The atmosphere in the room instantly turned cold.

Mu Xing Chi held his glass, silent for a moment.

But his expression wasn't unpleasant, he even raised an eyebrow, "Why is it unethical? I was just joking, don't take it so seriously."

He Zhou didn't take the bait he was offered, "But I don't think this joke is very funny."

He Zhou's other teammates: "???"

What's wrong with He Zhou?

He's not usually like this!

Did he eat gunpowder today?

The person next to He Zhou gently kicked him under the table, hinting at him to say less.

He Zhou didn't care, he continued, "Jiang Ye... Jiang Ye Senior has emphasized her idol principles many times, it's her principle. I feel that if she were here, she wouldn't like this joke."

Mu Xing Chi: "..."

Although he wasn't happy about it, what he said was true.

If Jiang Ye were here, she would probably roll her eyes at his joke.

To be honest, Mu Xing Chi was just trying to stir up these young people to chase Jiang Ye with a sense of wanting to watch a show.

He also wanted to see if they would hit a wall with Jiang Ye, like he did.

Unexpectedly, they didn't hit a wall.

He hit a wall with He Zhou first.

He Zhou and Jiang Ye really were from the same company, even their attitude towards him was the same.

They called him "Teacher" respectfully, but their tone didn't give him any leeway.

Mu Xing Chi paused for a moment, as if he suddenly realized something, "You seem to care about Jiang Ye a lot?"

He Zhou: "..."

He Zhou remained calm, "She's my senior at the same company, of course I care."

Mu Xing Chi pondered, "I seem to remember you saying that you have someone you've liked for a long time-"

Wow.

Everyone at the table instantly perked up, their eyes all focused on He Zhou.

But He Zhou just looked at him, expressionless, "Teacher Mu, you're trying to change the subject and avoid the part where you made a joke about Senior Jiang Ye, that's pretty boring."

He paused and said, "From this point of view, you care about her more than I do."

Everyone at the table immediately turned their attention back to Mu Xing Chi, as if they had heard some shocking gossip.

"Ahem."

Finally, someone else spoke, as if to cover for Mu Xing Chi, "Let's not talk about this, let's eat, let's eat."

Mu Xing Chi: "???"

Mu Xing Chi had a lump in his throat, he could only watch as everyone looked at him with a "we understand" expression, but they didn't say anything.

He felt like he was going to be killed by these two from Shengrui Entertainment.

Fortunately, the others were quick to smooth things over, and the little storm quickly passed.

After dinner, most people called their cars to go home.

Only He Zhou was walking alone on the empty street.

Since Jiang Ye had given him her new number, He Zhou actually didn't call or text Jiang Ye much.

He was afraid of bothering her.

He was also afraid of her noticing.

But at this moment, he suddenly really wanted to hear Jiang Ye's voice.

His conversation with Mu Xing Chi had made him feel a bit restless and depressed.

He didn't even know what he was depressed about, he could only say that he sensed a subtle and unusual vibe from Mu Xing Chi towards Jiang Ye.

Had something happened between them?

Why did Jiang Ye say she didn't want to eat with him?

Why did Mu Xing Chi suddenly urge the others to chase Jiang Ye at dinner?

He Zhou couldn't figure it out.

The summer night breeze blew through his hair.

He stopped under a streetlight, hesitated for a while, and finally, he plucked up the courage to dial Jiang Ye's number.

But the moment it connected, he suddenly didn't know what to say.

As he hesitated, he heard Jiang Ye's voice, "Ah, He Zhou? You finished, right?"

She sounded very happy, "How was it, did you get him to pay a lot?"

The moment he heard her voice, He Zhou couldn't help but smile.

The restlessness and depression he had felt earlier were smoothed out by her voice.

He said with a smile, "Yes."

He thought for a moment and added, "I ate two people's worth, I got your share back."

Jiang Ye laughed on the other end of the phone, "You worked hard, I'll give you a medal when you get back."

He Zhou listened to Jiang Ye chatting casually.

