Chapter 161: You Wear Streetwear? We're Family Then!

"Our biggest problem right now is that even with daily urging, our male lead only shoots for an hour and a half. If this continues, our venue rental costs are going to soar, and you might have to invest a bit more," the director complained to Zhou Tiesheng.

"And then there's the screenwriter. She's normally only here when Huang Ting is around, and shortly after Huang Ting leaves, she finds an excuse to leave too..."

Observing certain patterns over the past few days, the director found it difficult to speak plainly, so he could only drop subtle hints to Zhou Tiesheng.

However, completely infatuated and trusting Tian Sinseng implicitly during this honeymoon phase, Zhou Tiesheng naturally didn't suspect anything. He patted the director's shoulder reassuringly.

"It's fine, a few more days won't hurt," Zhou Tiesheng sighed. "You know how it is. Tian Sinseng used to just write novels, never stepping out of her house. Now that she's working as a screenwriter for the first time, it's only natural that she needs some time to adjust..."

Seeing him respond this way, the director said no more. Only by learning to keep quiet could one survive long in the entertainment industry.

Tian Sinseng arrived at that moment, her face still flushed with a lingering excitement.

"You're here!" Tian Sinseng threw herself directly into Zhou Tiesheng's arms.

Zhou Tiesheng was met with a sudden wave of perfume.

The scent was a bit peculiar, smelling almost like two different fragrances mixed together.

"It smells lovely. What were you up to just now?" Zhou Tiesheng asked.

Tian Sinseng's body stiffened for a second, and then she stammered, "I... I just went shopping and happened to see a new perfume, so I tried it out."

Zhou Tiesheng nodded. "Ah, where's Huang Ting?"

The relaxation Tian Sinseng had just felt instantly vanished, and she tensed up again.

"Huang Ting?" Tian Sinseng stared into Zhou Tiesheng's face.

Ensuring that Zhou Tiesheng hadn't noticed anything amiss, she replied, "He left earlier."

Zhou Tiesheng nodded. "Well, I still need to talk to him tomorrow. One hour of shooting a day simply isn't enough; the other actors are almost done with all their scenes."

Tian Sinseng nodded, recalling what had just transpired, and smiled secretly to herself.

...

A new month had already begun.

At the start of July, two of Lin Ze's songs predictably surged onto the new release charts.

One was *Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Examination*, and the other was *Embodying the Solitary Island Whale*.

People clearly hadn't realized where the real issue lay yet.

Amid everyone's eager anticipation, the detailed points for the two preliminary qualifying rounds were finally released.

Lin Ze took first place without a shadow of a doubt, while Old Shi and Xu Shenshen tied for second.

Panda successfully squeezed into third place.

Relying on a rock track yesterday, Rong Zhengyu had narrowly missed breaking into the top three.

Unfortunately, he ultimately stopped short at fourth place.

The upcoming matches would be the challenge rounds.

Everyone still held two songs in reserve, and the bottom four contestants could choose to challenge the top three.

Challengers were required to use one of their own original songs.

If a challenged contestant was targeted multiple times, they were permitted to use songs previously performed by others in the show.

Lin Ze arrived quite early today, and when he walked in, only Panda was sitting in the lounge.

He caught a faint smell of stewed pears as he drew closer.

"What's wrong? Catch a cold or feeling overheated? Why are you drinking stewed pear soup?" Lin Ze asked with some amusement.

"Not really," Panda rubbed his chubby cheeks. "I just have a premonition that I'm going to face a lot of challenges today..."

"Hahaha, don't worry about it. Who knows, maybe Xu Shenshen will get challenged even more."

Judging purely by vocal ability, Xu Shenshen was still slightly weaker. Once the first song Old Shi wrote for him was dealt with, the rest would be much easier to handle.

The rest of the contestants arrived one after another, and at the designated hour, the livestream officially began.

[It's starting, it's finally starting!]

[These final rounds of songs are the only ones truly satisfying to listen to!]

[The show is coming to an end, and I'm so reluctant to see it go. I wonder if there will be a next season, and if Lin Ze will participate again...]

In the seating area, Lin Ze and the other two sat on one side, while the remaining four sat on the opposite side, forming a clear standoff.

The four members of the lower tier were whispering among themselves, apparently strategizing for the upcoming challenges.

Without wasting any breath, the director had staff bring out four golden eggs.

The final draw of the program was about to begin.

Liang Xiang rubbed her hands together, took a small hammer, and smashed it straight down onto her golden egg.

"One!"

With that single strike, everyone except Liang Xiang was overjoyed.

Liang Xiang would now have to use one of her own songs to knock out a song belonging to the top three. No matter whose song she targeted, it would create an opportunity for the other three in the lower tier.

"I quit, Director! I demand to withdraw from the show!"

"Quick, why aren't you thanking Sister Liang yet?" Li Yangyang hugged her golden egg cheerfully and shouted to Liang Xiang, "Thank you, Sister Liang!"

Chen Nan followed Li Yangyang's lead, shouting shyly, "Thank you, Sister Liang."

Rong Zhengyu calculated whether he or Liang Xiang was older, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Thank you, Lian..."

As Rong Zhengyu spoke, he caught Liang Xiang's incredulous glare and wisely shut his mouth.

[Does anyone in the know understand whether Liang Xiang or Rong Zhengyu is older?]

[Are you kidding? Of course it's Rong Zhengyu. How long ago was it when Rong Zhengyu first wrote songs for people? Liang Xiang wasn't even in the entertainment industry back then!]

[What looks like strategizing over who to attack is actually just figuring out how to play the human favors card gracefully.]

"..."

Liang Xiang honestly accepted her role as cannon fodder.

Not every song suited her sweet style. Among her remaining two tracks, while one was prepared as a surprise for everyone, compared to the other three, she was unquestionably the weakest player left on the field.

Before long, Liang Xiang stood up and looked toward the three contestants in the top tier.

"I choose to challenge... Panda!"

Challenging Panda!

The three of them remained completely calm, as if they had anticipated this outcome all along.

Panda took a sip of his snow pear soup, then stood up.

Accepted!

...

"Rap? Can that even be called rap?"

On the set of *I Am a Great Rapper*, contestants were passionately performing their own rap pieces.

"My chest is burning! My head is throbbing!"

"If you don't come and watch our show, you're missing out big time!"

Each of the rappers dressed like street-style fashion icons, trying their utmost to project swagger, striking poses even when they weren't performing.

Yet only Wu Qian knew the truth...

The viewership ratings for his show had been steadily declining.

For some reason, people seemed to prefer watching the auditions; why didn't they want to watch the actual competition?

After the recording ended, Wu Qian fell into deep contemplation.

He opened the livestream of a certain other variety show. On screen, the challenge round was currently underway.

Li Yangyang, being the last challenger in the sequence, stood alongside Xu Shenshen, waiting for the scores to be tallied.

Xu Shenshen was wearing a tilted cap, a thick gold chain around his neck, and a large pair of dark sunglasses.

Upon seeing this outfit, Wu Qian's eyes instantly lit up.

"Good grief! Turns out you're a rapper too!"