"How embarrassing..." Dai Xiang said, but still accepted the eyeliner pen.
The performance was about to start, and who wouldn’t want to make themselves a little more perfect?
"Why so formal with me?"
Qiu Xue said with a breezy smile.
In a way, her relationship with Dai Xiang was quite subtle; Dai Xiang liked to take advantage of small gains but was sensible and tight-lipped.
Qiu Xue entrusted her with certain tasks, which saved her from worrying about follow-up issues.
"Sister Qiu Xue, are you in a bad mood?"
Dai Xiang was extremely perceptive. She understood the undercurrents, so before Qiu Xue could speak, she asked this first.
This even provided Qiu Xue a step to willingly open up.
Qiu Xue especially appreciated this trait of hers and fiddled with the lipstick on the table, saying, "I just looked at the program list and found that the performance before mine is by Bei Jiafei from the instrument group. She wasn’t in the earlier rehearsals or dress rehearsals. How come there’s a change now?"
"Oh, I heard that the original solo instrument performer got sick, so they had to switch at the last minute. I think it was just about half an hour ago. But this instrument performance isn’t a big deal; it’s just plucking the strings a bit, nothing impressive can come of it."
Dai Xiang, thinking more deeply, incorrectly assumed Qiu Xue’s tension was from fear of being upstaged, so she buttered her up, encouraging her to win some favor.
With her seven-aperture exquisite heart, of course, Qiu Xue understood her meaning, but she didn’t say much, instead going along with it by saying, "Actually, instruments can easily stand out. I heard Bei Jiafei is quite skilled; maybe she’ll win the first place."
Filled with suggestive meaning, Dai Xiang had already caught her implication. It seemed Qiu Xue feared being overshadowed, so she wanted her to find a way to handle it.
Having dealt with Qiu Xue for a long time, Dai Xiang also understood Qiu Xue’s tactics and thoughts.
But precisely because of this, she had to admit, Qiu Xue’s ruthless nature made her undoubtedly a venomous beauty!
"Bei Jiafei is just a country girl, doesn’t even know how to use makeup, and she hasn’t put on any yet. Besides, her outfit has issues—looks like a black crow, and most importantly, her instrument is not sturdy. Imagine if something went wrong on stage... it would be quite embarrassing..."
Thoughts and intents all turned into sentences, further probing the feasibility of the task.
If Qiu Xue agreed, Dai Xiang would execute it, all without raising any alarm.
Qiu Xue’s lips curved into a smile, very satisfied with the response. She said with a breezy smile, "If something like that happened on stage, it would be even more exciting than the program itself!"
No hint could be more obvious than this; it was tantamount to telling Dai Xiang the plan was good and could be implemented.
"Indeed, that would be so exciting!"
Dai Xiang received the command, understood Qiu Xue’s intention, and almost immediately started thinking about how to handle Bei Jiafei.
However, inside, she was a bit puzzled. After all, Bei Jiafei was just a minor character. Even if she stood in the way, it wouldn’t block Qiu Xue’s path. Why go through so much trouble to eliminate her? It seemed meaningless.
But thinking further, with Bei Jiafei’s program ahead of Qiu Xue’s, she could somewhat comprehend it.
Perhaps... Qiu Xue just wanted to make a stunning impact. The failure of the previous performance could highlight the excellence of the latter, couldn’t it? It’s all a strategy...
The truth, Dai Xiang could never know, and Qiu Xue would never be stupid enough to disclose everything to her. They were merely in a mutually exploitative relationship; a pawn holding too many cards would bring unease to anyone.