Chapter 145: The Premiere of The Good Voice

"Lü Zi-qiao, what kind of villain are you playing? A playboy, cynical, scamming your father without even blinking an eye, so why do you lose your nerve when it comes to scamming Zeng Xiao-xian? Scam him, hit him with everything you've got!"

In the original series, when Zeng Xiao-xian and Lü Zi-qiao appeared on screen together, Zeng Xiao-xian was suppressed by Lü Zi-qiao from beginning to end. Whether in acting or sheer presence, Zeng Xiao-xian always fell a notch short compared to Lü Zi-qiao.

At least after finishing the first season, Su Tong felt that if an award for the primary male lead had to be given, Lü Zi-qiao seemed to be the real number one male lead.

Yet in the version he was currently filming, Lü Zi-qiao, played by Wang Chao, was completely overshadowed by his own presence, leaving him somewhat dissatisfied.

He didn't expect Wang Chao to dominate the scenes as completely as in the original show, but the gap shouldn't be this wide either.

"Director Su, your aura is simply too strong. Whether you're playing a dominant role or a vulnerable one, I just can't hold my ground against you. Are you really not a graduate of a performing arts department?" Wang Chao complained ruefully. To think that he, a proud top graduate from the Beijing Film Academy's acting department, felt like a rookie just starting out when standing before Su Tong, who acted like a seasoned veteran.

"I happen to be a graduate of the directing and cinematography departments as well," Su Tong replied coldly, completely unfazed as he reprimanded people.

With a long face, Wang Chao begged for a break. His mental state was at an all-time low; these past few days, Su Tong had tortured him to the point where he felt neither human nor ghost, even dreaming of Su Tong's scoldings when he went back to sleep.

"Sister Fei, Director Su is completely heartless when it comes to work." During the break, Wang Chao sneaked over to Yang Fei-fei to pour out his bitter complaints.

Cheng Kun also wore a gloomy expression, harboring strong grievances against Su Tong. "Just because he's the director, the investor, and making a second season... Even if you beat me to death, I'm never coming back."

Yang Fei-fei arched her eyebrows. Giving Su Tong a hard time meant disrespecting her. What was wrong with this Cheng Kun?

Wang Chao hurriedly pulled Cheng Kun aside and muttered in a low voice, "Cheng Kun, watch your tongue. I think that even though Director Su is strict, he really knows his stuff. What director doesn't have a bit of a temper? Otherwise, how could he keep everyone in line?"

Cheng Kun let out a cold snort and said no more.

As for the others:

"Director Su knows way too much. I really want to crack open his head just to see what's inside."

"Sigh, who would believe that someone not even eighteen years old can write songs, sing, write books, write poetry, and on top of all that, direct and act..."

"I feel like I've wasted the last twenty-odd years of my life for nothing."

"..."

Everyone regarded Su Tong with a mixture of reverence, affection, and resentment.

"What bad things are you guys saying about me behind my back?" At that moment, Su Tong finished adjusting the equipment and coordinates with the crew, walking over toward them.

"No, nothing at all..."

"How could we dare..."

A tight feeling gripped everyone's hearts. They had clearly come to view Su Tong as a leader to be respected from afar rather than someone to be treated as an equal friend.

"Haha, I didn't expect I'd get so intense when I'm focused. Sorry, sorry about that. I'm only doing this for everyone's benefit, you'll understand later. Sister Fei should know this best," Su Tong chuckled. The stern aura faded from him, and he instantly transformed back into that carefree, mischievous young man.

"Aha, we understand Tong-tong's good intentions. Getting chewed out a few times means extra meals, so why not?" Wang Chao laughed. Su Tong had been treating everyone to extra meals over the past few days, and the boxed lunches were exceptionally lavish.

Being scolded a few times wouldn't make you lose any weight, but it did mean getting a few extra pieces of meat. Those with sharp minds and broad hearts understood this well and didn't take it to heart.

Yang Fei-fei didn't have Lin Yin's broad-minded tolerance; whenever she went home, she would complain to Sister Ya-ya every single day.

To film *iPartment*, Lin Yin had been withdrawn from "The Voice" production team. Mainly because mentor A-Lin felt that with Su Tong personally guiding Lin Yin, there wouldn't be any problems.

Furthermore, mentor A-Lin's song and opponent choices for his trainees during the first knockout round were heavily tilted toward Lin Yin. The champion trainee of his group had essentially been pre-determined, and that was Lin Yin.

However, after the blind auditions were broadcast, viewers would easily see that Lin Yin was definitely not a frontrunner to win her group, let alone a favorite for the overall championship. There was still vast room for improvement in her vocal skills, and she wasn't quite ready yet.

