Chapter 37: Exposure

Night fell. When it was finally time to get off work, Lin Xiyue took a moment to tidy up her appearance before heading out to meet someone.

After all, Bai Lulu had helped her with something huge — she couldn’t just refuse to even meet her.

Besides, the meeting place Bai Lulu picked was very thoughtful: not far from the company. She didn’t even need her mom to drive her; walking there was enough.

She took a piece of chocolate from her bag, unwrapped it, and nibbled on it as she walked.

She had gradually gotten used to this weak body and had formed the habit of replenishing sugar to prevent fainting from low blood sugar.

The meeting spot was a park. Lin Xiyue was quite familiar with it — in her previous life, she used to go on dates here often with Xia Jinnian.

Now revisiting the place, seeing every familiar tree and patch of grass, she couldn’t help feeling sentimental.

“Xixi-sama, over here—!”

A soft, sweet voice called out from not far away. Lin Xiyue looked up and saw Bai Lulu running toward her.

“Thank you for the trouble, Lulu.”

She had no idea how the girl obtained those two contracts, but the process was absolutely not simple. So she genuinely thanked her.

“You’re welcome! I’m Xixi-sama’s number-one fan. If my idol gets bullied, how could I possibly stand by and do nothing?”

Bai Lulu’s smile was lovely — pure, clean, the kind that makes you think she’s a blank sheet of paper with not a shred of scheming in her.

“But Xixi-sama was targeted right when you debuted. I’m worried. How about I get a job at Lin Entertainment too? I don’t even need a salary. This way I can protect Xixi-sama better~”

“Th-this… is this your condition?”

Lin Xiyue blinked, surprised. She didn’t expect that.

“No no no, it’s just a request. Whether Xixi-sama agrees or not, these contracts are yours. Don’t worry~”

Bai Lulu shook her head quickly. That actually made things harder for Lin Xiyue.

She was soft-hearted by nature. And with this cute girl looking at her with big watery eyes… who could say no?

Besides, she did owe her a massive favor. Rejecting her on the spot felt too heartless.

“T-then… okay. But tomorrow you’ll need to talk to my mom at the company. She’s the actual boss.”

After a lot of internal debate, Lin Xiyue agreed. Bai Lulu was so delighted she practically jumped into her arms.

“Yay! Xixi-sama is the most fan-loving idol ever!”

Next came the exchange of the contracts. Seeing the clearly written terms — each one outlining a crime Wu Li committed — even Lin Xiyue felt angry.

Seriously? My wife beat you three times, kicked you aside like a stray dog — is that enough to make you lose your mind like this?

“Well, I’ll head back now. See you tomorrow, Lulu~”

With the contracts in hand, Lin Xiyue was eager to rush home and contact major sites for the exposé, so she turned to leave and planned to hail a taxi.

“Let me drive Xixi-sama home?”

“Huh?”

“I have a license! Not driving illegally, don’t worry~”

Bai Lulu grinned, revealing two cute little tiger teeth, then pulled a small card from her bag.

She had actually gotten her license recently specifically so she could have more chances to show up in front of Lin Xiyue later.

“T-then… I’ll trouble you, Lulu~”

Lin Xiyue didn’t reject her kindness. If anything, she kind of enjoyed being taken care of like this.

Liking admiration, liking being fussed over — that was human nature, and one of the motivations for many who become idols. She was no exception.

Seeing her agree, Bai Lulu felt relieved.

She wasn’t afraid of going all-out with affection — she was afraid of not having the chance to.

Maybe it sounded twisted, but that was how it was. The more active one is in a relationship, the more passive they truly are.

The more you care, the lower you bow.

Just like that, Bai Lulu drove Lin Xiyue all the way home and only left after watching her go inside.

“Did you charm another little fangirl?”

Xu Wei came over jokingly.

Having seen the world, she immediately recognized that the girl who drove her daughter home had feelings far beyond simple friendship.

It was curious, though — her daughter had never shown vague or ambiguous signs with any boy, nor even rumors. But she was always close with girls…

“Mom~ she helped a ton! Look!”

Lin Xiyue waved the contracts in her hand and handed them over. Xu Wei was stunned.

“This… who is this friend of yours?”

Lin Xiyue explained Bai Lulu’s identity and her own promise in detail. Xu Wei fell silent.

“How did you end up dealing with this kind of little princess?”

Xu Wei knew the Bai family. Compared to A-tier entertainment companies, they were equal or even above. Their influence in Guangnan was enormous.

Letting the Bai family’s heiress work at their company was practically “serve her well or die” territory.

“Oh come on mom, Lulu is super nice and easygoing. Not the spoiled type. Just give her any position.”

“…Fine. We’ll talk tomorrow at the office.”

Xu Wei sighed and accepted it.

She then took the contracts and began contacting major websites and media outlets.

For exposure pieces like this — naturally viral, guaranteed to become a hot topic — the media loved it. They didn’t even need advertising fees.

So that very midnight, many news and video platforms published the contracts, exposing Wu Li’s bought bot votes and slander campaign. It caused an immediate uproar.

Because Country C heavily regulates the entertainment industry, especially performance events, cheating like vote manipulation was rare. Even though “Sound of the Future” wasn’t a big show, the scandal still sparked widespread outrage.

Massive amounts of netizens flooded into PigPig Music’s comment sections, demanding a full investigation and punishment for Wu Li — pushing the show’s popularity to a whole new level.