Chapter 57: What on Earth Is Su Chen Doing in the Room!

The next day, at seven in the morning.

Zhou Zhiqian, Han Hong, and the members of Zheng Huayu’s team were up at dawn. Each of their three teams found a spot near the Hunan Provincial Television building and began that day’s live broadcast.

Among them, Zhou Zhiqian’s team was the most “distinctive.” He had all eight members of his team out jogging in a nearby park. He claimed that morning jogs could strengthen lung capacity, relieve anxiety, and were one of the best forms of exercise for musicians.

But his eight teammates suffered for it; they had barely accumulated any fans from the previous program, and now the audience was seeing how poor their stamina was. Their jogging looked as slow as snails crawling.

It was as if he were deliberately screening his fans.

In Mango Video’s livestream chatroom, a flood of early risers was watching their run, the comments scrolling furiously.

“Hahaha, this is killing me! I just knew Zhou’s team would do something quirky like this!”

“These team members aren’t cutting it. Is this a jog or a stroll?”

“Fan turned passerby here—I just can’t root for idols without any athleticism!”

“Hey, hey, hey, did no one notice that the person having the hardest time is the cameraman? After one lap, the camera’s already shaking, hahaha!”

Zhou Zhiqian’s eight teammates probably never anticipated the live broadcast would take this turn. But even if they did see it, they likely didn’t have the energy left to complain.

Next door, Han Hong’s livestream had a much warmer vibe. She first took her team to a bustling breakfast shop for a meal, then found a recording studio, where she began correcting her team members’ singing one by one—a decidedly academic approach.

Seeing this, the viewers in her chatroom were full of admiration.

“Ugh, I haven’t even had breakfast yet and they’re already eating. Early birds are crying!”

“Han Hong is so thoughtful! Celebrity philanthropists really are different!”

“Her professionalism is amazing—she can point out everyone’s issues, and after her corrections, the improvement is remarkable!”

“Tsk tsk… If Zhou Zhiqian’s fans saw this, they’d be green with envy, wouldn’t they?”

Unlike Zhou Zhiqian and Han Hong, Zheng Huayu’s team didn’t choose to film outside. Instead, they started the day in the TV studio inside the Hunan Provincial Television building.

Zheng Huayu remained in her mentor’s seat, pulling Meng Xiaotian over, eating steaming hot breakfast delivered by her assistant, and gesturing at the seven hapless souls on stage, urging them to do vocal warm-ups.

Surveying the chaos on stage, Zheng Huayu frowned, swallowed a spoonful of sea cucumber and abalone porridge, and said to Meng Xiaotian, “Xiaotian, show them the vocal technique I taught you earlier.”

Meng Xiaotian, though younger than Zheng Huayu, wasn’t offended by being called “Xiaotian.” He grinned and nodded.

“Of course, Brother Hua!”

Soon, Zheng Huayu’s uniquely crafted vocal warm-up echoed through the studio, mournful and yearning, as if pleading and lamenting.

“Not bad!” Zheng Huayu applauded with satisfaction, putting a pan-fried bun in Meng Xiaotian’s bowl as a reward.

Then she raised an eyebrow and, looking displeased, shouted at the seven on stage, “Louder! I told you to sing louder! Open up your voices!”

“Did none of you eat breakfast?”

The seven hapless souls thought, We were dragged here at the crack of dawn—who besides you two has eaten? But no one dared voice their complaints. Each mustered all their strength for a wailing chorus.

Hearing the resounding sound, Zheng Huayu finally smiled.

“That’s more like it! That’s the effect I want. Keep practicing for another half hour!”

With that, she and Meng Xiaotian continued eating breakfast and chatting, paying no mind to the seven’s misery.

The chatroom exploded with comments from Zheng Huayu and Meng Xiaotian’s fans.

“My man gives so much! He even teaches them his own unique vocal warm-ups. He really is a cornerstone of Chinese pop!”

“Hua Yu is so dedicated—even during breakfast, she’s coaching. Having her as a mentor is a blessing earned in a previous life!”

“Our Xiaotian is amazing too. Others can’t master that technique, but he got it after one demonstration! A real genius!”

But just then, a comment with a question mark drifted across the sea of praise, instantly causing an uproar:

“The contestants haven’t had breakfast—no wonder they can’t sing! How could Zheng Huayu do this?”

In the next moment, Zheng Huayu’s diehard fans swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, flooding the chat with responses.

“Are you nuts? Who are you to question my man’s teaching?”

“If you’re so great, why don’t you do it? Oh wait, I forgot—you’re just an ordinary nobody, not even a patch on Hua Yu’s hair!”

“Ha, jealous loser.”

Among them were a few so-called rational voices:

“To be fair, strict teachers make great students. I support Brother Hua doing this.”

“Not feeding them is to strengthen their resolve! Surely no one’s too dense to see Hua Yu’s painstaking efforts?”

“The music industry’s standards are slipping. I admire strict, demanding mentors like this!”

In her hotel room, Han Jiangxue was covered in goosebumps as she watched these deranged comments.

“Are these people insane?” Han Jiangxue couldn’t fathom these lunatics. To avoid further psychological contamination, she decided to check what Su Chen was up to.

But when she opened Su Chen’s livestream, she was shocked to see the camera pointed at the hotel room door! The sound of knocking and a hoarse voice came through the feed.

“Open up… Su Chen… open the door…”

Han Jiangxue: ???

Thank goodness it was daytime. If she heard that voice at night, she probably wouldn’t dare get up for the bathroom!

Puzzled, Han Jiangxue checked the livestreams of the other seven members of Yan Mi’s team.

Their feeds were all normal. Though they weren’t together, they had all started their day’s activities as expected. Only Su Chen was missing from his own stream—no one could be found even though the program had started!

What Han Jiangxue didn’t know was that, at that very moment, the cameraman assigned by the “Star of Tomorrow” production team to Su Chen was frantic with worry!

He stood in the hotel corridor, pounding on Su Chen’s door. He’d been at it for nearly half an hour, his voice hoarse, but Su Chen still hadn’t opened the door!

If he hadn’t seen the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the lock, he would have doubted whether Su Chen was even in there.

The production team hadn’t anticipated this, so the cameraman hadn’t been given a keycard. Being an honest man, he didn’t dare barge in, afraid he might accidentally capture something inappropriate during the livestream—which would cost him his job for sure.

So, all he could do was keep knocking.

But if Su Chen still didn’t open up, delaying the live broadcast, the director wouldn’t let him off either!

Just as he gritted his teeth, about to break down the door, Wu Tong, already aware of the situation, had arranged for hotel staff to unlock it.

The cameraman let out a long sigh of relief—at least now he couldn’t be blamed for anything.

With the pressure off, curiosity got the better of him.

Damn it, what on earth was Su Chen doing in that room?