"Brother Mu, how'd it go?"
Fat Tiger and Zhang Hen had been waiting in the van. The moment Lin Mu climbed in, they hurriedly asked him.
"Not great."
Lin Mu's expression was a little grim. There had been far too many unexpected developments today.
He'd made it through this round by the skin of his teeth. Who knew what kind of trouble Junior Feng would stir up next round?
Fat Tiger and Zhang Hen exchanged a glance. Fat Tiger tried to comfort him.
"Brother Mu, it's no big deal if you get eliminated. You've never really practiced singing. If this path doesn't work out, we can always go back to being paparazzi!"
Zhang Hen chimed in. "Right, let's go back to taking down those actors and bitches!"
"Who said I got eliminated?"
Lin Mu glanced at the two idiots.
"Huh?"
Fat Tiger hesitantly studied Lin Mu's expression. He really did look pretty grim.
Zhang Hen asked quietly, "Then, Brother Mu, did you make it through?"
Lin Mu nodded. He lowered the window a little to clear his head.
"Holy shit, Brother Mu, you really made it through? Who the hell are the judges? Are they deaf?"
Fat Tiger blurted out what he was thinking. Then he stiffened and hurriedly said, "Ah, no, Brother Mu, that's not what I meant. I just think you've always had such a distinctive singing style, so maybe this judge happens to like that kind of thing. Hehe."
One of Fat Tiger's favorite pastimes was picking up girls at nightclubs. Sometimes, after a few too many drinks, he'd drag Lin Mu and Zhang Hen along with him.
Whenever that happened, Lin Mu would belt out a song at the karaoke bar and scare all the hostesses away.
After that, Fat Tiger stopped daring to invite Lin Mu to sing.
When Lin Mu said he wanted to compete on Pure Voice, neither of them had much faith in him. But since Brother Mu wanted to go, they couldn't exactly tell him no.
They'd already prepared themselves for Lin Mu to be eliminated in the first round.
Who would've thought that not long after Brother Mu went in, he'd already made it through?
Were the four judges this season blind or deaf?
Lin Mu could tell from their expressions what they were thinking. He said irritably, "Feng Bingbing is one of the judges."
"Huh?"
"Your clueless junior is a judge?"
They both exclaimed, then shook their heads in unison. "This show is doomed."
Lin Mu glared at them. "Junior Feng isn't actually stupid. She just doesn't let her guard down around me. In front of other people, she's fierce as hell."
Fat Tiger nodded. "That's true. Last month, Feng Bingbing made Xu—"
The name Xu Lingyu had been about to leave his mouth, but he changed course and glanced at Zhang Hen. Lowering his voice, the fat man said, "She made that person cry and even ended up trending. Hehe."
Zhang Hen remained expressionless, as though he hadn't heard the name that started with "Xu."
Lin Mu shot Fat Tiger a glare, then looked at Zhang Hen before continuing.
"She nearly recognized me."
Fat Tiger said, "Wouldn't that be great? Then she could vote for you every round."
"Have you forgotten our goal? We're supposed to make money quietly. If she recognizes me, how are we supposed to keep a low profile?"
Lin Mu couldn't exactly say that if Junior Feng recognized him, she might confess to him on the spot again, and that would be hard to handle.
Zhang Hen nodded in agreement. "Brother Mu's right. We're paparazzi. We have to keep a low profile."
"Idiot. Brother Mu said we're not called paparazzi. We're the guardians of the entertainment industry!"
Fat Tiger cursed under his breath.
"Who are you calling an idiot?"
"You, you pretty boy!"
"Heh. You useless fatass."
"What the hell did you just say?!"
Lin Mu rubbed his brow and said calmly, "Zhou Yiyi is a judge too."
The van fell silent in an instant.
Fat Tiger turned to Lin Mu, his eyes bloodshot. "That piece of trash Zhou Yiyi is a judge too?"
Lin Mu nodded.
