This Star Only Wants More Money - Chapter 18
Translator: Diviner
Lin Shenghuan was clearly more surprised than Xu Feng, “Hmm? Aren’t you aware that a bunch of music bloggers are saying your playing isn’t as good as Ding Henrun’s? Haven’t you seen any of those videos?”
“I have,” Xu Feng replied, feeling a bit helpless. “I just didn’t expect you, Sister Huan, to actually believe what they’re saying.”
Those music bloggers were either sensing which way the wind was blowing, predicting that Xu Feng would be publicly judged as inferior given the comparable skill levels, and thus aligning themselves early… or they were simply paid off.
Popular bloggers who had decent standing generally kept their opinions neutral, sticking to objective comments before the results were out, to avoid getting slapped in the face afterward.
Being proven wrong would attract negative attention, which was difficult to monetize and more harmful than beneficial. Unless they were desperate, most rational people wouldn’t risk that.
But Lin Shenghuan seemed genuinely concerned.
Clearly annoyed, knowing little about the bass, Lin Shenghuan took a while before replying, “Fine, you seem confident. I’ll just wait for the good news, then.”
Xu Feng, who had been busy with his own affairs, had almost forgotten about “Tomorrow’s God of Song,” so he casually asked, “How are things on your side, Sister Huan?”
“Meng Guang got eliminated,” Lin Shenghuan said, immediately becoming more animated. “You should’ve seen Xiao Yue’s face—it was priceless!”
Lin Shenghuan and Xiao Yue were already competitors for the title of the top female singer, and after Xu Feng left the stage, they didn’t even bother maintaining a semblance of peace.
The online uproar and ensuing flame wars became the hottest topic of the past year.
Lin Shenghuan quickly continued, “By the way, are you and Dai Mingli close?”
“Dai Mingli?” Xu Feng asked curiously. “Not particularly. Why do you ask?”
Lin Shenghuan recalled the scene, “Oh, he made it to the top three, and during his speech on stage, he kept mentioning you, holding up a sign with your name. If he were a girl, I’d expect him to propose right there.”
“You should’ve seen the faces of the production crew when he openly supported you. They looked like they’d swallowed a fly. But I guess he knows he won’t win the championship, so he might as well do something unexpected once his ranking was confirmed.”
Calling out Xu Feng’s name on a live show?
All he did was quit the competition and give a brief notice on WeChat; it wasn’t that big of a deal… Was it?
Thinking about Dai Mingli’s unexpected comments in the waiting room about his “dream,” Xu Feng realized that this was indeed something Dai Mingli would do.
He typed on his keyboard and casually replied, “He made it to the top three? Wasn’t it tough for him to even get into the top five?”
Lin Shenghuan sounded pleased, like a cunning fox, “The production crew wanted to make things difficult for me. Did they think I’d let them succeed?”
“So, you meddled behind the scenes…” Xu Feng thought, smiling. “Sister Huan, you’re a big star, but do you really think it’s appropriate to admit that in a chat?”
With a personality like that, no wonder Xiao Yue manages to get the upper hand over you.
But this also showed that Lin Shenghuan truly considered Xu Feng one of her own.
Hearing the glee in her tone, Xu Feng continued, “Sister Huan, are you that much at odds with the production crew?”
Previously, Xu Feng thought that Lin Shenghuan and the production crew weren’t particularly close but didn’t necessarily have any direct conflicts either. However, seeing how she both subtly and overtly went against the crew’s arrangements during the semifinals and now openly expressed her desire for the crew’s downfall, the situation seemed different.
Lin Shenghuan explained, “Of course! It’s not just about them forcing you out; their motive for inviting me as a judge wasn’t pure either. So, you better be careful in your upcoming PK. Everyone knows this is the crew’s way of settling scores with you after the fact. If you can get through this, your path will be much smoother in the future.”
‘The motive behind inviting Lin Shenghuan as a judge wasn’t simple?’ Xu Feng wondered.
Ignoring the latter half of Lin Shenghuan’s message, Xu Feng asked, “Did the production team have ulterior motives in inviting you to be a judge?”
Lin Shenghuan didn’t hide anything, “On the surface, the treatment I got was the same as the other judges, but didn’t you notice? None of the songs they had me perform matched my style, yet all of them were perfect for Xiao Yue’s style. But they miscalculated—Xiao Yue can’t beat me, even when I sing songs I’m not good at.”
“And let’s not even talk about what happened afterward. After the top eight were decided, they didn’t even pretend anymore. It was either sign with them or get eliminated.”
“They wanted to use my popularity and still treat me as a stepping stone. There’s no way I could have a good relationship with them.”
Xu Feng read through Lin Shenghuan’s messages, thought it over, and quickly picked up on a key detail, “Sister Huan, are you saying Xiao Yue’s agency is on the production crew’s side?”
Otherwise, why would the crew go out of their way to invite these two rival singers as judges and bend over backward to show bias?
“No, but their companies have a good relationship… I suspect, I suspect they have some sort of deal! Sadly, I’m just on the fringes of the entertainment world, so I don’t know too much.”
Lin Shenghuan had none of the cryptic “you shouldn’t know this” attitude; she was eager to spill all the gossip, even if it was about herself. It made Xu Feng suspect that maybe nobody ever talked to her about this stuff, and she was dying to let it out.
“Sis, did you join the entertainment industry just to be at the forefront of all the drama?” Xu Feng chuckled.
“You’re joking, Sister Huan. You still have a lot of influence in the music industry.”
“Being influential or famous doesn’t mean you’re not marginalized. I came up on my own, and even my contracts are cooperative agreements, so I don’t get much insider info.” Lin Shenghuan sent a helpless emoji. “If you become famous one day, remember to share some fun stories with me.”
“You might be disappointed…” Xu Feng thought to himself. He was a cold, unfeeling entertainment industry mercenary, only interested in taking jobs and getting paid; stumbling upon juicy gossip wouldn’t be easy.
“Oh, and here’s some bad news.” Lin Shenghuan shifted the topic back on track after the gossip session. “From what I’ve heard, Xiao Yue might also use her influence to support that ‘Ding Henrun.'”
“Don’t take it lightly. Why do you think I’m a better singer than Xiao Yue but still at par with her overall? Because in our field, doing well isn’t enough; others also have to think you did well.”
“If your skill is only on par with Ding Henrun or slightly better, the outcome could be uncertain, Xu handsome.”
Xu Feng mentally tallied up everyone involved in this spontaneous livestream PK: Lin Shenghuan, Xiao Yue, the production team, Xia You… and various other well-known online bloggers.
What started as a small livestream now seemed to be developing into something like a titanic battle.
The production team was probably eagerly waiting to see Xu Feng humiliated under countless watching eyes two days from now, weren’t they?
Seeing that Xu Feng hadn’t responded for a while, Lin Shenghuan quickly tried to comfort him, “Hey, it’s alright. This isn’t that important. If you lose, you lose. With your talent, this win or loss won’t matter.”
Indeed, even though he had given his assurance, Lin Shenghuan still seemed pessimistic about the PK.
It couldn’t be helped. Both sides appeared to be closely matched in strength, and the other side had various buffs. Aside from die-hard fans like “BigBirdSpins,” it was hard for most to believe Xu Feng could win.
Xu Feng glanced at his chat with Xiao Liu, the client still singing praises for his flawless service, and calmly replied to Lin Shenghuan, “Don’t worry, Sister Huan… I’ve prepared a huge surprise for the production team.”