The Blood-Sucking Idol

As Fat Tiger said, this season of Pure Voice kept the information about the four mentors very secret.

No one knows who the mentors are even now.

This was also the show's intention to whet the audience's appetite; the less they said, the more curious people became.

However, with the methods of "Sky Screen," it would be easy to find out who these four mentors were.

In fact, if Lin Mu willed it, they could even find out what color underwear those four guys were wearing.

Fat Tiger's idea was that if they happened to have any dirt on any of the mentors, they could directly threaten him into giving Lin Mu special treatment and ensuring he advanced all the way.

If all four mentors had dirt on them, then it wouldn't be difficult for Lin Mu to win the championship.

"That's a good suggestion."

Hearing Fat Tiger's words, Zhang Hen, uncharacteristically, didn't argue and nodded in agreement.

Zhang Hen would wholeheartedly support anything that benefited Brother Mu.

"No need."

However, Lin Mu shook his head.

"Why?"

The two were confused.

Lin Mu bit into a lamb skewer, picked up his juice, and clinked glasses with the two of them—he had to protect his throat and couldn't drink alcohol. He then explained:

"My purpose for participating in this show isn't to win the championship; that would be too high-profile and not suitable for me. You guys know, right? Pure Voice has a rule: whoever wins the grand championship has to reveal their face and appear in their true form."

"We know, but isn't the reason you joined the show to become famous, Brother Mu? To win the championship, to be in the spotlight, isn't that good?" Fat Tiger asked, confused.

Lin Mu shook his head. "I don't want to show my face. I just need to gain a little fame, preferably enough to establish myself as a 'well-known lyricist and composer,' so I can hide behind the scenes and make money by selling songs in the future."

"I get it!" Fat Tiger slammed the table, suddenly enlightened.

"This way, we can earn money from those celebrities and continue being paparazzi, oh no, guardians of the entertainment industry. Killing two birds with one stone, two goals with one arrow, eating two chickens for one price, brilliant!"

Lin Mu looked at him. "Your idioms are quite good, huh?"

"Hehe." Fat Tiger scratched his head.

"Heh." Zhang Hen sneered.

"Pretty boy, what the hell do you mean by that?!"

Fat Tiger's eyes widened, about to start arguing with Zhang Hen again, when his phone rang. Fat Tiger saw who was calling and quickly answered, his tone softening like a steamed bun:

"Mom, you're still awake?"

"Mhm, mhm, I'm doing fine, don't worry."

"I've earned some more money recently, I'll transfer it to you tomorrow, and then we won't have much debt left."

"What?! Mom, don't rush, I'll try to persuade my sister again, mhm, okay, okay, you should rest."

Fat Tiger hung up the phone, and his docile expression instantly turned gloomy.

Lin Mu asked, "What's wrong?"

Fat Tiger picked up a bottle of beer, pried open the cap, and tilted his head back, taking a large swig. The alcohol dripped from the corner of his mouth onto his chest. He let out a burp and said dejectedly:

"My sister spent over fifty thousand again, buying a bunch of perfume endorsed by Zhou Yiyi, and she's been giving it away to all those brainless fans like her."

Lin Mu and Zhang Hen fell silent.

Fat Tiger's sister was a huge fan of an idol named Zhou Yiyi. For her gege, she would go without eating or drinking just to buy his various endorsed products.

Furthermore, to boost Zhou Yiyi's stats, she would buy hundreds of copies of a single magazine and hundreds of albums, each time with a different payment method.

She flew all over the country to pick up Zhou Yiyi at the airport and to cheer for his events.

Fat Tiger's family was once considered well-off, but because his sister's obsessive fan behavior led to constant demands, most of the family's income was poured into the black hole of her idol worship.

Fat Tiger's father became ill from the stress, and his health had been poor. A year ago, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

This added to the already strained finances of the family.

His father's medical expenses were a huge cost, and his sister continued her fanatical idol worship.

Borrowing money for medical treatment, borrowing money for idol worship, Fat Tiger's family quickly accumulated a large debt.

