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

When Xu Yao returned to the hotel, his phone rang as soon as he swiped his card to open the door. Two words appeared on the screen: Zhou Shen.

He answered the phone, and before he could even say "feed," Zhou Shen's voice burst out of the receiver like a machine gun, speaking so fast it was as if he had been holding it in all day or for several days.

"Brother Yao! I saw those trending topics! Weibo is full of people cursing you, and marketing accounts are swarming around you like flies. Go look at the comment section of your latest Weibo post, look at it..."

He took a breath, his voice filled with barely suppressed anxiety.

"Don't worry, I went to talk to the company today."

Xu Yao inserted the room card into the power outlet, took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

"What did you discuss with the company?"

"Sister Lin said..."

Zhou took a deep breath, as if trying to make his voice sound steady.

"She said that as long as you admit your mistake and return to the tour, the company will forgive and forget. All the negative news from those marketing accounts will be wiped out by the company, leaving nothing behind. They will also issue a formal statement saying that the recording on the internet was maliciously edited and taken out of context by the marketing accounts, and that the company will pursue legal action. They will make sure you get away scot-free and clean."

Xu Yao held his phone in silence.

He recalled a few days ago in the hotel corridor when Sister Lin stood at his room door and handed him the supplementary agreement. She still had that tired look with a pleading expression, and her tone was so humble that it was almost unlike that of an agent.

Just a few days later, she was back at the negotiating table, but this time she wasn't holding a settlement agreement, but rather what she thought were sharp, incisive recordings of conversations.

"What are the conditions?" Xu Yao asked.

"The condition is that you hand over the original recordings, sign a supplementary agreement, and guarantee that you will not go against the company again."

After saying this, Zhou Shen remained silent for a while.

"Brother Yao, let's stop. We can't beat the company. I specifically asked a lot of people, and all the former trainees said that no one could make the company compromise."

"The company would rather freeze them out of business and not make any money than break the wings of any student who rebels."

Zhou Shen's voice was very low, as if he was afraid of being overheard.

"You know Sister Jin Chi, her contract termination lawsuit lasted for years, and she ended up paying over three million. Zhang Wei, with such high popularity, still had to pay five million before he left. You're all alone, and you're a champion trainee, how are you going to compete?"

"I know everything you just said. I've checked Jin Chi, Zhang Wei, and Jin Zhiwen one by one. I've read through every single one of their judgments."

Xu Yao sat down on the edge of the bed and switched the phone to his other ear.

"It's not that they didn't resist, it's that they had no cards to play when they resisted."

"Brother Yao, what cards do you have in your hand? It's useless no matter what cards you have. Sister Lin said that the contract is written in black and white, and no one can get away unscathed."

"So I'm waiting."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Wait for a tsunami, and we'll know the effect by Monday," Xu Yao said, his voice low.

"Brother Yao, what exactly are you trying to do? Can't you just give me a heads-up? How can I help you if you don't explain yourself? Also, I transferred 130,000 yuan to you via WeChat, why didn't you accept it? You could use that money to hire some online trolls to clean up your Weibo account. It looks terrible now, it's unbearable to look at."

"Zhou Shen, the way you can help me right now is to do absolutely nothing. Don't negotiate with the company, don't speak up for me on Weibo, and don't mention my name to anyone. Protecting yourself is the greatest help you can give me."

"But……"

"The boat is deep."

Xu Yao interrupted him, his tone no longer gentle, but carrying an undeniable weight.

"Don't you believe me?"

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

"I've believed you ever since the day you told me not to choose Sister Na."

Zhou Shen was silent for a while, then said, "I'll wait for your message," and hung up the phone.

Xu Yao placed his phone on the bedside table but did not lie down immediately.

Zhou Shen genuinely cared for him, but Zhou Shen couldn't see the bigger picture. He didn't know what cards Zhou Shen held in his hand, nor what Zhou Shen was waiting for.

He wasn't just toughing it out; he was waiting for the wind to come so he could ride it.

