Chapter 187: Slander

Hearing Yan Mi's cheerful voice, Su Chen's composure instantly cracked! He had thought Yan Mi was happy for his sake, but it turned out she was just relieved of her burden! What the hell do you mean by "sacrificing the whole team to successfully debut me"? I clearly debuted based on my own sheer strength, alright?!

Yan Mi hugged Su Chen tightly for a long while before finally releasing him, allowing Su Chen to gasp for air from between those breathtaking mountain peaks. Mainly, if he hadn't taken a breath just then, his life might have flashed before his eyes right there and then! Damn it! Sister Mi doesn't look all that imposing, so how is she hiding such depth?! Women really are insidious and vicious!

Meanwhile, Yan Mi, having released him, was momentarily baffled by Su Chen's pale and resentful expression. This kid just debuted, so why does he look so unhappy? Oh well, never mind. I need to go tell Fu Yu this good news right away. Maybe I can squeeze a new designer bag out of her, hehehe~ Thinking this, Yan Mi stepped aside, as Zhou Zhiqian and Han Hong were coming up next to offer their congratulations, and she certainly couldn't block them.

As for Cai Xukun, under these circumstances, he could no longer remain seated in the mentor's chair; otherwise, under the unblinking lens of the show's cameras, he would only be cursed even more severely by netizens! The only way out now was to stick to the persona his manager had just fed him. Although those words, after being dissected by Su Chen, left everyone thinking Cai Xukun was either stupid or malicious, at least he still had the "stupid" card left! Being a foolishly handsome man would still attract leeks willing to be harvested!

Therefore, the only real difficulty facing Cai Xukun right now was ensuring his own physical safety. Little did he know that the previous mentor who targeted Su Chen had already lost his livelihood and was currently sewing clothes in prison. Cai Xukun felt gravely endangered! Consequently, Cai Xukun walked from the mentor's bench toward the stage with every step trembling in dread, terrified that someone in the audience might hurl a mineral water bottle at him. With Zheng Huayu as a cautionary tale, Cai Xukun practically looked back every three steps, embodying the ultimate caution.

Fortunately, whether it was because Zheng Huayu absorbed most of the outrage or because Su Chen's successful debut brought a universal amnesty of celebration, along the entire walk not a single audience member even bothered to cast a proper glance at Cai Xukun. They completely ignored him, let alone pelted him with water bottles!

Stepping onto the stage at last, Cai Xukun finally breathed a sigh of relief and let his suspended heart drop back into his chest. Yet at the same time, he felt a hollow emptiness inside. When had he, Cai Xukun, ever been ignored like this by an audience? Back in the day, even when they were hating on him, he was still the number one trending figure in the bizarre parody section of Bilibili, okay?! Black traffic is still traffic, but when the audience can't even be bothered to hate you and refuse to spare you a single glance, that is the most fatal blow to an entertainer!

So, at this exact moment, Cai Xukun felt a fierce sense of crisis enveloping him—a feeling he had never experienced before. No... it couldn't be! As long as the company hasn't given up on me, I will never end up like Zheng Huayu! Tonight... tonight I'll sleep at my manager's place. As long as I please her, I'll definitely still have a chance!!!

Turbulent waves crashed within Cai Xukun's mind as he stood stiffly to the side, watching Zhou Zhiqian and Han Hong go up to shake Su Chen's hand, while he himself lacked even the slightest desire to step forward! He couldn't let go, nor could he swallow his pride. Just moments ago, he was at loggerheads with Su Chen, and now he was expected to shake hands peacefully—how could this kid pull that off? Only seasoned veterans with profound life experience and emotional intelligence could manage such a feat. But Cai Xukun was simply not that kind of person!

Moreover, at the root of it all, Cai Xukun didn't dare go up to shake Su Chen's hand not just because he couldn't let go of his ego, but more importantly, because he was terrified! He had been verbally destroyed by Su Chen so many times that he was genuinely scared! If he went up to shake Su Chen's hand and Su Chen refused to extend his, wouldn't Cai Xukun suffer an even more epic social death? Under the gaze of the entire crowd, Cai Xukun might as well just drop dead right there! The headlines of tomorrow's entertainment news would undoubtedly read something like: "Entertainment industry senior Cai Xukun repeatedly suffers humiliating defeats at the hands of Su Chen." Cai Xukun simply couldn't stomach that!

However, if Su Chen knew what was going through his head, he would probably just chuckle and think Cai Xukun was severely underestimating him. Do you take me for someone like you? Aside from anything else, basic grace is something I, Su Chen, still possess! As an animal lover, when a lapdog trots up and raises its paw, who could resist shaking it? It's simply irresistible, alright!

Still, since Cai Xukun chose not to come up and shake hands, Su Chen was more than happy to let it be. After all, it saved him the trouble of washing his hands afterward! Thus, the originally confrontational scene unexpectedly culminated in a remarkably harmonious atmosphere.

Once all the mentors returned to their seats, Director Liu turned to the two advancing contestants on stage and first handed the microphone over to Meng Xiaotian. Director Liu said, "Contestant Xiaotian, you have successfully advanced to the final four. Is there anything you would like to say to the audience?"

Meng Xiaotian, who had long served as a mere backdrop on the stage, cast a grateful look toward Director Liu. Because of Su Chen, nobody had paid any attention to him, despite being one of only two contestants to make the final four. As everyone knew, online traffic was an artist's core competitive edge, but if you lacked screen time and trending topics, where on earth was your traffic supposed to come from? Yet, as a fellow competitor standing before Su Chen, who else could possibly garner any traffic? Therefore, for Director Liu to grant Meng Xiaotian a chance to speak practically amounted to a life-changing act of patronage in the entertainment industry!

After all, the person he had been sucking up to for so long, Zheng Huayu, had already fallen from grace, and Star Entertainment, wanting to maintain good appearances with Su Chen after the recent incident, had essentially left Meng Xiaotian to fend for himself in a state of benign neglect. Simply put, Meng Xiaotian was now truly relying entirely on himself!

Thus, finally granted the chance to speak, Meng Xiaotian was overwhelmed with emotion and excitedly declared, "Regarding my advancement to the final four, I feel it has very little to do with me."

"My current achievement is entirely thanks to the hard work of my dearest mentor, Mentor Cai Xukun!"

"If not for Mentor Cai Xukun, I could never have made it this far. It was my mentor who acted like a guiding beacon, illuminating my path forward!"

Silence...

Upon hearing Meng Xiaotian's words, the entire venue fell into absolute stillness! What the hell do you mean it's all thanks to Cai Xukun? Was Cai Xukun even airdropped in to help you? Did you just realize Zheng Huayu fell, so you switched targets to suck up to someone else? But... can you at least put a little sincerity into your flattery?!

At that moment, let alone anyone else, even Cai Xukun himself was utterly dumbfounded. Wait a minute... who the hell are you, old man? I think this is our very first time meeting, right? Holy crap, how on earth did I become your guiding beacon? I didn't even know that myself! Let me tell you, this is outright slander!