This Star Only Wants More Money - Chapter 7
Translator: Diviner
At Luohe City TV Station, the day of the 8-to-5 live elimination round of ‘Tomorrow’s God of Song’ had finally arrived.
In the lounge area, Xu Feng was seated on a sofa, snacking on sunflower seeds while mentally rehearsing his original song.
Starting from the 8-to-5 stage, the entire show had shifted to a live broadcast format.
There were no opportunities for editing, no excuses to pause or restart—just one shot to determine success or failure.
There wasn’t much time left before the competition began.
At this moment, none of the other contestants in the lounge were practicing anymore. Some were looking down at their phones, while a few familiar faces had gathered together, occasionally bursting into laughter.
Xu Feng felt he couldn’t blend in with them, so he didn’t bother trying.
After all, his performance in the earlier episodes had already proven his singing skills. With the system’s help, he could secure some minor gigs, build a solid foundation gradually, and wait for a chance to make a name for himself…
Without relying on an agency, there was less risk of stepping on a landmine.
While Xu Feng was mapping out his future, he noticed someone approaching from a distance.
“Hey, man, can I get to know you?”
Xu Feng looked up to see a clean-cut, lean young man. Without much thought, he nodded and introduced himself briefly, “Xu Feng.”
There’s no reason to be unfriendly to someone with a smile.
“Hey, I’ve seen you on TV so many times; of course, I know your name.” The young man chuckled. “I’m Dai Mingli. You might have heard of me?”
Indeed, Xu Feng had some impression of him. Dai Mingli was a singer with a distinct personal style, but his songs were niche in genre and vocal style. To be honest, he was a strong competitor with a good voice.
Xu Feng didn’t want to waste time on small talk and directly asked, “What’s up?”
Dai Mingli glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby before sitting down next to Xu Feng, wearing a somewhat secretive expression.
Seeing this, Xu Feng’s seasoned worker’s instincts flared up—he was already prepared to refuse whatever Dai Mingli was about to say.
Then he heard Dai Mingli whisper, “Hey man, I’ve been watching you for a while… You’re here for your dreams, too, right?”
Hearing this question, Xu Feng, who was on high alert, was momentarily baffled.
Dreams? What dreams?
Wait, do young people talk like this nowadays?
Even in this day and age, no capitalist boss would dare talk to you about dreams!
Seeing that Xu Feng remained silent, Dai Mingli continued to mumble to himself, “I probably won’t make it past this round, but being part of it is enough. Keep going strong, man.”
Xu Feng’s curiosity about this person reached its peak. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t have much popularity or connections. Getting this far is already my limit.” Dai Mingli laughed. “To be honest, some people have already approached me about ‘management fees,’ but I’ve spent all my savings just to participate in this show. I have no extra money for that. Just appearing on TV once is satisfying enough.”
“That’s the struggle of being an independent artist—it’s tough. You’re stronger than I am, so I hope you can go further. Original songs can work; they’ve done well before. Don’t let the online noise get to you.”
“Don’t think I’m being annoying; I just saw that you’re also independent, and I thought I’d share my struggles with someone like-minded…”
Xu Feng was dumbfounded. Was this the kind of thing you could just say to a stranger?
Wasn’t he afraid someone might secretly record it and send it to the producers?
Even if he wasn’t afraid of being eliminated, wasn’t he worried about not being able to make it in the entertainment industry later?
Turns out he was a bit naive.
As for the truth of what he said, Xu Feng didn’t doubt it much. He was invited by the judge Lin Shenghuan with an internal quota and wouldn’t be in trouble at this stage.
Whether he would face any issues later was not something to worry about now.
“Don’t talk like this to others, especially strangers,” Xu Feng suddenly found Dai Mingli a bit amusing and offered some advice, “It’s like how kids shouldn’t open the door for strangers.”
“Got it… huh?”
No matter what, this little episode brightened Xu Feng’s mood.
It was rare to meet someone so sincere and straightforward in the entertainment industry, which was far less glamorous than it appeared.
In his past life, Xu Feng had dealt with countless deceitful people in the workplace, and he had a knack for reading people.
Interestingly, even though Xu Feng had deliberately distanced himself, someone else was still approaching them.
Their conversation, although quiet, inevitably caught the attention of others in the waiting room, which had only eight people.