When she mentioned that Mu Xing Chi was just a bit of a jerk, and luckily she was clever and got him to pay for dinner, He Zhou suddenly remembered where his restlessness and depression had come from.

He had actually felt this way the first time he met Mu Xing Chi.

At the time, some people were shipping him and Jiang Ye.

They said their combination was perfect, they said their collaborative stage was unmatched, they said that if they were really together, it would be a real-life romance in the entertainment industry, a mentor and a trainee, a perfect match.

"Jiang Ye."

He Zhou said suddenly after she finished speaking, "If I can make it to the final round."

"Would you choose to perform on stage with me?"

Jiang Ye was slightly stunned, then she smiled, "Of course, who else would I choose?"

She could sense that his tone wasn't natural, and she asked hesitantly, "Do you want to tell me something?"

"... Nothing."

He Zhou held the phone, his eyes shining, "Goodnight, get some rest."

Jiang Ye tilted her head, a little confused, but still said, "Goodnight."

After hanging up the phone, He Zhou looked up at the streetlight, exhaled softly.

He had to win, win to the final round, win that collaborative stage, win so that everyone would know, it wasn't just Mu Xing Chi and her who were a good match.

He could do it too.

•••

He Zhou truly led his team through trials and tribulations in the following rounds.

They only lost once, eliminating one member, and they ended up with three members, making them the biggest winners.

After four rounds, a total of eight contestants said goodbye to the stage.

The remaining eight contestants entered the individual battle mode.

At this point, the mentor teams they were assigned to were disbanded, and the contestants officially entered the final stage, fighting for themselves.

The first round of the finals was for the eight contestants to choose one mentor and one assistant from the four mentors and four assistants, and perform with them on the first stage.

Before the selection process began, Jiang Ye had a feeling that although she was just an assistant, she would definitely be chosen the most.

After all, her traffic was there, and collaborating with her would definitely get the most attention.

And, her stage performance was truly amazing.

Some contestants even secretly asked her privately which contestant she wanted to team up with, and if she could give them a chance.

Jiang Ye's head was spinning.

But there was no way around it, she had already promised He Zhou.

And even if He Zhou hadn't asked her, her first choice would still be He Zhou.

On the day of the team selection recording.

Sure enough, three contestants all threw olive branches at Jiang Ye.

Little Chili even winked at her crazily, giving her a hint with her eyes.

"... Sorry."

Jiang Ye bowed to the other two, "If there's another opportunity, I'll consider collaborating with you guys."

"But this time, my choice is He Zhou."

There was a brief cheer from the audience.

Chen Yi Ming was a little disappointed that He Zhou didn't choose him, but he still asked Jiang Ye, "Can you give me a reason?"

The reason Jiang Ye gave was very official and beautiful, "Because I really admire He Zhou's music style, and we've also chatted privately about our creative ideas, so I think if I collaborate with him, it will bring everyone a different kind of surprise."

After she finished speaking, she looked in He Zhou's direction.

He Zhou was also looking at her.

Jiang Ye winked at him gently.

They didn't need to say anything, just exchanging a glance in front of the camera was enough.

It was a promise that no one else knew about.

Their team formation was very smooth.

When it was time to draw the theme, He Zhou said to Jiang Ye, "You go."

Jiang Ye: "???"

Jiang Ye: "You really dare to let me go? Don't you know what kind of luck I have?"

"It doesn't matter."

He Zhou said, "Whatever you draw, that's what we'll write."

"I believe in you."

Jiang Ye: "..."

Jiang Ye was touched.

In this day and age, there were still people who were willing to unconditionally believe in her, a person with bad luck.

He really was her childhood sweetheart.

She nodded, and she was also inspired, "Okay, I'll gamble on this one for you!"

The theme that Jiang Ye drew for this team was 【Hope】.

This theme wasn't that difficult, but it wasn't easy either.

The scope was broad, but it wasn't easy to write well.

After drawing this theme, He Zhou stayed up for several nights, scrapping several drafts.

Jiang Ye handed He Zhou a cup of coffee.

She was a bit nervous.

The previous rounds hadn't been too difficult for He Zhou, he had led his team through the rounds, but he started hitting a bottleneck in the round where she drew lots.

