Chapter 14: Overcome This?

The cold atmosphere during the meet-and-greet didn’t shatter the production team’s confidence.

They quickly arranged the best restaurant near Wave Tower, booking an entire floor specifically to try and further ease relations between the guests, ensuring the smooth progress of subsequent recording work.

It was then that the Assistant Director sought out Ren Shiyu and Li Tingzhou.

He wanted to give a heads-up to the youngest members of the main guest and guest singer groups in advance.

Since the seniors needed a way to save face, couldn’t you two just… overcome this a little? Making the first episode’s atmosphere extremely tense and hostile wouldn’t be good either. Someone had to take a slight step back.

Overcome?

Overcome what, exactly?

Li Tingzhou had no visible reaction to these words.

But Ren Shiyu, being a smooth operator, didn’t resist such a role.

In fact, one of her tasks in participating this time was to serve as a lubricant between the two major platforms, and she was somewhat mentally prepared. If Sing My Heart Tonight Season 7 could start well, subsequent dual-platform collaboration projects would have a template to copy.

Furthermore, taking a small disadvantage in the beginning could actually garner audience sympathy.

Her only worry was that Li Tingzhou, new to this circle, might not be able to contain his pride…

As soon as the Assistant Director left, staff came to arrange rides to the restaurant.

Ren Shiyu held Li Tingzhou back, slowly trailing at the end of the group.

“You don’t need to worry about the few from the Whale Media side. But while we should be harmonious and united, don’t make the group solidarity too obvious. The main concern is the other three. In my early years, at an awards ceremony in Taiwan, I was publicly humiliated at the after-party dinner. At that time, he was indeed a trendsetter, surrounded by flatterers everywhere. As a newcomer, what foundation did I have to clash with him?”

Recounting this past event, First Sister still felt emotional.

“Ah, what’s that saying? Fortune turns like a wheel. Now he’s fizzled out, and I’m still popular! Though, age is catching up, and his market value isn’t what it used to be…”

The person Ren Shiyu pointed out was Zhuang Yifan.

A Hong Kong male singer, though his ancestral home was actually G Province, his hometown a small fishing village under G City that became a county-level city after the reforms.

This one clearly had backing from Hong Kong capital.

Because he was too arrogant in his early years, treating everyone with equal disrespect, even possessing true talent, his reputation never took off. Combined with various negative rumors, in a vicious cycle, expanding his mainland concert tours was difficult. He could only bounce between Hong Kong Island, Taiwan, and a few coastal cities. Now no longer young, Zhuang Yifan had finally realized he needed to leave himself a way out and had no choice but to accept the olive branch from Tide, aiming to revive his career and open up the mainland market.

“I’m not speaking ill of him, but I believe a person’s fundamental nature doesn’t change.”

Implicitly, whatever Zhuang Yifan was like 20 years ago, he was still the same now.

The program’s dedicated van exited the underground parking lot, heading towards a restaurant overlooking half of G City’s central nightscape. The triple-height atrium ceiling almost merged with the blue velvet night sky. For this unique vista and unparalleled dining experience, this restaurant never lacked customers.

Tide had booked the entire floor, and the corresponding service package was elevated to banquet level.

Except for small fry like Heartbreak feeling out of place, everyone else was in their element.

Alright, the only ones who seemed out of place were Heartbreak.

At the table, Ren Shiyu did her best to harmonize bilateral relations. Apart from the pretentious Zhuang Yifan, everyone else somewhat acknowledged her and Whale Media’s face, politely clinking glasses. As the atmosphere warmed up, jokes and laughter gradually appeared.

Li Tingzhou also had people constantly talking to him.

They were mostly curious, asking about Heartbreak’s songs, or subtly probing about Heartbreak’s label. Upon learning this kid truly seemed to have no backing, their words seemed to drop some restraints, becoming bolder.

“Are you guys staying on the 22nd floor too? Any interest in another drink tonight?”

Simultaneously, his gaze swept openly and wantonly over Li Tingzhou’s shirt, as if wanting to hook open the buttons, tear through the fabric, and glimpse the warm, delicate skin beneath in one look.

Li Tingzhou didn’t feel like answering. He just looked at him silently.

“What, not willing?”

“Do I look like I like men?”

The other man’s gaze burned intensely: “Liking or not liking doesn’t matter at all. You’ll know once you try.”

The suggestive undertone was already palpable, laden with provocation.

“I don’t like it, and I don’t want to try.”

