Chinese Entertainment King: Starting as a Fat Boy and Becoming a Singing King

"The 'Road to the Spring Festival Gala' program has been temporarily canceled. CCTV has adjusted its policy this year and will no longer hold a separate special program for the 'Road to the Spring Festival Gala.' Instead, each station will recommend programs, and CCTV will conduct a unified review and selection process."

"Zhejiang TV gave its nomination slots this year to the MC team of 'Running Man' and several TV drama actors. The station tried to get a slot from 'The Voice of China,' but didn't succeed."

The carriage was silent for a few seconds, and Xu Yao did not speak.

In 2013, Li Qi, the champion of The Voice of China, and Hua Chenyu, the champion of Super Boy, represented their respective programs and TV stations on the stage of "Road to the Spring Festival Gala".

The top four finalists of "Road to the Spring Festival Gala" directly qualify for a performance on the Spring Festival Gala.

At that time, everyone thought this would become a routine.

Every year, the winners of the talent show can use this path to reach the biggest stage in the country.

Xu Yao thought so too.

From the moment he won the championship, he mentally accepted this path as his predetermined course.

First, I'll get straight to the Spring Festival Gala, then I'll perform on the Spring Festival Gala, fulfilling my promise to my cousin.

Now, that road is blocked.

"So I don't need to go to Beijing."

Xu Yao murmured, but these words were not actually spoken to Sister Lin. Rather, they were a reflection of his inner turmoil, which he blurted out.

"Yes, you don't need to go." Sister Lin flipped the tablet over and placed it face down on her lap. "Tomorrow you'll fly directly to Zhengzhou to meet up with the main tour group. I've sent you the schedule on WeChat, take a look yourself. Zhengzhou, Jinan, Qingdao, Shijiazhuang, and there are still sixteen shows before the end of the year."

Xu Yao opened WeChat, and the schedule sent by Sister Lin filled the entire screen.

12月18日郑州，12月20日济南，12月22日青岛，12月24日石家庄，12月26日保定，12月28日唐山……

Each show was marked with its time, location, performance duration, and hotel accommodation.

Like a toy that has been wound up tightly, every step is planned out in detail.

He turned off his phone screen: "Okay, Sister Lin."

My phone vibrated; it was a WeChat message from Bai Lu.

A photo was accompanied by the caption: "I'm boarding the high-speed train. See you later. Remember to ask me to shoot your next music video. I'll give you a 50% discount, or... even for free."

Xu Yao typed two words: "We'll definitely meet again."

The van first took Sister Lin back to her company, then turned around and drove towards Xu Yao's hotel.

Outside the car window, the Shanghai night unfolded on both sides of the elevated highway.

The office building's windows glowed with individual lights, the mall's large screen scrolled with "GG," and the traffic under the overpass resembled a slowly flowing river of light.

There are too many people running in this city.

"Driver, please pull over to the side of the road."

The van stopped on the side of the road.

Xu Yao pushed open the car door, and a gust of cold wind rushed in, causing him to shrink his neck.

There was a 24-hour convenience store by the roadside. He went in, took a can of Coke from the freezer, paid for it, and stood at the entrance of the convenience store to pull the tab.

He tilted his head back and took a sip of the cold cola, letting it slide down his throat.

I took out my phone, found my cousin's number, and dialed it.

"Xiao Yao?" Yao Beina's voice came through the receiver, tinged with surprise. "Calling so late, aren't you busy with the tour?"

Xu Yao leaned against the wall at the entrance of the convenience store.

"Sister. I...I can't go on the Spring Festival Gala."

"What do you mean?"

"The 'Road to the Spring Festival Gala' program was canceled at the last minute this year. The station's recommendation slots were given to the Running Man program, so The Voice of China didn't get any, and the management company I signed with doesn't have any Spring Festival Gala resources either." Xu Yao's voice seemed calm, but there was actually a faint sadness in his heart.

There was a longer silence on the other end of the phone.

"That's it?" Yao Beina's voice rang out again, her tone deliberately relaxed. "You called in the middle of the night just to say this? I thought you'd been sent to the hospital again."

"Sis, I'm serious."

"I'm serious too." Yao Beina's voice softened. "Xiao Yao, do you remember what I said when you told me you wanted to win The Voice of China?"

Xu Yao remained silent.

"I told you you had no chance of getting it," Yao Beina laughed. "You said it wasn't certain."

"Yeah, and you said I was bragging."

"Yes. I said you were bragging." Yao Beina's voice was tinged with laughter. "But I also said, go and give it a try. If you succeed, it'll be a surprise; if you don't, it's okay. The Spring Festival Gala is never the end for a singer, you said that yourself."

