Chapter 139: The Inner Circle

The recording of the seventh stage performance had concluded. Tang Zhichu had defeated Zhu Yiyang, leaving the Star Alliance with one accumulated loss. Pu Jingshi had once again stepped down, defeating the Sunflower Alliance, which reset the Pioneer Alliance’s loss count to zero while leaving the Sunflower Alliance with one accumulated loss. In this round, no one was eliminated.

After the recording wrapped, things proceeded as usual, with company vehicles arriving to pick up their respective artists. Having stayed here for a week, everyone had other work to attend to. As soon as the venue cleared, Tang Zhichu headed back to his dormitory.

Luo Xiujie spotted Zhu Yiyang and quickly called out to him, "Brother Yang, want to grab a drink tonight?"

Zhu Yiyang had originally intended to return to his dorm. He had just received a text from the logistics company that his shipment had been picked up, and his car would arrive tomorrow. Hearing Luo Xiujie call him, he smiled and said, "Sure. I’ll order some takeout—should we go to my place?"

Zhu Yiyang was part of the Star Alliance and lived in a different dormitory building, where they usually gathered.

Luo Xiujie felt a bit more emboldened this time. "No, let’s go to my place tonight."

Zhu Yiyang grew interested and stepped closer. "Alright. Is Brother Tang there?"

"He should be. He rarely goes out when he’s resting."

"That works. Brother Tang likes to work on music when he rests, so he probably prefers quiet. Let’s not invite anyone else this time."

Luo Xiujie and Zhu Yiyang exchanged a knowing look and nodded.

...

In his room, Tang Zhichu was indeed working on music—tracks for the upcoming rounds. After taking down Qiu Zhen and He Shuyuan, his reputation had skyrocketed, though his material gains were a bit slow, so Tang Zhichu had his sights set on several major projects.

Time flew by when he was focused, and in the blink of an eye, it was dark. Suddenly, Tang Zhichu took off his monitor headphones. Was someone knocking? He paused for a moment, and when the knocking repeated, he confirmed it was real. He stood up, walked over, and opened the door to see Luo Xiujie.

"Oh? You didn't leave this time either?" Tang Zhichu asked, surprised.

Luo Xiujie felt a bit nervous, but he nodded with a smile. "I don't have much going on. By the way, we ordered some food. Would you like to join us, Brother Tang?"

"We?"

"Just me and Brother Yang—Zhu Yiyang."

Tang Zhichu paused and looked Luo Xiujie over, thinking to himself that the kid wasn't slow. During the recording, he had asked Luo Xiujie about Zhu Yiyang, not because he really needed information he couldn't find online, but to send a signal to Luo Xiujie that he was interested in Zhu Yiyang and that it was time to play matchmaker.

Clearly, Luo Xiujie had caught on.

Tang Zhichu looked back into his room and said, "Go ahead. I'll finish this up and be down in a minute."

Relieved to have his invitation accepted, Luo Xiujie nodded. "Great, no rush, Brother Tang. Take your time."

When Tang Zhichu went downstairs, the coffee table in the living room was covered in food. The TV was on, but neither Luo Xiujie nor Zhu Yiyang were watching it; they were both buried in their phones. Seeing Tang Zhichu descend, they both sat up straighter.

"Wow, still watching livestreams?" Tang Zhichu asked, surprised.

Luo Xiujie exited his stream and laughed sheepishly. "Brother Yang’s influence. He loves watching pretty girls. His DY consumption level is already over 55—he’s a big spender!"

Zhu Yiyang shot Luo Xiujie a glare, put his phone down, and laughed. "Just bored and messing around."

Tang Zhichu sat down next to them and waved a hand. "What of it? It’s normal. I like looking at beautiful women too."

