Just as Fat Tiger had said, this season of Pure Voice had done an excellent job of keeping the four mentors' identities secret.
To this day, no one knew who the mentors were.
The production team was deliberately keeping viewers in suspense. The less they said, the more curious people became.
But with Sky Curtain's resources, they could easily find out who the four mentors were.
In fact, if Lin Mu wanted, they could even dig up what color underwear the four of them wore.
Fat Tiger's idea was that if any of the mentors happened to have dirt on them, they could threaten him into pulling some strings for Lin Mu and keeping him in the competition all the way to the end.
And if all four mentors had dirt on them, it wouldn't be hard to make Lin Mu the champion.
"That's a good idea."
Hearing Fat Tiger's suggestion, Zhang Hen surprisingly didn't argue for once. He nodded in agreement.
Zhang Hen was all for anything that benefited Brother Mu.
"No need."
Lin Mu shook his head.
"Why not?"
The two men were puzzled.
Lin Mu bit into a lamb skewer, picked up his juice, and clinked glasses with them. He had to protect his voice, so he couldn't drink alcohol. Then he explained:
"I'm not joining the show to win. That would draw too much attention, and it doesn't suit me.
"You know there's a rule on Pure Voice, right? Whoever wins the final championship has to show their face and reveal their true identity."
"We know, but isn't the point of you joining the show to get famous, Brother Mu? Winning and getting into the spotlight—that's great, isn't it?" Fat Tiger asked, confused.
Lin Mu shook his head. "I don't want to show my face. I just need to get a little well-known and, ideally, build a reputation as a famous songwriter. Then I can stay behind the scenes and make money selling songs."
"I get it!" Fat Tiger slapped the table, suddenly enlightened.
"That way, we can make money off those celebrities and keep being paparazzi—no, guardians of the entertainment industry. Two birds with one stone, killing two birds with one arrow, having our cake and eating it too. Brilliant!"
Lin Mu gave him a look. "You sure know your idioms, huh?"
"Heh." Fat Tiger scratched his head.
"Ha." Zhang Hen sneered.
"What the hell do you mean by that, you pretty boy?!"
Fat Tiger glared at him, ready to pick another fight, when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and hurriedly answered. His tone softened like a freshly steamed bun.
"Mom, you're still awake?"
"Mm-hmm, I'm doing fine. Don't worry."
"I made a little more money recently. I'll send it to you tomorrow, and then we won't have much debt left."
"What?! Mom, don't panic. I'll try talking to my sister again. Mm, okay, okay. Get some rest."
Fat Tiger hung up. His gentle expression turned gloomy.
"What's wrong?" Lin Mu asked.
Fat Tiger grabbed a bottle of beer, popped the cap, and tipped his head back to gulp down more than half of it. Beer dribbled from the corners of his mouth down his chest. After burping, he said glumly:
"My sister spent over fifty thousand again. She bought a whole pile of perfume endorsed by Zhou Yiyi, then handed it out everywhere to brainless fans like herself."
Lin Mu and Zhang Hen fell silent.
Fat Tiger's younger sister was obsessed with an idol named Zhou Yiyi. For her "giegie," she could go without eating or drinking, just to buy all the products he endorsed.
And to boost Zhou Yiyi's numbers, she'd buy hundreds of copies of the same magazine and hundreds of copies of the same album, using different accounts.
She flew all over the country to meet Zhou Yiyi at the airport and show up to support him at his events.
Fat Tiger's family had been fairly comfortable, but his sister's fanatical, life-or-death devotion to chasing celebrities had left them with no choice. Most of the family's income went into the bottomless pit of her spending.
His father had fallen ill from the stress and had been in poor health ever since. A year ago, doctors discovered a tumor in his brain.
That made an already struggling family's situation even worse.
His father's treatment cost a fortune, and his sister was still chasing her idol like crazy.
They borrowed money for treatment and borrowed money for her idol. Before long, Fat Tiger's family was buried in debt.
Almost all the money Fat Tiger had made as a paparazzo over the past two years had gone toward paying it off.