"Xiao Yao, I really don't care about the Spring Festival Gala. You shouldn't care either. There's still a long road ahead. It's just that you can't make it this year. Besides, your absence from the Spring Festival Gala isn't your loss, it's the Spring Festival Gala's loss."

Xu Yao paused for a moment, then smiled.

"sister."

"What's wrong now?"

"I can only make up for it at the concert."

"What?"

"I'm going to hold a concert for 20,000 people. You'll be the only female guest."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Yao Beina burst out laughing, a loud laugh, as if she had heard a particularly funny joke.

"Fine, bragging isn't illegal anyway, and I can't call the police to arrest you."

"Sister, you wait here."

"Okay, I'm waiting. Let's see how you catch that flying cow. I'm hanging up now, I'm going to sleep. The surgery was a success. The doctor said I need to rest."

"Um."

The phone hangs up.

Xu Yao put his phone in his pocket, tilted his head back to finish the last sip of his cola, and threw the empty can into the trash can.

With the Spring Festival Gala project blocked, is there still hope?

Will the company help me try again?

Chan-heung can't even make his own artists popular, so where would he get the connections to get on CCTV?

Most of the contestants from Canxing's "The Voice of China" program only became famous after they terminated their contracts or after their contracts expired.

During the contract period, each person will perform 15-25 tour shows per month, only singing cover songs that have been performed on stage before, without any original songs, promotion, or personal works.

The result of refusing to perform is being sidelined for years, such as Liang Bo, the champion of the first season.

Xu Yao opened the car door and sat back in the back seat of the van.

"Master, let's go."

Xu Yao opened the group chat for "The Voice of China Season 3 Friends" again.

The last message was from yesterday, posted by Xu Jianqiu: "Who's going to Jinan tomorrow? Looking for a rideshare."

No one replied; the group chat was quiet and oppressive.

"Damn it, is there really no way out?"

An indomitable spirit shone in Xu Yao's eyes.

The minivan drove smoothly on the elevated road.

Xu Yao didn't put his phone away; the screen was still lit, showing the call log with his cousin.

My cousin seemed relaxed, but she must have been sighing inside.

After all, she was willing to give up everything for her musical dreams; how could a woman whose life was as vibrant as a summer flower truly be indifferent to worldly affairs?

After all, chemotherapy is a very painful process, and Xu Yao insisted on bringing some joy and strength to his sister.

"Until the very last moment, there are endless possibilities..."

Xu Yao sighed, but this time was different. The Spring Festival Gala was not a competition like The Voice of China, and it wasn't something he could get on just because he sang well or knew how to plan his stage.

The Spring Festival Gala is an admission ticket, but he doesn't even know the person who issued the ticket.

Even the internal systems were powerless to help at this moment.

He closed his eyes and laid out all his connections in his mind, like unfolding a map and searching for a road that didn't exist.

Yang Kun has been on the Spring Festival Gala, but that's because he was already a famous singer, and it would have been difficult for him to appear on it again later on.

Liu Yifei, Sister Xixi's connections are in the film and television industry, so she has no say in the casting of song and dance programs for the Spring Festival Gala.

Even Qi Qin and Wang Feng, their own people might not be able to squeeze in.

G.E.M. (Gloria Tang), who just retweeted his song "Bubble" on Weibo, is a Hong Kong singer and has a distant relationship with the Spring Festival Gala production team.

I scrolled over the names one by one on the map.

With each line crossed out, the road narrows a little.

In the end, only one person was left.

Na-young.

Xu Yao opened his eyes.

Nayoung is the only person to serve as a mentor on "The Voice" for three consecutive years.

She is a leading figure in the mainland music scene and has collaborated with CCTV's various gala programs for many years.

Her program for this year's Spring Festival Gala has been confirmed; she will be singing a solo song, which has been publicly reported.

The question is, why should Nayoung take him on?

Xu Yao frowned.

There were several floors between him and Nayoung.

He was the champion of Yang Kun's team, not Na Ying's team.

Na-young didn't turn around for him during the blind auditions, but she recommended him during the finals. However, that was just polite talk, something the mentors had to say to sound nice.

More importantly, he privately advised Zhou Shen not to choose Na Ying.

Zhou Shen will not tell anyone about this, nor will he tell anyone himself.

Just as he was about to continue thinking, his phone vibrated.

It wasn't WeChat, it was an incoming call. A name popped up on the screen: Bai Lu.

Xu Yao answered the call.

"Feed".

"Xu Yao!" Bai Lu's voice burst from the receiver, brimming with barely suppressed excitement. "Guess what happened!"

"You won the lottery?"

"No, but it's even happier than winning the lottery!"