Chapter 1
During the live boyband auditions, I won the popularity vote by a landslide and was given the position of the main singer.
Another member of the boyband suddenly laughed as he patted me on the shoulder. "Jordan, I was the one who accompanied you to get stamina supplements after you overdid it in bed with your rich married lover. Now that we're in the same boyband, please look out for me!"
Immediately, the phrase 'The Boyband's One-Minute Man' was seen everywhere online.
Even our mentor chimed in, trying to get me kicked out of the band.
I had no choice but to call my mother when I was unable to prove myself innocent. "Mom, I don't want to debut in a boyband anymore. Let me go solo and send the rest of them off to labor away their lives at the factory!"
Wade Evans might not have been loud, but he was loud enough for the audience and mentors to hear everything he said. I frowned and questioned him, "What are you talking about? When did I ever get stamina supplements with you?"
He looked upset when he replied, "I'm telling the truth. It was that night last month on the eighth when we took the day off. I accompanied you out…"
Before he finished his sentence, Wade covered his mouth in a fluster. "I forgot that I was supposed to keep this a secret. I'm so sorry, Jordan. I didn't blurt this on purpose." He quickly turned to the audience in front of us and said, "Please pretend I didn't say anything. It would be horrible if I ruined Jordan's image for his boyband debut."
Wade's words made me look guilty, and everyone started discussing what he revealed.
"Boyband debut? That guy sounds like a weakling."
"Is the bar to join a boyband these days so low? How can a man in an adulterous relationship come into the public's eye?"
"That's because he's the lover of a rich woman! It's how the number of his votes surpasses all the others."
I glared furiously at the person who started all of this when I heard everyone criticizing me. "That's slander, Wade!"
Wade looked like he was frightened by me. "I know I shouldn't have revealed this, Jordan, but it's the truth. How can you call it slander?"
Another member of our boyband stepped forward. "I remember now. It was the night last month on the eighth when Jordan and Wade took the day off to go out. When they came back, Jordan was looking very pale, and the next day during rehearsal, he almost fell from weak stamina."
I defended myself, saying, "I wasn't feeling well because I was suffering from gastritis. Wade and I went out that night to get medication for it."
It was because he was willing to take the day off with me to get the medication that I had thought of him as a true friend.
Our boyband was planned to be made up of three members, and Wade was supposed to be eliminated from the live auditions as he only made it to fourth place. However, I made an emergency call to my mother to request an additional member for the band at the last minute, and Wade became known as 'Lucky Boy' for it, which boosted his popularity. He had the lowest votes, but he shot up to second because of this.
The other two members of our boyband did not believe what I said.
"Wade knows what you bought because he was there with you."
"You're clearly lying about it being medication for gastritis!"
I turned to look at Wade again. "You should tell the truth about what medication I really bought that day now that we're standing in front of everyone."
Wade stammered, "It's true that you bought stamina supplements that day."
"You're lying!" I grabbed his wrist in anger and dragged him to the front as I questioned him sternly, "You know very well that I bought gastritis medication. Why would you lie about that?!"
Wade pretended to hesitate. "If you insist it's gastritis medication, then it's gastritis medication, Jordan, but please… Please don't destroy all the hard work we've put into getting our boyband together.
"We're all from ordinary families who have no connections or powerful family backgrounds. All of us worked hard on our own merits to be chosen as a member of this boyband. You became our leader because your rich benefactor bought you votes, but you can't keep this secret hidden forever, Jordan.
"If the truth about you letting down your bandmates by being unable to perform because you're spending most of your time pleasing your married lover in bed comes out, it would be the end of us."
The other bandmates were initially indifferent about this, but Wade's words alerted them to the seriousness of the situation. They pushed me aside to shield Wade behind them.
"Wade is just thinking for our boyband by choosing to tell the truth right now."
"You'll drag the rest of us down with you for having a disgraceful personal life, Wade. How can you be so selfish to ruin us with this?"
"I vote to have Jordan kicked out of this boyband."
"Agreed!"
I looked at them in shock. This live audition program was personally sponsored by my mother to help me with my debut, but they were now thinking about kicking me out of the band.
Chapter 2
A look of glee flashed in Wade's eyes, and he quickly put on a kind act, as if he was doing all this for my own good. "Jordan, you own watches worth thousands, and this live audition is like a game to you that you don't even need. It's different from the rest of us when this is our only chance at changing our lives.
"You should leave this boyband, Jordan. I'll ask the live audience not to reveal the reason for you leaving us."
It was only now that I realized Wade was framing me to get me kicked out of the band because I was the better performer and had higher popularity online than all of them combined. He was afraid of being cast to the side once we formed the band together.
Once I knew the reason behind this, I calmed down. "There is only one thing I'll say to all of you today. This boyband won't be able to debut without me. You should tell everyone the truth today, Wade, and apologize to me. I might consider forgiving you if you do."
Everyone in this world wanted to make a living and be successful, and I could understand his little scheme. All of us had worked hard, training for the past three months. If he sincerely apologized, I would not make things difficult for him.
That was when someone in the audience burst out with a sarcastic laugh. "This program, 'Bobo Boys', is sponsored by the richest woman in Beige City who owns Lorne Corporation. How dare he say they won't be able to debut without him? What a joke!"
"I've seen lots of guys like him who think they own the entire world just because a rich woman is throwing money at them."
"What we want is a boyband, not some weak guy who's been squeezed dry in bed by some rich woman!"
