HDIEUMDBTSB Chapter Thirty-Five: Chu Zhi's Calculated Move

Volume One: The Road to Fame  

Chapter Thirty-Five: Chu Zhi's Plan

From the beginning, Wang Ke thought Chu Zhi would be eliminated in the first round. But his rendition of "Wind Blows the Wheat" proved him wrong, and step by step, Chu Zhi made it to the semifinals.

The show’s production team now faced a dilemma. The 800 paid audience members from Da Hua Entertainment were certainly not going to vote for Chu Zhi. With notaries present at the scene, it was hard to falsify the vote count. Even if Chu Zhi received all 400 votes from the professional judges, he would still rank near the bottom.

The production team sometimes arranged for veteran actors to cry to add drama, but Chu Zhi’s performance of "Backlight" was genuinely moving enough to make even the paid audience members cry. If he were eliminated from the show, accusations of a rigged outcome would likely trend on social media, damaging the show's brand. Wang Ke didn’t want to see that happen.

Director Meng Fan was in contact with Da Hua Entertainment, asking them not to control the "extras" vote, but they all knew it was futile. With 800 people sitting in the audience, even group leader Sister She couldn't notify them all in time.

Da Hua Entertainment was always up to shady tactics. And why was Chu Zhi so talented?!

Unable to solve the problem, Wang Ke blamed the person who created it. He didn’t care who started it or who was the victim.

While the production team was racking their brains, Chu Zhi on stage suddenly stumbled, as if suffering from heatstroke after heavy labor. His dramatic movement caught the attention of the host and the audience, causing a small commotion.

Gu Nanxi quickly asked, “Chu, are you alright?”

“Sorry, I'm not feeling well,” Chu Zhi steadied himself and said, “I was just about to mention that my health isn’t good enough to continue performing, so I’d like to withdraw from the competition.”

Pretending to be pitiful to win sympathy? Who couldn’t do that? If men could play the sympathy card, why should women have the monopoly? In his past life, Chu Zhi had built a business empire from scratch; he was at least a high-level strategist.

With Li Xingwei and Lin Xia present, he had no chance of winning the final championship. It was better to leave voluntarily than to be eliminated. After the competition, regardless of who won between Lin and Li, at least half of the audience would think the champion should have been Chu Zhi.

By leaving a memorable performance and withdrawing, he would challenge anyone to outshine him. Plus, his goal was already achieved; he had accumulated enough attention. Last week’s broadcast of "Deserted Island" gained him many fans, and this week’s episode would stir even more discussions. The online debate about him would explode, and when evidence was presented, Twitter would crash!

Chu Zhi also roughly understood the current issues the show faced. Claiming the voting system was down for maintenance was a joke. By withdrawing, Wang Ke, Meng Fan, and the entire "I Am a Singer" production team would owe him a favor. This would make his next steps easier, as Chu Zhi excelled at strategizing and leveraging relationships.

As expected—

He was an angel. When Chu Zhi said, “So I’d like to withdraw from the competition,” Wang Ke instantly felt like Chu Zhi was glowing, a savior.

“Persuade him to stay. Have Gu Nanxi persuade him,” Wang Ke immediately instructed. “Director Meng, you should go up and express regret.”

Meng Fan reacted slightly slower but soon understood. His opinion of Chu Zhi improved greatly; Chu Zhi was someone worth knowing and could be counted on in critical times.

“Chu, what’s wrong?” Gu Nanxi asked with concern, an instinctive question even before the backstage director’s instructions.

“Let's not talk about unhappy things in a music show,” Chu Zhi knew that a little mystery could be more engaging, akin to the concept of leaving blank space in painting and calligraphy.

“Since this is so sudden, really sudden,” Gu Nanxi said, displaying a bit of redundant language.

Gu Nanxi urged, “Chu, do you want to reconsider withdrawing?”

“If I could, I’d love to sing more songs for the audience,” Chu Zhi’s lips were dry and chapped. He smiled wryly, “But today’s performance took a lot out of me. I’m really exhausted. I need to start exercising more.”

Why did the performance take so much out of him? Because of the dark tide, the despair in his voice was evident, and the paid audience members looked unified in their expressions.

Throughout the show, the young, thin star hadn’t uttered a harsh word. Even when feeling unwell and forced to withdraw, he only blamed his lack of fitness, showing no regret. With 200 yuan in their pockets, what was there to regret? Some felt a bit guilty.

“I’m sure Sister She has nothing to do with this star,” the crew-cut murmured.

Brother Ming also heard and looked at the crew-cut in confusion.

The crew-cut responded, “Sister She isn’t worthy of this star.”

It made so much sense that Brother Ming had no rebuttal. Even if Sister She had a large chest, she wasn’t worthy of this star named Chu Zhi. Even Brother Ming, who wasn’t a fan, was impressed.

The persuasion was complete; Gu Nanxi had fulfilled his task.

“We don’t want Chu to withdraw,” Gu Nanxi said, “Director Meng has something to say.”

Soon, Meng Fan hurried over with a microphone, asking, “Chu, are you alright? We have doctors on set; do you need a check-up?”

“Thank you, Director Meng. I took some medicine before coming on stage. I just need to rest,” Chu Zhi apologized and then said, “I have a request. I wonder if Director Meng can agree to it.”

“Please, go ahead, Chu,” Meng Fan said.

“I've caused trouble for the show. My singing today wasn’t controlled well, and my technique was lacking. So, before I leave, could you do me a favor and not let the audience and judges score my performance?” Chu Zhi asked.

A truly handsome guy who is unaware of his own looks is the best kind. If he’s aware and flaunts it, it becomes obnoxious. Chu Zhi certainly knew his voice of ninety percent despair could outshine many, but he portrayed himself as unstable under the pressure of the dark tide.

What does it mean to be a straightforward person? Damn, that's what it means to be straightforward! From now on, if anyone dared to say Chu Zhi had low emotional intelligence in front of Meng Fan, they’d get a slap. Meng Fan couldn’t help but mentally give Chu Zhi a thumbs-up.

"Chu’s performance received extremely high praise from the professional judges," Meng Fan said. "Due to Chu’s withdrawal for health reasons, as the show’s director, I’ve decided that after this season ends, we will launch a Song Hall of Fame. ‘Backlight’ will be the first to be inducted without needing a vote."

Everyone appreciates mutual support. Chu Zhi resolved all the production team’s concerns, and the show reciprocated by adjusting the rules.

With no further issues, Chu Zhi thanked the director again. The music partners welcomed him off stage.

Chu and Wei returned to the gathering hall. The show wasn’t over yet; the votes needed to be announced to decide who would advance to the finals. The votes were already in, and there wasn’t much suspense. With a top performer withdrawing, the remaining contestants seemed somewhat uninterested.

As Chu Zhi re-entered the hall, all the contestants, including Hou Yubin, stood up and applauded to welcome him. Li Xingwei stood up last, mainly because Hou Yubin had already stood up, and it wouldn’t look good if he remained seated.

"Outperformed the previous 'Deserted Island' performance," "Showcased two original songs on the show, a creative genius," "Smart people have already called their companies to ask for his songs," "It's been a long time since a song moved me to tears"...