47. Ji Rufeng, Whom One Cannot Dodge or Escape

Inside the lounge, only Ji Fanxing remained.

Her calm, serene face was reflected in the mirror. “Mother, Sheng Xue was the one who chose to challenge me.”

“Your elder sister is so outstanding—it’s normal for her to have ambition!” Ruan Lin reproached. “But you? All you care about is your own vanity, with no thought for your sister’s feelings!”

Ji Fanxing unhurriedly removed the hairpin from her ear.

“Didn’t my eldest sister disregard my feelings as well? She knew that if I lost this challenge, I’d be eliminated. Still, she insisted on changing her song at the last minute, just to defeat me.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. After a moment, Ruan Lin’s voice was heavy with disappointment. “So you’d rather see your own sister fail, just so you can win?”

“It’s not about wanting to see anyone fail,” Ji Fanxing said firmly, telling her mother the truth. “It’s simply that my eldest sister wasn’t strong enough.”

“Nonsense!” Ruan Lin finally exploded. “Sheng Xue has always been exceptional! If you hadn’t done something, how could she possibly lose to you?”

“The only thing I did was show my true ability.” Ji Fanxing was utterly unaffected by her mother’s emotions, even sounding a touch indifferent. “Mother, is it really so hard to admit that I’m more talented than my eldest sister?”

“You—!”

Accustomed to a life of privilege, Ruan Lin was so angered by Ji Fanxing’s coldness that she clutched at her chest, unable to utter another word.

This daughter really had become unrecognizable—hurting her own sister, and now speaking to her parents with such an attitude.

“Mother, if there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now.” Ji Fanxing waited for a long time but heard no response from her mother. Just as she was about to end the call, the silence on the other end was broken by a distant voice, “Mother, give me the phone. I’ll handle it.”

The voice was full of a young man’s unique energy and vitality.

Her younger brother, Ji Rufeng, shouted angrily, “How dare you hang up! You always use your elder sister to get attention, and now you’re bullying our mother with no respect at all!”

Fortunately, Ji Fanxing had the foresight to hold the phone away from her ear, or she would have been deafened by his outburst.

“Ji Fanxing! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll quit the show and come home! Stop disgracing our family out there!”

After all these years, he was just as overbearing as she remembered.

Ji Fanxing could still be patient with her mother, but when it came to this brother, she saw no need to be polite.

“Ji Rufeng, I’m your elder sister. Isn’t it you who’s being disrespectful, speaking to me in this tone? You little brat, hurry up and apologize.”

In Ji Rufeng’s memory, Ji Fanxing at home had always been timid and invisible, yielding to him at every turn.

This was the first time she asserted herself as his elder sister, and he was so furious he shouted, “I don’t have a sister like you!”

With that, there was a loud bang—the call was cut off.

“Ah, the arrogance of youth...” Ji Fanxing sneered. Since her brother refused to apologize, she’d just have to teach him a lesson the next time they met—about what it meant to be an elder sister, and about manners.

Perhaps that meeting would come soon enough. In her previous life, during the finals, the production team had arranged for contestants’ families to participate in the broadcast.

She had withdrawn from the competition, but her mother had forcibly dragged her onto the show to support her eldest sister—and that had been the beginning of everything that followed.

Sunlight filtered through the gauzy curtains, spilling across Ji Fanxing’s bed. She stretched lazily.

The stillness of the room was broken by her phone vibrating. Liu Qi’s name flashed on the screen.

“Good morning, Producer Liu,” she greeted.

“Fanxing, there’s an event tonight I’d like to invite you to.” Liu Qi chose his words carefully. “We’ve established a partnership with DouShow, and they’re asking the contestants to livestream tonight and interact with fans on the platform.”

“Livestreaming?” Ji Fanxing was a bit surprised—there hadn’t been such an event in her previous life.

She quickly understood. DouShow dominated the short video market in Longguo, and this season, “King of All Singers” had become a sensation, making such a mutually beneficial partnership possible.

DouShow would give the show ample exposure, and “King of All Singers” would use the contestants to draw traffic to DouShow.

Since Ji Fanxing had refused all management companies and advertising deals on her own, her reputation for being unyielding had spread widely.

Sensing her silence, Liu Qi spoke even more cautiously. “DouShow specifically requested you. Would you be willing to...?”

“No problem. I’ll do it,” Ji Fanxing replied without hesitation.

Once the show ended, and given that she hadn’t signed with any company, she needed platforms like DouShow to increase her exposure.

Since they had specifically named her, refusing now would offend the wrong people.

Why not take the opportunity to win some goodwill and attract more fans for the future?

After confirming the livestream schedule with Liu Qi, Ji Fanxing began her preparations.

Despite all her years of working on Earth, she had never once held a phone to stream for herself.

She recalled the look and feel of popular livestreams in Huaxia and started arranging her space accordingly.

Ji Rufeng’s steps were light and confident as he walked along the tree-shaded paths of the campus. A star on the basketball team and a model student in the eyes of his teachers, he was used to attention.

Today, though, in hallways, by the sports field, even in the library’s corners, classmates gathered in hushed conversation around a single topic—the highly anticipated DouShow livestream that evening.

“Have you heard? ‘King of All Singers’ is collaborating with DouShow!”

“Of course! I can’t wait to see the contestants’ livestreams.”

Ji Rufeng arched an eyebrow, secretly pleased. His sister, Ji Shengxue, had quite a following on DouShow.

Just then, a shy boy with black-framed glasses pushed through the crowd toward him.

“Ji Rufeng…” the boy stammered, “your sister will be in tonight’s livestream, right? She has a lot of fans on DouShow, doesn’t she?”

Ji Rufeng was just about to boast, when the boy added, “I really love your sister Ji Fanxing’s singing! She’s incredible!”

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

“Oh?” Ji Rufeng’s expression darkened instantly. “Who did you say?”

The boy, oblivious to the shift in mood, continued, “Ji Fanxing! She won first place on ‘King of All Singers’!” He even gave a thumbs-up in admiration.

Ji Rufeng’s face changed at once. He snapped, “Get out of my way!”

As he passed the classroom door, he overheard more discussion about the evening’s livestream:

“I can’t wait to see Ji Fanxing!”

“She’s like a perfect heroine straight out of a novel!”

Every word struck him like a heavy blow. Ji Rufeng found the world absurd beyond belief. “Perfect?” Ha!

As night fell, the internet was already ablaze with excitement.

Though Ji Shengxue had left the stage, she still attracted attention—countless fans poured into her livestream, leaving messages of concern and comfort.

Meanwhile, Ye Yu seized the opportunity to stir up drama in her own livestream: “Oh~ Our sweet, gentle Shengxue has been forced off the stage! Tell me, everyone, is that fair?”