After offending capital, my songs became more and more popular.

Chapter 106 Down with Imperialism! We refuse to be slaves any longer!

"Let's go, let's go!"

How strong is the flavor of black coffee?

"I just want the carefree feeling of a soda~"

"It's so hot... answer!"

Shaking his head and striking poses, Hajime slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed towards the airport, bundled up in a hat, sunglasses, and mask. He seemed to be in a good mood, but honestly…

I'm sweating buckets!

April in the North is truly torturous. A couple of days ago, there was a strong wind and the highest temperature was only 17 or 18 degrees Celsius. But these past two days, wow, it's suddenly soared to 30 degrees Celsius. Thin long-sleeved shirts and spring/autumn jackets are simply nonexistent in the North. You take off your down jacket and before you can even rub off the chapped skin, you have to seamlessly switch to short sleeves. That's the North for you.

"Why did you insist on coming?" Yao Shuli sighed helplessly as she looked at Shen Ming'en, who seemed quite upset in the video.

"I'm here to save you from this hell!" Shen Ming'en laughed maniacally. "Be grateful, Miss A-Li, your kindness has come!"

It's clear they're getting closer. Shen Ming'en is becoming more and more casual and exaggerated in his speech, gradually revealing his true nature. His behavior amuses Yao Shuli, but it might not be a good thing for him to be on this show.
On the one hand, everyone has too high expectations of him; on the other hand...

Those Western singers are really not someone that ordinary people can handle.

"Why are you acting like a soldier who just lost a battle?" Shen Ming'en chuckled at Yao Shuli's dejected look. "We agreed to cheer each other on, but you gave up first. How can you be like this?"

"...Who told you I was discouraged?" Yao Shuli retorted, "I've been practicing singing too. I've chosen a really difficult song for next week. Don't make it sound like we'd all be crushed if you hadn't come, okay?"

"Oh haha..." Shen Ming'en really wanted to buy a red scarf from the elementary school on the roadside and wrap it around Yao Shuli's forehead: "That's more like it. Cheer up! I'm just here to boost your morale. In the end, it's up to you."

"Tch~" Yao Shuli was at her wit's end with this eloquent fellow: "Didn't you just say you were here to save us from this predicament?"

"Haha, isn't that the Kunjiang Method?"

Shen Ming'en laughed heartily, and the two chatted briefly. Shen Ming'en then said:
"Hey, are you coming to pick me up?"

"I... pick you up?" Yao Shuli was taken aback.

In the video, a blush crept across the delicate face of the opera singer. She subconsciously glanced at her assistants, Luo Luo and Nan Nan, behind her. Turning back, she instinctively put her finger to her front teeth, biting it in a cute and unexpected way, saying, "It might be inconvenient, but since you said so..."

Hesitant and indecisive, she always seemed to lack a backbone, and every suggestion Shen Ming'en made felt like he was leading her by the nose...

Look?

Seeing Yao Shuli wavering, the blond-haired man decisively said, "I saw it's been raining over there these past two days. I was in a hurry when I came out and didn't bring an umbrella. I'm afraid I'll catch a cold... Oh dear... Tsk... It's okay, it's okay if you don't come. The production crew will come to pick me up anyway. It's just that I want to see you more than the production crew. It's okay, you go ahead and do your thing, don't worry about me..."

They've resorted to this whole moral blackmail thing...

That blond guy... hetui!

Yao Shuli almost rolled her eyes: "What time are you arriving?"

Shen Ming'en, who had just been saying he didn't want people to come, glanced at the time and then said without any sense of propriety, "I'll probably arrive around eleven. Be careful on your way."

“You too,” Yao Shuli pursed her lips, “Don’t look at your phone too much. Take a rest on the plane, and I’ll treat you to something delicious when we arrive.”

"Oh?" Shen Ming'en's eyes lit up: "What delicious food is there?"

"What else can a shark eat?" Yao Shuli covered her red lips with her hand, and thought about what she was going to say next. She laughed and said with a smile, "Stinky tofu."

