Against the Light - Chapter 52
Chapter 52: A Direct Confrontation
After yesterday's battle, the members of the two crews were now united against a common enemy, more unified than ever.
Early in the morning, everyone gathered on set, ready for an in-depth discussion on how to counterattack Ye Ting.
Yu Hua was almost always the first to arrive on set. When she stepped into the studio today and saw over forty people sitting in a circle, she was startled. For a moment, she thought her old eyes were failing her. She walked over and circled the group curiously. "I'm telling you all, if you were this enthusiastic during work, I'd wake up from my sleep laughing."
After Yu Hua's cheerful remark, she realized no one was paying her any attention… She stood with her hands behind her back for a moment before returning to her lounge, dejected.
Assistant Director Zheng Ying was sitting inside, looking at her phone. Seeing Yu Hua come in with a displeased look, she smiled. "What's wrong? Did that group of youngsters give you the cold shoulder?"
"What's going on with them? Why is everyone so pumped up?"
"Take a look at this." Zheng Ying handed her phone over, and Yu Hua glanced at it.
Well, well. Someone had posted on Weibo saying that the outfit Ye Ting submitted for the competition looked a bit like a design sketch they'd seen a contestant draw on a variety show. As a result, the comment section had exploded.
It was clearly divided into two opposing camps.
One side was supportive, stating that they had also seen that design on the variety show and that it was indeed very similar.
The other side was opposed, arguing, "Making accusations without proof? You think you can just mess with a big shot like Sister Ting?"
Someone also brought up Gu Xinran's name, which immediately drew a chorus of agreement. The opposing side then started cursing out Gu Xinran as well, saying, "What kind of trash is this? Never even heard of her, and now she's making a scene."
And so, the two groups started fighting.
Yu Hua frowned as she read. "Are young people these days so hot-tempered? Cursing out each other's entire families at the slightest disagreement. What does this business between Ye Ting and Xinran have to do with them?"
Yu Hua felt she was getting old and couldn't quite understand the youth of today.
"Hey, weren't you ever crazy about an idol when you were young? If someone insulted your idol, would you be happy about it?"
"Tsk, fine."
"I don't think we'll get any filming done today. This bunch doesn't look like they're here to work." Yu Hua sighed helplessly. Despite her words, she felt a little happy inside. She was happy to see the two crews getting along like one big family, and even happier to see this group of young people sharing a common goal and working hard to achieve it. This was what a team should be like.
"Hey, where's Xinran? Isn't she here yet?" Yu Hua suddenly remembered that Xinran was the only one she hadn't seen in the crowd earlier.
Zheng Ying shook her head. "This is like a bolt from the blue for her. Getting plagiarized out of nowhere and then getting cursed out for it. I wonder how she'll handle it." Zheng Ying sounded a little worried, but then she remembered how Gu Xinran had once publicly stripped on stage to prove her innocence. Someone who could do something like that probably wasn't a pushover. The thought put her at ease.
Yu Hua's phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and saw it was a call from Yilan. She sighed helplessly. This girl… if you're worried about her, can't you just call her directly? Why go through me?
Meanwhile, the crew members had been discussing for a long time without reaching any conclusions. And they had been waiting for ages—why hadn't Gu Xinran shown up?
If the main person involved wasn't here, how could they launch a counterattack?
"Sister Shuang, can you try calling Xinran again? What's going on?" someone asked impatiently.
Jin Shuang nodded and dialed Gu Xinran's number again, but there was still no answer.
She had called Gu Xinran half an hour ago with no response. She hadn't thought much of it then, assuming she just hadn't heard it. But since she didn't pick up this time either, Jin Shuang grew concerned and quickly called again.
"This is strange. Why isn't she answering her phone? Nothing bad happened, right…" Jin Shuang muttered to herself. After a moment's thought, she found Fang Jinghai's number and called it.
The other end picked up after just one ring.
"Hello? Sister Ran?"
"This is Jin Shuang. What's the situation? Are you looking for Xinran too?"
"Sister Shuang? I'm at Sister Ran's house, but she's not here. She didn't go to the set?" Fang Jinghai panicked.
"No, she's not here."
Hearing Jin Shuang say this, everyone looked at each other. Could something have happened to her?
"Don't panic yet. I'll try to contact her again." Jin Shuang quickly hung up and continued calling Gu Xinran.
"This is so weird. How can a living person just disappear?"
"Could it be… Ye Ting?"
"No way. Would Ye Ting really have her kidnapped? This is a society ruled by law."
Everyone started speculating, but the current situation didn't allow them to think positively.
"What are you all doing?" When Ming Zhen arrived on set, she saw the group sitting in a circle, each looking utterly lost.
"Young President Ming, Sister Ran is missing!"
"Missing!?"
Jin Shuang quickly explained the situation.
Ming Zhen frowned in thought. Although this matter had blown up online, had it really escalated to the point where Ye Ting would resort to kidnapping?
She also gave Gu Xinran a call.
Surprisingly, the call connected after just two rings.
