Chapter 28: Biting a Badge for Photos

On the evening before the dress rehearsal, Zheng Bing and Junko arrived.

They came in low-key but with great haste, shouting things like “I’m gonna eat the full marinated seafood feast!” and “I’m gonna eat Mengmeng out of house and home!” But after landing, they obediently went through the entire process with Li Tingzhou first.

Once in work mode, the two completely forgot about marinated seafood.

Part of Li Tingzhou’s overall command came from his charisma and authority. With him holding the front line, even if he called “again” ten times over, the others would follow without complaint.

Of course, people were people, not mules—they needed rest.

After Li Tingzhou called a halt, Zheng Bing and Junko confirmed his expression with disbelief.

“Originally, I wanted to see Wave Tower’s billion-yuan broadcast hall—”

Junko clicked his tongue, looking regretful. “Looks like we’ll just be roasting suckling pigs over at Spirit Confluence Hall instead.”

Li Tingzhou, holding his guitar, looked at Junko. “Then how about we all perform at Spirit Confluence Hall, and leave you here alone in the broadcast hall? The acoustics here are excellent. When it’s quiet, you can even hear your own heartbeat, you know.”

Junko immediately shivered. “Mengmeng, don’t scare people with such a straight face!”

“I wasn’t scaring you.”

“Hahaha, I don’t care, I’m sticking with you.”

Zheng Bing couldn’t stand watching this. Someone like Junko, who was both lousy at it yet always loved joking around with Mengmeng, was a rare sight. And yet Junko thoroughly enjoyed it, giggling foolishly from time to time. Compared to Mengmeng’s crisp, decisive laugh, Junko’s silly laugh was just embarrassing.

Just as they were talking, Mao Maoyu arrived with a late-night snack.

“Eat up, eat up, this is all First Sister’s treat.”

“Thanks, First Sister! First Sister’s so generous!”

Zheng Bing looked at Li Tingzhou and asked, “Do you guys get treated like this normally while recording? Eating five, six meals a day? Seeing Little Maoyu gain weight, but you seem even thinner.”

Li Tingzhou had a tall frame—broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs—giving him a lean and sinewy visual effect.

With his already lean physique, two kilos up or down made no visible difference outwardly.

How was Zheng Bing so sharp-eyed?

Mao Maoyu chimed in, “He’s picky. He doesn’t like all the soupy-porridgey stuff in G City.”

“The weather’s too hot, I don’t have much of an appetite.”

Li Tingzhou clarified himself.

Zheng Bing nodded in understanding, then asked, “I saw Little Maoyu and Jier posting marinated seafood late-night snacks on their Moments every week. I thought you guys were having a great time eating over here!” Which was what made him and Junko look forward to the marinated seafood feast too.

“The ones having fun are Jier and me. Mengmeng doesn’t like raw or cold food.”

Mao Maoyu had only said a few words?

And Mengmeng already had two or three things he didn’t like.

Junko immediately hesitated and was about to backtrack: “Then maybe we shouldn’t—”

Li Tingzhou cut him off. “Don’t. You guys came all this way to help. The meal should naturally be what you prefer. Those who like marinated seafood eat marinated seafood; I’ll eat something else.”

The topic of treating them to food was brushed aside, and everyone turned back to discussing the performance at Spirit Confluence Hall.

“The people other groups invited are all pretty impressive. We’re not gonna drag First Sister down, are we?”

“Impressive or not, we’ll only know after they sing. Their claims of being impressive are useless; it only counts if the audience says so and votes.” After recording the show for so long, Li Tingzhou had learned a thing or two about so-called flexible rules. He looked confident and composed, quite unflappable. “The grandest lineup is useless if it’s not well-rehearsed. You two came a whole night early. How could we possibly lose?”

This breath of encouragement swelled the brothers with confidence again.

During the next day’s dress rehearsal, Zheng Bing and Junko indeed felt they had “mastered divine skills,” showing off their best abilities and thoroughly convincing First Sister of their confidence.

No joke, compared to other groups, she felt her odds of winning were quite high.

When the mid-session rehearsal was over, First Sister was visibly beaming.

“Mengmeng, your arrangement is a bit too amazing! I think the effort you put in is no less than rewriting a whole new song. I’ll have to ask Sister Carlrine later; she’ll definitely love this adaptation too.”

