CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 13 - 12 A Terrifying Scene

Galaxy Theater, Rehearsal Room

With the music playing, the sixteen performers were doing their final group rehearsal.

The performance was set for tonight.

Because the first performance didn’t go well, the Pocket app and the performers’ social media accounts were flooded with harsh criticism.

Every member was carrying a huge burden of psychological stress.

What surprised Ye Yuwei was that the company had assigned her to replace Xu Xiaoyun for the rehearsal, and her original position was given to Jiaqi.

After all, Xu Xiaoyun was ranked 25th in last year’s general election.

However, this girl was deeply troubled. She suffered from depression and needed medication to cope. She even wanted to leave the group.

But her mother wouldn’t allow it, forcing her to continue as a minor idol.

She also had a difficult uncle who not only demanded money from her mother but also from her directly.

Recently, Xu Xiaoyun’s depression had grown worse.

The cause? A section of a chorus originally assigned to her had been forcibly given to Xu Mengchen.

Slap!

The crisp sound of a slap echoed across the stage.

Everyone was stunned. No one had expected Xu Mengchen to outright slap Xu Xiaoyun.

Ye Yuwei had been keeping an eye on the two of them. During the second verse, Xu Xiaoyun had been making small moves, continuously touching Xu Mengchen’s hair.

This was actually a common tactic in girl groups — using subtle gestures to provoke each other during performances or rehearsals.

There had been incidents where members pretended to touch someone’s waist, only to use sharp fingernails to scratch them.

Most of the time, the weaker party could only endure such soft bullying behavior.

Xu Xiaoyun never imagined that Xu Mengchen, who ranked lower in the group hierarchy than her, would dare to hit her — and in front of everyone.

"Xu Xiaoyun, Xu Mengchen, what are you two doing? If you have conflicts, resolve them offstage! The performance is about to start. If you’re not interested in performing, get out of here." Lu Bingbing, the team captain, frowned and said sternly.

Seeing the captain lose her temper, everyone fell silent, including Xu Mengchen, who had been ready to retaliate.

Ye Yuwei and Li Jiaqi exchanged looks and instinctively stepped back, not wanting to get dragged into this mess.

Ye Yuwei felt contempt for Xu Xiaoyun deep in her heart. With the performance so close, she was still engaging in petty tactics. If the captain didn’t scold her, who would?

At this moment, Xu Xiaoyun’s face was extremely pale, as if she wanted to cry but didn’t dare to. She looked utterly pitiful.

However, no one went over to comfort her. Instead, they all stared at her coldly.

If she dared to complain right now, everyone would definitely "put her in her place."

"Xu Mengchen, apologize to Xu Xiaoyun," Lu Bingbing said coldly, suppressing her anger.

Faced with Lu Bingbing’s icy, menacing stare and Yu Qingjia’s subtle signal to avoid further drama, Xu Mengchen quickly adjusted her expression.

"I’m sorry, Xiaoyun. It’s my fault. I was too impulsive. I sincerely apologize and hope you can forgive me," Xu Mengchen said, bowing deeply to Xu Xiaoyun. Her performance was flawless.

Xu Xiaoyun said nothing. Tears streamed silently down her face as she turned and walked out of the rehearsal room.

"Xu Xiaoyun, Mengchen has already apologized. If you cause any drama on stage, don’t blame me for being ruthless," Lu Bingbing added.

Xu Xiaoyun stopped at the door and, choking on her sobs, said, "Captain, I understand."

Seeing Xu Xiaoyun’s miserable state, the hostility in Ye Yuwei’s chest dissipated. She couldn’t help but think about how she and Jiaqi were no better off than Xiaoyun.

She had gotten this position only because the girl wanted to terminate her contract, all stemming from bullying within the group. Hadn’t she just experienced it herself?

But all of this disappeared with the start of the performance.

Under the dazzling stage lights, amidst the fans’ chants and cheers in the small theater, all unpleasantness and worries vanished like smoke.

Ye Yuwei was surprised to see fans holding light boards and figurines for her today.

This thrilled her, pushing her to sing and dance with all her might. She even joked with Xu Mengchen during the MC segment.

From the fake smile on Xu Mengchen’s face, Ye Yuwei could see jealousy and the shadows of malice deep in her eyes. But none of it mattered. Her desire to shine had overwhelmed all her fears.

Morning.

Exhausted from the previous night, Ye Yuwei lazily climbed out of bed. Next to her, Jiaqi was still sound asleep.

