33: Chapter 33 S-Rank Compatibility! The Guest Performer for Revenge

Inside the Studio, the recording was still ongoing.

Hua Xingyu sat in the judge's seat.

The gazes shooting from the audience behind him made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

At 11:00 PM, the recording ended.

The final rankings were announced.

Relying on Hua Xingyu's perfect score and a very high total judge score, Lu Ming ranked first with 768 points.

Jiang Fan scored 758 points, placing second.

Zhao Tianyu was third.

Although he didn't take first place, the 498 votes from the public jury were the true crown of the night.

The next day at 9:30 AM.

The official account of the show posted on Weibo.

"Tomorrows Star · Guest Singer Battle rules announced: Each contestant in the Solo Track must invite an officially signed artist from the Chinese music scene as a guest singer to complete an original work together. The guest singer must be registered 48 hours before the recording..."

The number of retweets exceeded 100,000 in half an hour.

In the comment section, Jiang Fan's fans were collectively anxious.

"Who is Brother Xiao Chou going to find to sing with him? Does he even know anyone in the industry?"

"Officially signed artist... Is this threshold set to intentionally block him?"

"Zhao Tianyu has Times Media, Lu Ming has Shenghai Capital, Brother Xiao Chou is just a lone soldier!"

In Shanghai, on the top floor of the Shenghai Entertainment building.

Cao Qiming smashed the tablet in his hand heavily against the wall.

Hua Xingyu stood in front of the desk, his shoulders shrinking in fear.

"Trash!"

Cao Qiming pointed at his nose.

"Do you know how the internet is cursing you now? Deaf judge! Do you know how much money the company spent to build your professional persona, and it was all ruined in one night!"

Hua Xingyu gritted his teeth.

"CEO Cao, that Jiang Fan is too weird—"

"Weird?"

Cao Qiming sneered.

"Being pointed at in the face and told your ears have problems, you call that weird? That's just you being stupid!"

Hua Xingyu dared not talk back.

After a few seconds, a gleam flashed in his eyes.

"CEO Cao, the rules for the Guest Singer Battle are that the contestants invite the guests themselves. What if... he can't invite anyone?"

Cao Qiming picked up his coffee and took a sip.

"You want to blacklist his outside help?"

"It's not called blacklisting."

Hua Xingyu lowered his voice.

"Just say a word to a few talent agencies in the industry. Whoever's artist accepts Jiang Fan's invitation to sing, they will be bypassed for all future announcements, variety shows, and film/TV resources from Shenghai Entertainment."

Cao Qiming put down his coffee cup and tapped his fingers on the desk three times.

"Too small-minded."

Hua Xingyu was stunned.

"No need to say anything."

Cao Qiming leaned back in his chair, his tone very flat.

"Have the marketing department issue the sponsorship contracts for three variety shows for the next quarter in advance."

"Add an exclusivity clause to the contract—artists who want to participate in projects sponsored by Shenghai Entertainment cannot appear in competing programs in the form of guest singers or supporting performers during the recording period."

Hua Xingyu blinked twice.

This move was ten times cleaner than what he had thought of.

There was no need to offend any talent agency; it was just a normal commercial contract with a reasonable exclusivity clause.

But the effect was the same.

"I want him to be unable to even scrape together a guest singer for the next round."

Hua Xingyu straightened his body.

"Understood."

In Shenzhen, at the hotel entrance.

A black Toyota Alphard slid in front of Jiang Fan.

The car door opened, and Li Cheng sat in the passenger seat, waving at him.

"Get in."

Jiang Fan glanced at the license plate and stepped into the back seat.

The carriage was very dark.

Besides him, there was another person sitting in the back row.

A loose black trench coat, a baseball cap pulled very low, and a face mask covering half of her face; the whole person was huddled in the corner of the seat.

Jiang Fan leaned against the seat back without speaking.

Li Cheng turned his head and sighed.

"Jiang Fan, let me introduce you. Shen Nian."

Jiang Fan's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

The system panel popped up at the edge of his vision.

[Target: Shen Nian]

[Height: 165cm]

[Weight: 40kg]

[Appearance: 8.5 points]

[Compatibility: S]

[Status: Severe depression, vital signs extremely unstable.]

Shen Nian slowly took off her mask, revealing a pale face.

Her features were exquisite, and her bone structure was excellent.

But the heavy dark circles under her eyes and her thin jawline ruined the original beauty.

