Before Jiang Ye arrived, the manager and the director team had already discussed it beforehand.

They wouldn't film Jiang Ye being absent due to illness and then rushing over, fearing that the effect wouldn't be good and would cause controversy, they could just edit it as if she was there the whole time.

So, Jiang Ye simply apologized to everyone on stage, didn't mention the process, and quickly sat back in her seat.

"Sorry, Teacher Chen."

"I left you to fight alone for half the show."

After sitting down, Jiang Ye quickly flipped through the contestant information on the table and quietly asked Chen Yi Ming, "Where are we now?"

Chen Yi Ming: "Contestant number eighteen, He Zhou."

He Zhou?

Why does that name sound familiar.

The other mentor had already started asking about He Zhou's information, Jiang Ye looked up, and her eyes met his.

Jiang Ye: "?"

Jiang Ye: "???"

Jiang Ye quickly lowered her head to look at his information, when she looked up again, a moment of shock flashed across her face before she quickly concealed it.

The mentor next to her was giving him praise without reservation.

"This is the best original work I've heard today."

"It's a love song about unrequited love, it's a bit bitter, but it's bitter without being tragic, it's not cliché, it's very rare."

"Let's gossip a bit, most people's original works will incorporate their own emotional experiences, is that the case with your song?"

He Zhou's gaze shifted slightly for a moment, then he nodded and said, "You could say that."

His whole demeanor seemed much more positive than before.

The mentor asked a few more questions, and he answered them all smoothly.

Until someone asked, "I saw on your profile that you're from Shengrui Entertainment."

"Do you know Assistant Jiang Ye?"

Jiang Ye, who was suddenly mentioned, said: "?"

She was still stuck on the thought of how He Zhou suddenly came to participate in this variety show, and now she suddenly realized that the newcomer Xu Lin asked her to take care of was actually He Zhou.

The world is so small!

Each mentor had a script.

This question was also written in the script, basically, they wanted the contestant to capitalize on Jiang Ye's popularity, and it was also a good opportunity for them to interact.

Unlike his previous answers, He Zhou was silent for a moment.

He looked in Jiang Ye's direction and suddenly smiled, "... Of course I know Senior Jiang Ye, but she might not know me."

He paused and said, "But I'm very happy to see her."

The camera quickly zoomed in on Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye looked back.

Because it had been so long, she almost didn't recognize He Zhou when she saw him.

But the moment she saw the expression in his eyes, she was sure.

This was the person she knew.

However, He Zhou didn't mention any of their past, he acted like they were meeting for the first time.

Jiang Ye thought for a moment and smiled cooperatively, "It's okay, we know each other now."

The world changes in the blink of an eye, like floating clouds and fleeting dreams.

Let's get to know each other again.

This time, it's no longer as two children who supported each other at the orphanage.

But as the shining top idol, Jiang Ye, and the future creative genius, He Zhou.

At the intersection of our dreams, let's exchange our names again.

•••

After asking He Zhou the questions, it was time for the mentors and assistants to press the lights.

Except for Jiang Ye, almost all the assistants pressed their buttons.

Chen Yi Ming looked at her sideways and asked curiously, "Are you going to press yours?"

"I didn't hear the whole song, it wouldn't be good if I pressed it."

Jiang Ye smiled, "And since he's from the same company as me, I should avoid any suspicion, what if people say I'm biased?"

Everyone on the stage laughed.

A contestant shouted, "No way, Teacher Jiang!"

"Now everyone knows, Shengrui Entertainment is a place where talents emerge!"

Whether it's an idol or a music creator, they're all dazzling when they come on stage.

"So."

Jiang Ye smiled, "I believe that even if I didn't give him this opportunity, Teacher Chen would have pressed his button, so I don't need to intervene."

Chen Yi Ming laughed, "You trust me so much?"

Jiang Ye nodded.

Of course, it wasn't because she trusted Chen Yi Ming.

But because she trusted He Zhou.

She believed that with his skills, he would definitely get Chen Yi Ming's approval.

Sure enough, Chen Yi Ming said, "Indeed, Jiang Ye understands me."

He specialized in love songs, which was a perfect match for He Zhou.

And when he saw He Zhou, he felt like he was seeing Jiang Ye all those years ago.

His original work had its own style, it was still raw and immature, not mature enough, but it had a lot of potential.

Wasn't the purpose of their show to find new talents like this?

If it was a creator who already had a mature system, it would be difficult to give them effective guidance, and even more difficult to bring about significant changes in the two months of recording.

But a newcomer like He Zhou, who had talent and potential, was exactly what he needed.

Chen Yi Ming pressed his button as expected.

He Zhou on stage had been staring in his direction, and when he saw his light turn on, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

He didn't hesitate for a moment, and without even listening to the mentors' speeches about vying for him, he directly said, "I choose to join Teacher Chen Yi Ming's team."

All the contestants who had successfully formed teams had to sit in the seats behind the mentors and assistants.

As He Zhou walked past Jiang Ye's stairs, he saw her look up and smile brightly at him.

"Long time no see."

Jiang Ye covered her microphone and said softly, "What a coincidence."

It wasn't a coincidence.

He had been walking for a long, long time to get here.

But the words got stuck in his throat, he couldn't say them, he just nodded.

Because of the cameras, Jiang Ye couldn't say too much, she gently asked, "Sorry, I was late and didn't hear everything, can you play it for me again later?"

He Zhou's long-buried memories suddenly came back to him.

On June 1st of that year, Jiang Ye had also asked him with bright eyes, "Can you play it for me again?"

