The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 157

Du Mingli’s smile was icy. “Team Leader Cen, I’ve always believed we could collaborate. After all, we’re not the only contenders for the Ghost Eye Group’s captaincy. Many others are more qualified than either of us. Still, I haven’t forgotten that you’re my competitor. Keeping the recording with me ensures its safety. When the day comes to bring down Suhe Biotech, I’ll naturally assist.”

Cen Xiao said nonchalantly, “Afraid I’ll steal your credit?”

Du Mingli didn’t deny it. “I’ll take what’s mine and leave what’s not. No problem, right?”

Cen Xiao glanced at Du Mingli’s clenched fists, then scoffed lightly. “Suit yourself.”

He understood why Du Mingli dared to openly suggest collaboration to take down Suhe Biotech.

It was because Du Mingli assumed District Nine wasn’t involved. If the operation succeeded, it would be a merit to his name.

If Du Mingli discovered that Han Jiang wasn’t entirely innocent either, he’d likely start covert investigations and abandon talk of collaboration entirely.

But Cen Xiao wasn’t worried about Du Mingli reporting every detail to Han Jiang. Besides him, Du Mingli also feared the other captains. He wouldn’t risk more people getting involved and diluting his credit.

Despite his claims of acting for justice, everything still came back to personal gain.

Such people often lead good lives, while kindhearted ones each have their own struggles.

After the Xiaochengxiang incident, Sui Wanjun fell seriously ill and hadn’t appeared at the orphanage for a long time, leaving everything in Hong Ru’s hands. However, she frequently wandered in the cemetery on the mountain behind, visiting the children buried there. Sometimes she would sit for an entire afternoon, needing endless persuasion from Hong Ru to return.

Although Sui Wanjun never spoke about it, the incident had become her heart’s burden. Until it was resolved, she couldn’t find peace.

Zhai Ning wasn’t much better off. Following Li Rong’s advice, she suppressed her anger and hatred, refraining from directly confronting Zhou Hong. 

But in her heart, she had already equated Zhou Hong with Zheng Zhupan, seeing them as two sides of the same coin.

No one knew how much collusion really existed between Zheng Zhupan and Zhou Hong, but Zhai Ning chose to believe the worst.

Even the greatest people have selfish desires. The one that Zhai Ning never dared confront was her wish that Sui Wanjun’s most beloved child was her, not her biological son who had never shown a shred of filial piety.

Thus, she secretly hoped Zhou Hong would prove despicable and irredeemable. Only then would Sui Wanjun feel disillusioned and stop worrying about him.

Yet this selfish thought was one Zhai Ning didn’t dare say out loud.

Before Li Rong left that night, he had subtly hinted that he would clear Zhai Ning’s name when the truth was revealed, confirming that his parents had indeed said Luyinxu was unaffected by underlying conditions.

Freed from the burden of potential reputation damage, Zhai Ning eagerly awaited the truth’s revelation and the moment Sui Wanjun would see Zhou Hong’s true colors. She even began to look forward to that day.

But Li Rong’s side remained silent.

Not only had the matter with Suhe Biotech stalled, but so had Han Ying’s case.

There simply wasn’t an opportune moment yet.

Li Rong’s current best strategy was to leverage the relaunch of Luyinxu to spark a public outcry. But how to accelerate this plan remained unclear. Moreover, he feared unintended consequences, as Liu Tanzhi still controlled many media outlets.

In the past, Li Rong was prone to tunnel vision, refusing to rest until his goals were achieved. But after everything he’d been through, he had learned to let himself breathe.

Some things couldn’t be rushed. While waiting, one should live passionately and fully, so as not to waste life’s blessings.

For now, he considered Jiang Weide his breakthrough for relaunching Luyinxu. Figuring out how to make Jiang Weide work for him would take time.

At least for now, Jiang Weide found it hard to refuse him. When Li Rong proposed sending Ji Xiaochuan to the lab for training, Jiang Weide agreed. It was an opportunity many couldn’t secure, as interning on a project affiliated with the Hongsuo Research Institute provided significant advantages for further study and career prospects.

Over the past few days, Li Rong continued organizing the detailed experimental procedures for GT201 whenever he had time. These were still too advanced for Ji Xiaochuan, so he worked on them alone, though it took considerable effort.

Ji Xiaochuan, however, seemed to recognize the importance of this work to Li Rong. Determined to contribute as soon as possible, she studied diligently and tirelessly.

Li Rong felt a twinge of guilt watching her, but he held his tongue.

Work’s sense of fulfillment doesn’t just come from monetary rewards but also from achieving spiritual value.

Li Rong knew the significance of his project and believed Ji Xiaochuan’s early involvement would offer her a rare sense of accomplishment.

In their downtime, Li Rong and Cen Xiao lounged on the sofa, watching shows together.

