How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 459: Panic and no choice of road
With the arrival of the new year, the popularity of Future Girls' new album has been snowballing, growing higher and higher every day, and has become the most watched presence in the entire music industry.

Their information has practically taken over the homepage recommendations of major music platforms and the headlines of entertainment news. Even veteran producers in the industry have exclaimed on social media: "It's been a long time since I've seen a girl group with such a strong appeal."

With only two days left until the official release, the album pre-orders have once again brought good news. According to data released by Huaxia Music platform, the new album has accumulated more than one million pre-orders in just five days, setting a record for the fastest pre-order of a domestic girl group album to reach one million copies.

To celebrate this milestone, the platform specially designed a celebratory poster, describing the pre-order frenzy as a "nationwide celebration." The number "1,000,000+" in the center of the poster is particularly eye-catching, while the background shows the five girls from the future in a recording booth, creating a warm and infectious atmosphere.

As soon as the poster was released, it was immediately shared by fans to promote the new album, and related topics quickly rose to the top of the trending search list.

The official statement from Aoli Apparel further amplified the buzz surrounding this event.

The brand posted a long article on its official Weibo account, not only showcasing the latest endorsement photos of Future Girls, but also officially announcing the "Buy Aoli Apparel and Get a Free Future Girls New Album" campaign, specifying that 100,000 albums will be given away, covering all online and offline stores nationwide, on a first-come, first-served basis.

As soon as the news broke, the topic of "Aoli Apparel giving away 100,000 albums" became a trending topic, and the number of visits to Aoli's official website increased tenfold. As a result, the clothing items worn by the five members Zhao Tong, Zhang Jiajia, Cheng Sisi, Chen Silu, and Su Jin in the promotional photos were instantly bombarded with inquiries from netizens, and customer service representatives were practically typing away on their keyboards.

Amidst this wave of attention, the most embarrassed and uneasy party is not the Golden Melody Awards organizing committee, which was exposed for shady dealings, nor Li Lehua, the general manager of Tianxi Media, whose efforts to suppress the competition failed, but rather the idol reality show "Super Trainee," which will hold its finale on the 7th.

As we all know, the five members of the now incredibly popular Future Girls—Zhao Tong, Zhang Jiajia, Cheng Sisi, Chen Silu, and Su Jin—all participated in the show "Super Trainee" before, but were all eliminated in the first round.

The mentors' evaluation at the time was that the singing skills were "lacking" and the stage presence was "insufficient." Perhaps because of these comments, viewers cast their votes for other trainees.

This experience became the most regrettable part of the members' past before their debut.

However, nowadays, Future Girls has won the Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist Group, and their debut song has been voted by netizens as one of the top ten songs of 2025. They are even on the Music Billboard chart now.

The trainees who fought their way to the finals of "Super Trainee" are still striving to become members of the "Super Girl" group. To date, they do not have a single hit song, and their individual popularity is far less than that of the members of Future Girls.

This stark contrast made "Super Trainee" a target of ridicule across the internet.

The comment section of the official Weibo account, in particular, is full of netizens' jokes.

"They mistook pearls for fish eyes back then, and now they want to compare fish eyes to pearls? How ridiculous!"

"I suggest renaming 'Super Trainee' to 'Super Blind.' How can they have the nerve to continue producing a gem like Future Girls 2019 after missing out on such a talent?"

"After watching Future Girls' performance, watching Super Trainee's performance was simply boring."

"Doesn't the production team feel ashamed? Do the mentors feel ashamed?"

"..."

The comments from netizens have brought unprecedented pressure to the upcoming finals, which will be broadcast live online.

If the nine trainees selected in the finals don't perform as well as Future Girls do now, and if the 'Super Girls' group that the show heavily promotes doesn't develop as well as Future Girls, then both the production team and the five mentors will become a laughing stock.

Many netizens even believe that the coincidence between the official release date of Future Girls' new album and the broadcast date of the "Super Trainee" finale is definitely not a coincidence, but a carefully planned arrangement to slap the "Super Trainee" program in the face.

