Chapter 325

After Li Jian finished singing, Su Huan listed the contestants performing today.

Besides Li Jian, there were Na Ying, Sun Nan, Wang Sulong, Lin Yilian… and others—almost all power vocalists.

"Tsk tsk, Qin Yuwén has almost no chance of succeeding in her challenge."

Qin Yun said softly.

In these past few days, he had listened to Qin Yuwén's most popular song, "Faint Light Enters the Realm," an OST from a TV drama; even that song was far from high quality, with much of its appeal actually coming from the drama itself.

Compared to the other singers' works, the difference wasn't minor at all.

Fortunately, Qin Yuwén's vocal technique was decent; as long as she didn't sing her own songs but covered others', there was still hope.

Su Huan nodded: "Today's recording has two episodes, giving her two song opportunities. As a newcomer, she must sing her own song first, then she can cover another."

"Uh…"

Pray for Qin Yuwén!

The show "You Are a Singer" has seven contestants total; today is the challenge round, so if the challenger succeeds, one contestant is eliminated; if she fails, the next challenger comes.

As a challenger, her identity was kept completely secret—no contestant knew who would be challenging.

After the expert consultants gave their critiques, the public judges voted next; Qin Yun and Su Huan each had two votes, and they both cast theirs for Li Jian.

Next came the next contestant.

As one singer after another performed, the overall audiovisual experience was truly excellent—each singer was a master, and every song was widely known; Qin Yun became immersed in it.

After Wang Sulong finished his seventh performance, Qin Yun said to Su Huan: "Qin Yuwén has no chance."

Su Huan felt the same.

At this moment, host Liang Nan appeared on stage to host.

"Thank you to Wang Sulong. Now, please welcome the challenger—Qin Yuwén."

"She is a rising new force in the music industry; her single 'Faint Light Enters the Realm' received massive praise upon release and has consistently ranked high on new song charts. Her voice is sweet and delicate, her style gentle and healing, skilled at using song to depict emotion and convey warmth. Though young, she possesses great passion and unique insight into music. Today, she gathers the courage to step onto this stage and challenge her senior peers as a newcomer."

"The stage is hers—please welcome Qin Yuwén!"

Listening to the host's long speech, Qin Yun thought: it was impressive how much they could fabricate—Qin Yuwén had only debuted half a year ago, yet they made her sound like a true rising star of the industry.

Thunderous applause; under the lights, she wore a silver-to-white gradient strapless gown that accentuated her slender, elegant collarbone.

Qin Yuwén calmed her nerves and walked step by step to the center of the stage. She had a sweet, doll-like face, fair and translucent skin, her black hair styled into a bun, giving her a fresh and lively appearance.

Standing on stage, she immediately spotted Qin Yun and Su Huan—especially Su Huan, whose demeanor and appearance earned her silent admiration.

Qin Yuwén nodded to the band; as the music began, her rendition of "Faint Light Enters the Realm" unfolded gently.

Was it bad? Not bad. Was it good? From Qin Yun's perspective, it wasn't particularly good.

But under this atmosphere, especially live, it still carried considerable emotional power.

Of course, Qin Yuwén's vocal technique was solid—throughout the entire performance, not a single mistake; compared to the seniors, her skill was already worthy of pride.

As the song ended, applause rose, and the expert consultants began their critiques.

The critiques were fair enough; then came the public judge voting. Whether Jiang Tao intentionally did it or not, during the voting, the big screen showed audience shots, deliberately sweeping over Qin Yun and Su Huan.

Especially when the two pressed their voting buttons, it was especially obvious.

This made Qin Yun laugh and cry—damn, can they even do this? Do I really have that much influence?

And surprisingly, many live audience members did notice; some, out of respect for Qin Yun, actually voted for Qin Yuwén. Though less than a third changed their minds, that small shift meant Qin Yuwén didn't end up last—she placed fifth.

In other words, if she didn't bomb her second song, she might actually succeed in her challenge.

Su Huan leaned close to Qin Yun's ear: "Looks like this director really understands the essence of traffic."

Qin Yun nodded helplessly: "Let them ride the wave. I'm not losing anything anyway. Do whatever you want—I'll just help Qin Yuwén out."

Seeing the final result, Qin Yuwén, her agent Yang Jiajia, and Xing Mang Entertainment's boss Liu Jiahui all let out long sighs of relief.

