Chapter 330: Breaking Precedent

She immediately called Lin Mengyang again, wanting Lin Mengyang to have the trending topic removed.

At this time, Lin Mengyang was at home accompanying his wife and children.

Lin Mengyang and Zhou Man only met once or twice a week; he only summoned her when he had free time, and if he was busy, that was that.

No matter how wild a man plays outside, he still has to set aside time to accompany his wife and children at home.

Furthermore, in a family like Lin Mengyang's, the wife could not possibly be a naive "little white flower," and her maiden family also possessed a certain amount of power; dealing with a third- or fourth-tier singer was more than enough.

Lin Mengyang wanted to answer the phone several times, but his wife was watching from the side.

Finding it annoying, he simply turned his phone off.

The matter concerning Zhou Man fermented online for several hours, and it wasn't until midnight that Lin Mengyang's assistant saw it and contacted people to have the trending topic removed.

Zhou Man was so angry she couldn't sleep all night.

Although she had never been able to become popular, she truly loved singing and loved the stage very much, and she did not want to lose the stage because of this.

Just as she finally saw the trending topic removed and was about to rest for a while, her assistant handed her the phone: "It's that call from Xu Ji; she said she has something to tell you."

Zhou Man took the phone, "Xu Ji?"

"Zhou Man."

"You bought the trending topic tonight, didn't you?" Zhou Man asked coldly.

At the same time, she realized that this call might be recorded, so she had to be cautious. Simultaneously, she pressed the record button herself.

"I didn't buy any trending topic. I've already been removed from the program, and I'm already in a miserable state as it is. I hope you won't keep hounding me; I'm really begging you." On the other end of the line, Xu Ji sounded weak and pleading.

Zhou Man couldn't help but say angrily: "What a magnificent 'white lotus flower.' You did these things yourself, yet you come to beg me. If I find out you were the one behind this, you..."

Zhou Man noticed she was on a call and didn't dare say too much.

Xu Ji remained pitiful: "Sister Man, I really have no resources now. I know you have backing and a background, but I just want to sing quietly on the stage. I need this stage."

"If you need this stage, then behave yourself and don't provoke me!" Zhou Man hung up the phone after saying this.

After hanging up, Zhou Man was just about to find people from the underworld to teach Xu Ji a lesson, but her assistant, who was scrolling through her phone nearby, saw another trending topic: Zhou Man warns Xu Ji.

"Sister Man, look at this!"

When Zhou Man looked, it was actually their conversation from just a moment ago.

Xu Ji had recorded it. In the call, she sounded like she was pleading, while Zhou Man was stern and harsh; although she hadn't explicitly threatened her, the tone was full of threatening implications.

Zhou Man hadn't realized it until she heard it; it turned out her tone had been so fierce.

"This Xu Ji is truly a lunatic!" Zhou Man raged, throwing the assistant's phone onto the floor, and the phone immediately shattered into pieces.

The assistant dared to be angry but dared not speak.

Although Zhou Man contacted people to remove the trending topic again, there were still some scattered marketing accounts that re-recorded the call and posted it again.

In short, it was removed only to appear again.

Many netizens demanded that this TV station not let Zhou Man go up to sing; if they were going to cancel someone, they should cancel everyone—what kind of skill was it to only cancel one?

Hotel.

Mou Lili was also preparing to set off for the studio hall.

Yesterday was the rehearsal, and today was the official recording.

Liu Yang had been excitedly clutching her phone since yesterday: "This Xu Ji is really not simple. She really went all out; she actually dared to go head-to-head with Zhou Man. Zhou Man used to specifically pick on soft persimmons, but now she's hit a nail."

Mou Lili asked: "Could it be that Xu Ji has someone backing her too?"

"I don't know if she did before, but after this commotion, she definitely does now. Taking advantage of this heat, there will definitely be capital wanting to promote her. Tell me, who took the video last night? It feels like it was taken on purpose."

"Someone must have been watching," Mou Lili said.

But if they went to investigate now, they certainly wouldn't find anything. That person definitely wasn't a guest; it should have been a staff member arranged by Xu Ji who slipped away immediately after filming the video.

Axia didn't speak. She was still wearing a tracksuit today, looking left and right, constantly keeping an eye out for any danger in the surroundings.

The three of them left the room and took the program team's car to the studio hall.

Many big-name singers had arrived, but only Zhou Man had not yet appeared.

Quite a few people were curious about whether Zhou Man would actually come.

Everyone in the circle followed the entertainment headlines, and everyone knew about yesterday's events.

Zhou Man eventually arrived, wearing a black performance outfit and followed by four assistants, acting even more like a big shot than the big-name singers.

Liu Yang whispered: "To cause such a scene and still not be removed—her backing is indeed strong."

At this moment, Mou Lili was only thinking about the performance, and since it was her first time on a television station, she didn't think much else.

This recording went very smoothly. Although she had to wait a long time for her turn, her duet with the veteran singer was perfect, and the audience on site even hoped she would sing another song.

After Mou Lili finished singing, she returned to the lounge with Liu Yang and the others.

They were originally about to remove their makeup, but the assistant director came over and asked her: "Mou Yuyu, right? Given that you sang very well just now and the audience's reaction was very enthusiastic, the chief director would like you to sing one more song."

"Sing one more?" Both Mou Lili and Liu Yang were surprised.

The assistant director asked: "Don't you have a song you wrote yourself? I saw your video; just sing that 'Your Smile.' This song is more suitable for the welcome party."

"I..." Mou Lili was just about to say that this song hadn't been rehearsed and the accompaniment wasn't ready, but Liu Yang had already accepted on her behalf.

"Okay, we'll sing this one. Director, we'll go prepare right now."

"Alright, then prepare as quickly as you can. If you need anything, you can tell us. I'll arrange your segment for the very end so you still have time to practice."

Once the assistant director left, Liu Yang clenched her little fists and said very excitedly: "Ying ying ying, Sister Mou, this is a great opportunity! It's rare that we can finish a song; we must seize this chance. Tell me quickly what you need for coordination, and I'll go prepare it for you immediately."

Mou Lili was already so anxious she was about to catch fire: "There's no band, and there's no accompaniment. Am I supposed to go up there and sing while holding a guitar?"

"We can find a temporary one. Sister Mou, just leave it to me."

Liu Yang immediately went to contact the company, and the company soon had a solution.

There were many accompaniment bands brought by celebrities on site, and some would take commercial performances separately. The company told Liu Yang to go ask them herself, as the price was negotiable.

Mou Lili needed to produce the sheet music immediately so they could play according to it.

Liu Yang quickly found an accompaniment band; this band had been invited by an veteran singer from the company, and out of respect for the veteran singer, the price was not too high.

After confirming, Mou Lili seized the time to rehearse with them in the lounge.

Fortunately, there were still quite a few acts left to perform, so they had half an hour to rehearse.

Half an hour later, the assistant director came over to notify Mou Lili to go on stage.

Mou Lili took a deep breath, high-fived the members of the band, and then carried her guitar onto the stage.