Four Mentors

"Xiao Feng, we meet again."

One of them smiled and waved at Feng Bingbing. She hurried over and gave him a slight bow.

"Teacher Wang? It's been so long! How are you? I didn't know you'd be a mentor too. How have you been feeling lately?"

He was a middle-aged man with a warm smile. His features still hinted at the refined good looks he'd had in his youth, though his receding hairline now rather undermined his distinguished air.

His name was Wang Xinzhe, once a defining figure in Chinese pop music. Back in the day, he'd been known as the "Prince of Love Songs" and was the dream man of countless young women.

Feng Bingbing had grown up listening to his songs.

At an awards ceremony last year, Feng Bingbing had won Best New Singer of the Year, and Wang Xinzhe had presented her with the award.

Wang Xinzhe had also admired this brilliant newcomer. The two of them had talked at length about music that night and exchanged contact information.

Feng Bingbing respected Wang Xinzhe greatly, so she was delighted to see that he was one of the mentors.

"Not bad, except my hairline's receded a little more."

Wang Xinzhe raised a hand and ruefully felt his hair. In his youth, he'd been handsome, with a thick head of flowing black hair.

But after entering middle age, he'd found himself facing hair loss. His steadily receding hairline had often become a topic of discussion.

"Old Wang, you're doing all right. Look at me—I'm not even forty, and I've nearly lost all my hair."

A man in his thirties standing nearby teased him.

He had somewhat rugged features. He was younger than Wang Xinzhe, but looked much older.

Yet he was dressed in an overly trendy leather jacket and leather pants, and had dyed what little hair he had yellow, styling it into a spiky, explosive look.

From a distance, he looked like a Super Saiyan in leather.

"Teacher Zhang, hello."

Feng Bingbing knew him too: Zhang Zheng, a singer who'd found success later in life and was nicknamed Leather Pants Zhang.

Zhang Zheng had sung in bars and played in bands when he was younger, but had never made much of a splash.

Then, after turning thirty, he married an award-winning actress, and his career suddenly took off. Several consecutive albums became huge hits, and he won Best Male Singer of the Year twice.

That had cemented his status as a first-tier singer.

He'd also proved remarkably virile. In just a few years of marriage, he'd fathered three daughters with his actress wife, making him a winner in life.

The only thing people criticized him for was his taste.

He was forever wearing the same leather jacket and pants, and every so often sporting some outlandish, counterculture hairstyle.

Many people joked that even marrying an award-winning actress couldn't rescue his village-level sense of style.

When he saw Feng Bingbing, even Leather Pants Zhang, with his bizarre taste, couldn't hide his amazement. He praised her sincerely.

"You're even prettier in person than on TV. No wonder my wife likes you so much."

Feng Bingbing was surprised. "Sister Fang likes my songs?"

The "Sister Fang" Feng Bingbing meant was Zhang Zheng's actress wife, Fang Yue.

Fang Yue had once been the nation's sweetheart. No one knew how she'd ended up marrying the then-unknown Zhang Zheng.

The swan had flown right into the toad's mouth, leaving countless shut-in guys heartbroken.

Now, the "toad" chuckled and said to Feng Bingbing, "Fang Yue doesn't just like your songs. She likes you too. Ever since she had three daughters, she's been into pretty young girls!"

Zhang Zheng leaned toward Feng Bingbing and lowered his voice. "Especially after she heard about your confession at the concert. She praises you to me every day."

Feng Bingbing laughed. "Really? My manager scolds me every day."

"My wife just likes girls like you who dare to do what they want. She was the one who pursued me back then, too! Heh heh!"

Zhang Zheng said smugly.

"Oh, I can see why you'd have that kind of charm." Feng Bingbing forced a smile.

After all that, this big shot had just been finding different ways to praise himself?

Seeing Feng Bingbing's bewildered, speechless expression, Zhang Zheng burst out laughing. He even turned to Wang Xinzhe and Chen Xin and said, "Am I hilarious or what? Now you know why my wife liked me back then, right?"

"..." Wang Xinzhe was just as speechless.

"You're hilarious, Teacher Zhang! So funny!" Director Chen Xin was delighted. She'd invited Zhang Zheng because of his knack for variety shows.

