My cousin asked me to go to Wuha, and Hanikezi stuck to me.

Chen Yi restarted the car, and Xiao Fang's phone on the passenger side vibrated.

She glanced down at the screen, let out a long sigh, and slumped back in her chair.

"Sister Hong sent a WeChat message!"

Xiao Fang handed over her phone. "She said Honey's schedule for tomorrow has been canceled, and she told you not to cause trouble at the club."

Chen Yi didn't even glance at it.

"As expected."

Chen Yi turned the steering wheel. "She's a shrewd businesswoman. She knows that President Zhou's current target is me. Sending Hani over there will only cause trouble."

"So what do we do now? The approval process is still stalled!"

Xiao Fang sat up straight.

"Contact Lao Zhang, the chief director of 'Our Song' on Tomato TV."

Chen Yi looked at the road conditions ahead.

"Why contact him? He did send out invitations for you to be a guest star last week, but I already turned them down!"

"Bring them back now."

"You're insane!"

Xiao Fang raised her voice, "That's a professional live music variety show with all the microphones on! You, someone who does comedy variety shows, going to sing? That's called a failed crossover! Qin Yu was just looking for an opportunity to step on you, and you've practically offered your face to be slapped!"

"Qin Yu is going to put on a live performance as the grand finale at Qiandao Lake!"

Chen Yi stepped on the gas, "I need to find a stage to warm up first!"

"Warm-up? You're using an S-level music variety show livestream as a warm-up?"

Xiao Fang grabbed his hair, "My partner is Zhang Liangying! A notoriously strict vocalist! If she thinks you're holding her back, she definitely won't give you any face on stage! Then the whole internet will laugh at you for being a show-off who only knows how to create hype!"

"Tell Lao Zhang, I accept this notice!"

Chen Yi's tone left no room for argument, and Xiao Fang gritted his teeth and dialed Lao Zhang's number.

Three days later, at the Shanghai Tomato TV studio building, rehearsal room number three.

Pushing open the door, I saw more than a dozen people standing inside.

Director Zhang greeted them with a broad smile.

"Teacher Chen! We've been waiting for you like the stars and the moon! Your current popularity is absolutely guaranteed to blow our live stream's ratings off the charts!"

Old Zhang grabbed Chen Yi's hand and shook it vigorously.

Chen Yi withdrew his hand.

"Director Zhang, you're too kind."

In the center of the rehearsal room, Zhang Liangying, dressed in loose sportswear, stood in front of the microphone with her arms crossed.

She looked Chen Yi up and down, her brows furrowing slightly.

"Teacher Chen, time is of the essence, let's go straight to the procedure."

Zhang Liangying walked to the music stand, picked up a sheet of music and handed it over, saying, "This song is very difficult. You haven't received any formal vocal training, so I'll take on the main melody."

Chen Yi took the sheet music and glanced at it.

"For the chorus, you just need to add two bass harmonies for me in sections C and D."

Zhang Liangying stated decisively, "During the rest of the time, you'll be responsible for positioning and interaction. Try not to switch to the main audio track, as it's easy to go off-key. I don't want any flaws on my stage."

Xiao Fang stood to the side, awkwardly rubbing his hands.

This arrangement is clearly designed to make Chen Yi a background figure who generates buzz.

Old Zhang tried to smooth things over.

"Liangying, Teacher Chen is a top star right now. If he only provides two lines of harmonies throughout the entire performance, it won't be easy to explain to the fans. How about splitting the verses into two lines?"

"Fans want to see faces, not car crash scenes."

Zhang Liangying stood her ground, saying, "There's no auto-tuning in a live broadcast. If he sings off-key, the whole song is ruined. I'm being responsible to the stage, and I'm also being responsible to him."

Chen Yi took the sheet music and walked to the electronic keyboard.

He played a few chords on the piano keys with one hand.

The original key of this song is E major.

Chen Yi turned to Zhang Liangying and said, "Lower the key by two keys, change it to D major. I'll sing the A and B sections of the verse, and we'll do a duet for the chorus. I'll use mixed voice to support your true voice in the high notes."

The rehearsal room fell silent instantly, and the music director sat behind the mixing console, his eyes wide open.

Zhang Liangying lowered her arm, her eyes becoming sharp.

"You understand music theory?"

Zhang Liangying asked.

"I know a little bit."

Chen Yi pulled over a high stool and sat down, then picked up a wooden guitar from the side.

"Lowering the key by two notes will reduce the power of the chorus."