"Think about it, why did they choose to release it on the day of the 'Super Trainee' finale? Isn't that just telling everyone, 'You eliminated me back then, but now I'm a hundred times better than the people you promoted'?"

"Maybe Teacher Zhang Wen had already calculated the timing, just to show the production team how excellent the trainees they gave up are now."

"Suddenly, I feel like this show is a bit of a joke. The most talented people were eliminated in the first round. Do you guys think there might be some behind-the-scenes manipulation involved?"

"..."

For a time, even the most loyal viewers began to waver, feeling that after watching the show over and over again, they had ultimately just been watching a joke.

What worried the production team even more was that the finale did not achieve the expected level of popularity.

Despite the controversies surrounding "Super Trainee," it has always been a hot commodity in the variety show scene. Thanks to the high looks of the trainees, the popularity of the mentors, and the tension brought by the 'elimination system,' its popularity has consistently ranked among the top three variety shows.

In preparation for the finale, the production team started building hype half a month in advance, releasing a documentary about the trainees' closed training and revealing the stage design of the final stage, in an attempt to bring higher popularity to the show.

However, since the Future Girls' Golden Melody Awards were hacked and topics such as pre-orders for their new album exceeding one million emerged one after another, the popularity of "Super Trainee" has plummeted like a punctured balloon.

On Weibo, the number of views for Super Trainee was far behind that of Future Girls; on short videos, the number of likes for the trainees' performance clips was even less than the number of likes for Future Girls' appearances at commercial events.

This has left the production team, who should have been watching with a smile, in a state of constant anxiety under the influence of the future girl's popularity.

The office of the vice president of iQiyi Video.

"Snapped!"

Feng Xinghai slammed his fist hard on the solid wood desk, making the teacup clang loudly.

He stared at the trending headline "Future Girls' New Album Pre-orders Exceed One Million" on his computer screen, his eyes bloodshot and the veins on his forehead bulging.

"Two hundred million! We spent two hundred million on this variety show, and its popularity is still lower than that of the people who were eliminated in the first round! Tell me what happened!" Feng Xinghai's voice was full of suppressed anger, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

Director Chen Peng stood in front of his desk, clutching the schedule for the finals in his hand, his knuckles white and trembling slightly.

"President Feng, there's been so much talk about Future Girls lately, it's trending on social media every other day, and our finals aren't getting any attention at all," Chen Peng explained quietly.

"Can't get on? You're the show's director!" Feng Xinghai glared angrily, then shoved the tablet on the table at him, saying sarcastically, "Look at the netizens' comments, 'You've eliminated the best trainees, and you're still putting on an act?' That sentence has over 60,000 likes. You've been filming the show for half a year, and you're just letting people trample on you like this? Are you willing to accept that?"

Chen Peng hurriedly caught the tablet, glancing at the comments on the screen.

These days, netizens really have nothing better to do than discuss the strength comparison between Future Girls and other trainees in "Super Trainee".

Some people dug up the elimination video of Future Girls when they participated in "Super Trainee" and compared it with their current stage performance at the New Year's Eve gala. The comments section was unanimously criticizing the production team for being blind, and of course, the director as well.

Chen Peng felt wronged.

As the show's director, didn't he see the talent of Chen Silu and the others? Of course he did, but who advanced and who was eliminated wasn't up to him.

He secretly glanced at Feng Xinghai in front of him and thought to himself: If you hadn't taken revenge back then and eliminated Chen Silu and the others instead of inviting them, would all this mess have happened now?

But he only dared to think these words in his heart and never dared to say them out loud.

Cannibals have short mouths and short hands.

"Mr. Feng, how about... we postpone the finals by two days? To avoid the day Future Girls release their album?" Chen Peng suggested after a moment's hesitation.

He's been racking his brains lately trying to figure out how to avoid being outdone by the future girls, and after much thought, he thinks changing the date of the finals is the best solution.

Of course, netizens will still use this as a basis for comparison, but at least it avoided direct confrontation.