The scene of the two waiting for Tang Zhichu, seemingly bored, was actually a deliberate display by Zhu Yiyang. He hadn't been watching the TV, but the livestream, as a subtle show of status. A level 55 DY account meant he had spent at least five million—it was a way of saying he was wealthy. Luo Xiujie bringing it up was also within Zhu Yiyang's expectations; there was a sense of reflected glory in having a wealthy friend.

Tang Zhichu wasn't surprised at all; in fact, he leaned in closer. After all, talking about women was a great way for men to build rapport. Upon leaning in, he saw that Zhu Yiyang’s screen was indeed fixed on a beautiful influencer.

After only a few seconds, Tang Zhichu shook his head. "This won't do. She’s not that great."

Zhu Yiyang was stunned. If they were going to talk about this, he was wide awake. He couldn't beat Tang at songwriting, but could he lose at appreciating beauty? "She's not pretty? Look at this waist, so slender, and that V-shaped face..."

Tang Zhichu kept shaking his head. "Too much of a 'nightlife' vibe. You can tell at a glance she was propped up by some nouveau riche."

Luo Xiujie leaned in to look closer and realized he was right. However, he couldn't be as blunt as Tang Zhichu, so he laughed, "I think she's alright, though of course, she can't compare to you, Brother Tang. Brother Yang, don't forget, when Brother Tang was on that dating show, he was living with people like Chen Siyang."

Zhu Yiyang deflated slightly, looking resigned. "Brother Tang, if you compare her to Chen Siyang, then of course she doesn't stand a chance."

Tang Zhichu smiled, reached over, took Zhu Yiyang's phone, and said, "Let me recommend someone to you."

Tang Zhichu typed in the ID "Little Yan" into the search bar. Soon, Wang Xiaoyan's account popped up. It happened to be 8:30 PM, and Wang Xiaoyan was live. After a long period of operation, her follower count on DY had surpassed 800,000. Her content was simple: dancing as the primary focus, singing as secondary. Her pinned video, which had over 600,000 likes, was the dance Tang Zhichu had taught her.

Tang Zhichu handed the phone back to Zhu Yiyang, and Luo Xiujie crowded in to see.

Wang Xiaoyan’s videos all had high engagement, and if one looked closely, they could see what made her different. While others danced to please the audience, Wang Xiaoyan danced to please herself. There was a fundamental difference between pleasing others and pleasing oneself. She was not only beautiful but lacked that "nightlife" aura; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to captivate an old hand like Yu Hua.

"Damn, you've got taste, Brother Tang!" Zhu Yiyang said after scrolling through a few, his tone suggestive. He had thought Tang Zhichu was just being polite, but he clearly knew his stuff. Even a random streamer he recommended was this high-quality. To Zhu Yiyang, this meant his relationship with Tang Zhichu had just moved to a new level. As artists, if you could talk about things like this, the relationship was no longer ordinary. Of course, the underlying logic was that both were intentionally closing the distance.

Tang Zhichu waved his hand. "Just messing around."

The topic of influencers died down, and the group began to eat. As they ate, they started talking about music. Luo Xiujie had grown up in the DY environment; he was good at writing lyrics—the kind that functioned as captions, following the fifteen-second content output rule. He would have an interesting thought and expand it into a song, which was why he thrived on DY.

Zhu Yiyang liked a sense of futurism, specifically in the niche genre of psychedelic electronic music. This was also why he felt he couldn't find his footing in mainstream music. Tang Zhichu encouraged him, suggesting they try to collaborate on a song when they had the time.

The three talked until midnight before Zhu Yiyang left, with Luo Xiujie seeing him out. The night was deep, and the streetlights seemed dimmer than they had been earlier. Zhu Yiyang glanced back at the villa behind them and said to Luo Xiujie, "Brother Jie, let's not mention this gathering to the others."

Luo Xiujie nodded, understanding that Zhu Yiyang was reminding him. It was a reminder to respect the boundaries of their small inner circle. This was exactly what Luo Xiujie had been hoping for; these were the circles he had dreamed of entering.

"Don't worry, Brother Yang, I know the score."