Three days after the movie premiere, the fervor on the internet about "Lu Zhixian being an army of one" had not only failed to cool down but showed signs of intensifying.

The "Music Judge" who once acted like an authority quietly deleted that two-thousand-word long post in the early hours of the day after Zhang Ji released the behind-the-scenes video, and even set his account to be visible only for the last six months.

But the internet has a memory.

Screenshots of his "absolutely impossible" remark were turned into various emojis by netizens and paired with Lu Zhixian's sleepy smile from the video, spreading virally across major comment sections.

Lu Zhixian, at the center of the storm, had not shown his face at all.

His Weibo was neglected, and the studio's phone was unreachable.

He only updated a status on his Moments; the photo showed a glistening red-oiled Grandmaster Spicy Chicken Leg Rice in a takeout box.

The caption was just five words.

"Price went up again, one star."

...

Just as he finished the last bite of rice, Lu Zhixian was about to pack up the takeout box when a long-lost, emotionless electronic voice rang in his head.

[Ding! It has been detected that the host's popularity value has surpassed the "phenomenal" threshold. Unlocking new mission—"Turning Stone into Gold."]

Lu Zhixian's hand, which was clearing the trash, paused.

[Mission Content: Participate in a music competition variety show as a music partner and lead your partner singer to win the final championship.]

[Mission Reward: God-level Arrangement.]

Lu Zhixian raised an eyebrow and spoke to the system in his mind: "God-level Arrangement? At my current level, even 'Grandmaster' is enough. What's the concept of 'God-level'?"

Just then, the phone on the coffee table buzzed and vibrated.

The caller ID showed an unknown Jingzhou number.

He casually pressed the speakerphone.

"Hello, hi, is this Teacher Lu Zhixian from Xian Dong Wo Xin Studio?" The male voice on the other end sounded very polite, even a bit cautious.

"This is he."

"Hello, Teacher Lu! I am the chief director of the Jingzhou TV show 'Heavenly Voice Partners,' my name is Zhao Yang."

Zhao Yang—Lu Zhixian had some impression of this name; he was a fairly famous variety show director in the industry.

He didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

"Teacher Lu, it's like this: our show is a music competition reality show where eight singers and eight music partners form teams. In each round, the partner creates a custom competition song for the singer. They compete on stage, and the rankings are decided by professional judges and the online audience's votes."

Lu Zhixian leaned back on the sofa, didn't say anything, and just listened.

Zhao Yang's voice carried a sense of burning urgency.

"To be honest, we have an emergency here. The producer originally scheduled to be Su Ran's partner had an urgent family matter and notified us at midnight yesterday that they couldn't come. Recording starts in three days, and we are now..."

He paused, his tone full of a bitter smile.

"Teacher Lu, you are our life-saving straw right now. The whole industry is watching the 'under the starry sky' matter. I took your name to the station for approval, and the leaders approved it in five minutes."

Lu Zhixian squeezed the cola can and asked a question: "Su Ran... is it that one?"

"Yes." Zhao Yang's voice became even more bitter.

"It's that idol singer Su Ran, who is mocked by the entire internet for 'singing like chanting scriptures'."

After hanging up, Lu Zhixian opened his computer and typed the name "Su Ran" into the search box.

The information popped up.

Male, twenty-four years old, debuted as a talent show champion. He has an impeccable face and a terrifyingly large fan base. However, his musical works are all sugary pop songs, and his singing skills have been ridiculed by various music critics.

The latest trending topic was sitting in the top ten of the entertainment charts.

#Su Ran Car Crash Scene#

He clicked on the video.

It was a recording of a live stream. Su Ran was egged on by fans to sing a cover of someone else's song a cappella. As a result, his high notes cracked, his low notes sounded like he hadn't warmed up his voice, and he even forgot a large chunk of the lyrics. The bullet comments were densely packed with remarks like "I suggest he switches to acting" and "Listening to him sing makes my ears pregnant—with morning sickness."

At this moment, the system's voice rang out again.

[Hint: Partner singer Su Ran is currently ranked eighth—dead last—in the production team's internal strength estimation. He has already been placed on the "first-round elimination candidate list" by multiple judges.]

[His actual vocal potential rating is B+.]

[Does the host accept the mission?]

Lu Zhixian's gaze stopped on that "B+".

B+ meant this voice had a decent foundation; it was just being used like a brick, and no one had ever thought of carving it like a piece of jade.

"Accept."

He picked up his phone and called Zhao Yang back.

"Director Zhao, I can go, but I have three conditions."

Zhao Yang immediately said on the other end, "Please say them!"

"First, from song selection and arrangement to stage presentation, I alone have the final say on everything related to the music. No one, including the singer himself, can interfere."

