The spark that ignited the curious viewers to dig into Cheng Zhen’s identity was actually Jiang Ye and Xue Zhihan.

Jiang Ye, needless to say, and Xue Zhihan, before her downfall, were both considered top-tier contestants.

However, their true identities, one real and one fake, were only exposed after the competition had been going on for a long time.

What’s wrong with the curious viewers this season?

Shouldn't this kind of information have been dug up and exposed before the competition even started?

It’s also fair to blame the fact that Chasing Light Girls was really not popular before it aired.

Other shows would have been digging into the trainees’ scandals at eight hundred times the speed before the show aired, and they would have marked them as "avoid at all costs".

But before Chasing Light Girls aired, only Lin Zui was considered a big-name contestant, and she had debuted before, so everyone knew what they needed to know, there was nothing to dig up.

As for the other trainees, there weren’t many people paying attention to the show at that time, so they didn’t have time to dig into each of them.

After the show aired, everyone was infected by the atmosphere, and they had already forgotten about it.

But Xue Zhihan’s incident served as a wake-up call for the curious viewers.

What if there were more people like her?

So, the curious viewers quickly started digging into the backgrounds of several of the top-ranked contestants, and in a few days, they dug up Cheng Zhen’s parents.

"… The call was from my company."

Meeting Jiang Ye’s gaze, Cheng Zhen took the initiative to speak, "They told me the news, you probably saw it too."

This so-called company was, of course, one she had temporarily attached to through a friend in the industry; it wasn’t a formal trainee company.

So, the company was afraid of the negative impact and directly advised her, "Anyway, you didn’t plan to debut before you came, you just wanted to have some fun, now that you’ve been exposed, why don’t you go back? Otherwise, it might directly affect your parents."

"... I’m not going back."

"If they had called earlier, that would have been fine."

"But I’ve been here for so long, how can I just go back?"

She had indeed come here with a playful attitude at first.

But it was different later.

She found that being on stage was really fun, being liked by others was really fun, and having people look forward to her growth was the most fun.

Tan Meng stretched her legs in the practice room, and Cheng Zhen screamed in pain, tears flying everywhere, shouting that she wanted to go home, but she never really thought about going home.

It turned out that unknowingly, she had become like them, truly chasing the light.

Cheng Zhen pouted, her whole head drooping in dejection, "And, and if I leave now, what about my fans? They’ve spent so much money on me."

Because she had been drinking fruit juice wine, she was slightly tipsy, and her words were a little slurred.

Jiang Ye also fell silent for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Cheng Zhen puffed out her cheeks in frustration, then took another can of fruit juice and sat back on her bed.

"Don’t drink anymore."

Jiang Ye gently stopped her, "What if the manager finds out?"

Cheng Zhen pulled open the can tab, whimpered twice, and then said, "... Then I’ll just write a self-criticism."

Jiang Ye: "..."

She nodded, went over and closed the door, then turned back and said, "Okay."

"You want to drink, right?"

Jiang Ye took out the last remaining can from the drawer and sat next to Cheng Zhen, "Fine. I’ll just write a self-criticism with you."

Cheng Zhen was stunned.

But Jiang Ye had already opened her can and clinked glasses with Cheng Zhen, "Go ahead, I’m listening."

Cheng Zhen couldn’t hold back anymore.

She gulped down two more sips, her voice already choked with sobs, "It’s a small thing that I don’t want to go back."

"The main thing is, I… I just don’t want to live under my parents’ halo, so I came out to try it myself."

"They don’t want me to enter the entertainment industry, but they said that if I absolutely have to, they can pave the way for me."

"But, but, then my identity in the industry would be Cheng Muhe’s or Yang Lin’s daughter."

"Can’t I just be Cheng Zhen for once?"

Cheng Zhen sniffed, whispering, "… Can’t I be seen as myself for once?"

The comments Jiang Ye saw were only a small part.

Among the rest of the comments, there were many like this.

【So, Cheng Zhen is Cheng Muhe and Yang Lin’s daughter?】

【She’s not as pretty as her mom, she probably just inherited her dad’s looks, hhhh.】

【An actress’s daughter actually going to a talent show to be a trainee, that’s so embarrassing.】

【Who says it’s not? Her parents’ status in the industry is not low, but they raised a daughter to participate in a talent show. If I were her parents, I would be so angry, 23333.】

【But she’s definitely going to debut this time, right?】

【We’ve been targeting privileged contestants for so long, who would have thought the real privileged contestant was her!】

…

These comments weren’t necessarily malicious.

But the moment everyone learned about her parents, no one saw her as Cheng Zhen anymore.

All her previous efforts seemed worthless, and she became Cheng Muhe and Yang Lin’s daughter again.

Jiang Ye: "I saw it."

She repeated it softly, "I saw you as Cheng Zhen."

"It’s not just you, the people who liked you before didn’t like you because of your background, they liked you as Cheng Zhen."

Cheng Zhen looked at Jiang Ye, her eyes wet, "What about after this?"

"It’ll be the same."

