The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

When Suwen went online, she saw the introduction about herself on the official website and felt unfamiliar with it: "A native Beijing girl born and raised in the heart of the capital, who developed a love for Black music during middle school due to the influence of her foreign music teacher..."

She's only been in Beijing for less than three years, and she can't even speak the Beijing dialect properly. That's absurd.

Zhou Mo advised her, "These days, how many celebrity background profiles are true? They just write down how pretty they are. Yours is considered reliable. There are even those who portray women from the same brothel as saints."

Actually, Su Wen was still uneasy about this sudden halo. Singing was purely a hobby for her; she was forced into it by Ye Zi. Although Xue Shaofeng had given her guidance, and her brother had put her through hellish training, a week wasn't enough to bring about a significant change. She was very clear about this.

For example, her weakness in high notes and her unique vocal characteristics greatly limit her song choices.

Adding to the embarrassment of not being able to read music last time, she now takes every opportunity to cram with a music teacher.

After entering the top ten, the show changed from pre-recorded to live. In each round, one contestant was eliminated based on the live performance and online popularity votes until only three remained.

Su Wen had the packaging and production team from Huayi Brothers behind her, which greatly compensated for her weak singing skills. Coupled with her consistent singing style, which was neither particularly good nor bad, she advanced steadily all the way, which was truly beyond her expectations. What was even more surprising was that in the online popularity vote, she even surpassed Yuan Yuquan, whose songwriting and singing skills were highly praised, and won triumphantly, holding the top spot for five consecutive weeks.

The top ten competition was structured so that each round involved judges from three companies selecting their preferred contestants, bringing them back to their companies for training and development, and then having them participate the following week. The competition was a brutal process of elimination, and for five consecutive weeks, Xue Shaofeng had consistently chosen Nie Suwen. Finally, when it came down to the final four, Wei Guang, a judge from Xingchen, couldn't help but speak up: "Shaofeng, if you keep clinging to Niangao like this, tomorrow's newspapers will be full of rumors about you two. We'll all think you've fallen for her."

It was just a joke; sometimes TV shows are like that—judges make fun of each other to boost ratings. Su Wen understood perfectly well that Xue Shaofeng wanted her only because she was already a pre-selected newcomer from Huayi Brothers, but if this were made public, the other contestants would definitely be upset.

Wei Guang has mentioned in several interviews that he really likes Nie Suwen's voice and affectionately calls her "Nian Gao" (rice cake) like a fan. So, he jokingly held up a sign saying, "This time, I won't let Huayi Brothers take Nian Gao away from me."

The audience burst into laughter. Of course, in this round, Suwen went to Xingchen.

Xingchen is an established company with a large number of artists, both currently popular and past their prime. While its office building doesn't have the ostentatious grandeur of Huayi Brothers, the interior is anything but lacking, boasting top-notch facilities. Wei Guang treated her exceptionally well, discussing song selection and stage style with her in a friendly and approachable manner—the complete opposite of the cold and aloof taxi driver. The different company cultures also differ; Huayi Brothers emphasizes artist individuality, while Xingchen prioritizes teamwork.

Just after the song selection meeting, Suwen came out of the company, and an artist's van was parked at the door. The assistant jumped out of the car first, carrying clothes, makeup cases, and other bags. Then, a woman wearing sunglasses got out of the back seat. The scene was so sudden that Suwen almost didn't recognize her.

The other person stopped as they strode past her. Xing Manzi slowly took off her sunglasses and glanced at her sideways: "Isn't this Nie Suwen?"

She gave an awkward laugh. She had prepared to meet her before coming to Xingchen, but the actual situation was quite different. She'd heard that filming for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" had wrapped, and it was currently the promotional period, so she must be very busy.

"I've seen your show," Xing Manzi said casually. "What, you're not confident you can surpass me in acting, so you switched careers to singing?"

She now exudes a high-class aura in every move she makes; people in this industry always change so quickly. Su Wen couldn't quite describe the sour feeling welling up inside her, and said with a forced tone, "There's plenty of time; we'll always have a chance to compete in acting."

"Is that so?" Xing Manzi smiled dismissively, her alluring manicured nails brushing aside her curly hair. "I forgot to tell you, my film 'The Condor Heroes' has been submitted to the Hong Kong Film Awards, and I've personally received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. I'll be filming my second movie soon, and I'll be the female lead."

She uttered each word slowly, her expression carrying a hint of smugness.

Suwen thought that she had every reason to be proud. Everyone was scrambling to climb the ladder; no one would stand still and wait for you.

"Want to compete with me? I'm afraid you're too slow to even catch up." Xing Manzi said this and strode away, her assistant following closely behind.

Suwen stood there, lost in thought. Then her phone rang; she answered it—it was an unfamiliar number.

"Nie Suwen".

"Q?"