They were, of course, watching Lin Zhen’s talent show, which had just aired an outdoor reality segment featuring Xiaochengxiang.

Li Rong had prepared a plate of cherries, sitting cross-legged on the couch and leaning on Cen Xiao’s shoulder. As he watched, he occasionally popped a cherry into his mouth.

“I never had time for entertainment shows before, but now that I’m watching, they’re surprisingly relaxing and brainless fun.”

Cen Xiao’s gaze followed Li Rong’s as he bit into a cherry. Its fresh juice stained his lips, and his tongue darted out to lick it away before he popped the rest into his mouth, chewing briefly and spitting out the small pit.

Before long, Li Rong’s palm was filled with a little pile of cherry pits. His lips were flushed red, glistening from the juice, and even his fingertips were tinted crimson.

Cen Xiao reached out, pinching Li Rong’s chin. “Aren’t you worried about eating too many and getting heated?”

Though his tone was serious, his fingers lingered sensuously along Li Rong’s Adam’s apple.

Li Rong’s cool neck shifted as he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing against Cen Xiao’s touch. In mere seconds, he understood Cen Xiao’s intent.

Smiling slyly, Li Rong grabbed another cherry and dangled it before Cen Xiao. “You have some too.”

Cen Xiao turned his head away. “I don’t like cherries.”

Li Rong grinned, popping the cherry into his own mouth. With a playful glint in his eyes, he wrapped his arms around Cen Xiao’s neck and pressed forward, forcing the cherry onto Cen Xiao’s lips.

Cen Xiao instinctively resisted, but the cherry’s flesh was crushed, its juice trickling down both their mouths.

In the next moment, Cen Xiao took the cherry from Li Rong’s mouth without hesitation, reversing their roles and kissing him deeply.

After a moment of heated contact, Li Rong pulled back, gasping for breath. He wiped the juice from his chin. “We haven’t finished the show yet. Behave.”

Cen Xiao glanced down at his involuntary physical reaction and gritted his teeth. “Who started this?”

Li Rong wasn’t much better off, so he grabbed a cushion to cover his abdomen. “Do you really want to argue about who initiated it?”

Cen Xiao raised an eyebrow. “You think I’d lose?”

Suppressing a laugh, Li Rong said seriously, “Fine, let’s take this to bed and argue properly.”

After some playful banter and cuddling, they finally refocused on the show.

The reality segment was fairly typical—group activities with the orphanage kids, completing tasks, singing together, and a heartfelt conclusion promoting Xiaochengxiang’s message.

The most telling moments of an artist’s personal charm in this context are the details of how they interact with orphans.

A truly cultured individual will respect and understand these children who grew up in the mountains and haven’t seen much of the world.

Some of the children were abandoned by their parents and still retain memories of that abandonment, leading to withdrawn personalities, unwillingness to speak, and reluctance to cooperate. 

Others have physical disabilities, which make them appear dimmer in comparison to their healthier peers. 

Meanwhile, the healthy children often feel shy and avoidant when faced with the dazzling stars they see as incomprehensible.

Whoever can quickly earn the trust and affection of these children can win over new fans.

Li Rong and Cen Xiao were on-site for much of the reality show filming. Although they didn’t stay with the crew the entire time, even the portions they watched made it clear that Lin Zhen performed exceptionally well.

Perhaps because Lin Zhen himself has a quiet and gentle nature, he was able to understand the children’s timidness. Coupled with his innocent and kind demeanor, he easily won their trust.

But after watching the three-hour-long episode, Li Rong frowned. “Am I biased, so I’m being subjective? Why do I feel like Lin Zhen’s screen time is so little?”

Cen Xiao replied calmly, “I’m probably more objective than you. His screen time is indeed short, which doesn’t match what should be expected for the most popular contestant.”

Li Rong sat up straight, no longer relaxed. He rewound a few segments, reviewing them closely, and muttered, “There were a few highlights of Lin Zhen that I thought were great, but they weren’t included. After watching this episode, Lin Zhen’s performance comes across as mediocre at best.”

What was apparent even to an outsider like Li Rong, who had no knowledge of the entertainment industry, would naturally also be noticed by Lin Zhen’s fans. 

Sure enough, when Li Rong checked online, there was already a heated discussion under the show’s topic.

“Is there another episode of this reality show? It was filmed for three days—surely it’s not just three hours, right?”

“Lin Zhen’s screen time is so limited. I’m really disappointed. He looked so happy interacting with the kids, and I wanted to see more of him. Will there be bonus content?”

“Let me be blunt: Does the production team have something against Lin Zhen? Fans who went to the shoot know how well he did and how proud we were, yet everything was cut!”

“Exactly! They removed all the highlight moments and even edited the kids’ reactions to favor other contestants. This is so unfair to Lin Zhen!”

