Chapter Ninety-Eight: To All the Singer-Songwriters

Just as Chang Zheng was drowning in helplessness, his phone suddenly rang.

“Hello? Good afternoon.”

“Hello, this is Wang Xue, Lin Ze’s manager.”

The name made Chang Zheng’s heart give a sudden jolt.

Could it be exactly as I guessed earlier? A new person is coming in and they’re going to kick me out?

“Hello, hello...”

“You have time this week to come by the company, right? I’ll go over the things you need to keep in mind when appearing on a variety show, and then we’ll try filming a few times to make sure you won’t get nervous in front of the camera.”

The moment Chang Zheng heard the words variety show, he shot upright from the sofa.

“Me? A variety show?”

“That’s right. Come to the company tomorrow, and I’ll tell you in person.”

“Okay, okay.” Chang Zheng forced down the excitement in his chest and answered at once.

“Good. See you tomorrow.”

The call ended, but Chang Zheng remained in a state of intense exhilaration.

He hurriedly checked whether his hair had grown longer, whether his stubble would affect his image.

...

Tuesday arrived very quickly.

Lin Ze noticed a young man standing by a car on the roadside, dressed neatly and wearing white gloves.

After checking the license plate, he realized that this young man, who looked like a private driver, was actually his assistant.

“Brother Lin!”

No sooner had Lin Ze walked over than the young man gave him a ninety-degree bow without another word.

“Whoa there!”

That bow startled Lin Ze.

“What are you doing? Did you come out of the Creation Factory or something? Are you a trainee?”

The young man scratched his head and grinned. “Heh heh, Brother Lin, you really can tell. I actually went to the Creation Factory when they were recruiting, but I didn’t make the cut.”

“Then cut that out in the future.” Lin Ze waved a hand and dropped into the back seat.

The young man quickly moved to the driver’s seat and started the car.

The vehicle rolled forward slowly. Lin Ze asked with some curiosity, “You said you didn’t get picked, but I think your image is pretty decent. Why didn’t they choose you?”

“I...” The young man scratched his head. “I can’t sing, and I can’t dance. I did perform bubble-blowing for them. Too bad...”

The corner of Lin Ze’s mouth twitched twice.

Then you really can’t...

No, there were plenty of people in the Creation Factory who couldn’t sing or dance. Maybe his bubble-blowing just wasn’t that impressive.

“By the way, what’s your name?” Lin Ze asked again.

“Brother Lin, my name is Tian Haoran.” The young man smiled.

“Good.” Lin Ze looked at Tian Haoran a few more times. “Then I’ll be counting on you from now on.”

“Leave it to me, Brother Lin!”

The car soon arrived at the filming location.

Lin Ze greeted the fans gathered outside and slipped into the broadcasting building.

Before long, he reached the backstage area. As they walked, Tian Haoran explained the evening’s schedule in detail.

“Brother Lin, we’ll go to our own lounge first, then get our makeup done. After that, we’ll head to the big backstage lounge, where they’ll film some casual chat segments, and then everyone will draw their topics.”

“Got it.”

Lin Ze finished his makeup in the lounge. Seeing there was still plenty of time, he even remembered to take a selfie and send it to Su Zitan.

“Do a good job. After you’re done filming, let’s go out for a late-night snack.”

“Got it,” Lin Ze replied.

After that, under Tian Haoran’s lead, he headed toward the lounge.

When the door opened, Lin Ze found that many people were already seated inside.

The lounge had a U-shaped bench arranged in two tiers, upper and lower.

Li Xiyan and Chen Nan, two familiar faces, were sitting on the lower tier, and behind each of them sat another person. Those behind them were probably the lyricists and composers paired with them.

On the other side was another person sitting alone. When he saw Lin Ze enter, his face immediately lit up with excitement.

He looked to be in his thirties, but his manner carried a refined gentleness.

This must be Rong Zhengyu.

He was seated on the left side of the lounge, while on the right side there were also three pairs of contestants.

Those must be the three online singers.

“Did I... arrive late?” Lin Ze scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

“No, no!”

Rong Zhengyu was the first to stand up, lifting both hands to applaud Lin Ze.

As soon as he stood, the others all rose as well.

But with the cameras still rolling over there, Lin Ze didn’t have the cheek to accept their applause.

He hurried over and greeted each of them with bows and handshakes.

“No, no, please, I can’t take that.”

“I really love your songs. You’re amazing!” one of the three online singers said. He had a somewhat round face.

Lin Ze recognized him; he seemed to be called Panda. His face was round, he wore a Chinese-style outfit with froggy buttons, and a string of bodhi beads hung from his wrist.

Yet when he spoke, his voice was an impeccably clear youth’s voice, bright and transparent.

“I really like your voice too. It’s very nice,” Lin Ze replied sincerely.

“Then... will I ever get the chance to sing a song written by you, sir?” Panda asked with a simple smile.

Lin Ze glanced at the lyricist-composer sitting behind him. “That would depend on this teacher’s opinion, wouldn’t it?”

He deftly eased the awkwardness and introduced himself to the others in turn.

Fortunately, there wasn’t a single troublemaker among them.

It was just that everyone had left the middle seat for him. With three pairs seated on either side and him alone in the center, it looked a little...

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ze pulled Rong Zhengyu over.

Two lonely souls sitting in the middle made much more sense.

“Since everyone’s here, let’s get started early.”

The host’s electronic voice sounded in the room, and a screen on the TV in front of the U-shaped seating came to life.

After the camera swept across the crowd, the host drew a deep breath.

“Welcome to the miraculous iced tea with zero sugar, zero fat, and zero calories, delicious and non-fattening, sponsored by Super Singer-Songwriter!”

“I am your host, Lei Yuan!”

“As we all know, a great song depends not only on the singer, but naturally also on the lyricist and composer behind them.”

“This program uses a temporary theme: one day to conceive, one day to rehearse, and one evening to perform in this tense and thrilling competition format.”

“The results are decided by audience votes, so everyone can choose the strongest singer-songwriter pair in their hearts!”

“To heighten the tension even further, we use an elimination format in which the last pair is removed after each round of competition.”

“After a few rounds of these nerve-racking, heart-pounding contests, which creator will be the one to stay on this stage in the end and take first place?”

“Let us welcome the seven guest pairs for today!”

It had to be said, the host was genuinely skilled. He rattled off so much in one breath and didn’t once trip over his words.

“First pair, Chen Nan and Wang Chao!”

The cameraman drove the lens straight in on Chen Nan and Wang Chao’s faces.

Chen Nan stood where he was, a faint smile on his face, and waved toward the camera.

“Second pair, Li Xiyan and Liu Hua!”

“Third pair, Panda...”

“...”