Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The domestic entertainment industry has been incredibly dull over the past two years.

With talent shows banned and dating shows canceled, other variety shows have also become repetitive and lacking in innovation, leaving the audience completely bored.

Now, veteran variety show director Song Yingming has made a comeback with a competitive music show.

The explosive debut of "The Voice of Heaven" instantly captured everyone's attention.

Especially the show's unprecedented move of only releasing one line of a contestant's performance, which was completely groundbreaking in the entire domestic entertainment industry.

Therefore, from the show's broadcast at 8 PM last night until now, every viewer who watched the show has been talking about this.

The show's move caused several topics to trend overnight.

One of the trending hashtags, #TheMostUniqueWayToOpenAMusicShow, attracted a lot of attention.

Curious netizens, intrigued by the hashtag, clicked in, only to quickly exit, cursing.

"With such a daring move, does the internet really have no one left that the production team of 'The Voice of Heaven' cares about?"

However, despite the audience's complaints, their eagerness to watch the show remains strong.

Especially after seeing many on-site staff or eliminated contestants coming forward to spill the beans on various platforms.

Source No. 1: "Due to a confidentiality agreement, I can't reveal too many details, but I can say that the wait is totally worth it!! When you watch the next episode, you'll realize that the one line the show edited is nothing compared to the real deal, which will blow your mind."

Source No. 2: "Exactly, I'm not a paid shill, but you absolutely must watch the second episode. After hearing the live performance, I turned into a screaming mess yelling 'holy crap'."

Source No. 3: "I’m dying to spill the beans, but I have to hold back. I declare, 'Goodbye Yesterday' is my anthem, XXXXX is the god among gods!"

The audience's curiosity was already through the roof.

Now, with so many verified contestants coming forward to confirm and hype it up, the singer of 'Goodbye Yesterday' has become even more mysterious and impressive in the audience's minds.

Their curiosity about him has hit an all-time high.

"How mind-blowing? Spill it! How can I know if you don't say it!!!!"

"Please, have pity on me. There are still six days and ten hours until next Saturday. How am I supposed to survive this long before the answer is revealed?"

"Guys!!! Did anyone notice the mosaic in Source No. 3's post? XXXXX, does that mean the name is five characters long?"

"Can anyone with lightning-fast internet speed list which famous online singers have five-character names?"

After the broadcast of "The Voice of Heaven," besides the shocking editing that kept everyone on edge, the show's deliberate choice to use numbers instead of names and not revealing any contestant names (or online handles) in the first round also set off a wave of discussions.

Among the singers who appeared in the first episode, except for those who had never participated in any competitions before and remained unidentified, almost all the somewhat famous ones online had their identities exposed.

Therefore, after seeing Source No. 3's mosaic, the already hooked audience tried to match voices in that direction, attempting to skip listening to the full performance and uncover the singer's identity first.

However, the voice was too unique, and with only that brief line as a sample, the misinformed netizens, after a night of listing many five-character named singers, found that none matched.

The next day at noon, after the buzz had built up online, in the meeting room of the director's group of *The Voice of Heaven*.

The head of the editing team, who had pulled several all-nighters, looked pitifully toward the chief director.

"Director Song, netizens are so eager they might jump me on my way home, throw a sack over my head, and demand the second episode's footage! What should I do?"

After pulling several all-nighters, he finally got a good night's sleep last night, only to wake up today and find the situation on Weibo absolutely terrifying!

He wasn't sure if he'd get beaten up, but he knew sleep was out of the question tonight.

After all, the netizens, who had their curiosity piqued but were left hanging, had already bombarded the official Weibo accounts of *The Voice of Heaven* across several platforms in just one night.

He was worried his personal Weibo account might get swamped too.

The head of publicity and operations nodded in agreement and immediately showed Song Yingming the 999+ private messages and comments on his phone.

However, instead of directly conveying the netizens' words, he took a roundabout approach to tell Song Yingming.

"Director Song, netizens say it's okay to broadcast the second episode next week, but they hope you can give more clues in the behind-the-scenes footage. They say they can hook you up with a really fun blind box after it drops!"

The operations head stressed the words "really fun" to try to tug at Song Yingming's heartstrings.

The operations head's words actually had some effect.

Song Yingming, who usually couldn't care less about public opinion, was actually a bit swayed by this proposal.

He picked up his glass, took a leisurely sip of tea, and then spoke slowly.

"Is everyone really that curious?"

The others nodded quickly.

Hearing this, Song Yingming ran a hand through his thinning hair, seriously considering spilling the beans to everyone.