Jiang Ye hesitated for a moment, then still asked him, "Is this theme too difficult?"

He Zhou took the coffee, shook his head, "It's because I'm collaborating with you, I'm trying harder."

He looked at Jiang Ye, and he even smiled gently, "If I hold you back on your stage performance, your fans might blame me."

"Who's holding back who?"

Jiang Ye laughed, "You're doing this for your own competition, okay? I'm just your supporting guest."

He Zhou was actually betting on himself to have a better performance than Jiang Ye and Mu Xing Chi's collaborative stage.

But when he actually started to do it, he realized it was too difficult.

Jiang Ye's collaborative stage at the time was amazing, both in terms of music style and stage performance, and she also had other teammates to help her, which is why they were able to create such a stunning stage.

But he was just a songwriter, he wasn't an idol.

How could he surpass that stage?

He Zhou: "..."

He Zhou shook his head, "I'll think about it some more."

"Are you going to stay up late tonight?"

Jiang Ye thought for a moment and sat down next to him, "Then I'll write with you."

He Zhou was startled.

After a moment, he shook his head, "No."

"You have other promotional events to attend in a few days, there's no need to stay up late with me, it's too tiring."

Jiang Ye was curious, "How do you know? Have you been following my schedule?"

"..."

He Zhou was silent for a moment, and his answer was watertight, "I'm afraid that our stage rehearsal times will conflict, so I've been following your schedule."

"Since you've been following my schedule, you should know my attitude towards work."

"Don't worry about whether I can make it, or whether I'm tired, just focus on whether the performance is good enough."

"This is also our first collaborative stage, of course, I need to give it my all."

Jiang Ye raised her chin, "Go ahead, order takeout, I'll stay up late with you."

He Zhou: "..."

He Zhou knew that he couldn't convince her, and he laughed helplessly, "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything, just order whatever, nothing high-calorie."

After Jiang Ye finished speaking, she remembered something, "Oh right, I don't eat-"

"No ginger, no garlic, no mushrooms."

He Zhou lowered his head to place the order, "Anything else?"

"... No."

Jiang Ye blinked, surprised, "Your memory is amazing."

He Zhou smiled slightly, "Not bad."

Jiang Ye stayed up late, and she also dragged her teammates to stay up late with her.

While waiting for the takeout, she video-called Cheng Zhen and Lin Zui to ask for their suggestions.

After all, during their time in the group, she had gotten a lot of ideas about creation from them.

On the other end of the video, Cheng Zhen was so sleepy that she was yawning, "Please, I was just about to go to sleep."

Jiang Ye didn't blink, "I just ordered some milk tea for you, double taro balls and pearls, it'll be delivered to your floor in half an hour."

Cheng Zhen instantly perked up, "Okay, what do you need help with? Just say it!"

Lin Zui: "..."

Lin Zui wasn't sleepy, she was leaning against her pillow, just curious, "But isn't this your team member's individual battle, why do you need to worry so much?"

She was a bit confused, "It's just being an assistant, is it really that tiring?"

Jiang Ye: "I don't want to leave any regrets on any of my stages."

Lin Zui nodded knowingly, "I understand."

"And."

Jiang Ye said softly, "I also want to see him win."

While creating, He Zhou had chatted with Jiang Ye a little bit about his past life, to find inspiration.

Compared to Jiang Ye's courage to pursue her dream alone, he had to face more problems.

For example, the people around him didn't really agree with his choice.

For example, everyone thought he was crazy for changing majors to music.

And even though he had already passed the postgraduate entrance exam, everyone thought he would never be able to make a living from this, and that he would have to come back to live an ordinary life after graduation.

So, Jiang Ye especially wanted to see him win.

She wanted to help him prove that pursuing his dreams was never wrong.

She wanted him to get the ranking that matched his talent.

She wanted all those who didn't believe in him to see with their own eyes that he was worthy, that he could do it, that just because they couldn't do it didn't mean he couldn't.

So, the first shot of victory in this final battle.

She would help him fire it.