Chapter 72: Ascending the Throne

No matter how the five celebrity mentors pressed him, Luo Mo would not say what he needed the wooden fish for.

Even when Xu Chujing finally spoke up, Luo Mo remained tight-lipped.

The production team was essentially at Luo Mo's beck and call regarding his requests.

Given how biased Ning Dan was toward him, let alone just wanting a small wooden fish to tap on for fun, if you wanted a thousand wooden fish to surround the cafeteria to pursue a certain atmosphere, I would get them all for you.

As long as the work you finally produce meets the standard and can hold the stage, you can play however you like; I'll even accompany you in tapping the wooden fish myself, even if I have to wear a nun's habit to do it.

Therefore, in the backstage area at this moment, under a single look from Ning Dan, the employees of the Prop Department had already gone online to search for various styles of wooden fish, to be provided for Luo Mo to choose from later.

This was the status Luo Mo currently held in *Creating Idols*!

In reality, Luo Mo certainly would not let this woman, who nurtured things silently like a gentle spring rain, down.

His current idea was very simple: since the theme this time was "Books," he intended to lean the track toward the classics.

The Four Great Classical Novels were thus targeted by him.

Today's program recording ended here.

Jiang Ningxi and Shen Yinuo came to Luo Mo's side, saying they had something to discuss with him.

Luo Mo guessed it easily; it was likely still about the matter of signing with Xinyu.

Sure enough, Shen Yinuo got straight to the point: "Luo Mo, I told my dad about your conditions, but he said he needs time to consider it, and that they need to hold a special meeting for senior management."

Luo Mo nodded, didn't say much, and only replied: "I understand."

In his view, if the helmsman of Xinyu had agreed immediately, that would have been the bizarre thing.

First, Xinyu was not a dictatorship; the company was not one person's company.

Second, an S-level contract like this, signed for a newcomer who hadn't even debuted yet—no matter how popular this person was, no matter how high their traffic—was an unprecedented event.

Simply put, it broke the rules and disrupted market conditions.

Such an exceptional case generally could not be done.

Otherwise, what would our peers do in the future? What would we do ourselves in the future?

—Breaking the rules requires courage!

According to the current situation, the highest-level contract for a singer from a talent show was only A-level.

And the reason that male singer was able to sign an A-level contract directly after the show ended was because he wasn't a pure newcomer; he was a "reheated leftovers" contestant who had actually been in the industry for 3 years.

Regarding the conditions Luo Mo put forward, Shen Shaoqiu truly felt he was asking for the moon.

Only a true Top Traffic star deserved such a contract.

But the most critical thing was that, judging by the current momentum, it wasn't as if Luo Mo had no chance of becoming a Top Traffic star.

Everyone was already used to variety shows producing hits. But just how big a hit it would be depended on individual ability.

So, in reality, Shen Shaoqiu didn't just need to consider it further and spend time holding meetings. At the same time, he also wanted to wait and see, to observe Luo Mo's trajectory.

To put it bluntly, you are already asking for the top-tier contract; how much higher can it go?

If you get even more popular, it's still this contract.

Don't tell me you really want the company to gift you shares?

So, take it one step at a time, and see how things develop next.

Shen Yinuo looked at Luo Mo, her hands behind her back, her toes kicking at the ground from time to time, as if kicking an invisible pebble.

She said: "Hey! Anyway, I've brought the sincerity!"

"Under the same conditions, no matter what, you must prioritize us at Xinyu!" Shen Yinuo emphasized again.

"Received, received." Luo Mo squeezed a sincere expression onto his face.

To tell the truth, Shen Yinuo had indeed tried very hard.

"Alright then, you prepare your new song well!" Shen Yinuo waved at Luo Mo with great energy, as a form of Farewell.

Jiang Ningxi gave Luo Mo a deep look, only nodding subtly.

Judging by this stance, it was Shen Yinuo who looked more like Luo Mo's old classmate, while this Leg Fairy with a cold temperament was a new friend who wasn't very familiar.

Luo Mo watched Jiang Ningxi's Back Shadow as she walked away, thinking to himself: "Clearly, you were very proactive back in middle school; you didn't seem this cold and aloof when you forced a kiss on me in the small woods on graduation day."

A woman who says one thing and means another.

………

………

In the following few days, Luo Mo began to carry a wooden fish around with him.

He discovered this thing had a benefit: when one became irritable, one could close their eyes and tap it for a while to calm the mind.

Then, Tong Shu and the others watched helplessly as Luo Mo, with his eyes closed, went from tapping slowly at first to tapping rapidly.

Hey, it didn't work!

During these few days, Luo Mo had basically finished the lyrics and music, and had also distributed them to his teammates.

What he hadn't figured out yet was how to set up the stage well, how to string it all together, and how to create a good effect.

However, he already had a prototype in his heart.

Today, before practice, Xu Chujing's assistant Liu Jingjing came to find Luo Mo again to inform him that at twelve o'clock this noon, the version of *Red Actor* sung by him and Xu Chujing would be released across the entire internet.