After a few moments, he finally spoke, "In that case, let's give the audience a few generous clues."

Hearing the chief director's words, the editor, who had been told a few days ago to include a line from the song sung in the cat costume, was shocked.

Director Song, who was always ready to take the heat for the sake of buzz, had actually...

Had a change of heart?

Under everyone's curious gaze, Song Yingming opened the video that had been blowing up on the short video platform lately.

Looking at the ridiculously cute cat costume interacting with two frogs, Song Yingming smiled and rewatched it several times before sharing it with the operations team.

Soon, the official Weibo of *The Voice of Heaven* dropped some new behind-the-scenes footage.

*The Voice of Heaven* Official: Heard y'all wanna know who sang the last line~ Hold tight, babies, the second episode's got the tea!! But today, the official Weibo's got some fresh behind-the-scenes footage for you. If you can't catch the singing, why not check out their speaking voice first~ "Adorbs" "Adorbs"

Below this Weibo post, the editor had clipped an audio of Su Xingyao speaking.

Suddenly seeing this updated audio, netizens were a bit taken aback.

"When did Song Yingming become so kind?"

"My intuition tells me this audio isn't that simple, but I still can't help but want to click on it immediately."

Many netizens, knowing there might be a trap, still couldn't resist clicking on it.

And then...

"Boo hoo, the sneaky official account lured me in just to hear this..."

"How about releasing the raw audio? Who wants to hear the processed version? (╬◣д◢)"

"Official account, you're not my sweet baby anymore; you're just a big fat liar who played with my feelings QWQ."

The official account, which had already provided the "original" live sound but was still misunderstood by the audience: 【Feeling blue】【Feeling blue】【Feeling blue】

Noticing the official account was always online, acting all cute and cuddly, the netizens kept trying to sweet-talk it.

"Stop being cute!! Tell Song Yingming to drop the behind-the-scenes clips now!"

"Take it easy, be nice, be nice, sweetie official account, let's cut a deal, alright? What if you sneak out a photo now? Do that, and I'll like, share, and binge your show daily, deal?"

Right after posting, the netizen got an instant reply from the official account.

Official account: Cat clapping hands.gif

This gif was specially crafted by the official account from Su Xingyao's frog interaction clip, chosen to tease the fans.

However, the unaware netizens saw it and—

"Don't try to sidetrack me with my virtual pet cat!!!"

"Trying to trick me again, you big fat liar!"

Official account: "Feeling down" "Feeling down"

Thanks to The Voice of Heaven's official account's moves, the buzz around this mysterious one-liner singer even topped all the mentors.

Even super mentor Fu Qingyan, joining the show, didn't get as much spotlight as this mysterious singer.

Fu Qingyan's manager had a whole promo plan ready, but seeing all eyes on the mysterious singer, he was a bit miffed.

"This is your variety show debut, and everyone's glued to someone else..."

He barely started when Fu Qingyan waved him off, hinting to chill out.

"It's all small stuff, this isn't my main gig."

Fu Qingyan shrugged it off, opened the video, and jumped to the last twenty seconds of the first episode.

Hearing the sweet, familiar voice, he didn't hold back on the praise.

"He's got a great voice, totally worth all the hype."

*

Fu Qingyan was cool with being upstaged, but not everyone was.

Just as Shen Huaixi was heading out to dine with Qin Mingchuan and Fu Qingyan, his adoptive mom, Wen Ningshu, video-called.

After some small talk, she popped the question.

"Xiao Xi, I caught you judging on The Voice of Heaven today."

Touched by his mom's attention, Shen Huaixi beamed.

"Thanks, mom."

But right after he finished speaking, he heard Wen Ningshu speak again, "Who’s that singer who only sang one line? I noticed everyone’s asking, but no one seems to know."

As a huge supporter of Shen Huaixi’s career, Wen Ningshu is one of the most loyal fans of her foster son in the entertainment industry.

No matter what show he’s on, she’ll watch it and share her thoughts with him afterward.

Today, she watched Shen Huaixi’s show as usual, but, like everyone else, she got really curious about the person who only sang one line at the end.

Netizens didn’t know who it was because the show deliberately kept it a secret.

But since her foster son’s a mentor on the show, she could naturally find out who it was before anyone else.

Just as curious, she naturally thought to ask her dear son.

Shen Huaixi was already annoyed because the other guy had been trending all day, stealing his spotlight.

So when his foster mom also asked about the guy, Shen Huaixi got even more irritated.

He didn’t show it in front of her and just replied casually, "I don’t know either."

After a brief pause, hearing her confusion, he explained, "He sang in a cat costume, and the show didn’t reveal his identity, so none of the mentors know who he is."

