Chapter 22: Zhang Chuchu Nearly Faints from Anger

Swish, swish, swish.

Under Su Yunqin’s lead, the attention that had drifted away from Zhang Chuchu now refocused on her. In the past, Zhang Chuchu would have eagerly welcomed such attention, but now her mindset was on the verge of collapse; confronted by those gazes, she was so furious she could have ground her teeth to dust.

Especially Su Yunqin’s seemingly innocent face, which filled her with overwhelming disgust.

What’s with all the concern? Do you really care whether I need to go to the hospital? You wretched woman, who are you setting up this trap for?

When your old wounds tore open, you insisted you were fine—now you want me to go to the hospital? With so many eyes watching, if word got out, my reputation would be ruined in an instant. Wouldn’t the gossip sites call me unprofessional? Wouldn’t they say I don’t care for the bigger picture?

A perfect move to step on someone and climb up—how shameless can you get!

Her anger surged, breath coming fast, and the pain in her ribs returned fiercer than before, stabbing through her like ice. In an instant, cold sweat beaded on Zhang Chuchu’s forehead, and she gasped, unable even to remain angry.

“Are you alright, Teacher Zhang?”

“Exactly, maybe you should go to the hospital.”

“Look at your face, it’s gone completely pale.”

The staff watched Zhang Chuchu’s sudden weakness and hurried forward to offer their concern.

Clenching her teeth against the pain, Zhang Chuchu shook her head. “It’s nothing, the show…the show is important, I’m fine…”

“Don’t push yourself, Teacher Zhang. You look unwell.”

Seeing her refusal, Su Yunqin quickly stepped up to comfort her, her eyes now filled with even deeper worry and self-reproach.

“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been so stiff, coming onto such a big stage for the first time…”

Hearing this, cold sweat broke out on Zhang Chuchu’s face, her breathing shifting from intermittent to ragged. Clearly, she was once again infuriated.

Watching Zhang Chuchu’s helpless rage, Su Yunqin felt secretly delighted. But outwardly, she feigned concern, exclaiming, “Oh, Teacher Zhang, you’re sweating so much! Does anyone have a tissue? Could you lend me one?”

A nearby staff member immediately handed Su Yunqin a tissue.

Taking it, Su Yunqin moved to wipe the cold sweat from Zhang Chuchu’s forehead.

By now, Zhang Chuchu was so furious that stars danced before her eyes. The pain in her ribs compounded, and her vision alternated between darkness and light.

Seeing Su Yunqin about to publicly wipe her sweat, Zhang Chuchu could take it no longer—she slapped Su Yunqin’s hand away.

“Get out! Stop pretending to be a saint in front of me, Su Yunqin…you…you…”

Unable to catch her breath, Zhang Chuchu’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed in a faint.

“Teacher Zhang!”

“Teacher Zhang has fainted!”

“Ambulance, call an ambulance, quick!”

The previously calmed surroundings erupted into chaos once more.

Within moments, medical staff arrived on the scene. Zhang Chuchu was hastily lifted onto a stretcher and carried away from the stage.

Standing onstage, Su Yunqin’s eyes brimmed with tears, looking pitifully at Luo Zizhen. “Zhenzhen, did I do something wrong?”

As she spoke, she deliberately rubbed her wrist—the spot where Zhang Chuchu had struck her. Not that it hurt, for Chuchu’s strength was weak as she neared unconsciousness, but Su Yunqin wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by, and began to coquettishly question Luo Zizhen.

Compared to Zhang Chuchu, Luo Zizhen’s mind at that moment was filled with confusion.

Because, from start to finish, her intention was to embarrass Su Yunqin, hoping she’d injure her ankle and fall on stage. Yet, before she could make her move, Zhang Chuchu had already collapsed.

But that wasn’t the most important thing—the real issue was that somehow, her own foot had kicked toward Zhang Chuchu. She wasn’t sure where she had hit; the forced split had left her in agony, her vision swimming.

By the time she caught her breath, she saw Zhang Chuchu clutching her ribs, sitting pale-faced across from her.

So now, she wasn’t even certain if she’d kicked Zhang Chuchu, or if Zhang Chuchu was framing Su Yunqin.

Watching Zhang Chuchu faint, panic seized her.

If anything happened to Chuchu, she’d certainly be implicated!

Guilt and anxiety tangled in her heart, and by now, Luo Zizhen had lost all composure.

“Huh?”

Su Yunqin’s question snapped her back to reality. Not quite catching what Su Yunqin had asked, she managed a perfunctory smile. “It’s fine, it’s all a misunderstanding. Teacher Zhang is very magnanimous.”

“Is she?” Su Yunqin’s face was full of worry, her gaze flickering toward Lu Yiqing.

This topsy-turvy man had just descended upon the stage with righteous authority, but since Zhang Chuchu fainted, he hadn’t uttered a word.

Granted, only five or six minutes had passed since the incident. But as the eldest grandson of the Lu family, that was more than enough time to issue orders or say a few words.

Yet… not a word?

Su Yunqin couldn’t help but wonder, but outwardly, she maintained her pitiful demeanor.

“President Lu, what should we do next?”

Just as curiosity about Lu Yiqing’s behavior rose within her, Zhang Zhichang stepped onto the stage.

As the show’s producer, he shouldered considerable responsibility. But when the accident happened, he had no choice—he could only feign ignorance to preserve the program. Now that Lu Yiqing had stepped up, he was ready to cooperate, but the next decisions lay with Lu Yiqing.

“Release a statement: the show will be delayed by one day, and today’s filming is over.”

Lu Yiqing swept his gaze across the crowd, then fixed it on Zhang Zhichang, taking a deep breath. “Notify the PR team—I don’t want today’s incident to get out of hand.”

A live broadcast accident was bound to attract attention, but as long as the PR was handled well, it wouldn’t become a scandal.

Zhang Zhichang nodded. “Don’t worry, President Lu, I’ll take care of it.”

“Good.”

Lu Yiqing nodded, then turned his gaze to Su Yunqin. He glanced at her foot, then at Luo Zizhen, his tone cool.

“Su Yunqin, Luo Zizhen, don’t force yourselves. If you’re injured, go to the hospital.”

“Thank you for your concern, President Lu, I’m alright,” Luo Zizhen replied, overjoyed.

Maintaining her persona, Su Yunqin nodded pitifully in front of so many people.

But in the next moment, Lu Yiqing gave a cold, indifferent snort and turned to leave the stage.

After Lu Yiqing’s departure, Zhang Zhichang clapped his hands and called out loudly, “Wrap up, wrap up! Contestants, exit in an orderly fashion. Stage managers, keep the audience organized.

All departments, shut down your equipment. After wrap-up, department heads, there’s a meeting!”

With Zhang Zhichang’s orders, the staff who had been standing motionless now sprang into action.

Because of the unexpected incident, the only sounds on stage were the footsteps and murmurs of departing audience members; elsewhere, there was utter silence.

Even those staffers secretly pleased at this rare break dared not show it.

Luo Zizhen was led from the scene by her team.

Wang Tao and Shao Xinghui’s teams also came up.

But neither of them left immediately; instead, they approached Su Yunqin.

“Yunqin, are you alright? Do you want us to take you to the hospital?” Shao Xinghui asked as he reached her.

Wang Tao added, “Yes, our cars have plenty of space.”