Especially Liu Jiahui, who knew the company desperately needed a flagship artist—Qin Yuwén had to perform exceptionally well during the livestream. If even just ten percent of viewers remembered her and liked her, it would all be worth it.

…

"Qin Ye, thank you for coming."

Qin Yuwén barely succeeded in her challenge as the seventh-place contestant, but she knew exactly how much of it was her own talent—and she was endlessly grateful to Qin Yun.

Qin Yun smiled faintly: "Then we'll meet during training. Good luck."

After bidding farewell to Qin Yuwén, Qin Yun walked out of the International Film & Television Center. Just as he was about to get in his car, a luxury van pulled up beside him.

"Qin Ye!"

From the window, Li Jian leaned out: "Let's have dinner together—I've reserved a table at Yunxi Xiaoguan, and Teacher Na Ying is coming too."

Qin Yun glanced at Su Huan, who looked tempted.

If that's the case…

"Then I won't be polite. Teacher Li Jian, go ahead—I'll follow shortly."

Li Jian was delighted, nodded, and had the van drive off from the center.

When Qin Yun and Su Huan arrived at Yunxi Xiaoguan, Li Jian and Na Ying were already there.

Qin Yun knew little about the two, but he had heard their songs—especially Na Ying, whose hits were widely known. Still, she later got embroiled in controversy and was heavily criticized for some outrageous remarks.

Qin Yun had no personal likes or dislikes; before he became famous, he only appreciated singers' works, never judging their character.

It was like in ancient times—many poets were complete scoundrels, yet that didn't stop their works from enduring.

The four met again and reintroduced themselves.

Li Jian was exactly as rumored: refined and elegant, his speech clearly well-mannered, and quite humorous; in just a few sentences, the initial awkwardness dissolved into familiarity.

Na Ying, meanwhile, was extremely bold—when she drank, she was terrifying.

Once the alcohol flowed, she fully let loose, no longer holding back, launching into a furious rant about every figure in the entertainment industry; Su Huan was thrilled.

"Sister Na, keep going!"

Su Huan refilled her glass, eagerly.

Qin Yun rubbed his forehead and smiled apologetically at Li Jian, who didn't mind and laughed: "I see your livestream content still isn't settled? Still planning?"

Although the livestream promotion has started, it's only promoting the people, not the content—the real promotion won't begin until everyone gathers and training starts.

Therefore, the outside world naturally doesn't know the current progress of the livestream.

"It's decided, just not announced yet," Qin Yun said without hiding anything. "I plan to go to the Taklamakan Desert and walk across a thousand li of desert until Survival succeeded."

Hearing it was the Taklamakan Desert, Li Jian exclaimed in shock: "That's the place called the Sea of Death—far too dangerous."

"Where there's danger, there's challenge," Qin Yun smiled. "Besides, this is already my compromised choice—if I picked the other two, even I wouldn't be sure I could get them all out alive."

Li Jian quickly asked: "What are the other two?"

Qin Yun told him. After hearing it, Li Jian couldn't help but shake his head.

"Too extreme. Compared to you, my little fitness routine is like playing house."

"Hahaha," Qin Yun laughed. "If you get the chance, I'll bring Brother Jian along for the livestream—tackle all kinds of extremes."

"…," Li Jian actually hesitated.

After eating with the two of them, chatting, and exchanging contact information, they parted ways.

In the days that followed, Qin Yun began organizing the training arrangements, and the Douyin side had nearly finished refining the contract.

On September 18th.

Fang Yuan, Ryan, Tian Zhong, Elizabeth, and Qin Yuwen each received a private message from Qin Yun; besides Qin Yuwen, the other four also received plane tickets.

【September 20th, Banshan Liyu Training Base in Hangzhou: formal training begins before livestream; livestream officially starts October 8th.】

【Location: Taklamakan Desert; Challenge: walk across a thousand li of yellow sand until Survival succeeded; each person carries only one 500ml water bottle, one weapon (choose freely), one tool (choose freely)】

As soon as this social media teaser was posted, Douyin immediately launched global promotion.

And because it was a collaboration with Douyin, the domestic livestream would be on Douyin, while the overseas livestream could only be on TikTok—YouTube and Twitch would have to be temporarily abandoned.

As soon as promotion began, Su Huan also became busy—ads, partnerships, business deals—phone after phone, the entire company never stopped.