Lu Zhixian was woken up by his phone vibrating.

He rolled over, reached out to grab his phone from beside the pillow, and squinted at the time.

7:42 AM.

At the very top of his WeChat message list, a red number was displayed in the top right corner of Brother Zhao's chat box.

27.

Lu Zhixian scrolled down; He Zhiyuan, Zhao Linchuan, and a few other industry friends he didn't contact often had all sent messages.

He didn't click on them, opening Weibo instead.

The 18th trending topic.

"#Lu Zhixian and Lin Shiya dining in Jingzhou#"

The view count had already exceeded 80 million.

Lu Zhixian tapped in to take a look.

The top post on the topic page was that blurry photo posted by the marketing account yesterday, accompanied by a caption.

"An insider revealed that Lu Zhixian and Lin Shiya were spotted at a Japanese restaurant in Jingzhou last night. The two dined alone, staying from 7 PM to 9 PM, and were chatting and laughing when they left. Is this a gathering of friends or...?"

The comment section below had gone wild.

"Shi-Xian shippers assemble!!! Our sugar has finally arrived!!!"

"The picture is way too blurry, how can you tell who that is?"

"The one on the left looks over 185cm tall, long legs—if that's not Lu Zhixian, then who is it?"

"Even if it's real, so what? Is it illegal for two adults to have a meal?"

"Sisters, calm down. Don't ship blindly without solid proof."

"Calm down? No way! I don't need solid proof to ship a CP!"

Lu Zhixian scrolled past two screens and closed Weibo.

Lu Zhixian thought for a moment and didn't send any messages.

Anything he said at a time like this would be inappropriate; it would only make him look guilty.

If he said nothing, it would naturally die down in a couple of days.

He got up, washed his face, boiled a pot of water, and made a cup of instant coffee.

Before the coffee had cooled down enough to drink, Brother Zhao called.

"Did you see it?"

Brother Zhao said as his first sentence.

"I saw it."

"Although that photo is blurry, people in the industry can basically tell it's you two. I've already received three calls this morning, all asking about this."

"Let them ask."

Lu Zhixian held the cup and blew on it.

"You're certainly not in a rush."

"Has Lin Shiya responded?"

"No."

"That's right. Neither side should speak; it will blow over in a few days."

Brother Zhao paused.

"But that's not the main reason I called today."

"Speak."

Brother Zhao took a deep breath, his tone becoming serious.

"The Spring Festival Gala officials will officially announce this year's program list and lineup in three days."

Lu Zhixian took a sip of coffee and didn't respond.

"Did you hear me? In three days."

Brother Zhao emphasized.

"Do you know what this means?"

"What does it mean?"

"It means that your appearance on the Spring Festival Gala will no longer be an industry rumor."

Lu Zhixian set the cup on the table.

"Mm."

"Mm?"

Brother Zhao's voice raised half a pitch.

"That's all you have to say?"

"What else?"

"Do you have any idea how the public opinion will explode after the official announcement?"

Brother Zhao stopped there.

"I think we need to prepare a public opinion contingency plan in advance."

"What kind of plan?"

"For example, preparing some press releases in advance, finding a few media outlets for exclusive interviews, and controlling the rhythm of the comment sections. Let everyone know you have the talent and weren't just shoved in based on traffic."

"Brother Zhao."

Lu Zhixian interrupted him.

"Hmm?"

"If they announce it, they announce it. Why prepare a plan?"

Brother Zhao was silent for three seconds.

"Are you serious?"

"When have I ever not been serious?"

Lu Zhixian said.

"No matter how well a press release is written, it's not as good as singing a song on New Year's Eve."

"What about those voices of doubt?"

"Let them doubt."

"What if someone tries to manipulate the narrative?"

"Then let them manipulate it."

Lu Zhixian's tone was very flat.

"Brother Zhao, you've been my partner for so long; when have I ever relied on a plan to solve problems?"

Brother Zhao didn't make a sound on the other end of the line.

After a while, he sighed.

"Fine."

"What about the scandal, then? Are we ignoring that too?"

"Ignoring that too."

"You really are..."

Brother Zhao swallowed the second half of his sentence.

"Fine, I'll listen to you. But I'll still keep an eye on things."

After hanging up, Lu Zhixian drank the rest of the coffee and washed the cup.

He stood by the window and looked outside.

Over the next two days, the heat of the topic "Lu Zhixian and Lin Shiya dining in Jingzhou" slowly died down.

There were no new photos, no new scoops, and neither side responded, so the marketing accounts couldn't stir anything up.

By the third day, the trending topic had slipped past the top 40, and basically, no one was discussing it anymore.

Just as Lu Zhixian had predicted.

In these three days, he didn't go anywhere.

Every morning he got up to run, came back to eat, and then practiced his song in his room.

He would sleep for a while in the afternoon, get up, and practice it again.

At night, he would call Brother Zhao to get updated on the latest situation, then go to sleep early.

Three days passed quickly.

On the fourth day, which was the morning after the Spring Festival Gala lineup was officially announced, Lu Zhixian received a call from Director Fang's assistant, notifying him to arrive at the station at 10 AM for a technical coordination meeting before the final round of rehearsals.

Lu Zhixian arrived at 9:30.

He entered through the side door of the studio and met several staff members in the hallway, all faces he had seen during the previous rounds of rehearsals.

Someone greeted him, and their attitude was noticeably much warmer than before.

The effect of the official announcement was tangible.

