Volume One, Chapter Thirty: Director Yan Ming

"Idol Two and a Half Years" had officially begun in full swing.

The next morning.

Jiang Yu boarded the bus sent by the production team to pick up the contestants.

Thirty-six contestants, together with the accompanying staff, filled two buses to capacity.

It had to be said, the contestants were all dressed in the latest trends, their faces adorned with exquisite makeup, dazzling accessories hung from their bodies, and the air was heavy with an overpowering scent.

"Yu, are you alright?" Liu Bin noticed Jiang Yu’s furrowed brows. "Don’t be too nervous, everything will be fine."

Jiang Yu rolled down the window. "I’m not nervous—the smell is just too much, it’s making me carsick."

"Brother, you’re absolutely right."

At that moment, a young man behind them, his face flushed, clearly another victim of motion sickness, inhaled the fresh air and gradually recovered.

"It’s way too much. If you hadn’t opened the window, I would’ve thrown up," he said.

Jiang Yu just smiled without replying.

The young man seemed quite friendly. "Hey, which company are you with?"

"I just graduated from college," Jiang Yu replied.

"Wow, a fresh graduate?" The young man brightened. "Hi, I’m Guo Qiang, from Huayue Entertainment."

Huayue Entertainment—wasn’t that Su Muyu’s company?

"Hello, I’m Jiang Yu." Jiang Yu shook his hand, giving him another glance. He wanted to chat more, but the smell was still overwhelming. Better wait until they arrived.

"I’m going to rest for a bit. Still a little dizzy."

"Alright," Guo Qiang nodded and started fiddling with his phone. He opened Weibo and searched for Jiang Yu’s name.

He found that Jiang Yu already had tens of thousands of followers.

Not bad for a recent graduate. Maybe he was an internet-famous singer?

He looked over the contestant list. Besides those from entertainment companies, there were also some regular folks and a few influencers.

But as he scrolled further, he saw a long list of trending topics.

#CampusLegendarySinger#
#JiangYuPlainFace#
#JiangYuAtTheCrossroadsOfBloomingPhoenixFlowers#

He was thrilled. He’d been with Huayue for years but had never really taken off, only amassing a little over a hundred thousand fans.

To prepare for this show, he’d trained in isolation for months. During his breaks, he’d listened to these two songs—truly works of genius.

Who would have thought the original songwriter was right beside him?

If he could get a song from Jiang Yu, it would surely make him famous.

Just as he was about to speak to Jiang Yu again, the bus arrived.

Under the guidance of the staff, everyone poured off the buses and into the studio.

"Anyone who needs a touch-up, there are two public makeup rooms on the right. The restroom is also to the right; just walk to the end. Get ready—once lunch ends at noon, recording will begin."

"I can’t. It was hot on the bus, I need to fix my makeup."

"Me too, I need another layer to hold everything in place."

"My hair still needs a little work…"

Once the staff left, a large group hurried toward the makeup rooms. So many people fighting for just two rooms—it was like a crowd of elderly folks scrambling for eggs at a supermarket.

"Bro, I’m going to touch up my makeup too," Liu Bin, who’d stuck by Jiang Yu from the start, said.

Jiang Yu nodded. "Go ahead."

He then walked to a corner and lay down on a sofa, closing his eyes to rest. If he’d known, he would have come a bit later. Since he didn’t need makeup, he might as well get some extra sleep.

Guo Qiang, once finished with his touch-up, looked around and noticed Jiang Yu napping on the sofa.

Unbelievable—to sleep at the recording site!

Just then, a cheerful young girl approached. "Qiang!"

"Deng Xiaoqi, you’re here too."

She was from the same company—Huayue Entertainment.

"Yes." She also spotted Jiang Yu asleep on the sofa. "Qiang, do you know him?"

Guo Qiang nodded. "His name is Jiang Yu."

"Jiang Yu?" At the name, Deng Xiaoqi let out a little cry.

"You know him?" Guo Qiang was curious.

Deng Xiaoqi nodded. "You know Li Hao, right? He was supposed to join the show with me, but something happened to him recently, so President Su replaced him. The one who took his spot is Jiang Yu!"

Guo Qiang was taken aback. The name Li Hao was familiar.

Huayue Entertainment focused on content development, but the market was what it was. As a company, they still had to adapt.

Li Hao was one of the young idols Huayue had cultivated, with several hundred thousand fans—a decent success for the company.

But after a little bit of fame, Li Hao let it get to his head, got tangled up in some fan scandals, and caused the company a lot of trouble.

Who would have thought his spot would go to Jiang Yu?

So, maybe Jiang Yu would end up signing with Huayue? That would make it much easier to ask for a song!

As everyone bustled about, a group of people entered.

"Hello everyone, I’m Yan Ming, the director of this show. We’re about to start recording, so please get ready. We’ll be explaining the competition rules soon."

At the director’s arrival, all the contestants hurried over, including Wang Linkai.

"Yu, where’d you go?" Liu Bin began searching for Jiang Yu.

"Jiang Yu’s napping on the sofa in the corner. Go wake him up," Guo Qiang also ran over.

Liu Bin finally spotted Jiang Yu but before he could reach him, the director began to speak.

The two of them could only stand in front of the director, adjusting their positions to block his view.

"Check if your hotel roommates are all present," Yan Ming said dryly.

"Everyone’s here."

"All present."

After a quick glance around, the contestants replied and then fell silent.

Liu Bin braced himself. "All here."

But just then, a voice cut through the room.

"Director, there’s still someone sleeping on the sofa over there."

In the quiet, the voice was jarringly loud, drawing everyone’s attention.

Who else could it be but that troublemaker from yesterday?

Liu Bin shot him a glare.

Wang Linkai raised his hand, pointing at Jiang Yu in the corner and speaking righteously to the director.

Yan Ming turned to see a figure lying motionless on the sofa.

His expression darkened.

"Director, he’s my roommate. He was feeling a bit unwell yesterday. I’ll wake him up now," Liu Bin quickly said as he rushed over. "Yu, wake up."

Jiang Yu slowly awoke from his daze.

"The director’s here, come on."

Still groggy, unsure of where he was or what he was doing, Jiang Yu was pulled into line by Liu Bin.

Just as they were about to join the group, Yan Ming stopped them.

"Wait. What’s your name?"