Chapter 21: How Do You Want to Hype It?

Back in J City, the Heartbreak team remained on tenterhooks for another day.

Especially Mao Maoyu and Dai Jier; their internet surfing speed was fast, searching various keywords, confirming there were no linked Hashtags yet, just some scattered rumor-mill whispers, before they barely breathed a sigh of relief.

But paper can’t wrap fire.

This kind of non-critical marketing point was just too easy to use.

Especially for the legendary “Purple Jasmine”; they currently had a compelling need to stir up hype, so this blade was bound to fall sooner or later.

Li Tingzhou quickly booked a restaurant and treated everyone to a meal.

As they dispersed, Xi He was slightly tipsy.

She hadn’t drunk much, but she had things on her mind and wanted to be drunk.

“Are you hiding something from me?”

Li Tingzhou’s laugh caused his chest to vibrate. He seemed to see successive flashes of light from a car across the street—likely camera flashes, if nothing else. But he couldn’t be bothered with that right now.

“It’s not that I’m unwilling to tell you.”

Those were not-so-happy memories for him, so he just didn’t bring them up proactively.

“Then tell me, are you afraid I’d be unhappy? It’s okay, I can handle it. I’ve been mentally preparing all afternoon…”

Li Tingzhou supported her: “Let’s get in the car first.”

After sitting for a while, Xi He sobered up considerably: “When a strange woman appeared on my feed, I knew it wasn’t an accident.” The existence of big data could indeed create some coincidences from unexpected places.

The other party was indeed very beautiful, and matched Li Tingzhou’s type.

Xi He’s gaze locked tightly onto Li Tingzhou, not missing any change in his expression.

“That was a few years ago. Li Li came over for an exchange program. Her bag got snatched. I helped her call her companions. Later, we joined a couple of gatherings together, and naturally got together.”

Having already searched the encyclopedia entry, Xi He raised a question: “She’s 7 years older than you.”

“Mhm.”

The 7-year age gap wasn’t important. At that time, Li Li had just passed 25, just like Li Tingzhou now, in her prime. Her pride and charm radiated allure constantly.

“Then why did you break up later?”

Xi He swore she didn’t mean to compete with Li Li; she was just curious.

“I still had a few years of school left at that time, couldn’t go back for a while. But she was different; once her studies ended, she had to go back to work. She kept telling me the competition in the Central Arts Troupe was fierce, you could get pushed out in a blink. What could I say to her? Talk about some master’s concert I attended? Talk about staying up late to finish some big assignment?”

Being a student, and working, were completely different.

Many are top achievers during student days, but not necessarily so after starting work.

For someone as competitive as Li Li, she couldn’t stand being worse than others, so she naturally devoted more energy to her work, plus a lot of social interactions. The last bit left was what she kept for Li Tingzhou.

“And then? Because of the distance and time difference, you couldn’t sustain it?”

If it were really that simple, why would he need to write the heartache and restless rainy nights into a song? He was just thinking, how to finish telling a story that ended so badly, so awkwardly.

Xi He observed Li Tingzhou’s silence.

After maybe half a minute, she seemed to somewhat decipher his expression—a kind of indifference that, though no longer fond, still didn’t wish to speak ill.

“I searched and found out she married that famous cellist.”

“Mm…”

“What are your thoughts?”

Li Tingzhou actually didn’t care; it had been so long since they broke up.

But if he truly said that to Xi He, she might not believe him.

Should he say he was just an accident Li Li encountered during her screening process?

Zong Xincheng had been entangled with her for years. Both had tried finding someone better: Li Li saw no future in the too-young Li Tingzhou and wasn’t willing to wait for a boy to grow up; and Zong Xincheng played the field, and finding no better options above, ultimately stayed by her side.

They endured hardships and achieved a happy ending; Li Tingzhou was just a bystander.

“No particular thoughts. That’s someone else’s family matter.”

