Chapter 49: Mengmeng Had a Rough Time Part 1

Right after Star Two finished airing, Night Heart Seven followed immediately.

Tide’s editing team certainly had some efficiency on their side.

The Top Five Vocal Concert, recorded just last Friday night, was edited into nearly two hours of feature content plus a 10-minute behind-the-scenes segment by this Friday. Facing such a massive workload and a deadline so tight it made scalps tingle, they had somehow maintained this high quality for almost two months…

Earning that annual salary was really not easy; it was practically trading their lives for it.

As the ads ended, Mao Maoyu brought over his newly ordered batch of late-night delivery, ready to watch.

The two ladies, Liu Lusi and Qu Yanni, put up token resistance, saying things like, “Why order so much?” and “Eating too much at night makes you gain weight and swell up the next day.” But they still honestly enjoyed the charcoal-fired aroma of the late-night meal.

Eldan offered some grilled meat to Li Tingzhou, but the latter, focused on the show, didn’t take it.

Eldan wasn’t disappointed either; he happily opened his mouth wide and ate it all himself.

Perhaps because two groups of Premier Singers had been eliminated, the remaining five groups were allocated more screen time. Even the preparation phase content was more detailed and richer than usual. To achieve the desired effect of building anticipation before the release, maximizing the audience’s expectations, all five groups were currently showcasing their respective difficulties, and how the Main Guest and Guest Singer were overcoming them.

Among them, one case was the most special of all—

Zhao Chenmin had just been found to be pregnant. At this stage, she had some mild symptoms of discomfort, but her mindset was excellent, her spirit even better, and she firmly refused to withdraw from the competition.

“Indeed, how could she easily give up such a great opportunity, fighting to keep third place and aiming for second?”

The two ladies present, though unmarried, deeply empathized with the hardships women faced.

Not everyone could balance and make the right trade-offs between love and career. Once feelings evolved into marriage, the weight further increased, presenting an even greater test for professional women!

Wasn’t the example right before their eyes? That producer from Tide, Xu Yuenan?

CCTV was a great platform, often the most desired destination for media graduates leaving school.

Xu Yuenan, with an outstanding resume and exceptional ability, received significant recognition there. She even surpassed many of her male peers, rising rapidly. One could say she was in the limelight, with a bright future ahead.

However, for a woman aiming for higher management, it seemed she wouldn’t be trusted by the organization without getting married and having children.

Unfortunately, that marriage meant to climb to the clouds ended in failure.

At Tide, the struggle was just as pervasive and omnipresent.

Xu Yuenan fully learned her lesson, uniting all forces around her that could be united…

Seeing Zhao Chenmin now, enduring pregnancy symptoms to persist in recording the entire show, fighting for a complete and satisfactory end, maximizing her gains—how could Liu Lusi and the others not be moved?

After Zhao Chenmin’s group segment finished, it was immediately First Sister and Mengmeng’s group’s turn.

The production team deliberately highlighted the conflict between Old Pang and Mengmeng.

One handsome young man, one handsome old man.

Both maintained their composure yet neither yielded an inch.

This scene, honestly, was also quite satisfying to watch. Both clearly dissatisfied with the other’s plan, yet unable to speak too harshly on camera. Combined with both being dressed so formally and properly, this intense sense of restraint made one’s heart race.

Beyond that, First Sister, reverting to her old habits, got scolded again, a familiar sight.

Night Heart Seven Bot:

【1923】

Sis, Sis, wake up. It was Mengmeng who carried you all the way here, cutting through thorns and brambles, to reach first place. Don’t go getting dizzy-headed right at the end.

Who understands? Seeing her start having decision-making difficulties again, I’m really at my wit’s end.

I looked up this Master Pang on the wiki; he’s indeed very formidable.

But that’s no reason for First Sister to waver back and forth…

【1939】

Can we discuss Zhao Chenmin’s devoted puppy husband?

This guy really suffers from husband syndrome anytime, anywhere. He lurked in the fan group for ages, got kicked by the mods for showing off a backstage photo and rambling on and on, then later provided proof, saying he was an “insider.”

Turns out he’s this kind of insider?

Sis’s comeback hasn’t been easy, can you guys not cause trouble at this time?

【1942】

Got a disease where I want to curse the moment I see the Client rejecting a plan.

Sorry, First Sister. Tonight, you really were a bit…

The last time Mengmeng smiled was when his junior sister visited. This episode, he really didn’t smile even once.

Angry Mengmeng be like: Not buying coffee for a sixty-year-old man.

– Too funny, the production team actually added the subtitle: 【Sixty-Year-Old Elderly】

– That segment where Mengmeng and Old Pang were at odds was both thrilling and satisfying to watch.

– If the production team is going for a “suppress first, then uplift; argue first, then reconcile” happy ending effect, I admit your groundwork is laid very thickly. If you keep laying groundwork, I’m really going to get angry (smoking emoji).