Wen Ningshu was clearly surprised by this.

"A cat costume?"

Imagining the scene, Wen Ningshu found it amusing and said, "I really liked his singing—didn’t expect him to be so fun in person."

Shen Huaixi’s expression darkened slightly.

During the show, he worked hard to build an image of being serious about music, even though he’s not a professional singer.

His team had planned to use the show to boost his popularity.

But thanks to this mysterious No. 78, only his fans are talking about it—no one else seems to care.

Even his doting foster mom, Wen Ningshu, is curious about the guy.

"Mom... I don’t think he’s all that interesting."

Wen Ningshu immediately noticed the drop in his tone.

Realizing she might’ve upset him, she quickly switched to comforting him, "I was just curious, sweetie. Of course, I’m watching the show for you."

"Your critiques are so sharp and professional—you must’ve prepared a lot. You’ve worked so hard, dear."

Shen Huaixi’s mood didn’t improve despite her words.

After brushing her off with a few casual replies, he hung up.

When Shen Huaixi arrived at the private room, Qin Mingchuan was already there.

"Qingyan has an interview; he’ll be here later."

After pulling out a chair to sit, Shen Huaixi explained Fu Qingyan’s delay to Qin Mingchuan.

The dinner had been arranged by Qin Mingchuan as a welcome for Fu Qingyan, who had just returned from filming abroad.

Though it was a bit late.

But he had been preoccupied with Su Xingyao's issues for a while, and only recently had he felt up to meeting friends for a meal.

Qin Mingchuan sat across from Shen Huaixi, gazing at the face of someone he had liked for years, but for some reason, the image of Su Xingyao suddenly flashed through his mind.

He started to wonder what it would be like to have dinner with Su Xingyao today.

"Mingchuan, what's up?"

Shen Huaixi noticed Qin Mingchuan staring and waved a hand in front of his face.

"What are you thinking about?"

Qin Mingchuan snapped back to reality, offering Shen Huaixi an awkward smile. "Nothing, just feels like it's been forever since we last ate together."

"I've been swamped with the show lately, packed with schedules."

Shen Huaixi glanced at the trending topics. He clicked the hashtag and skimmed the trending info before casually mentioning, "Xing Yao's trending again."

As Fu Qingyan walked in, he caught Shen Huaixi's words.

His gentle smile vanished, his eyes turning icy.

"What's he done now?"

Shen Huaixi handed his phone over. "Xing Yao's left the company."

He turned to Qin Mingchuan. "When did this go down?"

Shen Huaixi's tone had an edge of accusation.

He, Fu Qingyan, and Su Xingyao were all signed to Qin Mingchuan's Star Entertainment.

Though Qin Mingchuan owned the company, Shen Huaixi handled most decisions.

When Qin Mingchuan suddenly took over and replaced the management, Shen Huaixi wasn't thrilled.

But as the boss, Qin Mingchuan didn't need to know about Shen Huaixi and his parents' meddling, so Shen kept quiet.

He never expected Qin Mingchuan to secretly terminate Su Xingyao's contract without telling him.

The sudden loss of control left Shen Huaixi deeply unsettled.

Qin Mingchuan noticed Shen Huaixi's sudden anger, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind.

But Fu Qingyan's words brushed that doubt aside.

"Did Su Xingyao reach out to you?"

Qin Mingchuan pulled up a chair, sat down, took off his jacket, and threw it over the back of the chair before speaking.

"We terminated the contract after watching the meteor shower last time."

He first answered Shen Huaixi's question, then turned to Fu Qingyan.

"He didn't contact me. I ran into him that night while I was out for a walk."

At the mention of the meteor shower night, Qin Mingchuan's expression darkened.

This made him think of the man who kept showing up by Su Xingyao's side and repeatedly stopped him.

When Shen Huaixi heard this from Qin Mingchuan, he realized how much he didn’t know, and his expression darkened.

No wonder he’d been feeling like something wasn’t right lately.

Turns out, the problem was Qin Mingchuan.

Shen Huaixi opened his mouth, about to ask for more details about their meeting.

But Qin Mingchuan clearly didn’t want to talk about it. He adjusted his tie and brushed it off with a few vague remarks.

"He said he wanted to terminate the contract, so I agreed," Qin Mingchuan said dismissively.

Fu Qingyan stayed silent. He’d noticed Qin Mingchuan changed the management after the Su Xingyao and Jiang Zihang incident. He’d guessed Qin Mingchuan would stand up for Su Xingyao.

