Chapter Summaries

Cheng Lang advised Meng Tianye to stall before signing Star Entertainment Media’s contract and asked him to cover Cheng Lang’s performance at White Jade Capital. Back at the tea garden, Cheng Lang teased Qin Mu by eating the fruit meant for him and ended with a kiss.

• Cheng Lang won a mahjong round, then left the table to answer Meng Tianye’s call.
• Meng Tianye told Cheng Lang that the show would eliminate him at the next public performance unless he signed with Star Entertainment Media within a week.
• Cheng Lang told Meng Tianye to stall until he could return and asked him to cover Cheng Lang’s performance at White Jade Capital.
• Cheng Lang returned to Qin Mu, massaged his shoulders, and learned that Qin Mu was nearly finished working.
• Cheng Lang ate the fruit Qin Mu had planned to have after work, then kissed him and said he would eat whatever he wanted.

After returning to the city, Cheng Lang resumed his studies and work at White Jade Capital, where General Manager Lü offered him a job and help signing Meng Tianye. Cheng Lang challenged her reasoning for signing Meng Tianye, and she warned him that Star Entertainment Media was using the dispute to assert its power.

• Qin Mu kissed Cheng Lang to return the favor after Cheng Lang had stolen his fruit and kissed him.
• After the snow stopped, Cheng Lang returned to the city, reported to Meng Haiyang, and promised not to miss more classes before finals.
• Cheng Lang went back to White Jade Capital, where General Manager Lü invited him to work at her company and offered Qin Dynasty Records as a home for Meng Tianye.
• Cheng Lang showed General Manager Lü a video of Meng Tianye and said he had demanded strong contract terms because he believed Meng Tianye had potential.
• General Manager Lü argued that Meng Tianye had lost his leverage and explained that Star Entertainment Media was making an example of him to deter other contestants from negotiating.

Cheng Lang rejected General Manager Lü’s warnings about Star Entertainment Media and proposed a wager to prove Meng Tianye’s potential. General Manager Lü agreed to offer Meng Tianye a favorable contract if Cheng Lang made him one of the most discussed artists online within six months, and the chapter ended with her asking how he would do it.

• General Manager Lü warned Cheng Lang that Star Entertainment Media could damage Meng Tianye’s career and offered Qin Dynasty Records as his only viable agency.
• Cheng Lang argued that Star Entertainment Media lacked the power to control the talent show and wagered that it could not eliminate Meng Tianye at the next week’s live performance.
• Cheng Lang challenged General Manager Lü to prepare a contract worthy of Meng Tianye if he made him a widely followed and discussed artist within six months.
• General Manager Lü promised Meng Tianye a contract he could not refuse and offered Cheng Lang an artist director position if he succeeded.
• Cheng Lang said he only needed the promised contract and intended to become the one calling the shots, and General Manager Lü asked how he planned to achieve his goal.

Cheng Lang rejected General Manager Lü’s advances and explained that his partner was Qin, while insisting his plan to make Meng Tianye a star was his own. Later, he coached Meng Tianye to record the production team pressuring him to sign a contract, and arranged to attend Meng Tianye’s next live performance.

• Cheng Lang told General Manager Lü that his partner was Qin, and she realized Qin was her boss too.
• Cheng Lang apologized and told General Manager Lü that he was not attracted to women, while she insisted she only wanted to sleep with him.
• Cheng Lang called Meng Tianye late at night and told him to record the production team pressuring him to sign a contract.
• Cheng Lang gave Meng Tianye pointed questions designed to expose the production team’s conduct, and Meng Tianye agreed to ask them despite the risk.
• Cheng Lang asked for two tickets to Meng Tianye’s next live performance, and Meng Tianye agreed to give them to him.

Cheng Lang and Wang Liu'an went to the TV station to support Meng Tianye at a live competition recording, where Cheng Lang drew attention from fans and reporters. Rumors that Star Entertainment Media planned to eliminate Meng Tianye after he refused to sign with them prompted Brother Zhang to defend the competition's fairness.

• Cheng Lang invited Wang Liu'an to join him in cheering for Meng Tianye at the live performance recording.
• Cheng Lang charmed the waiting fans, while reporters took pictures and a bar regular recognized him and Wang Liu'an as Meng Tianye's friends.
• Brother Zhang confronted Cheng Lang at the TV station and warned him not to cause trouble.
• Fans discussed rumors that Star Entertainment Media would rig Meng Tianye's elimination because he had refused to sign with the company.
• Brother Zhang denied that the competition was rigged and said Meng Tianye's advancement depended on the judges' scores and the audience vote.

Cheng Lang and Wang Liu'an confronted Brother Zhang at the television station over the production team pressuring Meng Tianye to sign a contract. Brother Zhang tried to control the situation by demanding their phones, but Cheng Lang challenged the apparent singling-out and forced him to claim that all audience members had to surrender theirs.