Staying up after work each night at the hotel to polish it meticulously—of course it was good!

Counting the total hours, it was basically the time needed to build a new stove and write a new song from scratch.

Of course, Li Tingzhou swallowed these complaints. Considering they’d filmed another mid-roll ad these past two days, he decided to just bear it…

As Ren Shiyu spoke, she sang an a cappella section.

Li Tingzhou gradually blended his voice with hers.

Junko’s bass acted like a third vocal part, slowly following in a round-like form, like a layer of soft black lace draped over a skirt hem, prolonging the elegance and adding lingering charm.

Heartbreak didn’t have a drummer; all related sound effects were integrated into Mao Maoyu’s keyboard.

But Zheng Bing’s presence split his pressure. Live playing was indeed distinctly different.

Mao Maoyu didn’t feel his job had been stolen. Keyboards had many functions, but live performance was an irreplaceable form of emotional expression. He occasionally glanced at Mengmeng’s manner, and seeing Mengmeng was also pleased, Mao Maoyu finally felt completely at ease. As for First Sister once again “singing beautifully,” he never included that as a performance metric…

After the hottest part of the afternoon passed, the full joint rehearsal of all nine groups began.

The scale was massive; the director and associate directors all came.

Pan Jun didn’t hide his favoritism as he came straight to First Sister and Mengmeng’s group. “Looks well-prepared, huh?”

Ren Shiyu smiled. “Director Pan, you’ll see when it’s over.”

This show had, after all, reached its third public performance, and the second one was about to air soon. Seeing First Sister and Mengmeng wildly reaping the benefits, with endorsements and ads rolling in nonstop, the guests no longer had any thoughts of “holding back.” Every performance was all-out effort, especially with two Raid Singer groups this round—no one wanted to be replaced.

First Sister, holding the golden amulet of immunity, was even more at peak condition. She mostly followed the advice of her team and Mengmeng, preferring to do less rather than risk making a mistake.

“Don’t worry about the draw order; I’ve arranged everything. Where’s Mengmeng?”

“Over there.”

Ren Shiyu pointed behind her, where the band boys were messing around together, laughing boisterously.

Pan Jun thought for a moment, then decided not to join them. “Ah, it’s good to be young!”

Who could say otherwise?

The advantage of youth was that after rehearsing a full night, you could still face the cameras full of energy the next day, possessing strength you couldn’t exhaust, showing no signs of fatigue or bloating. That fresh, dewy complexion wasn’t something achievable just by diligently keeping up with cosmetic procedures every month or season and spending a fortune on maintenance.

Speaking of the performance itself, since it was taking place in a venue with nearly ten thousand seats, leaked clips were bound to circulate online before the actual episode aired.

This was unavoidable dissemination; no matter how strictly controlled, there were always fish slipping through the net.

Considering that one performance could resurrect a career, everyone came fully armed for the dress rehearsal.

The scale was immense—no less than a massive combined concert!

While Junko didn’t get to experience the luxurious tech effects of Wave Tower’s billion-yuan broadcast hall, he witnessed another level of lineup extravagance. The main guests of “Sing My Heart Tonight” season seven each had their own achievements. Any single one of them had impressive credentials. Now, with titans joining forces, one spectacular performance after another left viewers cheering endlessly.

Looking back at First Sister, she was also in full makeup and battle armor, and—

“Whoa, Mengmeng, you secretly changed clothes without telling your bros?”

Correct, Li Tingzhou had also changed into performance attire.

Considering the “A Woman’s Heart” performance happened to coincide with the leadership inspection, his clothing needed careful preparation. The original plan was to coordinate with First Sister’s outfit. The styling team had worked hard, scouring various brands for pieces that could form a matching pair.

But the situation had changed; the leadership’s perception was now paramount.

Dress as steady and proper as possible.

So what counted as steady and proper? The classic shirt and suit trousers, of course.

Zheng Bing reached out to touch Li Tingzhou’s collar but pulled his hand back, afraid of dirtying the white shirt. “Looks expensive. Are these cufflinks embedded with real gems? Damn, they’re so shiny.”

“These are artificially cultivated diamonds from N City in G Province.”

