Backstage at the awards ceremony.
Jiang Xiao'e, holding the Best New Female Singer trophy, was packing her belongings to leave.
As she walked down the corridor, she suddenly stopped.
"This award should have been Sister Huihui's. Does Jiang Xiao'e, with such a small award, still have to compete with us?" someone said.
"Heh, Jiang Xiao'e only has this much ability. Is she qualified to go to larger award ceremonies?" The singer named Huihui wore a sexy leather skirt, large earrings, and had a slightly above-average appearance and figure.
"Haha, Sister Huihui is right." Others chimed in.
The smile on Jiang Xiao'e's face slowly disappeared, and she sighed, preparing to leave.
This kind of gossip behind her back happened frequently.
Huihui was a new singer heavily promoted by Peak Entertainment. This ceremony was originally just for entertainment. If Jiang Xiao'e hadn't come, the award would likely have been hers. But with Jiang Xiao'e coming to accept the award, and with Wangyun Music having such a good relationship with Ting Yu, Jiang Xiao'e easily crushed Huihui in terms of both skill and popularity.
However, Jiang Xiao'e wasn't interested in arguing with them.
Because Su Yu had told her that only mediocre people are not envied. Especially in this industry, if you do well, you are taking away your peers' livelihoods, so jealousy in such situations is normal.
Jiang Xiao'e had long grown accustomed to it.
However, just as she was about to leave.
A harsh laugh reached her ears.
"Heh, you all know what kind of person Jiang Xiao'e is. If you can sing Ting Yu's songs, even a dog can win an award. She can cling to Ting Yu, so naturally, while she's young, she should gain some capital to establish herself in the industry." Huihui took out a ladies' cigarette from her bag, and someone next to her quickly lit it for her.
"Sister Huihui is right. If it weren't for Ting Yu, could she have achieved what she has now based on her own merit?" the person chimed in with a laugh.
"I just can't figure out why Ting Yu would promote her so much."
"Since she has the ability to cling to Ting Yu, let's not be envious."
"Haha, maybe she's clinging to his third leg?"
"Ting Yu's taste is really not good. Isn't our Sister Huihui several streets ahead of this Jiang Xiao'e in terms of skill and appearance?"
The praise made Huihui feel a bit smug.
Just as she was about to boast, her peripheral vision suddenly caught Jiang Xiao'e walking towards her.
A flash of panic and awkwardness crossed the eyes of the group of female singers.
Being caught gossiping behind someone's back was indeed somewhat unexpected.
"Apologize!" Jiang Xiao'e, who was naturally gentle and reluctant to cause trouble, now had an extremely serious expression.
"A joke, why should we apologize?" Huihui's gaze flickered.
"You slandered Teacher Ting Yu, apologize to Teacher Ting Yu!" Jiang Xiao'e said again.
She could accept being slandered, but she wouldn't allow anyone to slander Su Yu.
Because in her heart, Su Yu was the guide on her professional path, the person she respected the most. From the moment they met, she had always called him Teacher Ting Yu, and it was still the same.
In the past, she feared being too close to Su Yu, afraid that these rumors would affect Su Yu's relationship with Lin Yanyu. She had always been a loyal fan of the Yanyu CP.
Now, hearing these people arbitrarily slandering and defaming her and Teacher Ting Yu behind their backs, she could not let it go.
"Oh, the little lamb has grown?" Su Yu and Lin Yanyu, who had come to find Jiang Xiao'e, said with some surprise from the end of the backstage corridor.
It was hard to imagine the gentle Jiang Xiao'e directly confronting them.
"Instead of helping, you're just making sarcastic remarks here. There are so many of them, don't let Xiao'e get bullied." Lin Yanyu, worried about Jiang Xiao'e, rolled up her sleeves and prepared to help.
"Don't rush." Su Yu quickly pulled her back, then looked at Zhang Yang beside him, "If anyone should go, it should be him."
Lin Yanyu was slightly stunned, then smiled and nodded.
"She's standing up for you, why should I go?" Zhang Yang was completely baffled.
Lin Yanyu patted him on the head, "You're really a straight man of steel!"
There was a hint of disappointment in her tone.
This was clearly a chance to improve the relationship between the two, and for Zhang Yang to say something so outrageous was enough to make Lin Yanyu furious.
"I thought Xiao Gong was already a pure straight man, but I didn't expect you to be straighter than him. It's absurd that among my friends, I have two such '卧龙凤雏' (sleeping dragons and phoenixes - idiomatic for unparalleled talents, but used ironically here for cluelessness)." Su Yu was also speechless.