"Postponed?" Feng Xinghai sneered. "Easy for you to say. The advertisers' schedules, the live streaming platform's resources, and the mentors' schedules were all set for the 7th. Now you're telling me to change the time? Who will pay the penalty for breach of contract? Besides, if we back out, wouldn't that be admitting that we're afraid of Future Girls?"

Chen Peng shuddered, his back soaked with cold sweat, and he inwardly groaned.

Trying to shift the blame onto him again? His small frame can't carry that weight. Even if you dismembered him, you still couldn't afford the breach of contract penalty.

"Then we can only increase the publicity." Chen Peng didn't want to take the blame, so he could only say, "I'll ask the production team to make the trailer for the trainees' final stage even more exciting, and find a few top bloggers to help repost it. If that doesn't work, I'll find some marketing accounts to stir up some rumors and say that the pre-order data for Future Girls is inflated?"

"Are you out of your mind?" Feng Xinghai rolled his eyes at the other person and said irritably, "The pre-order data comes from the sales platform. You say the pre-order data is inflated, which means there's something wrong with the platform. Are you trying to create another formidable enemy for us? Also, Aoli Clothing alone has pre-ordered 100,000 units. Tell me how you say it's inflated?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Peng immediately fell silent and stopped offering advice. Since nothing he said would be right, he decided to remain silent.

It's not wrong to keep quiet, is it?

Feng Xinghai got up and paced around the office. After a while, he looked at Chen Peng and said, "What are you standing there for? Say something! Don't you have a lot of ideas?"

"..." Chen Peng's lips twitched involuntarily; at this moment, he felt like dying.

I can't say anything, and I can't not say anything either. How am I supposed to live?

Seeing that Chen Peng still didn't speak, Feng Xinghai cursed him as a good-for-nothing in his heart, then continued pacing impatiently, like an old donkey pulling a millstone, making Chen Peng dizzy and wanting to buy an eye mask.

A few minutes later, Feng Xinghai finally stopped and said in a deep voice, "Now we must find a way to stabilize the situation. There are still two days until the 7th. You need to do three things immediately: First, have the public relations department contact professionals in the music industry and issue a notice in advance praising our trainees' stage performance for being innovative and having potential."

"Second, reveal the debut benefits of the 'Super Girl' group in advance, such as holding a fan meeting after debut, to attract more viewers."

"Third, keep an eye on Zhang Wen's movements. If he does anything else to promote his show, report to me immediately. I don't believe that someone who is suppressed even in his own company can steal our thunder. On the 7th, we must make sure that the popularity of 'Super Trainee' surpasses that of Future Girls."

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements right now." Chen Peng was overjoyed and nodded quickly, then turned to leave.

He just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

"Wait!" Feng Xinghai suddenly called out to them again.

Chen Peng paused, his nerves, which had just relaxed, instantly tensed up again.

Feng Xinghai warned with an unfriendly expression, "Pay attention, and don't mess things up again. If the hype surrounding the finals is still suppressed, there's no point in us continuing our cooperation."

Chen Peng's heart tightened, but in the end he could only helplessly agree and walk out of the office dejectedly.

Feng Xinghai returned to his desk and sat down, scratching his hair in frustration. He knew that public relations and publicity alone might not be enough to suppress the popularity of Future Girls; he needed to find someone who could keep Zhang Wen in check.

After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone, found Li Lehua's number in his contacts, and dialed it.

Since the other party is Zhang Wen's superior and the head of the company that Future Girls belongs to, perhaps they can find a way to change the current awkward and passive situation of "Super Trainee".

Soon, the call was connected.

"Hello, is this Mr. Li? This is Feng Xinghai from iQiyi Video." Feng Xinghai introduced himself, trying to keep his tone calm.

"Mr. Feng, is there something you need?" Li Lehua's cold voice came from the phone, sounding like he was in a bad mood.

“That’s right.” Feng Xinghai didn’t care about the other party’s attitude and said directly, “I heard that Future Girls’ new album is scheduled to be released on the 7th, which happens to be the final of our iQiyi video program, Super Trainee. There are comparisons all over the internet right now, and I think this is not good for either side.”