As for the rumored marital discord, the desire mentioned in the message to meet…

He didn’t care to find out.

Only then did Xi He completely relax, a smile returning to her face.

~

The relieved Xi He saw flowers as flowers, the sea as the sea, and posted two updates on her Moments.

The next day, Friday at 8 PM, Whale premiered “All-Star Launch” Season 2.

Heartbreak Official Blog also reposted the news.

This promotion actually startled music fans: In the long premiere promotional post for “All-Star Launch,” after the Music Director listing, the next column was Music Support, with @HeartbrokenMengmeng prominently listed!

Considering he provided songs for the first season’s debut group album, it was reasonable.

Before long, Mengmeng himself also reposted this update.

【Hubby, weren’t you busy at Tide next door (Hubby’s working hard).】

【Mengmeng’s at work, when will Heartbreak’s new song be released?】

—Author reply: Soon.

【Will Mengmeng appear on Night Heart Seven’s first public performance? Want to see you!】

—Author reply: Will appear.

【Mengmeng Mengmeng Mengmeng Mengmeng Mengmeng!】

【I went to Heartbreak Studios to check in, Qiaoqiao wouldn’t eat my cat treat, any clue?】

—Author reply: Qiaoqiao did well.

【Hubby when are you breaking up? Can’t you just focus on work?】

—LTZXH when to break up reply: Huh? I graduated?

This tone and phrasing habit clearly showed it was Mengmeng himself.

He arbitrarily picked comments, only replying to the ones he wanted to reply to.

Just as Mengmeng didn’t care about paparazzi sneak shots, he was also quite willful on his own social media homepage: ignoring all who called him hubby, dismissing those who made noise pretending to be silly ducklings in the comments, and finally blocking the buzzkills who asked when he would break up.

After doing all this, refreshed!

Liu Lusi arrived very early today. She had finalized the promo shoot schedule, just waiting for their team to come. Now she needed to communicate this with Mengmeng.

“I’m shooting?”

“Who else?” Liu Lusi asked him back. “This is the Mid-roll Ad for the second episode’s online broadcast. Shoot today, goes live tonight.”

Why was the timing so tight?

Because sponsors also needed to bid, to discuss who would appear on camera to maximize profit.

That this opportunity went to Li Tingzhou, rather than the higher-ranked, more vocally prominent Ancient Style King (Wang Chao), was naturally because the latecomers fought and scrambled for it.

Wang Chao had more fans, true, but Mengmeng was handsome!

Wang Chao had many famous ancient-style OSTs and been on variety shows, but Mengmeng could casually spark discussions, lead trends; the tempest of controversy was stronger than complete indifference!

More importantly, Mengmeng was cheap right now.

If they didn’t use him quickly while he was cheap, wait until his endorsement fees were in the multi-millions to bid against competitors?

The filming team arrived very quickly. They were professional, swiftly setting up the shooting area, with all kinds of costumes and props ready. The on-site director was prepared to dawdle for half the day, but the shoot went exceptionally smoothly. Mengmeng wasn’t actually more lively on camera than in person, but he was authoritative enough. His normal speaking voice was slightly deeper than when singing, his articulation clear, with an indescribable charm.

Two mid-roll ads finished, just in time for lunch.

“Even though we didn’t treat, the meal allowance is still given out.”

That’s the good thing about big brands, everything is done by the book.

Dai Jier and Mao Maoyu ordered takeout and ate heartily; Li Tingzhou had little appetite.

After the meal, everyone went back to their own tasks. Li Tingzhou, done feeding the cat, made a round and was about to sit down when he got a call from Xi He: “I have a gathering today, want to come?”

Li Tingzhou stopped in front of the large fish tank in the reception room and asked: “Who’s all there?”

“Mm, my teacher, and some of her students.”

To put it simply, it was an opera-circle ecosystem.

Everyone’s work revolved either around the university or around the troupe.

Li Tingzhou didn’t hesitate long, saying directly: “I’ll pick you up after you finish dinner.”

