Chapter 113: The Story of the Yandere

After He Shuyuan finished singing, a shy smile bloomed across his face, as if the singer had been someone else entirely. In the background, many people sneered. This was also an old yin. The host stepped onto the stage and ushered the first musician forward. One hundred fifty-nine versus one hundred eighty-four. With audience votes, He Shuyuan triumphed overwhelmingly. The host showered him with praise, and the project team followed suit. He Shuyuan either kept his head lowered or smiled bashfully, his replies terse—just a simple thank-you. In the shadows, Qiu Zhen looked away. This was the flaw in He Shuyan that he could never abide; his fans dubbed it the contrast effect. Flamboyant onstage, shy offstage. Qiu Zhen felt it most keenly; in private he was entirely different. If the issue had been resources, he would never have framed this episode as the challenger’s. He simply disliked He Shuyuan at the deepest level, even though both belonged to the so-called Stellar Trio spoken of online. That was the most nauseating part—you could hate someone, yet to curry favor with the company you still had to pretend the three were thick as thieves.

On the Stellar Alliance side, Min Min rose. She was about to take the stage. Qiu Zhen stood as well and spoke with solemn gravity. “Good luck.” Min Min nodded. “I will.”

The two projects that night shared similar themes. The audience saw two distinct acts, yet the musicians gathered backstage viewed the contest as a head-to-head on the same stage. All six dealt with weighty ideas about love, six voices, six angles. It was, by far, the most fiercely contested episode the Music Alliance had ever aired.

“He really does have something.” Sig glanced toward the doorway.

He Shuyuan returned, immediately surrounded by the entire Pioneer Alliance and a cluster of others who knew him. Tang Zhichu nodded. “C5 bites sixteen times, harmony D5, the sound pressure is not low. This is not his ceiling, but his style carries a distinct edge. That brief, concentrated burst gives the song sharp layering.”

Sig’s eyes widened. Could you even hear that?

“That’s pandering, hitting the exact emotional peak the audience craves, and it depends on the song’s quality too. A weak track turns even long high notes unpleasant. This is a standard commercial trick and a common live-arrangement device.” Chen Jianxin interjected.

Sig listened with full attention, cross-checking against his own musical training, and found the words reasonable.

Sig turned to Tang Zhichu, copying He Shuyuan’s shy smile. “Little Tang, what do you think of my strength?”

Tang Zhichu glanced at him and smiled. “The one who sings best among domestic rap singers.”

Sig laughed. After so much time together, he felt Tang Zhichu was indeed superior on a professional level. Being professionally acknowledged brought both satisfaction and quiet confidence.

“Speaking of sound pressure, which Tang Zhichu raised earlier, it matters deeply—how thick and penetrating the voice is. The same high C can sound lowered to some ears and raised to others, depending on the vocal mechanism. In that respect, Tang Zhichu outshines He Shuyuan.” Chen Jianxin added.

Sig froze. After Yun Miao’s “training,” he had begun to sound like a doctor for his own ailment. Could he really speak like that?

Yet Tang Zhichu and Chen Jianxin seemed unfazed.

Sig’s courage swelled. “I agree. Besides, I feel He Shuyan can’t write as well as Little Tang.”

Tang Zhichu and Chen Jianxin traded a swift glance with Sig, then moved aside in perfect sync.

Sig blinked. What did that mean? Isolating him?

The two newcomers shifted to the other side as well.

Sig: “…”

Tang Zhichu bit back a smile. Himself and Teacher Chen trading nonsense—could Sig possibly compete?

He had support behind him. Even if Chen had none, the program team would still polish his image, since the instigator was the face the show presented to its audience.

Could one punch one’s own face?

A hip-hop singer running his mouth? The program team would be thrilled—that was his entire selling point!

Tang Zhichu felt no need to worry about his own words being aired; he had people behind him and could afford to be bold. But if Sig dragged others into it, the situation might differ.

A straightforward, somewhat naive rapper—Tang Zhichu actually thought he could be friends with.

Ahead, He Shuyuan’s face remained softened by a shy smile. “Thank you, thank you everyone. Brother Cheng, I really liked your song. It’s so healing. I’ve always wanted to write songs like that, yet writing them is difficult.”

While fielding compliments, he quietly comforted those who had stood beside him on the duel stage.

Many nodded; he truly deserved to rise. Top-tier talent combined with emotional intelligence. Musicians understood—songs meant to heal were hard to craft and better suited for intimate listening than competitive performance, so the audience could hear them with calm.

But Tang Zhichu and Chen Jianxin exchanged a meaningful glance and both smiled knowingly.

He Shuyuan looked harmless, yet he was an old yin. The two of you walked in together; the corridor was long. You withheld praise outside and delivered it inside?

Whether it was an illusion or not, Tang Zhichu sensed He Shuyuan glance at him.

That single glance settled it. Tang Zhichu decided to block him on sight.

Though uncertain, but he had looked, and looking was provocative, plus he was an old yin. Such a person had to be purged!

On the screen, onstage, Stellar Alliance’s Min Min had already begun to sing.

Yandere was a web series. When the project was chosen that day, Tang Zhichu received the detailed brief.

To be honest, he was quite eager to see the finished film.

A scumbag with a girlfriend, he still flirted with the female lead. Then the scumbag cheated, and the female lead fell for the scumbag’s cleverness.

The scariest part arrived first. Upon learning her man had a girlfriend, the female lead did not confront him but stalked him instead. When she overheard her lover’s colleague cursing him behind his back, she lured the colleague into a narrow alley, then drove a key into his stomach while he was lowering his pants.

Police arrived, and she was the victim.

The scumbag’s best friend, who enjoyed joking with him, drank from the same bottle of water one day; the female lead’s eyes changed.

When the scumbag saw the woman he loved pinned beneath his good brother, about to undress, he exploded, fought his friend, and they parted ways.

The scumbag’s girlfriend suffered most. At a company meeting, the material played suddenly became a sex scene between her and the scumbag.

She lost her job, fought with the scumbag, and had to relocate to another city.

Endless misfortune surrounded the scumbag; he lost every friend, did not know who to turn to, and broke down.

The female lead cooked him a meal, accompanied him to drink, then told him.

“You still have me. I will treat you well. Your work hours are long and the pressure is crushing. Let’s switch to shorter hours. I want more time with you every day.”

The scumbag thought his girlfriend was only comforting him and let it go after the hug.

Seeing he had not agreed, the female lead’s gaze shifted once more.

This was the rough outline of that movie’s plot.