:
Chu Cheng paused, raised his eyes and stared directly at the person at the table, "Xia Ran, was it you?"
Xia Ran leaned back against the chair, staring expressionlessly, "Of course it's not me."
Last time Chu Cheng invited him out for a meal, he had used deceptive means while Xia Ran wasn't paying attention, all without solid evidence to scare him.
He had no experience back then, and facing someone with such a strong attitude like Chu Cheng, he was terrified and accidentally let slip something, only to be forced to apologize.
This time, he was much more prepared. They had all the contestants called in, trying to get a confession, but he was fully ready.
Xia Ran carefully recalled the process of drugging Sulanqiao, specifically avoiding blind spots in the surveillance, and leaving no fingerprints on the cup, including the one he handed to Sulanqiao through Xu Zhili, attempting to make him come forward, but it was too naive.
"Really not you?" Chu Cheng's expression didn't change much, he just asked casually once more.
A hint of a smile even appeared on Xia Ran's face, convinced that Chu Cheng had no evidence and was trying to break down his psychological defenses with this repeated questioning, the same old routine, it wouldn't work.
"Chairman Chu, although I have made mistakes in the past, I have learned from them. Why do you keep insisting on targeting me?"
Seeing that Chu Cheng didn't speak, his confidence grew, "With so many people in the recording studio every day, singling out the contestants and locking suspicions among us, isn't that unreasonable?"
"Based on Xia Ran's tone, it really doesn't seem to be him......"
"If there's no evidence, it's a bit excessive to name names like this, isn't it?"
"Yeah, why suspect us? What if he has offended someone else?"
"Maybe it's a sasaeng fan, isn't there a lot of news about crazy fans recently?"
"I feel like this line of questioning won't lead to anything, without evidence."
The nearby players were quietly discussing when their conversation fell into Xia Ran's ears. His expression became calmer and his legs even trembled slightly.
Trying to use the trick of coercion again? No way.
Chu Cheng gestured to his assistant, and soon the assistant brought a stack of reports and handed one to each person.
"Everyone, take a look at the report in your hands," Chu Cheng said, folding his legs and lightly tapping the table with his fingertips, looking very calm and composed.
What a joke.
Xia Ran opened the report with an impatient look, and a few bold lines caught his eye: "The gloves tested positive for the compound granules of pre-vehicle diarrhea and carboxymethyl cellulose sodium granules, which are components of volume diarrhea medication."
His eyes suddenly widened as he looked towards Chu Cheng, his face full of shock, his whole body trembling like a sieve. "How did you find those gloves?"
"Are you talking about these?" Chu Cheng took out the gloves from his pocket and threw them on the table. "You hid them quite well, your men really put in some effort."
"Y-you..." Xia Ran was already incoherent, breathing heavily, looking extremely fearful and uneasy.
Jing He frowned and looked at him, looking disappointed. "Is it really you?"
Xia Ran's eyes scanned aimlessly, with faces of onlookers, disdain, shock, and indifference flashing past him one by one.
It's all over. This time, it's really over.
It was a long while before he came to his senses and pulled out a chair, standing up and walking to Su Lanqiao, his voice trembling. "Sorry, I apologize to you. I shouldn't... I shouldn't have given you the diarrhea medicine... We, we can resolve it privately, but don't let this matter go public, if it does, I'll be ruined."
"At a time like this, you're still thinking about your reputation," Su Lanqiao said, looking at him with a touch of anger, her tone turning cold. "If it's not a sincere apology, I won't accept it."
"I'll kneel to you, will that do? Huh?" Xia Ran bent forward, grabbing the sides of his chair, his mouth twitching uncontrollably. "Really, I know I was wrong, I swear I won't use such despicable means again in the future."
The person who was just arrogantly in control not long ago now crouched down with bent legs, pleading desperately.
No one stepped forward to speak up for him, everyone remained silent as if in tacit agreement.
Even the person who had just spoken up for Xia Ran had a regretful look, afraid of being associated with him and couldn't hide quickly enough.
