CH 21

As soon as Xu Xingyue received this WeChat message, she quickly started typing a long response. After finishing, she realized it wasn't worth it and deleted it. Then she edited another lengthy response, contemplating it repeatedly to ensure it was sufficiently aggrieved and sarcastic. Finally, she sent it to Wen Li.

Then, after painstakingly spending over twenty minutes on her heartfelt words, Xu Xingyue sent it out, but the system displayed that she was blocked by Wen Li.

"Crack!"

She angrily threw her phone on the ground, splitting it in half.

Meanwhile, Wen Li was in a delightful mood, earnestly examining the dress she was wearing.

The dress was from the C brand's spring-summer haute couture collection for this year. The brand's design style emphasized comfort as the foundation and exquisite craftsmanship as the soul. It didn't deliberately pursue voluminous skirts or tight waists. The lightweight dress showcased feminine charm while maintaining comfort.

Among this spring-summer collection, the most appealing and in line with Asian aesthetics was a forest-themed dress with a large area of gradually dyed purple organza. The shoulder had delicate layers of tulle, resembling blooming roses, and the skirt was crafted with layers of lightweight chiffon, providing volume yet remaining light enough to effortlessly navigate the stairs in the dress.

This was the dress Xu Xingyue desired.

And it was the dress Wen Li was wearing.

During the annual charity gala, male artists didn't have much choice but to wear suits, with minor variations in color at most. However, for female artists, it was different. With hundreds of media outlets present, the red carpet alone was filled with hundreds of flashing cameras capturing every moment. In this glamorous and dazzling entertainment event, female artists naturally strived to stand out.

"Linda," Wen Li called.

Linda, who was helping Wen Li adjust the skirt, responded, "Miss Wen?"

"When Xu Xingyue came to your store last time and said she wanted to try on dresses, did you not show her this one? Did she later ask to try on others?"

"We did. Afterwards, Ms. Xu tried on two other dresses."

Wen Li smiled and said, "Your spring-summer haute couture collection this year is really impressive."

"Haha, thank you for your compliment, Miss Wen. It's our honor that you're wearing this dress to attend the gala."

The choice of dress was a win-win situation for both the artist and the brand. The artist borrowed the luxury brand's high-end positioning to enhance their commercial value, while the brand leveraged the artist's high visibility and economic potential to elevate its reputation in the fashion industry.

"I have quite a few events in the first half of this year, there are several red carpets to walk. My junior sister has good taste. How about I take a look at those two dresses first, you can pick others for her?"

Linda hesitated for a few seconds but quickly made up her mind.

Rather than having both Wen Li and Xu Xingyue attend the charity gala wearing their brand's haute couture simultaneously, it would be better to secure Wen Li for all her public appearances in the first half of the year. Then, when the new collections are released in autumn and winter, there would be an opportunity to exclusively provide her with dresses for the entire year.

"Alright, I'll call them now to bring out the dresses."

Linda walked a few steps away to make the call. At this time, Wen Wen leaned in, clapping her hands, "She tried to snatch one from you, but you're snatching two from her. Sister, you're awesome."

"It's not guaranteed that I will succeed."

Wen Wen couldn't understand, "Why? Didn't Linda already agree?"

Wen Li offered a hypothesis, "What if she's willing to spend a fortune to buy it directly? Then I won't be able to compete."

Haute couture dresses easily reached seven figures, and luxury brands' haute couture was even more valuable. Buying such a dress for personal use wasn't cost-effective; it could only be worn once at a public event, spending the rest of its existence in the closet.

It depended on whether Xu Xingyue prioritized money or prestige.

Not long after, Wen Li heard that Xu Xingyue had gone to another luxury boutique to try on their dresses.

——

A few days before the charity gala, during the recording break between the second and third episodes of [In This World with You], Wen Li happened to participate in a variety show in Star City.

The previous fake painting incident caused quite a sensation due to Zheng Xue's unfortunate outcome. As the program began, the barrage was flooded with "fake painting warning" comments.

However, when the official episode aired, the memorabilia exhibited by Zheng Xue transformed into something else. Throughout the entire episode, there was no mention or presence of the painting.

It was edited out.

It seemed that Zheng Xue had discussed it with the production team. Wen Li didn't find it strange.

Just a few days later, the first episode of [For You To Debut] aired. The production company behind it was known in the country for prioritizing popularity and disregarding everything else. Unlike the television station, they would align themselves with whoever could bring them more attention. So, during the segment featuring cue dances, not a single frame was edited out.

The eager onlookers who had received the early leak wasted no time and directly skipped to the highlights by dragging the progress bar.

It was Wen Li's first appearance in her "idol" makeup, where she made her debut in her purple hair.

