Chapter 34.1: Chairman Liang Is Baffled

　　Jiang Dai could never have guessed that she had actually gotten herself involved in this by stating a casual comment of having an upset stomach.

　　If she had known, she would never have gotten out of bed or even spoken a single word.

　　Watching her b*stard ex-husband making his way to the kitchen to cook in a suit that was worth a fortune, she could not help but press her fingers to her forehead.

　　“Come on, let’s just ignore him and continue watching the footage.”

　　Since Jiang Dai was able to disregard Huo Rongshen, Qiao Jinye was naturally able to do so. 

　　As such, they continued to watch the videos in the living room and discussed each group’s characteristics.

　　On the other hand, Huo Rongshen was rummaging around in the kitchen.

　　When it came to Jiang Dai’s living conditions, he had already looked into it. Yesterday, he had gotten hold of countless reliable news from his parents-in-law. As a matter of fact, he was able to roughly guess what her living conditions were like without making an effort to understand.

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　　Lso vbyv pbl oyp ps b*zz-cldv sd bla nyalla, bso oswze pbl byhl vbl vkxl vs vyjl nyal sq blaplzq?

　　Mbl srld jkvnbld sd vbl taswde qzssa sq Kkydt Pyk’p bswpl oyp hlau prynkswp. Gzvbswtb vbl xyppkhl qaketl oyp y vball-essa alqaktlayvsa, vblal oyp dsv xwnb qsse pvsale kd kv, yp xspv sq vblx olal psxl qasgld qsse yde clhlaytlp. Tl alnjsdle kv oyp ewl vs bla byckv sq dsv nssjkdt hlau sqvld, ps kq pbl olal vs pvsal wr vss xwnb qsse kd vbl qaketl, vblu oswze vlde vs lmrkal alyzzu lypkzu.

　　Fssd yqvla, Tws Ssdtpbld qswde vbl rzynl pbl bye pvsale bla aknl. Rv oyp qsavwdyvl vbyv hyakswp lppldvkyz kdtalekldvp olal yhykzyczl kd vbkp jkvnbld. Tldnl, bl nbspl aknl, xkzzlv, yde syvp, dsv qsatlvvkdt nwcle rwxrjkd yde uyx.

　　Fkdnl bl oyp wple vs nsdpwxkdt ekpblp nssjle cu vbl nblq kd bkp bsxl qsa 28 ulyap, bl oyp dsv y hlau tsse nssj. Ebldlhla bl oyp swv, bl oswze wpwyzzu byhl bkp xlyzp esdl cu rakhyvl nblqp sq pvya bsvlzp. Gv vbl lde sq vbl eyu, bl ayalzu bye vbl nbydnl vs nssj. Tsolhla, bl pvkzz bye psxl lmrlakldnl kd nssjkdt rsaaketl, lprlnkyzzu obld kv nyxl vs plhlayz pkxrzl rsaaketl alnkrlp vbyv dswakpble vbl pvsxynb. Rd vbl rypv, bl bye vbl nbydnl vs nssj vblx qsa Kkydt Pyk.

　　Rv oyp dsv vbyv Kkydt Pyk oyp kd cye blyzvb, cwv ayvbla, pbl pkxrzu zshle prknu qsse yzz vss xwnb. Lsv sdzu oswze pbl byhl prknu qsse, cwv pbl oswze yzps nayhl nsze qssep kd vbl pwxxla. Rv bye alynble vbl rskdv oblal pbl pwqqlale qasx typvakvkp vos ulyap yts, yde kq kv olal vs clnsxl xsal plakswp, kv oswze byhl elhlzsrle kdvs y pvsxynb wznla.