• Brother Zhang took Cheng Lang and Wang Liu'an aside and accused them of spreading rumors about the production team trying to sign Meng Tianye.
• Brother Zhang urged Cheng Lang to persuade Meng Tianye to accept a Class C contract before he was eliminated from the live performance.
• Wang Liu'an identified himself as White Jade Capital's Entertainment Department manager and said Meng Tianye could return to White Jade Capital and later sign with Qin Dynasty Records.
• Brother Zhang ordered staff to collect Cheng Lang and Wang Liu'an's phones, and Cheng Lang pointed out that targeting only them could prove the team was discriminating against Meng Tianye.
• A staff member threatened to throw them out, but Brother Zhang intervened and claimed every audience member had to hand over their phone for the recording.

Cheng Lang and Wang Liu'an were confronted by Brother Zhang over a recording pen before Meng Tianye’s performance, and Cheng Lang’s pointed remarks drew the audience into the dispute. Brother Zhang accused Cheng Lang of baiting him, and production staff threatened to remove the pair as the recording was about to begin.

• Brother Zhang took Wang Liu'an’s recording pen and asked Cheng Lang and Wang Liu'an to come outside, suspecting them of secretly recording.
• Cheng Lang let Brother Zhang play the pen, which played a song instead of a recording, then accused the production team of feeling guilty about Meng Tianye’s treatment.
• Meng Tianye’s fans defended Cheng Lang and Wang Liu'an, prompting other fans to join the commotion and secretly record it.
• The directing team sent staff to calm the audience, but Brother Zhang accused Cheng Lang of deliberately baiting him into grabbing the pen.
• Brother Zhang pointed to the studio cameras as evidence, and a staff member warned Cheng Lang and Wang Liu'an that they could be asked to leave.

Cheng Lang challenged Brother Zhang’s accusations and turned the studio audience against the production crew by threatening legal action over defamation. He began explaining what he and Wang Liu'an had discussed, starting with his milk tea business, but had not yet revealed the full story.

• Brother Zhang threatened to post behind-the-scenes footage, but Cheng Lang accused him of defamation and warned that he would sue people involved.
• Meng Tianye's fans questioned how Cheng Lang could have heard Wang Liu'an's conversation and suspected the production crew was manipulating events.
• Brother Zhang demanded that Cheng Lang explain the misunderstanding, and Cheng Lang pointed out that Brother Zhang had admitted he was acting on suspicion.
• Cheng Lang took the microphone and introduced his Forest Style Milk Tea shop and its distinctive tea-whisking products.
• The audience discussed the shop and Meng Tianye's visit there, while Cheng Lang said he would explain what he and Wang Liu'an had discussed from the beginning.

Cheng Lang exposed Brother Zhang’s suspicions by recounting the factory grave-robbery incident and playing his recording of the old watchman. Meng Tianye tried to quit the competition in anger, but Cheng Lang and Wang Liu'an urged him to stay as the assistant director pushed to resume the delayed recording.

• Cheng Lang described how grave robbers had been caught at his factory and questioned whether they were connected to the factory’s deaths and haunting rumors.
• Cheng Lang played his recording of the old watchman and accused Brother Zhang of overreacting despite having no shady intentions.
• Brother Zhang realized Cheng Lang had set a trap to create witnesses in case Meng Tianye was unfairly eliminated, and he considered reporting the matter to his company.
• Meng Tianye rushed out from backstage, shoved Brother Zhang, and declared that he was quitting the competition.
• Cheng Lang and Wang Liu'an persuaded Meng Tianye not to leave, while the assistant director urged everyone to stop delaying the recording.

Cheng Lang challenged the production team over Meng Tianye’s elimination, but the assistant director turned the confrontation into a speech defending the show’s fairness and accusing Cheng Lang of chasing publicity. Cheng Lang let the team believe it had won the exchange, while remaining confident that he had achieved his goal of preventing Meng Tianye from being eliminated without resistance.

• Meng Tianye started to confront the assistant director, but Wang Liu'an sent him backstage to prepare for his performance.
• The assistant director took back the microphone and told the audience that Tomorrow's Starlight judged contestants fairly, while suggesting that Cheng Lang and Meng Tianye were imagining persecution and seeking publicity.
• The audience applauded the assistant director and began doubting Meng Tianye’s claims, while the production team’s executive producer concluded that Cheng Lang had deliberately provoked the dispute.
• The assistant director mocked Cheng Lang for promoting his milk tea shop, and Cheng Lang replied that he admired the production team’s generosity.
• Wang Liu'an worried that Cheng Lang’s plan had failed, but Cheng Lang remained confident that he had kept Meng Tianye from being eliminated too easily.

