HDIEUMDBTSB Chapter 30: Unexpected Changes
Volume 1: The Road to Fame
Chapter 30: Unexpected Changes
Wei Tongzi is the group leader of the "Orange Revival" penguin group, where all the fans who have been re-fanned by Chu Zhi or new fans gather. The names of a few moderators are: "Your Mom Calls You Home to Eat Oranges," "Queen of Western Chu," "Chu Love Diary Ong," and "Just Chu 0 Angel."
"[I watched 'I Am a Singer' again. I wanted to hold the oranges in my arms. It was too poignant on stage. If the group leader hadn't said the oranges were okay, I would have been worried sick.]"
"[Chu Zhi is so powerful. He proved himself. How could someone who sings so affectionately be a scumbag?]"
"[Exactly, it's so unfair to jump to conclusions without accurate evidence. I'm so drunk. I even bought a Mango TV membership just to watch it back and forth seven or eight times.]"
"[Orange looks handsome no matter what he wears. When will the song sources for 'Wind Blowing Wheat Waves' and 'Deserted Island' be available? I've searched on Penguin Music and NetEase Cloud many times, but there's nothing.]"
"[The 'I Am a Singer' program is a collaboration with Cool Dog. It's only available on Cool Dog. Speaking of which, why hasn't the group leader appeared today?]"
Normally, Wei Tongzi is very active, especially after yesterday's broadcast of "I Am a Singer," the group was as lively as during the New Year.
The reason Wei Tongzi is silent is because she received some news, unsure of its authenticity, and is hesitating whether to inform Chu Zhi.
It all started with her high school cousin, Lin Xia, who is a hardcore fan of Chu Zhi and has always wanted to attend the live show. However, getting tickets for the audience seats is quite tricky, and Wei didn't want to owe any favors, so she hadn't agreed. But after last week's broadcast of "Wind Blowing Wheat Waves," her cousin was enchanted by Chu Zhi's humming and asked Wei if she could get tickets.
Wei Tongzi immediately agreed over the phone, thinking simply, "If you like Chu Zhi, then we're like sisters." The tickets for the semi-finals were for that same day. Was it really important to worry about owing a favor? Did it matter to help a half-sister from another father and mother?
The day after the show aired was the recording of the new episode. There were no tickets available for "Deserted Island," so the audience tickets Wei Tongzi managed to get were for the semi-finals. However, her cousin called yesterday to say she couldn't attend the live show and forwarded a message: "[Dear audience Zhuang Cheng, your schedule for the semi-finals of 'I Am a Singer Season 4' on October 19th was canceled due to inaccurate information provided by you. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.]"
Canceling tickets because of inaccurate information? Wei Tongzi sensed that something was wrong and asked her colleagues, only to find out that not only her cousin, but all eight hundred audience members had been replaced. The exact reason was unclear.
If it was for ticket control, there was no need to go so far. The professional judging panel was completely adequate. Moreover, Wei Tongzi's sixth sense as a woman made her feel that something was amiss.
What if it had nothing to do with her idol? Would she seem paranoid? And it might create pressure for her idol if anything went wrong during the competition!
But... Wei Tongzi's sixth sense had never been wrong since childhood. Once, she felt uneasy on her way home and chose to stay overnight at her sister's house, only to find out that night that the floor of her apartment caught fire because of improper use of electrical appliances by a tenant.
People who are sensitive by nature, especially when it comes to things they care about, tend to agonize over them. From a straightforward perspective, there's no need for so much thought, but Wei Tongzi would hesitate for half a day.
After pondering all morning, Wei Tongzi called Chu Zhi. She had prepared a bunch of things to say about the abnormal behavior of the production team and to alert him to pay attention, but when the call connected, all her prepared words turned into blank space.
"Sorry to disturb you during your lunch break, Chu Laoshi, I just found out that the planned eight hundred audience members for this afternoon's recording have all been replaced. Haha, I don't know if you know about it."
"Uh... it's not a very important matter. It's just that our production team doesn't usually do things like this."
