CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 38: Amended - 36 Rapid Announcement Release

Practice Room

Just as Ye Yuwei and Jiaqi finished practicing a short dance and were sitting there resting.

Shen Xing, Mr. Shen, who was responsible for operations, walked in.

Normally, Mr. Shen wouldn’t come to see them, but whenever he did, it was always about external gigs, and usually good ones too.

Everyone in the practice room stood up to greet him, and Lu Bingbing and the others eagerly gathered around him, their faces full of anticipation and flattery.

In truth, if you wanted to stand out in the company, you had to have "the right sense."

That meant knowing how to curry favor with the higher-ups, because only then would you get external gigs.

While the top members chattered and sucked up to Mr. Shen, Mr. Shen walked over to where Ye Yuwei and Jiaqi were standing.

Ye Yuwei could sense that Jiaqi beside her stiffened slightly, and her breathing became more rapid.

She could even feel the eager, burning gaze from Jiaqi.

"Ye Yuwei, the day after tomorrow you have an external gig, a cameo role in Xiao Wu’s director’s drama."

"Ah! Me, me?"

Ye Yuwei could hardly believe her ears.

"Yes, you! Why are you so out of it?" Mr. Shen chuckled.

Then he spoke earnestly, "Yuwei, this time you must perform well. Even though it’s just a cameo, it’s Xiao Wu’s drama, and the company has already worked out an agreement with the drama’s investor. Your scenes won’t be cut."

"Mr. Shen, thank you! Thank you to the company! I’ll definitely give it my all." Ye Yuwei nearly burst into tears as she quickly expressed her gratitude, bowing deeply.

"Alright, the company will assign you a personal assistant to make sure you’ve got some presence." Mr. Shen smiled.

"... Mr. Shen, don’t I already have another drama going on?"

"This one is just a one-day cameo, so it won’t interfere."

After Shen Xing left, the entire practice room fell into a dead silence.

Though Ye Yuwei tried to act as if everything were normal.

In such a pin-drop atmosphere.

Under dozens of envious, puzzled, bewildered, and even hateful gazes, she genuinely struggled to stay composed.

"Congratulations, Yuwei, another great external gig." Lu Bingbing walked over, her gentle face displaying a warm smile.

"Congrats, Yuwei! Xiao Wu’s drama!" Jiaqi finally snapped out of her daze, hugged her friend close, her teary eyes brimming with excitement.

Although it was just a cameo that would have little chance of making her rise to fame.

It reflected the company’s attitude—it intended to support her, and this was what truly mattered.

Otherwise, such gigs would surely be assigned to one of the members of "The Seven Elites."

"Congratulations... congratulations..."

After Lu Bingbing spoke, all the girls in the practice room gathered around, and for the moment, everyone seemed to be united, immersed in a warm and touching atmosphere.

Even Xu Mengchen came over to congratulate Ye Yuwei.

Her delicately made-up face wore a broad smile.

But deep in her eyes, Ye Yuwei could still discern a hint of gloom.

The next day

Ye Yuwei got up early, wanting to avoid the stares.

As she headed to the bathroom to freshen up, she found a bowl of dumplings placed on the table, beneath which lay a delicate note.

"Yuwei, I know you want to stay low-key, but this marks your official ’departure.’ So I went downstairs to cook the dumplings for you and brought them back. Be sure to eat them before you get in the car."

Ye Yuwei looked at the slightly cooled dumplings, her eyes red-rimmed. She knew Li Jiaqi hadn’t slept, but she didn’t want to disturb her friend.

She understood her friend’s state of mind. Humans were, after all, the most complex creatures.

After finishing the dumplings, Ye Yuwei went to the film set with her assistant.

Carrying hopeful ambitions, Ye Yuwei arrived only to have reality shatter them.

She and her somewhat experienced assistant waited nearly two hours before finally meeting director Xiao Wu.

Although the director greeted her warmly, he quickly turned away to focus on other things.

The shooting process was long and dull—her role consisted of only three lines.

