Chapter 03

At four o'clock in the morning, Li Changjian and a staff member knocked on Ye Zexi's door and woke Ye Zexi who was still asleep.

Under Li Changjian's explanation, Ye Zexi was confused, and asked a little uncertainly: "I'm on the hot search?"

Li Changjian nodded worriedly.

"With Tang Jing?" Ye Zexi's eyes were filled with confusion.

Li Changjian nodded again.

The assistant next to Li Changjian handed the phone to Ye Zexi, and Ye Zexi took a look. His name and Tang Jing's name were on the fifth most searched hashtag.

Following the hot search was a link to a video. The two people in the video are Ye Zexi and Tang Jing. Ye Zexi

looked at the familiar scene. Wasn't this where Tang Jing stopped Ye Zexi in the corridor today?

It was just that there were no other people in the corridor except him and Tang Jing. Who made this video?

Li Changjian always treats Ye Zexi as his own son, and the program team would definitely not post this kind of video on the internet.

So who would it be?

Tang Jing?

Not possible: if this video got released, Tang Jing could use this opportunity to act as a victim to gain everyone's pity; however, for a newcomer who has just debuted, he would be labeled as gay, which is not conducive to future development.

It will be just a temporary popularity, the gain is not worth the loss.

Then——

Li Changjian brought his assistant to Ye Zexi in the middle of the night, then he must have found something.

Ye Zexi raised his eyes to look at Li Changjian in front of him: "What does Uncle Li think?"

Sure enough, Li Changjian looked at Ye Zexi when he heard the boy ask, his eyes were very guilty: "Zexi, this matter is due to uncle's inadequate supervision."

As soon as the news came out on the Internet, Li Changjian was the first to get the notification. As soon as the staff of "Time Idol" finished their work, they were called to stay behind to have a thorough investigation of the matter.

Finally, half an hour ago, they found the employee who sent the video to the marketing account.

Li Changjian just came to wake Ye Zexi, wanting to ask his opinion.

"I know Tang Jing's personality very well. This matter has nothing to do with him and his team. When the video went viral, he also actively expressed his willingness to cooperate to clarify. I mean, the program team has issued a statement saying that it was just a sitcom rehearsal, you and Tang Jing do not need to respond to that. Tang Jing has already agreed, what do you think?" Li Changjian added.

Ye Zexi didn't speak, instead he read through the comments on Weibo.

"Time Idol" just released its first rehearsal video on the internet. Someone even pointed out Ye Zexi was just lip-syncing in the comments. Now with such a video, all netizens have started to mock Ye Zexi.

More people claimed to be the program staff, confirming that Ye Zexi came to participate in "Time Idol" to chase Tang Jing.

In a short time, the topic got more and more attention from netizens.

Even Ye Zexi's background was being dug up, saying that he was the prince of Starlight Entertainment, and had long been attracted to Tang Jing; and, the two had known each other for a long time.

False is also true, while true is also false. Many people who like to read about entertainment gossip took that information seriously.

The ones that dislike this the most are Tang Jing's fans. They do not like that Ye Zexi might drag Tang Jing's result down with his performance. Now that Ye Zexi is still so shamelessly pestering Tang Jing, fans begin to post hate comments on Weibo.

Generally speaking, most public

opinion on the Internet is biased

towards Tang Jing, and very few

people help Ye Zexi speak.

Netizens' comments were even more vicious, such as "scumbag dog" and "disgusting gay". Some people even commented that Ye Zexi was just lip-syncing in the rehearsal, which means "Time Idol" does not have many good talents, and expressed that they would not waste their money on it.

"Zexi?" Seeing that Ye Zexi hadn't spoken for a long time, Li Changjian was a little worried, "Don't read the comments, and don't take online opinions to heart, don't let it affect your performance today..."

Ye Zexi curved up the corners of his mouth when he heard the other speak, and smiled: "Uncle, don't worry, I won't take it to heart."

After so many years in the entertainment industry, Ye Zexi has seen too many abuses and accusations. The comments he saw today are not so horrible.

Li Changjian was still not at ease: "I think you can just leave it alone and leave it to me to deal with it. Nowadays, netizens are all like this, saying white is black. A clarification statement will be issued later..."

"No need, Uncle." Ye Zexi interrupted Li Changjian, and returned the phone to the assistant. "It's the truth, so I don't need to clarify."

Li Changjian was anxious when he heard these words: "How can you say this! You haven't made your debut yet, and netizens have already had such a bad opinion of you like this. What would happen after you make your debut?"

Ye Zexi blinked. He didn't say that he isn't going to debut at all. He just said: "I have my own solution, Uncle, don't worry about me. It's still early, you should go back and rest for a while."

Li Changjian would not let go that easily, right?

But in the next half an hour, no matter what he said or suggested, Ye Zexi

just didn't want to clarify. He just insisted that he had a way and told Li Changjian not to worry, and asked him to go back to rest earlier.