Shen Ming'en: "(￢_￢) Shoot"

"As expected of your favorite food," Shen Ming'en said cheekily.

"What did you say?!" Yao Shuli was so angry that her face turned red. Who said a girl likes to eat stinky tofu?!

After a few moments of laughter and banter, Yao Shuli asked Shen Mingen if there would be fans picking him up at the airport, and whether it would be appropriate for her to show up and greet them.

Mentioning this matter also gave Shen Ming'en a headache. It seems that no matter how well he hides himself, there will always be people who recognize him when he goes out. People who don't know him might even think that he is in a game, because he doesn't have an ID on his head!
With a helpless pout, Shen Ming'en said directly, "Just wait for me in the parking lot, don't go to the arrival gate. I'll post an update later saying I'm going out through the VIP channel, and then I'll go straight to the parking lot through the regular channel."

He bought a first-class ticket specifically for this, do you think he's joking with you?
"Pfft..." Yao Shuli was amused by him and asked, "Are you trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain?"

"You clearly didn't understand Sun Tzu's Art of War..." Shen Ming'en rolled his eyes: "This is clearly a feint attack!"

"Oh, oh, oh..." Yao Shuli nodded: "It really is Sun Tzu's Art of War."

Shen Ming'en: "???"

"No, Yao Shuli, you've gone astray now! You *&%￥#@…"

Hanging up the phone and putting away his phone, Shen Ming'en sped off to the security checkpoint. To be honest, Shen Ming'en was quite helpless. Sometimes it wasn't that he wanted to expose his identity, but when going through security, they wouldn't let you through unless you took off your mask, hat, and sunglasses!
The result was that Hajime was instantly killed as soon as he showed his face.

Poor Emperor Ming En, who was wise all his life, never expected to be restrained by fans at the airport. His "life is meaningless" expression even became a trending topic that day.

To be honest, Shen Mingen really feels like he's become famous now, because not only do the people around him recognize him on the plane, but even the flight attendants have come up to him and asked if they can have a photo with him.

"You're taking advantage of your job, huh..." Shen Ming'en couldn't help but laugh and tease.

Despite my complaints, I still took a photo with them. That's just how it is to be a celebrity. If you make a living this way, you have to endure this kind of hardship. Besides, this isn't much of a hardship. People only want to take photos with you because they like you.

Shen Ming'en simply couldn't do something like giving a flight attendant an autograph or a photo in person, only to then complain about her afterwards.

They're all fans, people who like you. It's just a small favor, why bother?
As it turned out, Shen Mingen's "feint" tactic was indeed effective. Shen Mingen, who came out of the ordinary passage, didn't see a single fan, let alone any fans. Carrying his suitcase and bag, Shen Mingen sped through the passage and finally found Yao Shuli at the exit, who was wrapped up even more tightly than him.

It was drizzling in Changsha today, making it both humid and hot. Yao Shuli was wearing an elegant denim blue and milky white patchwork long dress, holding a transparent white umbrella. Her black hair was like a waterfall, and even though she was wearing a mask and sunglasses, she was still very eye-catching.

Although it had only been a little over ten days, for some reason, Shen Ming'en felt as if he hadn't seen Yao Shuli for a long time. He couldn't help but temporarily let go of his suitcase, grinned, and walked forward with his arms outstretched, making a generous "hug" gesture.

It has to be said that Shen Mingen is very good at choosing his timing. The hug at the airport is not only appropriate for an ambiguous relationship, but also for friends or people of the same sex.

Yao Shuli hesitated for a moment. Although her face was burning red under the mask, she ultimately did not refuse and opened her arms to let him hug her.

"You've lost weight, haven't you been eating properly?" Shen Ming'en was clearly taking advantage of her, but he spoke as if he were observing Yao Shuli's weight.

Yao Shuli felt her face burning red, and quickly clenched her fists to lightly punch Shen Mingen's shoulder a few times. Her shy voice reached her ears: "Okay, okay, how much longer are you going to hug me?"

At this moment, saying "forever" would be incredibly cheesy. Shen Ming'en laughed heartily, got up nonchalantly, and, pulling his suitcase, went with Yao Shuli to find a car.

