Chen Chiyu on the other end had returned to normal. Worried about being blocked by Shen Huai, he spoke in a very serious tone, but you could still hear the amusement in his voice: "Boss, I've never seen my WeChat Moments so lively in my life. How many zombie accounts did you expose?"
Shen Huai: "..."
Chen Chiyu: "You are a truly dedicated agent."
Shen Huai: "Shut up!"
Chen Chiyu rarely saw the usually calm and composed Shen Huai so agitated. He covered his mouth, his stomach almost hurting from laughing.
He wiped away his tears: "Hey, why did you post something like that on your WeChat Moments?"
Shen Huai certainly couldn't admit that he had made a basic mistake, otherwise, given Chen Chiyu's cheeky nature, he would probably laugh at him every time they met.
Shen Huai said coldly, "If we talk about this again, the investment will be reduced by 50%."
Chen Chiyu quickly admitted his mistake: "Dad, I was wrong."
But he still wouldn't give up and said to Shen Huai, "I have an idea for you. If anyone asks again, just say it was a slip of the hand."
Shen Huai: "..."
After finally getting rid of Chen Chiyu, Shen Huai was exhausted and felt that this was even more troublesome than completing an acquisition.
Just then, Mingwei walked in with the documents. While Shen Huai was signing them, she hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Mr. Shen, about... WeChat Moments..."
Shen Huai paused for a moment, then calmly replied, "My hand slipped."
Author's Note: Chen Chiyu: Continuously bringing you the latest gossip.
Chapter 148
Shen Huai was depressed for a time because of his parents' problems and lost contact with his former friends. Later, he returned to China and became an agent, and he kept a low profile.
Previously, Shen Huai's identity was exposed, causing a stir in the entertainment industry, but it didn't have such a big impact in the investment circle. Many people thought he was still abroad, but they didn't expect that he not only returned to China, but also became an agent.
Just as Chen Chiyu had said, this incident did indeed bring many people to light.
Shen Huai replied to some friends, but ignored those with whom he had only casual acquaintances or those who were simply there to gossip.
Actually, people are only shocked at first, but then they get used to it. There are many eccentric people in the investment circle. Being a broker is nothing, there are even monks.
However, it was because Guo Wenyuan had been posting poll information on his WeChat Moments that many people had some impression of the name "Xia Shiyu," and then they became curious after seeing Shen Huai's WeChat Moments.
Some people even joked that this might be a new superstitious practice in the investment world.
Shen Huai didn't take it to heart. After explaining, he thought the matter was over, but he didn't expect that it would lead to a lot of ridiculous things.
When Ye Cang spoke with Shen Huai earlier, he specifically praised Xia Shiyu's performance in the third episode. Although Shen Huai did not see it live, he trusted Ye Cang completely, which is why he decided to wait until the third episode aired before proceeding with the whitewashing plan.
Fortunately, the third episode aired soon after.
-
The third round eliminated half of the bottom-ranked contestants, but all four members of STAR were fortunate enough to advance to the next stage.
Zhang Li continued the format of her previous show, "Rising Star," maximizing the use of randomness. This episode featured five songs, but was divided into ten groups. Each pair of groups chose the same song, forming two teams, red and blue, to compete against each other.
When the winner is eliminated in the next round, they can choose to save one person from their team.
When this rule was announced, it immediately sparked a lot of discussion at the scene.
This reward is nothing to contestants who are in the top ranks of the voting, but it's a lifeline for those on the verge of elimination. Unfortunately, they don't have a choice in who their teammates are, so they can only rely on luck.
Some people raised objections at the time, but Zhang Li was not surprised. She explained calmly, "I know what you're thinking. Everyone wants to team up with strong members and doesn't want to spend time teaching less experienced members. But you are a team. Improving the whole team is more important than individual strengths."
After she said that, the murmurs in the room gradually subsided.
Zhang Li asked the director to play all five songs. These five songs have completely different styles, including sexy dance music, sweet and cute music, and even classical Chinese music.
Xia Shiyu stood with the other three members of STAR. Lina looked at the song on the screen and murmured, "Butterfly Storm is so good!"
Lina has a good voice and has always aspired to be a lead singer, but of these five songs, "Butterfly Storm" is the one that best showcases her singing skills.
She glanced at Xia Shiyu furtively, her feelings a mix of emotions.
Over the past few days, Xia Shiyu's talent and hard work have impressed her. At least she couldn't manage to practice dancing for three days with less than five hours of sleep, almost without rest.
Later, when it came to choosing the center position, Xia Shiyu and Wang Can received similar evaluations from the mentors, so in the end, the other members had to vote anonymously to determine the center position.
Lina originally thought that Wang Can was more popular and would definitely win the center position without any doubt. However, when the votes were counted, Xia Shiyu and her votes were neck and neck, and in the end, Wang Can only narrowly won.
Not only was Lina stunned, but the mentors were also surprised. Later, when interviewing the contestants who voted for Xia Shiyu, most of them gave the same answer: they were impressed by Xia Shiyu's hard work.
For most people, talent is something unattainable. They may envy such people, but they will admire those who work hard even more. The tangible sense of accomplishment from hard work is the reality for most.
If a person is both talented and hardworking, they can almost win over most people.
When Lina sees the song "Butterfly Storm" now, the first thing that comes to mind is Xia Shiyu. She can imagine the brilliance that Xia Shiyu would exude on stage.
Yao Xuetong was also discussing the five songs with Tian Sisi. Everyone had their favorite songs, but Xia Shiyu remained silent.
Yao Xuetong glanced at Xia Shiyu and said, "Xiaxia, do you have a song you'd like to choose?"
