Chapter 1982 — Strange Theory
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"What? He knows Xu Shilan? Even if he does, she can't just come the moment he asks, can she?" He Meiyue said, astonished. "How close would they have to be for him to get her here without paying a cent?"
"That I couldn't tell you, because I never asked for the details." Wang Xinyan shook her head. "But since she's coming, don't burden yourself over it. Wei Zhao isn't the sort to puff himself up beyond his means."
Wang Xinyan knew Wei Zhao's character well. From their very first meeting on the train she had seen that he was not one to swallow a loss — when others tried to cheat him, he ended up pocketing their money instead. So this business with Xu Shilan had probably not been too difficult either.
What Wang Xinyan did not know was that Wei Zhao treated his friends very well; however hard it might be, he would likely find a way to help. But puffing himself up beyond his means was not something Wei Zhao would ever do.
"That's good, then..." He Meiyue nodded...
While the whole school was in an uproar, Zhang Duopan sat in the rehearsal room with a liver-colored scowl, smoking a cigarette in a thoroughly foul mood.
"Damn it all — Bai Weituo actually got Xu Shilan to come? Then even if we bring in Cheng Yiyi and place, we still won't be a match for Bai Weituo!" Zhang Duopan cursed in his fury. This time he had been a hundred percent certain of victory; with Cheng Yiyi onstage, first place in the singing category was as good as his.
Most of the student council members in charge of the voting would surely cast their ballots for them — after all, one gives face to a star. But now, first place would probably go to Xu Shilan, and only second to Cheng Yiyi.
Second place was already a remarkable result, but to Zhang Duopan it could not have looked uglier. It was a slap in the face, plain and simple.
"Brother Zhang, this can't just be them hyping things up, can it?" Fan Ganhe frowned as well, scrolling through the posts on the campus BBS on his phone. "Maybe they're using this to crush our morale and make us withdraw from the contest ourselves?" he said hesitantly.
"I doubt it. Unless Bai Weituo has lost his mind, he wouldn't stoop to such a despicable trick — because even if it worked, even if our morale were crushed and we gave up the performance, his victory would be a hollow one, and He Meiyue would despise him for it." Zhang Duopan shook his head. "Nine times out of ten, this is real..."
"But how did they get her? It cost us two hundred thousand just to bring in Cheng Yiyi, and that was a discounted rate because your father's company had her endorse a product. Xu Shilan's appearance fee has to be at least a million, doesn't it?" Fan Ganhe asked doubtfully.
"That I don't know. But that Wei Zhao seems to be a rich man — maybe he's the one footing the bill," Zhang Duopan said.
"That bastard — one of these days I'll beat him to death!" The very mention of Wei Zhao's name set Fan Ganhe boiling. Last time in the cafeteria he had meant to give Wei Zhao a beating, but before the fight could even start the drill instructor arrived, and he had never gotten another chance. It left Fan Ganhe deeply frustrated.
"Cheng Yiyi arrives tonight. I'll ask her then whether this is true or not — Xu Shilan is her senior fellow disciple, so she ought to know," Zhang Duopan said.
"So do we keep rehearsing?" Fan Ganhe asked.
"Of course we rehearse — how could we not? When Cheng Yiyi gets here, she'll keep leading our class in practice. Even if we lose, we lose with our pride intact. If we give up, He Meiyue will look down on us even more!" Zhang Duopan snorted.
"But if we lose, Brother Zhang, aren't you going to have to give up?" Fan Ganhe asked with some concern.