This was her last act of kindness toward her bandmates of three years.

When she returned to the room after her smoke, Zhang Nai had left. Visibly upset, Li Ranran gave his fruit basket to the nurses at the nursing station.

“Sheng, what if Zhang Nai really leaves us?” Not one to think things through, Li Ranran did not understand the motive behind Jiang Jiusheng’s suggestion.

In her nonchalant manner, she said, “Then we’d have peace.”

Not very clued in, Li Ranran was still confused.

Losing a keyboard layer was no big deal, but the band could not do without a lead guitarist. So, what did she mean by that?

Li Ranran pulled Zhan Fanglin aside and asked him, “What does Sheng mean by that?”

Seeing her face all bunched up, trying to grasp the situation, Zhan Fanglin ruffled her hair and laughed. “We must not keep people we don’t trust.”

Low IQ.

“Keeping Zhang Nai would only bring us more trouble—as long as he doesn’t make a clean break with Liu Xu. Sheng must have sussed out Zhang Nai’s desire to leave, so she gave him a way out.”

After all, they had been bandmates for three years, and unless they were pushed to the limit, nobody wanted an ugly ending.

Although Li Ranran understood the reason, she was still worried. “But Zhang Nai is our lead guitarist. Doing without a keyboard player is no big deal, but we cannot do without a lead guitarist.”

With the concert just around the corner, it would be a challenge to look for a replacement. The lead guitarist was the soul of a band; that was what Sheng had used to say.

TheNine was a band without a soul. That was why Yuwen Chongfeng had always wanted to shut it down. Truth be told, a band without a lead guitarist could be likened to one that was about to be disbanded entirely.

Zhan Fanglin knocked Li Ranran’s head gently as he asked, “Have you forgotten what Sheng used to do before she became lead singer?”

She had been a rhythm guitarist.

Suddenly, the lights went on for Li Ranran. Of course! How could she have forgotten that Sheng was a protégé of the talented musician Master Ma Dang, who had once declared that Zhang Nai had a place in the band only because Sheng had taken on the role of lead singer?

In the hospital’s basement carpark, eyes were combing the surrounding area. He had to make sure that he had not been spotted. Then he dove into a black Land Rover.

“What did Sheng say?” asked Liu Xu, seated in the front passenger’s seat. Wearing sunglasses and a mask, perspiration showing on the uncovered part of her face, she grabbed Zhang Nai’s hand anxiously.

Zhang Nai shook his head.

She gave a cheerless laugh. “I just knew that she would back me into a corner.”

With Jian Chengzhong’s promised investment up in smoke and her reputation in shreds, plus rejection from Tian Yu, she could not see a future for herself in the entertainment industry.

So, this was what Jiang Jiusheng had meant by her act of compassion. Oh, such hypocrisy!

“Xiao Xu,” Zhang Nai said, then hesitated awkwardly before looking straight at Liu Xu and asking, “Why did you out Sheng? Why did you pay the trolls to smear her?”

“Like I told you,” she said, avoiding his gaze and looking instead at the windshield, “it was Jian Chengzhong. He had been hankering after Sheng and used me as his weapon to pull her down from the pedestal.”

“Why did he choose you, of all people, to be his weapon?” Grabbing her by her shoulder, he persisted. “Did he promise you something?”

Jiang Jiusheng had mentioned that Jian Chengzhong had committed to an investment.

Turning pale, Liu Xu brushed his hand away and said irritably, “I told you, I was totally drunk that night!”

He stared at her, partly in disbelief.

Suddenly, Liu Xu laughed coldly. “Do you still suspect me?”

“I—”

She put on an expression of disbelief, her eyes turning red. “Even you are doubting me now.” She turned away, tears streaming down her face.

Seeing her cry, Zhang Nai found himself at his wits’ end as to what to do next. In a panic, he pleaded, “Please don’t cry. I believe you; I do.”

“Zhang Nai,” Liu Xu sobbed, placing her head on his shoulder. “I have nowhere else to go. Will you help me, please?”

This was his love of four years. Even if the entire world had deserted her, he would stay by her side.

Softening, he said, “Yes.”

On the following day, at two in the afternoon.

Qin_Entertainment V: Two more talents added to the Qin family. A warm welcome @ZhangNai V @LiuXu V

Liu Xu forwarded the Weibo.

Liu Xu V: This is my lead guitarist and composer @ZhangNai V and this is our new song.

Attached to the Weibo was a small clip of the new song, an a cappella demo.

Zhang Nai followed up with his own Weibo. The above messages generated a gigantic stir among the netizens.

ShengYe’s_SecretLover006: Welcome to the live chat. Let’s talk about the trashy people that we have dissed over the years.

This was followed by a link to the chat room.

DongDong_LovesWinter: Darn! This lowlife wannabe actor doesn’t know when to stop!

OrangeFairy: I’m telling you, Sugar Daddy Qin, you are halfway to your own funeral, taking up with this ingrate.

2Lazy2FakeIt: Sheng Ye’s concert is just around the corner, and Zhang Nai decides to jump ship now! Sheng Fans, let’s trash him bad!

HeartU: Actually, this song’s not bad.

1.8Meter: Wow, Miss Liu Xu sings well, and she’s pretty, too! I like!

SmokedFish: Real talent will shine wherever it’s placed.

SpudsinWinter: Let’s park the debate on fake or real data. I’m following this song.

BornAgain: It’s hard to tell right from wrong on the internet. Be rational and just follow the music.

LoveShengYeOnly: Qin have definitely lived up to their status as the king of the ZhongNan provinces; found themselves some useful trolls! Hey you there, what say you?

Globally_Hot: It’s also light rock. Is it only me who sees Sheng’s style in this song sung by that Liu woman?

MilkPudding: +1

Sheng’s_LittleCrab: +2

******

The VIP room at First Tian Bei Hospital.

Throwing the reading pad on the bed, Yuwen Chongfeng demanded, “You tell me, what do we do now?”

Jiang Jiusheng was silent, deep in thought.

Off to the side, Li Ranran was livid. “Zhang Nai! That worthless traitor!” Pointing at the screen, she said to Yuwen Chongfeng, “Jumping ship to Qin Entertainment when his contract with Sheng has not been terminated. Let’s sue them, boss!”

Crossing his legs lazily, Yuwen Chongfeng announced, “Qin Entertainment have transferred the penalty fee to us.”

“That evil pair planned their escape route nicely,” Li Ranran fumed, so furious that she could almost feel her lungs bursting. “So what do we do? We can’t just sit back and do nothing.”

Through all that commotion, Jiang Jiusheng had maintained her silence and composure.

“Sheng,” Mo Bing ventured as she clicked on Liu Xu’s Weibo link for the demo. “What’s going on? How did Zhang Nai get hold of the demo for your new song?”