When Zhang Kexin regained consciousness, her mind was still in a haze. But as clarity returned, she suddenly remembered the intense pain in her legs right before she blacked out.
Panicking, she immediately tried to check her condition—only to discover that she had completely lost sensation in the lower half of her body. Her calves felt hollow and empty. She simply couldn't accept this devastating reality.
At first, she wanted to end her life. But when she tried, she found her hands were tightly shackled with handcuffs.
At that moment, Zhang Kexin truly regretted everything. She couldn't understand why she had acted out of jealousy, fabricating rumors and attacking others. Why had she impulsively jumped off a building, only to end up permanently disabled...
But now that she was fully lucid, the thought of suicide no longer crossed her mind. She wanted to live—no matter how broken her body was, she wanted to keep living.
In the end, Zhang Kexin was charged with defamation and slander by the Municipal People's Court and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. However, considering her recent major surgery, the sentence was suspended for six months.
As for Zhang Maosheng and the others, due to the severity of their crimes, they were transferred to the High People's Court for trial.
According to the first trial verdict: Zhang Maosheng had maliciously concealed the truth about an accident eight years ago in which four workers had died.
In addition, he had colluded with officials and evaded taxes totaling 700 million yuan. For multiple crimes, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, permanently stripped of his political rights, and had all his property confiscated.
Of course, Zhang Maosheng refused to accept the verdict and filed an appeal, but it was ultimately rejected. The Supreme People's Court upheld the original sentence.
(Note from the author: The sentencing details above do not reflect actual laws. Please don't overanalyze or compare to real-world legal standards. Thank you!)
When netizens learned of the final verdicts for the Zhang father and daughter, they collectively cheered with satisfaction.
During this time, Jiang Yuqi didn't pay much attention to the outside world—she still had a mission to complete. Her top priority now was to secure a debut spot in the girl group at all costs.
As the team leader, Jiang Yuqi didn't let the power go to her head. She didn't claim the best parts of the performance for herself. Instead, she assigned them based on each member's abilities and encouraged fair competition.
The song they were assigned this time had the most challenging part in the high notes. Jiang Yuqi, knowing that high notes weren't her strength, didn't overestimate herself just because the part was important. Instead, she opted for a sub-vocal position that suited her better.
This decision impressed the other members—after all, she didn't act selfishly or form cliques. She relied on talent and fairness.
Netizens also had plenty to say:
"I like this girl! She puts the team's interest first."
"This way of distributing parts is amazing. Other teams are a mess, always fighting tooth and nail for screen time."
"Eh, I think she gave up the high note part because she simply couldn't do it."
"Even so, knowing when to step back is a strength too. Look at Team 9's leader—she wasn't suited for the part but still insisted on taking it. Compared to that, Jiang Yuqi is already doing great."
"This team is too harmonious—I'm not even used to it anymore."
"Same here. I just came from one of those chaotic, backstabbing teams. The contrast is wild."
And what surprised the team even more was Jiang Yuqi's ability to recognize talent and assign roles wisely. When she realized one member learned choreography quickly, she appointed her as the group's dance coach.
It was a golden opportunity to shine. Everyone knew that being helpful on-screen could win over viewers and attract fans—after all, who doesn't love a sweet, helpful girl?
Jiang Yuqi believed that since this was a team competition, she couldn't only think about herself. As a competent leader, she had to consider the big picture.
Since there was already someone suitable for the role, she saw no reason to suppress talent. Jiang Yuqi had full confidence: she could still outperform others and debut successfully.
If she had to resort to undermining others to win, that kind of victory would be meaningless and humiliating.
On the other hand, Li Yuan's team was the complete opposite. Her members were basically yes-men with no opinions of their own. She made every decision single-handedly.
Li Yuan was just too domineering. Whenever someone expressed a different opinion, she'd counter with a flood of rebuttals, leaving the person speechless and embarrassed.
After a few instances of this, the members stopped voicing their thoughts, and the whole team's atmosphere grew stifling and suffocating.
As for part distribution? It was all done by Li Yuan alone. She gave herself the most eye-catching parts in the song.
In her view, she was the strongest, so taking the best parts was only fair.
Though her teammates were unhappy about it, none dared argue on camera or expose their team's disunity to the public.
Since the face-off between Jiang Yuqi's and Li Yuan's teams was highly anticipated by the audience, the production team focused on editing their footage—highlighting the stark contrast between their leadership styles.
"I still prefer a collaborative leadership style. Li Yuan is just too overbearing."
"You can't say that. Her team is weak and doesn't speak up—what do you expect her to do?"
"You must be blind. Didn't you see her shut down her team members every time they tried to speak?"
"Exactly. After comparing the two, it's clear why people like Jiang Yuqi."
"Isn't this a talent show? If Li Yuan is that good, she should have more say."
Gradually, the barrage of comments shifted tone, twisting into a full-blown war between Jiang Yuqi's and Li Yuan's fanbases, leaving other viewers completely dumbfounded.
Backstage, however, the staff were thrilled—because the more intense the fan wars, the more attention the show got. It was basically free advertising, and they loved it.
When formal practice started, Jiang Yuqi's team was like they were injected with adrenaline, often staying late to train together.
Any time a member had a good idea, they would openly share it and see if it could be added to their performance to elevate the whole team.
When a coach happened to observe this during a random check-in, they were deeply moved. This was what true team cohesion looked like. This was exactly the kind of group spirit the competition was meant to cultivate.
Time flew by, and the second live performance of Dream-Chasing Girls was approaching. The number of in-person audience applicants had quadrupled since the last round, a clear sign of the show's growing popularity.