How he could sleep!

Anxious to death!

Ye Zexi looked at him being all anxious, knowing that he was worried about him, and felt a little warm. He thought for a moment and said, "In this case, why don't you help me with this request, Uncle."

Li Changjian was curious: "What kind of request? Just tell me!"

Ye Zexi raised his eyebrows and slowly said his request.

After listening to the request, Li Changjian's eyes were full of disapproval, but Ye Zexi said first: "Uncle, trust me, I will take care of it."

Ye Zexi insisted on this, so Li Changjian had no choice but to compromise.

Before leaving, Li Changjian glanced at Ye Zexi. Ye Zexi's face was obviously a little paler than before. His beautiful eyes had some tears in them, and even the corners of his eyes were red. Li Changjian's chest got tightened up at seeing the boy like this.

He still said he is okay!

Even his eyes are red. Is he really okay?

Li Changjian could not control the netizens on the Internet, but he must teach that traitor a lesson!

Look, he dared to make his nephew so angry that he cried!

Li Changjian left with a not-so-good face.

If Ye Zexi knew what Li Changjian thought, he would definitely want to exclaim.

I really don't cry!

It's normal to have watery eyes when you just woke up!

But Ye Zexi was so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes anymore, and he didn't even notice Li Changjian's expression.

By the time Ye Zexi got woken up by his alarm, it was seven o'clock in the morning. After a brief wash up, Ye Zexi went to the dressing room.

The moment Ye Zexi appeared in the dressing room, the huge dressing room got quiet for a moment. Numerous stares glanced over to him intentionally or unintentionally, they were a bit of scrutiny and inquiries, mixed with a few interesting gazes.

Looking at these few stares, Ye Zexi unsurprisingly saw Jiang Ran among a bunch of handsome guys.

Ye Zexi gave him a friendly smile.

Jiang Ran's mouth also evoked a sneer, this person can still smile now? He wanted to see if Ye Zexi could still smile after his performance today!

Ye Zexi didn't care about the sarcasm in Jiang Ran's eyes, and quickly looked away and started looking for Tang Jing in the crowd.

In the novel, the author's description of Tang Jing is "the most beautiful zero". [1]

Tang Jing's face naturally speaks for itself. When he is not speaking, it gives people a kind of gentleness and elegance. When he speaks, his round eyes are shining, and they are a little more agile.

Ye Zexi personally liked this handsome little brother. Although the other came to look for him in such an angry mood yesterday, even with his angry expression on, he was so handsome!

This made Ye Zexi want to be friends with Tang Jing even more.

Ye Zexi really didn't cause the hot search this time. He also needed to explain to Tang Jing.

Tang Jing naturally noticed that Ye Zexi came towards him. There was no expression on his face, just a slight frown.

The people in the dressing room were all human beings. Seeing that there was a good show about to unfold, they stopped the movements in their hands, perked up their ears to observe the actions in front of them, and didn't want to miss any wonderful moments.

Being able to witness the gossip on the spot, exciting!

Tang Jing had already put on makeup by now. The makeup did him great justice. It was not a glamorous look because the makeup artist gave him a simple eyeliner. On the contrary, his eyebrows were more agile.

As someone who loves beauty, Ye Zexi couldn't help but look at it several times before coughing and saying, "Morning, I'm sorry about the Weibo last night."

Tang Jing didn't look at him, but still knitted his eyebrows and pursed his lips: "It's okay, you didn't do it. I just hope you keep your promise."

Tang Jing didn't say anything further, and Ye Zexi naturally understood it.

Ye Zexi nodded: "You can rest assured."

Tang Jing nodded and said nothing.

How could he be relieved?

The person who has been chasing him for a year suddenly said that he quit chasing him. Tang Jing is afraid that Ye Zexi was only indirectly convulsing, and he would come back in two days.

It is hard for anyone to just believe it. Even so, Tang Jing's self-cultivation cannot allow him to do such a thing as swearing at Ye Zexi.

And last night's hot search was not entirely useless. He woke up this

morning and found that his Weibo's followers had increased hundreds of thousands overnight!

Thinking of the manager's admonition to him, Tang Jing decided to bear with him again.

Anyway, after tonight, Ye Zexi is very likely to be eliminated and leaves.

Not wanting to stay with Ye Zexi in the same room, Tang Jing found an excuse and left the dressing room.

Ye Zexi looked at Tang Jing's back and

felt a little regretful, and he could see that Tang Jing still had some prejudices against him.

But it is okay. They still have a lot of time in the future. He believes that

Tang Jing would really accept him one day.

Ye Zexi went to his own separate dressing room according to his

memory. After he left, the people in the hall gathered together and muttered.

"Tang Jing has a really good temper! If it were me, I would beat Ye Zexi already!"

"Yeah, if you want me to say, Tang Jing should be popular in the future, having such a good-tempered and good foundation. I bet that after the show is over, he will also reach his golden age, then he does not need to be afraid of being like Ye Zexi again."

