CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 356 - 348: Launching a Sneak Attack

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Yuwei saw that most of her companions had already fallen asleep while getting their makeup done.

Just a moment ago, they had rehearsed a dance routine for less than two hours.

Now they were about to move into the dress rehearsal and start recording the show.

This felt like a complete joke, and judging by the way they looked, it was clear that these arrangements were slapdash with no sincere effort put into their designs.

The outfits they were given were old styles from ten years ago, and the sequined hat they handed her still had greasy smudges left behind.

Many people assume that celebrity performance costumes are worn only once.

In reality, for television recordings, many of these clothes are simply reused. It doesn’t show on the cameras or in the final footage that the clothes aren’t new.

Only when the clothes are exceptionally dirty do these platforms bother to send them for cleaning.

"Ah!" Wu Zixuan, who was sitting next to Yuwei, suddenly let out a small cry.

"What’s wrong, Zixuan?"

"My eye hurts so much."

Yuwei stood up and walked over to take a closer look, noticing that Zixuan’s eye was slightly swollen.

"Zixuan, your eye might be infected."

"Infected?"

"Yes. Did you not remove your makeup properly these past few days?"

Wu Zixuan nodded slightly at Yuwei’s question: "Rehearsals and performances have been so dense. I haven’t removed my makeup for two days—I just fell asleep with it on."

At this moment, Yang Ni overheard their conversation and walked over. "Zixuan, maybe you should take leave and go to the hospital for a checkup. Eyes are no small matter."

Wu Zixuan looked at her with gratitude. During the group’s formation rehearsal when she had fainted, it was Yang Ni who carried her to the car.

"...I still have to pull through for this event. It’s our debut, after all."

"But!"

"I understand your concern, but if I don’t participate, it might cause a massive uproar outside. We’ve just debuted, and I don’t want to create trouble for the group because of myself."

Yuwei saw Zixuan’s determination and hesitated to say much more. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Zixuan, at least let the assistant go buy some anti-inflammatory medicine and an ice pack to help you hold on for now."

This time, Zixuan didn’t resist. However, what she didn’t know was that her condition had already been reported to Zhou Dan by the assistant.

Rehearsal time arrived, and the girls, who were lightly napping, were woken up and ushered to the stage.

Things went exactly as Yuwei had expected—the entire performance was a disaster.

For the sake of so-called stage effects, they lip-synced, but many of them couldn’t even match their lip movements correctly.

The dancing was even worse—apart from a few skilled dancers, the rest looked like a chaotic mess. To make matters worse, they were scheduled to rush off next to shoot a magazine spread.

The scheduling was so packed that there wasn’t the slightest bit of breathing room.

In the past, the girls had dreamed of having tons of work, but now the workload was suffocating. Wu Zixuan eventually went to the hospital as well.

Flower City, Hotel

Yuwei could only bitterly smile as she read online comments about their debut performance.

Overall, fans expressed disappointment with the group, claiming that this was rushed, without proper preparation or harmony. They acknowledged that the girls had potential.

However, many nasty comments circulated as well, criticizing their outfits for being tacky and mocking the show’s ambition to create ’Huaxia’s strongest girl group’ as a joke.

The most awkward situation was faced by Fu Xiaoyu, as the harshest criticism came from none other than her nominal boss.

In truth, this boss of considerable renown was embroiled in disputes with fellow shareholders, who were trying to oust him from the company.

Fu Xiaoyu was unaware of any of this, so when she saw the online mockery coming from her supposed boss, she felt deeply embarrassed and humiliated.

Shenghai

Penguin Headquarters

If Yuwei had been here, she would have been utterly shocked.

Wu Jingxiang was sitting directly across from Wan Kai.

"Mr. Wu, thank you so much for making it possible to swiftly secure Lv Fangxin’s contract this time."

Wan Kai was very polite toward Wu Jingxiang, knowing full well the influence of the Wu family.

"Mr. Wan, you’re too kind. We also hope to establish long-term cooperation with your side." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Haha! Mr. Wu, as expected, today is my treat. You must do me the honor of joining."

Wan Kai was well aware that this remark was half in jest.

The Wu family held tremendous sway over various television stations and theaters. If Penguin wanted to release their self-produced movies in theaters, they would undoubtedly need their help.

However, with online streaming platforms emerging as the primary distribution channels for TV dramas and variety shows, the Wu family would also rely on Penguin at times.

Essentially, it was a mutually beneficial relationship.

What surprised Wan Kai was how quickly the CEO, Shi Shou, had been pushed out—his company shares diluted rapidly. Though he still held the title of CEO, he was essentially working for someone else now.

"Alright, then I’ll gladly accept the offer," Wu Jingxiang said with a smile.

Wan Kai pondered briefly before saying, "Mr. Wu, regarding the agreement we’ve reached, could your side keep it confidential for now and release the news at an appropriate time?"

"Sure," Wu Jingxiang agreed immediately without hesitation.

Wan Kai was slightly stunned but quickly realized that Wu Jingxiang had already figured out his plan.

Naturally, such matters wouldn’t be directly addressed.

While the two were deep in conversation, Yuehua’s Pan Ting was holding a meeting with several stakeholders.

Participants included Zhang Zijing, Duan Yuxin, Yang Ni, Fu Xiaoyu, and Lai Ruoxuan’s company representatives.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot agree to the full contract proposed by Penguin."

"They made promises to us initially, and now they’re trying to breach them."

Pan Ting’s icy tone reflected her fury toward Penguin’s actions.

The other representatives were equally outraged, as Penguin’s behavior was downright manipulative.

"As long as we stay united and drag this out against Penguin, they’ll have no choice but to give us the benefits we deserve," Pan Ting said confidently.

This wasn’t her first time dealing with such matters, even though she was now up against Penguin.

She firmly believed that Penguin couldn’t afford to stall, given the numerous business contracts they had signed. If any of the group’s core members dropped out, the entire team would collapse.

These contracts wouldn’t just incur losses—they’d also affect Penguin’s plans for the second season of the show and other related businesses.

Pan Ting was initially surprised by Galaxy’s absence.

Given Yuwei’s considerable commercial value, which was no less than Lv Fangxin’s, Galaxy should have been furious about this.

Furthermore, Lv Fangxin was a rare asset to Galaxy, and yet they hadn’t shown up.

Her analysis led her to believe Penguin must have offered sufficient incentives.

As for the possibility that Lv Fangxin wasn’t actually a Galaxy artist, Pan Ting hadn’t even considered it. If that were true, then Galaxy’s behavior would be utterly baffling.

Meanwhile, Yuwei and the others continued with their schedules.

Zhou Dan had already announced plans to release an EP album—a mini album.

It would include four songs, one of which was the theme song for a movie.

The quick turnaround for the album’s release surprised the girls.

Additionally, their schedules had been altered. Their magazine shoots were canceled, and they were sent to work on the album instead.

The producer was the boss of Duan Yuxin’s company, who was also the music producer for the finale song of the show "Heaven’s Idols."