After leaving the hospital, Su Ning and Shen Mingzheng saw Chen Tao waiting downstairs. He sighed in relief when he saw them, clearly concerned about Shen Mingzheng’s well-being.

Chen Tao checked Shen Mingzheng’s car daily. In this industry, privacy was always a top concern. Once they got into the car and left the hospital grounds, Su Ning began to speak seriously to Shen Mingzheng.

“I have to admit, what I said earlier wasn’t really what I was thinking,” Su Ning confessed. “But, you know, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Charging headlong in this business only leads to a bloody mess.”

Strategic deception was a basic skill in the business world.

“To some extent, power is, of course, more important than money.”

“But in our line of work, if you only know how to play with power, in the end, it’s just isolating yourself from the audience. But this isn’t the kind of thing to discuss in front of the old man.”

Once he saw Elder Shen, he knew what type of person he was.

High in status and authoritative, but regardless, the 200 million was still indirectly coming out of the Shen family’s pockets. So, playing along was the best way to protect himself for now.

Su Ning overheard this from the next room, knowing that if he didn’t step in, Shen Mingzheng was about to choose his side over another, even though he knew the elder would be furious.

Then, Su Ning confirmed his thoughts.

Stripping away the layers of facades, maneuvers, and identities, he and Shen Mingzheng were essentially the same type of person.

However, it was hard to say what Shen Mingzheng would turn into if he continued down the path laid out by the Shen family.

The world they lived in was like a novel, with the Shen family appearing to be the villains, and Su Ning saw Shen Mingzheng as a character who might turn dark in the future. The more someone clung to their integrity, the more painful it became, especially under the pressure from the Shen family.

“The elder treats his heirs like he’s raising gu, his methods and principles might not be wrong, but I don’t agree with them,” Su Ning continued.

At heart, he was still that self-made man, not oblivious to the thoughts of those born into privilege. But without real power, verbal disagreements were futile, though he had now managed to bring Shen Mingzheng over to his side.

“Let’s see what the future holds,” Su Ning said. “We’ll take it slow.”

The place was a quagmire, and he had plenty of time to change the story and its characters.

Shen Mingzheng looked at him and after a long pause, agreed, “Okay.”

Reflecting on his past life, he hadn’t lacked friends or companions, but most were brief encounters, quickly dispersing.

This moment was the most comforting in Shen Mingzheng’s two lifetimes, even though the road ahead was unclear.

He finally had a true companion.

After that, the stock acquisition of Guang Ying Entertainment went smoothly. The Su family was now wealthy, having reclaimed nearly ninety percent of the shares. The remaining ten percent were held by minor shareholders who didn’t participate in the management and posed no threat to Su Ning.

Even Su Hongda, who nominally held over fifty percent of the shares, had grown accustomed to his lack of real authority, and he enjoyed it.

After all, everyone in Hai Cheng knew that Elder Shen had acknowledged the marriage contract, giving Su Ning a powerful backer. The city buzzed with talk of a “marriage into a wealthy family.”

So when Liang Xiaoliang from Qilin also showed up at the company and was very polite to Su Ning, Su Hongda wasn’t surprised.

During this busy period for Su Ning, the replacement competition in Idol Star Map was also in full swing. After two rounds, the rankings were more or less determined, with Li Chu and Qu Shoubai advancing to the finals as Su Ning had predicted.

The popularity of the replacement competition soared, even surpassing any previous episode, described by the media as an “irreplaceable fight” where “everyone shines.” The views for the replacement competition’s performances skyrocketed.

For idols, having a breakout stage was crucial, sometimes even more so than the steady income from participating in a lesser-known variety show.

When Li Chu received his advancement results, it felt surreal. He waved goodbye to his teammates and friends, each gaining something different from the experience.

Then, he and Qu Shoubai moved on to the next stage.

The finals were about to be broadcast live, and their advantage of participating in the replacement competition was maintaining high popularity, though it meant less time to prepare for the finals.

During this busy period, Li Chu was indeed swamped, especially considering that the original participants weren’t easy to surpass, particularly Ji Mowei, who Li Chu had identified as a rival from their first encounter, fueling his competitive spirit to its peak.

Initially, he felt it was enough to have made it to the finals after winning the replacement competition, but then he began to think, why not aim for the top seven spots, or even first place?

After all, he couldn’t disappoint Su Ning.

Li Chu wasn’t fully aware of the outside world while in the training camp, but he sensed the difficulties Su Ning was facing.

He and Shen Mingzheng hadn’t appeared on the show for a while, and when he discreetly asked Director Chen Yuan, she mentioned they were busy with company matters and didn’t elaborate further.

But for Su Ning, and for himself, Li Chu was willing to bet everything on this final battle.

Time flew by, and soon it was the night of the finals.

With nerves and anticipation, Li Chu finally saw the deeply missed Su Ning again.

Su Ning had returned with Zhou Chunqing. With Jiang Chenfeng out of the picture, she was almost free, her restrictive studio beginning to liquidate and bankrupt. Now, she sat at the very front of the audience, her face relaxed and smiling.

