Lin Mu stood in front of the company's security booth, his expression icy. He was like a completely different person from the warm and honest man who'd spoken with Feng Bingbing on the phone.
He began thinking back to what had happened at the mentor's table during the show's recording.
Feng Bingbing had sat at the far right, Zhang Zheng and Wang Xinzhe in the middle, and Zhou Yiyi at the far left.
At the time, he'd vaguely sensed something was off, but hadn't paid it much attention.
Now that he thought about it, given how Chen Xin, the up-and-coming director, had put the show together,
Feng Bingbing was a popular young diva, and Zhou Yiyi was a top-tier celebrity. The two of them were the show's biggest selling points.
By rights, those two should have been sitting in the middle.
Yet the two most popular mentors had been seated at opposite corners.
Ordinary viewers might not have paid much attention to the seating arrangement, but how could Lin Mu not understand?
Had the production team deliberately separated them?
Taking what Feng Bingbing had just said into account, maybe Zhou Yiyi really had crossed the line with her before filming began.
And Zhou Yiyi had kept glancing toward Feng Bingbing's seat while they were onstage.
Could it really be—
Fuck!
"Lin Mu? Lin Mu?"
A security guard's voice came from behind him. "What's wrong?"
Lin Mu turned around and grinned. "Nothing."
With that, he turned and walked out through the company gate.
The security guard stared blankly at Lin Mu's retreating figure and murmured,
"Why did Lin Mu's eyes look so scary just now?"
After walking some distance from the factory gate, Lin Mu called Fat Tiger.
"Come pick me up."
"Huh? What happened, Brother Mu?"
"I'm going to keep an eye on Zhou Yiyi myself."
"Huh? Brother Mu, didn't you just say we should keep a low profile?"
"Quit talking and get over here!"
"Oh, okay, okay."
Jiangrong Satellite TV, third floor, women's restroom.
Feng Bingbing came out of a stall with a grin and said to Zhou Wanqing, who wore a frosty expression,
"Sister Wan Qing, did you need to pee too?"
Zhou Wanqing's forehead twitched. She went to each stall and pushed open the door to check.
Feng Bingbing chuckled. "No need to check, Sister Wan Qing. I already did. There's no one here."
Zhou Wanqing glared at her. "There's no one here now, but what if someone walks in while you're video-calling that person?"
Feng Bingbing didn't seem to care. "Wouldn't that be perfect? I could announce who I confessed to at the concert."
"You..."
Zhou Wanqing was practically exasperated to death. She sneered,
"You'd like to announce it, but does your senior even care about you?"
"Senior and I chatted for ages just now, and we even agreed he'd come to Shanghai to see me in a few days."
"He's going on a business trip, not making a special trip to see you. Feng Bingbing, can you please wake up?"
Zhou Wanqing sounded helpless. She'd heard their conversation from outside just now.
"That's not all. When I said I was interested in a male contestant, Senior immediately got upset. Oh my gosh, he's so cute when he gets jealous!"
Feng Bingbing cupped her face in both hands, her eyes narrowing with delight.
"You're hopeless." Zhou Wanqing covered her face, utterly at a loss with her.
"Sister Wan Qing, someone's coming!"
A round head poked in from outside. It was Xiao Zhu, who'd been standing guard.
"Let's go. They're about to resume filming."
Zhou Wanqing and Feng Bingbing immediately put on calm smiles, walked out of the restroom together, and greeted the staff members who were just coming in.
Once the two of them were out, Xiao Zhu hurried after them and whispered to Feng Bingbing,
"Little Bing, I heard you almost hit Zhou Yiyi backstage?"
Feng Bingbing snorted. "That guy tried to take advantage of me."
"What?! Did you get him good? Did you beat him half to death?"
Xiao Zhu asked at once.
"Don't make trouble!"
Zhou Wanqing had a headache. After a moment's thought, she said,
"I'll go talk to Guo Yan later and ask her to keep her artist in line."
Guo Yan was Zhou Yiyi's manager.
The three of them returned to Recording Hall Two. Artists' accompanying staff weren't allowed into the recording area, so Feng Bingbing waved to the other two and went inside.
"Bingbing."
Zhou Wanqing suddenly called out to her.
Feng Bingbing looked back.