Su Lanqiao, thinking of the torment she had suffered in the past few days and almost being eliminated, and the trouble Chu Cheng had gone through, couldn't help feeling resentment. "You can kneel, but I hope the production team can discuss a punishment, as it wouldn't be good for someone to hear that a contestant had been treated this way."
That was what was in her heart, and it was also deliberately said for the production team to hear. The chief director caught the hint and turned to discuss with the producer in a low voice.
Chu Cheng raised his finger and followed up on Su Lanqiao's words, "Kneel first, the contract with Chu's group is terminated from today, and from now on, all resources will be cut off to Xia Ran. No one will want a tainted artist."
Xia Ran's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, wailing with a trembling voice, "Mr. Chu, I really know I was wrong this time. Your resources are top-notch, if you cut me off, there won't be a place for me in this industry... I've been a model for seven years to get to where I am today..."
"You should have considered the consequences when you did this," Chu Cheng turned away and stopped looking at him. "I'm done here, the production team can discuss what to do with you. I'm leaving."
"Alright, Mr. Chu," the chief director nodded solemnly. "The other contestants can also leave. This taping is over, you can all go home. We'll notify the official results of Xia Ran's specific handling."
People left in twos and threes, still not recovered from the recent drama, each with a solemn expression.
Su Lanqiao let out a sigh and stood up, walking out slowly. As she passed by Chu Cheng, their gazes briefly met, and his dry fingertips slipped something round into her palm.
She clenched her hand, not daring to take it out, and quickly tucked it into her pocket as she left.
The contestants dispersed, and Su Lanqiao found a secluded place to quietly take out what Chu Cheng had given her. It was a piece of candy.
She carefully unwrapped the candy wrapper and put it in her mouth, tasting the sweet and sour flavor that dissolved in her mouth, with a hint of orange.
For some reason, Su Lanqiao thought back to that night, when she licked the orange-flavored lubricant and asked Chu Cheng if he wanted to try it.
Why did she suddenly bring this up again? This person is so hard to read.
Su Lanqiao lingered outside for a while, waiting for the candy to slowly melt away on her tongue before turning and slowly swaying back to the dormitory.
Pushing the door open, Xia Ran, with a face full of resentment, was putting his belongings one by one into a box.
Su Lanqiao asked softly, leaning against the table next to Xu Zhili, "What's wrong with him?"
Xu Zhili opened his phone and handed it over. The official Weibo of "Peak of the Skybridge" had posted an announcement: "Contestant Xia Ran is withdrawing from the show due to personal reasons, ending the recording ahead of schedule. The vacant seat will be filled according to the ranking. We wish him a bright future and everything goes well."
Withdrawing from the show? Seeing these words as an insider, it seemed rather ironic.
Su Lanqiao opened the comments below, and a small account's revelation had already been bumped to the top, with over a thousand replies.
["I heard from insiders that Xia Ran drugged Su Lanqiao and was expelled because of it. The news is reliable. If you don't believe it, you'll know after the second episode airs. Su Lanqiao had diarrhea throughout the competition and almost got eliminated."]
["No way? This seems really credible!"]
["Is this Su Lanqiao's own small account? Spreading rumors about our brother Xia Ran again!"]
["With this level of hype, withdrawing from a show is definitely because of something scandalous. I believe!"]
["Tsk tsk tsk, they made her fall last time, and now drugging her, they are really ruthless. Did Su Lanqiao offend their ancestors?"]
["This kind of person should be blacklisted. Now even at work, you have to be wary of being attacked by villains..."]
["Here comes the gossip. Chu's group also issued a statement of termination, so this seems to be true!"]
["Xia Ran is in trouble now. With Chu's group cutting ties, he won't be able to get any more endorsements..."]
["He brought it upon himself, didn't he? Serves him right!!"]
......
Su Lanqiao seemed rather satisfied with the outcome, not feeling the least bit sympathetic. They were all adults, and they should bear the consequences of their actions. It was well-deserved.
