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

No matter how many days have passed.

Sister Lin will never forget that day.

That was a day when she was extremely proud.

As Xu Yao closed the door, she stuffed the documents back into her bag and turned to walk towards the elevator.

She walked slowly, her high heels making little noise on the hallway carpet.

But the corners of her mouth were turned up, a very restrained upturn, as if she was suppressing an inconvenient yet smug smile.

The elevator doors closed, and I finally couldn't take it anymore.

She looked at her reflection in the mirrored elevator wall and let her smile bloom fully.

Then she took the voice recorder out of her pocket and lightly rubbed her thumb on the power button.

Xu Yao, do you think you can control the company just because you have a few recordings in your hands?

Do you think you can turn things around by hiring a lawyer?

Do you think that getting into graduate school will give you a legitimate reason to quit and force the company to give in?

She leaned against the elevator handrail, holding the voice recorder up to her eyes as if it were a newly minted medal.

You're too young and take yourself too seriously.

Sister Lin connected the voice recorder to her phone and started editing the audio.

My fingers flew across the screen, I cut out my own voice, amplified his tone, added echo effects, exported, and uploaded.

She had already come up with the titles for the marketing accounts.

The Voice champion admits: He is selfish and ungrateful.

Sister Lin has learned her lesson this time.

Last time she spoke to Xu Yao, her voice was recorded; this time, she recorded Xu Yao's voice.

Use the way of the person to treat the person's body.

She won't fall into the same trap twice.

The online criticism continued to fester for three whole days.

Xu Yao's Weibo account has been completely overrun; the comment section for his latest post is now unreadable.

The top three most popular comments were all negative.

Some self-media outlets have dug up Xu Yao's "dark history".

During The Voice of China, he asked the production team for special treatment.

He and his mentor Yang Kun violated the program's rules, and the champion is unworthy of his position.

She broke her contract with the company and went solo less than half a year after her debut.

Each one was accompanied by a screenshot; whether it was real or fake didn't matter, what mattered was that it looked real.

Xu Yao has remained silent, offering no response, explanation, statement, or lawyer's letter, not even a vague statement like "the innocent will clear themselves."

On the fifth day, Xu Yao finally posted a Weibo message: "Monday, admitting my mistake."

Sister Lin sat in her office, opened her phone and scrolled through Xu Yao's Weibo posts, then browsed the comment sections of those marketing accounts, before turning off the screen with satisfaction.

She picked up the landline on her desk and dialed the internal line.

"Mr. Liu, have you seen it? The second trending topic, 'The Voice of China champion kicks away the boat,' is still there. It's all organic traffic; we didn't spend a single penny."

Sister Lin spoke in a relaxed tone, with a sense of composure as if "everything is under control".

In reality, Sister Lin must have spent a lot of money hiring online trolls to stir up trouble.

"Mr. Liu, Xu Yao thinks he can really control us just because he has some recordings? I used a little trick to teach him a lesson, and he backed down. He apologized on Monday, and we just have to wait and see."

Mr. Liu was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I saw it. You did a good job this time, but don't be too happy yet. I told you last time that whoever makes the mistake is responsible. No one has settled accounts with you for the mess you made last time. Clean up the mess properly, or you'll be in big trouble."

"Don't worry, Mr. Liu. Within a week, Xu Yao will obediently admit his mistake and return to the tour. What can a fresh graduate like him possibly do?"

Sister Lin switched the phone to her other ear, lowered her voice by half a octave, and uttered a few words slowly and deliberately.

"Unless... he... Xu Yao wants to completely retire from the music scene."

Liu Yifei called that evening.

Xu Yao had just come out of the rehearsal hall when the sound of his phone vibrating was particularly clear in the empty corridor.

"Xiao Yao, come to my house for dinner tonight."

"Sister Sissi, rehearsal went very late today, let's do it another day..."

"It's rare that I'm in such a good mood today, so I'm cooking for myself." Her voice was still soft and sweet. "It's settled then. I'll have the driver pick you up."

Liu Yifei was worried that Xu Yao would be very upset if he was alone and was being criticized online.

When Xu Yao arrived, Liu Yifei was squatting in the yard feeding the cats.

Several orange cats surrounded her feet, burying their heads in their canned food. A tortoiseshell kitten, halfway through its meal, looked up and rubbed against her fingers. She scratched its chin.

"Here, have a bowl of soup first."

She led him to the restaurant, where several home-style dishes were already laid out on the table.

After dinner, Liu Yifei suggested going to the study to sit for a while.

Xu Yao followed her through the corridor.

He had assumed her study would be the kind of private library that celebrities typically have.

The entire wall is covered with mahogany bookshelves, with neat rows of books featuring gilded spines. Each book is a complete set in fine binding, the kind used to create a backdrop.

But when he pushed open the study door, he paused for a moment.