Wade's smile got wider as the audience started discussing this. He looked at one of the mentors, Crystal Jenkins, and said, "Ms. Jenkins, after discussing this with the other band members, we would like to request Jordan to withdraw from the band due to social misconduct. We would like our boyband to debut with only three members."
Crystal stood up from her seat to announce, "Bobo Boys' band member, Jordan Shane, shall be removed as a member of the boyband due to his personal conduct. His previous results will be voided in view of this."
I could not accept this. "Whatever Wade said about me is a lie. Give me 30 minutes and I'll be able to show you the evidence to prove my innocence!"
The drugstore I had purchased the medication from was not far from where we were and only required 30 minutes to travel to and from our location via taxi. I would be able to prove my innocence by getting the footage from the drugstore's surveillance cameras.
However, Crystal looked grim as she berated me, "This is a program being broadcast to audiences, Jordan. It's not a place where you can do whatever you want. We can't grant you five minutes, much less 30! You can't afford to waste everyone's time. Please leave the stage right now and get out!"
The audience below the stage started chanting loudly, "Get off the stage, Jordan Shane! Get off the stage, Jordan Shane!"
I swept a cold glance at everyone. They had no idea that I was the reason for this program, and now that all of them wanted me kicked out of this boyband, it meant that they had no hope of ever debuting. I called my mother right away.
"Mom, I've changed my mind. I don't want to debut as part of a boyband. You can get rid of everyone in Bobo Boys, along with the mentors."
Chapter 3
My mother noticed something wrong with my tone. "Did you get bullied, sweetheart?"
"Someone in my band made up stories about me being a rich woman's lover who has weak stamina from sleeping around too much, and that lousy mentor wants me kicked out of the band without looking into the situation!"
My mother was furious. "What?! This is outrageous of them! How dare they bully my boy? Wait where you are. I'll be there right away!"
The moment I hung up, Wade asked tauntingly, "Are all you lover boys so brazen that you would openly call your rich lover to get them to stand up for you?"
I glared coldly at him. "That's my mother. Only someone as dirty-minded as you would look at everything with filth."
Wade burst out with a laugh. "I get it! It's because she's your sugar mommy, isn't it? Aren't you afraid that her husband would find out about your affair and tear you apart for being her kept man?"
The two other bandmates chimed in right away.
"This is a recording, and shameless people like him would be edited out of it."
"That's probably why he called his rich lover without attempting to hide it. It's because he knows it can be edited out of the official broadcast."
"He must have asked her over to stand up for him because he knew that!"
Wade suddenly had an idea, and he took out his phone to point the camera at me while starting a live stream. "Check this out, everyone! This one-minute man in our boyband audition is proud to be in an affair with a married woman even though it's so disgraceful. He even openly asked his lover here to stand up for him after the truth about his affair was exposed!
"Please tune in to my live stream while we wait for his rich lover to appear. If anyone recognizes her, do inform her husband to catch her lover in action!"
Wade's live stream attracted an audience right away with such juicy publicity, and soon, more than ten thousand people were watching the stream. Moments later, the words 'One-Minute Man in Boyband Audition' started appearing everywhere, followed by comments filled with my pictures and videos.
My expression turned frighteningly dark as I said coldly to Wade, "Turn off that live stream right now!"
Wade replied without fear, "Are you finally scared now, Jordan? Weren't you acting all arrogant before this? I want everyone to know what a man in an adulterous affair really looks like. You're already using bags and watches worth tens of thousands at a young age without needing to work hard to earn your keep, but you still insist on snatching a spot from us in the boyband. Do you even have a conscience?"
I almost laughed at what he said. My mother sponsored this program because of me. Without me, Wade would never have had the chance to stand in front of me. Why would this be on my conscience? I snatched his phone and smashed it to the ground.
"This is a warning for you, Wade. You'll never debut as long as I'm here in Beige City!"
Wade screamed as he raised his hand at me, but I blocked it with one hand while punching him with the other. How dare he try to hit me when even my mother never laid a finger on me?
After getting punched, Wade lunged at me like a mad dog, but he could not beat me as I had taken self-defense classes since I was young, and he called out to the other two band members to help beat me up. Soon, all three of them had me pressed to the ground.
Wade gave me two hard slaps and spat on my face. "You're just a shameless lover boy sleeping with a married woman. How dare you hit me! I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"
The audience watching us from below the stage started cheering us on as they enjoyed the drama.
"Scratch that shameless lover boy's face!"
"How could he wreck a marriage just because he thinks he's young? All homewreckers should be punished!"
Some of the audience who had tissue packets, mineral water bottles, and even items such as eyebrow razors started throwing them at me, and Wade picked the eyebrow razor up to flash it before me threateningly.
"Your pretty little face is about to be ruined. Would your rich lover want you after that?"
I panicked with fear. "Don't you dare! My mom won't let you get away with this once she's here!"
Wade smiled at me with disdain. "Are you still thinking about your sugar mommy at a time like this? This program is sponsored by Lorne Corporation. Your sugar mommy would never offend the Lornes for you!"
The two other band members agreed. "You should count yourself lucky that the Lornes don't come after you for ruining the program they're sponsoring."
"Don't waste any time with him, Wade. Just scratch his face, and we'll see if he can still afford to be so arrogant!"
Wade raised the eyebrow razor and aimed it at my face. I could not move as they were holding me down, and I closed my eyes in despair. That was when a voice was heard roaring from the door.
"Stop! Let my son go!"