On the way, He Qingran linked arms with Xia Zhaoyun, chattering in her ear about what had happened backstage.
"Yunyun, you were right to warn me. It's only the semi-finals, but the infighting is already so fierce! People are scheming against each other just like in novels and movies. I can't believe it's happening right around me!"
"There are two incidents I know of. One involves the woman from our Kyoto Flour Factory, the one known as the 'Little Oriole.' She takes meticulous care of her voice. Recently, she got an herbal tonic from an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor that she's been drinking like water."
"But then, when she wasn't looking, someone poured chili water into her drink. She took one sip, and even though she spat it out right away, she started choking, coughing, and sneezing. Can you imagine how much that must have burned? The poor girl's voice went hoarse on the spot, so she had to drop out of the competition…"