Yao Shuli drove an MPV, which was quite comfortable, but unfortunately Shen Mingen couldn't enjoy it because Yao Shuli's driving skills seemed mediocre. For their safety, Shen Mingen had no choice but to take over the driving and let Yao Shuli sit in the passenger seat.

It's worth mentioning that although Yao Shuli often comes here for work, she's not very familiar with the area. She's mostly been working and hasn't really had much time to play around. She only knows a few decent Hunan restaurants and asked Shen Ming'en what he wanted to eat for lunch.

Since they were in Changsha, Shen Ming'en wasn't really interested in restaurants or anything like that. He just wanted to try some stinky tofu first, so he simply drove to a residential building to eat stinky tofu.

In Changsha, whether you're looking for rice noodles, local dishes, or stinky tofu, the best places to eat are mostly like those in Nanjing where you can find duck blood soup. The more dilapidated the place, the better. Try to find places located in residential buildings, especially those with a "war-damaged" look.

"Hello, two servings of stinky tofu..."

As expected of the stinky tofu capital, this place is filled with stinky tofu vendors. In terms of smell, Shen Ming'en felt that the only streets that could rival theirs were those where Liuzhou sold snail rice noodles.

It's worth mentioning that when buying stinky tofu, Shen Ming'en, this eccentric guy, asked the vendor, "Uncle, what's used to marinate this stinky tofu?"

The tofu there wasn't like the kind sold in other food streets, which was deep-fried directly in a pan. It seemed to be pickled, otherwise it wouldn't have such a strong smell.

The restaurant owner meticulously listed several pickling processes on his fingers, only for the man to retort, "Don't you have smelly socks?"

boss:"???"

"...Where did you hear that stinky tofu needs to be pickled in stinky socks?!" Yao Shuli was almost in despair upon hearing this: "Then how can it still be eaten?"

Shen Ming'en scratched his head and obediently replied, "It's what they said in 'A Shuai'."

Yao Shuli: "..."

You've really got me!

After finishing the stinky tofu, they found a Hunan restaurant nearby and ordered a few dishes: stir-fried bean curd with pickled cabbage, golden coin eggs, stir-fried beef tripe with pickled radish, stir-fried beef with yellow peppers, stir-fried free-range chicken... all dishes that go well with rice, but they were a bit spicy. The local cuisine is generally spicy, and you can see small red and green chilies in almost every dish. Fortunately, Shen Ming'en can handle spicy food, so the dishes suited his taste, and he ate almost three bowls of rice.

"Eat slowly," Yao Shuli said softly, seeing how terrified he was of eating. "Come on, repeat after me: chew slowly and eat well, it's good for your health. It's all yours, no one will take it from you."

"Chewing slowly is good for your health..." Shen Ming'en said with his mouth full of rice. The first half of the sentence sounded nice, but the second half almost made Yao Shuli hit him. He said, "Chewing slowly is good for your health, but you can only be full by taking big bites; use chopsticks like a whirlwind to shovel big mouthfuls in!"

After saying that, he ate half a bowl of rice in one gulp, his cheeks bulging, and he almost choked.

Yao Shuli: "(╬￣ Pan￣)"

It's worth mentioning that during the meal, Yao Shuli's assistant called her more than once, but Yao Shuli didn't answer any of the calls. Eventually, the assistant's call reached Shen Ming'en, and then...

Then he got a good scolding from Shen Mingen and was immediately blocked!

You can't come here to find someone, right?
Is Nidie someone you trained?
Even if Ni Die really abducts Yao Shuli, what can you say?

You think you're worthy of being an assistant with an itchy nose?!

After dinner, because of the rain, there was really nowhere good to go. Shen Ming'en had been traveling a long way and Yao Shuli was worried that he would get tired, so she suggested that she take him back to the hotel. Anyway, there was plenty of time in the future, and they could go sightseeing later.

...Don't ask who Fang Chang is.

