Chapter 69

Had enough fun watching the commotion?
The assistant director was taken aback by Liang Hui’s words. She turned and caught her director grinning slyly, and it dawned on her just how unreliable he was. So, he had kept the live broadcast focused on Xia Xi and Lu Yisheng locking eyes just for the fun of it?
Then again, enjoying a bit of drama is a fine tradition in our country, not too hard to understand.
"Director, are you sure it’s okay that we broadcast the footage of Lu Yisheng and Xia Xi’s relationship live? Do you think Lu Yisheng might be upset?" The assistant director approached Liang Hui with a worried expression. She took her job very seriously. Although she had her own reasons for opposing the broadcast of Xia Xi and Lu Yisheng’s exchanged glances, her main concern was for the show and the potential fallout. "Even if leveraging Lu Yisheng’s relationship keeps our show trending, won’t this offend him?"
After all, it was well-known that Lu Yisheng despised hype, especially shipping rumors. His former manager had been fired for crossing that line.
"Offend him? Don’t be ridiculous." Liang Hui curled his lip, his tone dripping with disdain. "You’re underestimating just how thick-skinned Lu Yisheng is. Right now, he’s practically begging for the whole world to know about his relationship with Xia Xi, just to scare off any guys who might have designs on her. Let me tell you, if we hadn’t aired that scene, that’s when we would’ve really offended him. Do you think I’d dare make such a decision without his consent?"
"Director, are you saying that God Lu intentionally let you broadcast it? No way." The assistant director was so shocked by her boss's words that her jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Her tone was filled with deep skepticism as she stared at the split-screen monitor, where Lu Yisheng was quietly walking beside Xia Xi, lost in profound doubt.
Good heavens, is this still the same God Lu who despises shipping the most? How could he actively seek to be paired with Xia Xi? Why has our male idol suddenly changed his nature?
"Of course, otherwise, who would dare make decisions for God Lu?" Mentioning Lu Yisheng, Liang Hui rolled his eyes. "Let me tell you, God Lu is particularly annoying. When I first joined our program team, he came to me and said he wanted to voluntarily become a special guest on 'Cross-Border Singing Joy' At the time, I was both surprised and delighted, thinking he had come because I had been begging him for so long. But it turns out he's just the type to prioritize romance over friendship."
At this point, Liang Hui curled his lips in disdain. "He actually told me that his condition for joining 'Cross-Border Singing Joy' was to see Xia Xi in every episode."
See Xia Xi in every episode?
Does that mean as long as the male idol is on this show, the director can't eliminate Xia Xi? Is that what he meant?
Did God Lu really go to such lengths for Xia Xi, not caring about owing favors, just to make her happy?
Is that true? Is it worth it?
A flicker of confusion passed through the assistant director's eyes. She furrowed her brows and glanced at Lu Yisheng again. Any lingering doubts she had about her director's words were instantly shattered. Because she saw God Lu sitting next to Xia Xi, gazing at her tenderly with an inscrutable expression.
At that moment, no matter how much the assistant director tried to deceive herself, she knew it was just an excuse. She could see clearly: God Lu really likes Xia Xi.
She nudged Liang Hui, suppressing her inner frustration, and asked curiously, "Director, since you and God Lu are so close, do you know how they met?"
"What, curious?" Liang Hui briefly scanned the surveillance footage to ensure everything was normal before leisurely looking up at the assistant director. "I'm not entirely sure about the specifics of how they met. It was probably during that time they were filming together recently and hit it off. Remember a while back when Lu Yisheng, who never uses Weibo, posted a message strongly supporting Xia Xi? It must have been around that time."
"Right, there were already signs back then." The assistant director nodded thoughtfully, reminded by Liang Hui. She stared at the surveillance footage of Lu Yisheng and muttered under her breath, "I still find it hard to accept that God Lu has someone. After all, he's never been involved in any scandals since his debut, and he's never been seen being ambiguous with any other female stars. He's as clean and self-disciplined as an old cadre."
"Looking at your expression, it seems like you're heartbroken?" Liang Hui turned and scrutinized his assistant director, noticing her dejected demeanor. He patted her shoulder and chuckled lightly, a hint of mischief flashing in his eyes. "Actually, God Lu isn't exactly in a relationship yet."
Xia Xi isn't Lu Yisheng's girlfriend yet?
The assistant director immediately perked up upon hearing Liang Hui's words. She stared at him with burning curiosity, eagerly awaiting what he would say next, but a sense of foreboding crept into her heart. She couldn't shake the feeling that her director wasn't the type to offer comfort out of genuine kindness, was he perhaps scheming something again? Moreover, seeing her boss grinning so cheerfully made her suspect he was deliberately baiting her to ask more about Lu Yisheng and Xia Xi.
