Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The man was impeccably dressed in a well-pressed suit, looking extremely formal. He carried a stack of documents and wore a professional smile.

As he approached Qin Mingchuan, he slightly bent over and politely extended his hand.

"Hello, are you Mr. Qin? I am Mr. Su's lawyer."

Lawyer Zhou introduced himself to Qin Mingchuan smoothly.

At that moment, Qin Mingchuan, standing across from him, had a completely shattered expression.

In a split second, his expression shifted from joy to surprise, then to disappointment.

Finally, all these emotions vanished, swallowed by a wave of bitter anger.

Qin Mingchuan never expected that after spending days meticulously planning what he thought would be a romantic dinner date, he would end up meeting Su Xingyao's lawyer...

Who the hell wants to sit down and talk business with this guy?!

On the verge of losing it, Qin Mingchuan clenched his fists, veins bulging fiercely.

He shot a fierce glare at the man, too furious to speak, and stormed out.

"Mr. Qin..."

The driver was stunned to see Qin Mingchuan emerge so quickly.

Wasn’t he supposed to be having dinner? Why’s he back already?

Qin Mingchuan was so furious his eyes were tinged with red. He didn’t even catch what the driver said.

After slamming the car door, he buried his head, yanked out his phone, and frantically dialed Su Xingyao’s number.

The driver had never seen Qin Mingchuan in such a state before. Seeing how enraged he was, the driver was too afraid to ask where to go.

Instead, he started the car aimlessly, picking a quiet, smooth road and driving steadily.

While Qin Mingchuan was frantically calling, Su Xingyao was sketching a design.

The "Voice of Heaven" staff had confirmed his performance makeup and styling with him the day before. The voice-changing mic was ready, and all that remained was his performance outfit.

The production team asked about his preferences and offered to handle the outfit, but Su Xingyao declined, opting to design the costume himself and have it custom-made.

He disliked interruptions while working, so he’d set his phone to silent.

By the time he finished and saw the missed calls, Qin Mingchuan had blown up his phone with forty-six calls.

Seeing the same number relentlessly calling, Su Xingyao knew exactly who it was.

When the next call came in, Su Xingyao picked up.

"Why didn’t you show up today? Were you busy?" Qin Mingchuan blurted out.

His tone was heavy, laced with unmistakable disappointment.

Su Xingyao had stood him up, and he was furious. But as soon as the call connected, he swallowed his anger and even made an excuse for Su Xingyao’s absence.

However, Su Xingyao, who was busy checking the design drafts, didn’t notice Qin Mingchuan’s downcast mood and simply informed him calmly.

"Just discuss the termination of the contract with my lawyer; he’s more professional."

Realizing that Su Xingyao couldn’t even be bothered to pretend to care now, Qin Mingchuan took a deep breath and remained silent for a long time.

"At least let’s have a meal together and talk things through properly."

Qin Mingchuan softened his voice, softer than usual, "Where are you now? I’ll come pick you up."

Dealing with Qin Mingchuan’s act was exhausting, and Su Xingyao didn’t want to waste any more words, so he put down the design drafts and prepared to hang up.

"I’ve already had dinner."

Sensing that Su Xingyao was about to hang up, Qin Mingchuan hurriedly interjected.

"I’ve replaced all those people on the Yingxing team."

His tone was urgent, desperate to let Su Xingyao know what he’d done for him lately.

"I know everything they did to you before. It was my managerial oversight, and I’m sorry. But Xing Yao, I really never meant for things to turn out like that..."

Qin Mingchuan spoke hurriedly, his voice slightly raised.

Su Xingyao held the phone away from his ear, waiting for Qin Mingchuan to finish before replying indifferently.

"I know," he said flatly.

No elaboration, just those four words.

As if casually agreeing to something as trivial as eating scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Su Xingyao couldn’t figure out what had prompted Qin Mingchuan to bring all this up now.

But he knew these things didn’t matter to him anymore.

Whether Qin Mingchuan replaced people or not was none of his concern.

