.”

“I’m curious, what methods did you use to climb up here?” Wang Jingyu’s expression was suggestive, practically screaming “selling your body.” “Then you should understand that it’s a difficult industry to get by in. You can’t succeed without resorting to other means.”

“As long as you keep your mouth shut, I promise I’ll take good care of you in the future.” Wang Jingyu curled his lips, his eyes scanning Jian Ke with ill-intentioned greed.

Jian Ke’s face was filled with disgust. “You? You’ve been in the industry for almost three years now. You’re terrible at everything and a master of slacking off. You only got this variety show by riding on your group’s coattails, and you have the audacity to brag about it?”

“I’m here to work. I don’t want to get involved in your rotten affairs. It’s bad luck.”

“But my mouth has always been loose. When a person I dislike keeps showing up, it always brings up bad memories. If I accidentally let something slip, that’s just how it is.”

Wang Jingyu’s face turned green and purple from her insults. His expression was twisted and ferocious. “In the entertainment industry, it’s easy to destroy someone. Are you sure you’ve thought this through?”

This was a blatant threat. But Jian Ke completely ignored him and turned to walk away. Wang Jingyu’s temper instantly flared. He grabbed her hand in a rush. “Jian Ke!” His voice was so loud it cracked. The other guests heard the commotion and looked over in surprise.

Jian Ke subtly pulled her hand free and took a few steps back with a frightened look. Her eyes even seemed a little moist. Everyone saw Wang Jingyu’s agitated and vicious expression. He noticed the other guests’ gazes and panicked. He quickly changed his expression and forced a smile, explaining, “We were just messing around. It’s nothing.”

A few guests walked over and shielded the clearly shaken Jian Ke behind them.

Li Jia said, “You change your expression fast. ‘Messing around?’ Can’t you see she’s crying?” She was a former top actress in the industry and had won various major film awards. Her personality was straightforward and capable, and she had a big-sister vibe.

Wang Jingyu’s forehead was sweating. “I… I just said a few things. Maybe I was a bit too harsh.”

Li Jia: “What did you say?”

“I… I…” he stammered, which to everyone else just looked like he had something to hide.

Another guest, Liu Qingqing, who was comforting Jian Ke by patting her shoulder, glared at Wang Jingyu. “Jian Ke, what did he say? Just tell us, and we’ll all support you.”

Jian Ke lowered her head, wiping away tears and biting her lip tightly. Her eyes were red and wet. “He just… made some demands of me. When I refused, he threatened me, saying that it’s very easy to destroy someone in the entertainment industry.”

Jian Ke didn’t specify what the “demands” were, but everyone understood. The looks they gave Wang Jingyu became even more disgusted.

Wang Jingyu quickly retorted, “No, I didn’t say anything like that. Jian Ke, don’t talk nonsense.”

Jian Ke looked up, forcing back her tears, and looked him straight in the eye. “What nonsense did I talk? You tell them.”

Wang Jingyu was terrified. He couldn’t possibly say that his “demand” was for Jian Ke to not expose his dark past. The conversation couldn’t go on like this. Wang Jingyu quickly apologized sincerely. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was just joking. I really didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I apologize. I’m sorry for saying the wrong thing.”

Wang Jingyu lowered his head and apologized. He then stayed quiet by himself, not hopping around anymore.

The variety show began its live broadcast, and the crew, as was customary, had the players draw their mission cards. The mission cards’ content would be shown to the audience. If a guest completed the mission within the time limit, the show would give out fan rewards, but only for the first three guests to succeed. If no one completed the mission, the game would continue to the next round.

The MC said, “Please, everyone, try your best to complete your missions and give your fans more rewards!” The three fan rewards were still locked, but based on past episodes, they were sure to be generous.

However, Jian Ke didn’t have fans, and she didn’t seem to have a need for these rewards. So, could she just be lazy and not work? She looked at her mission card, which read, “Sincerely confess your love to the guests wearing white hats.” She was distressed because she found there were three guests wearing white hats: Liu Qingqing, Lin Qingyi, and Sun Yan. The show’s requirement was that she had to confess to every one of them.

Jian Ke covered her face and squatted on the ground. ‘How embarrassing. Can I just slack off?’

“I heard someone is going to confess to our Qingyi. Came here to watch.”

“What new trainee is this? Her looks are so good. I love a pretty girl.”

“The second-hand embarrassment is leaking out of the screen. As a person with social anxiety, I would just want to disappear on the spot.”

“What kind of ‘sincere confession’ is it? If it’s to Sun Ge, that single-celled organism, he might take it seriously.”

520 System: “Don’t give up, Host. Everyone in the live stream is looking forward to your confession scene. This is your chance to gain fans.”

Jian Ke stood up with a long face and looked at the other guests, who had suddenly spread out and were looking at each other with various expressions. She asked 520, “What are everyone else’s missions? Tell me.”

520’s tone was serious. “Your mission is one of the easier ones to complete among everyone else’s.”

After hearing 520’s description, Jian Ke suddenly felt a peace she had never felt before.

Li Jia looked at her mission card once and immediately chose to give up. “The mission is too hard. I can’t do it.”

Sun Yan said, “Teacher Li, won’t you at least try?”

Li Jia: “Peeling one hundred shrimp with one hand? Even if I could do it, I wouldn’t. OK? I just want to ask the crew, did you really bring one hundred shrimp?” The staff behind the cameras all shook their heads and chuckled.

Li Jia: “I’m the unluckiest one, I drew an impossible mission. You all better be careful. Once the mission starts, I will spare no effort to stop you from completing yours.” In every episode, there were always a few guests who couldn’t complete their missions. At that point, stopping other guests became another major point of interest for the audience.

The MC said, “Are there any other guests who want to give up their mission? We’ll officially start the mission after a three-minute countdown.”

Jian Ke looked at her three targets. She didn’t know Lin Qingyi or Sun Yan at all, so it would be a bit difficult to approach them. As for Liu Qingqing… she had helped Jian Ke when Wang Jingyu threatened her. She seemed nice and easy to talk to. Confessing to her first should be a good start.

The MC called out the final minute of the countdown, and Jian Ke slowly walked toward Liu Qingqing. But just as she got close, before she could even open her mouth, Liu Qingqing suddenly took off like a gust of wind… and ran. Liu Qingqing’s “riding off into the dust” back quickly disappeared from Jian Ke’s sight. Jian Ke was left with her mouth half-open, looking confused and helpless.

One of her targets had flown away. Jian Ke reluctantly turned to the next one—Sun Yan, who was closest to her. But Liu Qingqing’s early start seemed to have inspired Sun Yan. He backed away with a serious face, then immediately took off in the opposite direction…

Jian Ke almost wanted to spit blood. ‘What is going on? Why did my confession targets run away one after another before I even started confessing?’

“Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter. What’s wrong with those two? Running right at the start. Do they not want anyone to know what their missions are that badly?]

“I feel for the little newcomer for one second. Two out of her three targets ran away.”

“But there’s still Lin Qingyi! She didn’t run. Quick, catch her!!”

Meanwhile, Lou Bianxia, who was taking a break from her busy schedule to watch the live broadcast, sat upright at her desk. She frowned at her little one on the screen, a hint of danger in her low tone.

“Sincerely confess your love? Hmm?”

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