She carefully got up, planning to freshen up and head to the rehearsal room.

"It’s the third performance tonight. The feedback from the second one should be out. I need to give it my all," Ye Yuwei muttered to herself in the bathroom mirror.

"Even though I’m not in the best spot, just a small side role, I’ll give it my all for even a single second on camera," Ye Yuwei encouraged herself, clenching her fists.

"Up so early?" Jiaqi’s long legs peeked out from under a sheer blanket as she looked at her with a sulky expression.

"The early bird gets the worm. I want to practice a bit more," Ye Yuwei said with a smile.

"Fine, bring me back some food later, or I’ll just starve," Jiaqi pouted.

"Okay, but you need to get up earlier then."

"Mhm," Jiaqi replied, her pale face full of pitiful charm.

Ye Yuwei made a heart gesture before opening the door and leaving.

The hallway was filled with various odd noises — snoring, teeth grinding, even farting.

No surprise. The dorm had no soundproofing.

Aside from some visual privacy, nothing else was covered.

Ye Yuwei was heading to the rehearsal room when she suddenly noticed a figure at the end of the hallway, standing in the shadows in sleepwear.

The figure’s hair was a disheveled mess, with what seemed to be bloodstains on their body, standing there motionlessly.

Goosebumps rose all over Ye Yuwei as she realized it was Xu Xiaoyun.

"Xiaoyun, you... you..." Ye Yuwei stammered, her heart pounding in fear.

Xu Xiaoyun didn’t seem to hear her. Her face, hidden in shadows, was lifeless, her eyes brimmed with despair.

Realizing what was about to happen, Ye Yuwei rushed toward her.

But it was too late. Xu Xiaoyun jumped off the fifth floor before she could stop her.

Ye Yuwei stood by the window, looking down at Xu Xiaoyun lying on the bushes below. Her mind went blank, her body trembling uncontrollably as tears rolled down her cheeks.

The first ray of morning sunlight finally broke through the dim sky.

The light scattering over the world was so beautiful.

But what lay before her eyes was nothing short of cruel.

Xu Xiaoyun must’ve been standing in the hallway for a long time!

Where were the staff monitoring the corridor? Had they all gone to sleep?

Why had Xu Xiaoyun done something so extreme? Was it because of yesterday’s slap?

Lost in her chaotic thoughts, Ye Yuwei suddenly noticed Xu Xiaoyun move, as if trying to get up.

"She’s not dead yet."

A burst of joy filled Ye Yuwei’s chest.

Her trembling hands pulled out her phone to call 120, but she hesitated.

"If I call 120, this incident will definitely spread. What will the fans think?"

"Will the haters come after me? How will the company handle this?"

As Ye Yuwei calmed down, her thoughts revolved around these concerns instead of the life in front of her.

"Am I too cold-hearted, too selfish, too despicable? But I really want to succeed. I’m afraid of offending the company, of angering Lu Bingbing and the others."

Ye Yuwei took a deep breath and called Mr. Shen.

He was directly in charge of the team’s operations.

"Mr. Shen, Xu Xiaoyun jumped off the building. She’s lying in the bushes out back but hasn’t died yet," Ye Yuwei said, trying her best to sound calm.

The initially irritated tone of Mr. Shen on the other end of the line went silent.

"Who else is there on the scene?" His voice was as cold as a dark, icy pool.

"No one, just me," she answered.

"Have you told anyone else?"

"No, I called you the moment it happened," Ye Yuwei said cautiously.

"Good. Don’t do anything. Go back to your dorm. I’ll take care of it."

"Okay," Ye Yuwei replied mechanically.

And that was it.

It wasn’t until an hour later that an ambulance arrived to take Xu Xiaoyun away.

After the performance that evening, the company announced that Xu Xiaoyun had left the group. They also reported her death.

The subsequent investigation concluded:

Xu Xiaoyun’s stress from her family’s financial struggles led to her depression.

She was even beaten by her uncle in front of her school gate, which drove her to despair and death.

Apart from a few fans of Xu Xiaoyun, no one cared about her death.

The only legacy she left behind was a line on a fan-made chart on Baidu showing members who joined or left the group in real time.

For Ye Yuwei, the incident caused recurring nightmares.

Even now, it seemed like every dream was haunted by the image of a girl in sleepwear, covered in blood, staring at her with endless resentment.

"If only I had called 120 right away, maybe Xiaoyun wouldn’t have died..."