For a purely musical competition program like Pure Voice, keeping the show lively was extremely important.

Besides the host, one of the four mentors needed to be able to liven things up.

Chen Xin had originally thought Feng Bingbing would be the right choice.

Feng Bingbing was young and pretty, and had a cheerful personality. She did seem like a good fit.

But considering her reputation as "Feng Yidao," and the big scene she'd just made with her "concert confession,"

Chen Xin worried her heart wouldn't survive the excitement. In the end, she decided to leave the job of keeping the show lively to Zhang Zheng.

Chen Xin had already told the mentors' agents how the four mentors would be dividing up their duties.

Of course, that meant Feng Bingbing would get much less screen time. Chen Xin was worried the popular Little Diva might be unhappy and make a scene.

But seeing Feng Bingbing chatting happily with Zhang Zheng and Wang Xinzhe as soon as she arrived, Chen Xin finally relaxed.

The room was lively. The four of them chatted and laughed, leaving the handsome young man nearby out of the conversation.

Chen Xin quickly introduced him to Feng Bingbing. "This is Zhou Yiyi. You two are around the same age, so I'm sure you'll have plenty to talk about."

The pretty young man immediately stepped forward and smiled as he held out his hand to Feng Bingbing.

"Hello, Teacher Feng. I'm Zhou Yiyi. I'm a big fan of your songs, too."

As soon as he spoke, the cheerful atmosphere in the room seemed to falter. Wang Xinzhe and Zhang Zheng both fell silent.

"Hi. You're too polite. Just call me Feng Bingbing."

Feng Bingbing shook his hand and looked him up and down. The guy was decent-looking, she thought—just a tiny bit less handsome than Senior Lin.

When Zhou Yiyi saw Feng Bingbing's eyes brighten slightly as she looked at him, he assumed the Little Diva had been dazzled by his good looks. He smiled.

"Sure, then I'll call you Bingbing."

He didn't let go of Feng Bingbing's hand. Instead, he kept squeezing it tighter.

Feng Bingbing came to her senses and quickly pulled her hand free.

Zhou Yiyi was a top celebrity, so she'd heard of him, of course.

He was said to be hardworking and shy, but now she could see that at least the shy part was clearly just an act.

He'd taken advantage of her while she was thinking about Senior Lin?

Wasn't Feng Yidao's reputation fearsome enough?

Feng Bingbing's pretty face turned cold, and she started rolling up her sleeves.

She could take on ten pretty boys like him!

Seeing trouble brewing, Zhang Zheng hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "All four mentors are here now. Director Chen, shouldn't we get down to business?"

Wang Xinzhe reacted too and moved to Feng Bingbing's side, holding her by the arm through her sleeve.

"Right, Director Chen, didn't you say one of the contestants who got an S Card in the preliminaries was really good?"

"Yes. Everyone, please sit. We've edited together clips of some of the standout contestants from the preliminaries. Let's take a look."

Chen Xin promptly picked up the conversation and led Feng Bingbing to a seat.

Zhou Yiyi had no idea he'd just narrowly escaped a trip to the gates of hell. He kept his eyes on Feng Bingbing and approached with a smile, intending to sit beside her.

"Xiao Zhou, come sit here!"

Wang Xinzhe pulled him straight between himself and Zhang Zheng. The two men trapped the reckless young man between them.

Zhang Zheng grinned at Zhou Yiyi. "We've got a man on either side of you! Hahaha!"

Zhou Yiyi rolled his eyes and kept glancing toward Feng Bingbing, still trying to wriggle free. But the two men held him fast, so he had no choice but to give up.

Chen Xin continued, "All five of our preliminary-round regions had contestants who received an S Card. Let's listen to them first."

She had the staff play the edited preliminary-round clips. The screen first showed the stage at the Jiangrong Comedy Center.

The stage was divided into three sections, each with its own tent. From the original-song section under the red tent came the sound of a piano and a voice singing:

"All that's left is the piano, keeping me company all day. The sleeping cello, quiet and worn..."

Feng Bingbing, who'd been fuming, froze.

That voice...