So Qin Mingchuan didn’t need to go out of his way to tell him all this.

With that thought, Su Xingyao felt even less inclined to keep talking and considered hanging up again.

Their relationship was over as far as he was concerned.

Once the contract was over, there’d be no reason to stay in touch.

But Qin Mingchuan wasn’t ready to let it go that easily.

Su Xingyao’s cold indifference was too much for him, so he pressed on.

"I know it’s too late to change anything, but I’m the one who got you into Yingxing, so I owe you an explanation. This is on me. Can’t you at least give me a chance to make things right?"

As he spoke, Qin Mingchuan, usually so proud, sounded almost desperate.

It was the first time in years he’d spoken to Su Xingyao with such humility.

"We used to be friends, after all."

The word "friend" left Su Xingyao speechless.

He didn’t deny Qin Mingchuan’s words.

They had once been very close friends.

As the campus idol of the neighboring elite school, Qin Mingchuan never acted superior around him and even went out of his way to protect him, an orphan with no family.

But their friendship only held up as long as Shen Huaixi wasn’t involved.

Su Xingyao remembered too.

Shortly after he got back, Shen Huaixi asked him to go biking together.

This spoiled young master, who’d never ridden a bike before, wobbled the whole way.

After teasing Shen Huaixi for being clumsy, Qin Mingchuan went to grab some water for him and then asked Su Xingyao to steady the bike from behind.

But then something went wrong.

Shen Huaixi suddenly sped up while going downhill, pulling Su Xingyao, who was steadying the bike, down with him.

His arm got badly scraped up, and Shen Huaixi, who lost his grip on the handlebars, fell right off.

After Shen Huaixi hurt his hand, it was Qin Mingchuan who first came to question him.

"Why did you shove Huai Xi on purpose?"

Su Xingyao couldn’t recall how he felt when Qin Mingchuan misunderstood and accused him back then.

Looking back now, aside from the lingering pain from the scrapes, those false accusations and misunderstandings didn’t need any more explanation or worry from him.

He had already moved on from the past.

"Qin Mingchuan."

Su Xingyao said his name calmly.

"That’s all in the past now."

He gave a faint smile. "I think I’ve said enough just now."

"If you’ve got more questions, talk to my lawyer."

The line went dead.

Qin Mingchuan stared at the disconnected phone for what felt like forever.

When he finally came back to his senses, he noticed that the driver had already driven the car near the Shen family mansion and was slowing down.

Seeing this familiar place, he couldn’t help but frown.

"Why are we here?"

He remembered that he hadn’t said he wanted to come here.

Knowing that Qin Mingchuan was in a bad mood, the driver didn’t dare to provoke him and explained as usual.

"You didn’t say where to go just now, so I just drove around. You used to love coming here, so I guess I just drove here out of habit, unconsciously ending up near Young Master Shen’s house."

Qin Mingchuan was not pleased with the driver's words; instead, his frown deepened.

The driver's mention of "the Shen family's young master" grated on him.

Before, he wouldn't have had a problem with this phrasing.

But now, he couldn't stand hearing anyone say it.

This was clearly Su Xingyao's home too.

Yet it seemed as if no one ever acknowledged it.

Even his own driver instinctively saw the Shen family as having only Shen Huaixi as the son, as if Su Xingyao didn't exist.

But Qin Mingchuan knew very well.

Actually, everyone knew about Su Xingyao, but no one bothered to care.

Everyone had long since agreed, subconsciously, that Su Xingyao was an insignificant, marginal figure in the Shen family...

He wasn't worth anyone's attention or mention, nor did he need it.

Six years had passed before Qin Mingchuan finally noticed this issue.

He couldn't help but remember Su Xingyao's pale face when he fainted back then.

Remembering what he had said to him back then, Qin Mingchuan punched the car window, feeling deeply upset.

*

Though Qin Mingchuan was upset by Su Xingyao's words on the phone, he kept his dignity intact.

He had his lawyer discuss the contract termination with Su Xingyao's lawyer.

He didn't want to complicate things for Su Xingyao, so the process was swift.