Su Wen was startled. They had become familiar with each other, and Su Wen had started calling him "Brother Feng" at the company, since he was already a senior figure in the entertainment industry. She just didn't expect him to call her.

They weren't actually that close yet, exchanging phone numbers. Even if you could find Xue Shaofeng's assistant's number in the company directory, it would only be there. But Nie Suwen was different; she was still a newcomer, and her contact information was available to both the competition organizers and the company directory.

"How's your training at Starry Sky going lately? Have you been slacking off?"

"How could I dare? Teacher Wei is no ordinary person."

"That's good. You didn't expose your inability to read music, did you? If people knew, you would have completely disgraced the company."

Actually, she worked hard for a long time after that and had already learned to read sheet music, but Xue Shaofeng liked to tease her about it all the time.

She gave a forced laugh: "Brother Feng, is there something you need?"

He adopted the air of an older brother: "Let me give you a heads-up, in the final three competition, each of the three companies will send a popular singer to sing a duet with you. Our company has already made a decision, and I will personally perform. I've already spoken to the organizers and expressed my desire to collaborate with you. So you better do your best and don't get eliminated before you even make it to the finals."

It turns out they were worried about her training at Xingchen and feared she would be eliminated in the semifinals.

"Brother Feng, with you protecting me, I have no choice but to work my butt off." This boss from the company is really loyal; he even revealed the final rules to her.

"Okay, after this round of competition is over, I'll find some time to discuss the song selection with you. You have to do your best."

After hanging up the phone, the streetlights were already on. Suwen, carrying her backpack, walked expertly to the bus stop to wait for the bus. It was rush hour, and the bus was packed like sardines in a can. She was squeezed between the people, and her nose was filled with the smell of sweat.

No matter how stunning she is on stage or how much of a sensation she causes online, once she removes her makeup and steps off the stage, she's still just herself—an unknown newcomer, and few people will recognize her. At this stage, the company certainly won't provide her with a car, and even in a year, she might not receive that treatment. And she still lives in the most dilapidated old-style residential building.

She initially entered the competition with a casual attitude, but having come this far, anyone would develop ambition. The alluring prize of the championship only strengthened her resolve.

As the intense competition continued, the popularity of the contestants grew, and correspondingly, the infighting between fan groups intensified. In the round of four to three, Yuan Yuquan's rendition of "Over the Rainbow," with its soaring high notes almost shattering the stage ceiling, earned him thunderous applause from the audience. All three judges simultaneously awarded him full marks, something that had never happened before since the start of the competition.

Following Nie Suwen, Yuan Yuquan also became a sensation online. Newspapers even compared the two, providing definitive evaluations from professional musicians. The organizers, of course, wouldn't miss such a good opportunity for hype, frequently pairing the two together for fan meetings and promotional events. In reality, Suwen herself was still quite young and lacked any awareness of fame, joking and laughing with her fans like a friend from school.

Fans of Quan attacked Nie Suwen: "A twenty-year-old face, a forty-year-old voice, and she cracks when she sings high notes." Fans of Nian Gao (a type of rice cake) countered: "It's not a singing competition; we just like Suwen's unique personality."

The fans' bickering put the idols in an awkward position. After stepping off the stage, Nie Suwen, in an attempt to clear her name, went up to Yuan Yuquan and greeted him: "Yuquan, you've worked hard. Your high notes were really amazing; I was so excited listening to them backstage."

Yuan Yuquan smiled and gave her a light hug. As they drew close, she whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I envy you too. You had Xue Shaofeng protecting you from the very beginning. Others don't even have the chance to sing a duet with him."

Su Wen was taken aback, but Yuan Yuquan had already walked past her with ease, exchanging pleasantries with the staff.

It turns out that Yuan Yuquan already knew the format of the finals.

Having newcomers sing duets with established, popular singers can inspire newcomers and generate significant buzz, thus boosting viewership. However, this method inherently lacks fairness; the varying popularity of singers will naturally influence the contestants who sing with them.

The day after the top three were selected, the newspapers published the final competition format and announced the pairings of contestants and singers. Among them, the most talked-about was Xue Shaofeng, who hadn't released an album in two years but still had countless die-hard female fans. Many fans who don't usually follow these kinds of talent shows expressed their desire to see Xue Shaofeng make a comeback to the music scene and collaborate with newcomers.

In the recording studio, Nie Suwen felt immense pressure: "What should I do? If I don't sing well, your fans will hunt me down!"

"Relax, sing however you want. If you, a newcomer, sing too well, I'll feel a lot of pressure," Xue Shaofeng joked to comfort her.

After spending more time with him, Suwen discovered that this top star in the entertainment industry was truly down-to-earth. Not only with her, but also with all the other teachers in the recording studio, he was as familiar as a buddy. Perhaps this is the demeanor of a big-name artist. Compared to Xing Manzi's arrogance, this was the senior she truly needed to learn from.