Qin Mingchuan was soft-hearted. If Su Xingyao played the victim card during their meeting and asked to terminate the contract, it wasn’t surprising Qin Mingchuan agreed.

Fu Qingyan didn’t bother with Su Xingyao’s issue or check the trending topics. He just found a seat and sat down.

Shen Huaixi stood there, glancing at the two men who clearly didn’t want to discuss it, then awkwardly returned to his seat.

After a moment, he turned to Qin Mingchuan for confirmation.

"Is Xingyao terminating the contract because he wants to quit the industry?" Shen Huaixi asked.

He looked conflicted but relieved. "If he leaves the industry, it might be for the best. Mom and Dad won’t have to worry about him anymore."

Qin Mingchuan didn’t answer, just glanced at Shen Huaixi with a slight frown.

For a while now, there was one thing he couldn’t understand.

Why did Uncle Shen and Aunt Wen support Shen Huaixi so much but oppose Su Xingyao, even though both were in the entertainment industry?

They were both their sons, doing the same work...

This thought had been on Qin Mingchuan’s mind for a while, but he decided the favoritism was the parents’ doing and had nothing to do with Shen Huaixi, so he kept it to himself.

Then, Qin Mingchuan pulled out his phone and opened Weibo.

He had a Weibo account, created when Shen Huaixi debuted, to like and support his posts as a star.

Though it was a joke, Qin Mingchuan occasionally used the account to like Shen Huaixi’s posts.

But this time, he wasn’t logging in for Shen Huaixi.

He wanted to check the trending topic about Su Xingyao.

The fifth trending topic was #Su Xingyao Finally Leaves Yingxing#, and the sixth was #Congratulations Yingxing#.

When he saw these topics, Qin Mingchuan’s expression turned grim.

When he terminated Su Xingyao’s contract, he’d done it quietly to avoid causing trouble for him.

After the termination, the company only deleted Su Xingyao’s information as his lawyer requested, without any public announcements about the split.

Qin Mingchuan thought that was enough.

But he didn’t expect Shen Huaixi’s fans to dig it up and blow it out of proportion. Qin Mingchuan patiently clicked into the trending topic and found that the top posts were all from Shen Huaixi's big fans, holding giveaways to celebrate.

"Congrats to Yingxing for cutting ties with that guy. Our awesome company has finally ditched that bad luck charm."

"So happy for my baby Xixi, finally free from being tied down just because they were in the same company."

"I'm dying laughing, guys. After Yingxing terminated the contract, not only did they not issue an announcement, but they also completely wiped out all of that guy's information. You can tell they really can't stand the other person, LOL."

"That's Su Xingyao's karma for ya~"

On the square, aside from Shen Huaixi's fans throwing giveaways to celebrate, Fu Qingyan's fans quietly joined in too.

They've always had a low opinion of Su Xingyao, thinking that having such a lowlife in the same company as their idol really drags down the brand.

So they jumped on the bandwagon of mocking Su Xingyao too, joining in the glee with other fans and bystanders.

"Even Yingxing, his so-called 'father,' doesn't want him anymore. Where can Su Xingyao go now?"

"Who cares where he ends up, as long as he stays away from our darling's company. I'm scared of catching some trashy vibes from him."

"What company would even want to touch that trash?"

"Speaking of which, hasn't he been laying low lately? After this contract termination, is he just gonna fast-forward to quitting the industry?"

"For real?? The day he quits, I'm setting off fireworks and celebrating for three days straight."

Seeing all these people on the square tearing into Su Xingyao, Qin Mingchuan's face turned dark.

He knows better than anyone that the rumors aren't true. Yingxing doesn't hate Su Xingyao at all.

In fact, they didn't even want to end the contract with Su Xingyao.

But right now, no one cares about the truth. Everyone's just spreading made-up rumors and using them to trash Su Xingyao.

Qin Mingchuan skimmed through the Weibo posts of Shen Huaixi's top fans, who were super active in the front row.

He never thought that something he tried to handle with class would get dug up and twisted like this by them.

As his fingers scrolled up and down the phone screen, Qin Mingchuan thought these people were just plain toxic.

His finger accidentally touched someone's @Su Xingyao account while sliding.

The screen instantly switched to Su Xingyao's Weibo profile.

This was the first time Qin Mingchuan clicked into Su Xingyao's profile.

Only then did he realize that Su Xingyao hadn't updated his Weibo for a very, very long time.

The last content he posted was two years ago...

Seeing the pinned post with over a million comments, Qin Mingchuan hesitated, almost afraid to click and scroll down.

But in the end, he clicked.

What met his eyes was an endless stream of unspeakable insults...

