CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 449 - 441 Stage Accident

At this moment, the eleven girls were already immersed in their performance, the initial few seconds of nervousness long gone.

Everyone knew their performance was a success, and the crowd grew even more exhilarated.

The formation shifted again, with the eleven girls reassembling into a single-line serpentine formation centered around Ye Yuwei.

Next, they were to execute the carousel group movement.

But just then, the feed sound in their ears suddenly disappeared, and the external music vanished as well.

The venue fell into complete silence; everyone realized a stage malfunction had occurred.

On stage, some members of Natural Girl stood there, blank-minded.

This was a live performance, with over ten thousand audience members watching, along with hundreds of industry peers.

The slip-up was enormous.

Ye Yuwei didn’t stop dancing; she continued transitioning between formations.

She used her gaze to signal Jiang Mengqi, who was positioned at the far left end. Mengqi understood immediately and kept singing.

On a stage devoid of musical accompaniment, a soft yet strong voice persisted in singing.

This steadied the eleven girls, galvanizing them to keep performing.

Cheers erupted from the fans in the audience, who felt their idols were absolutely remarkable.

Ye Yuwei, shaken by the incident, wondered why the music had suddenly cut off.

Five seconds later, the music came back on, but by then, their movements had already become chaotic.

Without the music’s cue, they could only dance based on instinct, unable to sync up perfectly.

When the music resumed, they quickly adjusted. Fortunately, the performance was nearing its conclusion.

What they didn’t know was that this perilous moment had already been captured by "passionate fans" and shared online.

The live director gazed at the Natural Girl members on stage and couldn’t help but feel an urge to curse.

Before the performance, Penguin had told him to cut the music for five seconds at a specific point.

Stunned by such a directive, he quickly realized it was Penguin’s ploy for publicity.

Though furious at this act of sabotaging the show, he was powerless to stop it.

Watching from the VIP balcony, Zhou Dan turned pale. "Mr. Wan, what if they had stopped performing just now?"

"But they didn’t stop, did they?" Wan Kai took a sip of coffee, his tone relaxed.

Such an absurd response left Zhou Dan at a loss for words, anger choking her reply.

Wan Kai smiled, saying, "If they can’t even pass this kind of test, how are they going to hold a concert? This event is the perfect boot camp."

"Mr. Wan, if they had stopped performing due to the music glitch, how badly would outsiders have slandered them?"

"This group is at a critical point of growth. They’ve already won over the audience with their talent."

"If this mistake damages their reputation, it would be a foolish loss."

Suppressing her anger, Zhou Dan reminded herself that she was responsible for these eleven girls.

"All outcomes are under control. We’ve prepared contingency plans."

"This risk is necessary."

"A key objective of this event is testing their audience appeal and stage adaptability."

Wan Kai’s words silenced Zhou Dan, who had already anticipated that this event wouldn’t be so simple.

On the first day, ninety percent of the distributed tickets had gone to fans of Natural Girl.

If these fans could buy tickets...

It meant they would spend money to attend these girls’ concerts as well.

The results were very promising: not only were all the tickets sold out, but scalpers were reselling them at a premium.

Though scalpers were detestable, their actions underscored the group’s popularity.

Wan Kai rose from his chair and smiled. "Ms. Zhou, the concert team has decided on three shows, with plans to expand to six."

His words left Zhou Dan frustrated.

If there were three concerts, they’d need at least two months. If six, they’d have to set aside four months.

There was less than a year and a half left until the contract expired.

"Mr. Wan, I still hope the company will reconsider. We also have a major group variety show to handle."

"This is part of the company’s established strategy; it’s non-negotiable." Leaving these words behind, Wan Kai turned and departed.

In the stands

Lu Bingbing and the others watched in shock, unable to argue anymore.

Natural Girl was indeed singing live and could maintain stable vocal control during such intense choreography.

"They’re incredible, truly worthy of being the top girl group." Lu Shanshan muttered hesitantly.

"We can’t compare to them; they have almost no weaknesses!" Wang Yiran said, feeling somewhat dejected.

"We shouldn’t underestimate ourselves. As long as we practice hard, we can do just as well," Yu Qingjia encouraged.

"Qingjia’s right. Casual viewers can’t discern the differences anyway. If I lead a seven-member group to execute the same choreography, the audience would still think we’re amazing," Lu Bingbing laughed.

This comment snapped everyone out of their daze.

Their professional training had led them into a mindset trap.

They were critiquing performances with the eyes of professional dancers and singers.

Natural Girl’s performance was strong, but the average audience couldn’t discern such nuances.

Only glaring differences—like between a perfect 100 score and a failing 60—would be noticeable.

"Maybe we’ll face them on a program someday. Whether it’s team battles or solos, we don’t need to fear them!"

"We don’t have someone of Li Zimeng’s level for singing, but Natural Girl only has one like her."

"As for the others, like Zhang Zijing, we’ve got members who match up too."

"For dancing, Ye Yuwei is the strongest, but she’s not at the level of top-tier performers yet."

Lu Bingbing analyzed Natural Girl’s strengths and weaknesses; she knew the eleven members very well.

She understood where each one excelled and faltered.

Yu Qingjia looked at her elder sister with admiration, thinking this was the best captain Galaxy could have.

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her palm; Wang Yiran looked at her with a playful smirk.

Yu Qingjia immediately turned back towards the stage where Natural Girl had exited by now.

Backstage

"Whew! That was terrifying. Why did the music cut out?" Lai Ruoxuan exclaimed, slumping into a chair.

"So weird! It was fine just moments ago," Zhang Zijing said, wiping her sweat.

"I’d like to beat up whoever caused the malfunction—a performance for thousands!" Meng Meixuan groused angrily.

Duan Yuxin looked puzzled. Why were the older girls so tense and angry?

The music cutting out during the performance wasn’t their fault, was it?

Being too young and inexperienced, she couldn’t comprehend the stakes involved.

"Yezi, thank goodness for you. I almost stopped performing," Wu Zixuan said, hugging her.

"Yeah, captain, you were amazing."

"Captain, you’re practically our anchor!"

"Anchor? Isn’t that more like a stick? Shouldn’t it be something calming, like a pill?"

"Even though our captain is light, she’s still our ballast!"

Initially touched and proud, Ye Yuwei found their comments becoming increasingly off-topic.

"Let’s not forget Rainbow’s quick reaction—her powerful singing allowed us to keep performing."

"And Zi Meng and Yang Ni. They reacted just as swiftly and held steady without losing their composure."

Ye Yuwei credited them, making the three girls beam with delight.

"In the end, it was the teamwork of all us sisters. Though our synchronization initially faltered, we adjusted quickly, within less than eight beats. Thanks, everyone!"

Her words brought the group together, creating a warm and spirited atmosphere.

Everyone began to feel deeply appreciative of her leadership. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

This mutual support during adversity and the encouragement and sharing of accolades afterwards significantly strengthened their bonds.

"Should we celebrate tonight?" Meng Meixuan suggested loudly.

"Definitely! Let’s drink vodka together!" Jiang Mengqi cheered.

"I want steak!" Lai Ruoxuan chimed in excitedly.

"I’m craving hot pot!" Fu Xiaoyu raised her hand.

Ye Yuwei saw the group diverging into their preferences and quickly said, "Eat whatever you want; everyone gets to choose."

Alright!

The ten girls shouted enthusiastically, then paused, realizing something wasn’t quite right. They’d just been outmaneuvered by Ye Yuwei.