The room wasn't very big, and the bookshelves against the wall didn't have glass doors. The books on the shelves weren't the kind of complete hardcover sets.

Some were worn out with curled corners, some had various labels and stickers stuck in them, and some were inserted horizontally into the gaps between vertical books.

Liu Yifei allowed them to retain the natural posture that had formed after being read and examined many times.

There were several stacks of books, about half a person's height, piled on the carpet, and the books on the coffee table were open and upside down on the surface. There were also a few books on the sofa armrest, as if they had been casually placed there and forgotten to be put away.

Liu Yifei walked to the bookshelf and slowly ran her fingertips along the spines of a row of books.

"Xiao Yao, what exactly are you going to do on Monday?"

Xu Yao leaned against a stack of books, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

There are generally two ways to resolve conflicts.

"One approach is to resolve the issue by having absolute superiority and forcing the opponent to compromise. The prerequisite is that you have a stronger hand than your opponent, with superior background, resources, and connections."

"The second type is the subordinate. The disadvantage of the subordinate is that they have nothing—no background, no resources, no connections, nothing. In fact, this is also the advantage of the subordinate. For the subordinate to confront the superior head-on is basically a dead end. All I can do is prepare everything and wait for the superior to make a mistake."

"Those in positions of power are arrogant, haughty, and disdainful of others, and they will always make mistakes. Only when they make mistakes can I seemingly be forced to retaliate, win the sympathy of netizens, and bring about a huge reversal."

He looked up at Liu Yifei.

"It's like playing cards. My hand is definitely not as good as the company's. I can only wait for the other party to play first, and then counter their moves to have a chance of winning. The company's strength far surpasses mine; that's a fact."

Liu Yifei understood somewhat, and she said, "So, you've been guiding the other party to make the first move all along."

Xu Yao nodded and sighed, "The only force I can rely on is public opinion. Moreover, being forced to retaliate has one advantage: if I fail, there is still room for maneuver."

Liu Yifei looked at him, her brows slightly furrowed.

After a while, she asked a rather blunt question: "Xiao Yao, what have you been through these past few years? Why are you thinking about things like this now...?"

"What is that?"

She didn't answer immediately. She turned her head slightly, shifted her gaze from his face, and looked around the bookshelf.

Then she reached out and pulled a book from the second shelf on the right.

The cover is a plain color, and the corners have creases from repeated reading.

Liu Yifei placed the book on the coffee table and spread it out.

"Have you read this book?" she asked.

Xu Yao looked down and saw the words "Guiguzi" prominently displayed on the cover.

Liu Yifei sat down on the armrest of the sofa, her fingertips lightly twirling the pages of the book, and slowly began to speak: "I always love to read this book during my breaks from filming. Others find it obscure and difficult to understand, but I prefer the ways of life it contains."

Her gaze fell on the pages of the book, and she softly read a passage: "The way of the sage lies in concealment and secrecy. The wise do not use their weaknesses, but use the strengths of the foolish; they do not use their clumsiness, but use the skills of the foolish. The key to success is to control others, not to be controlled by them."

After reading this passage, Liu Yifei closed the book and looked quietly at Xu Yao, her eyes clear and understanding.

"This book teaches that when you are in a weak position, you should not confront others head-on, but rather conceal your strength, observe the situation, wait for the right opportunity, and not rely on or be controlled by others in order to control the overall situation."

"Now you are in a predicament, powerless and in a low position, yet you remain calm and plan step by step, luring the other party to take the initiative, using public opinion to turn the tide, never showing your strength, which is in line with the principles in the book."

Liu Yifei's tone softened, her eyes filled with emotion: "Xiao Yao, at such a young age, you have such a deep and patient mind, knowing how to conceal your talents and wait for the right moment to strike. Such a character far surpasses that of your peers."

Xu Yao remained silent.

Liu Yifei didn't say anything more. She simply turned the page of the book, closed it, and placed it on her lap, as if she was thinking about how to make a summary.

Xu Yao spoke up: "Sister Xixi, you're a resource-backed star. Don't you understand that ordinary people may only have one chance to fight back? You have to be careful. Even if your movies flop for the next few years, you still have a chance to make a comeback."

"My favorite saying is, 'The joy of fighting with those in power is endless.'"

"Is it endlessly pleasurable to fight against those in power?"

Liu Yifei repeated the sentence; of course she knew its origin. She put the book back on the coffee table.

Xu Yao stood up, thanked Liu Yifei for her kindness, and said, "Sister Qianqian, I have to go now. I do have something urgent to do."

Knowing that Xu Yao was prepared, Liu Yifei felt much more at ease. She also knew that he needed to seize the time to deal with the situation in the next few days, so she didn't try to stop him any longer: "Xiao Yao, then I'm looking forward to your big counterattack on Monday."

"To be honest, I'm really looking forward to it too. Let's start from Monday and see what happens, whether it's a success or a failure."

Xu Yao waved and turned to leave.