Chapter 162 I Have the Recording

Right now, Su Tong wanted nothing more than to die. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected Su Tong to be so violent, retaliating with a direct physical blow. She had assumed that no matter how sharp Su Tong's tongue was, he would be no match for her ability to argue. Before provoking him, she had fully prepared herself for a war of words.

Yet, all that preparation had gone to waste; a single slap from Su Tong had settled it.

Contestants fighting backstage—this was a first in the four seasons of *The Voice*, driving Director Li Guowei to the verge of a breakdown. Forget about *The Voice*; such brawls were a rarity even across all other programs nationwide.

"Director, he framed me! I want to call the police!" With a mouth full of blood, several missing teeth, and a noticeable lisp, Su Tong was consumed by grievance and fury.

"Su Tong, go rinse your mouth first. We'll sort this out after the show, alright?" Li Guowei was so stressed he looked ready to go completely bald.

Su Tong's manager rushed over. Regardless of the grievances, driven by professional ethics and a concern for Su Tong's future, she also urged her to wait until the grand finale concluded before resolving the issue.

"Su Tong, you're up next. Get ready," urged Li Guowei, along with Zhang Xin, who had also hurried over.

Su Tong sat down heavily and unceremoniously. "Let Qin Feng go first. My business with Su Tong hasn't been settled yet. If it's not resolved, we'll drag this out right here tonight. Go ahead and call the police; I just happen to have a recording on my phone."

Su Tong's expression shifted dramatically. A recording?

She nearly fainted on the spot.

There really was a recording? Why on earth would anyone record a conversation for no reason? Surely this guy wasn't just bluffing.

"What do you want?" The color drained from Su Tong's manager's face. Su Tong looked entirely composed, as if he had truly gotten hold of some incriminating dirt.

Su Tong managed to calm down, unwilling to forfeit the competition. This was the first stepping stone of her budding stardom; if she messed it up, Emperor Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Shi family, dropping her was entirely within the realm of possibility.

She was merely a newcomer the Shi family wanted to push, not an actual member of the Shi family—not even of concubinal descent.

"Sister Xin, help me bring Xiaoxiao over," Su Tong said to Zhang Xin.

Shortly after, Zhang Xin carried Xiaoxiao over.

"Big Brother." Seeing her brother, Xiaoxiao burrowed straight into Su Tong's arms.

Holding Xiaoxiao, Su Tong looked at Su Tong and said, "If you still want to go on stage today, apologize to Xiaoxiao. Otherwise, that recording I have will end up online. I'll let every netizen hear how Su Tong propositioned me and bragged about how incredible her skills were—tsk tsk, skills that could supposedly drive me to cloud nine..."

Su Tong's face turned a spectrum of pale, blue, and crimson; she wished she could just bash her head against a wall and die. Having spent over two months alongside Su Tong as a contestant in the fourth season of *The Voice*, the guy had always seemed completely harmless. How could he have such a violent and shameless side?

Everyone else was baffled. Su Tong was the one who had made advances on Su Tong; why was Su Tong demanding that she apologize to Xiaoxiao?

"You're shameless! I only said a couple of things about her and your mother, how could I possibly be shameless to that extent—" Su Tong flushed crimson as she protested. The moment the words left her mouth, her face turned dead white. She had given herself away without even needing the recording. There weren't many people present, but there were still seven or eight of them. Hearing her confess out of her own mouth that she had provoked Su Tong first meant she thoroughly deserved the slap.

As for Su Tong hitting someone, at worst he'd have to pay medical bills and receive a light lecture from the police officers.

"Are you going to apologize or not?" Su Tong demanded coldly, his expression dark.

"Xiaoxiao, some women just deserve to be hit. Don't ever let yourself be bullied just because you're pretty. Big Brother is going to show you what happens to shameless women like this—men and women are equal. If a woman acts like a bitch, she shares the same guilt as a man." Holding Xiaoxiao, Su Tong made a move as if to go punch Su Tong again.

