Chapter 19: Mengmeng Has Nothing Left to Ruin

“Sing My Heart Tonight” Season 7 achieved a spectacular opening.

Ren Shiyu’s drawing power was evident.

Especially since she was carrying a teased conflict point.

Tide’s master editors did not disappoint the audience’s expectations. The first episode delivered the preview’s conflict. But just as the tension slightly eased, before the issue was fully resolved, they planted new narrative hooks, continuing to bait the audience.

Beyond that, the other groups had plenty to watch.

Whether getting along swimmingly or clashing repeatedly, in the end, all these adults were genuinely trying to push the collaboration forward.

In summary: explosive conflicts, guaranteed plotlines, an anchor of stability, dark horse highlights, and various cliffhangers waiting to be resolved on the performance stage.

Combined, these factors were enough to retain the debut viewers for the second episode.

And Mengmeng, he was clearly the second biggest winner of premiere night!

As a guest singer, he earned a solo hot search. How effective was it?

Before the show even finished, the same brand of milk he drank was already seeing orders placed on various shopping platforms. His commuter outfit, seemingly just simply handsome at first glance, was quickly picked up by fashion-forward bloggers detailing its subtle cleverness. An unidentifiable model of headphones, merely worn around Mengmeng’s neck for a while, saw a surge in inquiries on e-commerce sites…

That night, as soon as Blue Ocean TV aired, the show’s official Weibo account immediately cut and released a “Mengmeng Pure Cut” to harvest the buzz, continuing to push the wave higher.

Marketing bloggers were also busily clipping material.

Some gossiped about Mengmeng’s love life, scouring Little Red Book for blurry photos of him eating dates. Others deconstructed Mengmeng’s two music festival live performances, though mostly just rewriting existing articles.

Among these, the former was far more popular with netizens. After all, spectating is national nature. Compared to eye-glazing professional analyses, even a few blurry screencaps from the show could easily garner considerable likes, reposts, and comments.

That night, the Sis Has Some Money Bot was also flooded with submissions.

@SisHasSomeMoneyBot:

【398】

Thick code thick code thick code.

The intel from Lip-sync Fake-play Group’s Sister 241 verified as true.

The First-Gen Meng’s Wife is sort of a semi-insider. Can’t say more.

【399】

Code it or not, whatever. I’m deleting my account after tonight anyway.

From June 14th to 16th, ate together then he sent her home. I’m not a sasaeng, just happened to recognize the license plate, so I knew it was him as soon as I saw it. You really like dating this much, huh?

【400】 (Deleted)

Couldn’t quit the obsession after the first public performance, followed you to J City.

The Lip-sync Fake-play Group praised your career dedication, going back to prepare for round two.

And you? Can’t wait to see your girlfriend that same day?

@SisHasSomeMoneyBot:

Don’t you think there should be some limits? [Kneeling begging.JPG]

The submission the main poster just forwarded was immediately bounced back by the bot’s automated system.

Isn’t it nice to just happily watch the show? Why suddenly so angry all of a sudden…

【Poor main poster. Who knows, maybe one day the account will be reborn…….】

【Because my husband always throws cold water whenever everyone’s happy.】

【Mengmeng really throws himself into dating without regard for anyone else’s feelings, huh (smoking emoji)】

【Usually pretending to be ruthless career fans in the Lip-sync Fake-play Group; only here dare we cry out loud】

【Why can’t Mengmeng be my husband? I don’t understand】

Just like with female celebrities who inevitably have irrational, unconditionally protective fans, once a handsome young man experiences a popularity surge, the heaviest proportion of his fans will inevitably be fierce girlfriend fans—even if everyone knows full well he dated in the past, is dating now, and will continue dating.

Li Tingzhou seemed to be showing this trend right now.

Liu Lusi could intervene, but after careful consideration, she decided to hold off for now.

First, Heartbreak didn’t really rely on fan economy. Their general public fanbase couldn’t compare to a star of First Sister’s caliber, but they weren’t starving either. Their paid single sales were considerable, more comfortable than many pretentious, overhyped first-tier bands in the music circle. Especially now that she had two decent commercial endorsements lined up, ready to arrange for Mengmeng, Liu Lusi was even less in a hurry.

Second, in inner entertainment terms, Mengmeng had nothing left to ruin.

A man who started dating as an adult—you couldn’t possibly expect him to still be a virgin, right?

Most importantly, Mengmeng’s personal charm was powerful enough to compensate for his flaws:

So what if he dates? His live performances are incredibly stable. So what if he’s always dating? With a face that handsome, if he didn’t go out radiating charisma, should he just stay home growing mushrooms?

New fans willing to fight about it actually indicated their subconscious acceptance.

Those truly intent on leaving often leave without a single word.

Non-intervention, in a way, was also a form of filtering.

~

With the heat boost from simultaneous TV broadcast and streaming, Li Tingzhou began to feel the scale of the mainstream:

Before heading to work, he stopped by a convenience store. Passing the refrigerated section, he noticed the sponsor’s milk now had a brand-new “Mengmeng’s Choice” promotional card hung below it.

The previous music festival buzz had attracted a targeted audience.

Inner entertainment bandwagon fans hesitated at the edge, wavering. Even if they had the courage to buy in, they might not withstand the quiet loneliness of limited band circle exposure. Unable to wait for the next heat spike, they’d likely leave. This time, thanks to “Sing My Heart Tonight” Season 7, the hot search topic’s view count quickly surpassed 100 million. After half a day of fermentation on Saturday, it was already sprinting past 200 million, heading for 300 million.