　　Pwakdt vbl ldvkal rlakse sq vyjkdt vbl xleknyvksd, pbl oyp dlkvbla rlaxkvvle vs byhl yduvbkdt prknu dsa nswze pbl byhl ydu qsse vbyv oyp skzu, bktb kd pyzv, yde ellr-qakle. Rd yeekvksd, pbl oyp aliwkale vs vyjl plhlayz vurlp sq xleknkdl qsa vbl pvsxynb, nywpkdt bla vs byhl psxl dywplswp pkel lqqlnvp. Pwakdt vbyv rlakse, pbl yzoyup bye y rssa yrrlvkvl, dsv oydvkdt vs lyv yduvbkdt.&dcpr;

　　Rv oyp ewakdt vbyv vkxl vbyv Tws Ssdtpbld zlyadle bso vs xyjl rsaaketl. Rd ynvwyz qynv, kv oyp dsv vbyv ekqqknwzv, yp bl bye xlalzu plyanble qsa psxl alnkrlp sdzkdl.&dcpr;

　　Ohld ps, Kkydt Pyk oyp psxlsdl obs bye dlhla zkjle byhkdt rsaaketl. Jynj vbld, pbl oswze sdzu zkpvld vs bkp osaep. Gp pwnb, pbl oswze qkdkpb zsyep sq rsaaketl sclekldvzu ps zsdt yp bl oyp vbl sdl obs xyel vblx.

　　While rinsing the rice, Huo Rongshen recalled numerous memories of the past.

　　At first, Jiang Dai became furious and suggested that they divorce after being discharged from the hospital, causing Huo Rongshen to be devastated and flew into a rage out of humiliation. All in all, he simply could not understand how it turned out this way.

　　However, it was only after they had divorced and lived apart from each other did he gradually come to realize as to why Jiang Dai did not want him anymore.

　　He had never been a romantic person. Hence, he had gotten to know loads of things since the beginning of this relationship, likewise Jiang Dai. It was just like two people coming together to explore and grow together. Concurrently, their relationship gradually intensified to the point where they got married.

　　Having been swamped by wedding planning for such a long while, Huo Rongshen had delayed loads of work matters in Australia. After the marriage, he had to deal with the backlog before becoming increasingly busy again. When it came to Jiang Dai, she had really been neglected by him.

　　As time went on, this negligence manifested in various aspects.

　　Due to his busiest time, he would have pretty much spent two-thirds of a month in Australia. As time passed, it engendered various rumors of a divorce within the country and even some groundless scandals.

　　Even so, he never bothered to explain or even thought to deal with it seriously.

　　In his opinion, he believed that Jiang Dai would never believe these rumors as she knew very well what sort of person he was. Hence, it was unlikely to give rise to a sense of insecurity within her.  

　　Apart from these, numerous aspects were affected as well.

　　Whenever he was busy, he tended to overlook far too many things. For instance, Jiang Dai had always been looking forward to her graduation in the past and would keep repeating that he had to go to Yanjing University to take graduation pictures with her and walk through all the beautiful corners of the campus. That was because they got to know each other in the university. Not only that, but she also wanted him to attend her graduation ceremony to watch her put on her graduation cap and give a speech on stage as a graduate representative.

　　But eventually, none of these were fulfilled, as he, time and again, was absent.

　　Jiang Dai sometimes seemed as though she did not mind whatsoever; At other times, she would throw a tantrum. In his eyes, these matters would never affect their husband and wife relationship, anyhow.

　　Now, it all seemed to be wrong.

　　It was he who had walked out of Jiang Dai’s life at an increasingly rapid pace. Before he knew it, he eventually lost her.

　　……

　　Initially, Jiang Dai had indeed gone into work mode as she watched each group’s performances seriously.

　　Eventually, she picked out three of her favorite groups. “The center position of Group 7 is the lead dancer, isn’t she? Her dance is exceptionally explosive and eye-catching. As for the other members, their comprehensive skills are pretty good, and the voices of the two lead singers are very stable. On the whole, this group’s standard should have the highest.”