Zhou Shen is still young and there are many things he can't understand—nor does he need to understand them. Zhou Shen just needs to focus on singing.

My phone vibrated again.

It's not Zhou Shen, but a topic that's been repeatedly forwarded in internal chat groups within the singers' circle.

Xu Yao clicked on it, looked at it for a while, and then his brows slowly furrowed.

It was a text exposé that was screenshotted and reposted by several marketing accounts. The content was vague but the target was clear.

It is said that during the third season of The Voice of China, some contestants privately gave large sums of money to their mentors in exchange for special treatment during the competition, and were directly promoted to the group champion.

Although the leak did not name names directly, the combination of "Season 3," "team champion," and "special treatment" makes the implications clear.

Someone in the comments section added: "Think about the relationship between Yang Kun and Xu Yao, you guys think about it carefully."

Xu Yao put down his phone, and the room remained quiet for a long time.

He remained silent for a long time, then picked up his phone, found Yang Kun's number, and dialed it.

The phone rang several times before it was answered.

A burst of noisy background noise came from the other end, like backstage in a studio, with someone adjusting the sound system and someone calling for lights. Then a hoarse voice with a unique rhythm rang out.

"Xiao Yao, you haven't been doing well lately."

Holding his phone, Xu Yao said apologetically, "Professor Yang Kun, I'm calling today to apologize. All those online revelations are because of me, and I've dragged you into this mess too."

"You mean the show's producers kicked me out of the mentor's seat?" Yang Kun's voice paused for a moment. Someone in the background was calling, "Brother Kun is waiting to go on stage." He responded and then asked.

Xu Yao's knuckles tightened suddenly as he gripped his phone.

"What? You've been kicked out of the mentorship program?"

His voice rose unconsciously, somewhat surprised, before he lowered it again.

He originally thought that his struggle with the company would only involve Yang Kun, and at most, he would just be the subject of some gossip. He never expected that the production team would take such drastic measures against Yang Kun.

"Isn't this what you're after?"

Xu Yao immediately replied, "I only found out about this now that you've brought it up."

Yang Kun was silent for a moment, then laughed: "Xiao Yao, actually, even without your involvement, I probably wouldn't have gotten a mentor position next year."

"I was just there to make up the numbers in the first year. Nobody had high hopes for the show back then. The spinning chairs and blind auditions—nobody expected it to become so popular."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of composure and clarity honed through a long acting career.

"As it turned out, the show became incredibly popular, and the production team felt that I wasn't qualified enough to be a mentor. So they eliminated me, and I went with Huan Ge to work on 'The Voice of China.' That show was pretty good. Although the ratings weren't as high as 'The Voice of China,' it was well-made, musically strong, and pure."

"Then, the second season of The Voice changed mentors, but it turned out that it was still my brother who was more effective, so they called him back for the third season."

Yang Kun's voice carried a hint of disdain, and a touch of smugness, as if to say, "See? I knew it all along."

"Now they're going to discard me after I've served my purpose. I really don't care about this damn production team anymore. Anyway, I've mentored champion trainees before, and my skills speak for themselves. Perfect, I'll go back to working on 'The Voice of China.' When that happens, Xiao Yao, remember to sign up after you terminate your contract and try to record an episode to boost my show's popularity."

Xu Yao sighed, feeling guilty, but could only pretend to be relaxed and said, "Absolutely. I will definitely bring out a hit single to warm up the crowd. Teacher Yang Kun, just tell me what you need in the future."

"Alright, Xiao Yao, don't take it to heart. Damn it, let's make The Voice of China a success and shut these self-righteous people up. I'm hanging up now, I'm busy recording the show."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Yao planned in his mind that if he could terminate his contract with the company before the end of the year, he could appear on "The Voice of China" and then the Spring Festival Gala, which would establish his reputation as a new singer. He would then release his debut album, with the first song being a duet with G.E.M. (Deng Ziqi)...

After the contract termination, 2015 was such a wonderful start!