CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 23 - 21 Intensification of Contradictions

When Zhang Yuze came out of the café, he seemed revitalized, as if he had taken a powerful tonic.

"Haha! Haha! Why do I need a girlfriend? Why do I need to get married?"

"Isn’t it better to spend the money I earn on someone I like? Isn’t it great to see someone I adore become a superstar?"

"Women nowadays are all so vain. They’re clearly low-class themselves but demand so much from men."

"If I were to marry, I’d end up living worse than a dog—treated as a slave and a money-making tool by my wife, stripped of time and space. Isn’t this better? Having someone who genuinely cares about me?"

Zhang Yuze carefully cradled the shirt in his hands, his eyes filled with red heart-shaped sparkles.

At the TV station

Ye Yuwei, bracing herself for negotiations, was speaking with the on-site director, Ma Tao.

"Yuwei, I don’t want to say too much."

"I don’t care whether you’re supposedly top-tier in your circle. When you’re here, you need to play by the rules here," said Ma Tao, around forty years old, already balding, with a sullen expression.

If he didn’t personally have some "favorability" for the girl in front of him, he would’ve booted her out long ago.

"Director Ma, we’ll definitely follow the rules. But everyone else has their own private dressing room and work entry passes, while we have nothing."

Although Ye Yuwei didn’t want to bring this up, since she was here, she had to explain clearly. Otherwise, once she returned, those people would inevitably complain about her.

When Ma Tao heard what she said, he couldn’t help but sneer: "Yuwei, if I didn’t think you were at least somewhat sensible, I would’ve told you off long ago. What are you so-called little idols? Is there any difference between you and those cheap models or backup dancers?"

Ma Tao stared into Yuwei’s eyes, the mocking expression on his face becoming even sharper: "Other than knowing your group’s name, I’ve never heard of any of you individually. If you want good treatment, then first weigh your own worth."

Ma Tao’s words stabbed deeply into Yuwei’s heart, leaving her flushed with embarrassment, her eyes filled with shame and grievance.

Seeing Yuwei’s reaction, Ma Tao chuckled: "Yuwei, don’t feel offended by my bluntness. What I’m saying is already giving you plenty of face. In this industry—or anywhere else—if you lack strength yourself, you won’t earn respect."

"I’m sorry, Director Ma, I know it’s our fault. This opportunity is rare, so I’ll return and persuade them to keep rehearsing."

Ye Yuwei’s response took Ma Tao by surprise, and he gave her a deep look.

"Good. Go ahead! That’s the attitude needed to get things done." Continuing, Ma Tao said, "Yuwei, there’s a drama going up later this year that will air nationally. There’s a role in it that I think would suit you quite well."

A tremor ran through Yuwei’s heart, and her entire body shivered involuntarily. She understood Ma Tao’s implication. She had heard of such things before but was facing it directly for the first time today.

Still, she knew that people like him weren’t necessarily trustworthy.

Many of them just lied to con young girls for fun. If they didn’t give you resources afterwards, you would have to endure silently.

"Yuwei, I, Ma Tao, always keep my word. You can ask around. As long as we become friends, I’ll certainly help you wholeheartedly."

"Director Ma, I... I need to think about it."

Ye Yuwei didn’t dare offend him. This Ma Tao wasn’t merely a contracted director at Shenghai TV but also a high-ranking executive there.

"Alright, I hope you think it through clearly. A woman’s prime doesn’t last long," Ma Tao said with layered meaning.

Ye Yuwei returned disheartened to where Lu Bingbing and the others were, softly relaying Ma Tao’s words.

"Hmph! If they’re going to treat us as backup dancers, then why are we staying here at all?" Zhang Yu sneered.

"Shenghai TV thinks they’re some high-end station? Isn’t it just a few more screens than our small theaters? I won’t put up with this crap!" Duan Yuxin angrily threw her costume to the ground before kicking it away.

"We didn’t ask to come; they invited us. And now they treat us like this? This is just humiliating us! Captain, we can’t tolerate this," Yu Qingjia added.

Lu Bingbing found herself caught between opposing sides. As the leader, she knew that if she didn’t support her teammates, her authority would be shattered.

But if she sided with them, how would she explain things to the company later? Walking out wasn’t a defensible option no matter what.

"Ye Yuwei, how did the conversation go? Did you say everything you needed to?" Xu Mengchen, noticing Lu Bingbing’s dilemma, shifted the blame onto Ye Yuwei.

The others also turned their attention to her.

At that moment, most of them, barring a few clear-headed individuals, fell into a collective delusion.

They considered themselves "stars," but in reality, outsiders saw them as "bumpkins who never left the village."

"I said everything I could, and I even begged Director Ma," Ye Yuwei defended herself.

"Begged? You begged him? This was a reasonable request! Yuwei, what’s wrong with you?" Zhang Yu glared at her angrily, his pride clearly bruised.

"Exactly, Yuwei, behaving like that—how could they possibly respect us?"

"Yuwei, we sent you to negotiate, not to grovel and humiliate us!" freewebnσvel.cøm

"Yeah! How can we get what we deserve when you’re so meek and indecisive?"

A chorus of complaints flooded in, and Ye Yuwei felt her worldview shattering.

What was wrong with these people? She took on the thankless task of dealing with this mess, yet not a single kind word came her way—they just heaped all the blame on her."

"Everyone, calm down. Yuwei has done her best," Yu Manting interjected, stepping forward to shield Ye Yuwei.

As soon as Duan Yuxin saw Manting defending Ye Yuwei, she opened her mouth to curse, but Lu Bingbing stopped her.

She knew that if Yuwei was scolded here and word got out, it would reflect poorly on her as well.

After all, she was the leader, and negotiating such matters was her responsibility. But instead, she had let Ye Yuwei handle it. If more chaos ensued, it would make her seem incompetent.

"Alright, everyone, stop talking. Here’s what I think—let’s head back to the company and see how they plan to handle this," Lu Bingbing proposed, thinking she had found a middle ground.

Everyone chimed in with various forms of agreement.

"Gao Huan, go tell the program team that we’re heading back to the company. If they want something, let them negotiate with the company directly. If the company agrees with how they’re treating us, we’ll come back to rehearse." Lu Bingbing turned to Gao Huan, who had remained silent throughout.

"Got it, Sister Lu," Gao Huan replied flatly, but internally, he was sneering relentlessly.

Ye Yuwei thought about what Ma Tao had said—the repulsive way he hinted at exploiting her—and felt that her so-called "sisters" were truly hopeless.

A golden opportunity lay before them, yet they didn’t treasure it. They would remain underestimated, trampled in the dirt all their lives.

"Captain, even if they were at fault, we should carry out the work first. As for the treatment issue, let the company negotiate with them. We can’t just abandon everything mid-way."

Ye Yuwei’s words instantly triggered outrage, though Lu Bingbing managed to suppress it.

"Yuwei, it’s not that we don’t want to work, it’s that we can’t work under such circumstances. Besides, if others get better treatment than us, it reflects poorly on the company—it signals that we’re just some third-rate troupe that people don’t take seriously."

"Captain, the company fought hard to secure this opportunity for us. We should value it. Enduring a little hardship is no big deal."

"Enough, Yuwei. I don’t want to argue anymore. Just one question: are you coming with us or not?"

Yu Manting, furious, was about to step forward to support Ye Yuwei, but Yuwei discreetly signaled her to hold back.

This mess wasn’t worth dragging her close friend into.