Yes, the Heavenly Queen had decided to release the new song across the entire internet this time, without giving exclusive authorization to any single platform.

Logically speaking, for a Singer of her level, exclusive authorization would command outrageous terms.

For these music platforms, a Super First-line Singer was someone they had to strive for with all their might; their exclusive authorization had extraordinary significance.

Have you ever downloaded a music app specifically for a certain Singer, just to listen to their songs?

This time, Xu Chujing would rather earn a little less than sign an exclusive deal, just thinking that she could still build momentum for the movie.

At the same time, she could also better promote Luo Mo.

In this way, Luo Mo could build a sense of presence among users on all major platforms.

With the influence of Xu Chujing, once her new song is released, it will dominate the charts across all platforms!

This made even Luo Mo feel a bit of anticipation.

In fact, as early as yesterday, major platforms had already begun warming up for "Red Actor," and banners had long since been put up.

As for the fans of Xu Chujing and Luo Mo, they had also been waiting for a long time.

One is a Super First-line Superstar, the other is a popular trending trainee; the collaboration between these two has sparked heated discussions within the industry.

Especially for certain male Singers who had pulled strings and previously tried to collaborate with Xu Chujing, each one felt more uncomfortable than the last.

In this day and age, there is still a market for male-female duet songs.

Who wouldn't want to bask in the glow of a Diva?

However, Xu Chujing has now entered the film and television industry, and her frequency of releasing songs has slowed down. Regarding collaborations, she has become even more cautious, one could even say stingy.

A duet?

No way!

Treatment that even First-line Singers couldn't enjoy, Luo Mo, this trainee, has enjoyed.

Regarding this, a large amount of slander appeared on the internet.

Seeing that Luo Mo was about to gain momentum again, the capital tycoons hurriedly seized the opportunity to stir up trouble.

A label that shouldn't have been pinned on Luo Mo was forcefully pinned on him.

——【Luo Mo, the "Royal Family" in "Creating Idols"!】

The so-called 【Royal Family】 refers to the kind of contestant who is being pushed, or even the kind who is pre-selected.

Such people will have more screen time, more resources tilted toward them, and even be forcefully pushed; in any case, they are guaranteed a ranking.

The Royal Family, after all, are born extraordinary and do not receive the same treatment as commoners.

Because this phenomenon is very common in talent shows and can often be seen in other fields as well, over time, this specific term was coined on the internet: 【Royal Family】.

Besides the Royal Family, a so-called "Diving Royal Family" has recently emerged. It refers to those who are pushed very high, but the market response is very poor, and they don't make much of a splash when they dive in.

It is an upgraded version of the sarcastic term.

Honestly, logically speaking, as long as one analyzes it rationally, no one would think Luo Mo is from the Royal Family.

In fact, in the talent show where Ning Dan is the General Director, a true Royal Family has never appeared.

However, fans of other contestants don't care about this. Those who intend to stir up trouble, or those who want to ride the coattails of the hype, won't care about this either.

You, Luo Mo, are a member of the production team, you are an employee, very good, the status of an insider is confirmed.

This world is never short of people who harbor malicious speculation; many people are even spreading a narrative that Luo Mo is not just making up the numbers, is not the so-called talent show miracle of this summer, and that from the very beginning, this was all directed and acted by Director Ning Dan.

Everything did not happen by coincidence, but was a grand performance.

You brainless people are being played in circles by Director Ning Dan.

And we, the smart ones, stand aloof from the world.

Look, a trainee who hasn't even debuted yet has already sung a song with the 【National Producer Representative】 of "Creating Idols," Xu Chujing.

Currently, Luo Mo is only ranked fourth on the 【Popularity Support Ranking】; why don't the top three have this treatment?

This group of people won't care whether your stage charisma is great or not, or if there is a difference in the quality of everyone's songs; just flaming is enough.

Five flames per second, tell me, isn't that impressive?

With a keyboard in hand, I am the Keyboard Immortal of the land.

As for the fans of Shen Mingliu and others, they definitely feel that their own idol is the best, so of course they have to seek justice for their idol.

So a group of people first flames Luo Mo, and after finishing with Luo Mo, they go to flame Ning Dan.

The "Strangers" (Luo Mo's fans) are relatively laid-back. Anyway, let you guys toss and turn; we won't engage in tearing each other down. The more you tear, the uglier it gets, and it will ruin the reputation among passersby. Anyway, Luo Mo's strength is there for all to see.

Flaming Ning Dan is also fine; Ning Dan is just a General Director. Although she has the charm of a fully ripened woman, her fan power isn't that great, after all, she doesn't appear in public much.

But unfortunately, a few batches of fools went to flame Xu Chujing.

Then, they witnessed the power of a Super First-line Superstar's fans, as well as the lawyer's letter warning issued by Xu Chujing Studio.

——The top of the food chain is the Big Sister.

How dare you?

Xu Chujing has debuted for many years; what kind of big storms haven't her fans seen?