Zhang Liangying took two steps closer. "Moreover, mixed voice supporting true voice requires extremely high breath control. Are you sure you can support it? Once the breath dissipates, the entire harmony will collapse."

Without wasting any words, Chen Yi simultaneously activated the [Singing - Intermediate] and [Live Performance - Beginner] skills in his mind.

He plucked the guitar strings with his fingers, and an extremely smooth strumming intro poured out.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Yi approached the microphone and spoke directly.

There was no backing track, only an acoustic guitar.

As soon as his voice came out, the entire rehearsal room's sound system was completely recharged.

Clean, clear, and with a strong penetrating power.

He handled the lower register of the verses with extreme delicacy, punctuating each word precisely on the beat.

When the song reached its turning point in the chorus, Chen Yi didn't pause at all; his breath instantly dropped.

A very difficult R&B glissando slides over the top, directly hitting the high register.

The transition between true and falsetto voices is so smooth that there isn't a single gap.

The music director suddenly stood up, knocking over the thermos cup next to him.

Old Zhang's mouth was agape, his jaw almost dropping to the ground.

Xiao Fang covered her mouth, her eyes wide open.

Zhang Liangying stood still, staring at Chen Yi.

After finishing the song, Chen Yi pressed his fingers on the strings, the lingering sound echoing in the rehearsal room.

He raised his head.

"Can this key hold up?"

Chen Yi asked.

Zhang Liangying took a deep breath.

She walked straight to the music stand, grabbed the sheet music, tore it in half, and threw it into the trash can.

"Old Liu!"

Zhang Liangying yelled at the music director, "The original arrangement is scrapped! Do what he just said, lower the key by two and rearrange it! Make it a perfectly balanced male-female duet!"

The music director nodded repeatedly and immediately started working on the mixing console.

Zhang Liangying turned her head, and the look in her eyes as she looked at Chen Yi completely changed.

Gone was the earlier disdain; now only the joy of encountering someone like myself.

"You call that lack of systematic training?"

Zhang Liangying walked over and said, "The use of resonance chambers, the articulation of your vocal transitions—if you can pick out three current male idol groups in the Chinese entertainment industry who are better than you, I'll quit the industry on the spot!"

"Just practicing casually."

Chen Yi put down his guitar.

Don't give me that!

Zhang Liangying patted the music stand, "We'll absolutely blow the audience away on Friday's live stream! What's Qin Yu, that auto-tuning weirdo, anyway? He dares to compare his singing skills with yours?"

Old Zhang was so excited that he kept rubbing his hands together.

"This is fantastic! This is fantastic! Teacher Chen, this is like a super hit for me!"

Old Zhang couldn't stop smiling.

The rehearsal went extremely smoothly for the next four hours.

Chen Yi's "Singing - Intermediate" combined with Zhang Liangying's top-notch singing skills resulted in an astonishing level of harmony between the two.

Every rehearsal gives the staff on site goosebumps.

Rehearsal ended at 10 p.m.

Chen Yi got into the back seat of the van, while Xiao Fang drove in the front.

"Brother! How many training courses did you secretly sign up for without telling me?!"

As Xiao Fang turned the steering wheel, he shouted, "You've completely won over Zhang Liangying today! After Friday's live stream, Qin Yu's investors will be furious!"

Chen Yi leaned back in his chair, took out his phone, and saw an unread message pop up on WeChat.

The profile picture is that familiar cat peeking out.

Hanikezi sent a "frantically encouraging" emoji.

Immediately following was a ten-second voice message. Chen Yi clicked to play it and put the phone to his ear.

"Chen Yi! I heard you're going to participate in a singing show! Good luck! I'm going to be your number one fan! I'll definitely be watching the live stream on Friday night!"

The girl's clear voice rang out in the carriage, filled with undisguised excitement.

The audio paused for two seconds at this point.

Then, the voice suddenly became softer, with obvious mumbling.

"However... just focus on singing, don't get too close to the female singers, and don't interact with them too much."

After listening, Chen Yi tapped the screen with his finger.

The audio will be played again.

"But... just focus on singing, don't get too close to female singers..."

Chen Yi listened to it three times in a row.

He turned his head to look at the streetlights rushing past the car window, and a huge smile appeared on his lips.

He pressed the voice button.

"Got it, number one fan."

The message had just been sent when a blinding red light suddenly popped up on the blue virtual screen in my mind.

"warn!"

"Malicious external interference detected!"

"The host's background music track will be manually cut off on Friday night's live stream!"

Chen Yi's smile vanished instantly.