Qin Mingchuan couldn't bear to read another word.

He directly exited Weibo, got up, and walked out of the private room.

"You guys eat first, I'm going to make a phone call."

Just once, as an onlooker, he couldn’t stand such a negative trending topic, but over the years, Su Xingyao has endured it countless times.

And every time, his company never stepped in to handle it for him.

The more Qin Mingchuan thought about it, the more guilty he felt, and the less he wanted to think about it.

He quickly made a call to have someone take down the trending topic.

After finishing the call, he returned to the room and saw Shen Huaixi’s face, suddenly recalling the incident where his big fans had orchestrated the insults against Su Xingyao.

Sitting back down next to him, after some thought, Qin Mingchuan directly addressed Shen Huaixi.

“Huaixi, ask your fans to stop spreading rumors about Xingyao.”

Shen Huaixi, who had just felt slightly better seeing Su Xingyao being insulted, stared at Qin Mingchuan, shocked.

“What did you say?”

Qin Mingchuan’s phone rang at that moment, and ignoring Shen Huaixi, he got up and walked out.

Shen Huaixi stood there, stunned, staring at Qin Mingchuan’s retreating figure, unable to believe what he had just said to him.

What is happening today?

Why is everyone making things difficult for me?

*

These days, Su Xingyao has been frequently trending in various identities.

But he, who no longer pays much attention to the internet, actually had no idea about these things.

He only heard about his contract termination from someone else.

The day after the contract termination trend, he received a call from Song Yingming, the chief director of *The Voice of Heaven*.

Song Yingming highly recommended a supposedly healing-themed variety show, asking if he’d like to guest on an episode.

After hearing Song Yingming’s words, Su Xingyao almost thought it was a wrong number.

“Director Song… are you sure you haven’t mistaken the guest…”

Song Yingming immediately understood what he meant and said with a bit of pride, “Do I seem like someone who’s scared of criticism?”

Su Xingyao, of course, knew that Song Yingming wasn’t afraid of criticism.

Because the show he was about to join wasn’t his own.

“I mean your friend.”

Song Yingming immediately patted his chest and assured Su Xingyao, “Him? He’s got thicker skin than me, totally unfazed by criticism. Don’t worry, it’s just one episode, no need to stress.”

After saying this, Song Yingming also sent Su Xingyao a WeChat Moments screenshot.

Zhang Shanfeng (note: always second to Song Yingming): This healing vibe is perfect for my show.

The picture accompanying this WeChat Moments post was a cat waving off two frogs.

Song Yingming: “See? He agrees it’s a great fit.”

Su Xingyao read it, torn between amusement and frustration.

They were clearly talking about the cat...

Though it was him in the costume.

On the other end, Song Yingming, like a pushy salesperson, was still vigorously persuading Su Xingyao.

"Go for it, their show pays really well. I already told him I’d recommend you, and he’s totally on board."

Song Yingming quickly added, "Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him it was you in the costume, so your identity’s safe."

Su Xingyao couldn’t help but laugh at Song Yingming’s enthusiasm.

"Do I have to wear the mascot costume on the show?"

"Nah, just go as yourself."

"I’ll think it over."

Su Xingyao wasn’t too keen on variety shows, so he didn’t jump at the offer.

Song Yingming got the hint and didn’t push, only casually asking him as they were about to hang up.

"Xiao Su, so you’ve left your company, huh?"

"Yeah, Director Song."

"Found a new company yet?"

"Not yet..."

Song Yingming made an acknowledging sound, then after a few seconds added, "Next time, make sure you sign with a better company."

He laughed it off and changed the subject, "I’m just kidding, I’m just kidding, that’s all."

After hanging up, Su Xingyao looked up the show Song Yingming mentioned.

Even though netizens often slam Song Yingming for his over-the-top stunts to boost ratings, he’s actually got a solid rep in the industry and with viewers.

His buddy Zhang Shanfeng is just as well-respected, both being directors known for producing high-quality variety shows.

After being away from variety shows for a few years, he recently made a comeback with his good friend, continuing to do what they do best—live variety shows.

Su Xingyao spent the night scouring the web for their new show and found that it's a travel variety show that explores various customs and cultures across the country.

Only two episodes are out, but the vibe is warm and comforting.

After watching both episodes, Su Xingyao was into the show’s style and contacted the production team through Song Yingming.

With no company backing him, Su Xingyao had to handle everything himself.

Luckily, the production team was on the ball. After Su Xingyao got in touch with the contact person, the contract was quickly signed.

A few days later, the director texted him, letting him know he was officially on board for filming.