On termination day, Star Entertainment honored its promise by deleting all of Su Xingyao's records from the company.

From then on, Su Xingyao and Star Entertainment had no further connection.

Once free from the agency contract, Su Xingyao became a free agent again.

Soon after the termination, he received the contract for "The Voice of Heaven." After reviewing the contract, he signed up for the show he wanted to join—marking the first time he had ever signed such a contract on his own.

Xiao Li had been trying to reach Su Xingyao for quite a while.

But since he hadn't responded, by the time everything was set, the show was almost ready to launch.

Su Xingyao was the final contestant confirmed for the show.

Soon after signing the contract, the show's team started their promotional and pre-launch efforts.

"The Voice of Heaven" was structured as a music variety show.

Unlike traditional singing contests, it was more like a talent show.

However, the contestants weren't trainees from big companies or famous singers.

Instead, the show's producers searched the internet to invite skilled individuals from the public to compete.

These contestants were new faces to the audience, bringing a fresh vibe but also a major early-stage challenge.

The issue is, it lacks appeal.

If it can't attract viewers from the get-go, even the most promising program will struggle to become a hit.

Plus, this music variety show is overshadowed by the popularity of dating and talent shows.

In terms of buzz and viewer engagement, it naturally falls short compared to those two shows.

Song Yingming, the chief director who has previously worked on hit talent and dating shows, is well aware of this drawback.

So, leveraging his expertise, he adopted the same model he used for his talent shows.

He brought in four high-profile mentors and a superstar guest to anchor the show.

With these five stars on board, even if the contestants lack buzz early on, they alone can generate excitement.

Soon, the show's team announced the mentor lineup on their official Weibo account.

The first mentor announced by *The Voice of Heaven* is Sheng Yan, a top idol who debuted as the center two years ago and is now at his peak.

Next, they revealed powerhouse singer Wen Yun and musical prodigy Xu Beizhou.

These three are big names in the music scene, well-known to audiences.

Even Sheng Yan, despite being a traffic star, has solid talent with several hit songs to his name.

So, after *The Voice of Heaven* announced these three, everyone was on edge waiting for the final mentor.

But the fourth mentor's name wasn't revealed until the day before recording.

The fourth mentor came as a bit of a surprise.

The show's team brought in Shen Huaixi.

A traffic star with fans for his acting, singing, and good looks.

The stark contrast between Shen Huaixi and the other mentors sent his name straight to the hot search, just as expected.

So, even before the show aired, the buzz around *The Voice of Heaven* was already heating up thanks to the mentor lineup.

*

The online chatter didn't involve Su Xingyao at all.

He was currently stuck dealing with two mascot costumes he'd received.

The issue was, he'd designed these mascot costumes based on Sunset and Coral—a dog suit and a cat suit.

He was set to record tomorrow, but Sunset and Coral, who usually get along, were squabbling over which costume he'd wear.

Of course, they weren't really fighting; they just sat in front of their costumes, staring at Su Xingyao, neither backing down.

"Why don't you two play rock-paper-scissors?"

Not wanting to upset either, Su Xingyao suggested a solution to break the stalemate.

Sunset, always quick to back Su Xingyao, got it right away and lifted its paws, ready to settle the score.

Coral shot it a disdainful look, as if it were an idiot.

It lifted a paw and gave it a lick.

No way! With their paws, what else can they do but throw 'paper'?

Rock-paper-scissors wasn't going to work, but soon Su Xingyao came up with another idea.

He took out a die and used the simplest and most primitive method.

Whoever rolls the higher number gets to wear their own costume.

Once they happily agreed on the decision, the two animals immediately went along with it.

Although Sunset was much larger than Coral, the number it rolled was five points lower than Coral's.

So, the petite Coral, with a roll of six, got its headgear to accompany Su Xingyao to the initial stage of 'The Voice of Heaven'.

After picking the cat costume, Su Xingyao set it down in front of him and started inspecting it carefully.

The costumes were specially designed for singing and holding the microphone.

