I Once Hoped a Rich Woman Would See Through My Stubbornness

"Shy, my ass!"

Lin Mu was speechless. He stared at the beautiful host on the screen. Believe me, I'll expose your secrets!

Zhang Zheng chuckled too.

"Li Lan, you're a woman, so you don't understand how we guys feel when we see our goddess.

"Dawei Tianlong, take a moment to calm down. Take your time. Heh heh heh."

The beautiful host named Li Lan immediately picked up the conversation.

"Looks like the Little Diva's charm is just too much for our contestant, and she's got him nervous. Come on, everyone, let's give Dawei Tianlong some encouragement!"

With that, the audience applauded Lin Mu.

Clap, clap, clap!

Thunderous applause filled the hall as people watched the scene with amused smiles.

The image of a nerd enduring every trial before finally meeting the goddess of his dreams naturally came to mind.

"Aw, how sweet!"

"Men stay boys till the day they die. Even middle-aged men still have a goddess in their hearts!"

"Didn't you hear Feng Bingbing say his voice sounded young during the preliminaries?"

"Could he be one of those people with a weird voice?"

Your whole family has weird voices!

Veins popped on Lin Mu's forehead.

What kind of nonsense was this?!

Things were getting a little out of hand.

There was nothing for it. He could only answer:

"My age is about the same as Teacher Zhang's. We're both old men."

Zhang Zheng: "?"

Laughter rose from the audience.

"This Dawei Tianlong is so cute!"

"He really does seem nervous. One sentence and he's already left Teacher Zhang dumbfounded. This is fun."

Feng Bingbing suddenly asked, "The information says you're not a music major. I'm curious—what did you study, and what do you do for work now?"

Here it comes!

From Feng Bingbing's voice, Lin Mu could already picture sparks flying.

He replied, "I haul bricks at a construction site during the day, and sing at a bar in the evenings."

"Wow, that's so inspiring!"

"You haven't given up on pursuing music even though you work at a construction site? That's so touching!"

The audience was moved.

Zhang Zheng couldn't help asking, "So, do you have any dreams?"

Lin Mu said, "I once dreamed that a rich woman would see through my stubbornness, but I kept waiting and she never came. So I signed up for this show."

"..."

The entire hall fell silent once again. The host was the one to display the quick thinking of a seasoned professional. She smiled gracefully.

"I didn't expect Dawei Tianlong to be such a joker. Well, Mentor Feng Bingbing, I think it's time for us to make a decision."

Instinctively, she felt that she couldn't let Feng Bingbing keep talking to this guy.

Otherwise, they'd never get the show recorded.

Feng Bingbing glared furiously at the curtain onstage.

She'd wanted to ask a few more questions and find a way to pry something out of him.

But there was nothing she could do now. She couldn't exactly rush onstage and drag him out, could she?

Looking at the red and blue vote buttons before her, Feng Bingbing bit her lip, feeling deeply frustrated.

"Looks like Feng Bingbing's really torn?"

"She's a young woman, so it's normal if a song by an old man doesn't speak to her."

"Are they really going to put such a great song on hold?"

The audience could see Feng Bingbing's "torn" expression on the big screen above the stage.

The atmosphere in the hall grew tense.

After a moment of frustration, Feng Bingbing finally raised her hand and brought it down hard, as if she were slapping the detestable guy behind the curtain.

Smack!

The blue light came on.

"Mentor Feng Bingbing has voted to let him through! Congratulations to Dawei Tianlong, who has advanced to the national top 80 with an original song full of life experience!"

Li Lan thought the segment had gone really well. Dawei Tianlong seemed to have a real knack for stirring things up.

She wanted to get a little more footage, so she spoke toward the curtain:

"Dawei Tianlong, what would you like to say at this moment? Do you feel like you're one step closer to your dream?"

The audience also looked eagerly toward the stage, waiting for Dawei Tianlong to say something "shocking" once more.

But even after a long wait, there was no sound from behind the curtain.

"Dawei Tianlong?"

Li Lan called out.

A moment later, a weak voice came from behind the curtain:

"Um, Dawei Tianlong has already left the stage."

It was a staff member.

Li Lan: "..."

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued smiling toward the audience.

"Then let's welcome our next contestant..."

Dawei Tianlong, you even mess with me?

Fine. I'll remember you!

Lin Mu, who had already left the stage, had no idea that another beautiful woman had taken an interest in him. He went backstage and grabbed a staff member.

"Are we done recording? Can I leave?"

He knew what Feng Bingbing was like. She might come backstage to catch him at any moment.

Every extra second he spent here meant more danger.

"Huh?"

The staff member had probably never seen a contestant try to leave the moment he got offstage. He scratched his head.

"I... I don't know."

"Dawei Tianlong, please sign here first. I'll take you out in a bit."

Just then, Zisu came over with a form.

Lin Mu took it and saw "Advanced to the top 80" written beside "Dawei Tianlong."

Zisu's job was probably to get contestants to sign forms before and after the show.

"Zisu, should we ask Director Chen first?" the staff member asked timidly.

Zisu waved a hand. "It's fine. I'll let Sister Chen know."

Lin Mu looked at her. Well, judging by that confidence, she clearly wasn't an ordinary member of the backstage crew.

The staff of Pure Voice were divided into the stage crew and the backstage crew.

The stage crew handled all the work involved in recording the show and weren't allowed to interact with contestants.

The backstage crew, on the other hand, were specifically responsible for communicating with contestants, and every member had to sign a confidentiality agreement.

They couldn't reveal any information about the contestants until the season had finished airing.

Zisu was so casual about letting Lin Mu leave early. If she wasn't a core member of the production team, then she must have connections.

But that had nothing to do with Lin Mu. The most important thing now was to get out of here.

He signed the form, handed it back to Zisu, then quickly pulled away to avoid giving her another chance to take advantage of him.

"Tsk, so stingy!"

Zisu rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Come on, I'll show you out."

The staff member beside them looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he kept quiet.

Zisu led Lin Mu around the contestants' waiting room and out the back door of the recording hall.

"Thanks. Goodbye."

Lin Mu turned and left.

"Hey, wait!"

Zisu stopped him.

"Hey, handsome, I helped you out. Don't you have anything to say?"

Lin Mu replied, "No. You don't have to help me next time. I know the way out now."

"..."

Watching Lin Mu's retreating figure, Zisu narrowed her alluring, phoenix-shaped eyes.

"Heh heh heh. I have all your information, you know. You can't escape me, can you, handsome Zhang Hen?"

Lin Mu left Jiangrong Satellite TV's Underwear Building, put on his hat, and hurried down the street with his head lowered. He slipped into a deserted parking lot and climbed into a beat-up minivan.