SGSHE97

Screech—

The moment the car came to a halt, Jing Heguang flung the door open and ran out.

Xiao Chen hurriedly closed the door and followed his boss.

Let alone Jing Heguang, even Xiao Chen found it hard to believe that Luan Xing’an would get into a fistfight.

After all, Luan Xing’an had an incredibly good temperament. At a glance, he was clearly the introverted, reasonable, and gentle, the kind of person who rarely even got into arguments.

But the director had staked his reputation on the matter, leaving Jing Heguang and Xiao Chen with no choice but to believe it.

Jing Heguang hurried into Green Channel studio building.

***

In the corridor outside the trainees’ practice room.

Twenty trainees stood in two separate groups, having pulled the two fighters apart.

The director stood between them, berating the pair: “Nothing better to do? Think you’re hot stuff now, do you? Fighting right here during the show?!”

In all his years in the industry, the director had never actually seen a fistfight break out during filming, at most, there were arguments. Today, these two youngsters had truly opened his eyes to a new level of trouble.

It was a terrible look for the show, the director really wanted to tear into both of them.

If not for the fact that Luan Xing’an was Jing Heguang’s boyfriend, he would have already chewed him out mercilessly.

Seeing how furious the director was, Jing Heguang, still panting from his rush, spoke up: “Haa…Director, I’m here. What happened? How did a fight break out all of a sudden?”

Jing Heguang first glanced at Luan Xing’an, noticing a red, swollen patch on his cheek and disheveled hair and clothes, though he didn’t appear to be seriously injured.

Shifting his gaze to the side, he saw the other trainee, a young man with dyed yellow hair, looking almost the same as Luan Xing’an.

When he noticed Jing Heguang looking his way, the young man guiltily averted his eyes and shot a furtive, angry glare at Luan Xing’an.

The director was already run off his feet, and having to worry about matters that weren’t even his concern left him furious. “What is going on here…Regardless of the cause, is this any place for a fistfight?”

Luan Xing’an stole a glance at brother Jing, then lowered his head, covering his face.

Jing Heguang turned his gaze toward the guy with the buzz cut.

That guy, the buzz-cut, was something of a big brother figure among the trainees. He spoke up immediately: “Teacher Jing, here’s the situation: Huang Zeping was talking to Xiao Pang (little fatty), and Xing’an overheard them. He grabbed Old Huang by the collar and started an argument.”

“After a few heated words, they started fighting. But it only lasted a moment, the rest of us heard the commotion and rushed out to pull them apart. We don’t know the specific details of what was said beforehand.”

Even the buzz cut guy didn’t know exactly what Luan Xing’an had heard that made him so angry he lost his cool.

Jing Heguang looked at the trainee with dyed yellow hair: “Huang Zeping, what did you say?”

Huang Zeping saw that Luan Xing’an wasn’t speaking up, so his eyes darted around. “I was just spouting some nonsense. He was the one who threw the first punch!”

Jing Heguang frowned and looked at Luan Xing’an: “Xing’an, what did he say?”

At the mere thought of what Huang Zeping had said, Luan Xing’an’s face flushed red with anger.

Clearly, Huang Zeping realized Luan Xing’an couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, a look of barely concealed smugness crossed his face.

The guy had actually dared to grab his shirt. If people hadn’t arrived so quickly, he would have beaten that pretty boy Luan Xing’an until he cried!

Luan Xing’an grew even angrier and glared furiously at Huang Zeping, yet he remained silent, making it clear he had no intention of speaking.

The one who knew the truth wouldn’t speak, and the others were in the dark.

Jing Heguang glanced around the hallway and noticed there were no recording devices on either side, meaning there was no surveillance footage to review.

The director had asked earlier, too, but Luan Xing’an hadn’t said a word then, either.

The director said impatiently, “If no one will explain what happened, I’m treating this as a disturbance. All your lines and screen time for the next episode will be cut.”

Hearing this, Huang Zeping shouted, “Director, I really didn’t say anything, ask Xiao Pang if you don’t believe me! I just muttered that I didn’t like Luan Xing’an’s song. He punched me, am I not allowed to fight back? Otherwise, he’d end up beating me to death.”

Xiao Pang stood to the side, too nervous and awkward to speak.

Xiao Pang was even more honest and shy than Luan Xing’an. He usually spoke in a soft, quiet voice, though his vocals were powerful when he sang.

Seeing Huang Zeping twisting the truth, Luan Xing’an was furious. “You’re lying!”

Seeing that Luan Xing’an was finally willing to speak, Jing Heguang walked over and asked, “What exactly happened? You need to tell us so we know the situation.”

As he spoke, Jing Heguang gently placed his arm around Luan Xing’an’s back.

Feeling he had someone to back him up, Luan Xing’an’s eyes reddened. He lowered his head and hesitated before saying, “He…he said my votes were bought and my songs were trash!”

Luan Xing’an stopped halfway through, his shoulders trembling with anger.

Huang Zeping felt a twinge of guilt but forced himself to remain composed. “Teacher Jing, I know Luan Xing’an is from your studio and your junior colleague, but you shouldn’t be too biased toward him. I’m a contestant on the show too, you have to be fair! You can’t just believe him and not me.”