In the industry, the combat effectiveness of fans is also graded.

Like these Newcomers who haven't debuted yet, many of their fans are just new fans who don't understand anything at all and belong to the ragtag army.

Xu Chujing's fans are different. After years of tempering, they belong to the ace troops.

Once they enter the fray, it's a massacre, and all kinds of tactics leave the enemy stunned.

As for Luo Mo, he is purely enjoying the shade under a big tree.

………

………

At twelve o'clock noon sharp, the duet version of "Red Actor" was released across the entire internet.

Inside a high-end residential complex in Shanghai, Chen Shanqi, wearing a set of pajamas, carried a bowl of vegetable and fruit salad and sat at the dining table.

This quasi-First-line Singer of Xinyu is currently on a diet.

Female artists need good image management. Although she is a Singer and not an Actor, because she has some beauty, she also cares about her image.

In this day and age, the appearance anxiety created by society for women is a bit serious. Let alone female celebrities, ordinary people are also increasingly concerned about their image.

Selling anxiety has always been a very profitable industry.

Chen Shanqi ate the vegetable and fruit salad with a numb expression, with a small amount of chicken breast mixed in. She turned on her Bluetooth speaker, connected it to her phone, and opened Penguin Music.

During this period, Chen Shanqi's mindset had already calmed down.

"My new album, how should I put it... it was born at the wrong time!" That is what Chen Shanqi thought.

She had carefully selected a time slot just to avoid clashing with other Singers and make it easier to climb the charts, but Luo Mo had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Her initial mindset was completely shattered, feeling she had been caught off guard.

Her mindset had improved over the last few days because she realized: "It seems like half the entertainment industry has been caught off guard by him."

The trainees in Creating Idols, after all, came from dozens of different talent agencies.

This made Chen Shanqi think: "I'm not being targeted; I'm just one piece of trash among all the trash present."

Most importantly, she liked every one of Luo Mo's songs. After being tormented again and again, she had been tormented into becoming half a fan.

Therefore, she was very much looking forward to this duet version of Red Actor.

The singing came from the Bluetooth speaker; as a Singer, she had very high requirements for the sound quality of speakers.

She only finished listening to the A-section before applauding: "As expected, the duet version with the Diva is far stronger than the live version from the Creating Idols public performance!"

She imagined that if this song were a duet between her and Luo Mo... it might not necessarily have this effect, but it would definitely be a hit!

Chen Shanqi was actually aware of the "royal family" controversy over the last few days.

In her heart, she felt these haters and contrarians were truly ridiculous.

"To be able to turn this into a conspiracy theory, that's impressive."

"The funniest part is, it's fine if you want to mock him, but seeking your own death is a bit stupid. Of all people to provoke, you actually dared to provoke Jing."

This Diva had a powerful aura, and her fans were not to be trifled with either.

Many stars in the entertainment industry have careers that could be described as ups and downs and downs and downs... but Xu Chujing was always rising step by step.

Her personal ability was very strong, and the team behind her was also very strong.

If that weren't the case, when Ning Dan was prepared to protect Luo Mo at all costs, Xu Chujing wouldn't have offered to let her own team help out.

At this moment, the song had already finished playing once.

Chen Shanqi hummed a few lines: "【You finish singing and I take the stage...】"

"Heh, it feels like it's missing something." She laughed at herself.

After this quasi-first-tier female Singer from Xinyu set Red Actor to Loop, she began to look at the data for this duet version on various major platforms.

"First."

"First."

"Still first!"

This song was released across the entire internet, ranking first on the New Song Chart and first on the Trending Chart!

"Is this the 'king bomb' combination of a Diva Superstar and a traffic New Star?" Chen Shanqi was very envious, wishing this were her own achievement.

And what left her dumbfounded was that the public performance version of Red Actor was ranked second on the Penguin Music charts.

In other words, on the Penguin Music charts, one of Luo Mo's songs had directly occupied the top two spots!

Two versions of one song, directly slaughtering the charts!

This was too glaring; a "rare sight in a lifetime" moment.

"A Newcomer who hasn't even debuted yet has actually created such a miracle," Chen Shanqi whispered.

"I feel like I've wasted my time all these years; I'm ashamed of my inferiority, truly ashamed."

This female Singer felt moved and opened Weibo to take a look.

She wanted to see Luo Mo's celebrity "Super Topic."

Those active in the "Super Topic" were basically fans of that celebrity.

There was a post from a big fan of Luo Mo that was very popular in his "Super Topic," and the content left Chen Shanqi stunned.

The content of this Weibo post was very simple, consisting of only one sentence, accompanied by a few screenshots.

"The counterattack has begun." Chen Shanqi smiled.

The screenshots showed the two versions of Red Actor occupying the first and second places on multiple Penguin Music charts, equivalent to sitting on the throne, ascending to the imperial position, and ruling the world!

The accompanying text was—"【It is indeed the 'royal family'.】"

(PS: First update, 4,500 words.)

(End of chapter)