Over there, Xia Ran had finished packing his things and walked up to Su Lanqiao, dropping the earlier pitiful pleading, "With the support of Mr. Chu, you have a bright future ahead. Thank you for ruining my career."
He probably knew his future was ruined, so he couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore.
The person has never shown any remorse from beginning to end, nor does he believe that he has done anything wrong.
"It's you who ruined your own career. Take care of yourself," Su Lanqiao stared straight at him. "Let me give you a word of advice: don't resort to deceitful means and cause trouble for yourself."
Xia Ran snorted and left with his suitcase, leaving only three people in the dormitory.
Participating in this program is truly depressing.
As Su Lanqiao casually packed toiletries into the backpack, she sent a message to Chu Cheng: [I saw the official announcement of Xia Ran's withdrawal. Did you spread those rumors through your connections?]
Chu Cheng replied quickly: [I don't have the time and resources for that. There are too many people involved, and it's impossible to control.]
As Su Lanqiao typed with her eyes down, [Yeah, I guess there are gossipy people everywhere. At least this matter is finally resolved. By the way, why did you give me candy?]
It was still in orange flavor, and Su Lanqiao entertained a few thoughts in her mind.
Chu said, [I had Old Chen buy it. I was worried you might faint from not eating all day.]
Su Lanqiao wiped her face, feeling ashamed of her previous thoughts. How could she have such lewd ideas about people? In comparison, she seemed full of lewd thoughts.
With a lingering sweet and sour taste in his mouth, he replied with a bit of embarrassment, [Thank you, I ate the candy.]
Chu: [Is the orange flavor tasty?]
!!!
This person was definitely reminding him of their conversation that night. Su Lanqiao was not mistaken – Chu Cheng was a big pervert!
Su Lanqiao smiled, feeling that every detail of today was extremely refreshing and satisfying. His entire body felt comfortable.
His fingertips moved slowly on the keyboard before sending out his message: [Try it and you'll see—it's delicious and very sweet.]
Chu Cheng paused, raised his eyes and stared directly at the person at the table, "Xia Ran, was it you?"
Xia Ran leaned back against the chair, staring expressionlessly, "Of course it's not me."
Last time Chu Cheng invited him out for a meal, he had used deceptive means while Xia Ran wasn't paying attention, all without solid evidence to scare him.
He had no experience back then, and facing someone with such a strong attitude like Chu Cheng, he was terrified and accidentally let slip something, only to be forced to apologize.
This time, he was much more prepared. They had all the contestants called in, trying to get a confession, but he was fully ready.
Xia Ran carefully recalled the process of drugging Sulanqiao, specifically avoiding blind spots in the surveillance, and leaving no fingerprints on the cup, including the one he handed to Sulanqiao through Xu Zhili, attempting to make him come forward, but it was too naive.
"Really not you?" Chu Cheng's expression didn't change much, he just asked casually once more.
A hint of a smile even appeared on Xia Ran's face, convinced that Chu Cheng had no evidence and was trying to break down his psychological defenses with this repeated questioning, the same old routine, it wouldn't work.
"Chairman Chu, although I have made mistakes in the past, I have learned from them. Why do you keep insisting on targeting me?"
Seeing that Chu Cheng didn't speak, his confidence grew, "With so many people in the recording studio every day, singling out the contestants and locking suspicions among us, isn't that unreasonable?"
"Based on Xia Ran's tone, it really doesn't seem to be him......"
"If there's no evidence, it's a bit excessive to name names like this, isn't it?"
"Yeah, why suspect us? What if he has offended someone else?"
"Maybe it's a sasaeng fan, isn't there a lot of news about crazy fans recently?"
"I feel like this line of questioning won't lead to anything, without evidence."
The nearby players were quietly discussing when their conversation fell into Xia Ran's ears. His expression became calmer and his legs even trembled slightly.
Trying to use the trick of coercion again? No way.
Chu Cheng gestured to his assistant, and soon the assistant brought a stack of reports and handed one to each person.
