151: Chapter 151 Holy crap, you're even more ruthless than me!

Soon, Lu Li turned and walked outward, his pace calm as if nothing had just happened.

Just as he reached the doorway of the waiting area, a rush of hurried footsteps suddenly came from behind.

"Wait."

Lu Li stopped in his tracks and turned his head.

Shen Qingxue ran out from the waiting area, her high ponytail swinging an arc behind her, a hint of anxiety on her face.

"Why did you come out?"

Lu Li was stunned for a moment.

Shen Qingxue didn't answer his question, instead walking up to him and coming to a stop.

Then she turned around to look at the staff member who came out behind them, her tone still calm, but every word carried weight.

"If Lu Li leaves, then I leave too."

The staff member's expression changed instantly.

No, what kind of act is this again?!

"Teacher Shen, this... this isn't appropriate, right? It'll be your turn for the stage walk very soon, and you're this competition's favorite to win. Both the audience and the platform have high expectations for you—"

"That's your business."

Shen Qingxue interrupted him, her voice not loud, but exceptionally firm.

"Lu Li is my partner and my friend. If he can't stay here, then I won't stay either."

The staff member opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but looking into Shen Qingxue's cold eyes, the words at the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down.

What a mess, what a sin!

"Um... Teacher Shen, why don't you calm down first? We can negotiate this matter—"

"There's nothing to negotiate."

Shen Qingxue's tone left no room for discussion.

"Either Lu Li stays, or we both leave together."

The atmosphere in the corridor instantly froze.

Sweat had already begun to bead on the staff member's forehead.

The few young staffers behind him looked at each other in dismay, none of them daring to make a sound.

Right at this moment, a commotion came from the waiting area.

The Flowered-Shirt Man had followed them out at some point, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and a gloating expression on his face.

"Yo-yo-yo, is this a joint suicide out of love?"

His voice was sarcastic, carrying undisguised mockery.

"One resorts to hitting people, the other threatens the organizers. You two really are a match made in heaven."

Shen Qingxue tilted her head to glance at him, her gaze icy.

The Flowered-Shirt Man shivered under her gaze, but still refused to back down verbally.

"What are you looking at? Am I wrong? You, Shen Qingxue, aren't you just relying on—"

Before he could finish his sentence.

Shen Qingxue had already walked up right in front of him.

Everyone thought she was going to say something or do something.

But nobody expected...

Shen Qingxue directly raised her foot and kicked out cleanly and decisively.

That kick hit squarely on the shin of the Flowered-Shirt Man.

The force wasn't huge, but the placement was extremely tricky.

The Flowered-Shirt Man's expression shifted from mockery to terror, and from terror to agony as his mouth opened, letting out a scream like a slaughtered pig.

"Ahhh—!"

He hugged his shin and squatted down, his face turning the color of a pig's liver, tears almost falling from his eyes.

"You... you..."

It hurt so much that he couldn't even speak properly, and could only point at Shen Qingxue, his fingers trembling.

Everyone in the waiting area was dumbfounded.

Even Lu Li was stunned.

He stared at Shen Qingxue, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes wide-rounded.

Holy crap!

What did he just see?!

Shen Qingxue kicked someone?!

And she was even more ruthless than him; earlier he had just grabbed someone by the collar to scare them.

But Shen Qingxue, on the other hand, went straight in with a kick.

Hiss...

No, sis, that wasn't what you said in the corridor just a moment ago, right?

What happened to agreeing that it wasn't worth dirtying your hands?

Does that mean you feel hands can't be dirtied, but feet can?

The corridor was silent for a full three seconds.

Then, Shen Qingxue turned around to face the completely dumbfounded staff member, her tone still breezy and detached.

"Alright, I didn't want to make any decisions that threaten the organizers, so I've made the decision for you."

"You saw it too, I've used physical force now as well. Go ahead and throw both Lu Li and me out together."

Staff member: "..."

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, completely at a loss for what to say.

Should he just shout out...

Oh heavens, oh earth, I'm just a wage slave, please don't torture me!

As for the few young staffers behind him, they had completely turned to stone. This was the first time they had ever seen such a situation...

"Teacher... Teacher Shen... You this..."

The staff member's voice was trembling; he had no idea how to wrap this up.

By rights, hitting someone—whether contestant or family member—should result in being invited out.

But the problem was, Shen Qingxue was no ordinary contestant.

She was the heavy favorite to win this competition, the contestant with the highest online popularity, and the platform's ultimate weapon for driving traffic.

In other words, she alone shouldered at least half of the attention for this finals match.

But to throw her out now?

Then would tomorrow's finals still be held? Would they still trend on hot searches? Where would the platform save face?

Converted down, that meant losing a huge sum of money!

But if she wasn't expelled...

That dead guy was still over there hugging his leg and howling, and other contestants were watching too. Did they still want these rules or not?

The staff member felt half of his hair turn white in this single instant.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and then turned to whisper a few words to a young staffer behind him.

The young staffer nodded and ran off quickly.

Then the staff member turned back around to face Shen Qingxue, his expression switching from dilemma to pleading.

"Teacher Shen, how about this: you and Mr. Lu go back to the waiting area to rest first, and I'll handle this matter, guaranteed to give you a satisfactory account."

Shen Qingxue looked at him without speaking.

The staff member felt his heart creeped out from her gaze, and added another sentence.

"I guarantee that contestant will not appear on tomorrow's finals stage again."

As soon as those words came out, the Flowered-Shirt Man, who had been squatting on the ground putting on an act, abruptly raised his head, his expression instantly filled with disbelief.

"What did you say? You want to disqualify me? No, on what grounds?! She was the one who struck first! I'm the victim here!"

The staff member glanced at him, his expression growing a lot colder.

"On what grounds? You're no good thing either, publicly insulting other contestants in the waiting area, disrupting competition order, and creating an extremely vile impact."

"I... I didn't!"

The Flowered-Shirt Man panicked, his voice turning sharp and hoarse.

"I only spoke a few home truths, I didn't use my hands! But she kicked me! Look at my leg!"

He rolled up his pant leg, revealing the wound on his shin.

But the staff member couldn't even be bothered to look.

"Everyone in the waiting area knows what you said by heart. Do you want me to pull the surveillance footage? When they sue you for spreading rumors, let's see what you do."

The Flowered-Shirt Man's face instantly turned pale white, leaving him with no way to argue.

In the end, he couldn't say anything out, only fiercely glaring at Lu Li and Shen Qingxue.

After taking two steps, he stopped again, looking back at Lu Li with undisguised hatred in his eyes.

"I'll remember you, Lu Li!"

Lu Li raised an eyebrow, smiled at him, and even waved his hand.

"Thanks for the thought, have a safe trip, I won't see you out."

The Flowered-Shirt Man's face grew even darker as he turned around through gritted teeth and disappeared down the end of the corridor.