Chinese Entertainment King: Starting as a Fat Boy and Becoming a Singing King

After a day of competition, Xu Yao collapsed on the bedside table, completely exhausted.

The phone rang, and Xu Yao answered it without even looking at who it was, weakly saying, "Feed."

Wu Qian's angry and accusatory voice immediately came from the other end of the phone: "Xu Yao! What exactly do you mean?"

Xu Yao was baffled: "What do you mean?"

"How dare you ask me that?"

Wu Qian's voice suddenly rose, filled with anger.

"Didn't I clearly tell you last time not to exploit me, not to drag me into your affairs? And you immediately bought trending topics, using the breakup to get attention, deliberately targeting me, didn't you?"

Xu Yao laughed angrily upon hearing this: "I didn't buy the trending topics; the production team manipulated them for the sake of popularity. It has nothing to do with me. I never mentioned any personal feelings to the production team from beginning to end, let alone you."

"It has nothing to do with you? Nobody would believe you!"

Wu Qian didn't believe it at all, her tone full of disdain and dissatisfaction, every word barbed.

"I really didn't expect you to become such a petty and scheming person. It's just a breakup, why are you holding a grudge and having to use this method to step on me to gain popularity and boost your own fame? Xu Yao, can't you have some self-respect?"

Xu Yao's tone turned colder, tinged with impatience: "Are you done talking? I'm hanging up."

"Don't hang up! I haven't finished speaking!"

Wu Qian hurriedly called out to him, afraid that she wouldn't have time to speak like last time.

Her tone was urgent and flustered, revealing her inherent competitiveness and anxiety.

"I'm currently filming 'My Sunshine' in Shanghai. This is an important role that I finally got. The company has said that I'll definitely become famous after this drama airs. It's my first breakthrough role in the entertainment industry, the one that will allow me to truly establish myself. I absolutely can't afford to make any mistakes!"

"So?" Xu Yao asked.

"Xu Yao, you finally gained some fame through the talent show, and now we're both doing well. I hope you'll behave yourself and stop messing around with these trivial matters. Focus on the important things. Please don't drag me into this, okay?"

As Xu Yao listened to her words, which were all about her career and her future, the last ripple of the past in his heart completely disappeared.

"After we broke up, I had several other relationships. Don't be so presumptuous as to think that you are my ex."

"What?" Wu Qian couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "You even got a girlfriend later?"

Xu Yao didn't bother to explain: "Don't worry, no matter what, your name will never appear in any media reports about me on my ex list."

"You go your path to stardom, I'll live my carefree life. Block me."

Before Wu Qian could respond, Xu Yao hung up the phone and blocked her.

"I'm so angry... He dared to hang up on me again. Xu Yao has not only gotten fatter, but he's also gotten bolder." Wu Qian gritted her teeth in anger.

Xu Yao lay there for a full half hour before regaining his strength. His body was so weak; he was truly distressed.

The day after the recording of the top 8 to 4 round of Yang Kun's group ended, the top 4 contestants were taken directly to Shanghai.

The bus departed from Jiaxing and drove for more than an hour before stopping in front of a four-star hotel in Pudong.

The location is remote, with no commercial areas nearby, and the nearest convenience store is a 15-minute walk away.

When Xu Yao walked into the lobby with his suitcase, the front desk had already prepared the room key.

"From today onwards, you will live here."

The accompanying staff stood in the middle of the lobby, holding a printed set of management regulations, and read them aloud one by one.

"First, you cannot leave the house without permission; you must report it before leaving and will be accompanied by staff. Second, your mobile phones will still be kept in custody. Third, there will be room checks every night at 11 PM; everyone must be in their rooms during these checks."

After reading the message, the staff member looked up at the four tired yet excited faces: "Any more questions?"

Yu Feng raised his hand: "Can I order takeout?"

"cannot."

Chen Yongxin asked softly, "Can I receive packages?"

"Yes, but the package needs to be inspected by our staff."

Xu Yao remained silent.

He leaned against a pillar in the hotel lobby, his newly acquired phone still displaying the last message Zhou Shen had sent.

"Brother Yao, I advanced! Teacher Qi Qin said I've improved a lot!"

"Xu Yao," a staff member called out to him.

"Um."

"You can hand in your phone now; it will be managed centrally during training."

Xu Yao glanced at him and handed him the phone.

The staff took the phone, turned off the screen, and put it into a storage box labeled "Yang Kun's Group Top Four".

Chen Yongxin watched as her phone was taken away, her lips pursed slightly, but she didn't say anything.

For the next period of time, the four people were confined to this hotel in the suburbs of Shanghai. They were not allowed to go home or go out on their own, and their mobile phones and social media platforms were strictly controlled by the production team.

My daily schedule is packed full.

The morning consists of vocal lessons and vocal exercises.

The vocal coach was a woman in her fifties surnamed Li. She was said to have coached many popular singers. She spoke softly, but every word she uttered hit the nail on the head.

Her assessment of Xu Yao was: "Your mid-low range is the best I've heard in years, but your breath support isn't enough, and your throat tends to rise in the high register."