The money Fat Tiger earned as a paparazzi over the past two years had almost all gone to paying off debts.

Now, just as they were about to finish paying off the debt, his mother had just told him on the phone that his sister had gone to borrow another fifty thousand yuan from relatives to buy several sets of a new perfume endorsed by Zhou Yiyi.

"Damn it! Zhou Yiyi, just you wait until I get my hands on you!"

Fat Tiger gritted his teeth.

The Sky Screen trio had been watching Zhou Yiyi for a long time, but his team was very cautious, and he had almost no negative points.

But it was obvious to anyone with eyes that his studio used various PUA tactics to trick fans into buying his endorsements and spending money to boost his stats.

They also frequently instigated fans to engage in fan wars with other idols, thereby generating buzz and traffic.

These are the usual tricks of those young, popular idols.

But their brainless fans just eat it up.

Fat Tiger's sister is one of the victims.

This Zhou Yiyi is clearly bleeding his fans dry and has ill intentions, but there's no way to catch him red-handed for now.

"How about I go tail him again?"

Zhang Hen said.

"Tail him for what! Last time, Brother Mu and I tailed him for a week and got nothing!"

Fat Tiger retorted irritably.

This time, Zhang Hen didn't snap back, just quietly drank his alcohol.

Lin Mu was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Someone without principles like that will always slip up. Kicking these bloodsucking, low-quality idols out of the entertainment industry is the very purpose of our Sky Screen."

The three of them lost their appetite for late-night snacks and went home after finishing their skewers.

Fat Tiger had drunk a bit too much, so Lin Mu called a taxi to take him home.

Lin Mu helped Fat Tiger into the car, then turned back to Zhang Hen and called out, "A Hen, let's go. I'll give you a ride back too."

Zhang Hen didn't move. He handed the bag containing money to Lin Mu. "Brother Mu, Fatty is stubborn. His family still has a long way to go to pay off their debts. Give this money to him."

Lin Mu scoffed, "Get lost! I'm the boss, do you need to worry about this kind of thing?"

In reality, he had already given fifteen of the two hundred thousand he'd earned yesterday to Fat Tiger's mother, secretly telling her not to tell Fat Tiger.

The remaining fifty thousand went to his own family.

This wasn't the first time he'd done something like this; he was quite experienced.

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 grandfather needed money for medical treatment and couldn't wait.

The two families' situations had different priorities, so every time Lin Mu earned money, he would secretly send some to Fat Tiger's family.

At this moment, Zhang Hen understood. His boss had already given his share to Fatty's family. He looked at Lin Mu.

"Brother Mu, I don't want my share anymore. You keep it."

Lin Mu smiled, "What nonsense are you talking about! We'll get this money back from Zhou Yiyi sooner or later! Get in the car!"

Zhang Hen didn't move. Suddenly, he looked up. Under the streetlight, the light and shadow shifted across his face, his expression resolute. "Brother Mu, I've decided to go to Shanghai to tail Zhou Yiyi."

Their sources of information could track the movements of many celebrities, and Zhou Yiyi was in Shanghai these past few days.

Lin Mu was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

A Hen was stubborn. He felt like he hadn't helped Fat Tiger and wouldn't be able to let it go. Tailoring Zhou Yiyi would be a way to help Fatty, which would make A Hen feel better.

Before leaving, Zhang Hen said, "Brother Mu, when the main competition of Pure Voice is recorded next month, I'll come back to cheer you on. You... take care of Fatty."

Lin Mu took Fatty home and then returned to the apartment he rented in Jiangrong.

Just as he finished showering, his phone buzzed. It was another message from Feng Bingbing.

"Senior, I just signed a program contract. Guess which one?"

She added a dog holding a fish emoji afterward.

Lin Mu wasn't in the mood and replied, "I'm a bit tired, going to sleep. Goodnight."

Jiangrong Satellite TV.

"Mentor Feng Bingbing, it's been a pleasure working with you."

"Thank you, Director Chen, it's been a pleasure working with you."

Feng Bingbing, who had just signed the contract, was shaking hands with the chief director of the Pure Voice program team.