Chapter 164: Seeking Death?
Min Xizhen looked at Liu Zhimin, a hint of satisfaction flashed in her eyes, but her expression remained serious.
"Karina, your problem is slightly better than Yuan Ying's, but not by much," Min Xizhen began. "Yuan Ying's main issue is slacking off, while you are clearly distracted."
Liu Zhimin was startled, looking at Min Xizhen with shock.
"Don't look at me like that. We can tell whether you haven't put in effort or if your mind is elsewhere. I don't know what happened to you, but since you've come here, you must treat this as the most important thing. If you can't do that, you can withdraw."
Compared to Jiang Shu, who was still somewhat tactful when scolding Zhang Yuanying, Min Xizhen's words were very direct.
Liu Zhimin's face turned pale, and she bowed to the three of them.
"I will adjust my state!"
"I'll give you one performance. If you're still in this state during the second public performance, then you'll never get my vote."
The three main judges must agree for a trainee to enter Class A. If even one person disagrees, it's impossible to get in.
This meant that if Liu Zhimin couldn't satisfy Min Xizhen during her second public performance stage, she would never be able to enter Class A again.
"Yes!"
"Karina, Class C."
【Actually, I also noticed Karina was a bit distracted.】
【Could she have broken up?】
【Broken up my ass? How long has Karina been debuted?】
【Then maybe she's a love-struck fool.】
【I achieved a good score of 0.001 seconds in the game of guessing the fandom above.】
【Heh, your Zhang Yuanying is in Class D now.】
【Is there a difference between Class C and Class D?】
【Just in case you don't know, C > D.】
The bullet comments started cursing again, and with Liu Zhimin's evaluation, the evaluations of all 48 trainees were completed. The results were completely unexpected.
The internet also stirred up a wave of heated discussion, especially regarding Zhang Yuanying and Liu Zhimin being assigned to Class D and Class C.
The show's attitude also made many spectators realize that this variety show didn't seem to be rigged? Even when scolding these two popular idols, they showed no mercy.
Moreover, at the end, the host mentioned that each group in the second public performance stage would have a debuted artist as a guest singer, which was also a major highlight. Many viewers had already started checking the schedules of popular groups, trying to find some clues.
...
DM Entertainment, President's Office.
Li Duohui, busy with Kim Tae-yeon's comeback arrangements, heard a knock on the door and called out without lifting her head.
Then the office door was pushed open.
"Just say what you need to say. If it's a document, put it on the desk," Li Duohui said, looking at the documents in her hand.
"President Li is busy," Jiang Shu's cheerful voice came through.
Li Duohui was stunned, quickly looked up, and stood up.
"My apologies, Chairman, I didn't know it was you!"
Jiang Shu smiled and waved his hand.
"Sit down and talk."
He walked to the desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down opposite Li Duohui.
Seeing this, Li Duohui also sat back down.
"I'm here to discuss something with you this time."
Li Duohui noticed that Jiang Shu said "discuss" and not "arrange."
She understood her Chairman's personality. If he said "arrange," it was an arrangement. If he said "discuss," then he was truly discussing.
"Chairman, please speak."
"I need you to pay attention to Kim Hyun-a's comeback time. I want to arrange for Lee Ji-eun to have her comeback at the same time as her."
A big question mark appeared on Li Duohui's forehead.
"Chairman, although Lee Ji-eun's popularity is growing very optimistically right now, she is still too far behind Hyuna. Her comeback at the same time as her will completely overshadow her."
Lee Ji-eun to go against Kim Hyun-a?
It's like Xiao Yan, fresh out of the Jiama Empire, directly going to fight the Soul Clan. Can he win?
He'd definitely die.
"You don't need to worry about that," Jiang Shu waved his hand. "I have confidence in Lee Ji-eun."
"But I think this is seeking death," Li Duohui rarely used such a strong evaluation as "seeking death."
"When have I ever harmed my own artists?" Jiang Shu retorted.
"That's true, but I really can't see where she can win," Li Duohui didn't understand where her Chairman's confidence came from.
How could she possibly win in such a comparison?
Forget about Lee Ji-eun, among the artists under DM Entertainment right now, not a single one could confidently say they would win if they clashed with Kim Hyun-a.
It would have been fine if IVE hadn't disbanded, but IVE is gone. Now, the most popular artist at DM Entertainment is Red Velvet!
But even Red Velvet is still one level below Kim Hyun-a.
Li Duohui didn't doubt the potential of her artists. Every one of them had the potential to reach first-tier or even higher, but geniuses need time to develop. How long have they been debuted?
"If we're discussing, I don't agree with this," Li Duohui shook her head.
Her meaning was clear: if he was arranging it, she would do it even if she disagreed. But if he was discussing it with her, then it was out of the question.
Jiang Shu wasn't angry. Li Duohui was also considering the company. From her perspective, Jiang Shu's request was indeed quite outrageous.
Other people clash for popularity, but he's clashing to piggyback.
"Then how about we make a bet?" Jiang Shu said with a smile.
"No bet," Li Duohui refused decisively. "The company is severely weakened now due to IVE's contract termination and cannot afford such a gamble where an artist's comeback is the stake. Please allow me to refuse."
Jiang Shu was surprised, looking at the serious Li Duohui, somewhat not expecting her to refuse so directly.
"This makes things difficult," Jiang Shu tapped his head in distress. "I have absolute confidence in Lee Ji-eun defeating Kim Hyun-a."
Lee Ji-eun could lose to anyone, but she absolutely couldn't lose to a female solo artist making a comeback at the same time, even if it was one of the two super popular female solo artists.
But he couldn't tell Li Duohui this.
"I've already told you my opinion," Li Duohui didn't know what the world looked like in Jiang Shu's eyes, but as the company's Vice President, she had an obligation to propose the most suitable suggestions for the company.
"Then it seems I'll have to change 'discuss' to 'arrange,'" Jiang Shu said helplessly.
"You should have done that from the beginning," Li Duohui shook her head. "If you do this again, my answer won't change. Next time, if you have such a decision, just arrange it directly. Don't try to persuade me; you won't be able to."
"What if Lee Ji-eun wins this time?" Jiang Shu raised an eyebrow.
Win?
She'd definitely die.
Li Duohui saw no chance of Lee Ji-eun winning. With an economic deficit of twenty thousand, even if EDG came, they wouldn't lose!
"If Lee Ji-eun wins, I will try to understand your more unconventional decisions in the future," Li Duohui looked at Jiang Shu seriously.
"No problem," Jiang Shu snapped his fingers, then stood up.
Li Duohui also stood up when she saw this.
"Let's wait and see."
Looking at the Chairman's confident appearance, even though she couldn't see Lee Ji-eun's chances of winning, a slight unease couldn't help but rise in Li Duohui's heart.
No way?
Can she really win?