Early morning, six o’clock.
“Wake up, wake up! Time to gather!”
A clamor rose from the Tenghuang dorms at the crack of dawn.
Soon, clattering sounds echoed from the three dormitories.
“Team leader, A-Jing, you guys fight hard!”
Hua Er carried the luggage he had packed last night in one hand, and in the other, a half-asleep Yuan Jing.
“Don’t worry, we’ll go first. You guys train well at the company too.”
Hua Er lowered his voice slightly.
“You’ve seen for yourselves—my brother wasn’t exaggerating. Manager Fan really is capable. Seize the opportunity. Who knows, next time it might be your turn.”
“We know! You guys do well too, team leader!”
Hua Er carried them out, and at the same time, doors of the other dorms housing newcomers opened.
The other two carried their own luggage and approached him.
“Hua Ge.”
“Hua Ge.”
“Let’s go.”
Hua Er took a deep breath.
Today was the day they officially joined the show!
The mood was surprisingly positive.
Fan Qing stood by the dim roadside, observing briefly, then pulled his hood over his head and continued his morning run.
The talent show officially aired under the title “Shine for Tomorrow”.
The number of audition participants was evenly split between company-selected contestants and others, totaling 108 trainees.
As soon as this number was released, netizens jokingly gave the show a new nickname:
“The 108 Heroes of Liangshan Marsh.”
“LOL, I just thought of this, and you guys already named it? Honestly, I would never have thought of this before, but somehow, this show feels like a comedy to me now. I swear, every time I open my computer, I have to remind myself—it’s NOT a comedy show!!!”
“Hee hee hee, as expected of you guys! The name is perfect, I love it!”
“LOL, the show has officially donned a comedy skin and can’t take it off, huh?”
“Well, what choice do we have? The show hasn’t officially started yet. Might as well have some fun ourselves first and make everyone laugh.”
“Damn it, ‘The 108 Heroes of Liangshan Marsh’? How am I supposed to face all these guys? Treat them as heroes? I can’t hold it in, let me spit out my meal first.”
“Seems like the reaction is pretty good?”
Fan Qing browsed through the online comments, a faint smile playing across his face.
In the meeting room, everyone exchanged glances, then all turned toward the tall man at the other end of the table.
This man was nearly two meters tall, instantly towering over everyone else.
Add in his naturally curly long hair, a deep V-neck exposing half his chest despite the cold, and a ruggedly handsome face—the first impression was shocking.
This was the famous master of ghost-cut videos online?
His appearance caught everyone off guard.
Despite the attention, Wu Shiba didn’t care at all.
After all, he didn’t have to speak at the meeting. He just followed the instructions from above.
However…
Wu Shiba glanced at Fan Qing and boomed,
“Manager Fan’s move is sharp. I see now that everyone is talking about fangirling, but in reality, they’re mostly treating this show as a joke—or rather, a comedy show.”
Impressive. No wonder he’s management-level; this guy truly has skill.
Is he raised in a megaphone?
The other employees sitting around the table all felt headache-inducing stress.
Fan Qing remained expressionless.
So this is why putting Wu Shiba directly across the table caused objections—they should understand now.
After some more discussion about arrangements, everyone hurriedly left the room once the meeting ended.
Fan Qing noticed everyone deliberately avoiding passing by Wu Shiba’s side, and he raised an eyebrow.
With this precedent, proposing online meetings in the future shouldn’t meet any resistance, right?
Shine for Tomorrow officially launched, and nearly everyone focused their attention on this grand show.
The first episode already highlighted over a dozen trainees with distinctive traits.
Among them, the most notable was Yuan Jing.
With a striking resemblance to Jing Yuan and an extremely similar name, he immediately drew massive attention from the day the official list was released.
In the first episode, Yuan Jing’s abilities—which contradicted his appearance—almost crushed the other 100 participants, instantly propelling him into the top ten.
However, because of how much he resembled Jing Yuan, he carried immense pressure from the start.
Even though Fan Qing had prepared many strategies to divert audience attention, Yuan Jing remained the most targeted trainee.
“I really don’t get why they had to bring in a second Jing Yuan. Isn’t one enough in this circle? Now they even want a duplicate? I really don’t understand if this industry wants progress at all. Are they seriously doing copy-and-paste now?”
“Funny… like Yuan Jing has anything to do with Jing Yuan. Jing Yuan? He only rose step by step by stealing resources from Nie Luo—what does he actually have? Nothing but that face. Yuan Jing, on the other hand, has loved singing and dancing since he was a kid. He’s been training in music and dance since childhood. In his first solo performance, anyone could see his experience, right? You can’t just compare him to that trash Jing Yuan because they happen to look exactly alike. Laughable. Jing Yuan… really?”
“What about Jing Yuan? No matter how trash he is, he has the means to take others’ resources and rise. Even now, if something is exposed, someone else takes the fall, and he can still stand there proudly showing off the new endorsement he got. Can Yuan Jing match that? Dancing at the venue—so what? There are plenty of talented people in this industry, but how many actually become popular?”
