His sarcastic tone was too obvious, and Chu Hefei and the others all frowned.
Mo Yichen, playing the good guy, scolded him coldly, "How can you speak like that? It's a meeting between a man and his girlfriend, and it's none of your business to point fingers here? Apologize immediately!"
"Yes~" Mo Zha reluctantly swayed his body.
Turning his head, he looked at Yu Wenli and said, "I'm sorry, Teacher Yu. It's my fault for not speaking properly. Please don't misunderstand."
His attitude was flippant.
There was no trace of apology in his demeanor.
Mo Yichen clicked his tongue displeasantly and was about to scold him.
Xie Jinyi tossed her hair and smiled, "You can learn to speak properly, but if your heart is malicious and you deliberately slander, it's truly disheartening."
She raised her eyes to look at Mo Yichen and explained with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Xiao Xue is a stylist I hired at a high price. I brought her with me, and Director Qiu knows about it. If you don't believe me, Teacher Mo can call and ask."
Mo Yichen naturally knew that Yu Wenli wouldn't secretly bring his girlfriend over.
His words were meant to secretly frame him for being unruly.
But he couldn't admit it openly.
"Oh, so that's how it is. I thought Teacher Yu couldn't stand the pain of missing his beloved."
His teasing tone was intended to dismiss the matter, a common tactic of his.
If he could frame someone, he would. If not, he would smooth things over.
Either way, he wouldn't lose anything.
He might even gain the title of a good friend.
Because everyone implicitly understood that only close friends could joke around so freely.
But in reality, Yu Wenli was simply too lazy to deal with him.
Xie Jinyi, however, was not going to indulge him. "Listen to what Teacher Mo is saying. Do you think Yu Wenli is that unprofessional? Director Qiu has explicitly forbidden it. Do you think he would do something like that?"
The term "unprofessional" was too serious. Mo Yichen immediately denied it, "How could that be? It was just a joke."
"Your joke almost labeled Yu Wenli as abusing his authority. They say you're so smooth, Teacher Mo. Was this a slip-up, or intentional?" Xie Jinyi pressed on.
"I..." Mo Yichen wanted to explain aggrievedly.
Xie Jinyi cut him off, "Perhaps Teacher Mo meant no harm, but what if you encounter someone like me who tends to overthink things and misunderstand? So, Teacher Mo, you should think twice before speaking in the future, lest you cause unnecessary trouble for others. Don't you agree?"
She smiled charmingly, appearing to be considering his well-being,
yet subtly stripping away a piece of his hypocritical mask.
Even Wen Tingxue, who was not involved in the entertainment industry and had a pure heart, sensed his wrongdoings.
Previously, he had intentionally or unintentionally framed Yu Wenli with statements like, "Teacher Yu specifically brought you here," or "It's a meeting between a man and his girlfriend." These statements implicitly told everyone: Look, Yu Wenli is just that unruly.
This kind of subtle influence could easily create the illusion that it was indeed the case. If Yu Wenli were to do something similar again in the future, people would inadvertently recall this instance, thus reinforcing the impression of him being "unruly."
After a few such occurrences, the false could become the true.
And it wouldn't be Mo Yichen saying it, but the people around them, which would further enhance its credibility.
Compared to Jiang Tu's direct attacks, Mo Yichen's subtle tactics were truly hard to guard against.
Perhaps he hadn't expected Xie Jinyi to be so sharp-tongued and daring.
Mo Yichen's prepared remarks got stuck in his throat, and he could only give an awkward laugh. "Yes, it was my oversight. I'll definitely pay attention next time."
"Next time?" Chu Hefei's voice rose in mockery. "Teacher Mo, you really have very little confidence in yourself. You can't even guarantee something as small as this. No wonder Mo Zha talks back to you repeatedly. It seems the rot starts from the top!"
By the end of his sentence, his expression had turned cold, as if they had a deep-seated enmity.
"How can you speak like that!" Mo Zha pointed at him indignantly.
Mo Yichen's face twitched, and he quickly held Mo Zha back, saying, "Is what he said wrong? Look at how you apologized just now! There was no sincerity at all!
"Yes, Teacher Yu did criticize you before, but he was doing it for your own good. If you don't work hard, fine, but you keep giving him the cold shoulder! How am I supposed to teach you from now on? How am I supposed to face Teacher Yu?!"
His words were delivered with great heartache, emphasizing his innocence.
Clearly, he and Mo Zha were colluding to trap Yu Wenli.
Now, he was shifting all the blame onto Mo Zha, while portraying himself in a good light.
Wen Tingxue had truly witnessed the acting skills of people in the entertainment industry, who were all like Oscar winners.
It was truly not a world that ordinary people like her could navigate.
"Yes!"
A spark of anger suddenly flared in Mo Zha's eyes. He gritted his teeth and accepted the blame. "It's my fault for disappointing Teacher Yu."
It was always like this!
His reputation was important, but what about his?
He also wanted to make a career in the entertainment industry.
But he was the one asking for favors.
Mo Zha quickly swallowed his resentment and stiffly apologized to Yu Wenli.
Chu Hefei stood by, nitpicking, almost pushing Mo Zha to the brink of exploding.
Fearing a mishap, Mo Yichen stepped in to mediate, saying, "Since he already knows he was wrong, let's all give him a chance to correct himself. Besides, Teacher Yu has always been magnanimous and surely won't dwell on such matters."
He brought Yu Wenli into it, and Chu Hefei indeed stopped speaking.