Hanging up, Li Tingzhou continued with his own matters.

Unfortunately, he was destined not to concentrate fully on work for the rest of the afternoon.

All afternoon, Liu Lusi kept making and receiving calls, occasionally pushing open the soundproof door to discuss things with him.

Tonight was the male talent show premiere, and despite it still being daytime, a blanket of cross-platform Trending Topics had already descended. Although the broadcast schedule of “All-Star Launch” did not clash with Night Heart Seven’s second episode, the public’s enthusiasm was limited. If they spent too much emotion on the former, they’d inevitably feel a drop in engagement for the less thrilling, less dramatic “Sing My Heart Tonight.”

How to deal with challenges from a competing show became a priority, major issue.

“That’s the Main Guest’s problem.”

Li Tingzhou thought: Even if the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up. It wasn’t their turn to worry.

Liu Lusi shook her head and told him very seriously: “Big Agent Zhou participated in the content review. Tonight’s trending topic war isn’t just First Sister’s business; it concerns you as well.”

Although it was entirely ill-timed, Li Tingzhou thought of a famous reaction meme.

Ben Bo’er Ba, go eliminate the Tang Monk and his disciples!

Li Tingzhou’s silence was within Liu Lusi’s expectations. He still knew too little about Inner Entertainment. This stage wasn’t one where singing well automatically meant getting more attention and applause. She had painstakingly built her connection to Ren Shiyu, tying their interests together, absolutely not just to let Li Tingzhou be a Guest Singer and smoothly help Ren Shiyu win the championship.

First Sister was willing to be a stepping stone, on the premise that Li Tingzhou was outstanding enough.

Inner Entertainment was full of people with maxed-out professional skills. But why was the top tier the top tier? Not everyone had the potential to become a big star. If being a storm of controversy was also a talent, then Li Tingzhou was indeed naturally gifted with full talent points in this area.

With things laid out to this point, he could more or less guess some of it.

“Little Melon Jiang filmed the video from that night we had dinner before.”

Li Tingzhou quickly recalled the incident then, but still didn’t feel that this matter had enough weight to rival Next Door’s trending topic package, especially involving a regular person.

“Besides fans, no one cares who I date.”

Besides, this was something everyone already knew.

Liu Lusi looked at him steadily: “Hard to say. What if there’s more?”

“Do you know Whale is launching a marriage documentary reality show in the autumn?”

Liu Lusi hadn’t known this news early. The moment she heard about the tentative guest list, she rushed to G City, afraid something might happen between Mengmeng and that first love during the Second Performance rehearsal and show.

Fortunately, Mengmeng himself was clear-headed enough, saving her from needing strict precautions…

Li Tingzhou pieced this scattered information together and suddenly found it all profoundly uninteresting: “So what’s your plan?”

How do you want to hype it?

What kind of cooperation do you need from him?

Liu Lusi looked at him as if looking at a rare orchid hanging on a steep cliff.

He knew he was unique, but didn’t fully grasp the specificity of this uniqueness.

“You should communicate well with Xi He.”

Liu Lusi knew there was no free lunch in this world. Pushing someone to the forefront to face the judgment of public scrutiny inevitably required paying a sufficient price: “If she’s willing, I’ll talk to Zhou Ling about that new show at Tide and secure her a full-season contract.”

“Zhou Ling can decide that?”

“He can. He’s returning to Whale in the third quarter to take the position of Entertainment Group Vice President. Whale and Tide have two integrated projects launching in the second half of the year.”

Liu Lusi was only thinking from Li Tingzhou’s perspective.

To make him decisively, unburdenedly decide, she didn’t even hesitate to directly expose to Li Tingzhou the ambition and desire that Xi He had so well hidden—

“If you don’t ask, how do you know Xi He doesn’t want it?”

The temptation of fame was unimaginable.

Platform, opportunities, connections were all laid before her, free for the taking. Who could resist?