Ming Zhen was taken aback for a second. "Gu Xinran?"
"It's me. What's up?"
Ming Zhen let out a breath. "Are you trying to kill us! What's with the disappearing act! Don't you know everyone is worried sick about you!" she roared into the phone.
Gu Xinran on the other end seemed startled. After a long pause, she said, "Tell everyone I'm fine. And please ask for a week's leave from Teacher Yu for me. Thanks." With that, Gu Xinran hung up.
Ming Zhen frowned and relayed the message. Everyone's spirits immediately sank as they wondered what Gu Xinran was up to.
Six days passed in a flash. For Gu Xinran, it was the blink of an eye, but for the crew, every day felt like a year.
Over the past few days, everyone had been searching for Gu Xinran, but they had no leads.
It was now the sixth day, the day of the grand finale. As the sky darkened, the crew members gathered on set as if by unspoken agreement.
"Where on earth did Sister Ran go? The 【Star Wardrobe】 finale is about to start. I saw online that Sister Ran's fans and Ye Ting's are fighting fiercely, but Ye Ting's popularity has actually gotten even higher. If she wins the championship, the accusation of Sister Ran faking the plagiarism claim will stick for sure. After all, the champion's skill will be right there for everyone to see."
"Yeah, a lot of designers are supporting Ye Ting, saying that a minor actress like her has no business trying to get a foothold in the design world. Does she even know her own worth?"
"Who said that crap? Did they get their brain kicked by a donkey? What's wrong with being an actress? Can't an actress know fashion design?"
"Why are you yelling at me? I'm not the one who said it!"
"Stop arguing. The situation is really bad for Sister Ran right now. Only her fans are holding the line, and we don't have much influence to help. The organizers of 【A Good Show】 are acting like they're dead. No matter how many times we tag them, they don't respond. They just posted that the original footage was lost and couldn't be found, and then they went back to hiding in their shells. I'm starting to think there's something fishy going on here, right?"
"And now Sister Ran's anti-fans are stirring things up, insulting her fans, saying things like, 'Your own idol hasn't said a word, yet you nobodies are out here making a scene. You're being used and you don't even know it…' Sister Ran's Weibo has completely blown up."
"Honestly, Sister Ran's silence right now is really disheartening for her fans. Everyone is helping her, fighting on the front lines for her, but she hasn't even given a direct response. If these fans weren't true die-hards, they'd probably turn from fans into antis."
When Qu Qi and Fang Jinghai arrived on set, they happened to overhear this discussion.
"Hey, Sister Qi, is your management team just going to let Ye Ting's people cause all this trouble? They've already started turning it around, accusing Sister Ran of malicious clout-chasing."
"Hasn't Xinran appeared yet?" Qu Qi asked.
"No. For the past few days, even Young President Ming hasn't been able to reach her."
Qu Qi had also been looking for her everywhere these past few days, but it was as if she had vanished into thin air. She was nowhere to be found. Apart from a single text message on the first day saying she had something to take care of and would be gone for a few days, she hadn't replied to any messages since. Qu Qi was so anxious she was on the verge of calling the police.
"The finale is about to start. Look, on the official website's online poll results for the contestants, Ye Ting isn't just leading by a high margin—she's more than doubled the votes of the person in second place! This incident has literally doubled her popularity. Her team is just too good at creating hype!"
Qu Qi glanced at the time. It was almost eight o'clock. Even if Xinran showed up now, she couldn't change anything. At this point, Qu Qi wasn't worried about Ye Ting's schemes anymore; she was worried that something had really happened to Xinran!
"How is it? Has Sister Ran shown up yet?" Fang Yi rushed over, followed closely by Ming Zhen, Lin Guo, Qin Qiong, and the others. They had just returned from the former recording studio of A Good Show, but their trip had been fruitless.
"Honestly, what is with this Gu Xinran, disappearing at a critical time like this!"
"The competition is starting," Fang Yi said, opening her laptop.
"Don't worry, I've already hacked into this show's backend. The live voting for these kinds of shows is all rigged. The champion is decided in advance. I'll make sure Ye Ting loses by a huge margin." Fang Yi curled her lip into a cold smile. You plagiarized my idol? I'll destroy you!
"You can do that?? Hackers are terrifying!"
"Where is the recording studio for this show?" Qin Qiong suddenly asked.
"In the neighboring Yuchuan City. Why?"
"I have a… small, half-baked idea." Qin Qiong paused.
"She's the kind of person who would dare to strip on stage to confront Yang Xue. She definitely won't let this matter go. So I was thinking, is it possible that she…"
"Went to the recording studio!?" Lin Guo exclaimed in shock.
Everyone froze. They hadn't even dared to imagine such a thing, but after hearing Qin Qiong's analysis, it didn't seem impossible!!!
"Is she going to tear Ye Ting apart in person? Ahhhh, why am I getting so pumped up about this!!!"
At this, everyone immediately stared at the computer screen with eyes full of anticipation, eagerly waiting for the show to begin!
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