11: Chapter 11 Who gave him the guts?

Inside the bus, the air conditioning vents were blowing cold air with a low hum.

The sound engineer squeezed through the narrow aisle, carrying his equipment.

The heavy metal stand bumped against Jiang Fan's guitar case.

"Sorry," the sound engineer tossed out perfunctorily.

Jiang Fan didn't open his eyes; he simply pulled his guitar case closer to himself.

Zhao Tianyu, in the front row, turned his head and let his gaze linger on Jiang Fan for a few seconds.

The bus drove for twenty minutes before stopping at the Tencent Video recording base.

The contestants filed off the bus and entered the internal corridor.

The corridor walls were plastered with promotional posters from the previous season.

A massive photo of Hua Xingyu occupied an entire wall, striking a flamboyant pose, with the caption "Season 1 Grand Champion."

Several contestants couldn't help but take a few extra glances as they passed by.

Staff members guided them into the waiting area.

The waiting area was divided into three sections, corresponding to the three tracks: Solo Track, Visual Track, and Magic Sound Track.

Each section had twelve chairs arranged in a stepped, triangular formation.

Five in the bottom row, four in the middle, and two above that.

At the very top, there was only one.

The higher the position, the closer the camera, and the brighter the lights.

That chair at the very top was the Center position of the track.

The first person to sit there was telling everyone—I am the strongest.

The production team hadn't assigned seats.

Whoever entered first got to choose.

This was a tradition of every season of Tomorrow's Star, and it was also the production team's favorite appetizer.

Whoever dared to sit in the Center position had to endure the critical gaze of the entire internet.

This segment alone contributed to three trending topics last season.

Eight o'clock sharp in the evening.

The live broadcast signal connected on time.

A live broadcast pop-up window appeared on the homepage of Tencent Video, and the number of viewers instantly broke four hundred thousand.

The three Star Mentors were already in position at the judges' table.

Xue Zhiheng sat on the left, smiling as he held his thermos.

Hua Xingyu sat on the right, wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

Xu Qingya sat in the center, her gaze falling calmly on the monitor screen in front of her.

"Contestants, enter."

The floor manager's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

The lights for the Visual Track channel lit up first.

Lu Ming came out first.

He wore an off-white knitted cardigan over a minimalist white T-shirt.

He looked clean and polished, like a male lead stepping out of a Korean drama.

He smiled and waved at the camera, his pace composed.

Without lingering at the seats below, he walked straight to the top of the stairs and sat in the chair at the very peak.

The live chat exploded instantly.

"Awesome, sitting in the Center position on the first try."

"Who is this guy? So handsome!"

"That's Lu Ming from Shenghai Entertainment, he just came back from SM, very talented."

"Asserting dominance right from the start, he's got something."

Lu Ming leaned back against the chair, his gaze sweeping over the other contestants entering one after another.

Seeing someone in the Center position, those people all tactfully chose seats below.

The Visual Track section filled up quickly.

Immediately after, the Magic Sound Track began admitting contestants.

Finally, the indicator light for the Solo Track lit up.

Zhao Tianyu walked out of the channel second.

The limited-edition graphic T-shirt he wore shimmered under the lights.

He walked toward the Solo Track steps, his gaze fixed on the empty chair at the very top.

When passing the second row, he didn't continue upward; instead, he sat down in the most conspicuous spot in the second row.

Before the recording, his friend Lu Ming, with whom he had been a trainee in South Korea, had sent him a message.

Saying that his direct entry spot had been taken by an amateur named Jiang Fan.

Asking him to help "take care" of him in the track.

Zhao Tianyu had deliberately left the highest position empty.

He knew too well about these amateurs who had no agency and had never been on camera.

Facing the lenses of a nationwide live broadcast, their legs would tremble just from standing at the bottom of the steps.

The contestants of the Solo Track entered one by one.

The third, the fourth, the fifth...

Everyone who came in would look up at that high-and-mighty empty seat.

Then silently walk down and take a seat.

The third row was soon filled.

The fourth row was also filled.

Only the chair at the very top remained, bathed alone in the spotlight.

On the other side, at the top of the Visual Track.

