Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

The office building of Sheng Hai Capital in Shanghai.

Hua Xingyu laughed out loud.

"Night shift security guard?"

He placed the teacup on the table and leaned back.

"Mr. Cao, are you kidding me?"

Cao Qiming's expression was devoid of any smile.

He closed the folder and pushed the thin investigation report to the center of the coffee table.

"I spent three days and used two investigation companies, and this is the result."

Hua Xingyu reached for the folder and flipped through two pages.

Household registration page, work history, courier, construction worker, restaurant server.

The last column lists Tianyu Media's Property Department as night shift security guards.

He tossed the folder back onto the coffee table. "So, the guy who stomped my face on the ground on his debut stage was getting people to drive through the parking garage just days before?"

Cao Qiming didn't respond, letting him process it on his own.

"What about 'The Ordinary Road'? A security guard, could he possibly write a song like that?"

"We couldn't find any record of his musical training. He never attended any training classes, never had a teacher, and even his guitar was brand new."

"Interesting." Hua Xingyu's eyes narrowed.

Cao Qiming sat up straight on the sofa, picked up the cigarette pack on the table, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

"The data from the initial stage performance is out. The video clip of Jiang Fan's performance has accumulated over 30 million views across the entire network within 48 hours. The related topics of 'The Ordinary Road' on Douyin have been in the top five of the trending list for two days."

"Lu Ming's debut stage clip only garnered 12 million views."

Hua Xingyu's smile vanished completely.

Hua Xingyu understood better than anyone what this gap meant.

In the format of "Rising Star", if Jiang Fan continues to maintain this level of popularity, no matter how the judges' scores are manipulated in the later rounds, he can crush Lu Ming simply by relying on audience votes.

"Mr. Cao, have the schedule for the second round been finalized?"

Cao Qiming took a document out of his briefcase and handed it over.

"The second round is a 1v1 challenge within the group, where players who ranked lower in the previous round challenge players who ranked higher."

"I've spoken with the people at Times Media. It makes logical sense for Zhao Tianyu to challenge the top-ranked player in the track, and the audience won't find it problematic."

Hua Xingyu nodded.

He had read Zhao Tianyu's information.

In terms of musical talent and stage experience, Zhao Tianyu's performance on the initial stage was not bad.

He lost because of that song.

A work of the caliber of "The Ordinary Road" would be a game-changer on any talent show stage.

"In the second round, Times Media brought out their top-notch producer, who worked overnight to tailor a song specifically for Zhao Tianyu, with an extremely grand arrangement. If Zhao Tianyu completely overwhelms him in terms of arrangement and vocal skills, you can lower the score on the judges' panel—"

Cao Qiming's voice turned cold.

"Shenghai invested 200 million yuan in this program. Lu Ming had a complete plan, from the debut project to subsequent film and television variety shows. A complete amateur who came out of nowhere won the championship, and our whole plan was ruined. So in the second round, we must make sure Jiang Fan dies on the stage."

Hua Xingyu remained silent for a few seconds.

"Mr. Cao, what if he comes up with another hit song in the second round?"

Cao Qiming glanced at him.

"What kind of tricks can a security guard earning 3,500 a month possibly pull off?"

Hua Xingyu didn't say anything more.

He was still replaying the scene from the initial stage in his mind—Jiang Fan sat in the center of the solo track, scanning the entire audience with an almost bored look, and then closed his eyes to sleep.

That wasn't an act.

That nonchalant indifference truly showed that he didn't care about anyone present.

Including him.

"Okay. I'll cooperate with the second round. But Mr. Cao, if Zhao Tianyu can't control him either—"

"If it can't be suppressed."

Cao Qiming tapped his fingers twice on the sofa armrest.

"I will let him know that in this industry, talent has never been the most important thing."

-

Pengcheng, Penguin Hotel.

At 11 p.m., Jiang Fan sat at his desk in his room and turned on the desk lamp.