Feng Xinghai paused for a moment before continuing, "Look, could you talk to Zhang Wen and ask him to postpone the album release date by a few days? Just do me a favor. In the future, when iQiyi has variety show resources, they will definitely give priority to artists from your Tianxi Media."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Li Lehua's angry roar came through the receiver: "Feng Xinghai! Are you mocking me?"

Feng Xinghai was startled and quickly explained, "President Li, you misunderstood. I genuinely wanted to ask you for help. I didn't mean anything else. In any case, Zhang Wen is an employee of Tianxi Media, and Future Girl is also an artist of Tianxi Media. I believe that as long as you ask, Zhang Wen will definitely do as you say. In that case, our popularity will not affect each other, which is good for everyone."

Li Lehua sneered. She wasn't unaware of online entertainment news; how could she not know what the other party was planning?
Do their popularity levels not affect each other?

Well said!

Perhaps the show is affected and can't take it anymore?

"President Feng, I'm powerless to help you. You should think of other solutions," Li Lehua said. If that Zhang guy and the future girl could listen to him, would she still need to suppress them? She would have changed the contract back long ago.

But she couldn't say these things; if she did, it would make it seem like she couldn't even control the artists in her own company, which would be too embarrassing.

Feng Xinghai frowned. He knew about the conflict between the other party and Zhang Wen, so he deliberately provoked them by saying, "President Li, you can't even manage the artists in your own company, can you?"

"Whether I can control it or not is none of your business!" Li Lehua's face quickly darkened.

Feng Xinghai continued, "That Zhang fellow has embarrassed you multiple times, clearly showing he doesn't respect you. If you tolerate this, what will others think? They'll think anyone will dare to oppose you in the future."

“…” Li Lehua fell silent.

She felt the same way, but she had no choice.

The two attempts to suppress the issue not only failed to achieve any results, but also resulted in a loss of over 20 million yuan in compensation. It was a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead, and suffering a double loss.

They say you learn from your mistakes, and she's already learned her lesson twice. She'll never take the initiative to attack again unless she's absolutely certain.

Feng Xinghai noticed Li Lehua's wavering and said, "President Li, is Tianxi Media in charge of producing Future Girls' album? If you want their album to be released a few days later, you don't necessarily have to find that guy surnamed Zhang. Just slow down the production process a little, wouldn't that be enough?"

Li Lehua was stunned for a moment. This method could indeed suppress Zhang Wen's arrogance, but...

"What if he asks? How am I supposed to explain?"

"This is just normal practice to control the quality of the album, to make the production process more rigorous, and to be responsible to consumers."

“Mr. Feng, your idea is quite good, but according to my understanding, we have already produced more than one million albums and started shipping them all over the country. Even if things slow down now, it won’t affect the release on the 7th,” Li Lehua said.

"What?" Feng Xinghai exclaimed in surprise.

Such a large quantity means that before the pre-orders even started, that person surnamed Zhang had already produced at least hundreds of thousands of albums.
As a new singer, you usually prepare very little when releasing your first album, and then decide whether to increase the quantity based on the market response.

Zhang Wen's act of producing large quantities without checking the pre-order numbers is simply outrageous.

It's over, completely over.

He also planned to use iQiyi's resources to make an exchange with Li Lehua, and now it seems that he can't be stopped.

"I see."

Feng Xinghai lost interest in continuing the conversation and hung up the phone, his expression becoming even more unpleasant than before.

He stared at his phone, which had already gone black, and suddenly started cursing.

"Li Lehua, you're a piece of trash! You can't even manage the artists in your own company, what kind of general manager are you? Go eat shit!"

"..."

"Ah!"

Li Lehua sneezed and rubbed her nose. Without a doubt, it was that bastard Feng Xinghai talking badly about her behind her back.

How can you blame her?
The only one to blame is that woman surnamed Feng herself. If she had made that call a month earlier, she probably wouldn't have asked Chairman Zheng to suppress Zhang Wen, and there wouldn't have been a series of troubles afterward.

He only loosened his belt when he was about to poop; what was he doing all this time? Serves him right for spitting out his pants.

snort!
……

(End of this chapter)