"Come on, Brother Mu!"
"Go, Brother Mu! Crush them!"
Outside Jiangrong Satellite TV's famous "Underwear Building," Fat Tiger and Zhang Hen were sending Lin Mu off.
Jiangrong Satellite TV's office building was famous throughout the entertainment industry.
The architect must have been drinking without anything to eat, because he'd designed the office building in the shape of a crooked Chinese character for "door."
From a distance, it looked like a pair of giant underwear.
And so it had earned the name "Underwear Building."
Now, beneath the building, Fat Tiger's round face was full of swagger.
"Brother Mu, if any of the judges refuses to vote for you, we'll expose their dirt!"
Zhang Hen nodded silently.
Lin Mu said helplessly, "Guys, our group is changing direction. From now on, don't go around saying you'll expose people's dirt. Let's be a little more civilized."
Then he asked Zhang Hen, "You've been keeping an eye on Zhou Yiyi. Did you find anything?"
Zhang Hen had been watching Zhou Yiyi for a while and had only returned yesterday.
"Zhou Yiyi has a girlfriend."
Zhang Hen replied.
Fat Tiger slammed his fist into his palm. "Damn it, that bastard keeps pretending he's single, but he's had a girlfriend all along! He scammed my sister out of so much money!"
Lin Mu frowned slightly. "Secret relationships are common among celebrities. That alone isn't enough to nail Zhou Yiyi."
Zhang Hen's gaze sharpened. "Zhou Yiyi came to Jiangrong Satellite TV yesterday. I'll keep watching him."
Lin Mu waved a hand. "Hold on for now. You two should keep a low profile and take a break."
"Got it, Brother Mu."
After giving them their instructions, Lin Mu went inside Underwear Building.
Following the information the Pure Voice production team had sent in advance, he went to the third floor. A staff member was already waiting there.
It was the young woman from the Jiangsu Province preliminary-round holding room—the one who had rubbed her fingers against his.
"Zhang Hen, hello! We meet again. My name is Zisu."
The young woman's eyes lit up when she saw Lin Mu's face. Delighted, she held out her hand.
"Hello, Miss Zisu."
Lin Mu shook her hand and tried to pull away, but couldn't.
Zisu gave a mischievous grin and scratched his palm with her fingertip. "Sorry, I'm a little ner...vous."
Lin Mu smiled. "A little tight, huh? It's fine."
A somewhat familiar voice sounded beside them. "Hey, you made it through too?"
Lin Mu turned around. It was Hao Jian, the guy from the Jiangsu Province preliminary round.
Back then, he'd claimed he was going to sing women's songs in a male voice, but it had all been nonsense. He'd thrown the other contestants completely off their game.
Lin Mu hadn't expected him to make it through, too.
Lin Mu nodded, not wanting to say much.
Hao Jian greeted Zisu enthusiastically. "Hey, we meet again! Could you tell me where the holding room for Studio Two is?"
Today was the first recording of the national top-100 round. Contestants would be cut from 100 to 80, and the recording would take place in Studio Two.
Zisu pointed down the corridor to the right with her left hand, speaking in a practiced, mechanical tone.
"Go straight for sixty-five meters, turn right, walk thirty-six meters, turn left, walk eighteen meters, turn right, then go another twenty-five meters. It's the second red door. Go inside."
Hao Jian looked a little lost. "Could you take me there?"
"I'm a little busy right now," Zisu replied mechanically.
"Busy?" Only then did Hao Jian notice that Zisu and Lin Mu were still holding hands.
He turned around, crestfallen.
Lin Mu finally managed to pull his hand free and was about to head for the studio, too.
"Zhang Hen, I'm actually free. I'll take you there," Zisu said eagerly, leading Lin Mu down the hall.
As they passed Hao Jian, who was still trying to find his way, he saw Zisu smiling as she showed Lin Mu where to go.
Hao Jian touched his own face, then looked at Lin Mu's.
"Damn!"
With Zisu guiding him, Lin Mu found the studio in no time and pushed open the door.
It was a fairly large room, probably the holding room behind the stage in the recording studio.
It was much bigger than the one at the preliminary round, though, and it was packed with people.
At a glance, there were around eighty or ninety contestants. More than ten of the top 100 hadn't arrived yet.
The holding room was as lively as a market. Contestants who knew one another were greeting each other enthusiastically.
Lin Mu entered like an invisible man. Nobody paid him any attention.
That was exactly what he wanted. Lin Mu hurried over to a secluded corner, sat down, and looked around.
Sure enough, on the other side of the room, Chi Yuting was surrounded by several male contestants like a star.
Today, she was wearing a tight, pale-yellow miniskirt. Sitting there with her chest out and stomach sucked in, she really did look quite sexy.
Fortunately, she was surrounded by people and hadn't noticed Lin Mu come in.
She looked so happy and satisfied, like a sailor who had braved every hardship to finally find a high-quality fishing bay. It was almost inspiring.
Lin Mu silently wished her good luck getting pregnant, then turned away so Chi Yuting wouldn't see him.
Just then, the door to the holding room opened again, and a young man walked in.
He wore a trench coat, his hair was slicked back until it gleamed, and he had a light dusting of makeup on his face, complete with eyeliner.
Two assistants held open the doors for him, letting him make a slow, dramatic entrance.
He seemed to come with his own God of Gamblers theme music, and everyone's attention immediately turned to him.
"Is that Wu Tian?"
"I thought Pure Voice was supposed to be an amateur competition?"
"Damn it, professionals should be banned from competing!"
The room filled with shocked and disgruntled muttering.
Lin Mu was surprised, too. He knew Wu Tian had competed in lots of talent shows and always placed near the top.
But he'd never managed to become famous, unlucky as he was.
Still, compared to everyone else in the room, Wu Tian was undeniably a professional.
No wonder the others were reacting so strongly.
Looking at him with his foundation and eyeliner, Lin Mu couldn't help wondering whether he was here to compete in a beauty pageant or sing.
Lin Mu narrowed his eyes slightly. Never mind. It had nothing to do with him.
His goal was to make the top 40. He didn't need to win. Why worry about anything else?
If he'd wanted to, he could have dug up everything about every contestant, but there was no need.
I'm changing direction. I'm keeping a low profile.
He didn't even need to care who the judges were. He could just sing a few songs, make it through four rounds, and get a little popular.
After a while, all the top 100 contestants had arrived.
The huge LED screen on the wall at the front of the holding room lit up, and a mature female voice rang out.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Chen Xin. Welcome to the second season of Pure Voice and its national top-100 competition.
"If you've made it this far, you're all strong contestants.
"No matter what happens today, every one of you is an outstanding singer!"
After the customary pep talk, Chen Xin explained the rules.
The main rule was still that contestants couldn't show their faces. But once they reached the top-100 round, they'd have more opportunities to show what they could do.
For example, after singing a song, contestants could talk with the judges. Of course, they had to use voice processors while doing so, to keep judges from recognizing contestants who were already famous.
Once she'd finished explaining the rules, they finally reached the most eagerly anticipated part.
Chen Xin paused, then said slowly, "Finally, let me introduce this season's four judges."
Today's chapter is on the featured recommendation page! Please support it with monthly and recommendation votes, as well as tips. Many thanks! Three updates today.
Thanks to reader 2018090473053278 for the 10,000-point tip, reader 131220180428930 for the 6,500-point tip, reader Moon Again for the 2,000-point tip, and reader Shepherd Seven for the 300-point tip!
Before you continue