Yet the filming continued well into the night before she could leave. Her assistant had tried her best to arrange an opportunity for her to greet Director Xiao Wu again before leaving.

Ye Yuwei knew that her assistant had truly helped her out today.

Upon returning to the city, Ye Yuwei treated her to a hearty meal to show her gratitude.

"Yuwei, how did the filming go?"

When she returned to the dormitory, Jiaqi poured her a cup of fragrant rose tea.

"Nothing special, it was just alright."

Ye Yuwei thought for a moment; there really wasn’t much to say.

"Haha, you’ve just worked on Director Xiao Wu’s drama and still say there’s nothing to comment on."

"Really, nothing much—just waiting around, followed by filming from different angles." Ye Yuwei briefly described the situation at the studio.

Although she found the experience dull, Li Jiaqi listened with keen interest.

"Yuwei, everyone builds their careers bit by bit. You never know, you might be joining a project for months next time."

"I wouldn’t want that—unless we go together!"

"Don’t be silly—our company has more than three hundred girls. How many are really going to make it big?"

Li Jiaqi’s face showed sadness, and her eyes carried a faint trace of hopelessness.

"Jiaqi, you have to stay strong. Opportunities are unpredictable; next time it might just be yours."

"I know. I’ll keep trying. I want to catch up to you, Yuwei!"

They exchanged smiles full of mutual cherishing, and the air was filled with the sweet smell of friendship.

The next day

Ye Yuwei and Jiaqi went to the cafeteria for breakfast when their phones suddenly buzzed simultaneously.

"The quick report results are out." Li Jiaqi looked at the purple scoreboard and felt her heartbeat quicken, her blood surging with excitement.

"Oh my! The top-ranked entry has over 170,000 votes. Her fans are incredible." Ye Yuwei wasn’t faring much better, her eyes filled with envy.

"Yuwei, look!"

"Jiaqi, you’re going to scare me! Why are you yelling so loudly?"

Ye Yuwei glanced around. It was early, and fortunately, there weren’t many people in the cafeteria yet.

"You’re in the top 16! Ranked 14th."

Li Jiaqi’s words left Ye Yuwei stunned. She carefully checked, realizing she had received over 8,000 votes.

In their group’s election rankings, votes typically dropped sharply after the fourth or fifth position, so this number was significant.

"This—this can’t be real." Ye Yuwei felt dizzy, confused. Last year, she had only ranked 36th, barely making it into the theater performance roster.

"Jiaqi, could the operations team have made a mistake? My fan base isn’t that big!"

"Could it be that ’Solo King’ supporter?" Li Jiaqi lowered her voice.

"Maybe." At this mention, a pang of worry rose in Ye Yuwei’s chest.

Because that ’Solo King’ had been fleeting, donating over 200,000 chicken drumsticks and then disappearing.

"Jiaqi, your ranking has improved too! You’re now at 27th place." Ye Yuwei’s surprise turned into a smile of joy.

"Not bad."

Li Jiaqi also felt happy, but amid her happiness was a tinge of bitterness—she had once outranked Ye Yuwei.

Knock, knock!

Li Jiaqi’s phone rang.

After seeing the sender of the message, her face changed, and she placed her phone down on the table.

"Jiaqi..."

"A bothersome fan—I don’t know how they got hold of my phone number."

Li Jiaqi hurriedly explained to Ye Yuwei, fearing she would misunderstand.

"Jiaqi, be careful. Some fans can be highly erratic."

"I know. Let’s not talk about that. Yuwei, how about we celebrate tonight?"

As Ye Yuwei was about to agree, Li Jiaqi’s phone buzzed again.

Li Jiaqi discreetly checked the phone before powering it off.

"Jiaqi, why not let the operations team know? Don’t let such creepy fans into the small theater."

"Yuwei, the operations team won’t care. These creepy fans may be unsettling, but they are the most dedicated when it comes to voting. The company needs to profit."

Seeing her worried friend, Li Jiaqi added, "Yuwei, why don’t we celebrate another day instead?"

"Sure, better than being interrupted." Ye Yuwei thought Li Jiaqi was worried about being stalked.