And that was for the best—it achieved the desired broadcast effect.

On the contrary, Su Tong was a different story. Once his opera pieces came out, he would undoubtedly be a major contender for the crown, yet it was ultimately impossible for him to actually win the championship.

The grand champion would either be someone signed to one of the three major entertainment conglomerates or someone signed with Xinghang Satellite TV.

From the actors to the crew members, *iPartment*'s production team consisted entirely of inexperienced novices. It took a full week of grinding before it finally began to feel like a real film crew.

Shooting only two episodes in a full week was precisely what made Su Tong so gloomy and the reason behind his periodic outbursts of strictness.

A mature production crew could easily shoot one to two episodes a single day.

At this rate, finishing the first season in a month was completely out of the question.

Over a week later, in late October, the first episode of "The Voice" blind auditions finally went on air.

The broadcast time was set for Friday at 9:10 PM.

"The Voice" had already completed three successful seasons, and this was the fourth. While viewers were starting to experience a bit of aesthetic fatigue, the ratings for the premiere episode were still bound to be exceptionally high.

After all, anticipation among the masses was extremely high, and to ensure a strong start, the production team had carefully selected the most breathtaking highlights out of all the recorded blind audition footage to feature in the very first episode.

"Honey, honey, hurry up and change the channel! 'The Voice' is about to start!" A couple sat on the sofa watching television. Even though it wasn't nine o'clock yet, the wife was already urging her husband to switch channels.

"Don't rush, don't rush. The alarm is set for 9:08, it hasn't gone off yet, what are you panicking for?" Sun Zhou complained.

"Do you love me or not? Do you love me?" Ren Xuan-xuan stretched out her thick, sturdy legs, resting them on Sun Zhou and kicking around wildly.

"We've been married for years, what's with all this 'do you love me' stuff? Even if I didn't love you, we've already been married for two years. Your legs just keep getting thicker—you went from a hundred catties to a hundred and twenty, and I haven't complained yet, have I?" Sun Zhou said gloomily.

"Babe, it's almost time, change the channel already!" In another household, the husband stared longingly at the remote control in his wife's hand.

"What time? You want to watch 'The Voice' again? Aren't you tired of it yet?" the wife retorted crossly. "There are still five minutes left. Push me again and I won't change the channel for you later."

...

"Heehee, Su Tong said he's going to be on TV tonight." Over the weekend, Li Wen, who was studying at a university in Binhai City, naturally returned home, sitting excitedly in front of the television.

At Gao Li-tong's home:

"Mom, 'The Voice' is about to start, can we please change the channel?" Gao Li-tong pleaded coaxingally to her mother, Xu Jing. She was also studying at a university in Binhai City, but her mother required her to come home every weekend out of fear that she might get a boyfriend while away.

"Mom, 'The Voice', 'The Voice'! Two against one, change the channel, change the channel!" her younger sister, Gao Li-dan, chimed in.

Xu Jing loved watching young, fresh-faced idols. What was "The Voice" anyway? It didn't have many handsome guys or pretty girls.

Celebrity reality shows were all about fresh faces and beauty, which was the exact kind of program she enjoyed.

However, since both of her daughters demanded to watch "The Voice," Xu Jing had no choice but to change the channel.

"Tong-tong, are you still hanging out with that Su boy?" Xu Jing asked offhandedly.

Gao Li-tong curled her lips, knowing her mother would bring this up the moment she came back. She emphasized, "Mom, we're just classmates, there's really nothing going on between us. We haven't even..."

She originally intended to say they hadn't even held hands, but suddenly she remembered that they *had* held hands, and she had even been hugged by him. Her guilty conscience caused her to stop mid-sentence.

Xu Jing's eyebrows shot up. "You've held hands? And you still say you're not dating? Tong-tong, you're starting to learn how to lie to your mother. You weren't like this before. This is bad—that Su kid is definitely not a good boy. Until you bring him home for me to see, you are forbidden from holding hands or doing anything out of line with him again."

At that moment, "The Voice" broadcast officially began.

"Mom, can we watch the show first, please?" Gao Li-tong begged.

"Mom, big sister will find out anyway, just let us watch TV!" Gao Li-dan chimed in as well.

On the screen, the introduction of the four mentors had already begun.

Season veterans Na Jie and A-Lin, alongside newly joined mentor Liu Fan and the Heavenly Queen A-Jiu.

Countless fans of "The Voice" craned their necks in eager anticipation, waiting for exceptional contestants with great voices to appear.