"Everyone, take a look at the report in your hands," Chu Cheng said, folding his legs and lightly tapping the table with his fingertips, looking very calm and composed.
What a joke.
Xia Ran opened the report with an impatient look, and a few bold lines caught his eye: "The gloves tested positive for the compound granules of pre-vehicle diarrhea and carboxymethyl cellulose sodium granules, which are components of volume diarrhea medication."
His eyes suddenly widened as he looked towards Chu Cheng, his face full of shock, his whole body trembling like a sieve. "How did you find those gloves?"
"Are you talking about these?" Chu Cheng took out the gloves from his pocket and threw them on the table. "You hid them quite well, your men really put in some effort."
"Y-you..." Xia Ran was already incoherent, breathing heavily, looking extremely fearful and uneasy.
Jing He frowned and looked at him, looking disappointed. "Is it really you?"
Xia Ran's eyes scanned aimlessly, with faces of onlookers, disdain, shock, and indifference flashing past him one by one.
It's all over. This time, it's really over.
It was a long while before he came to his senses and pulled out a chair, standing up and walking to Su Lanqiao, his voice trembling. "Sorry, I apologize to you. I shouldn't... I shouldn't have given you the diarrhea medicine... We, we can resolve it privately, but don't let this matter go public, if it does, I'll be ruined."
"At a time like this, you're still thinking about your reputation," Su Lanqiao said, looking at him with a touch of anger, her tone turning cold. "If it's not a sincere apology, I won't accept it."
"I'll kneel to you, will that do? Huh?" Xia Ran bent forward, grabbing the sides of his chair, his mouth twitching uncontrollably. "Really, I know I was wrong, I swear I won't use such despicable means again in the future."
The person who was just arrogantly in control not long ago now crouched down with bent legs, pleading desperately.
No one stepped forward to speak up for him, everyone remained silent as if in tacit agreement.
Even the person who had just spoken up for Xia Ran had a regretful look, afraid of being associated with him and couldn't hide quickly enough.
Su Lanqiao, thinking of the torment she had suffered in the past few days and almost being eliminated, and the trouble Chu Cheng had gone through, couldn't help feeling resentment. "You can kneel, but I hope the production team can discuss a punishment, as it wouldn't be good for someone to hear that a contestant had been treated this way."
That was what was in her heart, and it was also deliberately said for the production team to hear. The chief director caught the hint and turned to discuss with the producer in a low voice.
Chu Cheng raised his finger and followed up on Su Lanqiao's words, "Kneel first, the contract with Chu's group is terminated from today, and from now on, all resources will be cut off to Xia Ran. No one will want a tainted artist."
Xia Ran's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, wailing with a trembling voice, "Mr. Chu, I really know I was wrong this time. Your resources are top-notch, if you cut me off, there won't be a place for me in this industry... I've been a model for seven years to get to where I am today..."
"You should have considered the consequences when you did this," Chu Cheng turned away and stopped looking at him. "I'm done here, the production team can discuss what to do with you. I'm leaving."
"Alright, Mr. Chu," the chief director nodded solemnly. "The other contestants can also leave. This taping is over, you can all go home. We'll notify the official results of Xia Ran's specific handling."
People left in twos and threes, still not recovered from the recent drama, each with a solemn expression.
Su Lanqiao let out a sigh and stood up, walking out slowly. As she passed by Chu Cheng, their gazes briefly met, and his dry fingertips slipped something round into her palm.
She clenched her hand, not daring to take it out, and quickly tucked it into her pocket as she left.
The contestants dispersed, and Su Lanqiao found a secluded place to quietly take out what Chu Cheng had given her. It was a piece of candy.
She carefully unwrapped the candy wrapper and put it in her mouth, tasting the sweet and sour flavor that dissolved in her mouth, with a hint of orange.
For some reason, Su Lanqiao thought back to that night, when she licked the orange-flavored lubricant and asked Chu Cheng if he wanted to try it.