Cheng Lang and Producer Yao Chunguang thwarted Star Entertainment Media’s plan to eliminate Meng Tianye, who advanced to the next round. After recording, Cheng Lang’s approved free-food promotion outside the TV station infuriated the production staff.

• Cheng Lang secretly messaged Shen Huaiyu and Liang Yanyan, then updated Forest Style Milk Tea’s official accounts.
• Producer Yao Chunguang persuaded Xu Haolong to postpone eliminating Meng Tianye, citing the risks involving Meng Tianye’s friends, White Jade Capital, and Qin Dynasty Records.
• Meng Tianye advanced smoothly after his performance, and the contestants left the TV station after recording ended.
• Cheng Lang’s Forest Style Milk Tea truck handed out free drinks and snacks to audience members and reporters outside the station.
• Cheng Lang defended the promotion by pointing to its permits and the banner clarifying that Forest Style Milk Tea was not Tomorrow’s Starlight’s official milk tea.

Cheng Lang used Tomorrow's Starlight's trending topics to promote Forest Style Milk Tea, drawing more attention than the show's contestants and angering title sponsor First Milk Tea. The chapter ended with Star Entertainment Media's executives struggling to decide how to handle Meng Tianye's ongoing promotion of a competing brand.

• After the fan support event, X City TV Station banned celebrity food trucks from setting up outside the station.
• Cheng Lang posted photos of Forest Style Milk Tea's support event under Tomorrow's Starlight's trending topic and interacted with commenters.
• Netizens discovered Cheng Lang was the college student from a popular debt-collection video, bringing more attention to his milk tea brand.
• Meng Tianye liked Cheng Lang's post and publicly praised Forest Style Milk Tea.
• First Milk Tea's publicity manager discovered Forest Style Milk Tea had dominated the show's promotional discussion and alerted the company.
• Xu Haolong demanded an explanation from Star Entertainment Media's staff, who worried that eliminating Meng Tianye would not stop his promotion of Forest Style Milk Tea.

The production team struggled to respond after Meng Tianye promoted a competing milk tea shop, while Cheng Lang arranged for General Manager Lü to judge Meng Tianye’s abilities in the next round. The chapter ended with Meng Tianye revealing that contestants would draw lots for their next songs, raising Cheng Lang’s concern that the production team might rig the selection.

• Xu Haolong ordered Zhang Yuan to tell Meng Tianye to stop promoting other brands or face legal action, but Meng Tianye refused and hung up.
• Zhang Yuan warned the production team that they had no legal grounds to punish Meng Tianye or cut his footage, and the team worried the title sponsor might withhold its final payment.
• General Manager Lü told Cheng Lang she accepted losing their bet but wanted to wait until Meng Tianye was eliminated before signing him, so she could first see him perform at his full potential.
• Cheng Lang told Meng Tianye what General Manager Lü wanted, and Meng Tianye said the contestants would draw lots for their next songs.
• Cheng Lang worried the production team might rig the draw to give Meng Tianye a song unsuited to his strengths.

Cheng Lang asked Meng Tianye to refine his song for Forest Style Milk Tea and arranged for Qin Dynasty Records’ top producers to work on it. At the recording studio, Meng Tianye learned that the meeting would also assess him as a potential artist, and he was introduced to manager Kevin and three veteran producers.

• Meng Tianye doubted he could meet Cheng Lang’s detailed arrangement requirements for the milk tea shop’s promotional song.
• Cheng Lang called General Manager Lü and proposed spending two million on the song’s production while having Qin Dynasty Records assess Meng Tianye.
• Cheng Lang and Meng Tianye arrived at Qin Dynasty Records, where General Manager Lü took them to meet the three producers.
• General Manager Lü introduced artist director Liang Wenkai, who called himself Kevin and said he would only manage highly talented newcomers.
• General Manager Lü introduced veteran producers Wen Yuan, Zhou Miao, and Zhao Mingyue.

General Manager Lü introduced Qin Dynasty Records’ top producers to Cheng Lang and Meng Tianye, while making clear that Meng still had to prove himself before the company would consider signing him. After reviewing Meng’s milk tea promotional song, the producers praised its melody and advised him to remove the mismatched guitar solo and use simple, hummable vocals.

• General Manager Lü explained that Qin Dynasty Records’ board had to approve its heavily promoted newcomer and that signing discussions would wait until Meng Tianye finished recording Tomorrow’s Starlight.
• Zhao Mingyue and Kevin challenged Meng Tianye to prove his abilities through the talent show, and Meng admitted he expected to be eliminated soon.
• Cheng Lang redirected the discussion to Meng Tianye’s new song and asked the producers to review his score and demo.
• Wen Yuan and Zhou Miao praised the song’s fresh melody, but Zhou Miao said the guitar solo clashed with its light style, and Zhao Mingyue agreed.
• Wen Yuan suggested keeping the lyrics simple and having a girl hum them so the song would suit the client’s fresh atmosphere and remain easy to remember.

