From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 339: Vacation (1)

The originator of the email chain was, unfortunately, Wilford Forbes, and the content was, to say the least, interestingly annoying.

After indirectly blaming PD Emily for the contestants spending the increased budget on the performance (she didn’t care since Bing Yongsun supported her actions), Wilford Forbes proposed that, instead of proceeding as scheduled, they should add one more challenge, which would extend the show by at least another three weeks.

His reasoning?

So that the contestants could have an extra opportunity to show off their full skills without regrets in the United States.

It sounded good on paper, but PD Emily knew the real reason.

William was struggling.

With the current trend, William would barely survive entering the top 14, and if they went directly to the finals as planned, he wasn’t going to make it into the top 7 needed for the debut lineup unless a miracle happened.

So if William wanted to make it, then he needed more time to turn his reputation around.

This performance was a fantastic start, and seeing the vision, Wilford began pushing again for changes to their schedule.

After this performance, 6 contestants would be eliminated, and the remaining 14 would have a week-long break before beginning to prepare for the finals.

Then, a couple of days before the finals, family members would be flown in for cute family day events and interviews before the final performances.

But what Wilford Forbes originally wanted to do was skip the upcoming eliminations, reset the contestant votes to zero, and then insert another mission instead of taking a break, and eliminate family day.

And during that mission, have the live audience votes decide the rankings and directly eliminate 10 people at once.

Truthfully, she understood his reasoning.

After all, he had spent a lot of money with no clear payoff, so he was doing everything to squeeze his nephew in.

With a live audience making the decision, it would be more biased toward those who performed well and had a large fan base in America.

But realistically, that wasn’t fair to the other contestants who had been grinding and to the fans who had been voting religiously.

PD Emily usually wouldn’t care, but her name was on the line now, especially because of the previous drama.

The production team had been slandered enough for twisting things.

Now, she wanted to end things cleanly and on a good note before moving on to her next project.

And she also knew she needed to give the contestants a break. Both mental and physical.

Especially because of the torture that the production team had planned for the final performance.

Also, eliminating family day events was no good either.

Balance was important, and you could only squeeze people so much before they broke.

She needed to treat the contestants with a carrot and a stick, and also give them heart-warming moments.

They had been beaten with the stick so much that they really needed the carrot.

Besides, contestant families had taken time off work, reservations had been booked, and the heart-wrenching stories production had planned needed to proceed so people could empty their wallets to support the contestants trying to achieve their dreams.

So, no matter how Wilford Forbes had twisted the matter and tried to bribe her on the side, the dates couldn’t be changed.

No extension, keep family day, give them a break, everything must stay as is.

PD Emily had carefully refuted the proposal in a well-written rebuttal and thought the issue was resolved.

But the problem was that Wilford Forbes, who wasn’t seeing reason.

He absolutely wanted to hold an extra event to boost his nephew’s stock, and he would do it one way or another.

So he had come back with another proposal.

Let the contestants have vacation time, but during it, he would personally hold an optional showcase where contestants can perform individually or as a team to earn extra votes.

Those who wanted to rest could rest, but for those who were low in the ranks and desperate, it was an opportunity.

It would be a paid event, and fans who attended in person would receive votes weighted more heavily for the contestants, which could be the difference between elimination and staying.

And the execs who only had money in their eyes agreed, especially after seeing how many people attended the Korean shows and the previous showcase, but PD Emily strongly disagreed.

Firstly, there was no guarantee that people would pay to see two shows in such a short time span, especially on short notice.

And secondly, the contestants with the largest fanbases might not see the benefit of attending an optional event, instead preferring to focus on preparing for the finals, which are more important.

Even looking at the past records, for example, Benjamin always participated in optional events, and Jamie sometimes joined in if it was related to songwriting.

But Levi? Nope. He didn’t do anything extra.

Carlos? Very rarely. It was only when he had time.

Mathew? Only when it is related to dance.

William? Never. Not even a single appearance.

And Ari, the current number-one ranked contestant?

No way in hell.

