"Liu Qiang actually threatened us?"
Lin Mu couldn't help laughing.
"Brother Mu, what should we do?"
A Hen's voice came through the phone, utterly flat. Ever since his celebrity ex-girlfriend had dumped him, the guy seemed to have lost the ability to laugh.
"What did Liu Qiang use to contact you?"
"QQ."
"Log off. I'll take over."
"Okay."
Lin Mu hung up and waited a moment before logging into Zhang Hen's QQ account on his phone.
The three members of Sky Curtain shared a lot of contact information, especially QQ accounts, since it was hard to trace them back to anyone's real identity.
On Zhang Hen's QQ account, Lin Mu saw a new contact named "Healthy Color."
Zhang Hen had added Liu Qiang's name as a note.
Lin Mu smiled. No wonder he was such a color expert, having been cheated on by his ex-wife before cheating on his current wife. Even his screen name was so suggestive.
He opened the chat history with Liu Qiang. Just as Zhang Hen had said, after adding him as a friend, Liu Qiang had immediately revealed who he was and what he wanted.
He wanted Dawei Tianlong to sell him the rights to Quiet at a low price.
Unlike the impartial, amiable image he projected at the judges' table, Liu Qiang had used both threats and sweet talk when messaging Zhang Hen on QQ. His words reeked of coercion and carried a heavy undertone of menace.
If his fans and the online users who sympathized with him saw this, they'd be shocked.
Who would've thought that Brother Qiang, so warm and friendly on TV and in public, could be this kind of person?
But Lin Mu wasn't surprised. He'd seen too many celebrities' secrets. A little two-faced behavior was nothing.
Healthy Color: "Dawei Tianlong, have you made up your mind?"
"If you think I'm just trying to scare you, go ahead and find out. I gave you that S Card, so naturally I can take it back."
"You're just an unknown who happened to write one good song. You'll never write another song of the same quality in your life. The smartest thing to do is make a quick buck while you can."
Liu Qiang sent several more messages. He'd apparently looked into Zhang Hen and confirmed he was just an unknown, so he was trying to manipulate him into selling Quiet.
Lin Mu ignored him and called Fat Tiger. "Send me the video of Liu Qiang cheating."
"Sure thing, Brother Mu."
Fat Tiger quickly sent over the video of Liu Qiang cheating on his new wife.
Half a year earlier, after his ex-wife had cheated on him, Liu Qiang had finally found true love again and married a woman from outside the entertainment industry.
At the time, many netizens had sent him their well wishes, thinking it was some compensation for a good man.
But about a month into the marriage, Fat Tiger and A Hen had caught him checking into a hotel with a young model.
As professional paparazzi, they'd made sure to get irrefutable proof. The two of them had even waited in the hotel stairwell and filmed Liu Qiang leaving the room with the model.
There'd been even bigger scandals in the entertainment industry at the time, though, so Lin Mu hadn't chosen to expose him right away.
That was pretty normal for the three members of Sky Curtain. They had dirt on nearly half the people in the entertainment industry, and sometimes keeping it in reserve was more useful than exposing it immediately.
Like now. Liu Qiang's scandal had finally come in handy.
Lin Mu edited a section of the video of the color expert cheating on his phone and sent it to Liu Qiang on QQ.
The other man immediately started a video call.
Lin Mu declined.
Liu Qiang sent him a voice message right away, sounding furious and incredulous.
"H-how did you get this?"
Lin Mu replied calmly, "Teacher Liu, is this scandal I brought you ripe enough?"
A little while later, apparently after finding somewhere secluded, Liu Qiang sent a furious voice message.
"What the hell do you want?!"
Lin Mu: "Teacher Liu, do you still want to buy my song?"
After a moment, Liu Qiang's emotions seemed to settle, and his tone changed.
"Teacher Dawei Tianlong, that was all a misunderstanding. I simply admire your talent and wanted to talk with you more."
Then he added, "Teacher Dawei Tianlong, I won't buy the song anymore. I'll buy this video instead. Name your price."
He was certainly quick to adapt. He'd gone from trying to buy the song to trying to buy the video.
Lin Mu typed: "I heard your wife was a promising architectural designer before she married you. She quit her job afterward, hoping to have a child with you.
"She does all the housework, too. With such a devoted wife, why would you cheat?"
Healthy Color: "That has nothing to do with you, does it?"
Lin Mu raised an eyebrow. "Getting cocky?"
Healthy Color: "Sorry, man. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I just can't understand it.
"I treated my ex-wife so well. Why did she go after a man so much worse than me?
"So I wanted to see if cheating really was that exciting."
Lin Mu smiled. "So, was it exciting?"
Healthy Color: "Yeah. And now someone's filmed it, too. I might not even be able to get it up next time I go see Ali."
Lin Mu: "You're still going to see her?"
Healthy Color: "No, man. Just tell me how much you want."
Lin Mu: "Let's not talk about money for now. I have one condition."
Healthy Color: "Go ahead."
Lin Mu: "Break things off with your mistress immediately, and start treating your wife right. There'll be a surprise."
Healthy Color: "That's it? Come on, what are you really after?"
Lin Mu: "I'm just trying to avoid being struck by divine punishment. Do it now, and remember, I'll be keeping an eye on you."
Healthy Color: "Y-yes!"
In an empty restroom at the Jiangrong Drama Center, Liu Qiang's face was livid with rage.
"A surprise? Tell me, what the hell is a surprise?!"
Seven that evening, Jiangrong Drama Center.
The first day of the Jiangsu Province preliminary auditions for Pure Voice had ended.
"Teacher Liu, Teacher Zhang, would you like to get something to eat together?" Zhou Li asked the two with a bright smile.
"No, I'm old. I should get back and rest early." Zhang Wanteng smiled as he declined, holding his thermos.
"My wife came with me. I should go back and spend time with her."
Liu Qiang also declined with a smile.
"Wow, Teacher Liu, you really are the perfect husband!" Zhou Li praised him.
Liu Qiang managed a smile, said goodbye to the two, then left the drama center and got into his car.
His wife really had come with him to Jiangrong.
As an entertainer, he often traveled all over the country. To keep their relationship from growing distant because of long periods apart, Liu Qiang's wife had quit her job and accompanied him on every trip.
They were considered one of the entertainment industry's most enviable model couples.
Liu Qiang had bought a house in Jiangrong. His wife had come with him this time while he served as a judge, and she'd been cooking for him at home over the past few days.
Sitting in the car, Liu Qiang glanced at the driver in the front seat, then lowered his head and messaged his young-model mistress:
"Let's end things. I'll give you some money as a breakup settlement."
Half an hour later, Liu Qiang returned to his home in Jiangrong and knocked on the door.
"Coming!"
A cheerful voice came from inside. A woman in comfortable house clothes and an apron opened the door. Her refined, lovely face broke into a smile.
"Honey, you're back! Come in quickly. I have a surprise for you."
Before you continue