Chapter 36: Was Su Chen Predetermined?

“Chen, your moves are truly masterful!” In the corridor of the Hunan TV building, Wang Yilong was laughing so hard he nearly lost his breath.

“You should have seen Wang Qi’s face when he hit the ground just now—it was as if he’d swallowed something foul!”

“And that Meng Xiaotian—my goodness, is he really that dumb or just slow? You roasted him right to his face and he didn’t even react, just kept smiling for a photo with you! Hahaha!”

Su Chen smiled as well and replied, “It was nothing, just a few simple tricks. Hardly worth mentioning. Since things happened so suddenly, they’ll just have to put up with it for now.”

Between his two lives, Su Chen had probably met more people than Wang Yilong had eaten meals. From watching Meng Xiaotian these last few days, he’d already deduced a clear trait in his personality.

He cared immensely about his public image.

But then, who in the entertainment industry didn’t? They managed their expressions, their words, their figures—all for the sake of crafting an image the public would adore.

So, when Su Chen started recording video, Meng Xiaotian, if only to protect his own image, would never let Su Chen lose face.

Su Chen had capitalized on that, not only defusing a crisis but even managing to disgust the two of them a little in the process.

It seemed Meng Xiaotian still hadn’t realized what had happened.

Who knew if, when he finally figured it out, he’d explode with rage?

Su Chen shook his head, chuckling to himself.

“But, Chen, since you embarrassed Meng Xiaotian like that, you two are definitely enemies now. I’m guessing he’ll go all out to target you in the competition,” Wang Yilong said, glancing at Su Chen with some concern.

“Even if I hadn’t embarrassed him, he’d still come after me,” Su Chen replied, shaking his head. He didn’t tell Wang Yilong about his grudge with Xu Fangyuan.

“But it doesn’t matter.”

He shrugged, a faint smile playing at his lips.

“To quote Zhou Qiang, ‘Does someone of his caliber even deserve to target me?’”

Soon after, the contestants, led by the staff, made their way en masse to the backstage area of “Star of Tomorrow.”

There, a hundred seats were neatly arranged, surrounded by cameras. Su Chen guessed the producers wanted to capture footage of the contestants backstage during the competition.

Those who had been chatting and laughing quieted instantly upon seeing the cameras, each finding a seat and sitting down in silence.

One amusing thing was that everyone immediately wanted to sit beside Meng Xiaotian, jostling for a spot near him.

With his natural popularity, the show would certainly give Meng Xiaotian more screen time, so sitting next to him meant a better chance of appearing on camera.

Those who couldn’t get a seat near Meng Xiaotian gathered around Su Chen instead.

Though Su Chen was still a newcomer, and for the time being less popular than Meng Xiaotian, he’d been trending lately—no doubt he’d get plenty of airtime as well!

From the seating arrangement, you could more or less tell everyone’s status in the group.

Meanwhile, a staff member came over and addressed them: “Does anyone need to touch up their makeup? If you do, please use the second dressing room on the right. Please don’t open any other doors at random!”

“Also, it’s now five-thirty in the afternoon. Our competition will be broadcast live at eight tonight on Mango Video, right on schedule.”

With that, the staff member turned and left.

Once he was gone, a few fearless newcomers got up and wandered around backstage. One sharp-eyed contestant noticed that none of the cameras were actually turned on yet.

He didn’t keep it to himself, but shared the news with everyone. Instantly, the other contestants breathed a collective sigh of relief, their previously upright postures slumping into relaxation.

All at once, ninety-eight young men filled the backstage with chatter, making Su Chen feel as though he’d stumbled into a marketplace.

Since Wang Yilong would be singing and dancing, he took this chance to head for the stage and rehearse his positions one last time. Su Chen, meanwhile, had a moment to spare, so he set the guitar Han Jiangxue had given him across his lap and closed his eyes to rest.

Those who’d intended to strike up a conversation with Su Chen saw his demeanor and wisely decided to leave him be.

In truth, it wasn’t that Su Chen didn’t want to socialize; he just found the other contestants too immature—some in temperament, some in talent, and some in both. Finding common ground was difficult.

After all, Su Chen had started his career in high school in his previous life, become an A-list star at twenty, and by his late twenties had reached the pinnacle of the entertainment world. For someone with his experience, trying to fit in with these novices felt almost impossible.

Especially after overhearing the bizarre dating philosophies of two avant-garde trainees the day before—he’d nearly curled his toes through his shoes in secondhand embarrassment.

With his eyes closed, time passed swiftly, and soon there was less than an hour and a half before the show was to begin.

At that moment, a voice called out for Su Chen backstage.

“Su Chen! Is contestant Su Chen here?”

A staff member Su Chen hadn’t seen before made his way through the crowd, calling out.

Su Chen set aside his guitar and stood up. “Here!”

The staffer hurried over to him, saying, “You’re Su Chen, right? Please come with me. The director would like a word.”

“The director wants to see me?” Su Chen was taken aback.

But he didn’t ask further. Judging by the urgency on the staffer’s face, the production team clearly had their hands full. Without wasting any time, he followed the staffer out of the backstage area.

After Su Chen left, the other contestants were visibly surprised. To be called by the director before the show began—how could that not raise suspicions of favoritism?

But then, remembering Su Chen’s recent surge in popularity, they understood.

Still, while Su Chen was being summoned, Meng Xiaotian—the contestant with the largest fanbase—remained seated, which left some people puzzled.

In the very center of the front row, Meng Xiaotian watched Su Chen’s departing back, his face twisted with rage as his fists clenched once more.