Just as Junko was looking confused, Pan Jun walked over at some point and explained with a smile, “N City is the pride of our G Province! Artificial gems from N City are exported worldwide. Our show never uses expensive wardrobe as a gimmick. For example, the gemstone feather skirt Teacher Shiyu wore during the second public performance was also made with materials sourced directly from N City.”

Zheng Bing, Dai Jier: “Huh??”

It had to be said, with the generally uniform education level of the music industry guys and their flat political sensitivity, understanding those few lines was indeed a bit challenging for them.

Only Li Tingzhou in the entire venue knew this fat fox was simply channel-obsessed.

“Director Pan is so knowledgeable and thoughtful in his approach.”

“No, no, we’re simply following the policy direction wholeheartedly!”

The leaders couldn’t just come and watch the performances, right?

There had to be several presentable, headline-worthy topics.

Like the awakening campaign for G City’s declining old town area, aiming to boost G City’s tourism promotion. Like using a highly influential variety show to promote emerging industries in G Province, thereby expanding the influence of local brands. And finally, showcasing the positive image of young singers and young music producers…

Anyway, after this plan was submitted, the station’s Party committee asked Pan Jun to submit an additional application to join the Party.

As long as his heart was red, it was never too late to make progress.

~

The differences were noticeable during the dress rehearsal.

But not drastically so.

They were all veterans with twenty-plus years in the industry (First Sister rounded up to 20). Even if there were still some gaps in technique, with physical conditions like Ma Du burdened by occupational ailments and the washed-up Zhuang Yifan having not sung in five or six years, their technique was enough to compensate for any decline in physical capability.

The billion-yuan broadcast hall could maximize sound effects, achieving near perfection.

A thirty-plus-year-old venue had no such good conditions.

At Spirit Confluence Hall, everyone was equally subjected to its high heat, oppressively stuffy air, and vast emptiness, needing to adapt to its aged state as quickly as possible.

Yes, even after renovations, Spirit Confluence Hall’s hardware upgrades were limited.

The times had changed too fast. Even if top-tier audio equipment existed, fitting it in was difficult. When the hall was built, no one imagined technology would advance so rapidly. They figured as long as a singer could pick up a microphone and produce a sound on stage, it was good enough. This was also why the old town area declined year by year, replaced by new city centers. The mindset was always “good enough is enough.” Whenever resources and funds arrived, they went elsewhere first, and only finally to the old area, which seemed to lack nothing on the surface…

After 24 hours of summoning, the Night Heart Seven third performance public draw also concluded.

Li Tingzhou received this news backstage.

Everyone was currently discussing with First Sister whether to add some audience interaction.

“One day for summoning and draw, then the public performance the day after. What if some people can’t make it?” Junko voiced the unspoken question.

First Sister was quite pragmatic. “Then don’t enter the draw if you can’t make it. Plenty of people want to come.”

Nowadays, transportation was so developed. Planes, high-speed rail—which wasn’t convenient?

The draw spots were limited. If you couldn’t make it, simply don’t enter, give the chance to someone who could. Those who wanted to come would drive through the night to arrive on time. And don’t say there’s no place to stay in G City; weren’t there always overnight queuers at music festivals? Spirit Confluence Hall was near Spirit Gathering Lake and Spirit Gathering Park—where else could you find such a perfect spot for an overnight queue?

Despite her grumbling, First Sister still had someone contact the fan support club to provide some safety guarantees for the attending fans.

These were routine communication matters, no real effort required.

Heartbreak’s side was considerably more chaotic.

Their support club had only recently connected with the official Weibo account; everything was rushed.

Liu Lusi asked the operations assistant to contact the support club, confirming roughly a hundred attendees, and pre-ordered some coffee and milk tea for distribution somewhere on Thursday…

Turns out, the support club was also prepared. They had contacted people from Mint Candy and Tipsy Cookie to urgently custom-order a batch of promotional materials together.

“What kind of materials?”

“Look, they call this little round disc a badge, and there are hand banners too.”

Though Zheng Bing and Junko could understand some fan support actions, they also worried about practical issues. “How much do all these things cost? Is it a lot of trouble?”

“For fans spending their own money out of love, the money is secondary.”

“Then what’s primary?”

“Getting certified by the star himself, of course!”

Dai Jier, deeply rooted in fandom for years, understood this perfectly.

Mao Maoyu asked, “Wouldn’t it be great if the official show crew did something like this too?”

