Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

Qi Ting laughed upon hearing this, unable to help herself as she pinched Shen Jinyue's cheek.

"Jinyue, all geniuses have their edges. It's just that some people prefer to keep them hidden, while Teacher Xu never hides them, and only occasionally likes to take an unconventional approach," she said.

"You talk so cutely, Jinyue. How can there be people at your school who don't like you?"

"I don't know, maybe I often hurt people's feelings with what I say." Shen Jinyue's expression dimmed in an instant, "I don't want to go back to school."

Qi Ting wanted to comfort her but then suddenly saw Lin Wanzhou turning around and walking towards the door, followed by Pei Muchan. She stopped talking and approached Lin Wanzhou.

"Sister Zhou Zhou, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, go home and sleep," she said in an even tone.

"Oh, okay," Qi Ting replied. She glanced at Xu Qingyan, who was still playing games, and casually asked, "What about Teacher Xu? Isn't he going back?"

"He will go back after he finishes that round," Pei Muchan took over and then said to Shen Jinyue, "Come on, Jinyue, I'll take you back."

"Okay, thank you, Sister Pei." Shen Jinyue nodded obediently, waved to Qi Ting, "Bye-bye, Ting Ting, bye-bye, Sister Zhou Zhou."

Responses came in succession, and the office became quiet again, leaving only the clacking sounds of mouse and keyboard.

This set of desktop computers was configured by Xu Qingyan himself, one set in the office and another in his apartment. He also took the opportunity to upgrade his laptop, truly out with the old and in with the new.

Xu Qingyan half-heartedly played the game while his thoughts drifted off.

Time was simply too tight. Although "I Am The King of Songs" was already in its fifth season, which was nearing the dusk of popular music variety shows, he had already accumulated quite a few works.

But having a falling out with the show's production at this time was too hasty, like forcing a duck onto a perch.

Maybe he should have waited a little longer, to give the market a bit of time. Wait for "Qing Tian" to hit big, for "The One I Miss" to be uncovered, wait for his eight songs to gain greater influence.

Or maybe write some more good songs, to stoke the flames higher.

But there are no ifs in life, opportunities come just once. Before joining this music variety show, he had a premonition that this production team was almost like a stepping stone served on a platter.

He just didn't expect that the production team of "I Am The King of Songs" could go so overboard, nearly reaching the point of unrestrained, and they hit Pei Muchan's pride hard.

Pride is something that almost determines a person's spirit and even the trajectory of their life's latter half.

If he continued to gather strength, or kept his frustrations silent, it would only shatter Pei Muchan's heart. What's the use of delayed justice, even if achieved later?

"A gentleman's revenge is not too late even after ten years, but a capable gentleman generally doesn't hold grudges overnight," he muttered to himself, absent-minded, the screen turning grey.

He got up and walked to the window. His phone suddenly vibrated. Zhou Xiao had sent a message.

"Brother Xu, the dark side of this show is really causing a mess. I see the posts and searches climbing the hotlist. It's understandable the production team is backing Jiang Jingsheng to fulfill the sponsor's wishes."

"But this is going too far, isn't it? They are too aggressive, blatantly manipulating behind the scenes, dirtier than dirt!"

He glanced at it and typed back.

"Because Wang Yu beat Jiang Jingsheng, the production team had to control the votes to eliminate her last minute. They've always been brazen and don't care how rough their methods are."

He had calculated against the production team from the start, planning to use them as a stepping stone. After all, the production team wasn't some pure saint and had plenty of dark history themselves.

Being a bit dirtier didn't seem to matter much.

At first, he was worried about Pei Muchan advancing to the final four and even planned the songs for both Pei Helin and Lin to sing in the final four, forcing the production team to make a move.

Pei Muchan and Lin Wanzhou were so capable, coupled with the song he had given them. Not to mention totally outclassing the idol singer Jiang Jingsheng, defeating Hou Xueheng wouldn't be a problem either.

If that came to pass, the production team would face the most vexing situation.

They would either need to eliminate both Pei and Lin in the cut from four to two to protect Jiang Jingsheng, the prettily decorated shelf. Or eliminate one of them and then use rules to oust Hou Xueheng.

Suddenly, several messages from Zhou Mian buzzed in.

"That's true, without eliminating Sister Pei, Jiang Jingsheng wouldn't stand a chance to advance. Even if they aren't eliminated in the cut from seven to four, they would be out in the semifinals cut from four to two."

"Hmm, I know," Xu Qingyan replied.

He had taken a moment to glance at the trending searches, visibly seeing the heat rolling up. Rising steadily, they had climbed to the twenty-third spot on the trending list.

He suddenly felt more confident, rushing ahead even if time was tight, releasing the MV at this juncture. He was already gambling, provoking discussions and attacking the show's production team.

No makeup room, being ignored when asking for directions, no car service. One small detail after another piled up, turning what were initially not fatal oversights into flaws.

One unexpected event after another stacked together, all were opportunities.

However, this was also a blessing in disguise, at least he didn't need to waste songs on "I Am the King of Songs", the impact and exposure from the four songs on stage were already enough.

Whether it was Pei Muchan or Lin Wanzhou, even though they had been in the circle longer than him, when it came to cunning and scheming, none were his match.

He was used to fighting his way through life; he had seen many people and there was almost nothing he wouldn't dare do. As for the production team, in his eyes, it was just expendable material.

Stepping stones for opening a mountain, the green bricks one steps on to move forward.

Elsewhere, Zhou Mian stood on the balcony and skillfully lit a cigarette, looking at the chat history and letting out a sigh.

Xu Qingyan's way of doing things was too fierce, he had the guts to directly challenge the production team after accumulating enough anger. The concern was that the sharper the edge he showed, the fiercer the production team's retaliation would be.

There were advantages too, more people's attention would come their way, and they would see Xu Qingyan's unhidden sharpness and talent.

A lyric and composition prodigy who had written seven or eight hit songs in a month, a budding director who shot movie-quality MVs with his bare hands – all the spotlight was draped over him.

But the taller the tree, the stronger the wind; Zhou Mian looked worried.

Xu Qingyan was almost the biggest potential stock he had in his hands... If possible, he really wanted to take this disaster on for him instead, considering he was just a minor character.

"Aren't you done talking yet? What's there to talk about?" his wife's dissatisfied voice came from next door, tinged with complaint, "All day, it's work. You might as well just live with your phone!"

Zhou Mian felt a choke in his heart, knowing full well he had mentioned earlier that he had something to do. Annoyance flashed through his mind, but thinking of the mortgage, he suppressed it, took a puff of his cigarette, and replied.

"Brother Xu, I don't know what to say, just call me if you need anything," he said.

"Okay."

The game was over, Xu Qingyan shut down the computer.

As he stood up and walked out, his mind was a jumble of thoughts. He seemed to have a premonition, a chaos, that was almost always present in the darkest nights before a great success.

They had told him more than once that they wanted him to be seen, to be understood by more people, to shine brightly. Xu Qingyan also hoped that they could shine brightly, eager to see them become divas.

The road ahead was long, they were all underdogs, only capable of lifting each other up. Elevating one another and then being pulled up in turn, step by step. Find exclusive stories on empire

Just like Xu Qingyan at that moment, his shot had already been fired; let the bullet fly a little longer.