「Oh my god!! My wife Sanli is killing it!!!」

「Purple-haired Sanli is making me cry.」

When it came to the part where Xu Xingyue rallied the trainees in the audience to cheer for Wen Li to perform, the barrage of comments in the live chat became lively:

「Haha! Look at those innocent boys.」

「Hahaha, these straight guys don't understand the intricacies between women.」

「Sister Xingyue just suggested it for fun. Isn't it interesting to make malicious speculations?」

「They are both from the same company with a senior/junior relationship. Don't assume the worst. I believe in Xingyue.」

「Stupid fans acting like they've never watched a palace intrigue drama before?」

Wen Li hadn't prepared for the program, so the song she was given was randomly selected by the program to dance.

She happened to get a pop song that had been popular for many years. It was a boy group dance. Compared to the trainees' breathless anticipation at the scene, the audience in front of the screen felt more relaxed and directly dragged the progress bar, skipping that long section of repetitive shots used as an introduction.

When Wen Li got to know about the song she was about to perform, she seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Then, before starting the moves, she adjusted her gaze according to the style of the song. For an idol, dancing was not just about assessing dance skills; muscle control, expression management, eye contact, and personal style while dancing were the most captivating aspects.

Wen Li, who had trained overseas, had definitely practiced.

She maintained a slightly aloof expression until the dance was about to end, just to match the mood of the song. Only after the final pose did she reveal a smile.

「Damn, Wen Li really danced!」

「She can dance, she really can dance! Ahhhhh!」

「Sanli, I love you!」

「Even in a dress, she can dance a boy group's dance. Truly our Sanli.」

After the first episode aired, the mentors and trainees each had a few minutes of exclusive stage performances and direct shots, which would be released on the program's main broadcasting platform as well as the streaming website.

Fans who were not satisfied could revisit the exclusive stages and direct shots after watching the main episode.

The higher the popularity, the higher the view count for the direct shots. This included passersby who were attracted to click and watch, as well as fans who tirelessly rewatched them.

The first-stage performance video of the 100 trainees gradually pulled ahead in terms of popularity within a few days of its release.

Wen Li didn't pay attention to whose direct shots had the highest view count; it definitely wouldn't be that kid Xu Li.

But that kid Xu Li has a strong following. Although he's not the most popular, his self-composed folk song, coupled with his good looks and outstanding temperament, has propelled the audio of the exclusive stage performance to the top of the daily charts on music platforms for several days.

On this day, Wen Li was at home. She originally wanted to see how well Xu Li's direct shots were doing, so she could mock him if they were low.

However, when she checked the rankings for direct shots, she found that hers and the mentors' view count almost overwhelmed all the trainees' direct shots, occupying the top five spots.

Among them, there was a small golden crown icon in the top left corner of a video, which indicated her on-stage performance direct shot was on top.

Within less than twenty-four hours of the first episode's release, the view count for her direct shot had already surpassed one million. When she clicked on it, the view count had just exceeded five million.

Upon opening the direct shot, the screen was filled with grapefruit-colored barrage comments showing their support:

「The place where love begins.」

「By clicking on this direct shot, you'll experience the two minutes in life where a beautiful girl bends you.」

「Watch it once a day and troubles will vanish.」

「Debut stage is a divine-level direct shot.」

「She suits the purple-haired idol makeup so well. I finally understand why overseas talent scouts took notice of her.」

「Hahaha, it's a shame that she's already popular overseas and has international fans.」

While practicing overseas, Wen Li learned their languages. She used her phone to bypass the firewall and access the international internet and see what they are saying about her.

「Wow, she's so beautiful T-T.」

「I heard she trained in our country. Why didn't she debut in our country OTL?」

「Her beauty is captivating even for us.」

Wen Li: "..."

She couldn't hold it in and rolled up in her blanket, laughing while lying on her bed.

The program team on the monitor side was puzzled, "What is Teacher Wen watching? Why is she laughing so happily?"

"I don't know."

Then they zoomed in on the footage, finally seeing her phone screen. Meanwhile, Wen Li picked up her phone again and contributed another view count to her own direct shot video.

The director didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Look at what Teacher Song is doing in the study?"

"Okay."

The monitoring staff switched to another channel, and Song Yan appeared on the screen, sitting at the desk, reading a script.

The script was placed on the table. The man lazily rested his left hand on his chin while holding his phone with his right hand.

Well, both husband and wife were playing with their phones. It seemed like they were going to be criticized for being addicted to their phones.

The camera focused and zoomed in until they saw Song Yan's phone screen.

It was the familiar direct shot video, the one with Teacher Wen's performance.

After the two-minute direct shot video finished playing, Song Yan dragged the progress bar back to the beginning and watched it again. In the comment section, he liked the top comments praising his wife's beauty, one by one.

Among them, there was a comment that Song Yan not only liked but also replied to with a "+1".

「The way she dances. Sanli's male group dance is so beautiful. Now I really want to see her dance that sweet and sexy girl group dance.」

However, he didn't like all the comments.

「Damn, I really want to snatch this woman away from Song Yan!」

This comment, Song Yan reported it.

The program crew: "..."

Doesn't Teacher Song have even a little bit of tolerance?