Just as First Sister was about to speak, Li Tingzhou opened his mouth. “Getting licensing authorization from each artist one by one is too troublesome. Even if everyone agreed, how to distribute the profits is another problem. The draw tickets are already free; the show crew probably doesn’t want that much hassle. It’s enough that the fans have their own fun—at least the officials haven’t explicitly banned it.”

Zheng Bing glanced up at Mengmeng, thinking his eyes were just too perceptive.

Bringing up copyright—who could out-talk Mengmeng?

He seemed cold on the surface, but he was also the first to post fan-made support items on his Weibo for certification. And mind you, his last original Weibo post was… ages ago!

~

【When to Criminalize Lip-syncing and Fake Playing | Level 12 Super Topic holders are blessed】

————

Congratulations!

Honorable Level 12, you and Mengmeng share the same badge and hand banner!

[Evil Gardenia Staring.JPG]

[Screenshot of Mengmeng’s Weibo]x2

1L: Such a good Mengmeng. Who taught him how to take photos of badges?

4L: Alright, my homepage is now full of photos of people biting badges in the exact same pose and angle. It’s all Mengmeng’s fault!

8L: The person who set Level 12 as the requirement to claim the support pack is a genius.

Filtered out the old and inactive, excluded the fickle newcomers. Precisely the group that followed Mengmeng from the very beginning. Back then, Mengmeng hadn’t even shown his face yet; we loved him purely for his talent.

15L: Whatever, I’ll just go hunting on the second-hand market. [Holding back tears.JPG]

19L: Mengmeng filled the void of leaving no trace on the badge (just kidding.

25L: So, is anyone in our group going to the live show at Spirit Confluence?

Mint Candy and Cookie really hitched a ride on something huge this time. Hope for the music industry’s revival!

30L: Yes, some are. They have a group chat and also contacted Mengmeng’s support club.

37L:

Sister Lusi ordered coffee and breakfast, lunch is on First Sister.

[Screenshots of chats, censored]x4

Who’s blessed? Me, that’s who. (spicy emoji)

…

102L: Congrats, you lucky bunch, really taking and eating everything.

109L: Zheng Bing and Junko posted on Weibo, they’re eating marinated raw seafood!

113L: Wait, don’t tell me Little Maoyu and Jier have been eating marinated raw seafood for three weeks straight?

118L: Thanks to their photos, I get to see Mengmeng in the state closest to real life.

120L: Pretty much. I went to the Frost Palace show. Mengmeng in person is leaner and more upright. His shoulders are broad, but his whole frame is thin. When he walks, his legs are so long they practically assault my eyes. When he has his resting cold face on, he looks like a grand entrance of a handsome man—that level of impact.

128L: Alright, bros are already setting up tents.

[Pictures]x3

135: ???? You guys are for real????

~

On the day of the official performance, Li Tingzhou received a call from his brother.

“I’ll arrive in Spirit Gathering District by 5:30 PM, just in time for your performance.”

Li Tingzhou thought: “Just in time?” Even if you arrived at 9:30 PM, you’d still be “just in time” for my stage entrance. Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud.

“Are leaders allowed to announce inspection schedules in advance?”

Li Songyi chuckled lightly twice. “Why not? When we were kids during New Year’s, you used to go around telling everyone to change clothes and watch your performances. Now your big brother is telling you in advance that I’m coming to watch your performance.”

Li Tingzhou, reminded of his embarrassing childhood, felt his cheeks flush. “Whatever!”

He hung up the phone and turned to see First Sister holding his microphone.

“I just noticed, Mengmeng, your microphone is the same as mine.”

Ren Shiyu wasn’t upset because the guest singer and the main guest used the same microphone. In fact, she understood the show production crew’s little schemes better than anyone.

In the beginning, they tried to suppress Mengmeng; later, they subtly started lifting him up.

Something must have happened in between.

The only key figure she could think of was Pan Jun, whose attitude had shown a clear shift. His power on the show wasn’t great enough to decide a guest’s stay or departure, but he held significant sway. Crucially, Pan Jun had indicated on many occasions that Whale was closer to his heart than Tide.

It wasn’t just mere recruitment; it was more like buying goodwill and currying favor.

“Director Pan thinks highly of me and is doing his best to make me perform better.”

Ren Shiyu gave him a knowing smile. “I know!”