Li Cheng lit a cigarette, and the car window opened a crack.

"A year ago, Hua Xingyu won first place in Tomorrows Star with an original hit song, 'starry sky,' and soared directly to become a top celebrity."

"But that song wasn't written by him at all."

Jiang Fan didn't speak, waiting for the rest.

Li Cheng exhaled a puff of smoke.

"The lyrics, music, and Arrangement were all Shen Nian's."

"Shen Nian was a signed trainee at Shenghai Entertainment at the time and was also Hua Xingyu's junior apprentice."

"Hua Xingyu discovered her creative talent and stole her notebook."

Li Cheng flicked the cigarette ash.

"By the time Shen Nian discovered it, 'starry sky' had already been copyrighted. The signature was Hua Xingyu."

Beside him, Shen Nian kept her head down, her hands folded on her knees.

Her nails sank into the fabric of her pants, pinching white marks into the black cloth.

Shen Nian spoke, her voice very soft.

"I went to the company to ask for an explanation. Cao Qiming's exact words were that Hua Xingyu has commercial value, and I don't."

"They not only suppressed the matter but also bit back, saying that I stole Hua Xingyu's original work, and they blacklisted me across the entire internet."

She paused for a moment.

"Hua Xingyu's fans doxxed my address, sent me dead rats, and made harassing phone calls."

"later, I was diagnosed with severe depression. For this past year, I haven't even been able to leave the house."

Jiang Fan examined Shen Nian with his gaze.

"Why are you looking for me?"

Shen Nian looked up, her bloodshot eyes staring straight at Jiang Fan.

"I want to take back what belongs to me."

Jiang Fan's fingers tapped lightly on his knees.

"Do you have evidence?"

"Yes."

Shen Nian took a USB drive out of her trench coat pocket.

"The original creative files, modification records, and timestamps are all inside."

Jiang Fan picked up the USB drive and held it in his hand, looking at it for two seconds.

"You kept this for a year, didn't go directly to a lawyer, didn't post on Weibo?"

Shen Nian didn't speak, her eyes reddening.

Li Cheng coughed lightly in the front, signaling Jiang Fan with his eyes not to ask anymore.

Jiang Fan put the USB drive into his pocket.

He looked at Shen Nian.

"Can you still go on stage to sing?"

Shen Nian was stunned.

"Yes."

Li Cheng hurriedly said from the side: "Shen Nian, think clearly. Once you appear, that matter from back then will definitely be dug up. Hua Xingyu's fans and Shenghai Entertainment's PR team will tear you to pieces."

Jiang Fan stared at her for three seconds.

Then he turned to Li Cheng.

"What is her current status?"

"Unilaterally terminated by Shenghai Entertainment, not signed with any company."

"So she is not an officially signed artist."

Li Cheng nodded.

Jiang Fan leaned back in his seat, fingers tapping the edge of the car window unconsciously.

The condition for a guest singer—an officially signed artist in the Chinese music scene.

Shen Nian is not one now.

But what if she were?

"Brother Li."

Jiang Fan spoke, his tone flat.

"Help me check how long it takes at the fastest to register a personal music Studio in Shanghai."

Li Cheng was stunned.

His expression changed.

"You want to—"

"Register a Studio and sign her under my name."

Li Cheng stared at Jiang Fan for a full five seconds.

He extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand, took out his phone, and started dialing.

"Old Zhou, help me check the registration process for music Studios in Shenzhen... Yes, rush it."

After hanging up, Li Cheng turned his head.

"The fastest we can get the business license is tomorrow afternoon. Plus the process of artist contract filing, it will just hit the 48-hour deadline."

Jiang Fan nodded.

"Do it."

Shen Nian had been looking at Jiang Fan.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

Her throat felt like it was blocked by something.

In the end, she just closed her mouth and nodded forcefully.

Meanwhile.

Shenghai Capital's exclusivity contract had already been sent out silently.

On Jiang Fan's phone, a new message popped up.

Xu Qingya.

"Regarding the Guest Singer Battle, Shenghai Entertainment has put the word out in the industry. Many people don't dare to accept your invitation."

"Do you need me to help you find one?"

Jiang Fan looked at it for a few seconds and typed two words.

"No need."

"?"

"I have someone already."

The dialogue box was quiet for ten seconds.

Xu Qingya sent another one.

"Who? A man or a woman?"

Jiang Fan put his phone back in his pocket and didn't reply.