“As a bystander, I can’t even tell whether the earlier guy was supporting or mocking them—it’s high-level trolling at this point.”
Online, the debates raged day after day about Yuan Jing and Jing Yuan.
Meanwhile, everything else was calm, moving along the comedic route.
The stark contrast of these two reactions confirmed that Fan Qing’s efforts were effective.
But it also showed that some people weren’t willing to give up and still wanted to stir trouble.
“He really doesn’t know when to quit,” Fan Qing said lazily, twirling a pen between his fingers.
Hua Er and Yuan Jing were performing well.
Surprisingly, Wu Shiba and the “Director” also suddenly started generating revenue for the company thanks to this momentum.
Compared to the still-novice Hua Er and Yuan Jing, these two had grown into full-fledged contributors.
Fan Qing’s mood lifted as he watched the company’s new income streams.
“Yuan Jing’s arrival was too coincidental. Of course he’d care,” he said thoughtfully.
Nie Luo’s tone shifted.
“You’ve been busy lately?”
“Huh? Not too much. I’ve wrapped up all I could on Shine for Tomorrow, and the company’s fairly calm. Why do you ask?”
Why is Nie Luo asking this? Fan Qing raised an eyebrow.
Nie Luo was silent for a few seconds.
Hmm?
Fan Qing straightened slightly. Something felt off.
“What’s up, Ge?”
Unable to figure it out, Fan Qing decided to try using his □□ voice.
He knew exactly what tone made him sound most seductive.
Nie Luo was silent a few more seconds.
“…I’ve wrapped filming.”
“I know,” Fan Qing replied, analyzing quickly.
What did Nie Luo mean by telling him this?
Of course, Fan Qing knew Nie Luo’s Rivers and Mountains had wrapped.
And the wrap party, if he remembered correctly, was tonight.
Since the day Fan Qing moved into Nie Luo’s apartment, he’d been counting down to this day.
But…
Fan Qing probed gently.
“I thought after your wrap, you’d be appearing on Shine for Tomorrow immediately?”
He felt a twinge of frustration.
He knew that after Nie Luo set up his studio, he’d be busy.
He also knew that as a top-tier celebrity, Nie Luo wouldn’t have a moment’s rest.
But…
Fan Qing opened and closed his fingers.
Even with a boyfriend, he genuinely didn’t get to have him to himself.
A little sting of melancholy passed through him.
Still, just thinking of Nie Luo, a mix of helplessness and softness softened him again.
What could he do?
People were chosen for themselves.
And…
Fan Qing’s mind flashed a few enticing images.
Waiting was always worthwhile.
A true hunter always waits patiently for the perfect moment to capture their prey.
Unexpectedly, Nie Luo only uttered a single “hmm.”
In that simple sound, Fan Qing felt meaning hidden beneath.
But what was it?
He couldn’t figure it out.
After hanging up, Fan Qing sank into thought.
Something wasn’t right. He felt he’d missed something.
Yet he had double-checked Nie Luo’s schedule.
After the wrap party, Nie Luo was supposed to head straight to Shine for Tomorrow, a seven-day schedule.
So why?
Why did Nie Luo’s voice sound just slightly… disappointed?
Fan Qing was puzzled when suddenly Jin Yi pushed open the office door.
“Heh, you’re in the office. Perfect timing.”
“Perfect timing for what?” Fan Qing looked up.
Jin Yi chuckled.
“Well, I came to say hi. Don’t bother me next week, okay? I’m going out for a week of fun.”
Fan Qing froze.
He instinctively caught on.
“Next week? Why? What’s special about next week?”
Jin Yi blinked.
“Wait—you don’t know? Next week… Christmas! You two lovebirds should be more aware of these holidays than me, right?”
Shouldn’t couples enjoy holidays, make romantic gestures, show off affection…?
Fan Qing pondered.
He checked the calendar.
Next week? That’s exactly when Nie Luo would appear on Shine for Tomorrow.
If that’s really…
“Hey, you hear me? Just a heads-up, I’m going to have fun. Don’t bother me while I’m out.”
Jin Yi waved and started to leave.
“Wait.”
Fan Qing’s hand shot out, catching Jin Yi’s hood with precision.
“What’s this for?”
Jin Yi’s instincts screamed that something bad was about to happen.
Fan Qing smiled faintly.
“You can have your holiday… but a whole week? That won’t do.”
He was thinking—he might need just one day with Jin Yi covering for him.
Jin Yi’s face fell. Disbelief written all over it.
How could someone be so shameless in this world?
If he hadn’t reminded Fan Qing, Fan Qing wouldn’t even have known next week was Christmas.
Betrayal! Zero humanity!
“You—this is absurd!” Jin Yi protested.
Fan Qing, meanwhile, started flipping through various documents he needed, casually handling the objection.
“I agree to let you have six days off. I only need one day. How is that unreasonable?”
Six to one—by any calculation, he was clearly the one losing out here.
“Bullshit! This is outrageous!”
Jin Yi’s indignation flared.
“You want your leave on Christmas itself! That’s the most fun day!”