　　She continued, “On the other hand, Group 13 is not bad either. They are able to rap so amazingly without appearing awkward, so the seven of them must have worked together for a long time, which explains their extraordinary camaraderie and rapport. Then there is Group 2, whose dance standard is excellent and is considered an ideal local girl group. On the one hand, the lead singer is acceptable, but on the other hand, the other members’ singing is slightly weaker. Even so, they can still continue to train and improve their singing.”

　　Qiao Jinye commented, “Group 7 is indeed the strongest and have the capabilities to strive till the end of the show. As for Group 13, I like them, but their style is pretty niche amongst girl groups. At this rate, we may have to hold a meeting to discuss this. When it comes to Group 2, some of their members are rather weak and are not as good as the lead dancers or singers of other groups.”

　　After mulling over this for quite a while, Jiang Dai suggested, “In actual fact, we can try disbanding and reassembling the groups. Since there is a limit to the number of groups Qiao Yi is able to send, it would be better to gather the girls with the most potential together. Groups with exceptional tacit understanding like Group 13 can’t be disbanded, so the other members can largely be able to fine-tune.”

　　Upon hearing that, Qiao Jinye commented, “That sounds like a plan, but they have been together with their group mates since they were a trainee. It seems somewhat ruthless for us to do this.”

　　As he finished speaking, Jiang Dai laughed, “Who would have thought you to be a benevolent boss? Talent search programs are meant to be a harsh battleground, and we are merely accelerating the process.”

　　“Alright, then. I will discuss with all the trainees’ teachers today.”

　　After some thought, Jiang Dai added, “Apart from consulting the teachers for their opinions, you can have these girls vote amongst themselves. Since they train together every day, they would have the best idea of whoever has the capabilities and who does not.”

　　Qiao Jinye could not help but shake his head and lament, “President Jiang sure is ruthless.”

　　All of a sudden, a more critical matter came to Jiang Dai’s mind. “As the Title Sponsor, may I ask whether I could exercise my rights to squeeze someone in?”

　　Upon hearing her request, Qiao Jinye was quite surprised. “Squeeze someone in? Do you happen to know any trainees?”

　　Jiang Dai answered, “I really did not know her before, but I happened to have just met one recently. Her name is Liang Zhenyu, and she is a lovely girl. I have also watched all the dance and vocal practice videos, so I can say that her dancing should be at a lead dancer level. With her traditional dance background, she has a relatively flexible and agile body. As such, she would not be able to provide that sort of powerful dance performance. Even so, her singing is also ok, and she can sing all different genres.”

　　It was not surprising that Qiao Jinye had never heard of this name as countless trainees had yet to make their debut.

　　“Sure, you can. Since President Jiang has paid her such high compliments, her capabilities presumably are not too bad. However, whether she is able to appear on the show would be determined by the group’s overall comprehensive evaluation. So, why don’t you bring her over and give it a try? If it turns out well, I will choose a group for her personally and let her become the leader.”

　　Having heard this, Jiang Dai elaborated, “I can hardly expect you to give her the leader or center position. It does not matter if she is unable to appear on the show. I primarily want to give her a different work environment, so why don’t you let her stay in Qiao Yi? The environment in her previous company……was not too healthy, so she had acquired some bad experiences, so much so that she is suffering from some psychological issues. As opposed to recuperating behind closed doors, I’d rather she distract herself by making her dreams come true.”

　　Since Qiao Jinye was sort of curious about Liang Zhenyu’s situation, Jiang Dai added in some tactful statements without revealing any of her private affairs.

　　 As an insider, Qiao Jinye was able to figure everything out just from those few sentences.

　　“Alright, just bring her to the company. Although Qiao Yi is extremely competitive, we do not have any of those nonsense and hidden rules. Once she is here, I will ensure that the teachers take better care of her.”

　　Just as they were chatting in the living room, Huo Rongshen came out with a tray in his hands.

　　Jiang Dai could not help but……let out an ‘erm’ sound at the sight of him wearing an apron. 

　　Huo Rongshen bent over and placed the bowl of porridge on the table. Speaking in a low and steady voice, it was as though the relationship between both of them had never changed and they were still living together.

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