But since he didn't make them himself, he noticed some minor issues in the details.

The mouth area, in particular, was too thick and not ideal for singing.

So, he cut out that part, made a small opening, and replaced it with a lighter black mesh that didn't show anything inside.

As he was sewing, Lu Jiuxu walked over.

He'd been watching Su Xingyao draw blueprints and work on the costumes over the past few days, so he crouched beside him, watching him work and chatting with him.

"How do you know how to do so many things?"

On top of that, just a few days ago, he made an animal bus for Lu Zhiyun. He even painted all the exteriors himself, making them look vivid and incredibly detailed.

Because Su Xingyao is good-looking and has fair skin, people often assume he's never done any manual labor growing up.

So, seeing him do so many things most people can't, Lu Jiuxu couldn't help but be curious.

After sewing the last piece of mesh, Su Xingyao dusted off his hands, satisfied.

He gave Lu Jiuxu a slight smirk and said with a hint of pride, "I picked it up from my sister when I was a kid."

After his adoptive mom passed away, his adoptive dad turned into a gambler and a drunk.

Because of that, the family barely scraped by and often went hungry, so his sister started making handmade items to supplement the family income from middle school.

The best part of Su Xingyao's childhood was after school and on weekends, when he and his sister would sell pancakes and quickly make handicrafts.

Whenever there were no customers, they would rush to create some beautiful and delicate items and then set up a stall at the night market.

At first, because he was young, he just watched his sister do it alone.

But later, as he watched, he learned, and seeing his strong desire to participate, his sister started to involve him.

Those days were actually very hard, and the handicrafts didn't sell for much money.

But as long as he was outside making these little things with his sister, he didn't have to go home and face his abusive adoptive father.

Those moments were incredibly precious and hard-won for Su Xingyao.

When Lu Jiuxu heard Su Xingyao mention his sister, his eyes shifted subtly, as if he had also thought of something.

After a while, he finally spoke, "You have a sister too?"

Su Xingyao, not noticing his unusual reaction, nodded and replied quietly, "Yes, I do."

"But she has already passed on."

Seeing the forced smile on Su Xingyao's face, Lu Jiuxu realized he had brought up a sore topic.

He quickly apologized and didn't press further.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it's okay."

Su Xingyao immediately smiled, grabbed the costume, and opened his phone's camera.

"Mr. Lu, how does it look?"

After saying this, he held the costume in his right hand and waved toward Coral and Sunset.

"How about taking a photo with us for a memento!"

Early the next morning, Su Xingyao hailed a cab by himself to the recording site of "The Voice of Heaven."

*

But because the recording venue was newly built, and he happened to encounter a driver who was on his first day, the driver ended up taking the wrong route and dropped Su Xingyao off one stop early.

After sending his live location to the staff, Su Xingyao saw that it wasn't too far and decided to walk the rest of the way.

The distance didn't seem far, but actually, it took him nearly twenty minutes to walk.

Upon arrival, Su Xingyao discovered that "The Voice of Heaven" was incredibly extravagant, and the recording venue was correspondingly very large.

The B entrance he needed to enter was still across a huge plaza.

Having already walked for over twenty minutes, Su Xingyao, in the bulky costume, was tired and thirsty.

Looking at the remaining distance, he decided to take a breather before continuing.

However, he had barely caught his breath when he heard a commotion behind him.

A large group of people in uniforms swept past him.

One of them, in a hurry, slammed into him.

Su Xingyao, already somewhat clumsy in the costume, almost toppled over from the forceful impact.

His arms waved wildly, and it took him a while to finally steady himself.

Being bumped into without an apology, their rudeness made Su Xingyao feel uncomfortable.

So he frowned and looked up, wanting to see who these people were, acting so entitled.

But as soon as he looked up, he saw the group suddenly stop and then head his way.

The man in the middle hurried over to Su Xingyao and stopped in front of him.

"Sorry, did I bump into you just now?"

Through the costume's mask, Su Xingyao saw the face of the polite man in front of him.

It was... Fu Qingyan.