Why did she suddenly bring this up again? This person is so hard to read.
Su Lanqiao lingered outside for a while, waiting for the candy to slowly melt away on her tongue before turning and slowly swaying back to the dormitory.
Pushing the door open, Xia Ran, with a face full of resentment, was putting his belongings one by one into a box.
Su Lanqiao asked softly, leaning against the table next to Xu Zhili, "What's wrong with him?"
Xu Zhili opened his phone and handed it over. The official Weibo of "Peak of the Skybridge" had posted an announcement: "Contestant Xia Ran is withdrawing from the show due to personal reasons, ending the recording ahead of schedule. The vacant seat will be filled according to the ranking. We wish him a bright future and everything goes well."
Withdrawing from the show? Seeing these words as an insider, it seemed rather ironic.
Su Lanqiao opened the comments below, and a small account's revelation had already been bumped to the top, with over a thousand replies.
["I heard from insiders that Xia Ran drugged Su Lanqiao and was expelled because of it. The news is reliable. If you don't believe it, you'll know after the second episode airs. Su Lanqiao had diarrhea throughout the competition and almost got eliminated."]
["No way? This seems really credible!"]
["Is this Su Lanqiao's own small account? Spreading rumors about our brother Xia Ran again!"]
["With this level of hype, withdrawing from a show is definitely because of something scandalous. I believe!"]
["Tsk tsk tsk, they made her fall last time, and now drugging her, they are really ruthless. Did Su Lanqiao offend their ancestors?"]
["This kind of person should be blacklisted. Now even at work, you have to be wary of being attacked by villains..."]
["Here comes the gossip. Chu's group also issued a statement of termination, so this seems to be true!"]
["Xia Ran is in trouble now. With Chu's group cutting ties, he won't be able to get any more endorsements..."]
["He brought it upon himself, didn't he? Serves him right!!"]
......
Su Lanqiao seemed rather satisfied with the outcome, not feeling the least bit sympathetic. They were all adults, and they should bear the consequences of their actions. It was well-deserved.
Over there, Xia Ran had finished packing his things and walked up to Su Lanqiao, dropping the earlier pitiful pleading, "With the support of Mr. Chu, you have a bright future ahead. Thank you for ruining my career."
He probably knew his future was ruined, so he couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore.
The person has never shown any remorse from beginning to end, nor does he believe that he has done anything wrong.
"It's you who ruined your own career. Take care of yourself," Su Lanqiao stared straight at him. "Let me give you a word of advice: don't resort to deceitful means and cause trouble for yourself."
Xia Ran snorted and left with his suitcase, leaving only three people in the dormitory.
Participating in this program is truly depressing.
As Su Lanqiao casually packed toiletries into the backpack, she sent a message to Chu Cheng: [I saw the official announcement of Xia Ran's withdrawal. Did you spread those rumors through your connections?]
Chu Cheng replied quickly: [I don't have the time and resources for that. There are too many people involved, and it's impossible to control.]
As Su Lanqiao typed with her eyes down, [Yeah, I guess there are gossipy people everywhere. At least this matter is finally resolved. By the way, why did you give me candy?]
It was still in orange flavor, and Su Lanqiao entertained a few thoughts in her mind.
Chu said, [I had Old Chen buy it. I was worried you might faint from not eating all day.]
Su Lanqiao wiped her face, feeling ashamed of her previous thoughts. How could she have such lewd ideas about people? In comparison, she seemed full of lewd thoughts.
With a lingering sweet and sour taste in his mouth, he replied with a bit of embarrassment, [Thank you, I ate the candy.]
Chu: [Is the orange flavor tasty?]
!!!
This person was definitely reminding him of their conversation that night. Su Lanqiao was not mistaken – Chu Cheng was a big pervert!
Su Lanqiao smiled, feeling that every detail of today was extremely refreshing and satisfying. His entire body felt comfortable.
His fingertips moved slowly on the keyboard before sending out his message: [Try it and you'll see—it's delicious and very sweet.]