A short man with an explosive hairstyle, tattoos covering his body from his calves to his neck, and various piercings all over his face, approached them. He glanced at the two and then turned to face the camera with a smile, “What are the two original song geniuses and niche song geniuses discussing? Why not share it with everyone?”
This might have sounded innocent, but the tone was full of sarcasm, making Xu Feng raise an eyebrow.
His name was Meng Guang, and his mentor was a direct competitor to Lin Shenghuan. The two had already clashed numerous times on stage, and Meng Guang himself had been trying to establish a unique, non-mainstream persona.
But it hadn’t been very effective; not only did nobody buy it, but he also received a lot of criticism online. His popularity remained low, and since his skill level wasn’t very high, he only managed to stay on the show thanks to his mentor’s support, resulting in fewer appearances on camera.
In fact, the public’s aesthetic standards had become much more accepting than before—small tattoos to cover scars or earrings were widely accepted.
However, with his entire body covered in massive designs and metal seemingly embedded into every inch of his skin, most people couldn’t help but frown when they saw him.
Some more extreme parents even wrote complaint letters to the show, worrying that his image might negatively influence children.
Meng Guang had said this to try to leech off Xu Feng’s popularity while discreetly mocking his two competitors.
Oh, so this is a provocation, huh? Playing the role of a male tea drinker?
Xu Feng gently pressed down on Dai Mingli, who looked a bit flustered and was about to get up to explain, and calmly replied, “We were discussing the green tea girl from Sister Huan’s concert. Why, does that interest you?”
If it’s sarcasm you want, then I can do it just as well.
Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the other contestants’ eyes turned to Meng Guang.
Having been scrutinized for his unusual appearance and discussed online for his tattoos and piercings countless times, Meng Guang was already emotionally sensitive. His smile faltered.
The words he had been planning to say were forcibly swallowed back down.
Indeed, Xu Feng wasn’t easy to mess with.
He had just wanted to subtly mock Xu Feng for drawing so much attention with his looks, but he hadn’t expected such a blunt rebuttal.
Meng Guang considered backing down, but the jealousy inside him still made him add, “Right, I shouldn’t be leeching off your popularity. That was foolish of me.”
This kind of backhanded compliment, where he appeared to praise while actually belittling, made him look like a victim even though he was the one who had come up to provoke in the first place. While most people in the room might not have encountered such behavior before… Xu Feng had dealt with such petty tricks countless times.
Still hiding behind that facade of being unique? Bringing up popularity?
Then don’t blame me for being rude.
Xu Feng replied in an utterly calm voice, “Oh, you mean those runes draped all over your body and the pile of metal parts on your face?”
The air in the waiting room suddenly froze.
If the looks earlier were those of people enjoying a show, now they were filled with shock.
This was like directly ripping off Meng Guang’s scab, smashing his already fragile dignity to pieces, and then sprinkling salt on it, bringing something everyone had tacitly agreed to keep quiet about into the open.
Even the nearby staff members turned their eyes toward them.
Was this young man a bit too bold?
Humiliating a green tea girl in front of thousands at a concert, and now revealing another contestant’s sore spot in front of countless viewers!
While the show wasn’t live yet, the footage still had a high chance of making it into the final cut!
After extreme humiliation comes extreme anger. Meng Guang turned sharply, trying to glare at Xu Feng with a fierce look, only to meet a pair of indifferent eyes that instantly intimidated him into staying put.
It was like a student who, despite feeling wronged, could only obediently take a scolding from the school principal.
Xu Feng used his experience in reprimanding others, “You have the freedom to be unique, and the public has the right to reject and dislike you. What’s the matter? Do you want to be unique and also want recognition? To act one way and expect to be treated like another? Then what was the point of getting all that done?”
“No one has actively used all that stuff on you to attack you, but that doesn’t mean you can wave it around like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum. Got it?”
“Lastly, we don’t know each other well, so you’d better watch your mouth.”
Meng Guang was left completely stunned.
In the waiting room, Dai Mingli felt that the air conditioning might have been turned up a bit too high today; his back was feeling rather chilly.
Eventually, one of the staff members responsible for maintaining order stepped into the waiting room and called out, “The program is about to start recording; everyone, please get ready. Remember, today is a live broadcast!”
“I’ll count down from three; we go live in three, two, one!”