"No problem!"

"Second, before the official recording, I need at least three days of closed rehearsal time with Su Ran, during which we will see no one."

"That can be arranged!"

"Third," Lu Zhixian paused, "I won't participate in any behind-the-scenes interviews or pre-show promotions. Those aren't my job. I only handle the music; don't look for me for anything else."

There was silence on the other end for two seconds.

Then, in a tone that sounded almost liberated, Zhao Yang said decisively, "Deal!"

That afternoon, the official Weibo of "Heavenly Voice Partners" released the latest partner lineup poster.

There were eight sets of posters. The first seven sets featured powerful singers paired with gold-medal producers. The comment section was filled with "battle of the gods" and "looking forward to it."

Until the eighth set of posters came out.

On the left was Su Ran's impeccable face, and on the right were the words "Music Partner: Lu Zhixian."

The comment section exploded.

But this time, the trend was very strange.

"Am I seeing this right? Lu Zhixian is going to lead Su Ran? What kind of poverty alleviation duo is this?"

"Save him? With Su Ran's level, even Jesus would have to hand him a cigarette and say, 'Brother, there's nothing I can do about your situation.' Is God Lu out of his mind?"

"Don't just hate blindly, person above. Maybe Teacher Lu wants to challenge Hell Mode?"

"Why do I feel like this duo... is a bit like taking an aircraft carrier to ram a small fishing boat? I'm not saying Su Ran is the fishing boat, but the whole thing itself feels ridiculous."

The news quickly spread within the industry.

In a WeChat group composed of producers from major record companies, someone posted the poster.

The group immediately became lively.

"Brother Zhou, what do you think? This Lu Zhixian just finished something big and now he's coming to take our jobs."

The person tagged was Zhou Qiming, who was serving as the partner for the powerful singer Lin Feng this time. He had seniority and many works in the industry, known as "Big Brother Zhou."

After a long while, Zhou Qiming slowly replied.

"Just a junior. Film scoring is an art polished in the recording studio, while variety shows are a battlefield with real swords and spears; they're different. Leading a piece of trash into the finals? I'd like to see how he turns a stone into gold."

...

Lu Zhixian's packing was very simple.

A twenty-inch suitcase stuffed with two changes of clothes, then a laptop, a portable MIDI keyboard, and a pair of monitoring headphones.

He stood at the studio entrance, looked back at the wall covered with guitars and basses, and muttered to himself.

"Variety shows... I got tired of watching them in my previous life. In this life, I might as well get in the game and play."

He locked the door and carried his suitcase downstairs.

Passing by the convenience store downstairs, he ducked in and grabbed two cans of iced cola.

Meanwhile.

In a private room of a high-end private club in Jingzhou, cigar smoke lingered.

A middle-aged man in a sophisticated suit was pouring wine for the three people opposite him. He was Qin Haoran, the owner of Lin Feng's management company.

The three people opposite him were of no ordinary status; they were all members of the twenty professional judges for 'Heavenly Voice Partners'.

"Teachers," Qin Haoran raised his glass with a gentle smile.

"Lin Feng is a kid the company spent a lot of money to cultivate. This show is too important for his transition. As for the first-place position... I'll have to ask you teachers to look after him."

The three judges looked at each other, smiled, and all raised their glasses.

"President Qin is too polite."

"With Lin Feng's strength, winning the championship is only natural."

A judge wearing glasses pushed them up and said meaningfully: "As for us, at most, we're just... adding the finishing touch."

Clink.

The wine glasses clinked together crisply.

...

Lu Zhixian flew to the recording location of the show. He pushed open the door of the hotel room arranged by the production team and had just put down his suitcase.

A series of hurried footsteps came from the hallway, followed by a loud pounding on the door.

"Teacher Lu! Is Teacher Lu there!"

The door wasn't closed tightly and was pushed open.

A young man wearing a hoodie, a mask, and a hat stumbled in.

He pulled off his mask, revealing a face that hundreds of millions of people online swooned over.

Su Ran.

His eyes were red as if he had just cried. There was a slight, uncontrolled tremor in his voice, but his tone was exceptionally serious.

He looked at Lu Zhixian and, without a word, bowed nearly ninety degrees.

"Teacher Lu! I know everyone thinks I'm a piece of trash and that my singing is a joke."

"But I really... really want to sing well."

"Please, teach me!"

Lu Zhixian leaned against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets, just watching the top idol in front of him who was almost bowing his head to the floor.

The corner of his mouth curled up slightly.

"First, don't be in such a hurry to beg me."

"You, right now, right here, sing that song of yours that made it onto the 'Car Crash Scene' trending topic for me once."

"I want to hear exactly where you are 'trash'."