Having his name printed on the Spring Festival Gala program list was completely different from having his name just floating around in industry rumors.

The technical coordination meeting was in a small conference room on the third floor.

When Lu Zhixian pushed the door open to enter, Director Fang was already there, with two heads of the lighting team and the band conductor, Li Jun, sitting next to him.

"You're here. Sit." Director Fang nodded at him.

Lu Zhixian sat down next to Director Fang.

The meeting was mainly to coordinate technical details for the lighting, sound, and the band.

Lu Zhixian had streamlined the stage version during the third round of rehearsals, and this time they needed to confirm all parameters for the final version.

The meeting lasted over forty minutes and went very smoothly.

Near the end, the door to the conference room was pushed open from the outside.

Lu Zhixian looked up.

Zheng Weiyuan.

He was wearing a dark gray jacket, holding a folder in his hand, stood at the door and scanned the people in the room, then walked in.

"Director Zheng."

Director Fang stood up.

"No need to stand, I'm just passing by to take a look."

Zheng Weiyuan pulled out a chair and sat down near the door.

He didn't look at anyone else, looking directly at Lu Zhixian.

"That lighting point I mentioned during the last rehearsal—the one about dimming for half a second before pushing to full brightness when entering the second chorus—has that been implemented?"

Lu Zhixian nodded.

"It has. The lighting team has already confirmed it. 0.5 seconds before the second chorus starts, the stage lighting will be dimmed to 30%, and then pushed to full when the first word of the chorus comes out."

Zheng Weiyuan glanced at the head of the lighting team next to him.

That person flipped through the flow sheet in their hand and nodded in confirmation.

Zheng Weiyuan didn't speak, looking down at the contents in his folder.

The conference room was quiet for a few seconds.

Lu Zhixian spoke up.

"Director Zheng's suggestion last time was very good."

Zheng Weiyuan looked up at him.

"I went back and tried that half-second blackout myself; it really has a much stronger impact than just pushing to full immediately. The audience's emotions need a breathing space to be fully pulled to the max on the next beat."

Zheng Weiyuan's gaze lingered on his face for a moment.

The corners of his mouth moved slightly.

It didn't count as a smile, but that permanent, tightly-wound sense of seriousness relaxed a bit.

"As long as you understand this, that's all that matters."

After saying this, he picked up the folder and stood up, didn't stay long, and pushed the door open to leave.

The conference room was quiet for a moment.

Director Fang watched the closed door, turned his head to look at Lu Zhixian, his expression a bit subtle.

"Do you know,"

Director Fang lowered his voice.

"In the eight years I've worked at the station, I've only seen Zheng Weiyuan take the initiative to praise someone three times."

"Does this count as a compliment?"

Lu Zhixian asked.

"For him, 'As long as you understand this, that's all that matters' is the highest praise."

Director Fang smiled.

"He can't even be bothered to say much to the average person."

The head of the lighting team next to them also nodded, clearly agreeing deeply.

Lu Zhixian didn't respond, but a slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

After the meeting ended, Director Fang called Lu Zhixian into the hallway.

"The final rehearsal is scheduled for the day after tomorrow," Director Fang said. "It's also the last full run-through before New Year's Eve. Once that's done, we just wait for the 30th."

"Okay."

"How's your state?"

"It's good."

Director Fang patted his shoulder.

"Prepare well."

Lu Zhixian nodded and turned to walk downstairs.

When he walked to the lobby on the first floor, Brother Zhao was already waiting at the door, leaning against the car door scrolling on his phone.

Seeing Lu Zhixian come out, he shoved his phone into his pocket.

"How was it?"

"No problems. The technical details are all sorted out."

"What about Director Zheng? I heard he went too?"

"He went."

"What did he say?"

"He said one thing."

"What?"

"He said, 'As long as you understand this, that's all that matters.'"

Brother Zhao was stunned for a moment.

Then his eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then we're set."

Brother Zhao opened the car door.

Lu Zhixian bent down and got into the car.

"How many days left?"

Brother Zhao sat in the driver's seat and started the car.

"The day after tomorrow is the final rehearsal. Then it's New Year's Eve."

"Nine days."

Brother Zhao calculated.

"Nine days from now, the whole country will hear wishing you prosperity》."

Lu Zhixian leaned back in his seat, watching the streets passing by outside the car window.

"Mm."

Brother Zhao glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

"Are you nervous?"

"Not nervous."

"Not at all?"

"Not at all."

Brother Zhao shook his head and didn't say anything more.

The car drove past two intersections when Lu Zhixian's phone vibrated.

He took it out and looked at it.

It was from Lin Shiya.

A screenshot.

The screenshot was from a fan club's Weibo, and the content was a photoshopped image.

On the left of the image was Lu Zhixian's profile, and on the right was Lin Shiya's profile, connected in the middle by a big red heart, with the caption: "Shi-Xian is eternal, locked in, never changing."

Below the screenshot, Lin Shiya typed a line of text.

Lin Shiya: "Look at what all this is."

Lu Zhixian stared at that photoshopped image for two seconds.

Lu Zhixian: "It's photoshopped quite well."

The message was sent; five seconds passed.

Lin Shiya: "???"

Lu Zhixian put his phone back in his pocket and didn't reply again.

Brother Zhao glanced through the rearview mirror.

"Whose message? What are you smiling at?"

"Nobody."

Brother Zhao looked at his expression, opened his mouth, then swallowed his words.

The car continued to drive forward.

Lu Zhixian turned his head to look out the window.