Chapter 109: Do They Know?

"Is the great actor Ye mocking me? Do you think I shouldn't have won the championship? Do you think my dancing is poor? Or do you think Miss Xia is superior?"

*Gasp.*

The crowd drew a sharp breath. Everyone was aware of the recent scandals, but to bring it out into the open like this—this was...

Ye Ziyan looked at her with contempt, his tone dropping to freezing point. "You are not qualified to compare yourself to her."

*Gasp.*

*Gasp.*

The crowd was stunned, unable to fathom how the situation had escalated. Was the actor actually defending Miss Xia?

Jun Rui’s fingernails dug into her palms, but she forced herself to remain calm. "My apologies to everyone." She ran off the stage in tears, leaving behind a pathetic, aggrieved silhouette.

The audience felt that the actor had gone too far; bullying a contestant so brazenly made some lean toward sympathizing with Jun Rui. However, when Xia Wanqing appeared later, they finally understood the difference between a novice’s performance and a champion’s standard. They began to realize that the actor had been right all along.

The ninth performer, Xia Wanqing, presented a "Flying Apsaras" dance. Two silk ribbons hung from the center of the stage. The elegant, graceful woman grasped the ribbons, dancing fluidly in the air. Her movements were as soft as clouds obscuring the moon, and as light as a breeze swirling through snow.

The audience was completely mesmerized, unable to even blink. Even when Xia Wanqing finished her curtain call, the crowd remained spellbound. Without a doubt, she was the champion.

The actor offered only a single remark: "Her dance is refined and skilled, graceful as a startled swan."

As expected, the public vote confirmed Xia Wanqing as the clear winner. When the host revealed the scores, Jun Rui hadn't even made the top three.

***

"Miss, why are we here?"

It appeared to be an underground bar, filled with deafening noise, wild laughter, and intense revelry. Seductive dancers moved wantonly on the bar top, surrounded by leering eyes. The walls were lined with rows of liquor, and the shifting, chaotic lights synchronized with the loud music, pushing the atmosphere to a fever pitch.

"We are here because there is work to be done."

Hardly had Shangguan Renran been dropped off at home by Huangpu Shenqing than she slipped out with Ye Xin. Ye Xin’s previous injuries had mostly healed, save for a bandage still wrapped beneath her clothes.

As they entered the bar, they immediately drew a wave of attention.

Shangguan Renran wore a black overcoat over a white dress with a doll collar, paired with cream-colored ankle boots. Her hair was pulled back neatly, with long, curled locks cascading down to her waist. Her small face featured almond-shaped eyes, arched brows, a delicate nose, and lips painted in a maple-orange hue. She was the picture of elegance and ethereal beauty.

Ye Xin wore a wine-red V-neck sweater and loose black trousers. She exuded a refined, heroic air, her expression indifferent, as if nothing in the room caught her eye.

Inevitably, some foolhardy man stepped forward to touch the "precious jade." He reached out toward her fair skin, smirking, "Is this your first time at a bar, little lady? Let big brother—ah!"

Shangguan Renran didn't even blink as she watched the hand reach for her. There were always people in this world who sought thrills, thinking the next second would bring pleasure, while ignoring the possibility of falling into hell.

Ye Xin had ruthlessly bent the man’s arm back, and in the next second, she kicked him hard in the abdomen.

"Argh!"

The man’s pig-like shriek echoed through the bar, though the thumping music drowned it out, leaving only a small group of onlookers to watch.

Ye Xin pressed her foot onto the man as he tried to struggle up. "Look in a mirror and see what kind of trash you are. You dare touch my Miss? Do you think your life is too long?"

Strangely, the man couldn't break free from her hold. The weight of that single foot felt like a mountain, pinning him down. Knowing when to quit, he bowed his head and begged for mercy. "I was wrong, my lady! I shouldn't have been a toad dreaming of swan meat. Please let me go, I’ll never dare again..."

"Ye Xin."

"Yes, Miss?"

"Forget him. We have other things to do."

"Understood. I'll let you go for now—if you see us again, make sure to take a detour."

"Yes, yes, yes! I will remember!" the man stammered, nodding in terror.

Shangguan Renran led Ye Xin to the second floor of the bar, where the private rooms were located. They headed straight for room 1206, the second door on the right.

The decadence inside the room was nauseating. Jun Rui scrambled to put on her clothes, while four young, handsome, and delicate men hurriedly dressed and fled, disheveled.

"Who... who are you?" Jun Rui demanded, pulling her clothes together.

Shangguan Renran stood far away, unwilling to be tainted by the disgusting air of the room. Her tone was mocking and repulsed. "I never imagined the Jun family's young lady was so 'playful' in private. Do your family members know? Do your fans know?"

Having finally dressed, Jun Rui was incensed by the undisguised contempt in the room. During the recording, she had been humiliated and insulted in front of so many people, leaving her with a twisted, burning rage that she hadn't been able to vent. She had come to this bar specifically to purge her anger, jealousy, and sense of injustice. She had been taking it out on the four men, only to be interrupted by these two, who were now standing there hurling insults at her.

Finally, she recognized who they were. "Shang—guan—Ren—ran!"

"Oh? You know me? That makes things easier. Slap yourself ten times, and we’ll call today’s business settled."

Jun Rui’s mouth fell open. "What did you say? You want me to hit myself? Ha! What a joke. Is it true what they say online—that since you have Young Master Huangpu keeping you, you’ve grown bold enough to act this way?"

Rumors had circulated that the only person Young Master Huangpu followed was Shangguan Renran. She assumed that Shangguan Renran was being kept by him, giving her the capital to act so arrogantly.