Cheng Lang discussed the musical direction for Forest Style Milk Tea’s promotional song with the producers and invited Shen Huaiyu to bring freshly made milk tea to the recording company. General Manager Lü questioned Cheng Lang about his confidence in Meng Tianye just as Meng Tianye appeared at the studio door.

• Wen Yuan and Zhou Miao suggested different musical styles and instruments for the promotional song, then asked Cheng Lang to choose the main melody instrument.
• Cheng Lang suggested trying the piano, cello, and guitar, and offered to treat the producers to milk tea from his shop.
• Cheng Lang called Shen Huaiyu, who agreed to bring milk tea paste and a tea set from the shop to the recording company.
• General Manager Lü asked Cheng Lang about his phone call and his confidence in Meng Tianye, and Cheng Lang said Meng Tianye could overcome the producers’ prejudice himself.
• Cheng Lang spotted Meng Tianye outside the recording studio and asked whether General Manager Lü would be disappointed by him.

Shen Huaiyu delivered milk tea to the record company, where Zhao Mingyue challenged Meng Tianye to improve his performances. At the next draw for the contestants’ public performance songs, Meng Tianye drew “The Interrupted Dream — Kunqu,” while Shen Huaiyu impressed the producers with his tea-whisking and knowledge of classical music.

• Shen Huaiyu arrived at the record company with milk tea, and Cheng Lang brought him upstairs to the recording studio.
• Zhao Mingyue criticized Meng Tianye’s singing for lacking emotional impact, and Meng Tianye vowed to prove himself at the next public performance.
• Meng Tianye returned to the TV station for the song draw, where the contestants learned they would perform songs selected from twenty envelopes.
• Meng Tianye drew “The Interrupted Dream — Kunqu,” leaving him and the other contestants stunned.
• Shen Huaiyu prepared milk tea for the group and discussed classical elements in pop music with the three producers.

Shen Huaiyu refused Qin Dynasty Records’ offer, choosing to stay beside Cheng Lang, while Cheng Lang sought help for Meng Tianye’s challenge of performing Kunqu in a rock style. Shen Huaiyu offered to connect Meng Tianye with the X City Chinese Opera Troupe, and Cheng Lang teased him for helping despite their past grievances.

• Liang Wenkai and General Manager Lü tried to persuade Shen Huaiyu to sign with Qin Dynasty Records, but he declined, preferring to build the milk tea business with Cheng Lang and avoid public exposure.
• Cheng Lang encouraged Meng Tianye over the phone to persist with his assigned Kunqu song, then invited him to White Jade Capital to discuss it.
• Wen Yuan gave Cheng Lang a list of retro-style songs blending pop and classical elements to inspire Meng Tianye, while Zhao Mingyue described the performance as a test of his talent.
• Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu left Qin Dynasty Records and headed to White Jade Capital, where Shen Huaiyu offered to introduce Meng Tianye to Teacher Liu Sexin and the X City Chinese Opera Troupe.
• Cheng Lang teased Shen Huaiyu for offering to help Meng Tianye despite their past grievances.

Cheng Lang chose to seek help from the Yao brothers rather than risk Shen Huaiyu's connections with Director Liu while assisting Meng Tianye's Kunqu-rock adaptation. At White Jade Capital, Cheng Lang learned that Qin had been upset because he had not contacted him in nearly half a month.

• Shen Huaiyu offered to help Meng Tianye, but Cheng Lang decided not to involve Director Liu and planned to ask the Yao brothers for help instead.
• Cheng Lang and Shen Huaiyu arrived at White Jade Capital, where the floor manager teased Cheng Lang about supposedly dating Meng Tianye.
• Cheng Lang went to the VIP room and found Han Mingchen and Assistant Hu waiting outside.
• Assistant Hu and Han Mingchen scolded Cheng Lang for neglecting Qin and told him that Qin had been in a bad mood since they started dating.

Cheng Lang entered the VIP room to meet Qin Mu, who had called Meng Tianye in while waiting for him. Cheng Lang apologized for neglecting Qin Mu, and Qin Mu revealed that he had also been busy investigating the car accident and handling a problem with the Weng Group’s branch in Country Y.

• Assistant Hu told Cheng Lang that Qin Mu and Meng Tianye were in the VIP room, and Han Mingchen urged him to go inside.
• Cheng Lang entered and found Meng Tianye anxious after waiting in a dark room with Qin Mu; Meng Tianye tried to reassure Qin Mu that he and Cheng Lang were only friends.
• Cheng Lang sent Meng Tianye out so he could speak privately with Qin Mu.
• Cheng Lang apologized for paying little attention to Qin Mu over the past two weeks and asked whether Qin Mu was angry.
• Qin Mu denied being angry and said he had been investigating the car accident and resolving a problem at the Weng Group’s branch in Country Y.