Chapter 31: Avoiding Suspicion Part 1

Regarding talent shows, the most sensitive topic is undoubtedly vote-rigging.

No matter how much Whale desired the buzz, it wouldn’t dare cross the line on this issue.

From the vote closing at high noon when results came out, to public opinion fully fermenting and the hashtag switching from [Hot] to [Explosive], less than two hours passed. At exactly 2 PM, the “All-Star Launch” Official Weibo Account released a statement. The main content included three points:

First, the voting channels were open and transparent, impossible to falsify;

Second, how fans chose to vote under the 3-pick rule was their freedom. They could give these three votes to any three trainees they liked.

In other words, the seemingly excessive “encirclement” by the fandoms of the Initial Center, Third Place, and Fourth Place was actually compliant with the rules.

Each person had three votes. Who’s to say how to cast them?

They didn’t use some black technology to cast four or five votes.

The officials would rather see fandoms rack their brains and use tactics within the rules to achieve their goals than see them fundraise, winning with massive vote totals incompatible with the current stage’s reality that might draw scrutiny from relevant authorities.

Reviving the talent show wasn’t easy. If Whale messed this up, they’d be the ultimate sinner!

Finally, that fans wished trainees to perform the styles they excelled at was a reasonable demand. During this voting period, the production team strictly controlled the trainees’ communication devices. No “hinting” behavior existed. Supervisors verified no abnormal votes entered the pool.

Translating this—

Both ‘what fans love watching’ and ‘what Male Trainees excel at’ were equally weighted primary factors.

Voting based on these two primary reasons was entirely unproblematic.

It took only a minute or two to read the latest statement from the “All-Star Launch” production team. Any ordinary melon-eater could correctly answer this reading comprehension. So, in the comments sections of posts by Marketing Accounts, one could easily find some Passerby melon-eaters chiming in:

-Accept the loss, huh? They were smart and knew to use strategy to win.

-Same 3 votes in hand, how come others knew to use 2 votes to barter for resources?

-True to being Old Zhong People, employing military tactics anytime, anywhere.

-I see First Place can’t sit firmly on that top spot either. The fans are too dumb, wanting everything.

-If they had the ability to vote for First, why didn’t they dare go all in?

-So that’s why my search for Mengmeng led me here. Turns out it’s Mengmeng’s song.

-Listened to all six picks from the three position categories. This one is indeed the best.

-Totally understand the fans fighting over this one. It really has hit potential!

The Mengmeng Fans, dragged unwillingly into this great war, also had their perspectives refreshed.

So even this could be fought over?

It’s a good thing our Mengmeng can sing an entire song by himself~

Speaking of Mengmeng, we’ll get to see him again tonight.

At 10 PM, Blue Ocean TV broadcast the third episode of “Sing My Heart Tonight” Season 7 on time. The opening picked up from the cliffhanger left at the end of the previous episode. Since First Sister’s group had struck first, the other six groups all began unleashing their full power for the Second Public Performance. Relatively speaking, First Sister’s group, holding the lead, appeared to be holding back some strength.

Although First Sister didn’t say it outright on camera, judging by their second performance song choice “Curved Moon,” she planned to play it safe.

The scene then shifted to Mengmeng. As always, he took it very seriously.

Mengmeng was never the type to feign effort. Although “Curved Moon” had countless cover versions since its release, he still wanted to bring something new, showcasing some different elements while still fitting First Sister’s style.

Thus, after communicating his ideas with First Sister, the outline of a plan formed in his mind.

This part, the production team deemed a highlight and preserved the progression process almost completely:

Mengmeng boldly moved a section of the chorus to the very beginning, injecting its soul first to achieve a preemptive impact. Then, woven in were various fragmented requests from First Sister. Good ideas, Mengmeng tried to retain. He endeavored to avoid the tired paths of numerous past covers. Only once the stylistic core was confirmed did he re-arrange the entire piece according to the performance habits of string instruments…

The overall workload was considerable, but Mengmeng took less than two days.

The young truly can endure long nights.

Other groups tortured their old veterans and mid-career regulars. But for Mengmeng, one or two sleepless nights didn’t detract from his handsome looks one bit. Paired with his more prominent eye bags and the thin silver wire-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, how was this any different from a hot college guy?

He was only 25, indeed not long out of school.

While other groups were still burning the midnight oil in their studios, Mengmeng and First Sister’s group had already fast-forwarded to coordinating rehearsals with the Central Arts Troupe and communicating specific effects with the stage design team. Multiple threads advancing in parallel, yet everything was so orderly.

Even viewers previously indifferent to this group would feel a small shock here!

-Mengmeng is practically Superman! He really, truly understands First Sister’s needs.

-Wonder why directors love taking their usual crew when filming? Because one glance and they tacitly understand each other…

-First Sister has finally found the Producer who understands her best.