Huang Zeping was close with Xiao Pang and usually looked out for him.

There were no cameras nearby, and Huang Zeping was confident Xiao Pang would side with him. After all, he wasn’t the only one who usually badmouthed Luan Xing’an.

Jing Heguang was certain that Huang Zeping had said those things, and likely worse or else Luan Xing’an wouldn’t have lashed out physically like that.

Something that could make Luan Xing’an act so impulsively…

As Jing Heguang pondered this, Luan Xing’an also realized just how shameless Huang Zeping was being.

Xiao Pang was Huang Zeping’s friend, so naturally, he took Huang’s side.

Luan Xing’an was furious. The fact that this guy had badmouthed his brother Jing made his blood boil.

Luan Xing’an lifted his chin and retorted angrily, “You’re the trash. Look at the garbage you write! You could write a thousand, even ten thousand songs, and they wouldn’t compare to a single line of my lyrics. I’m a hit! I’m the real deal! It’s no use being jealous.”

“You’re absolutely green with envy seeing how famous I am, aren’t you?”

Luan Xing’an tilted his head up defiantly, thinking it would be worth it if he could just make Huang Zeping explode with rage.

Huang Zeping was indeed jealous of Luan Xing’an’s fame. Provoked by the taunt, he snapped back without thinking.

Huang Zeping sneered, “You really think you’re all that, don’t you? I bet you didn’t even write those songs yourself. You just relied on…”

Huang Zeping wasn’t exactly a cautious person, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been spouting off things he shouldn’t have in public.

But the moment the words left his lips, he realized his mistake, and his face went pale.

He could badmouth Luan Xing’an in private, but Jing Heguang was someone he couldn’t afford to mess with.

Jing Heguang fixed his gaze on him: “Do you think Xing’an’s original song isn’t his own work, that I gave it to him?”

Huang Zeping’s face fell, and he backed down weakly: “He provoked me, so I just took a wild guess.”

Jing Heguang raised his voice: “If anyone were to ghostwrite, he would be the one ghostwriting for me, he’s the one from the composition department. You’re welcome to ask around our school about Xing’an’s talent for songwriting.”

“Are you resentful because so many people voted for him?”

Huang Zeping glanced at Luan Xing’an and muttered discontentedly, “All that stuff about romance and love, just moaning about nothing…isn’t it childish?”

Jing Heguang gave a scoffing laugh and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“You guys aren’t allowed to use electronic devices, so you don’t know how the outside world is reacting. Let me show you the feedback. The public’s eyes and ears aren’t blind or deaf, you know.”

Jing Heguang opened the music apps on his phone one by one.

“On Cloud Music’s ‘Hottest Songs’ chart, Xing’an has three songs at numbers one, nine, and eleven, while ‘Shaky Bus’, by our buzz-cut pal here, is at number eight. On the ‘Original Songs’ chart, he holds the top two spots and the fifth. He’s in the top ten for search rankings, too!”

“On Fei Music’s ‘Hottest Songs’ chart, Xing’an has three songs at numbers two, four, and ten. He’s swept the top three spots on the ‘Original Songs’ chart, and the ‘New Songs’ chart as well.”

“On Qingting, the ‘Hottest Songs’ chart shows Xing’an’s songs at…”

As Jing Heguang reeled off the data, the trainees finally realized, Luan Xing’an had actually become that huge of a hit???

Even the contestants who shot to fame last season didn’t have stats this impressive!

The guy with the buzz cut even heard his own song mentioned a few times, he couldn’t maintain his cool, tough-guy expression anymore.

Luan Xing’an’s lips parted slightly. He was dumbfounded.

Brother Jing isn’t just trying to humor me, is he?

How could I be that popular? Those high rankings on the apps, aren’t those spots usually reserved for big-shot industry heavyweights?!

Luan Xing’an began to worry that someone might step forward and expose brother Jing. While the trainees weren’t allowed access to mobile phones, the staff members were.

However, upon hearing Jing Heguang’s words, the director, who had initially been angry, calmed down, his expression turning mild.

Huang Zeping was dumbfounded, too.

How could it be possible? Given what Luan Xing’an was like, could he really be that popular?

Seeing that Huang Zeping still didn’t believe it, Jing Heguang thrust his phone right in front of him, ensuring he could see clearly, clear enough to see Luan Xing’an’s name and song dominating the top of the charts.

Once he saw the screen clearly, Jing Heguang put his phone away. “Why can’t you acknowledge someone else’s excellence? So what if you think it’s bad or mediocre? There are plenty of people who think it’s great!”

Jing Heguang placed a hand on the shoulder of the stunned Luan Xing’an and swept his gaze across all the trainees. “I hope that in the future, you’ll be confident in your own work and not pay too much attention to things you shouldn’t listen to.”

Huang Zeping’s face flushed with embarrassment as he struggled to defend himself. “Having buzz doesn’t mean you’re a hit. Some people’s songs sound terrible, yet they still have fans who worship them, hyping them up to the skies!”