Li Tingzhou reached out and pushed him aside. “You’re blocking my view of the night scene.”

“Mengmeng, that scumbag Zhuang Yifan is looking at you. He’s only holding back because I’m here. If it were him, he’d make you down a whole bottle of liquor. Once you’re drunk, you’d turn all flushed, like a lychee… “

“Sick? Get lost. Afraid of catching whatever you have.”

Li Tingzhou’s mood was completely ruined. He stood up and left.

Ren Shiyu, sharp-eyed, spotted him and pointed towards the Assistant Director, signaling the man was looking for him. Li Tingzhou turned and faced the AD’s round face: “Hey, Mengmeng!”

“What, the conversation not enjoyable?”

Li Tingzhou’s suppressed anger was visible, but the AD was shrewd. He neither pretended not to see nor actively tried to smooth over the conflict:

“Aiya, personal preferences vary. We can’t control other people’s… inclinations. Just stay away from them next time! Fortunately, tonight’s main objective is accomplished. If you want to leave, just come down with me.”

The AD was also from Whale Media, so naturally, he wouldn’t contradict Ren Shiyu.

First Sister had clearly indicated she was protecting Heartbreak.

He would escort Mengmeng out, saving others from gossiping further.

In the elevator, Li Tingzhou finally replied to the messages from the other two. They ate fast and, as planned, found random excuses to slip away early. In others’ eyes, they were never important figures anyway; no one would specifically monitor the comings and goings of faces.

Soon, the elevator stopped at the 6th floor, and two people entered from outside.

The one in front had a thin jacket draped over his arm. Looking up, he immediately called out to Li Tingzhou: “Eh, Tingzhou!”

He stepped forward. The person behind him also happened to meet eyes with the AD:

“Director Pan! Long time no see!”

“Ah, Director Qu! How are you? Busy lately?”

At the same time, Li Tingzhou fished this person’s identity from his memory: “You…” He had exchanged a glance with him once, confirming his identity. But it had been several years since their last meeting, and he wasn’t clear on the man’s promotion situation, so Li Tingzhou didn’t rush to address him.

Cao Zhiping smiled and proactively explained: “Mayor Li has a private gathering here.”

Li Tingzhou didn’t particularly need to know his itinerary. He just nodded casually.

The Assistant Director, Pan Jun, however, discreetly looked them over a couple more times. Only when the elevator reached Basement Level 1 did he greet the one he knew: “Director Qu, I’m a bit busy, so I’ll head off first. We must definitely keep in touch when we have time.”

Getting into the car, Li Tingzhou and Pan Jun sat in the back together.

Pan Jun wanted to probe; the more he looked, the more he felt Li Tingzhou had an extraordinary presence!

But he really couldn’t bring himself to ask outright.

This timing wasn’t appropriate either!

It was only after dropping Li Tingzhou off at the hotel where the guests were staying that Pan Jun took out his phone and started searching: Mayor surnamed Li. Narrowing the scope to G Province, he didn’t have much trouble pinpointing a Vice-Mayor, but his age was relatively young, not quite likely to be Li Tingzhou’s father…

But was that important?

A director from the Government Office could call Mengmeng by name instantly. That alone proved a close relationship!

Thinking of this, Pan Jun suddenly felt the car’s AC wasn’t strong enough.

He urgently replayed everything that happened throughout the day, confirming that besides those initial probing words, he hadn’t done anything annoyingly offensive…

Wait, there were also those two horny perverts wanting to make a move on a colleague!

Oh well, the dead don’t burden the living.

You two had to pick him of all people… Mengmeng…

~

Participating in a large-scale variety show recording was more exhausting than anticipated.

Li Tingzhou had originally thought that with cameras rolling and the previous night’s banquet to ease tensions, today’s recording atmosphere might improve somewhat. But the arguing still happened as expected, even more intensely—

Zhuang Yifan was the first to strike, stating bluntly, “I’m not satisfied with my guest singer.”

Another female vocalist, who held a military rank, immediately looked at him in shock!

No, this was something you could say directly in front of everyone?

That person wasn’t some nameless nobody; he was a second-tier singer with passable vocal skills. Being your guest singer with your rotten temper was hard enough, and now this public humiliation…

Mao Maoyu, however, detected a different flavor.

He quietly whispered to Li Tingzhou: “This is acting, right? I don’t believe a grown man’s tears fall so easily.”

Li Tingzhou didn’t believe it either.

He was a man, so he knew full well how much men valued their pride.