PD Emily didn’t think he had even bothered to create an account on the app they used or send a single message to other contestants on it.

She knew for a fact that he would absolutely not come, especially after hearing it was optional and even more so if it was organized by the Forbes family.

And whether Wilford Forbes liked it or not, Ari was a big draw for people.

Love or hate him, people always wanted to know what he was doing.

If they found out he wasn’t coming, quite a few people wouldn’t come either, especially if they had to pay, and even more especially if other contestants might not come.

But the Wilford Forbes didn’t care; she had been overruled, and everything was organized without her permission.

She had even been told that she didn’t need to be in charge of the showcase.

Not one to take disrespect, especially because Wilford Forbes had been walking all over her lately, PD Emily kept quiet about the main reason it wouldn’t work.

Ari’s high school graduation was scheduled for the same day.

Even if he wanted to come, he couldn’t, and she had already given permission to Benjamin, Carlos, and Levi to be away the same day to attend.

Sure, they could pull out, but based on their personalities, she doubted it.

She herself had been in communication with his school, had received the contract to be the official videographer as long as she could stream it and sell tickets to those interested in attending the graduation that had moved to an arena at the local university.

All the tickets were sold, and she had originally planned to take the contestants there for additional promo, but when her toes were being stepped on, she decided to make a point.

Stay silent.

Let’s see how your event goes, and I’ll see how mine goes.

And let’s tell the principal to make Ari work a bit more, and make it a proper show for the parents and families.

Just as she finished sending an email-

Knock knock!

"Come in."

The staff member who had left earlier returned with a large mug of deathly black liquid.

"I brought you espresso. Also, contestant Ariel is here. Says he wants to see you."

"Now?"

"Yes, he’s waiting outside."

PD Emily checked the time.

It was just over 2 hours since they returned from the performance, and she thought he would be fast asleep.

What did he want now?

Did he somehow sense her meddling?

Gulping down some espresso, she waved her hand at the staff member.

"Let him in."

"Got it."

The door shut gently, and seconds later, Ari appeared dressed in the brown tracksuit that he seemed to love to wear.

His face was bare of makeup and looked surprisingly tired, if a bit angry.

His eyes rapidly looked over her before glancing at her laptop and then back at her face again.

"What?"

"You look suspicious. Are you doing something to screw me over? That’s the vibe I’m getting from you right now," he asked in a slightly irritated voice.

How perceptive.

PD Emily casually shut the laptop before fully facing him.

"Language. Also, this is just my usual face. What do you want? Shouldn’t you be asleep?"

"I wish, but I’m busy. What’s the way to legally go out?" Ari asked with a yawn.

"Since when do you care about legally going out? You and your stooges boldly leave each night and come back whenever you want anyway."

The two of them both knew that he went out nightly with Jamie and Levi, with Carlos recently joining.

PD Emily tacitly didn’t say anything, and Ari always made sure he was awake and alert in time to film.

"I don’t. It’s not for me, it’s for Vishal."

"Recruiting another person for your nighttime activities? Is he the newest addition to your collection? Ménage à cinq? How greedy of you."

PD Emily teased, causing Ari to give her a disgusted look.

"Don’t make it sound weird. We’re working. What’s the method? Is there a form I need to fill out or something?"

"He’s of legal age, so I don’t really care. Just make sure to come back on time and take your phone. If I have to look for you, then you’re in trouble."

"Can I get that in writing?"

"You don’t trust me? Am I that untrustworthy?"

"I like that you’re self-aware."

PD Emily: ಠ_ಠ

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

"You know, you’re extremely sassy today. Not happy about the results?"

"I don’t care. People are entitled to their opinions. The team did good work, put on a good performance, and got to try a lot of fun stuff while wasting thousands of dollars that belong to someone I dislike thoroughly. It’s a win in my book."

Seeing the genuinely pleased smile on Ari’s face, PD Emily burst out laughing, then changed the subject.

"I can print out the rules for you, but seriously, just come back on time like you usually do. On another note, you never answered me. I know you’re attending the graduation."