A direct comparison: Mengmeng gained 30,000 followers overnight at the T City Music Festival. He later gained 50,000 more at the Y City Music Festival with an even better stage.

But this time, Mengmeng’s total follower count was racing towards 400,000.

Couldn’t match the fractions of top-tier bigshots, but in terms of accumulation speed, he was undeniably a rising star. These fans not only stayed but also wanted to integrate the haphazard, disorganized band fans to prepare for the upcoming episodes of “Sing My Heart Tonight.”

Heartbreak’s decade-old fans were confused: Since when was the natural order overturned?

You guys are the new ones!

The new fans had just one response: If you won’t promote or counter negative pr, we’ll do it. Give up a moderator position in the Super Topic; we also want to elect representatives to be admins.

After this restructuring, the setup actually started looking somewhat proper.

Liu Lusi finished her evening tasks. Searching Mengmeng’s name again, she found Mengmeng Square had mostly restored order and tidiness. There were recommendation guides, detail-oriented screencap editors. Everyone was busy with their own things, finding their own fun. The Regular Army was taking initial shape.

She was about to compliment the members when her assistant had another report.

“The Heartbreak Super Topic’s host has set up a Fan Support Club and wants to officially interface with our studio’s Weibo account. So for future performances, variety shows, or commercial deals, we can give them a heads-up.”

This was standard inner entertainment practice.

Liu Lusi didn’t answer immediately. “Let me check with Mengmeng and the others first.”

At that moment, Li Tingzhou was in a remote meeting with Ren Shiyu’s side.

Since no camera was following, he didn’t beat around the bush. “Others choose to increase difficulty for the sake of showing off technical skill, but Sister Shiyu, your advantage doesn’t lie there. There’s no need to force it.”

The words were too blunt. As expected, First Sister wilted a bit upon hearing them.

The others had either fought their way out of the Youth Singing Competition, were natural-born talents, or at the very least were professionally trained.

And what about Ren Shiyu?

Back in the day, she had genuinely followed the teen idol route. For a considerable time after her debut, she was criticized for her singing ability. It was Ren Shiyu who carved out time for advanced study and training, gradually changing public opinion. Every subsequent transformation was perfectly timed and hit the spot, which led to her current status as the pop queen.

Purely in terms of technique, Ren Shiyu was slightly lacking.

“I know. And now it’s too late to change…”

The second episode’s theme was nostalgia. She had chosen “Curved Moon”: a somewhat old love song that also served as the insert theme for a Hong Kong film.

This song’s advantage lay in its fluid, lingering melody and its perfectly four-beat rhythm, recorded in professional textbooks. Most importantly, it perfectly suited Ren Shiyu’s vocal comfort zone.

Li Tingzhou understood First Sister’s reasoning for choosing the song.

He was also willing to help her convince her own heart to accept the outcome.

Since forcefully adding difficulty wasn’t realistic, they should play a stable, safe card!

Ren Shiyu had placed first in the first episode, which was equivalent to having one surprise attack immunity. Knowing that in the second episode, every group would strive to earn bonus points, the temporarily advantaged First Sister could actually hold back slightly.

This was a viable tactic, provided there was no slip-up.

After hearing Li Tingzhou’s analysis, Ren Shiyu’s mind became active again.

She knew her limitations and her strengths.

Without the ability to support technical showboating, then, within the set upper limit, aim to be as rich and fluent as possible…

Liu Lusi, who had intended to briefly discuss something, ended up listening in for over an hour until Dai Jier called from outside for dinner, prompting Li Tingzhou to disconnect from First Sister’s side.

“Xi He called you earlier. I said you were in a meeting.”

“Mm, I’ll call her back in a bit.”

With everyone present, Liu Lusi brought up the Super Topic management issue.

Ten-level internet surfer Dai Jier, well-versed in fandom culture, his first concern was the infamous “hiding under borrowed skirts” or management corruption.

But Mao Maoyu felt it shouldn’t be an issue. “At most, our Heartbreak is just participating in a variety show. We’re not collecting funds for votes or exploiting fans. Where would the admins embezzle from? They’d be lucky not to pay out of pocket!”

This made sense, and Li Tingzhou nodded in agreement.

“No one’s paying them to do this. If they really were undercover plants, it’d be way too much hard work.”

“Fine,” Dai Jier had to agree.

After dinner, Liu Lusi went to finalize the contract details for the commercial endorsements. The others went about their free time. Li Tingzhou returned Xi He’s call, then continued staying in touch with Ren Shiyu’s team, so he could listen and make adjustments in real time.

“I think a string arrangement would also be nice. Adding some richness would be better.”

Li Tingzhou made a sample in the editor. It indeed seemed feasible.

“Then let me ask—”

First Sister was swift and decisive. She left briefly, and when she returned, she told Li Tingzhou that if they truly wanted a string version, the program team could contact the Central Arts Troupe to come and perform live.

Wait, which Philharmonic?

“Central Philharmonic?”

“Yes, if we’re hiring, let’s hire the best.”

Now it was Li Tingzhou’s turn to fall silent.

But First Sister was riding high on enthusiasm, completely oblivious to her partner’s unusual reaction. She was quite excited. “Oh, at my concert in B City last year, I also invited the Central Philharmonic. Their First Chair is truly beautiful. I especially love her nose. Afterwards, I even asked the doctor if I could get the same one… but I also heard some gossip about her.”

Li Tingzhou’s breath hitched, both surprised and curious. “Huh?”

“Divorce gossip.” First Sister sighed regretfully. “I know her husband is that famous cellist, but during a random overlap in schedules a while ago, I heard from someone that the couple is separated.”