CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 15 - 13 Jiaqi Private Connection_2

Beep! Beep!

The avatar on her phone app flashed—it was a message from Ye Yuwei.

"Babe, payday’s here. I’m practically a fortune-teller. I checked the message, and guess what, my salary’s only a little over 2,300."

Li Jiaqi stared at Ye Yuwei’s screenshot of her income, her head buzzing, and replied: "At this rate, I won’t even have money to buy tampons."

"Haha, the boss probably saw this coming already. There’s a pile of newspapers at the mailroom by the entrance, just use those!"

"This boss is too much. You only took a week’s sick leave, and your salary for the month is practically gone." Li Jiaqi added a few angry emojis at the end of her message.

"What else can I do? Just have to suck it up." Ye Yuwei’s message was full of resignation.

"Ugh! The most frustrating part is that all the students only get 70% of their pay. Even if it doesn’t impact performances, that’s what they do anyway. Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if I can even pay off my student loans after graduation, especially relying on this company." Li Jiaqi’s tone was equally defeated.

"By the way, Yuwei, I heard the company’s planning to launch a boy band, aiming to be Asia’s answer to ’Shinhwa.’"

"Does the company even have the money to support a boy band? They eat way more than we do..." Ye Yuwei’s thoughts became chaotic at the news.

"Resources will probably get scarcer from now on. Word is, the harsh pay cuts for us are mostly to fund the boy band." Li Jiaqi sent a string of disheartened emojis.

"This company keeps coming up with new gimmicks. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they launched a ’Middle-Aged Moms Group’ someday." Ye Yuwei now felt a surge of anger pent up inside.

"Yuwei, when are you coming back tonight?"

"Probably after midnight. I have to work a shift at a restaurant tonight."

...

After hanging up, Li Jiaqi was hit with a wave of anxiety. There were things she hadn’t mentioned to Ye Yuwei.

Her mom was sick and hospitalized, requiring money. Plus, the last time that mysterious fan in ’Pocket’ splurged to get Ye Yuwei into the dumpling rankings left a deep impression on her.

She felt that Ye Yuwei’s improved placement in recent performances had gained the attention of the real heavyweights. Meanwhile, she herself had to work even harder, or risk falling behind.

Getting a better spot in performances was out of the question. Openly, the company decided who got on stage, but in reality, it was the top-ranking members who controlled the performances—because it was them the fans were really coming to see.

So her only option was to focus on external gigs, but that required greasing palms and sending gifts to Operations.

Li Jiaqi picked up her phone, pacing hesitantly back and forth in the dorm, her face full of indecision.

She finally stopped, glanced at her salary amount displayed on the screen, sighed deeply, and tapped into her WeChat, opening a specific avatar to send a message.

"Thanks for your concern, but our company has rules, as you know... We’re strictly forbidden from contacting fans."

"Jiaqi, you actually replied! Oh my god! I’m over the moon! I promise to keep this secret; I really just wanted to talk to you privately, nothing more."

"Mm, I understand. Thanks again for your concern. I need to start my ’Pocket’ livestream now. Goodbye."

Elsewhere in a single apartment in Shenghai City, a greasy-haired young man in beach shorts sat in front of his computer, grinning stupidly.

His name was You Bin. He fixed computers and phones for a living and became a fan of the Galaxy Girl Group a year ago. Since then, he’d been completely infatuated with Li Jiaqi.

He was so obsessed that he could barely eat or sleep, spending every day mentally preoccupied in front of his computer.

Two months ago, unable to contain his emotions any longer, he went directly to the school where Li Jiaqi attended.

Since the small idols’ information was public, it wasn’t hard to find her.

From one of Li Jiaqi’s classmates, he managed to get her WeChat ID. From then on, he continuously sent her messages of "concern and care." freewēbnoveℓ.com

Initially, Li Jiaqi ignored him. Creepy fans like him were all too common inside and outside the group. But You Bin was a bit clever, showing off his spending records for her vote rankings.

He’d spent three to four thousand on her. To Li Jiaqi, he was her biggest benefactor—a "single-focus king." So, despite her disgust, she couldn’t block or ignore him.

Pressured by various external circumstances, Li Jiaqi eventually couldn’t hold back and replied to him privately.

"Jiaqi-chan actually replied to me! Oh my god! Oh my god! Mom! Baby!" You Bin was trembling with excitement, his unwashed, greasy hair nearly standing on end.

"Jiaqi-chan is about to go live on Pocket. I’ll go have a look. I wonder if she can recognize my IP. If other people knew I had a private chat with Jiaqi-chan, I can’t even imagine how jealous they’d be."

Shaking uncontrollably, You Bin opened Pocket and, sure enough, saw Li Jiaqi livestreaming. But her face showed nothing but worry, and she even displayed her salary slip for the month.

"Oh my god! How is it this little? The company is so heartless!" A surge of unspeakable fury filled You Bin, mixed with an unbearable ache in his chest.

Messages continued to stream across the screen, though fewer in number, most expressing sympathy for Li Jiaqi.

You Bin furiously typed out his frustrations: "We fans put our hearts and souls into exhausting ourselves for your votes, spending money left and right. The yearly totals are billions, and there’s income from merch and external gigs too. And this lousy company gives my little idol peanuts?! What the hell?!"

Li Jiaqi saw the comment, glanced at the IP, and could roughly guess who it was. She smiled bitterly and replied: "Everyone knows I’ve never missed a single performance. To put on better shows, I even signed up for vocal classes. Now I’m worried about next month’s tuition, and I don’t even have clothes for the changing seasons."

Suddenly, dozens more sympathetic comments flooded the screen.

Sitting at his computer, You Bin seemed possessed, grabbing his phone to send Li Jiaqi a message: "Jiaqi, you’re suffering too much. We all know that little idols like you don’t earn much, but I didn’t think it’d be this little. If you need money, I can give you some."

Seated before her computer, Li Jiaqi heard her WeChat notification but didn’t check it. Instead, she continued chatting with her fans. After years of girl group training, she had learned exactly how to keep the fans emotionally hooked.