The Ripple Effect of Victory

"Mr. Chu is truly incredible. Aside from you, Xinyue, none of us have ever beaten Zhao Quan, right?" Liang Zhengwen said after seeing the results.

"Don't, don't." Zhu Xinyue gave a wry smile. "That win of mine was pure luck. Don't keep comparing me to Brother Jiu. Zhao's song had a small mishap that time, and I happened to catch a break. But Mr. Chu beat him head-on, with a huge margin."

If she could choose, Zhu Xinyue would rather not have won. That win several rounds ago earned her two weeks of harassment from Korean fans, who called her a vulture taking advantage of someone's mistake.

It was so ridiculous it made her laugh. As if she had some way of knowing her opponent would mess up when she picked him? You just can't argue with brain-dead fans.

If there hadn't been cameras on her, and if she hadn't seen Zhao lose so badly, Zhu Xinyue might have done a happy dance right there.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Liang Zhengwen called.

Chu Zhi stepped inside. The upper-tier room came into full view. In terms of space and décor, it was far better than the rooms with swings.

"Brother Liang, Xinyue." Chu Zhi greeted them.

They'd only exchanged a few words in the waiting hall, but come on, it was Chu Zhi. Social expert extraordinaire. Any time, any place, he could quickly get along with people. Super detective on the scene—wait, wrong show.

If Chu Zhi wanted to get familiar, he'd find a way. Zhu Xinyue was several years older than him, but she didn't like it when handsome men called her "older sister" anyway.

"'Chrysanthemum Terrace,' the three ancient and three modern elements... Brother Jiu, you really opened my eyes," Zhu Xinyue said.

"I've only scratched the surface. Still need to dig deeper. After all, one person's effort is limited. I hope we see more excellent works in the Chinese style," Chu Zhi replied. Then he added, "I'm also looking forward to your stages. I'm sure they'll be brilliant too."

Liang Zhengwen scratched his head. He could guarantee his performance would be exciting, but let's be real—Chu Zhi had just started a whole new music genre. There was no comparison.

In the mid-tier room, Yu Lan's expression was complicated. Chu Zhi's performance was the kind that made viewers cry and scream with excitement, while fellow performers just sat in stunned silence.

He reached into his pocket, wanting to light a cigarette, but came up empty. Oh right, he was still on a show.

He asked himself honestly, even if he added Mongolian lyrics to his song, would he have won?

Probably not. It would've been close, but still unlikely. What had started as frustration was now turning into relief. Maybe going up against Li Jun was a blessing after all.

"Back then, Old Jiu didn't even understand the difference between head voice and chest voice. How did he get so good in just three years? He's even started exploring musical philosophies..." Yu Lan felt the gap between them widening.

Meanwhile, in the lower-tier room, Zhao Quan was experiencing it for the first time. Even when Zhu Xinyue beat him, she was in the mid-tier zone. Now he had been demoted all the way down.

Li Jun and Xiao Xu greeted him politely. Zhao Quan mumbled a reply. He was still processing the defeat.

All that pride, crushed. Even his "pride" couldn't compare with Mr. Chu's. Li Jun's thoughts spiraled in all directions.

The swing room was supposed to be a place of camaraderie between the underdogs, but ever since the Korean star showed up, it had become painfully awkward. Xiao Xu smiled on the surface but cursed inside. That sour face was like someone owed him money.

This episode of "I Am a Singer-Songwriter" was intense. Xiao Xu went all out challenging Liang Zhengwen. His genre was EDM and rap, and he lost by only seven votes. He had delivered a perfect performance—just short of a win.

Zhu Xinyue had been toppled by a rocker nicknamed "The Gunslinger" from the mid-tier zone, who won by fourteen votes. This rocker, age 31, was the lead singer of a band called Bullet Clip.

Their musical style wasn't exactly uplifting. If anything, it screamed passive nihilism. Today's song was called "I Wish to Disappear," with lyrics like "The secret to Tetris is that conformity leads to disappearance. I wish I could disappear." Somewhere between resignation and defiance.