– Handsome Old Man: This kid resembles me; cannot be left unchecked.

– Sister Min’s husband’s scandal left me speechless; it’s too absurd!

– This episode, Mengmeng was under so much pressure that he actually went out midway to smoke and calm down.

– The blurring of him and Maoyu was hilarious, edited into ice cream cat people.

– #MengmengIsolatesMasterPang# Who’s pushing this tag, I really can’t stop laughing.

– Buying coffee for an old man whose health status is unknown would be disastrous; who takes responsibility if something happens?

– Even though he pulled the rhythm back, it still made me angry watching it; I empathized too much.

Wavering left and right, hesitating to move forward, wanting this, wanting that, and wanting everything else too.

Ren Shiyu proved with facts that no matter how likable you usually are, when the public thinks you’re being a bit foolish, even getting in the way, everyone’s mouths will instantly be dipped in poison and start attacking you!

Within a short time, the hashtags related to Ren Shiyu were rapidly rising.

Even if there was an “uplifting” part later, it didn’t stop netizens from scolding her first.

Couldn’t be helped; times had changed.

Nowadays, viewers watching dramas no longer imagined themselves as the domineering CEO or the delicate female lead. Instead, they subconsciously sympathized with the working-class characters. Similarly, in variety shows, people also habitually first found the person they resonated with most, then began deep observation, sharing their love and hate.

When Ancient Style King was still around, everyone loved watching his pained expression as he found joy amidst suffering.

Once Ancient Style King left, that role was, to some extent, assigned to Mengmeng…

To say he had a hard life—Ren Shiyu was actually already a very cooperative partner.

To say his journey was smooth—Mengmeng’s path had nothing to do with smoothness at all.

Anyone who had watched analyses by prolific bloggers knew that Mengmeng wrapped his offensiveness in soft tactics, bound the team’s unity with shared interests, employing both methods to achieve his goals. In the early stages, Mengmeng had almost no initiative to speak of. The process of seizing the initiative from First Sister had been quite difficult!

Without exaggeration, the most terrifying scene presented to viewers in the first half of this episode was:

An old man from Diamond Records, a heavyweight figure akin to a mentor and father to First Sister, talking about “giving his disciple a look-see,” seemingly not interfering in the song selection and arrangement, yet merely sitting there enough to shake First Sister’s will. His oppressive weight almost destroyed the harmonious relationship First Sister and Mengmeng’s group had painstakingly built.

Liu Lusi, who hadn’t followed the recordings during the preparation period, was a bit startled seeing this.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this at the time?”

If he had told her, Liu Lusi could have gone to negotiate with Zhou Ling. Or she could have directly approached Pan Jun and asked that Fat Fox if he was going to keep his word, asked what Diamond’s thinking was, suddenly deciding to guard against Mengmeng at the last minute? Could Mengmeng possibly kick First Sister aside and go up on stage to sing alone?

Li Tingzhou leaned back on the sofa, unwilling to say much. “Anyway, it’s resolved now.”

Some things couldn’t be investigated too deeply, much less dwelled on.

Overthinking would actually be bad for everyone.

Eldan couldn’t fully grasp the implied meanings left unsaid in a Chinese context, but he could read people and sense the changes in atmosphere during a conversation.

Unintentionally, his eyes met Mao Maoyu’s.

The two exchanged a glance, a tacit understanding, neither of them saying a word.

After the ads, the real feature of this episode of Night Heart Seven arrived—

The Top Five Vocal Concert.

At this stage, everyone’s obsession with rankings wasn’t actually that deep anymore.

Even the audience could easily see that external group conflicts had almost completely dissipated by now.

This harmonious scene wasn’t because the two Premier Singers most likely to ruin the atmosphere had been eliminated.

Dai Jier said something honest: “Some people wake up even later than Ancient Style King.”

After Wang Chao suffered a loss at the hands of Zhuang Yifan, he immediately found the most pragmatic path.

But among those who remained, they first had to break their mental block towards rankings before they’d belatedly realize the fierce impact young singers like Mengmeng and Wang Chao were making on the Inner Entertainment music scene. The traffic boost and rapid monetization efficiency brought to singers by minor or major hit-level live performances like “A Woman’s Heart” and “A Courtyard of Fragrance” far exceeded their imagination…

Seeing others make a killing, they finally remembered why they’d come on this show in the first place.

Forget rankings, forget competition.

Being able to produce a classic live performance, raise commercial performance rates, release new songs while riding this wave of traffic, and desperately make money—wasn’t that the original goal?

A pity, the stage left for them to perform on was only this final one.

Regardless of what intentions the five groups harbored, the stage they ultimately presented together was indeed the highest quality Top Five Vocal Concert in recent seasons.