Feeling like her tongue was tied, Chu Zhi extracted the key information from Wei Tongzi's incoherent words - they changed the audience on the spot. Thinking of Li Xingwei, in this shady business, he instantly thought of four or five conspiracies.
"Thanks, Tong Tong. This news is quite useful to me," Chu Zhi's mind spun a thousand times, but he thanked the informant first.
"Hahaha, as long as it's useful," Wei Tongzi laughed lightly, but she actually felt a little disappointed, because she had summoned up quite a bit of courage, but the other party seemed indifferent.
As Wei Tongzi was about to hang up the phone, she heard Chu Zhi say, "I might need to change the song I'll sing in the semi-finals."
"We change it now? There are only four or five hours left before the recording of the afternoon program." Wei Tongzi raised her voice slightly. "There isn't enough time, and during the rehearsal, Director Liang praised the song."
"Even if I drink Pure Victory Organic Milk, it won't be enough time?" Chu Zhi suddenly said.
"Huh?" Wei Tongzi didn't realize Chu Zhi was joking.
"Just kidding." Chu Zhi reined in his light tone and said seriously, "I know it's a risk, but if I don't do this, we will lose badly in the semifinals."
"Mr. Chu, I'll support you." Wei Tongzi said, "I like your music and don't want to see you eliminated like this. Is there anything I can help with?"
"Could you please communicate with the band teachers? I'll talk to the director right away," Chu Zhi said.
Wei Tongzi hummed twice heavily through her nose to express her solemnity.
Quickly getting himself ready, Chu Zhi called the hotel front desk to help book a car. He needed to rush to Jinying Building immediately. On the way, he called Director Meng Fan to inform him about the temporary song change.
Meng Fan's first reaction was to refuse. Changing the host's cue cards, the stage lighting settings, and even rehearsing again would be too much trouble. The key issue was that a hurried song change could lead to performance accidents, something the program director did not want to see at all.
"'I Miss' still has some problems. 'Against the Light' will have a better performance effect," Chu Zhi said.
With Chu Zhi's insistence, Meng Fan had no choice but to agree, asking Chu Zhi to hurry to the stage for rehearsal. At the very least, the band needed to become familiar with the arrangement and performance of the new song.
As to why he suddenly changed the song, Chu Zhi had already considered the worst-case scenario. The eight hundred audience members brought in by Dahua Entertainment would support Li Xingwei on one hand and directly throw things at him during his performance on the other. However, that would damage the show's brand too much, something the "I Am a Singer" program team could not allow.
So, it would likely just be boos and a hostile crowd. Imagine performing "I Miss" in such an environment; what kind of feedback would there be?
"I Miss" is undoubtedly a classic love song, but boos are not a love song's environment, and the broadcast wouldn't achieve the desired effect. Chu Zhi did not think his singing skills could enliven such a scene.
Changing the competition song to "Against the Light" and breaking through the hostile crowd was his plan. Moreover, Chu Zhi intended to infuse ninety percent of despair into his voice, using thunder to shatter the darkness!
He thought of it as wielding despair like a sword to break through the hostile crowd.
"Against the Light" is an inspirational song. Imagine, in a hall full of boos, Chu Zhi himself using a voice full of despair to convey persistence and positive energy to his fans. The thought even moved Chu Zhi himself—what kind of spirit was that?
One hundred percent despair would be too depressing for the audience; ninety percent would be fully powerful. The fifty percent version of "Deserted Island" that aired yesterday had already made countless people cry in remembrance.
Once the semifinals aired, releasing the data collected by Su Shangbai could turn things around in one go!
Plans couldn't keep up with changes, so Chu Zhi made temporary modifications to his comeback steps. Of course, if the eight hundred audience members were just the program team's whim to change things suddenly, so be it.
After all, he never liked betting his fate on others' actions.
"Thank you, driver."
Chu Zhi thanked the driver and scanned the code to pay. He arrived at a small eatery next to Jinying Building, avoiding the entrance to dodge reporters or fans of Lin Xia and Li Xingwei.
NEXT