“Speechless. You people are just criticizing the production team because Lin Zhen has more fans. Do you have proof? Clearly, the standout performance in the show was Cheng Zerui’s.”

“How can you blame Cheng Zerui for this? Unless you’ve got behind-the-scenes proof, you’re just being unreasonable.”

“We can’t release behind-the-scenes footage while the show’s still airing—it’s against copyright laws! Ugh, this is infuriating.”

“They’re taking advantage of the fact that we can’t release leaked footage. That’s why they deliberately edited out Lin Zhen’s highlights. Is it because he doesn’t have a company backing him?”

….

After scrolling through the comments, Li Rong shook his head.

While Lin Zhen had many fans speaking up for him, this wasn’t enough. 

Most casual viewers, who don’t engage in online debates or read fan analyses, would only perceive Lin Zhen as the way he appeared on the show. No matter how much effort he put in behind the scenes, it wouldn’t matter in their eyes.

As Lin Zhen’s friend, Li Rong had the patience to read fans’ clarifications and complaints, pointing out how Lin Zhen’s achievements had been edited to benefit other contestants. However, for the average viewer, none of this would come to light.

If it were simply a matter of limited screen time, it could be explained as the production team needing to balance coverage across contestants. But deliberately transferring Lin Zhen’s standout moments to others felt malicious.

Li Rong, unfamiliar with the workings of the entertainment industry, wondered aloud, “Is it because Lin Zhen hasn’t signed with a company yet, so those with corporate backing squeezed out his screen time?”

Still, despite his frustration, Li Rong wasn’t too worried. Based on memories from his past life, Lin Zhen was destined to take first place. 

The challenges Lin Zhen faced later were unrelated to the competition—they stemmed from his refusal to participate in shady business dealings or exploit his fans excessively.

Cen Xiao pulled Li Rong closer by the shoulder. “Jian Fu is keeping an eye on things. If anything truly unfair happens to Lin Zhen, Jian Fu won’t stand idly by.”

Li Rong nodded thoughtfully. Jian Fu, while still unsure of his feelings for Lin Zhen, had already started instinctively defending him.

The media-savvy Jian Fu, who specialized in managing public opinion online, was naturally furious.

Using his position as Lin Zhen’s “assistant,” Jian Fu had accompanied him throughout the entire recording process. He knew exactly how hard Lin Zhen had worked—unlike other contestants who occasionally took breaks, Lin Zhen had been tirelessly dedicated for three days straight, to the point of losing weight.

And this was the result?

Outraged, Jian Fu fumed, “Tell those fans who filmed behind-the-scenes clips to release them! If the production team has a problem with it, I’ll foot the bill! What kind of garbage editing is this?!”

Lin Zhen, however, remained calm as he quietly made himself a cup of nutritional drink. After stirring it with a spoon, he took a small sip. It was slightly hot, and he wrinkled his nose.

“I’m not upset, so why are you?”

“I…” Jian Fu stammered, “Because we’re in this together! If they bully you, how can I not be upset?”

Lin Zhen set his cup down, lifted his gaze to look at Jian Fu, and stared at him.

Feeling uneasy under Lin Zhen’s gaze, Jian Fu asked nervously, “What’s wrong?”

Lin Zhen looked away and shook his head. “Nothing.”

Jian Fu licked his lips and leaned in closer. Propping one arm on Lin Zhen’s desk, he studied Lin Zhen’s profile. “You’re so popular now, but this kind of editing is just ridiculous. Last time, the panda guy suggested you talk to other companies. Did you follow up?”

Jian Fu had helped research and shortlist seven or eight companies, relying on connections in the industry to compile a detailed comparison of their pros and cons for Lin Zhen and his parents to review. 

But he left the final decision up to them, feeling it wasn’t his place to intervene further.

Lin Zhen spoke softly, “I haven’t signed yet.”

Jian Fu’s eyes widened. “No wonder! Other companies must be cutting your screen time behind your back, and you’re just sitting here waiting! No, I’m going to fight for your scenes!”

These opportunists really think Lin Zhen has no friends to back him up?

Lin Zhen grabbed Jian Fu’s arm. “Don’t move. I know my screen time would be reduced. It’s probably on the orders of President Song from Wajing. Since Suhe Biotech invested in the show, Wajing naturally has the most say.”

Jian Fu was puzzled. “Why would he cut your scenes?”

Lin Zhen replied matter-of-factly, “Because I insulted him.”

Jian Fu tilted his head. “Wasn’t panda telling you not to provoke him? Why’d you do it?”

The plan hadn’t come to fruition yet, so Lin Zhen couldn’t tell Jian Fu the truth. Instead, he joked, “Because… he asked me if I liked older men.”

Jian Fu: “!!!”

Furious, Jian Fu exclaimed, “That b*stard! I’m going to fight him right now!”

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