Two days later-

After verifying all the details of the contract, Xu Nuan prepared to go to the practice room to meet the girls. In the last two days, she didn't have the time to see them as she not only has to verify the contract but also deals with all the phone calls that she was getting.

Winning awards is good but it brings hell a lot of work as well.

Xu Nuan looked at the time and realized that it was already past 3:30 pm. She was coming directly from the college after attending the classes and was now exhausted. However, she can't let the exhaustion tire her, she needs to work.

She needs to do the most exhausting work, she needs to tell the girls about her plans and contract renewal. She let out a heavy breath and picked up the contract from the table and left the office.

_

~Knock~Knock.

The girls were scattered in the practice room as always. Sun Ya and Pan Lan were sitting on the chairs, meanwhile, Lai Yi and Song Ai were sitting on the floor, in the corner.

Unlike before, Song Ai was not practicing, instead, she was also sitting and resting, just like the other girls. They were not speaking and were just staring at their reflection in the mirror in a daze.

They looked over to the door when they heard the knock and upon seeing Xu Nuan entering the hall, they didn't greet her cheerfully like they always do, instead looked away from her.

-

Xu Nuan was surprised upon being ignored by the girls. They looked at her and noticed that she entered the practice room but looked away.

She frowned to see everyone so quiet. The atmosphere in the room was suffocating and they all were wearing glum expressions.

" Woah, did you guys fight? Why are y'all looking so serious?"

However, her attempts to make them speak were in vain as they ignored her, once again.

She turned to Song Ai and asked, " Aren't you practicing today? Why does everyone look so down?"

However, this time Song Ai turned her head away too, avoiding eye contact with her. What the hell is happening?

She pursed her lips, feeling frustrated by this silent treatment. Just as her patience was reaching its saturation point, Pan Lan broke the silence. " Xu Nuan, no one wants to talk to you. So just leave. It's better to let things as it is if you don't want to hear anything unpleasant from us."

Xu Nuan froze. Pan Lan has always been blunt with her words but her words were never this cold before. She was angry, for real.

She looked at everyone's grim faces and frowned. " If you have anything unpleasant to say, then just say it. I prefer to fight it out rather than keep the things inside and make a big deal out of it."

She has lost a good friend like Hao Mei because of the same reason. She didn't express her dissatisfaction towards her and let it build up until her personality took a different turn towards her.

Upon hearing her words, the girls looked at her, then at each other. This time Song Ai spoke, " You want to talk? About what? About the contract renewal….

" Yes. I have the contract with-

" Or about you betraying us?" Song Ai added.

Xu Nuan stopped speaking. She understood what's going on. They're talking about her leaving the company. Someone must have told them about the whole issue beforehand, that's why they're being cold and indifferent towards her.

" You guys are talking about me leaving the company? Who told you about it?" She asked.

Pan Lan scoffed at Xu Nuan's cool demeanor about it. " I am surprised that you're not denying it. I thought you're gonna deny it and will leave a goodbye note for us after you resign from the company."

Xu Nuan smiled bitterly and shook her head, " I was hesitant to tell you all about it but I am not a coward. I never do anything that can make me feel ashamed of myself."

" I would have told you guys about it before the awards ceremony but I didn't want to ruin your mood before your big stage. Also, I came today to tell you about it before giving you this contract to renew your term with the company."

" However, I didn't know that someone had already broken the news to you. That too, in an unpleasant way." Xu Nuan said.

Everyone exchanged glances upon hearing her words. They know Xu Nuan's personality, that's why it was a little hard to digest what they were informed. However, upon confirming that she is leaving the company for real, they felt even worse.

Two days ago, Rin Rin came to their practice room to see them. They were confused because whenever she comes to see them, the encounter has never been nice.

However, rather than fighting with them, she simply told them to prepare themselves because Xu Nuan is soon going to leave the company, leaving them behind. Not only that, they will be receiving a new manager which might not be as nice as Xu Nuan.

She is leaving soon and yet she didn't tell them anything. If not for Rin Rin, Xu Nuan would have left without telling anyone and would not have revealed the truth before making them sign the contract.

They were surprised and shocked to hear those claims of hers. How can Xu Nuan leave them? They are doing so well, what's the need to leave the company?

However, Xu Nuan's words just made those claims true. So is she leaving for real?

" So….it's true. Xu Nuan, were we just an experiment for you? We thought of you as a close friend, how can you not discuss it with us?" Song Ai asked while looking at her with a complex gaze.

" Song Ai is right. Why do you want to leave? Are you planning to join some other company? Did you get a better offer from some other company?" Pan Lan scoffed.

Xu Nuan sighed upon hearing all kinds of questions from them. She knew that it's going to happen but she wasn't expecting things to turn out like this.

She looked at everyone with seriousness and said, " You can hate me and blame me all you want. However, you guys were never an experiment for you."

" Neither have I gotten any offer from any big company. My initial goal was to open an entertainment company. I joined shining bright because I was trying to gain some experience by knowing how things work off the stage." Xu Naun said.

The girls raised their brows upon hearing her words. Entertainment company?

" I was planning to spend my life as peacefully as possible but then I saw you guys. After seeing you perform and seeing how you were being kicked out of the company, I couldn't stay still. Because I knew that you guys had the talent and potential to make it big, that's why I worked my ass off to help you achieve what you truly deserve." she continued.

" If you guys were only my experiment, I wouldn't have wasted my energy on you guys like this." She said seriously.

" I want to leave now because I don't want to hinder your next comeback and its progress. And I already told you why I didn't tell you the truth. If you still feel that I betrayed you or looked down on you guys, I can't say anything more to you."

The room fell into a suffocating silence after she completed her words. The girls looked at each other awkwardly when Lai Yi asked her, " Are you planning to build your entertainment company after leaving shining bright?"

Xu Nuan smiled, " I am. It might take some things to start the company perfectly, but I am planning to register the company at least after leaving shining bright."

Pan Lan frowned at Lai Yi who stopped talking after asking this question. What is she even thinking? Xu Nuan is leaving them behind and she is asking about her new company?

Sun Ya pursed her lips and scratched the back of her neck hesitantly, " So you're seriously leaving….Then...why aren't you asking us to join you in your new company? Don't you need artists to run an entertainment company?"

Xu Nuan raised brows at her sudden question. The girls were looking at her curiously when she said, " I want to but I won't. You just started your career, it would be selfish of me if I ask you to follow me out of the company. I want you girls to do well, I can't let you guys struggle with me."

No one said anything after this. Xu Nuan sighed seeing everyone quiet and put the contract on the table, " I have verified the contract and had changed a few things that will be good for you guys. You can read it once again and sign on it to renew your contract with the company."

" Also, if you want, you all can take time to consider your decision and then sign it. Before signing it, think about what kind of music you wanna make and if this company will be able to fulfill all those demands of you or not. That's it. Don't think about anything else for now."

" No need. I already made my decision." Lai Yi said.

Everyone was surprised when she said this. Already?

She walked up to Xu Nuan and picked up the contract from the table. She looked at the table and waved it casually in front of her, " This contract….I am not signing it."

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