"But I'm still a bit puzzled. Ye Zexi doesn't look bad, and his family is better. If Tang Jing follows him, he might have a much smoother path in his career, why would he not agree?"

"You might not know this. I heard that Tang Jing already has someone he likes, that's why he keeps rejecting Ye Zexi."

"Really? Who is it?"

"It's that...Film Emperor He!"

"Isn't Film Emperor He the temporary coach for this show!?"

"Damn, wouldn't it be that the love rivals are appearing on the same show? I don't believe that Ye Zexi would really let this pass!"

...

Approaching the start of the live performance, the atmosphere backstage suddenly became tense.

The door of the coach's lounge was pushed open from the outside, and Shan Zeyu saw a tall man on the sofa.

"Still reading the script?" Shan Zeyu handed over a cup of coffee.

Hearing the sound, the man raised his eyes, and the warm yellow light shone from the top of his head, making his original tough lines softer, his heroic eyes narrowed slightly, and he could see the person in front of him clearly.

He Jinyun's thin lips curled a little, and he took the coffee noncommittal: "It will start in one month."

Shan Zeyu naturally knew that his friend came to "Time Idol" for casting, he raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Haven't found the one yet?"

He Jinyun took a sip of coffee, his Adam's apple rolled slightly, and he paused before saying, "There is one candidate, but it is unlikely."

Shan Zeyu became interested: "Oh? There are people who would refuse your invitation?"

He Jinyun said a name.

Shan Zeyu's expression instantly got quite interesting.

There was no other reason, because this person was currently being discussed among the netizens.

There was still half an hour before the live performance. "Time Idol" officially opened the livestream channel.

Countless viewers rushed into the livestream room. Now the comments could be regarded as very lively.

Many fans were cheering on their idols, and many people came to see handsome guys.

But they were all a minority, the majority of the people came here to see Ye Zexi fall from his grace.

After another day of discussion, Ye Zexi's lip-sync rehearsal video had spread widely. Tang Jing's fans wanted to preserve their little brother's good name, so they repeatedly reminded others of Ye Zexi's lip-sync video.

It was a bloody battlefield in the live chat, it could also be said that the rain is coming and the wind is on full speed.

At nine o'clock in the evening, the live performance officially started.

Vocal coach Shan Zeyu and dance coach Qu Xiao first appeared in front of the audience.

Good fellows, you should know that Shan Zeyu has won the best male singer in Chinese pop for three consecutive years, and Qu Xiao is the first female team leader dancer in China. When did they come to "Time Idol"?

Why was there no news at all!

Countless fans had just received the news and rushed over.

The live chat set off a wave of frenzy on the screen.

But this was not over yet, as the three-times-awarded actor He Jinyun appeared as a temporary coach, the livestream room almost crashed.

Film Emperor He, who has not participated in variety shows for a hundred years, participates in a boy's group audition variety show as his first variety show!

The fans were going to be so excited!

Fortunately, the technical guy had been watching the livestream room and quickly put the crowd under control. Some users only experienced minor lagging and it was quickly resolved.

After this predecessor's footsteps, the stage had become enthusiastic. Then it was time for the contestants to come on stage. The coaches did not take long to say their introduction, and directly announced the first song of the night--"Heartbeat".

The sharp-eyed audience discovered that the first song was actually a performance by Tang Jing and Ye Zexi!

---Should we say that the show is being bold or is not afraid of death? Such a daring opening!

The comments also started to flood the

screen.

"Damn, I've just admired my idol's beauty, now I would have to look at these youngsters?"

"I'm leaving first, and I will come back later when the whale [3] is on!"

"Why are you leaving? I think it will be more exciting this time. I want to see Ye Zexi's lip-sync today!"

There were many people watching in excitement, and the camera was also very cooperative at this time as it focused on Ye Zexi's face.

The young boy's porcelain face was slightly covered with powder, and the lights were shining on it, his peach eyes were even more conspicuous, and he even winked his right eye quickly at the camera.

"? This is Ye Zexi?"

"Shit, he winked at me! I'm going to wash my eyes!"

"He's the first to sing?"

The prelude was over, a clear and slightly magnetic male voice seemed to have cut through thousands of dark clouds, and it was clearly heard-

"That wind chime at the corner, made the ding ding sound by the wind."

The live chat was blank for a moment, and then there was an overwhelming exclamation mark.

-—Eh?

-—Why does it sound kind of nice, what's this?

---

Notes:

[1] bottom/zero - in Chinese, the male that is the one receiving is called zero, 0. I don't have to say more, you all know what that refers to by looking at the number.

[2] top/one- and of course the one on top or doing the thrusting work is called one, 1. Just look at the number, it already says what it is.

[3] the whale - it is slang to call someone famous or have money. In this case, He Jinyun is the famous film emperor, so he is the whale.