-Who else gets it? The opening chorus part makes First Sister sound so sweet, like she’s back at 18.

-This believer is willing to eat vegetarian for a month, praying I get a team member like Mengmeng in group projects.

-Men who work seriously are truly handsome, Mengmeng-Husband (spicy emoji)

-Finally getting Mengmeng, a truly charismatic person.

-Gotta say, Mengmeng has excellent taste, able to create high-brow melody and tune into the public’s wavelength.

A certain famous music critic, who had previously written multiple 3-star reviews for First Sister, finally softened his stance:

【I have repeatedly criticized Ren Shiyu’s inaction. She is timid towards change, content with the status quo, prolonging her painful transformation period from the golden age of 27 to 33. This certainly has reasons: Diamond was too familiar and too supportive, reluctant to let Shiyu take risks. It also relates to luck—she never met a Producer who could unleash her full potential. Staying too long in the comfort zone, she forgot that she was once highly praised for astonishing talent upon debut…】

【This season of Night Heart, however, lets me see hope.】

【Mengmeng is a musician brimming with vitality and ambition, glimpses of which can be seen from the explosive stream of new works he’s brought since joining Heartbreak. Besides that naturally gifted, superb voice of his, his second biggest strength is expertly serving the right dish: what a girl group needs to eat to be energetic, adorable, and lively—he knows; what a struggling Solo Singer needs to eat for a revival during her transformation—he also knows; the dance track written for that talent show is even more a showboating flex, perfectly suited for Male Trainees to unleash their hormones.】

【I am very much looking forward to Mengmeng and Ren Shiyu’s second collaboration after Night Heart Seven.】

Ten thousand praises from fans, ten thousand explanatory essays, can’t compare to one stage from the artist themselves.

A singer’s change and progress will all be reflected in their stage performance.

Happily, after her popularity revival, First Sister was also about to welcome a springtime for her reputation!

The third episode’s broadcast rhythm quickly arrived at the dress rehearsal day.

On this day, the guest artists, to look good on camera (having already abandoned all pretense of caring about their image during the earlier recording period), would usually properly groom themselves. Even Mengmeng changed into a more formal dress shirt and trousers.

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs—handsome in a direct, uncomplicated way.

The moment he appeared, the post-production team added lots of bling bling special effects.

Vigilant Mengmeng Fans were already opening their eyes wide, patrolling on duty—

All because their artist didn’t even bother hiding his relationship.

Most fans basically knew Mengmeng brought his girlfriend to the live venue during the Second Public Performance recording. Many viewers who had seen the gossip were even holding their breath and watching intently, afraid that a shot of Sister-in-Law Meng might suddenly appear on screen.

Fortunately, the camera didn’t cut to any suspicious faces.

First Sister soon appeared too, wearing an extremely beautiful black dress. Mengmeng complimented its skirt as resembling the petals of a Black Mamba rose. So netizens once more huffed and puffed over to search what a Black Mamba rose looked like…

After the two of them arrived, they only exchanged a few casual words before immediately entering work mode.

It was also at this moment that the audience suddenly realized: Mengmeng and First Sister had both arrived early to prepare, whereas the group from the Central Arts Troupe arrived exactly on time. This, in itself, wasn’t really anything—what working stiff clocking in for their shift dared be late? But placed within the complex environment of the entertainment industry, the big stars had arrived early. How could you be late as if your status was bigger than hers?

Such topics are often the easiest and most suitable for fermenting online discussion.

Being late was a small thing, but attitude was a big thing.

Yet, upon closer examination, no one was late. Was arriving exactly on time a mistake too?

Thus, public opinion pushed forward exactly as the production team had envisioned. A wide swath of netizens launched into a fierce debate on the topic: [In an important work setting, where higher-level collaborators consistently arrive early, is merely arriving on time indicative of a poor attitude?]

Returning to the show itself, they also gave a brief introduction to the Central Arts Troupe.

This included a standalone shot of the Concertmaster.

A confident, alluring, and powerful woman like Li Li was bound to capture the public’s attention. While her colleagues all dressed low-key on camera, she alone stood out in her light pea-green long dress. Facing the camera, she spoke with ease and fluency, showing no trace of awkwardness or shyness. The strength of her core was evident.

First Sister’s avant-garde little black dress might be hard to find replicas of.

But this soft, fresh, and elegant long dress worn by the Central Arts Troupe’s First Chair? Surely that was easy to snag?

Back to the main topic. With the addition of the string ensemble, First Sister and Mengmeng’s joint rehearsal schedule advanced rapidly. In this part, Mengmeng’s screen time was kept relatively restrained. Compared to the smooth, fluid narrative thread of the preparation period, it showed slight signs of obvious editing cuts.

Observant viewers even noticed that towards the latter half, Mengmeng directly took off his jacket!

The venue wasn’t that hot, was it?