"If Zhou Yiyi harasses you again, don't hold back. Beat him half to death. I'll handle the aftermath."
Zhou Wanqing said it calmly.
Feng Bingbing was taken aback, then smiled and nodded before turning and going inside.
Fortunately, the next two days of filming passed without any further problems.
Zhou Wanqing also went to speak with Zhou Yiyi's manager, Guo Yan. Guo Yan immediately apologized and promised she'd make sure to keep Zhou Yiyi in line.
At around seven the following evening, the competition on Pure Voice to cut the field from 100 contestants to 80 finally finished recording.
Several contestants expected to go far, including Wu Tian, who'd received an S Card, and Dawei Tianlong, all advanced without a hitch.
Chi Yuting had been put on hold during her first performance, but narrowly made it through the second round, allowing her voyage across the seas to continue.
The contestants had their ups and downs, while backstage, another unpleasant incident occurred among the mentors.
"Bingbing, are you free tonight? I heard you like hotpot. Want to go together?"
Feng Bingbing was in the dressing room, getting ready to change, when Zhou Yiyi suddenly pushed the door open and walked straight in.
Feng Bingbing looked at him coldly. "Don't you know you're supposed to knock before entering a woman's room?"
Zhou Yiyi smiled as if it didn't matter. "Bingbing, what's there to be afraid of? We're already so close."
Feng Bingbing stood up at once. Xiao Zhu jumped in fright and hurried over to block Zhou Yiyi's escape route, in case he tried to run when Little Bing hit him.
Several staff members saw trouble brewing and rushed in to stand between them. The deputy director came over too, smiling apologetically at them.
"Teacher Feng, Teacher Zhou, Director Chen said everyone's worked hard, so she's inviting all the mentors to dinner tonight."
Feng Bingbing nodded. "Thank you, Director Chen. I'll come over as soon as I've changed."
One thing had nothing to do with the other. Zhou Yiyi was a piece of trash, but Chen Xin had treated her well.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Only Zhou Yiyi had no idea he'd nearly been beaten up again. He was still grinning ingratiatingly as he said,
"Well, what a coincidence, Bingbing. See you later."
He flashed what he thought was a charmingly wicked smile, then turned and walked out of the dressing room.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Feng. The lock on this room's door broke a couple of days ago, and we haven't had a chance to fix it. That was our oversight. I'm so sorry, Teacher Feng!"
The deputy director wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and apologized repeatedly to Feng Bingbing.
He was in charge of the backstage crew. If Zhou Yiyi's stupidity caused an incident between the mentors, he'd be finished.
Each of the four mentors had a private dressing room, and anyone with common sense and manners knew to knock before entering a woman's room.
That was why the staff hadn't thought anything of it. Who could have expected Zhou Yiyi to barge straight into Feng Bingbing's room?
Feng Bingbing had managed to restrain herself just now, which was a pretty big favor to Chen Xin.
"Xiao Zhu, let's go."
Feng Bingbing nodded to the deputy director. She didn't want to change clothes here anymore, so she left the room with Xiao Zhu.
The deputy director could only smile wryly.
Damn it, why had they hired such a stupid pretty boy?!
"What?! Zhou Yiyi's bothering you again?"
A few minutes later, inside Feng Bingbing's van, Zhou Wanqing's face turned livid. She immediately called Zhou Yiyi's manager, Guo Yan.
"Sorry, Wanqing. This was my oversight. I'm talking to him right now!"
"Xiao Zhou didn't mean any harm. He just wanted to invite Bingbing to dinner. He doesn't really understand how things work between men and women."
"Yes, yes. I'm sorry. I promise it won't happen again!"
After hearing Guo Yan apologize over and over, Zhou Wanqing couldn't bring herself to get angry. All she could do was tell Xiao Zhu to keep an eye on Feng Bingbing and stay with her from now on.
At that moment, in another car, Guo Yan set down her phone and gave Zhou Yiyi a light smile.
"So you really like Feng Bingbing?"
Zhou Yiyi nodded immediately. "I've never seen a girl that beautiful. I have to make her mine."
Guo Yan thought for a moment, then nodded.
"That could work. Your popularity's been slipping lately. We can use Feng Bingbing to pair you up as a couple and get your buzz up again. But..."
Guo Yan lowered her voice. "What about your other girlfriends?"
Before you continue