The hotel provided by "The Peak Singer Challenge" was near the recording location of the Hunan TV program. When Shen Mingen arrived, the production team did not know that he had come. After all, he had booked a last-minute flight to "cover up" the situation. The production team felt very guilty about this and came out to greet Shen Mingen with repeated apologies for the "negligence".

To be honest, the people from the "Peak Singer Challenge" program have been the best Shen Mingen has ever encountered. Their attitude is so much better than those shrewish people from "Chinese Music Awards." They've been incredibly attentive to Shen Mingen, asking if he's eaten, if he's hungry or thirsty, and if he needs lunch. When they saw he'd gotten wet in the rain, they brought him towels and hair dryers, and even gave him an umbrella, telling him to be careful not to catch a cold because of the recent rain...

Shen Ming'en was incredibly flattered.

Come to think of it, things are different now. Shen Mingen has already become a top-tier celebrity. Almost 80% of the exposure and traffic of the next episode of "Peak Singer Challenge" is because of him. How could the production team not treat him as an honored guest?

It's worth mentioning that the production team even held a special "welcome ceremony" for Shen Mingen that night.

Although it was a last-minute decision and not everyone was there, the director and main creative team were all present, and the regular guest singers also came over to say hello, making Shen Ming'en feel a little embarrassed.

Among the group, most were strangers, but there were also acquaintances, such as our evil gardenia teacher He Jiong, and the pop diva Na Ying. It is worth mentioning that Na Ying, who is rumored to have a bad temper, was incredibly friendly to Shen Ming'en, holding his hand and saying "You've finally come" repeatedly, and then complaining about how uncomfortable she was in the last episode...

She was practically saying how badly those foreigners had tormented her.

"Tsk..." Teacher He couldn't help but sigh as he looked at Shen Ming'en's current state: "It's only been a short time, I really didn't expect it."

I never imagined Shen Mingen would become this popular!

When Shen Ming'en appeared on "Taste of Life," he already had several popular revolutionary songs, but his popularity was short-lived, and many people felt that he was just a fast-paced, superficial artist.

Who would have thought that with one hit song after another, they would rise to the top tier of stardom!

Looking back now, the "Taste of Life" production team was truly short-sighted, especially Teacher Huang, who actually refused to let Shen Ming'en go just because they were given "food history," thus missing an opportunity to make the show a huge hit!
Ma Ling said that Qi Jia was right. Qi Jia, Teacher Huang, and the "Taste of Life" program team are all destined to only have three pecks of rice!
"Haha, I can still help if needed." Shen Ming'en said politely, but he was quite good at getting those people to "eat his bread."

Teacher He laughed heartily, saying that it was a deal, but whether he would really invite Shen Mingen was still uncertain. Moreover, compared to those things, he was more worried about Shen Mingen's recording of "Peak Singer Challenge" in a couple of days.

"What song are you planning to sing?" Teacher He asked with some concern. "I suggest Ming'en, you should sing something popular, like 'Ode to Young China,' which has a strong sense of urgency, or something like 'The Great Wall Will Never Fall,' which can garner votes. Try to sing something that gives you an advantage, otherwise it's easy to fail to satisfy the audience..."

To be honest, Teacher He is a man of few words, and everyone knows what he's talking about, but only he actually told Shen Ming'en.

“I’ll stick to singing original songs,” Shen Ming’en replied.

"Original work?" Upon hearing this, Teacher He's face twitched, and he hesitated before speaking.

What he meant was that singing original songs on stage like this doesn't give you an advantage!

Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, Shen Ming'en interrupted him by asking, "Why didn't I see those foreign friends?"

“They’ve all gone back to hand over their work. After all, they’ll probably be stationed here permanently, and they won’t be able to arrive until around the day of the rehearsal,” Teacher He replied. “Being separated by the two sides of the strait, it must be quite tiring for them to travel back and forth.”

"Oh, I see," Shen Ming'en laughed. "I thought our production team was isolating them..."

If you host a banquet without inviting others, don't make it seem like people from our country are petty and narrow-minded. If we lose, we lose; it's not like we can't afford to lose.

Hunan TV has an excellent reputation.