"The people who like you won’t dislike you because you have such famous parents, right?"

Jiang Ye patted her head, whispering, "Don’t think too much."

It’s clear that Cheng Zhen was really well-raised by her family.

Even the parental halo that others envied seemed like a burden to her.

"Hmm."

Cheng Zhen still frowned, whispering, "I’ve grown up in this kind of environment, so you probably can’t understand how I feel…"

"Well, I really can’t understand."

Jiang Ye chuckled, "Because I grew up in an orphanage."

Cheng Zhen was stunned.

She quickly said, "That’s not what I meant!"

"I know that’s not what you meant."

"But, do you want me to tell you some sad things to cheer you up?"

Cheng Zhen panicked even more, shaking her head frantically, "No, no, no."

"Then I’ll just tell you something happy."

Jiang Ye took a sip of the grape-flavored fruit juice, then smiled, "Actually, the orphanage was okay."

"And I’m really not as pitiful as you think."

"When you chat with me, don’t be afraid to touch on my sad points, after all, the little girl who wondered why she didn’t have parents is long gone."

"The words ‘orphanage’ aren’t a scar for me, it’s my home."

Jiang Ye told her a little bit about her experiences in the orphanage.

Their orphanage did a good job with social fundraising, so most of the kids had enough to eat, and they could occasionally have recreational activities.

Grandma Jiang at the orphanage was very good to every child, and the aunts and teachers who took care of them were also mostly good people.

Cheng Zhen listened for a while, then cautiously asked, "Did you ever feel unhappy?"

Jiang Ye thought for a moment and said, "Rarely, but occasionally."

Jiang Ye told Cheng Zhen a story.

One time, Grandma Jiang was away on a business trip, and a new aunt came to the orphanage.

She was very strict and very harsh with the children, and she also set a bunch of strange rules. Anyone who broke her rules would be punished.

One day, Jiang Ye had a fever and didn’t have an appetite. She ate slowly and accidentally dropped her chopsticks on the floor.

The aunt, of course, was furious and wanted to punish her by making her stand outside the dining hall.

Jiang Ye was so sick that she couldn’t even hold the chopsticks steady, and she was still being dragged out to stand, she had never been so angry before, so she naturally got angry.

She was stubborn as a child, and she directly replied, "I’m not standing."

Then the aunt grabbed her ear and dragged her all the way to the door, scolding her harshly, "You have no father or mother, who are you angry at? Look around, does anyone care about you?"

Jiang Ye stopped there.

Because she felt someone hugging her.

She looked down and saw Cheng Zhen hugging her with red eyes, her voice soft, as if she were comforting the Jiang Ye in the story across time, "Don’t be sad, Little Jiang Ye, I care about you."

"Thank you."

Jiang Ye chuckled softly, "She heard you."

Because it was a story to comfort Cheng Zhen, she only told half of it.

It seemed to have a very good effect, so she didn’t plan to continue.

But the story actually had a second half.

Jiang Ye leaned against the wall, dazed, standing in punishment.

Then, she suddenly heard someone inside the room also drop their chopsticks.

Before the aunt could scold him, he said very consciously, "I’ll go stand in punishment."

Jiang Ye: "..."

Jiang Ye thought, this person is so stupid, he still dropped his chopsticks even after seeing what happened to her?

Jiang Ye thought about it and moved over to the side, making room for the unlucky guy.

When he came out, Jiang Ye looked at him.

Oh, it was actually her good friend, Jiang Zhou.

Jiang Ye said to him, "You’re so stupid."

Jiang Zhou didn’t argue, he just hummed, standing next to her quietly for a while.

After a while, he said, "Don’t listen to her."

Jiang Ye: "What?"

Jiang Zhou repeated himself, "Don’t listen to what she said, it’s not like that."

"Ah, actually, what she said is right."

Jiang Ye leaned against the wall, sighing, because she was dizzy from the fever and angry, she couldn’t help but start rambling, "I really don’t have a family, no one cares about me."

"You see, I have a fever today, and no one even noticed."

"I thought, even if I die here now, it’s okay. After all, I don’t have a family, and even if I die, no one will remember that I existed, right?"

Jiang Zhou was silent for a moment.

After a while, he said, "No, Grandma will remember, the teachers will remember."

"... And I will definitely remember."

"You’re Jiang Ye, you stood in punishment with me, you’re my best friend."

Jiang Ye suddenly found his serious expression a little endearing.

She hummed and said, "But everyone else is gone now, what if I really have a fever and die here?"

She was still young then, and she thought that if her fever reached 40 degrees, she might really die.

She even thought that wouldn’t be too bad, it’s just that she hadn’t seen the wider world, which was a bit of a pity.

But Jiang Zhou was clearly really scared by her.

He had an icy expression, but his tone was a little nervous, "Then… then do you have any last words? I can tell Grandma for you."

Last words?

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, she couldn’t think of any, and her head felt even dizzier.

"... If I have any last words."

Jiang Ye only remembered that before she fell asleep, she mumbled, "Maybe I’ll send you a dream?"