"Which you’ve weirdly decided to turn into an event without my permission and thereby dumped a whole bunch of work onto me. Why do I have to sing the national anthem and DJ on top of giving a speech at my own graduation? At least pay me."

"No. So, will you be participating in family day?" PD Emily continued as if she hadn’t heard him complain.

"Did you suddenly become a necromancer who can bring the dead back to life, or are you planning on digging up my parents’ corpses and parading them around for extra views?"

At Ari’s harsh words, PD Emily had the audacity to look hurt.

"Wow. You’re really in a bad mood today. But just know, I would never do that."

"Due to your past track record, I don’t believe you."

"I’ve honored every deal we’ve made. I truly have your best interest at heart."

Ari just stared at her in disbelief.

It was too late for her to act innocent when everyone knew she cared only about views.

"Fine, whatever." Pd Emily waved her hand and gave up the innocent act. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

At this point, they had bared their true selves to each other, so there was no need to pretend.

Besides, she was properly selling him out anyway, so she could afford to be generous.

"I was wondering if you were planning on bringing other family members. Like, say Chloé?"

"She’s not family," Ari replied calmly.

"She’s close enough to travel to Korea to support you and threaten the directors of a high-profile show and company."

"That’s that, and this is this. She’s not family."

"Can’t you just ask her to come?"

"Don’t you have enough big names coming already? Jamie’s family, Levi’s parents, Blondie’s uncle, I’m assuming? It’s a pretty star-studded family day."

Ari listed off the famous people he knew would be attending the family day.

"You can never have too many famous people, and it’s an opportunity to interview them for free. Of course, I’ll take advantage. Plus, it’s a good way to paint a final good picture of you. Get some sympathy votes because people feel bad." PD Emily stared pointedly at Ari, who just stared coldly while repeating himself.

"Just say I’m an orphan. If that doesn’t make people feel bad, then whatever. And I didn’t plan on attending since it’s optional."

"Then...if there were another optional event, allegedly on your graduation day. Would you go?"

"No."

"Excellent. We have filming tomorrow, so make sure you come back tomorrow."

"Got it."

"Good. Get out."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks again."

As Ari lazily waved while turning away, PD Emily called out to him.

"Oh, and Ari?"

"Hmmm?" sea green eyes looked over her tiredly.

"Good job on spending the money. I’ll make sure to edit your performance beautifully."

"Thanks. While we’re discussing that, will my team’s performance be going before or after Blondie’s, since I’m assuming you’ll be pushing a copying storyline between the two of us? Am I the scapegoat this time around??"

"Sorry?"

As the PD stared at him with a slightly shocked expression, Ari gave her a wry smile.

"Oh, so I am? See why I don’t trust you?"

"Haha, I don’t know what you’re talking about." PD Emily denied it, although it was one of the things she had briefly considered, especially when checking the online opinion.

But she had scrapped it since there was no need to create extra drama between two people who clearly hated each other.

They did enough of it on their own.

"Sure. Sure. Just do it in moderation and don’t go too far with the editing." Ari turned away, clearly not believing her.

"I’m really not using that storyline!"

"C’est bon."

"I said I wouldn’t!"

"Cool. Get some rest, PD. You look terrible."

"You have to believe me!"

Staring at Ari’s back, PD Emily felt irrationally sad.

Seriously.

Why didn’t he believe her?

She wouldn’t pursue such a cliche storyline at this point in the game.

How depressing.

*************

And Ari, done with the PD, rubbed his eyes tiredly as he approached the people waiting for him in their room while everyone else slept.

Jamie, who was drying his soaking hair, Levi with a hat and headphones on, and Carlos staring with concern-filled brown eyes.

"What did the PD say?"

"It’s fine. So let’s go."

Grabbing his book bag, Ari walked over and gently knocked on another door.

After several seconds, Vishal opened the door first, looking at the crowd behind Ari, then at Ari himself, who had an angry smile on his face.

"The PD?" Vishal asked quietly.

"Got permission. You wanted to talk, right? Had a lot to say earlier? Put on your shoes and coat, and let’s go talk."