Volume 1, Chapter 167: Meeting the Voice Mentors

The day for the recording of The Voice of China finally arrived.

Early in the morning, Jiang Yu, Guo Qiang, Liu Bin, and Wei Hualing took a flight together to Yuhang.

The Voice of China was being held in this very city.

On the airplane.

Jiang Yu was still a bit worried. He was quite unconcerned about Wei Hualing and Liu Bin, but he was extremely worried about Guo Qiang.

"Brother Qiang, you couldn't rap before, but you've been practicing for two weeks now. How are your lips holding up?"

Guo Qiang looked very cheerful. "Don't worry, Brother Yu. My tongue is super slick now. Although I still can't rattle off long, fast sections, the lyrics you gave us for our song are relatively short, so it's completely fine."

Hearing Guo Qiang's words, Wei Hualing's expression became somewhat awkward.

"Brother Yu, some of my lyrics can be appropriately given to Brother Qiang."

Which singer does not care about their performance on stage?

In such a long song, Guo Qiang's lines consisted of just a few "yo"s and a couple of rap verses.

Over time, Guo Qiang would inevitably grow dissatisfied. If things continued this way, the group that Brother Yu had worked so hard to put together would run into serious trouble.

Who would have thought Guo Qiang would hurriedly retort, "Sister Ling, you don't need to worry. Brother Yu has his reasons for arranging it this way."

Then he said with a grin, "We agreed beforehand on a fifty-fifty split. Look, I just casually drop a few 'yo's, and I get the same amount of money as you—I'm actually making a profit!"

When Jiang Yu had talked with them earlier, he had explained all the details of the group, including the profit-sharing arrangement.

At the time, Guo Qiang even felt that since he had fewer lyrics, he should take a smaller cut, but Jiang Yu firmly insisted on a fifty-fifty split between the two, fearing that Wei Hualing might feel unbalanced.

"To tell you the truth, brother here is a worldly person. I entered the entertainment industry to make money. I really don't care how many lyrics I have, as long as I can make money."

Jiang Yu looked at him with some surprise. Guo Qiang was quite a talent; his perspective was very clear and practical.

"Hualing, don't worry. I have a plan for promoting both of you. Right now, you might have more lyrics and Guo Qiang has it easy, but things might turn the other way around later on!"

"Don't do that, Brother Yu. I think it's very comfortable right now, I can keep going like this forever!"

Hearing this, Guo Qiang instantly put on a mournful face.

Few lyrics, same pay—who wouldn't love such a comfortable life?

The group burst into laughter.

"The flight is approaching its destination, Yuhang Terminal. The lavatories are now closed, please fasten your seatbelts..."

Time tends to fly when people are chatting. It felt like they had just taken off when the flight announcement began playing.

Jiang Yu smiled. "Alright, we're about to arrive. Your journey is about to begin. Keep it up!"

The plane landed.

At the exit, as a mentor, Jiang Yu was headed to a different accommodation than the contestants.

Therefore, after leaving the airport, the group parted ways, and the car picking up Jiang Yu was already waiting at the arrival gate.

He was driven to the hotel designated for the mentors.

Guided by the staff, Jiang Yu completed his registration and proceeded to the mentors' gathering area.

The staff informed him that the other mentors had already arrived.

Jiang Yu nodded, walked in, and instantly broke into a grin. They were all acquaintances—fitting for a parallel world.

Na Ying, with her arrogant expression;

Wang Feng, wearing leather pants, combed-back hair, and glasses, who always wanted to make the headlines but never quite managed it;

Along with Yang Kun, and Gao Song, who didn't understand music.

Walking into the room, Jiang Yu carefully sized them up.

Director Liu Ming walked over with a smile. "Hello, Mentor Jiang Yu, we finally meet."

"Hello." Jiang Yu nodded and then politely looked at the mentors who were already seated. "Hello, everyone."

However, Jiang Yu's polite demeanor did not receive a single response.

It had to be said, they truly lived up to being a group of "big shots." Their attitude toward him was quite haughty, and they put on plenty of airs.

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat awkward.

Director Liu Ming turned around, trying to smooth things over. "Alright, all our mentors are here now. I assume everyone is already familiar with each other, so I won't make formal introductions. The Voice is recording tonight, and I hope we can pull together to make this show a success."

"Director, you should still introduce him. I know the other three, but I've never heard of the person who just walked in."

In the entertainment industry, there were three main circles.

The Beijing circle, the Northwest circle, and the Hong Kong-Taiwan circle.

Among them, the most powerful by far was the Beijing circle.

Na Ying was a member of the Beijing circle, backed by super-heavyweights and rumored to be some sort of Manchu banner princess. Toward such a person, the director also adopted an attitude of avoiding offense wherever possible.

Liu Ming looked somewhat embarrassed. "Let me do the introduction then. This is Jiang Yu, a dark-horse singer who debuted last year, a well-known genius in the industry. Ever since his debut, all his songs have remained on the bestseller charts."

"So you're Jiang Yu," Na Ying said, standing up directly. "Now that I've seen you, is that it? If nothing else, I'm going back to rest. Recording the show tonight is exhausting."

As for the others, they didn't say anything, but they didn't give Jiang Yu any pleasant looks either.

The four of them walked straight out of the reception room.

A cold glint appeared in Jiang Yu's eyes.

These people had truly been comfortable for too long, and had been praised to such heights that their noses were pointed straight at the sky.

They were insufferable no matter which world he was in.

Although Jiang Yu hadn't provoked them, he knew very well why they were targeting him.

It was because his songs and his reputation had been skyrocketing ever since his debut.

In the music scene, mutual suppression among singers had been going on for decades. Whether in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the mainland, or even abroad, such occurrences were commonplace.

After all, the entertainment industry was a battlefield of fame and fortune where one actor exits and another enters. When someone became excessively famous and drew excessive attention, it was bound to incur the dissatisfaction of certain people within the circle, and they would resort to every means possible to suppress you.

Star Entertainment had been like that before, and these people were the same now, and this certainly wouldn't be the last time.

Especially this cohort of singers who had achieved fame at a young age, looked down their noses at everyone else, and fancied themselves superior.

Jiang Yu let out a cold snort. Who hadn't achieved fame young?

If they wanted to suppress him, he would just have to see if they still had the capability to do so now.

Liu Ming smiled. "Mentor Jiang Yu, don't take it to heart. Those mentors just have quite a bit of personality."

"It's fine," Jiang Yu said indifferently. "However, I think you should still have a word with them. It's for the good of the show. They have personalities, but mine is no less sharp than theirs."

Hearing this, Director Liu Ming's eyes lit up.

Personality was precisely what he wanted! If you didn't have personality, he wouldn't have invited you in the first place. With veteran and newcomer singers clashing on stage, what topic could possibly be more explosive than that?

"Mentor Jiang, let me explain the rules of our show to you."

"Isn't it just listening to who sings well, pressing the button, and turning the chairs? Are there other rules?"

Liu Ming looked at Jiang Yu, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly as he explained the rules.

This talent show was completely different from previous ones.

In this show, the mentors had to select contestants to join their respective teams during the preliminary phase.

And the mentors would also compete against one another.

The mentor whose team emerged victorious would keep all their team members, receive recommendation votes for the finals, and even have the chance to revive a eliminated contestant.

Listening to these rules, Jiang Yu's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Director Liu, you guys really know how to play."