Xia Shiyu hummed in response: "I'm fine."
Lina couldn't help but ask, "What about 'Sinking'?"
"Sinking" is a very dynamic dance song with outstanding choreography, but it is also extremely difficult. Not to mention that the song is quite sexy, which is also the style that Xia Shiyu is least skilled at.
Xia Shiyu smiled but didn't say anything.
Worried that the two would start arguing, Yao Xuetong quickly smoothed things over, saying, "You definitely won't draw 'Sinking,' after all, it's a one-in-five chance, how could you draw it so easily?"
After she finished speaking, she felt somewhat uneasy.
She recalled Ye Cang's luck with the lottery during "Rising Star"—the more unwanted something was, the more likely it was to be drawn.
Because Shen Huai kept Wu Jianguo's underhanded dealings a secret, most people didn't know and thought Ye Cang was really that unlucky.
Back then, within the company, the trainees jokingly called Ye Cang the "hand of bad luck." Some even said that the reason Ye Cang was able to break Shen Huai's "newcomer curse" was because their negatives turned into a positive.
Of course, this rumor was later clarified after Shen Huai's identity was revealed, but that didn't stop Yao Xuetong from thinking about it, after all, Xia Shiyu was also Shen Huai's artist.
-
The order of the draw was based on the support rates from the second round.
When the voting ended, Xia Shiyu was in third place, ahead of her was Wang Can, who had competed with her for the center position in the previous episode.
While the two were queuing to draw lots, she kept listening to Wang Can silently praying, "I must draw 'Sinking,' I must draw 'Sinking'..."
"Sinking" is indeed very suitable for Wang Can, and it's no wonder she was so nervous.
After Wang Can had been gone for a while, the staff finally signaled for Xia Shiyu to draw lots.
Xia Shiyu casually took a scroll out of the box, opened it and showed it to the camera. This scene would not be shown to the contestants on site, but would be shown to the audience during the post-production editing.
At that moment, Zhang Li, sitting in the control room, almost spat out her water when she saw the song title on Xia Shiyu's scroll.
—"Sinking".
Not to mention Yao Xuetong, Zhang Li also knew very well how unsuitable "Sinking" was for Xia Shiyu, yet she actually drew it on her first try, and looking at the color on it...
Zhang Li couldn't help but cover her eyes for a moment, but when she lowered her hands, her eyes were full of light: "Add another camera to the Blue Team's room for 'Sinking'!"
Xia Shiyu was unaware of all this. She was indeed surprised when she saw the song title, but unlike Yao Xuetong's assumption, she was not disgusted or afraid. Instead, she was somewhat eager to try it.
But when she entered the Blue Team's room, she and the people inside looked at each other in surprise, and both exclaimed in unison, "It's you?!"
Yes, the Blue Team's room was already occupied; it was none other than Wang Can, who had gotten his wish.
After the two competed for the center position in the previous round, netizens had already imagined a fierce battle between them. Who would have thought that in this round, not only did they draw the same song, but they also drew the same team? This is even more interesting than if they were still rivals.
No wonder Zhang Li was so excited to ask for an extra camera angle; this kind of coincidence is even more exciting than any script arranged by the production team.
Xia Shiyu was shocked when she saw Wang Can for the first second, but she quickly calmed down. The two greeted each other and then casually sat at opposite ends of the room, waiting for the other team members.
As the draw proceeded, each team gradually filled its roster.
All members who entered the "Sinking" blue team, regardless of whether they wanted to choose this song or not, were all caught in a strange and awkward situation after entering the room.
Once all the members returned to the practice room, the awkwardness spread to almost the entire room.
Lina was lucky enough to draw the song she wanted, "Butterfly Storm." She looked around to see what the other team members were doing, and then she saw Xia Shiyu with a blue "Sinking" sticker on her body, followed by Wang Can.
Lina: "..."
God is my witness, she really did not curse Xia Shiyu.
Fortunately, Zhang Li quickly came out of the situation, easing the awkwardness.
Zhang Li announced the new rules: "All teams must choose a captain and a center position. As the captain, you must take responsibility for the whole team. In the end, the performance of the whole team will become one of the criteria for judging the captain."
"The importance of the center position is beyond doubt. How to choose the captain and the center position is also an important lesson for girl group members. Please take it seriously."
As soon as she finished speaking, the scene erupted into discussion again.
From Zhang Li's words, it's clear to everyone that the captain's role is thankless and exhausting. Not only does she do the most work, but if the team performs poorly, she might even be criticized.
At that moment, many members' expressions became somewhat unnatural.
Zhang Li seemed not to have seen anything. After finishing her speech, she nodded to all the members and left.
After Zhang Li left, the scene immediately descended into chaos.
Each group member formed their own small circle and began discussing who would be the team leader and who would be in the center position.
The captain is an unwanted ball, while the center position is a coveted prize. Faced with this reality, the girls, even though they still need to maintain their image on screen, have begun to argue subtly.
The Blue Team, however, remained immersed in silence.
This group can be described as a group with extremely polarized strength among its members. Apart from Xia Shiyu and Wang Can, who are in the top ranks, the other three are not very strong, making the situation quite dire.
Xia Shiyu and Wang Can, despite their excellent abilities, have such a strained relationship that it's even more troublesome than their lack of skill.
The other three team members looked at each other, all showing expressions of despair.
Xia Shiyu glanced at them, and with her keen intuition, she already guessed what they were thinking.
Zhang Li is right. Choosing a captain and the center position is indeed important, but what's even more important is time. Wasting precious practice time on this kind of thing is putting the cart before the horse.
Xia Shiyu had already made up her mind.