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

Chapter 92 Returning to Where the Dream Began

The next day, Xu Yao returned to Wuhan to await the company's final reply.

When he pushed open the door, Xu Yao stood in the doorway for a few seconds.

Bai Lu stood behind him, insisting on following him, and looked into the room following his gaze.

The living room curtains were half-drawn, letting in a dim, hazy light.

Empty wine bottles were scattered everywhere – on the coffee table, on the floor, and in the corners of the walls. Some were still standing upright, while others had fallen over, with their openings facing different directions.

Several pages of handwritten sheet music lay spread out on the edge of the table, with chord progressions and fragmented lyrics scribbled on them.

Bai Lu bent down, picked up a crumpled piece of paper from the ground, unfolded it, and found the same lyric written on it, repeated more than a dozen times, with each repetition having a different phrasing.

"You haven't terminated the lease on this apartment?"

"I was reluctant to leave before, but now I'm here to put an end to it."

Xu Yao went inside, pulled back the curtains, and sunlight rushed in, swirling dust particles in the light.

Bai Lu placed the wad of paper on the table and slowly scanned the room with his gaze.

Then Bai Lu finally learned the name of Xu Yao's ex-girlfriend—Wu Qian. Without any hesitation, Bai Lu easily found Wu Qian's photos online.

"I must say, it really is beautiful." Zi Lu put the photo back where it belonged, her tone very objective.

"It's alright," Xu Yao said in a flat tone.

Bai Lu turned around, his gaze suddenly fixed on something.

The wall she was facing was covered with white paper.

They weren't just sticky notes; they were neatly arranged in rows, like battle maps, chess scores, or as if someone had drawn all the possible routes on the wall in advance.

Each sheet of paper has the same format: at the top is a title, below it are several lines of key points, and at the bottom is a target date circled in red.

The first item in the first column: "Registering Song Copyrights".

Below it reads: "Compile original demos, select works with high popularity, register online with the China Copyright Protection Center, and retain the original recording timestamp." A smaller note next to it states: "This must be completed before the competition to prevent the program team from asserting their rights."

The second image: "Participating in The Voice of China". The process includes: audition registration → audition session → blind auditions → choosing a mentor. Three asterisks are placed next to "choosing a mentor".

The third image shows a team advancing to the top eight. It is labeled "Stage Design + Song Selection + Audience Emotional Trigger Points," and next to it is a stage sketch, showing the positions, lighting zones, and distances to camera positions.

Fifth: Winning the Championship. Keywords: Song selection strategy, final song, pre-competition media hype.

Sixth step: Contract termination preparation. Preparation includes: recorded phone calls, hospital medical records, performance records, original contract, and hiring a lawyer.

The seventh item: Contract termination, contract termination through litigation, high-level negotiations.

Seventh photo: Appearing on the Spring Festival Gala.

Eighth: Release an album.

"My God, you—did you plan all of this in advance?"

Bai Lu found it unbelievable, and for the first time in his life, he felt his hair stand on end.

Xu Yao looked at that wall.

That was the plan he completed after spending several nights in this room following his rebirth into this world.

The system endowed him with certain abilities, as well as all of Xu Yao's memories and regrets, making him the Xu Yao who had just signed up for The Voice of China, and allowing him to retrace the path Xu Yao had taken.

"Little Deer," Xu Yao spoke, "what you saw wasn't how capable a person is. On the contrary, it was someone being extremely cautious, walking on thin ice."

"What do you mean?" Bai Lu asked, puzzled.

"For ordinary people like us to achieve success, the hardest part is actually taking the first one hundred steps. Many people never finish this journey in their entire lives. Because if you make a mistake on any of those steps, you have to start all over again."

After Xu Yao finished speaking, he pointed to the fourth piece of paper on the wall, which read "Eight to Four," and next to the stage design, he wrote "Angry Voice" in red pen.

"For example, if I hadn't even passed the audition, I might have gone back to my hometown to farm. Take this step, for instance, the top eight to top four. For us ordinary people, if we're eliminated, we're out; there's no revival round. That means my journey on The Voice of China ends in the top eight. All my plans after that—winning the championship, performing on the Spring Festival Gala, terminating my contract—would all be impossible to continue."

Bai Lu followed his gaze without saying a word.

Of course she understands.

Before meeting Xu Yao, she was constantly switching between being a Taobao model and an extra. She fell into every trap: talent scouts, shell companies, paid model cards, fake agents. But even after all that, she still couldn't find a way into the film and television industry.

For the average person, going from zero to one hundred steps, one mistake means starting all over again. But how much of an asset and the willpower does the average person actually have to start over?

Bai Lu's so-called "breakthrough from zero to one hundred" was simply dismissed by the person in front of her with the statement, "Bai Lu is only 57."

Only then did I push it open.

And what about Xu Yao?

He was all alone from beginning to end.

No one handed him a script, no one drew a roadmap for him on the wall—he relied on his own careful and meticulous approach.

Even standing next to Xu Yao, Bai Lu couldn't fully feel the pressure and hardship he had endured along the way.

Looking at the black and white words on the wall and listening to Xu Yao's story, Bai Lu's eyes instantly reddened.

Suddenly, Xu Yao's phone vibrated, breaking the brief silence.

It was Nassin calling.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Yao's clenched fist paused in mid-air, uttering excitedly, "Yes, yes, yes!"

The internal meeting to terminate the contract has entered its fourth phase and is highly likely to be approved. The next step is to discuss the method of termination.

So Xu Yao started negotiating conditions, namely that Liu Zong could not be among the direct superiors of his tour coordinator.

The next step is to see how Nasin's communication goes.

Looking at Xu Yao's excited expression, Bai Lu suddenly felt a pang of heartache. She reached out her hand and said, "Congratulations, Xu Yao, you succeeded."

A tear fell from the corner of her eye.

She was excited, proud of Xu Yao, and genuinely felt that Xu Yao's hardships had triggered her maternal instincts.

"Thanks."

Xu Yao smiled and held her fingers tightly.

The two of them stood there amidst the empty wine bottles and scattered sheet music.

The white paper on the wall was gently lifted by a corner by the wind leaking in from the window, and then fell back down.

Xu Yao began packing his things.

There aren't many important items; I can't take the rest with me, and I won't take them with me either.

Bai Lu looked down at a music box in his hand. It was a couple's set, with a male and female cartoon character standing face to face on the base inside the transparent outer wall. There was a circular track between the base and the outer shell.

She tilted her head and looked at the thing again and again, then gently placed it back on the table.

"Don't you want this beautiful old-fashioned retro couple's music box?"

"It was a gift from my ex, so forget about it."

Bai Lu said "Okay" and slowly ran his fingers along the edge of the music box.

When it was placed on the table, for some reason, the music box suddenly slid off the table, and the two little figures on the base slid away along the track, like a couple who could never return to their original position.

The movement rolled onto the wooden floor, emitting a very faint hum, as the remaining mainspring slowly released its last bit of power.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Bai Lu squatted down to pick it up, her face full of apology.

"A broken mirror is hard to mend; it carries a good meaning."

When Bai Lu reached out to pick up the base, his fingers touched a folded piece of paper that had floated out from the base's inner layer.

The paper was very thin and folded into a neat square.

She carefully opened it, looked up at Xu Yao, her voice tinged with surprise and seriousness.

"Xu Yao, look, there's a note inside."