Chapter 643: Chapter 643

Wen Ningning said with a forced smile, "No, even if we meet again in the future, I wouldn’t want to collaborate with you. What if you trick me? Now that I’ve left the team, I hope we can part on good terms. Please, don’t go looking for trouble with me."

Li Zimu’s expression stiffened, she hadn’t expected Wen Ningning to speak her mind so openly in front of everyone.

She said awkwardly, "Ningning, what are you talking about? We were partners, why would I trick you?"

Wen Ningning laughed lightly and glanced at Li Zimu and Zhang Yingru before saying meaningfully, "At JY, I’m not the only team member you’ve tricked. Maybe you’ve all forgotten, but I never will."

After saying that, without waiting for any reaction from Zhang Yingru or Li Zimu, Wen Ningning stepped back, "I have other things to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first. You all can continue chatting."

The members of JY watched Wen Ningning’s retreating figure with mixed feelings.

They didn’t understand where Wen Ningning got the courage to confront Li Zimu. Could it be true, as Wen Ningning said, that Li Zimu had done something underhanded?

Before the other members could react, Zhang Yingru scanned them with her eyes and said sternly, "Although Wen Ningning has left the group, and we’re down one member, which means increased exposure for each of you, you mustn’t slack off. Training should be more rigorous and serious than before."

"The loss of a member is a heavy blow to JY, but it’s also an opportunity to rise from the ashes. You must seize this chance to make an even more brilliant girl group! Three members are gone, but seven of you remain, which is just the right number for a girl group. Keep it up!"

The members’ expressions turned solemn, their morale boosted, and they shouted loudly, "We will work hard!"

Zhang Yingru nodded, her speech then shifted, and her eyes grew sharp—

"I know the departure of Wen Ningning may make you feel unsettled and even lead to undesirable thoughts. Let me make it clear to you, put any petty schemes to rest!"

"JY will not dissolve. On the contrary, if you seize the opportunity, there might be a great chance ahead!"

"Now is a critical time, we all must strive and work hard, not thinking about shrinking back or escaping. If I find out that anyone is gossiping behind the backs and unsettling the team, you can’t blame me for being ruthless!"

Zhang Yingru gave them a stern talking-to before instructing Li Zimu to take the members back to the dance studio to continue practicing.

She demanded that the members remain vigilant, always ready to take the stage, and required each member to maintain their best condition.

Meaning the state of being immediately able to go on air if asked to, fearless and full of confidence, not doubting themselves, negative, or unprepared for anything.

Without a doubt, many members regained their confidence after Zhang Yingru’s inspiring talk, firming up their own ideals even more.

Their biggest fear was that the issue with Wen Ningning would drag on without resolution, that online opinion would remain unsettled, and JY would be mired deeper and deeper in the mud.

However, by morning, most of the negative news about JY had been removed, Wen Ningning had clarified things for JY, and now she had left the group amicably, with the storm seemingly passing them by. They believed JY had weathered the storm!

JY hadn’t fallen, and might even advance further—this became the reason many members held on and continued to persevere.

Everyone wanted to be reborn from the ashes, even those who were contemplating leaving JY. They were torn between wanting to leave, feeling there was no future at JY, and wanting to stay, fearing JY might take off without them.

Anyway, JY’s decline has already been halted, and it doesn’t matter if they stay for a few more months since they still have some engagements. But if they leave now and JY rises again later... those group members thought, they would definitely regret it.

The members each harbored different thoughts, but their ultimate goal was to stand up again, so their solidarity was unprecedented and unparalleled.

Li Zimu saw this change in the members, feeling both gratified and sad. Gratified because no matter how difficult things were, they could keep going, and each person had become more mature after weathering this crisis. The rıghtful source is NoveI(F)ire.net

What saddened her was that she still couldn’t see the road ahead for JY...

Meanwhile, Wen Ningning and lawyer Zhang Cheng left the JY company and got into the same car together.

They were heading to different places, and after a long stretch of silence in the car, Wen Ningning reached her destination first and prepared to get out.

Before she got out of the car, she summoned the courage to ask Zhang Cheng, "Will you tell Zhang Yingru about my subsequent arrangements?"

Wen Ningning was very aware of Zhang Yingru’s capabilities as a former agent; she was adept at winning people over with her methods.

If Zhang Yingru was determined to find out who had helped her, she would undoubtedly approach Zhang Cheng.

It wasn’t that she doubted others’ professional ethics, but in the face of money, many people would choose to capitulate.

Zhang Cheng seemed to have anticipated her question and replied without a change in expression, "No, Miss Wen, I am a lawyer with professional ethics and will not easily disclose my client’s information."

Wen Ningning’s heart lightened. She thanked him, quickly opened the car door, and got out.

Zhang Cheng watched her retreating figure, shaking his head lightly, and silently added to himself, provided that you’re my true employer.

Wen Ningning always thought that Zhang Cheng was brought in by Meng Wan. She believed that Meng Wan held a grudge against JY when she left the group and wanted to see JY fail, which was why she was so actively helping her. Unfortunately, she was wrong from start to finish.

In fact, while Meng Wan was the one who seemingly facilitated matters on the surface, the biggest behind-the-scenes boss was actually He Jinxia.

At that moment, the frequently mentioned He Jinxia was busy filming.

The scene she was filming was straightforward: she just wandered about, feeling for her weapon and experiencing what Bai Ze described as the "psychometry."

To suit the needs of this scene, the production team had prepared a plethora of props, including unidentifiable puppets, pottery, chinaware, pots and pans, teacups, and even rags!

All of these items had undergone an aging process without exception. To prevent any slip-ups, the production team not only aged them but also covered them with a thick layer of mud.

This approach only allowed one to discern the shape of the items but made it impossible to distinguish their specific colors or styles.

To provide a plausible explanation for why the items were covered in mud, the screenwriter crafted a backstory. Nine Building Lane, famous in Mirror World as an antique street, was known not only for its antiques but also for its unique method of antiquing.

If someone wanted to buy an antique, they could touch it but never wash off the mud. They had to purchase the antique and then wash it with water at home. This resulted in relying more on luck than expertise when buying antiques.

In Nine Building Lane, this method of antiquing was referred to as "gambling on antiques."