Chapter 87

The staff member was a bit flustered.

What’s the big deal? It’s just that my tone was a bit heavy, did you really have to run off like that?

It’s your turn to appear next. If you run away now, did you even participate in this nationwide live broadcast competition?

Right, the competition... the competition!!

The staff member suddenly shivered violently.

His legs started to go weak, and he realized that something really serious must have happened...

"Liuxin!" In the instant his pupils contracted, the staff member used all his strength to chase after Liuxin, but the latter’s speed was incredibly fast. In this short time, she had already become a distant, unreachable figure.

There was no way he could catch up.

The staff member’s face turned pale, his eyes lifeless, and his whole body felt drained of energy as he fell to the ground—millions of viewers were waiting for your next appearance, and you... ran away?

"Why isn’t Liuxin on stage yet! How can you still cause trouble in a nationwide live broadcast!?" Behind him, the program’s chief director, Yang Zhi, had already rushed over with a dark face, coldly staring at the staff member and saying, "What are you still standing there for? Get Liuxin on stage immediately!"

"Liuxin..." The staff member swallowed hard, not daring to meet the chief director’s sharp gaze, and said with a stiff face, "Liuxin ran away..."

"What did you say!" Yang Zhi’s face froze, and he immediately asked in disbelief, then without waiting for the staff member to answer, he rushed backstage.

But...

The backstage area was empty. Apart from a faint fragrance, Yang Zhi couldn’t even see Liuxin’s shadow.

Behind him, the staff member’s voice was like a mosquito’s, "She... she... she took a call and ran away... I couldn’t stop her..."

"Shut up!" Yang Zhi suddenly roared, his fists clenched into bricks, and he slammed them on the table, "There’s no time for this now, we need to take immediate action!"

The staff member was almost in tears.

Fine, fine, fine, I’ll shut up, don’t I have any rights as a small fry...

——

In the broadcasting hall, on the stage that everyone was watching.

The host, Pudding, smiled and said, "Next, please welcome our sixth contestant, Liuxin..."

The audience below burst into enthusiastic applause, their eyes full of anticipation as they watched the elevator rise to the center of the stage. But when the circular elevator reached the center, it wasn’t Liuxin who appeared, but the chief director of "Next Stop: Queen," Yang Zhi.

Pudding’s face stiffened slightly.

Seeing that it wasn’t Liuxin, the audience below exchanged puzzled looks.

"I recognize him, he’s Yang Zhi, the chief director of 'Next Stop: Queen,'" one audience member recognized Yang Zhi.

After all, he was a public figure. Although Yang Zhi was just a director, he had appeared on TV before and wasn’t unfamiliar.

But...

"Where’s Liuxin?"

"Shouldn’t Liuxin be making a grand entrance now?"

"Why is the chief director of the program on stage?"

"Is this a new gimmick?" The audience’s faces were full of questions.

Yang Zhi gave Pudding a meaningful look, then picked up the microphone, bowed to the audience, and said apologetically, "As the chief director, I need to apologize to everyone."

As his words fell, the audience below fell silent.

"What’s going on?"

"Why is the chief director suddenly apologizing on stage?"

"Could it be... something happened to Liuxin?"

Seeming to guess the audience’s thoughts, Yang Zhi’s face was heavy and serious as he said, "Just now, Liuxin received a call and hurriedly left the backstage area of our program. We don’t know where she went."

As Yang Zhi’s words fell, the audience below was stunned.

"What’s going on..."

"This is a nationwide live broadcast competition, and Liuxin just left without a word?"

"What could be more important than the competition for her to leave so many viewers and fans behind..."

"This is too much, a contestant who was about to appear suddenly went missing, and the program staff didn’t even know?"

"I traveled a long distance from Fujian just to hear Liuxin sing live, and now the program staff says... Liuxin is missing?"

The audience’s emotions began to fluctuate, and some faces clearly showed shock and indignation.

In addition to the audience, there were also journalists from all over the country and various news outlets at the scene. When these journalists heard Yang Zhi’s sudden apology, they were all shocked!

Their professional instincts made them realize that this would be... big news.

Exchanging glances, the journalists saw the excitement in each other’s eyes! They didn’t care whether Liuxin would appear today; they were always concerned with "news"!

Some journalists had even thought of the headlines for tomorrow’s newspapers—

"Super Popular Contestant of 'Next Stop: Queen' Goes Missing Before the Competition!"

"Super Popular Contestant Liuxin Causes a Scandal, Standing Up the Nation’s Viewers!"

"Seen big shots before, but never like this—Liuxin becomes the biggest name in 'Next Stop: Queen' history!"

Such headlines made the journalists’ blood boil, and they even imagined that their magazine or newspaper sales might increase.

Yang Zhi also saw the journalists’ eager atmosphere.

But he was also helpless. Who could have predicted such a sudden change?

He wanted to lie, saying that Liuxin had trained too hard and was too sick to continue the competition...

But he didn’t dare. These journalists were too perceptive. If the lie was exposed, the program’s reputation would be even more tarnished... So, facing the attention of the nation’s viewers, Yang Zhi could only choose to tell the truth.

In other words, the program team of "Next Stop: Queen" was destined to take the blame.

On the other side, Pudding also sensed that the atmosphere was off. He forced a natural smile and said, "None of us expected this to happen. Something important must have happened to Liuxin. Please bear with us for a moment, and we will give you a clear explanation tomorrow."

The unusual atmosphere in the audience was slightly brought back on track by Pudding.

Yang Zhi, of course, wasn’t stupid. He immediately promised solemnly, "That’s right, the program team will give you an explanation tomorrow. For now, let’s continue with the exciting competition. Let’s cheer for the next contestant!"

He bowed again and then walked off the stage with a stern face.

Pudding had already regained his usual calm and continued to host naturally, "This is the first time the program’s chief director has appeared on stage. Liuxin must have a lot of influence... Well, even though Liuxin isn’t here, the competition must go on. So... please welcome our next contestant!"

(Deeply grateful to the brothers who supported with donations: Yijiang Kaishui Xiangxi Liu, Kan Xiaoshuo Sha Le, and Chu Xuan!)