Zhang Hen sneered. "Pure Voice? Heh. They'll do anything for traffic."
"Fuck! Zhou Yiyi's got barely any decent work to his name, and he still gets to be a judge? That bitch Chen is fucking blind!"
Fat Tiger punched the van door.
With Sky Curtain's intelligence network, they naturally knew that Chen Xin was the chief director of Pure Voice.
"Heh. Still like that old woman now?"
Zhang Hen sneered.
Fat Tiger had eccentric tastes. He was into mature women.
There were plenty of gorgeous actresses in the entertainment industry, but he wasn't interested in any of them. For some reason, he liked Chen Xin, a director over thirty-five.
Chen Xin had run into trouble before and asked Sky Curtain for help. Fat Tiger had even charged her half price.
Who would've thought she'd "repay his kindness" by inviting his enemy to be a judge?
Of course, Chen Xin had no idea about any of this.
But Fat Tiger was still pretty upset.
"Damn it! I should've charged her double back then!"
"Heh. Love makes fools of men."
"You got something else to say?"
Lin Mu raised a hand slightly, and both men fell silent. He spoke slowly.
"While I was filming, I made a point of watching Zhou Yiyi. That guy doesn't seem too bright. This might be an opportunity."
"I'll keep an eye on him!" Fat Tiger immediately understood and volunteered.
Lin Mu nodded and patted the fat man on the shoulder.
"Don't rush it. Stay safe. Zhou Yiyi might not have any other talents, but he's got plenty of bodyguards. If we can't do it this time, there'll be another chance. Take it slow."
Zhang Hen said, "Brother Mu, I'll go. Fatty's getting fatter by the day. He's not suited to tailing anyone."
"What the hell did you say?! I was tailing people before you were even a simp!"
Fat Tiger's eyes bulged, and the fat on his face jiggled.
Zhang Hen's expression darkened.
Realizing he'd probably said the wrong thing, Fat Tiger scratched his head and slapped himself across the face.
"I'm an idiot!"
Zhang Hen looked at him and nodded. "I agree."
"Fuck!"
Just then, Lin Mu's phone suddenly rang with a WeChat video call.
He pulled it out, puzzled, and his expression immediately fell.
"Who is it, Brother Mu?"
Fat Tiger and Zhang Hen leaned over to look. They both let out surprised cries.
Zhang Hen looked at Lin Mu, his expression a little strange.
The person video-calling Lin Mu was Feng Bingbing.
Lin Mu couldn't help feeling exasperated.
Wasn't she in the middle of filming?
How did she have time to video-call me?
Was her agent just there for show? Couldn't they keep her in check?!
Lin Mu pressed the decline button.
"Brother Mu, why didn't you answer?"
Fat Tiger asked in confusion.
Lin Mu didn't respond. "Drive. Take me back to the company, and hurry!"
"Oh."
Seeing that Brother Mu looked unhappy, Fat Tiger didn't dare ask any more questions. He started the van and sped toward Lin Mu's company.
On the way, Feng Bingbing video-called him again. Lin Mu still didn't answer.
An hour later, they arrived at the gate of the little state-owned company where Lin Mu worked.
Feng Bingbing called again. This time, Lin Mu didn't hang up. He climbed out of the van with a dark expression and turned to remind the two of them.
"Be careful not to go too far with Zhou Yiyi. Those people with White Dog have been acting suspiciously lately. Don't give them a chance to catch you."
"Got it, Brother Mu."
They answered and watched Lin Mu get out and walk through the factory gate.
"A Hen, don't you think there's something a little off between Brother Mu and Feng Bingbing?"
Fat Tiger suddenly asked.
Zhang Hen didn't answer. He slammed the van door shut. "Come on. Let's get to work."
The van behind them roared away, trailing white smoke. Lin Mu smiled and greeted the security guard before answering Feng Bingbing's call.
In a warm, earnest voice, he said, "Junior Feng, what made you call me? Is something the matter?"
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