This chapter has been translated by Atlas Studios. All credits belong to them.
The next morning, Xia Ling woke up under the weather.
Her head was heavy and groggy; probably a cold she caught the previous night. She reached for two tablets in the drawer and swallowed them before heading to the dance studio with the rest of the team to start the practice for the day. However, she felt drained and weak after a few rounds and had to sit out in the rest area, quietly hydrating herself as she watched the rest of them practice.
Some of them came over to strike up a conversation every once in a while.
What happened the previous day had already spread to the entire training camp, and it was said that the video had been uploaded on the internal forum — everyone knew how interesting her singing of "Sea Demon" was. Several of them crowded around her to make small talk, expressing their goodwill, as if past ostracization of the quiet and low-profile Ye Xingling had never happened.
Some of them even asked her for singing tips. She patiently answered each and every question posed to her.
During the afternoon break, Tan Ying called her to the office.
He frowned the moment he saw her.
"Ye Xingling," He put his coffee and documents down. "were you out robbing a bank last night? Why do you look so tired? Please don't tell me that you didn't catch a wink because you were excitedly celebrating about getting it through the assessment committee."
It would have been fine if he did not say a thing, but he did, thus Xia Ling was now angered.
"Chairman Tan," she said. "if it wasn't thanks to you, why would Boss Li Lei call me at one in the morning and cause me to catch a cold and lose my sleep for the rest of the night?"
"What, Boss called you so late at night?" Tan Ying was very shocked.
It just occurred to Xia Ling that she was a little impetuous and could have caused him to misunderstand. She hurried to clarify. "He sounded drunk when he called me after seeing the video you sent to him."
"What did he say?" Tan Ying sounded very concerned.
Xia Ling frowned. "Some drunken gibberish."
Tan Ying did not probe further and instead went into deep thought.
After a few moments, he said, "Yesterday, one of Boss's men who had been under him for many years betrayed him. He was extremely hurt and in a very bad mood. After all these years, this is the first time he's been so badly betrayed."
She was shocked. Was this an explanation to her? But she did not think that Li Lei was all that hurt. If he was, how could he have called her in the middle of the night to tease her, and even induce and tempt her to become his woman? In any case, she did not need Tan Ying to explain things on his behalf. She was nobody to him, and could not even be considered his pillow buddy. In fact, she was considerably distant from him and was neither in a position to comfort him nor to express any opinion.
So she said, "Okay."
Tan Ying shook his head. "Ye Xingling, you're really cold."
She said, "When you people decided to sell me away the last time, you weren't just cold, but also heartless."
Tan Ying looked at her deeply and did not say another word.
Xia Ling was left on her own as she watched him settle his business while drinking coffee. The sunlight was shining abundantly through the window onto his wooden office desk, the documents piled like mountains.
She finally decided to get it out of her chest. "Chairman Tan, so what exactly did you call me in for?"
He kept her in suspense for another 10 minutes, before slowly saying, "I called you over today to inform you that the company has already decided to let you cut your debut."
This news was too sudden, taking Xia Ling by surprise. The words from the previous night were still ringing in her head — didn't Li Lei just threaten her, saying that she either went to bed with him or pack up and leave?
She knitted her brows slightly, asking, "Does Boss know about this?"
Tan Ying said, "Boss sent this memo over via his Personal Assistant this moment, otherwise did you think it'd be passed this quickly?"
Skyart Entertainment's process to cutting a debut was a stringent one — they first had to go through several assessments of their style and ability, followed by an investigation of their family background, history of development, and only after clearing those would they be seriously considered for the final decision. If not for the special privilege she got, there was no way one could display their abilities one day and be granted the debut the next.
In this case, Xia Ling was even more puzzled. Why did Boss Li change his mind so fast and so kindly give her the go-ahead? Did he get so seriously injured that he had damaged his brain as well?
She cautiously asked, "Did he have any terms and conditions?"
"No." Tan Ying simply slid a document towards her. "Sign it."
Xia Ling scanned it. It was an official document for a debut, stating the artiste's rights and responsibilities, and the terms looked fair and reasonable. She had signed something similar in her previous life over at Imperial Entertainment and did not hesitate much to sign her name.
"From today on, you're officially Skyart's artiste." Tan Ying looked at her and added, "It all went so smoothly because of Boss, you ought to thank him." His Boss had never put in so much effort in wooing a girl. In the past it was a simple task, he got anyone he wanted. Yet this time the one he encountered happened to be a rose with thorns, thus Tan Ying decided to lend him a hand.
Xia Ling frowned again. She finally understood why Tan Ying had explained Li Lei's drunken stupor, and even said she was cold. As it turned out, he thought that Li Lei and she had an intimate relationship?
But, why exactly did Li Lei let her cut her debut so easily?
She was still trying to figure it out when Tan Ying went on. "As for your manager, the company has already decided for you, it'll be Mai Na. She will come over later and both of you can get to know each other."
Mai Na... this name sounded familiar.
But she could not recall where she heard it before.
Tan Ying said, "Sister Mai Na is one of the best agents in Skyart Entertainment, she's just a little domineering. Even Wei Shaoyin doesn't dare challenge her. I wish you luck." He looked at her with a hint of sympathy.
Xia Ling finally remembered where she heard Mai Na's name from. Back in Li Lei's mountain villa, Wei Shaoyin had painfully mentioned the woman who coerced him into preparing a tribute song to Xia Ling.
A while later, the office door opened and a woman strode in.
She looked elegant yet haughty, with a sort of charisma that made her look like a Queen from another world. She wore a flattering office outfit, a clean-cut maroon bob, white gold earrings, and a light silk scarf. Besides those, she did not have additional accessories on. With her stilettos clicking, she walked towards Xia Ling and stopped right before her, looking down at her—
"So it's this little girl?"
Her voice was cold and piercing, like an impeccable glass of ice-cold liquor.
Xia Ling was unhappy, what did she mean by "little girl"? She wanted to tell Sister Mai Na that when she died in her previous life she was already 28, and as of now she should be considered a 29-year-old, way past the age of a "little girl". What a pity that she could only keep those words to herself.
Tan Ying's work expression was plastered with a smile as he politely stood up. "Sister Mai Na, please take a seat."
Sister Mai Na did not sit, and in fact, she did not even turn to look at him. She squinted as she scrutinized Xia Ling.
Many years down the road, Xia Ling and Sister Mai Na spoke of their first meeting. Sister Mai Na had a cup of tea in her hand as she reminisced. "You at that time... you looked so scrawny and sickly. Had I not watched the video before meeting you, I wouldn't have believed that it was you who sang 'Sea Demon.'"
Xia Ling could not read Sister Mai Na's mind.
Sister Mai Na sized her up with her exacting standards for a while. "Ye Xingling, is that right, so you think you're great being able to release a debut? You don't even cherish yourself at such a young age, just look at your ghostly being, how are you going to make it big?"