At such a time, you had to hold your ground. What did being publicly scorned matter? True skill was to stick to Zhuang Yifan relentlessly, forcibly sharing your pain and frustration with him. Either cooperate properly, or neither of you gets an easy time!

Anyway, if elimination came, it would be Zhuang Yifan losing face.

Even with the fighting so fierce, the recording didn’t pause.

Such a dramatic scene naturally had to be captured in its entirety, frame by frame, for the main episode.

As the control group to Zhuang Yifan, and also the only demonstration pair in the entire venue, First Sister Ren Shiyu and the three young people from Heartbreak perfectly demonstrated what it meant to have a man and woman working together without fatigue.

Everyone laughed and chatted happily, even critiquing Tide’s afternoon tea together…

Overall, the recording work had some bumps, but everything was still manageable. Voicing anger and holding back tears didn’t stop them from continuing to record, out of consideration for their paychecks.

The good news was, the factional divides seemed to have vanished.

The bad news was, the conflict shifted to named individuals.

The Director pulled the AD aside: “Next time you change the script, can you not call me in the middle of the night, okay?”

Pan Jun replied: “Would you rather I call you at midnight or at 5 AM? It’s changed, so what? It doesn’t affect anything major. Someone’s already occupying the controversy slot anyway.”

Zhuang Yifan, after all, had years of rich experience dealing with negative public opinion.

As for a tender sprout like Mengmeng, he should be carefully nurtured!

~

【Rebuilt Public Opinion Observation Room | Is Anyone Going to Do Something About Night Heart Seven?】

————

Suspected that someone on the recording site threw their seniority around and scolded their partner to tears on the spot.

No verification, purely gossip fished out of the trash can.

1L: Any post without verification is automatically dismissed as fan reverse-psychology hype.

5L: Could it be a fan of the Ancient Style King? Saw the submission at Nitpicking Bot.

14L: [Screenshots of Nitpicking Bot submission]x3

Someone’s clearly been playing the victim subtly in fan groups. Is the Ancient Style King about to release a new song? Which dynasty’s poetry is he planning to pad into his “original” lyrics this time?

32L: Case solved so fast!

39L: Is the ‘senior throwing weight around’ referring to Zhuang Yifan? I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he did this. One person’s character defeating his talent and ruining his career—just how awful is this guy…

52L: The guest lineup is pretty much as the leaks said, so it indeed has potential.

60L: What’s First Sister’s move this time? Guaranteed championship?

68L: Under previous seasons’ rules, it’s hard to say, but this year’s reforms are all in her favor. Defending the stage changed to blind surprise challenges, double elimination also changed to single-elimination. Plus, she has Heartbreak’s Mengmeng helping. If she needs to sing, she can sing; if she needs to arrange, he can arrange. Compared to others’ guest singers, hers is an all-around top-tier setup vs. everyone else barely making do.

72L: No need to overhype a Band guy’s skills this much…

81L: If not praising Mengmeng, then praise the Ancient Style King’s lyric-writing ability?

89L: It’s obvious, after Mengmeng got popular, his treatment in our group went down.

94L: Yup, everyone loves an underdog. Once they have popularity, they’re a threat. A singer-songwriter-instrumentalist combo like Mengmeng? Give him time to develop, give him a platform to showcase, and his rapid rise is just a matter of time.

102L: Mengmeng is also considered a hot topic magnet. Why haven’t any bandwagon fans invested in him?

105L: Who in their right mind would invest in a Band guy? Especially one who loves dating.

112L: Laughing so hard. The daily routine at the music circle’s Sister-in-Law Station is just emotional whiplash. Wake up, watch one Mengmeng live performance, instantly energized, daydream while working intermittently; before bed, check the bot for new updates, simultaneously muttering incantations “Don’t come, Mengmeng,” terrified of seeing him caught on a date again by Little Red Book users. Anyway, whether there’s new gossip or not, there’s always a late-night emo session.

152L: What an amazing bot, thanks kind soul for opening a new world’s door!

158L: A man this devoted to dating? Who’d dare invest in him?

163L: But Mengmeng’s face has too much authority. It’s hard not to fantasize…

168L: No worries, I’ll just get my content for free!

175L: You better actually be able to do it for free. Don’t buy Heartbreak’s paid singles, don’t chase offline live shows, and definitely don’t follow Night Heart Seven. Otherwise, you’ll forever become a hypocrite who can’t keep their word.

180L: The Ancient Style King really has a curse in our group. His threads always end up derailed.