"My dear ancestor, please!" Li Guowei was the first to rush in and play peacemaker, while four or five staff members hurried forward to hold Su Tong back. "Student Su, cool down, please cool down."

"Su Tong, you just admitted yourself that you were in the wrong from the start. Are you going to apologize to Student Su and Xiaoxiao or not?" The entire production team of *The Voice* was filled with righteous indignation. Everyone knew Su Tong had signed with Xinghang Television. While the exact terms of the contract were unknown, they all understood Su Tong was one of their own. Since they held the moral high ground, how could they not unite against a common foe?

Su Tong burst into tears once more. Under the collective pressure and fury of the production team and her manager, she tearfully apologized to Su Tong and Xiaoxiao: "I... I'm sorry..."

The moment she finished, she wanted to bolt away in tears, but the production team wouldn't let her go. "Get ready immediately! Qin Feng is about to come off, and it's your turn to go on."

Su Tong felt so aggrieved she wanted to die. She hastily washed up and was quickly shoved onto the stage.

Qin Feng and Su Tong had both suffered heavy losses after trying to gain an advantage, achieving the exact opposite of what they intended. The quality of their individual performances was severely impacted.

When they came back down, both were in a daze, knowing they had sung terribly and were completely out of the zone.

Su Tong went on last and delivered a mediocre performance; he had been shaken up too.

"You won, and I didn't sing well either," Su Tong said with a helpless sigh to Su Tong upon returning backstage.

This woman was actually quite pathetic. From now on, Emperor Entertainment would likely freeze her career, leaving her with virtually no chance of making a comeback.

Su Tong no longer had the energy or the capacity to hate Su Tong; her mind was entirely consumed by thoughts of her own future.

Qin Feng sat off to the side, clutching his waist. The spot still ached, and he harbored a lingering dread toward Su Tong.

Su Tong had signed with Xinghang, which essentially made this their home turf. Provoking Su Tong was doing him no favors—why on earth had he let jealousy blind him earlier?

Liang Luoshi hadn't been present earlier and only learned after coming downstairs that Su Tong had beaten up both Su Tong and Qin Feng.

"This little fellow... I never took him for a violent guy, hitting women and all." Liang Luoshi was also a newcomer under one of the three major entertainment giants. Her relationship with Su Tong was neither good nor bad, and the same went for Su Tong and Qin Feng; she was strictly a neutral contestant.

"Senior Sister, you're practically guaranteed first place now. The three of us tore each other to shreds, leaving you to reap the benefits," Su Tong said to Liang Luoshi after sending Xiaoyu off to the stage.

Liang Luoshi forced a bitter smile. "I was too nervous, didn't sing well, and made one mistake after another. Sigh, such a rare, golden opportunity, and I let it slip right through my fingers."

Deep down, she couldn't help feeling immense regret. *Why wasn't I the last one to sing? If I had been, seeing the terrible state the rest of you were in, would I still have been nervous?*

Meanwhile, up on the stage, the host was telling a story.

"This autumn, a deeply tragic accident occurred in Guizhou Province. A cable car at a scenic spot plummeted more than thirty meters into a valley, resulting in over thirty casualties, with the death toll reaching as high as fifteen." The host's face was etched with sorrow.

"Over a month later, the details of this accident have fully come to light, and one particular detail is utterly heartbreaking."

"A couple from Yicheng, Guangxi, in the very last second of their lives, used their hands to lift and protect their two- or three-year-old son..."

"The son survived, but the couple left this world forever."

The host continued in a heavy tone: "Just a few days ago, following the exposure of these accident details, Student Su specially composed a song in their honor. Now, let us welcome our guest performer tonight, Da Qiao, to sing this deeply moving piece for everyone: *Dawn Has Broken*."

Xiaoyu, dressed in a white princess gown and holding the microphone with both hands, rose from the center of the stage on the platform.

Having gained experience, even without her brother by her side, she was no longer nervous. (To be continued...)