Taking Liu Yifei back to Northeast China for the Chinese New Year has sent the entire internet into

On the other side, Xingcheng.

In the hotel suite arranged by the "Peak Concert" program team, Hua Yu stared at the ranking list on the tablet computer for more than ten minutes.

In the sixth episode, he ranked third to last.

They're just one step away from being eliminated.

The agent stood beside him, his tone somewhat somber.

"The next round is a collaboration competition, and I've already received the guest list of several other singers."

He flipped through the documents in his hand.

"Teacher Chen's group invited a tenor from the national team, Teacher Zhao invited a veteran diva, Teacher Lin contacted the winner of the Hong Kong Golden Melody Award, and the other groups also invited established veterans."

As each name was read out, Hua Yu grew increasingly silent.

He had originally thought that if all else failed, he would contact a few close friends.

Although they aren't top-tier celebrities, they know each other well, so there shouldn't be any problems working together.

But now it seems that his connections are somewhat inadequate for this list.

What can we use to fight them?

Hua Yu leaned back on the sofa and rubbed his temples.

The feeling of powerlessness that spread from the soles of his feet was making it hard for him to breathe.

He picked up his phone, intending to scroll through something else to distract himself, but as soon as the screen lit up, a trending topic caught his eye.

#Pre-orders for Little Chicken Blind Boxes Exceed One Million#

In the accompanying picture, a chibi-style yellow chick wearing gray overalls and holding a basketball is making a face that looks both smug and innocent.

It looked like they were mocking him.

Hua Yu stared at the chicken for a few seconds, her feelings becoming even more complicated.

He then recalled the recent rumors circulating in the industry.

Fang Yu has been nominated for the theme song of CCTV's documentary "The Forbidden City".

He wrote the lyrics, composed the music, and sang the song; he even handled the end credits song.

He is both a mastermind behind commercial IPs that are popular with everyone and capable of turning ordinary things into gold.

He is also a young artist who has participated in official projects and contributed his voice to national-level documentaries.

And what about yourself?

Still worried about a competition spot that will soon be eliminated.

At this moment, Hua Yu finally admitted that the gap between him and Fang Yu was no longer just about popularity and online traffic.

That's the difference in the track, and also the difference in levels.

If we don't swallow our pride and ask Fang Yu for help now, we might not even have the chance to ask him again.

Hua Yu took a deep breath, opened WeChat, and found Fang Yu's profile picture.

My finger hovered over the input box, but I hesitated to type.

What should he say?

"Help me this once?"

Too direct.

Are you free lately?

It also seems too stiff.

Hua Yu deleted and rewrote, rewrote and deleted again.

Every word felt like a trampling on his pitiful self-esteem.

Before sending it, he couldn't help but imagine Fang Yu's current state.

Fang Yu must be very busy right now, right?

Perhaps he's sitting in a conference room at a top entertainment company in Beijing, like the Wolf of Wall Street, giving orders to a group of executives and deciding how to operate the next IP worth hundreds of millions.

Or perhaps he's in a top-tier private club, not open to the public, sitting next to industry giants like Chen Daoming and Shen Weimin, drinking tea and discussing the future of Chinese entertainment.

Would it be too presumptuous of me to send a message at this time?

Hua Yu felt increasingly uncertain.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and wrote a short essay of about three hundred words, which was humble to the point of being almost subservient.

It was less of an invitation and more of a plea for help.

[Professor Fang, I apologize for bothering you.]

Do you have any free time lately?

The next round of the "Peak Concert" is a collaboration competition, and I was thinking... if possible, could you be my guest performer?

I know you must be very busy right now, but it's perfectly fine if you're unavailable. Please don't feel pressured.

[Mainly, I feel that collaborating with you would be a very rare opportunity for me.]

[If you'd like...]

There's a whole string of more after that.

Hua Yu stared at the message for a few seconds before finally pressing send.

He placed his phone on the table, leaned back on the sofa, and maintained a calm expression, but his fingers unconsciously tapped the table.

Every second spent waiting for a reply felt incredibly long.

……

Meanwhile, in the capital city.

The early spring nights were still chilly.

A roadside barbecue stall had a few plastic tables and chairs set up, and the charcoal fire was burning brightly, filling the air with the aroma of cumin, chili, and oil mixed together.

Fang Yu sat on a plastic stool, a skewer of grilled kidney in his left hand and a skewer of grilled chives in his right, his mouth greasy from eating.

Across from her, Liu Yifei took off her mask.

She was dressed plainly, holding a skewer of grilled chicken wings in her hand, taking small bites.

However, there were already quite a few bamboo skewers on the table.

Clearly, the elegance was merely a matter of graceful posture; the amount of food consumed was not less.

Diners came and went around the stall, but no one noticed that two big stars, big enough to crash Weibo's servers, were sitting at this unassuming barbecue stall.

Fang Yu's phone vibrated in his pocket.

He freed one hand and laboriously pulled out his phone.

On the screen was the long article that Hua Yu had sent.

Fang Yu glanced down at the beginning, then scrolled directly to the end.

He didn't read any of the twists and turns in the middle.

He doesn't understand; if there's something to say, just say it.

You've posted such a long message, are you just padding the word count?

Fang Yu held his phone in one hand and quickly typed two words.

【available.】

After thinking about it, I added three more words.

【no problem.】

Then he stuffed his phone into his pocket and casually picked up a string of palm-sized treasures.

From reading the message to replying, the whole process took less than a minute.

……

Star City Hotel.

Hua Yu stared intently at his phone screen.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds.

There was no response from the dialog box for a long time.

Although only half a minute had actually passed, he had already imagined more than a dozen possible outcomes.

Indeed, it was too presumptuous of me.

Fang Yu's status is different now. Back in Mohe, I used to compete with him at every turn, but now that I need something, I think of asking him for help.

If it were me, I probably wouldn't want to bother with it either.

Hua Yu was preparing to accept her fate of being rejected.

Just then—

"Ding-dong!"

A WeChat notification sound plays.

【available.】

【no problem.】

Just five simple words.

There were no formalities.

No questions were asked.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Hua Yu stared at those five words, stunned for a long time.

Then, his eyes slowly reddened.

In his mind, Fang Yu's image instantly became much larger and more imposing.

Fang Yu must have seen the message at some important dinner party, and immediately picked up his phone to reply, forgetting even the big shots around him.

It's even possible that he turned down more important arrangements later on in order to help himself.

In his most helpless moment, this person, whom he once regarded as a competitor, asked nothing and made no demands, but extended his hand without hesitation.

Hua Yu raised her hand to cover her face, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Yu's sense of justice is unparalleled throughout the ages!