What Huang Zeping described was, in fact, a common occurrence.

But before joining the show, Luan Xing’an was only familiar to Jing Heguang’s fanbase, he didn’t really have fans of his own.

Furthermore, every trainee on the show had been hand-picked by the director, meaning most of them understood music, and Huang Zeping himself came from a music conservatory background.

Jing Heguang looked at him. “I recall you have original songs too. So, assuming you’re a musician, I trust you have your own judgment.”

Was it resentment that others on the show were skyrocketing to fame, or did he genuinely think their songs were trash?

Under Jing Heguang’s piercing gaze, which seemed to see right through him, Huang Zeping felt his face burning.

Unexpectedly, the director added, “Huang Zeping. Why are you blushing?”

Huang Zeping lowered his head, the exposed patch of his neck had turned bright red from shame.

Why was he blushing?

Because he felt guilty.

It wasn’t that he didn’t recognize the other person’s talent, he had simply pretended not to see it.

But now, faced with the hard data Jing Heguang had presented, he could no longer fool himself.

The incident ended with Huang Zeping apologizing, and both of them were taken aside to have their injuries treated.

The behind-the-scenes penalty was that Huang Zeping lost his screen time.

The episode following the next one would mark the second round of rankings and eliminations. As for the next episode, Huang Zeping wouldn’t have a single shot with spoken lines, appearing on screen maybe twice at most, which meant his journey on Voice of Heaven would likely end in the top twenty.

Once the director had calmed down, he realized Luan Xing’an had only lashed out because he’d been pushed too far, so he let Jing Heguang take him away to tend to his injuries.

***

After applying medicine to Luan Xing’an’s injuries, Jing Heguang led him to an empty practice room.

Luan Xing’an stood there, gazing down at his shoes. Afraid of being scolded, he edged back until he was practically against the wall.

Jing Heguang tapped lightly on his wound.

Luan Xing’an stole a glance at Jing Heguang.

Jing Heguang gave a soft harrumph. “Does it hurt now?”

Luan Xing’an whispered, “A little bit?”

In truth, it didn’t hurt at all. If anything, his face felt a bit itchy.

Brother Jing hadn’t used any real force, but Luan Xing’an felt that saying so outright would make him lose face, so he chose to say something to appease him instead.

Jing Heguang sighed. “Huang Zeping’s arm is as thick as your thigh, what would you have done if you couldn’t beat him? Didn’t I show you how to record secretly? You could have just turned on your mic to capture the audio and waited for me to get back!”

Luan Xing’an: Sorry, he just wasn’t as cunning as brother Jing.

He was simply too innocent!

Though, he couldn’t quite recall Huang Zeping’s arm being that thick.

When he’d grabbed the guy’s collar, it was quite easy…

Jing Heguang continued his lecture.

As he listened, Luan Xing’an drew a conclusion:

He, Luan Xing’an, might have been the one to throw the first punch, but in brother Jing’s eyes, he was weak, innocent, and pitiful.

Even though he was being lectured, Luan Xing’an felt incredibly happy. After all, brother Jing was criticizing Huang Zeping. His words showed only concern for Luan’s injuries, without a hint of blame for his recklessness!

Brother Jing knew that even though a fight had broken out, the fault didn’t lie with him!

Once Jing Heguang had finished saying his piece, Luan Xing’an unscrewed a water bottle and held it out: “Brother Jing, have some water.”

Jing Heguang didn’t take the bottle, instead, he ruffled the boy’s hair. “Fighting isn’t a bad thing, but remember to grab something to defend yourself next time.”

After ruffling his hair, Jing Heguang leaned his head forward.

Luan Xing’an held the bottle to his lips, feeding him small sips to make sure he didn’t choke.

As Jing Heguang drank, his thirst was quenched, yet a different kind of thirst, a longing, began to rise within him.

He moved the bottle aside and, carefully avoiding the injured side of Luan Xing’an’s face, planted a kiss on his sweet younger brother.

Only after Luan Xing’an was left breathless did Jing Heguang smile and praise him in a husky voice: “Fighting for me, my little brother is so manly.”

The ‘manly’ Luan Xing’an curled his toes inside his shoes, feeling like a cooked shrimp.

Flushed and warm, Luan Xing’an looked up at Jing Heguang and returned the compliment: “Brother Jing, the way you shut Huang Zeping down was even cooler!”

Jing Heguang didn’t consider the fight a big deal, he had only lectured Luan Xing’an because he was worried about his injuries.

With the scolding over, Jing Heguang switched to praise: “That’s all thanks to you, Xingbao. You ranked so high on all the charts that it left him speechless!”

“I haven’t even shown him the comments yet. If he saw those, he’d probably want to jump off a building! Everyone listening is raving about you and your songs.”

He’s become a hit, does that mean he can start making money for brother Jing?

As he listened, Luan Xing’an remembered how he had once promised to earn money for brother Jing.

Thinking of money reminded him of the time Jing Heguang had transferred 520,000 yuan to him.

Wait, 520,000…wasn’t that just ‘520’?!