But in the end, curiosity won out.
"Director, isn't Xia Xi Lu Yisheng's girlfriend?" the assistant director asked cautiously.
"No," Liang Hui shook his head, glanced at her expression, and chuckled softly, his tone dripping with unmistakable schadenfreude. "To be precise, Xia Xi hasn't agreed to become Lu Yisheng's girlfriend yet. Right now, it's a one-sided pursuit, Lu Yisheng is chasing after Xia Xi."
"You mean Lu Yisheng is pursuing Xia Xi and hasn't succeeded yet? How is that possible!" At first, the assistant director didn't process Liang Hui's words. She froze for several seconds before leaping to her feet, widening her eyes at him and retorting loudly, "How could anyone in this world not like Lu Yisheng? You must be joking! And of all people, Xia Xi, what gives her the right?"
Her expression clearly turned angry. Frowning, she stared at Lu Yisheng, who was chatting with Xia Xi in the breakroom, feeling intensely displeased. The thought of her idol working hard to please another girl, who might not even return his feelings, made her blood boil. Any slight improvement in her opinion of Xia Xi vanished instantly, replaced by an even worse impression.
She wore a look that screamed, "Is Xia Xi blind?"
"Though that intel might be outdated," Liang Hui lifted his head to glance at the monitor, curling his lip in clear dissatisfaction. "It seems their relationship has definitely progressed now, they look much closer than before."
Hmph, so what if they're closer? That doesn't stop me from disliking Xia Xi. Our idol is so wonderful, how dare you not like him!
Unbeknownst to the assistant director, her attitude had shifted from "How could our idol be with Xia Xi?" to "How dare Xia Xi not like our idol!"
It was hard to say whether this was progress or regression.
"That Xia Xi is so annoying! Why did she have to draw number one? It's all because of her that I messed up my performance!" Just as Xia Xi and Lu Yisheng were whispering to each other, a loud voice suddenly erupted from outside the breakroom. The speaker clearly had no fear of being overheard, likely thinking, "What can Xia Xi do even if she finds out? She's a washed-up celebrity with no power or connections, why should I worry?" In truth, he was just venting his frustration by targeting Xia Xi.
"Exactly, that Xia Xi is way too overconfident." Another female voice came from outside the room. "How dare she deliberately go against us? Her acting is terrible, her temper is awful, and her character is particularly poor. Her fan metrics can't even compare to yours. Even if she might have sung slightly better than us this time, I believe there will still be far more netizens supporting you. You're definitely much better than Xia Xi!"
Lu Yisheng found the content of the conversation outside increasingly unbearable and frowned. He was about to go out and quiet them down, to tell them that he was Xia Xi's backing, that he could allow Xia Xi to be willful and let her rely on him!
"I'm fine." Xia Xi stopped Lu Yisheng as he prepared to stand up. Seeing his frown deepening, she reached out with her slender fingers and gently smoothed his brow, gradually easing the tension there. "A few words won't cost me any flesh. Besides, I'm used to being mocked by netizens these days."
"You're not angry?"
"I am angry." Xia Xi shook her head and sighed. "But what's the use of being angry? All I can do is work even harder to become a better version of myself. I remember a long time ago, netizens often criticized my poor acting skills. That period was tough, but it filled me with more courage and determination. I worked tirelessly behind the scenes to hone my craft, striving to become an idol my fans could be proud of. Later, some netizens who disliked me left comments on my Weibo mocking me for plastic surgery, poor character, and being arrogant. To be honest, Lu Yisheng, when I first saw those messages, I was really upset. I thought, 'Haven't I worked hard enough? Why resort to such underhanded tactics to smear me?' But eventually, I realized that no matter how hard I tried, such comments would always follow me. So, I decided not to care anymore. Sadness and anger come and go, what matters is doing my best at what I want to achieve."
"I won't defend myself, nor do I need to." Xia Xi paused briefly before continuing, "What does it matter if I'm criticized or doubted? Those voices only push me to strive harder toward my dreams. One day, I'll prove with my abilities that my acting is excellent, and I am the one and only Xia Xi!" Hearing this, Lu Yisheng was stunned, and he found himself feeling even more heartbroken for Xia Xi."
He knew all too well that ridicule and sarcasm were unavoidable in the life of an artist. When faced with such situations himself, Lu Yisheng always remained calm. But today, hearing others mock and belittle Xia Xi, he felt genuinely furious!
He felt heartache for Xia Xi and wanted to protect her properly!
Of course, it might also be because Lu Yisheng was more focused on Xia Xi's emotions that he didn't notice the obvious inconsistencies in her story.
Long ago, they said her acting was poor, and later she became her fans' pride,
So many parts didn't align with reality. Was it that Lu Yisheng truly didn't hear it, or did he deliberately ignore it?