Chu Zhi wasn't a fan of that kind of music. He preferred the rawness of Uncle Cui's rock lyrics—like that one about being blindfolded with a red cloth and still seeing happiness. Though he suspected that song would get censored nowadays.

The rocker known as The Gunslinger had a name that sounded aggressive, but he himself was chill. As soon as he entered the upper-tier room, he flopped down onto the couch.

"Mr. Chu, do you think Chinese-style music can blend with rock?" he asked lazily.

Was that even a question? The first thing that came to Chu Zhi's mind was "Dream Back to the Tang Dynasty," a heavy metal rock song infused with Chinese opera elements. It totally counted.

There were probably more. That one song, "Let Some Artists Get Rich First," had a killer suona solo. He couldn't remember them all. Honestly, before all this, Chu Zhi didn't know music all that well. He'd need to ask his system bro later.

"It absolutely can," Chu Zhi replied.

After the match, the show's schedule included a group dinner—a chance for the producer, Che Lun, and all the contestants to hang out. Fans loved these casual chats, and it helped fill airtime.

The dinner was hot pot, complete with meat and seafood. A high-carb dream come true. Naturally, Chu Zhi wasn't going to say no.

When Producer Che called on Li Jun to chat, Chu Zhi was eating. When he called on Zhu Xinyue, Chu Zhi was still eating. Even when he tried to get Zhao Quan to talk, Chu Zhi just kept eating.

"Brother Jiu, you have to tell me—how do you eat so much and still stay in shape?" Zhu Xinyue asked, full of envy.

"Uh..." Chu Zhi looked like a kid caught sneaking candy. "I don't know, I just don't gain weight."

"Ahhhh, that's such a humblebrag. 'I just don't gain weight,'" she said. She loved shrimp. Low-calorie, sure, but eating past 9 p.m. was still risky.

"Xinyue, you've got a great figure. You still need to watch your diet?" Che Lun asked with a laugh.

"I've gotten chubby. Look, even my arms have fat," Zhu Xinyue sighed. "I gain weight even from fruit. If I don't watch what I eat, I'll be unpresentable."

The dinner was full of laughter. At one point, Yu Lan even picked up some food for Chu Zhi.

"Eat up, Old Jiu. It's good to have an appetite," Yu Lan said, trying to look at him with the affection of an older brother. Unfortunately, his acting fell flat—it felt a little forced.

"You should eat more too, Third Brother," Chu Zhi replied, still focused on his Boston lobster. They were supposed to get one each, but Yu Lan had given his to Chu Zhi.

Eat, eat, eat. Let him eat to death! Yu Lan watched Chu Zhi with awe and disbelief at his appetite.

It just proved why people love mukbangs. Watching someone chow down on lobster and steak while you eat instant noodles or takeout just makes everything taste better.

Why was Yu Lan being so nice to Chu Zhi? Simple—Chu Zhi was popular. If he played nice now, maybe Chu Zhi's fans would start liking him too. Love me, love my dog, right?

The day's filming wrapped up. Well, technically it was just a half-day. No rehearsals scheduled. And just like that, Chu Zhi earned 9 million plus another 1 million bonus.

He checked with the crew and found out the next episode would air next Friday on iQIYI.

"Old Qian's birthday is today. Let's postpone filming till tomorrow," Chu Zhi said to Niu Jiangxue after getting into the van.

Niu Niu readily agreed. In Chu Zhi's team, every member got a birthday greeting and a half-day off. Even a small gift. Old Qian was no exception.

In the van, Ma Weihao silently began giving Chu Zhi a massage. No need for reminders.

Meanwhile, the internet exploded with a teaser. A trailer for the show "Shouting from the Center of the World," where Chu Zhi had a cameo as a rock band lead singer, was now online.

Why release a trailer before filming wrapped? Because the production was out of money. The teaser was meant to attract investors. Standard stuff.

Chu Zhi's glam-rock style in the show had already captured the hearts of countless fans who were into looks.