Upon hearing this, Teacher He laughed and said, "Do you think everyone is 'Chinese Music Promotion Center'?"

In the entire entertainment industry, "Chinese Music Center" is the only variety show that has become a huge hit despite its small-minded approach.

Unlike the "Chinese Music Show Center" program, Shen Mingen is actually more comfortable on "The Ultimate Singer Challenge". At least he doesn't have to be on guard against this or that anymore and can focus on rehearsals.

On the day the banquet ended, Shen Ming'en submitted the song he wanted to sing, and the production team quickly coordinated the band, lighting, stage design, and other things. The performance effects provided on the day of rehearsal were very rich.

To be honest, Hunan TV's sound equipment is amazing. The sound quality is incredible when you listen to it live without in-ear monitors. No matter where you are in the studio, it feels like the singer is singing right next to your ear. The singers also have a great time, as there is no microphone distortion even when they sing high notes. It truly deserves to be one of only two world-class sound systems in the world, worth two small fortunes.

Ha, with such terrible sound systems, everyone was lip-syncing during the New Year's Eve show. These idiots in the Chinese entertainment industry are all spoiled rotten.

That said, He Jiong was initially a little worried when he heard that Shen Mingen was singing an original song, but after listening to it for a short while during rehearsal, he couldn't help but applaud and exclaim in admiration, and became very excited.

It's worth mentioning that the foreign singers seemed to have been delayed due to the weather, and Shen Ming'en had already finished rehearsing by the time they arrived.

"Original?"

Inside the dressing room, the stylist was discussing performance styling with Western singer Sean, but Sean's attention wasn't on the stylist; he was only listening to his assistant talk about news about the new singers for this episode.

Upon hearing that it was an original composition, the Western singer couldn't help but smile...

He didn't say anything, but the stylist could see a hint of disdain on his face.

how to say……

Now that our country is becoming increasingly powerful, when people come here to record programs, they must abide by the rules here. If you're a dragon, you have to coil up; if you're a tiger, you have to lie down. They understand this principle, so they never make any sarcastic remarks in front of us.

But to say whether they look down on these singers in the Chinese entertainment industry...

Well, at least after the last episode of "The Ultimate Singer Challenge" was recorded, there wasn't a single one I could watch.

What the hell is this veteran love song queen? Her voice trembled so obviously when she sang live. Her sphenoid sinus resonance was almost replaced by vibrato. Others were talking about phlegm resonance or shamanistic practices. On a stage where singing skills are being tested, there are even people singing about youth and heartbreak literature. Why should anyone respect them?

According to Sean, the only one he really admired was Yao Shuli, the opera singer; they could never learn that style no matter what...

He may like her, but Yao Shuli is not afraid of him.

As for this new singer-songwriter, needless to say.

This idea wasn't unique to Sean; two other female Western singers, Mia and Keisha, shared the same sentiment. The three Western singers almost tacitly shook their heads with knowing smiles when they heard that the newcomer was going to sing an original song.

Under these circumstances, time passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was Friday, the next day, and the performance venue for the "Peak Singer Challenge" arrived.

"oh!!!!!"

"Shen Ming'en! Shen Ming'en! Shen Ming'en!"

"Emperor Ming'en, unparalleled throughout eternity!"

"At the pinnacle of immortality, I stand proudly above the world; with my gratitude in my heart, the heavens will prevail!"

"Thunder Yatalain, the power to drive out foreign invaders and save the nation!"

"Tremble, foreigners, you're as spicy as Enlai!"

The actors and audience on Hunan TV are really witty. They've already got Shen Mingen all excited even before he's appeared, which shows just how much everyone is looking forward to him.

The production team was really clever; knowing that everyone was looking forward to Shen Mingen, they specially placed this "replacement singer" in the first performance.

The already heated studio was instantly ignited by Shen Ming'en's opening line, "Down with imperialism! We refuse to be slaves any longer!"
Global pop culture influences each other every day, and Chinese pop culture is in no way inferior to that of Europe and America, and will never give up!
……

(End of this chapter)