He connected the portable hard drive to his phone using an adapter.

He opened each folder one by one.

The first folder is Huaxingyu.

The video was filmed in a nightclub; the image quality isn't high-definition, but it's clear enough to identify the person.

Hua Xingyu was embracing two young models, and the table was covered with bottles of liquor.

The timestamp shows it was from October of last year.

At that time, Hua Xingyu had just appeared in an interview with official media as a "young music mentor," where he talked about "art purifying the soul."

Jiang Fan moved to the next folder.

The dual contracts of Liu Qingyang, the vice president of Shenghai.

One film investment contract was quoted at 30 million, while the other, an internal accounting document, showed an actual amount of only 8 million.

The difference of 22 million flowed into three offshore accounts.

The third folder contains an audio file.

It was a young girl's voice, trembling with tears: "I don't want to sign this... The contract states a penalty of 30 million, which my family simply cannot afford..."

Another man's voice, flippant in tone: "It's up to you whether you sign or not. If you don't sign, your training fees for the next two years will be settled at market price, plus accommodation, clothing, and appearance fees, it'll come to about the same amount."

The girl's crying grew louder.

The recording stopped there.

Jiang Fan finished browsing all the files, unplugged the hard drive, and put it in the compartment of his backpack.

These things are enough to make Sheng Hai Media's headlines three times.

But now is not the time.

You have to wait for the other person to extend their neck so that you can cut them cleanly and efficiently.

-------

Shanghai, Tianyu Media Building.

Xu Qingya dragged her suitcase out of the elevator, but before she could return to the lounge, Chen Lan blocked her in the corridor.

"Come in with me."

Chen Lan's tone left no room for negotiation.

She turned around, pushed open the office door, and pulled the blinds shut behind her.

Xu Qingya leaned her suitcase against the wall and sat down on the sofa.

Chen Lan stood opposite her, arms crossed, looking her up and down.

The moment Chen Lan's gaze fell on Xu Qingya's face, she abruptly lowered her crossed arms.

She took a big step forward, almost touching Xu Qingya's face, staring intently at her bare face.

Something's really wrong.

Before she set off for Shenzhen, Xu Qingya was well aware of her condition.

Even concealer couldn't cover the dark circles under my eyes, and my skin looked dull and yellow.

But now, standing before her was Xu Qingya—

Her skin had a thin sheen, her eyes were clear and clean, without any bluish-gray shadows, and her lips were a natural pale pink.

"What did you do?" Chen Lan asked in a low voice.

"Nothing was done."

"Xu Qingya," Chen Lan took a step closer, "Your current condition isn't something that can be recovered from with just a few days of rest. What exactly did you do in Pengcheng?"

Xu Qingya raised her eyes and looked at Chen Lan.

"Sister Lan, that's not what you wanted to ask, is it?"

Chen Lan paused for a moment.

"That Jiang Fan," she said directly, "what exactly is your relationship with him?"

Xu Qingya did not avoid the question.

"I need him."

"you……"

Chen Lan opened her mouth, but swallowed her words.

She suddenly remembered what Xu Qingya had said in the phone call yesterday.

"Don't touch him."

It's a woman protecting a man.

Chen Lan sat down in the chair opposite her.

"Qingya, Sheng Hai has already started investigating him."

Xu Qingya's eyes changed.

"Cao Qiming is investigating personally," Chen Lan said in a low voice. "I have a friend in Shenghai who gave me a heads-up today. They've already found out that Jiang Fan used to work as a security guard at Tianyu Media."

"What are they trying to do?"

Chen Lan looked into her eyes.

"What do you think? If an ordinary person steps on the face of Prince Sheng Hai, will Sheng Hai let it go?"

The office was silent for a few seconds.

Xu Qingya stood up and pulled her suitcase.

"Sister Lan." Xu Qingya stopped at the door without turning around.

"Could you check the format and matchups for the second round of 'Rising Star' for me?"

"I need to get it before recording."