Lu Ming rested his chin on one hand, his gaze crossing half the Studio, observing the movements in the Solo Track.

When he saw Zhao Tianyu sit down in the second row, a trace of imperceptible amusement flashed in Lu Ming's eyes.

He knew from their time as trainees in South Korea that Zhao Tianyu loved playing these cat-and-mouse psychological games.

Leaving the hottest Center position empty was the perfect trap dug for that "Jiang Fan."

An amateur with no background and no fans, facing the cameras of the entire venue.

He would absolutely be at a loss, standing at the bottom of the steps, caught in a dilemma.

Eventually becoming the laughing stock of the live broadcast.

This was the tacit understanding among those in the "upper echelon."

The live chat also started to stir up trouble:

"Why isn't Tianyu sitting in the Center position?"

"Obviously fishing, seeing who dares to go up and court death."

"In this track, other than Tianyu, whoever sits there will get roasted to a crisp."

The eleventh contestant entered.

There were twelve people in the Solo Track, just one short.

Footsteps came from the end of the channel.

Jiang Fan walked out, carrying his guitar, neither fast nor slow.

Black shirt, black trousers.

Compared to the contestants ahead who were covered in logos, he seemed to come from another world.

The camera zoomed in on his face.

Jiang Fan's gaze swept across the tiered seating.

The bottom four rows were completely full.

Only the one position at the very top remained.

Jiang Fan snorted coldly.

"Tricks only children would play."

He didn't slow his pace.

He stepped onto the first step, passing by Zhao Tianyu, who was sitting in the second row.

He walked to the very top and turned around to sit down.

He casually leaned his guitar case against the leg of the chair.

He leaned back against the chair and lowered his eyelids, as if he had come here just to rest for a while.

A brief silence fell over the Studio.

Zhao Tianyu's smile froze on his face.

The script wasn't written like this.

This person should have been hesitating at the bottom of the steps, should have been at a loss.

How could he have just sat down without even looking up?

The fingers Lu Ming was using to support his chin tightened slightly.

What a reckless thing, he actually dared to sit up there.

An amateur who had relied on luck to replace his spot, not only didn't show any fear, but instead treated a carefully designed trap as a throne he was entitled to.

Lu Ming took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his expression for the camera, but there was an extra layer of coldness in his eyes as he looked at Jiang Fan.

"Idiot."

He silently spat out the two words in a voice only he could hear.

The live chat also went out of control instantly.

"???"

"Who is this, bro?? Coming up and sitting in the Center position immediately?"

"Zhao Tianyu's expression is so funny, hahahaha."

"Is this guy sick? Did no one tell him what that position means?"

"It's over, it's over, the first social death scene of the debut stage."

Li Cheng was in the backstage area, holding a cup of coffee and watching the live broadcast screen.

When Jiang Fan sat down on the chair at the very top, he nearly spat out his coffee, then burst into laughter: "You brat, you really did your old man proud!"

At the judges' table, Xue Zhiheng looked at the expressionless young man at the very top.

Is this the Jiang Fan that Li Cheng recommended?

"Indeed, a bit interesting."

Hua Xingyu adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and looked toward the top of the Solo Track, his brows knitting slightly.

People from Shenghai Entertainment had tipped him off in advance.

The spot for our company's Lu Ming was taken by this amateur named Jiang Fan.

Now it seems he's a troublemaker who doesn't know the rules.

Xu Qingya unconsciously uncrossed her legs.

The tip of her high heel tapped against the edge of the stage, making a soft sound.

She stared fixedly at the monitor in front of her.

The distance was too great before; she only felt that the silhouette looked somewhat familiar.

Until Jiang Fan walked up the steps step by step and finally sat down at the very top.

Xu Qingya's breathing suddenly hitched.

In her eyes, which were usually calm and cold, a storm that could not be concealed was now raging.

Xu Qingya stared intently at the high-definition close-up transmitted from camera 003 on the monitor, her fingers gripping the armrest of her chair tightly.

That nonchalant expression overlapped perfectly with the figure in her memory.

It was actually him!

That... security guard she had been searching for bitterly but who had always been completely out of touch?

Now he was actually carrying a guitar, sitting brazenly at the very top of the Tomorrow's Star Solo Track?