After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows
Chapter 275: Two Train Tickets

Chapter 275: Chapter 275: Two Train Tickets

The news of the work being selected arrived, and Tong Yue immediately called Jiang Lingxi.

"You did it, huh? Out of hundreds of works, only six people were selected. I was really worried for you, but you actually made it."

Jiang Lingxi had just finished filming a scene. She took the tissue handed over by Lu Zhengzheng, wiped her sweat, and listened to the call. After listening, she said, "Mm."

Tong Yue: "..."

Her own artist’s reaction was so calm, making her seem like a fool for closing her office door and laughing for a minute after reading the news.

"Did you already know you would be selected?"

Jiang Lingxi precisely tossed the sweat-stained tissue into the trash can. "Yesterday, Mr. Shi accompanied Mr. Li to see the submitted works and then sent me a message. Although he didn’t directly say whether I was selected, I could guess it from the way he talked."

If she wasn’t selected, Mr. Shi wouldn’t have been so relaxed when chatting with her.

He also wouldn’t have specifically reminded her that a celebrity would join this episode of the program unexpectedly.

At that moment, she felt it was pretty much a sure thing.

"No wonder your reaction was so calm," Tong Yue felt comforted and couldn’t help but exclaim, "That’s the benefit of having inside connections!"

"Mr. Shi also revealed to me that a celebrity will make a sudden appearance in this episode’s Calligraphy and Painting Chapter."

Jiang Lingxi’s tone was still calm, but on Tong Yue’s side, it was a different story. She suddenly stood up from her office chair, slapped her hand on the desk, and asked, "Who? Even though you know Mr. Shi, you still honestly applied according to the program’s process. Who has such great influence to make a sudden appearance? Wait a minute, is it Jing Huai? Didn’t we reject him? How did he find connections?"

"Not sure, but it’s very likely him."

Tong Yue frowned, took a deep breath to calm herself, and said, "If it’s really Jing Huai, then Li Yuwen and that kid have some skills. It all makes sense when Li Yuwen suddenly said those words to me a few days ago."

"What words?"

Tong Yue snickered before responding, "She said it’s a shame, said that we don’t know what we’ve given up. At the time, I was utterly confused, thinking she was out of her mind. It seems they had already found other connections back then, dare to show off with confidence to me now."

Speaking, her tone became more solemn: "I just don’t know what connections they found to pre-select him before the works were even reviewed."

Such speed indicates they have substantial influence over the program team.

It must either be someone who can make decisions within the team or a heavyweight guest.

"We rejected Jing Huai; he might deliberately target you during the recording."

This wasn’t alarmist talk; it was very possible.

The footage and airtime of a show are limited. If someone gets more screen time, others will get less. During post-production editing, they could easily cut your screen time to almost nothing.

If that happened, it would truly be a thankless effort.

Jiang Lingxi, leaning on the lounge chair, slightly tired and lazy in appearance, merely uttered a soft "Mm," indicating she was listening to Tong Yue’s concerns, and then casually replied, "That depends on whether he can target me."

Tong Yue: "... Good, that kind of confidence is what I want! But, we still need to be cautious. Better safe than sorry!"

"I understand," Jiang Lingxi replied.

Tong Yue detected the tiredness in Jiang Lingxi’s voice. "I’ll accompany you to the show recording this time. I can’t just let Zhengzheng go with you alone; I’m not at ease. Okay, I’m hanging up now, you take some rest."

Jiang Lingxi twirled the phone she had just ended the call with in her hand and turned to meet Xu Ling’an’s eager eyes. "What’s the matter?"

"Sister, can I go with you too? I could be your assistant like Sister Zhengzheng."

Jiang Lingxi raised her hand to pat her head. She couldn’t resist that eager look.

"Okay, okay, I’ll take you!"

"Thank you, Sister. In return, I’ll do more math problems for you."

Jiang Lingxi: "..."

Wow, what a heavy return!

*

In a small border town several thousand kilometers away from the Imperial City.

A girl finished washing clothes by the river and carried a bucket full of clothes back home.

Before she could hang the clothes to dry, a cracked-screen phone was handed to her by a thin, trembling hand.

A boy with a crew cut, displaying scars old and new on his scalp, smiled at the girl, "Sister, look, a text message!"

Su Yi wiped her hands before taking the phone, trying to discern the message’s content between the cracks on the screen.

The boy excitedly said, "Sister, I told you, your art is so good, you’d definitely get selected. And see, you were."

Su Yi had just finished reading the message herself, but her expression remained calm, contrasting sharply with the boy’s joy. She handed back the phone and said flatly, "I’m not going!"

The boy’s joy froze, his brows furrowed in confusion, "Why not? You got selected, so why not go? It’s such a great opportunity!"

Su Yi continued slowly hanging clothes on the line. When finally pestered too much by the boy’s persistent questioning, she stopped, irritably explaining, "Do you know how far Imperial City is and how expensive the travel costs are? Going there could wipe out all our savings! Besides, what would happen to you if I go? You think I’d feel reassured leaving you here and going to Imperial City alone? Also, who told you to sneakily take my paintings to apply? Did you get my permission?"

The boy was dumbfounded by her questions, unable to respond to any.

After Su Yi resumed hanging clothes, the boy mumbled in his defense, "I didn’t think that far ahead. And I thought with your talent, you’d definitely get selected, so I applied."

Su Yi pretended not to hear, finished hanging the clothes, and quickly went inside to cook.

The boy was left standing there, scratching his head, re-reading the text message over and over, before suddenly dashing out of the yard.

When Su Yi finished cooking and came out to call the boy for dinner, the yard was empty, with no sign of him.

By the time he returned, the sky was aglow with the evening sunset.

Su Yi was standing in front of a simple wooden table in the yard, completing her last brushstroke.

As she cleaned up, she looked at the dwindling paints and the nearly worn-out brush, pressing her lips tightly together.

These were gifts from her painting teacher and she had always used them sparingly, but they were almost gone.

When they were gone, she would put away her brushes for good.

In this place, people only cared for warmth and health; no matter how well she painted, it couldn’t earn a penny.

"Su Cheng," catching sight of the boy who had disappeared for half a day, Su Yi’s anger flared. "Where did you sneak off to? The town has been unsafe recently; are you trying to worry me to death?"

"Sister," Su Cheng shuffled his head and obediently stood in front of his sister, accepting her scolding and admitting his mistake. When he sensed her anger had mostly subsided, he raised his head, his eyes shining brightly, and pulled out two pristine, unworn train tickets from his pocket. "These are tickets to Imperial City. I asked Uncle Lin for help."

"Sister, I know you’re worried about me, and I’ll go with you. Since you love painting so much, I thought it over and still feel you shouldn’t miss such a great opportunity. Sister, I remember what Teacher Jian said, you should see a broader world."

"Go see it, alright?"

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