Lin Zhengran smiled and nodded.


    Jiang Jingshi was pleasantly surprised by his insight. She paused in wiping off the lipstick stain on his shirt.


    She resumed her task, speaking as she worked.


    Lin Zhengran raised an eyebrow.


    Lin Zhengran thought for a moment before asking,


    Jiang Jingshi chuckled.


    Jiang Jingshi hummed in thought, then continued wiping at his shirt until the lipstick stain was completely gone.


    Lin Zhengran nodded without hesitation.


    *"Yes. Here’s the problem: while they are talented, they aren’t that talented.


    There are 15 contestants from who made it into the final top 50. But in my opinion, at most five of them actually deserved it. The rest? Their skills don’t even match some of the contestants who got eliminated."*


    Jiang Jingshi frowned.


    Lin Zhengran hesitated before speaking.


    Jiang Jingshi’s expression softened.


    Lin Zhengran took a deep breath.


    *"Your team is strong, but I don’t think all 20 of your contestants deserved to make it into the final rankings. Realistically, maybe 10 should have.


    But since Steady was brought in by your connections, I have to ask—was he giving your team a bit of an advantage in scoring?"*


    Jiang Jingshi smiled, locking eyes with him.


    *"No wonder you were worried about offending me. If anyone else had said this, I really would be upset.


    I never told Steady to favor my contestants, but… you’re right. Sometimes, personal relationships play a role, even if it’s not openly discussed."*


    She let out a sigh.


    A Deeper Problem


    Lin Zhengran glanced at his plate of beef.


    *"So the issue today isn’t huge.


    The final rankings will be determined by public voting, so even if the elimination rounds were biased, it shouldn’t impact the results too much.


    However… while coming here, I had a thought.


    Jiang Jie—what if ends up merging into your company?"*


    Jiang Jingshi blinked. Then, she laughed.


    *"That’s not happening. Why would you think that? If a merger was happening, I’d be the first to know.


    I’m busy managing multiple businesses, and my music division is usually handled by Jiang Cheng. But something that big—he would definitely tell me."*


    Lin Zhengran’s gaze sharpened.


    Jiang Jingshi froze for a moment.


    Connecting the Dots


    Lin Zhengran continued,


    *"I’m just thinking hypothetically.


    This competition unexpectedly became massive—celebrity judges, public voting, major investments. Even for you, Jiang Jie, this went beyond your initial plans, didn’t it?


    Now, if secretly merged into your company, it would mean that out of the 50 finalists, 35 of them would technically belong to you.


    Essentially, your contestants wouldn’t have faced elimination at all."*


    Jiang Jingshi’s frown deepened.


    Lin Zhengran nodded.


    *"Exactly.


    Think about it—30+ music studios participated in this competition. But in the end, almost all the independent singers got eliminated, leaving only your team and New Star.


    If someone were to leak this information to the public, doesn’t it scream corruption?"*


    Jiang Jingshi’s face darkened as she thought it through.


    *"If that’s the case… even without a full merger, just having so many of my contestants in the final round already looks suspicious.


    And if we add 15 contestants on top of that? The entire competition would be labeled rigged.


    Worse still—if Jiang Cheng was bribed, he could have given Steady money, too.


    If Steady later claims that I paid him to manipulate the competition, it wouldn’t just ruin my reputation—it could damage my other businesses, even hurt the Jiang Group itself."*


    Lin Zhengran folded his arms.


    *"Exactly. If someone wanted to take you down, even a small incident like this could be blown out of proportion.


    It could trigger a chain reaction."*


    Jiang Jingshi picked up a piece of beef with her chopsticks, deep in thought.


    *"I knew something felt off today… and now I realize what it was.


    My team’s success rate was too high. Even I found it unnatural."*


    She lifted the piece of beef and fed it to Lin Zhengran.


    Without thinking, he took a bite.


    She smiled as she gently wiped his mouth with a napkin.


    Lin Zhengran chuckled.


    Jiang Jingshi blinked, realizing what she’d done.


    Her cheeks turned slightly pink, but she still finished wiping his mouth.


    *"Thank you for telling me all this, Zhengran.


    Even if this is just a theory, I have a really bad feeling—like this is something that’s already happening.


    And the worst part? No one else would have noticed.


    Because who would dare question celebrity judges?


    Even if contestants suspected something, they wouldn’t voice it.


    The problem will only explode once the rankings go public."*


    Lin Zhengran added,


    Jiang Jingshi let out a soft laugh.


    *"Please, Zhengran. Don’t be so humble.


    I finally understand why my little sister kept losing to you.


    It’s because you really can do anything—and you’re damn good at it."*


    She sighed, voice soft.


    *"Honestly… running a business is exhausting.


    Everyone always assumes I have it easy because I make a lot of money.


    But in reality, I’ve failed plenty of times, too. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    My father’s getting older. Our family only has me and Qianqian left to manage things.


    She’s supposed to run the internal business, while I focus on expanding our influence."*


    She met Lin Zhengran’s gaze.


    *"Zhengran, if you ever wanted to work with me… you could name your price.


    I’d pay whatever you wanted."*


    Lin Zhengran shook his head, smiling.


    Jiang Jingshi sighed.


    *"I figured you’d say that. But if I could, I’d much rather follow you.


    Because, Zhengran… I know you’ll achieve greatness.


    And when you do—I hope we’ll be allies, not enemies."*


    She smiled.


    Lin Zhengran smiled back.