Xu Yao knew she was right; the system had unlocked the Angry Voice, but his body couldn't keep up.

Despite weighing 120 kilograms and having her lung capacity improved by the system, she still struggles with continuous high-intensity singing.

Yang Kun would come occasionally, sit in the corner on a folding chair, and listen with his arms crossed.

After listening, he would say a few words, sometimes to Xu Yao, sometimes to everyone. His tone was not like that of a mentor, but more like that of a kind older brother chatting.

Evenings are for self-practice singing and reviewing.

From 7:30 to 10:00, everyone practices singing in their own room. They are not allowed to visit other rooms or go out. The only entertainment is the TV in their room.

Days passed one by one.

Friday, January 9th.

It was the day that the 8-to-4 round of Yang Kun's team aired.

A projector was set up in the hotel conference room, and the four finalists were called together to watch the live broadcast.

This is a requirement of the production team; trainees must watch their own matches broadcast to facilitate subsequent promotional activities.

It's also a form of encouragement, letting you see where you've come from and that there's still a long way to go.

The competition to narrow down the contestants from 8 to 4 started promptly at 9:10 PM.

After Hua Shao's opening remarks, the camera cuts to the stage.

It's the fourth group's turn.

In the video, Xu Yao stands in the center of the stage, with a spotlight shining on him.

A 250-pound fat man, wearing a dark shirt, stood in front of the microphone, looking like a mountain.

After watching, everyone gave Xu Yao a thumbs up.

The next day, it became a trending topic: #XuYao'sOneTear#, followed by the word "Explosive".

The four trainees viewed the information via a tablet provided by staff.

Chen Yongxin exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Yao! Your clip has already surpassed 20 million views!"

This data surprised Xu Yao.

Twenty million—he knew very well what that number meant. For a contestant to achieve this level of single play count on The Voice of China stage was basically a sign of breaking into the mainstream.

In the rehearsal room, Yang Kun sat on a folding chair in the corner, holding his phone and waving at Xu Yao.

"Xu Yao, come here."

Xu Yao put down the microphone and walked over.

Yang Kun handed him his phone: "Take a look at this."

The phone screen displays a screenshot of Weibo's trending topics list.

#The Voice of China Yang Kun's team's audition ratings surpassed the first episode of this season# — Ranked 3rd on the trending topics list

#XuYao'sOneTear# — #1 on the trending searches

Yang Kun couldn't help but pat Xu Yao on the shoulder and praise him.

"A furious voice, a tear, and the ratings reached 3.5."

"The production team held a celebration party this morning. Jin Lei said that this episode was the most unexpected one for him in the three seasons he has worked on The Voice of China."

He swiped the screen and turned to another page.

Popularity chart for The Voice of China Season 9 (as of September 13)

Ranked #1: Cheng Bing, Na Ying Group

Ranked 2nd: Zhou Shen, Qi Qin Group

Ranked 3rd: Zhang Bichen, Na Ying Group

Ranked 4th: Xu Yao, Yang Kun's group

Ranked 5th: Chen Leqi, Wang Feng's group

Ranked 6th: Chen Yongxin and Yang Kun's group

……

Xu Yao stared at the name ranked fourth and remained silent for two seconds.

Did I accidentally drop to fourth place in the rankings?

I haven't even completely lost weight yet!

Ultimately, we have to thank the production team for generating buzz and buying trending topics in advance.

Yang Kun jokingly asked, "You're a 250-pound fat guy, and you went from eleventh to fourth place, how does that feel?"

"I want to be number one." Xu Yao made no attempt to hide his ambition.

Yang Kun looked at him, paused for a moment, then smiled: "I think it's good, first place. But you're already fourth in popularity, there's still a chance to climb higher."

He swiped the screen and scrolled to the comments page: "Here, let me read you some comments from netizens."

"When Xu Yao sang 'All of Me,' I was eating instant noodles. I didn't even notice when the noodles got cold after hearing that angry line. — This comment got 5 likes."

"I've been a music teacher for fifteen years, and Xu Yao's angry voice wasn't something he practiced; it was innate. A voice like that only comes along once every twenty years. — This comment has 3 likes."

"I've been heartbroken for six months and still can't get over it. When I heard Xu Yao say, 'In the end, I still lost you,' I cried in bed all night. —This comment has 4 likes."

"The entire internet is searching for Xu Yao's ex-girlfriend. But what if they find her? Xu Yao has moved on, but netizens can't. — This comment has 2 likes."

"Xu Yao's single tear boosted The Voice of China's ratings to over 3. The production team should give him a bonus. — This comment has 3 likes."

Of course, some knowledgeable netizens commented: From the song's perspective, this adaptation is actually destructive and downgraded. However, the adapted version can be treated as a different song, suitable for competition. I can only say that Fatty Xu understands competitions very well and knows what the audience likes to watch; what a cunning guy!

After reading the last message, Yang Kun put down his phone and looked at Xu Yao.

"Now you know how famous you are, right? One tear from you made you a legend on the stage of 'The Voice'."