He Zhou suddenly felt a heavy, sour feeling in his chest.

He said softly, "Okay."

It was for you anyway.

I can play it as many times as you want.

There are so many things he wanted to say.

But He Zhou paused and just asked softly, "Are you feeling better?"

"Ah?"

Jiang Ye was stunned, then said, "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"It was just a little fever, it's gone now, it's no big deal."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at the next contestant who had already set up his drums on stage, quickly turned back, and listened attentively to the next performance.

He Zhou didn't take the initiative to talk to her again.

The next dozen or so contestants' performances lasted for about two or three hours.

When the first batch of performances ended, the mentor teams still weren't full, so the remaining contestants in the waiting area were given another chance to perform, and they recorded for another hour.

In the end, besides He Zhou, Chen Yi Ming also chose two men and two women, forming a team.

After this part of the recording was over, everyone got a break.

The eliminated contestants had to go record post-recording interviews and elimination thoughts.

The successful contestants were arranged to the practice room prepared by the program team.

They did a simple self-introduction, and before they could say much, the door to the practice room was pushed open.

Everyone stood up, "Hello, Teacher."

"Don't call me Teacher, don't call me Teacher."

Jiang Ye walked in with a stack of documents, waving her hand, "I'm actually here to learn with you guys."

She thought for a moment, "Just call me Jiang Ye or Senior, after all, I was also Teacher Chen's student."

"Teacher Chen has something to do later, so I'll tell you about the next recording."

Of course, the mentors don't have to be there all the time.

So, as an assistant, she would spend more time with the contestants, and she would actually get more screen time than the mentors.

Of course, her tasks would also be heavier.

After four hours of continuous recording, Jiang Ye felt her head spinning again.

She briefly explained the following program schedule, pressed her hand against her forehead to check her temperature, making sure it was fine, and continued, "Anyway, this program will take about two months to record, during these two months, I'll try my best to spend time with you guys, help you learn and compete, I hope everyone can make it to the end."

"Also, I just went to get a fortune read."

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow, "Our team will definitely win the championship, believe it?"

The contestants all flattered her.

"Of course!"

"Our Senior was the first place when she debuted! Let's absorb some of Senior's C position aura."

"By the way, can we ask Senior if we have any questions later?"

Jiang Ye: "Of course."

Another contestant said, "Can I add Senior on WeChat?"

Jiang Ye was about to say yes, but after judging his tone, her idol intuition suddenly started ringing.

"Let's create a group chat."

Jiang Ye said, "If you have any questions later, you can ask me or Teacher Chen in the group."

Jiang Ye directly opened a face-to-face group chat.

After it was created, she realized that someone was missing.

Jiang Ye looked around and realized that He Zhou was gone, she didn't know when he left.

The other contestants also noticed.

"Where's He Zhou?"

"When did he leave, did anyone see him?"

"I'm back."

He Zhou was holding six portions of food, he pushed open the door to the practice room, "I just ordered some late-night snacks."

"Wow!!"

"Damn, you're so thoughtful."

"Thanks, thanks, I'm starving."

The recording had been going on for a long time today, and to keep the recording going smoothly, they didn't give them any time to eat.

It was already eleven pm, and almost everyone was hungry from recording.

Jiang Ye didn't want to accept it.

Unexpectedly, He Zhou pushed a bowl of porridge towards her.

Jiang Ye: "?"

Jiang Ye was about to say she didn't need it, but He Zhou said first, "You're sick, you'll feel better if you drink some hot porridge."

"..."

Jiang Ye was actually hungry.

She thought for a moment and still accepted it, "Thanks."

She finished the porridge, finished talking about the rest of the plan, and then said, "Did everyone understand? If you don't understand, just ask me in the group, that's it for today."

Jiang Ye stood up and said before leaving, "He Zhou, come with me, Brother Xu just called and asked me to talk to you about something."

He Zhou quickly followed.

After they went out, He Zhou asked, "What did Brother Xu say?"

"What could Brother Xu say?"

"Brother Xu asked me to give you some special tutoring, do you believe that?"

He Zhou: "?"

Jiang Ye couldn't help but laugh, then said, "Okay, I wanted to find you."

Using Xu Lin as a cover was just to avoid suspicion about their relationship.

Although Jiang Ye had a clear conscience, it's always better to be careful.

"You came to the company and didn't even tell me, did you forget about me, your friend?"

"What's your number? Give it to me, I'll save it."

Although she added everyone to a group chat.

But He Zhou was different.

On a smaller scale, he was a childhood friend, on a larger scale, he was a future colleague at the company, of course, she had to get his contact information.

He Zhou quickly recited a string of numbers.

Jiang Ye was typing it in, and suddenly felt it was familiar.

He Zhou suddenly said, "I told you."

Jiang Ye: "What?"

He Zhou: "When I joined the company, I sent you a text message, I told you about this."

Jiang Ye blinked and asked, "How did you get my number?"

He Zhou was silent for a moment, reminding her, "You called the orphanage, and I answered."

Jiang Ye: "..."

Jiang Ye: "Ah, that time."

Jiang Ye finished typing in the number, pressed the add button, and suddenly remembered why she thought the number was familiar.

It was this number that called her old phone dozens of times.

She naturally assumed it was a stalker.

He Zhou was quiet for a moment, then asked, "... Didn't you see the message?"

Jiang Ye: "..."

She fell into deep thought.

How can I tell him that I accidentally blocked you without hurting his self-esteem?