"Aren't Wo Long and Feng Chu Zhao De and Zhou Tao..." Zhang Yang mumbled softly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Are you going or not?" Su Yu's foot was already poised, ready to kick him in the backside at any moment.
"Going! Of course, I'm going!" Zhang Yang said quickly. He wasn't stupid. After being reminded by Su Yu and Lin Yanyu, he naturally knew this was a good opportunity.
…
"Apologize, or you're not allowed to leave!!"
Huihui and the others tried to leave, but Jiang Xiao'e held them back forcefully.
"Are you crazy? Ting Yu isn't even here, how can we apologize!" Huihui was getting impatient. The others saw this and prepared to help, but they didn't dare to really lay hands on Jiang Xiao'e. No matter how much they looked down on Jiang Xiao'e, they knew she was affiliated with Ting Yu.
They were self-aware. With their status as minor figures, Ting Yu wasn't interested in bothering with them. So, even if caught gossiping behind their backs, nothing would happen. But if they physically fought with Jiang Xiao'e, the situation would change.
"You apologize first, and I'll tell Teacher Ting Yu." Jiang Xiao'e was stubborn as a mule, gripping Huihui's clothes tightly.
With a rip, the clothes tore.
"You lunatic!" Huihui was enraged and raised her hand as if to hit Jiang Xiao'e.
She thought Jiang Xiao'e would be scared and let go, but at this moment, Jiang Xiao'e bit her lip tightly, her eyes slightly red, staring fiercely at Huihui with an incredibly defiant expression!
"Stop!!" Suddenly, a loud roar startled everyone. "Let go of that girl!"
With the sound, Zhang Yang walked over from a distance, pointing at Huihui with imposing fervor.
Huihui was first startled, then her mind was filled with exasperation.
Are you kidding me? I'm the one being held by Jiang Xiao'e!
Zhang Yang was very popular at the moment, but because he was wearing a mask, Huihui and the others didn't recognize him. So, while Jiang Xiao'e was distracted, she broke free from the group and tried to run.
"Stop! Trying to run after bullying someone?" Zhang Yang lunged forward and grabbed Huihui's clothes again.
"Ahhh! Assault!" Huihui suddenly screamed and began hitting Zhang Yang wildly with her fists.
The other women were also spurred on, screaming and rushing towards Zhang Yang.
Seeing this, Huihui took the opportunity to kick Jiang Xiao'e. Zhang Yang suddenly turned and blocked between them, protecting her.
Fists and feet rained down on Zhang Yang, making him wince in pain.
"Damn it, I was just trying to look cool, why are you hitting me?" Zhang Yang tightly embraced Jiang Xiao'e, cursing inwardly.
However.
At this moment, the screaming suddenly stopped!
Zhang Yang looked up in confusion.
Su Yu and Lin Yanyu were walking towards them hand in hand from a distance.
Huihui and those women stood frozen, looking at them with utter terror.
"Damn it, Yang Ge swore he wouldn't hit women, otherwise, I'd have taken you all down in seconds." Zhang Yang cursed and got up, pulling Jiang Xiao'e up from the ground.
"Zhang... Zhang Yang, are you okay?" Jiang Xiao'e asked tearfully, anxiously checking him for injuries.
"I'm fine, what kind of attack power can women have... Hiss!" Zhang Yang winced.
"Ting... Teacher Ting Yu." Huihui cried out in terror.
Su Yu remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard anything.
Lin Yanyu beside him, however, had a stern expression.
"Let's go."
Approaching Zhang Yang and the others, he glanced at Zhang Yang and walked towards the exit.
Seeing this, Zhang Yang quickly pulled Jiang Xiao'e and followed.
"Teacher Ting Yu, I'm sorry!!"
"Teacher Ting Yu, please forgive us, give us a chance!"
"Wuwuwu... We didn't mean it!"
"Teacher Ting Yu, it was Huihui who slandered you!"
Thump!
Thump!
Seeing that Su Yu ignored them, the group of women became desperate and quickly knelt on the ground to confess.
No one had expected Ting Yu to attend such a small awards ceremony.
But they all knew that if their apologies were not sincere enough, their careers might be over.
Throughout, Su Yu said nothing.
He merely left them with his retreating back.
When they walked out of the backstage.
"Damn, he got to show off again!"
Zhang Yang supported his waist, wincing and said.
He had come up to take a beating, and Su Yu hadn't said a word, yet the others immediately knelt.
Hearing Zhang Yang's familiar catchphrase, Su Yu's lips twitched slightly.
He had thought Zhang Yang was right before.
However, this time, he didn't agree with Yang Ge's statement.
He felt that his silence wasn't showing off, but rather the appropriate aura for his current status.
…