They were finally close to clearing the debt, but just now his mother had told him on the phone that his sister had borrowed another fifty thousand from relatives to buy several sets of a new perfume endorsed by Zhou Yiyi.
"Damn it! Zhou Yiyi, you just wait until I get my hands on you!"
Fat Tiger ground his teeth.
The Sky Curtain trio had kept an eye on Zhou Yiyi before, but the guy's team was very cautious and had barely left them anything to use against him.
But anyone with eyes could tell that his studio used all sorts of manipulative tactics to coax fans into buying his endorsements and spending money to boost his stats.
They also regularly stirred up fans to pick fights with other idols, all to generate buzz and traffic.
Those were the usual tricks of popular young idols who relied on traffic.
But the brainless fans fell for it every time.
Fat Tiger's younger sister was one of the victims.
Zhou Yiyi was blatantly leeching off his fans. He was crooked, but they hadn't managed to catch him in anything concrete yet.
"Want me to keep an eye on him?" Zhang Hen asked.
"Keep an eye on him, my ass! Brother Mu and I watched him for a whole week last time and got nothing!" Fat Tiger snapped.
This time, Zhang Hen didn't snap back. He just drank quietly.
Lin Mu fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "People without any principles will always slip up eventually. Kicking trashy, bloodsucking idols like him out of the entertainment industry—that's why Sky Curtain exists."
None of them felt like continuing their late-night meal. They finished their skewers and headed home.
Fat Tiger had drunk a bit too much, so Lin Mu called a car for him.
Lin Mu helped Fat Tiger into the car, then turned to Zhang Hen. "A Hen, come on. I'll drop you off on the way."
Zhang Hen stayed where he was and handed Lin Mu the bag of money. "Brother Mu, Fat Tiger talks tough, but his family is still a long way from paying off their debt. Give him this money."
Lin Mu scoffed. "Get lost! I'm the boss. Do you think I need you to worry about this?"
Actually, the day before, he had already taken fifteen of the two hundred thousand he was owed and quietly sent it to Fat Tiger's mother, telling her not to let Fat Tiger know.
He had sent the remaining fifty thousand to his own family.
This wasn't the first time he'd done something like this. He was used to it by now.
His own family was poor, but at least they weren't in debt and could afford to eat.
Fat Tiger's family owed too much, and his father needed money for treatment. They couldn't afford to wait.
The two families' situations were different, with different levels of urgency. So whenever Lin Mu made money, he secretly sent some to Fat Tiger's family.
Zhang Hen understood now, too. The boss had already given his own money to Fat Tiger's family. He looked at Lin Mu.
"Brother Mu, I don't need my share. You keep it."
Lin Mu smiled. "What kind of nonsense is that? We'll get this money back from Zhou Yiyi sooner or later! Get in the car!"
Zhang Hen didn't move. He suddenly lifted his head. The streetlights cast shifting shadows across his face, and his expression was resolute.
"Brother Mu, I've decided to go to Shanghai and keep an eye on Zhou Yiyi."
Their sources could track the movements of plenty of celebrities, and Zhou Yiyi was in Shanghai these days.
Lin Mu was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "All right."
A Hen had a stubborn streak. He'd feel awful if he thought he hadn't helped Fat Tiger.
Keeping an eye on Zhou Yiyi would count as helping Fat Tiger, and might make A Hen feel better.
Before leaving, Zhang Hen said, "Brother Mu, I'll come back next month to cheer you on when Pure Voice starts filming the competition rounds. Take good care of Fat Tiger."
Lin Mu took Fat Tiger home, then returned to the apartment he rented in Jiangrong.
He had just finished showering when his phone buzzed. Feng Bingbing had messaged him again.
"Senior, I just signed a contract for a show. Guess which one?"
She'd added a sticker of a dog hugging a fish.
Lin Mu wasn't in the mood. He replied, "I'm a little tired. I'm going to bed. Good night."
Jiangrong Satellite TV.
"Mentor Feng Bingbing, it's been a pleasure working with you."
"Thank you, Director Chen. It's been a pleasure."
Feng Bingbing had just signed the contract and was shaking hands with the chief director of Pure Voice.
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