However, his eyes remained fixed on Yu Wenli, waiting for his stance.
Xie Jinyi knew that Yu Wenli disliked getting involved in such matters, and it was possible that Mo Yichen would retaliate.
It would be a loss.
"Wait!" She deliberately spoke before Yu Wenli.
Everyone instinctively looked at her. Mo Yichen frowned uncomfortably and asked, "Does Miss Xie have something to say?"
Fearing that she might say something detrimental, he didn't give her a chance to speak, intending to put the matter to rest.
But Xie Jinyi was faster than him. "I suddenly remembered that there are rumors circulating that the two of you are at odds."
"How is that possible!" Mo Yichen denied it.
Xie Jinyi was determined to teach him a lesson and couldn't possibly pay attention to him.
She turned her face sideways and asked Yu Wenli, "He says he didn't mean those words intentionally. Do you believe him?"
Yu Wenli indeed didn't want any direct conflict with Mo Yichen.
But with the opportunity presented, why would he let it go?
"Who knows what goes on in someone's heart?"
He said this with a half-smile, which indirectly meant: he didn't believe his nonsense.
Chu Hefei chuckled out loud. "It seems there's no smoke without fire."
His tone was as sarcastic as Mo Zha's. Mo Yichen's face contorted for a moment, then he opened his mouth, trying to salvage the situation.
As if on cue, the elevator door opened, and Chu Hefei called out to everyone to get in.
"Let's stop wasting time and go eat! There's nothing else to talk about."
A group of people swarmed in, completely ignoring Mo Yichen's expression.
As the elevator door closed, Chu Hefei immediately burst into laughter.
"Did you guys see that just now? Mo Yichen's face! It was almost green!"
"Right, right! Sister Xiaoyi is still the most capable. No one dared to talk back to him before, making him think he's so great!"
"Exactly! He's clearly so hypocritical, yet he insists on marketing himself as a perfect noble young master. Ugh~"
Even the gentlest Jiang Yixian let out a slight, joyful smile.
He seemed unable to contain himself.
Wen Tingxue was curious, "Why do you all have such a big issue with Mo Yichen? What did he do to you?"
Chu Hefei: "Little sister-in-law, the fact that you can ask that means you don't know him well!"
"Oh?" Wen Tingxue raised an eyebrow, willing to listen.
Chu Hefei immediately started complaining. "To be honest, before coming to record the show, I really thought he was a good person. Alright, I admit I was blind.
"But he really knows how to act! During the audition, compared to the other two mentors, he was so approachable and had an excellent reputation."
To prove he wasn't lying, he specifically pulled Jiang Yixian as a witness.
"Xiao Jiang, remember? During the first round, I told you I definitely wanted to choose Mo Yichen as my mentor."
"Mhm," Jiang Yixian nodded with a smile, his black hair swaying on his shoulders, looking gentle and noble. "But less than three hours later, you were cursing me out."
Chu Hefei snorted, "Someone like him, with his fake sincerity, deserves to be cursed to death! He puts on a respectable front, but behind the scenes, he's truly out of his mind! It was clearly his cousin who lacked singing skills, yet he snatched someone else's spot to promote him.
"What? He's just bullying us ordinary people who have no power or say! If he's so capable, why doesn't he take Fu Xin's spot? He's just picking on the weak! He can't afford to offend the Fu family, so he takes it out on us!"
Who knew how much he hated his own blindness when he accidentally overheard those words.
What a scoundrel!
He had also reached where he was today step by step as an ordinary person, so why couldn't he help them?
"Is this considered falling out of fandom and backstabbing?" Xie Jinyi teased.
Chu Hefei shrugged. "You could say that. Anyway, I'll hate him for life."
"Hating who?" Que You lowered the car window and sized him up. "Who made you unhappy again?"
As he spoke, he had already walked to the parking lot. Que You had driven over to pick them up and happened to overhear his complaint.
Chu Hefei immediately smiled. "It's not important, it's not important. I'm happy just seeing you."
Que You: "..."
-
Hotpot restaurant.
Although they requested a private room, there were quite a few people, and with Que You, there were exactly ten.
It was difficult to arrange seating, so Que You suggested Yu Wenli take the main seat, with himself and Wen Tingxue sitting next to him.
Xie Jinyi, being good friends with Wen Tingxue, sat next to her.
As soon as the words were out, Chu Hefei leaned in front of him and asked, "Since we're good friends, can I sit next to you?"
Que You didn't care who sat next to him and nodded. "Whatever."
After they were settled, the waiter brought in the hotpot base.
The side dishes were also served one by one.
The food at this restaurant was indeed good, and with some drinks, everyone soon loosened up.
They started egging on Wen Tingxue and Yu Wenli to drink the cup-sharing toast.
Yu Wenli was in a good mood today, and the young lady didn't object, so they drank the cup-sharing toast as everyone wished.
"Ooh!" Chu Hefei led the cheers. "Congratulations! When you get married, Brother Yu, you must invite us!"
"We've already prepared our wedding gift money!"
Yu Wenli smiled and nodded. "I will definitely inform you."
The more tipsy ones started matchmaking Xie Jinyi and Que You, saying that they had known each other for so long, so drinking a cup-sharing toast wouldn't be too much, right?
Xie Jinyi and Que You were both easygoing, so of course, they wouldn't refuse a cup-sharing toast.
"Why don't you drink with me instead?"
Before Que You could get up, Chu Hefei reached out and covered his wine glass, smiling. "Brother You's cup-sharing toast should be with me."
Everyone: "?"