Su Ning, dressed in a more formal silk shirt, stood backstage, shining even amidst the well-dressed trainees.

Li Chu ran up to him, surprised.

He inquired about Su Ning’s recent situation, and Su Ning reassured him, “It’s alright, the company’s issues are resolved, and I’ve secured an investor. Just focus on the competition and don’t worry too much.”

“You’re amazing, Young Master Su! I knew everything would be resolved, nothing can stump you!” Li Chu said brightly, his eyes sparkling. “Also…”

But before he could finish, the directors called his name from backstage. The live broadcast was about to start, and they had little time for a leisurely chat.

Li Chu wanted to seize every moment to talk more, but he saw someone turn and draw Su Ning’s attention away—Shen Mingzheng, the young president.

“Director Chen is calling you, we have some matters to discuss,” Shen Mingzheng said. “Su Ning, come with me first.”

It was a matter of business, and Li Chu wasn’t the type to selfishly keep someone from important discussions, but seeing Su Ning being led away bothered him.

He felt they were a bit too close now; they hadn’t been that close before. And the way Shen Mingzheng acted around Su Ning seemed different.

Weird, but Li Chu couldn’t quite describe it.

Maybe it was just because it was crowded backstage, but Li Chu, stretching his neck, thought he saw Shen Mingzheng’s arm around Su Ning’s waist as they walked.

There were too many people, and he wondered if he was seeing things, so he kept hopping up, trying to get a better view.

Why hadn’t he grown a few more centimeters!

Eventually, Ji Mowei passed by and pulled him down.

“What are you doing?” he asked. “Isn’t your knee bad? Don’t you know to save your energy before a performance?”

The sports therapist visited daily during training, a new addition, spending extra time at Li Chu’s side checking his knee, along with others who had old injuries.

Later, they found out it was Su Ning’s arrangement. To avoid any special treatment claims and potential exclusion, everyone was treated equally, and naturally, no one complained.

Li Chu, despite his injury, still gave it his all, something everyone acknowledged and respected.

“I’m fine!”

Li Chu was a bit annoyed and still wanted to jump around, but Ji Mowei held him down.

Li Chu turned his head in frustration.

He really disliked these big, burly types with brute strength!

“Alright, stop looking, they’re gone,” Ji Mowei said, finding Li Chu’s puffed cheeks somewhat amusing. “You’re about to go on stage.”

If he hadn’t been about to perform, it might have been okay, but once on stage, Li Chu saw even clearer.

The stage had special guest seats in the small second tier, separated from the regular audience. These seats were reserved for outstanding students from previous seasons of Idol Star Map and, more importantly, the bosses or representatives of the trainees’ companies.

Su Ning didn’t sit in the center seat, not seeking to stand out, allowing Liang Xiaoliang, President Liang, to take the spotlight, sitting slightly off-center with Shen Mingzheng.

But the two of them seemed too close!

Each seat was pre-arranged, and the spacing between them was meticulously planned, but from a glance, Su Ning and Shen Mingzheng seemed to disrupt the formation, their chairs moved together.

Li Chu: …

The live broadcast was about to start, and he had no time to separate them, but when he danced the opening performance “Fire,” the other trainees felt he danced with more force than during rehearsals.

Well, it matched the song’s rhythm.

As if he really had a fire burning inside him.

From the opening dance, the entire venue heated up.

Su Ning checked his phone and saw that the top ten trending topics on major media platforms were all dominated by the Idol Star Map finals.

The show had kept the voting numbers tightly under wraps for the three days leading up to the finals, keeping the audience on tenterhooks.

Previously, it was said that the replacement competition contestants reaching debut status was impressive, but looking at Li Chu and Qu Shoubai’s popularity, the outcome was still uncertain.

Fans’ prayers and the spectators’ discussions pushed the competition to its highest heat point.

Su Ning sat in the small second tier, mostly hearing the screams from the audience. He saw many holding Li Chu’s light sticks, especially visible in the dark.

Anyone would feel extremely excited in such an environment.

Although the original host’s memories were vague about anyone besides Shen Huai and Sang Le, because he didn’t care, his mind wasn’t on the competition.

But watching, Su Ning felt that each trainee who had made it this far shone brightly.

As he had said on the day he withdrew from the competition, this wasn’t his path, but he hoped they all had bright futures, as if his wishes were already coming true.

Then, he leaned over to ask Shen Mingzheng, “By the way, Li Chu said that the song ‘Crown Me’ was your idea, and Song Yu praised your skills. Today, Director Chen also said that you modified the final song. Did you study music?”

It was probably too noisy, as Shen Mingzheng shook his head, indicating he couldn’t hear clearly.

Su Ning leaned closer to repeat his question, then heard Shen Mingzheng’s response, his breath seemingly brushing against his face.

“A bit,” Shen Mingzheng said. “Do you like it?”

He was referring to the song he had modified that was just performed on stage.

Not wanting to rely on others’ opinions, he wanted to hear what Su Ning thought.

“It’s great,” Su Ning turned to look at him, smiling. “President Shen’s touch is incomparable.”

Shen Mingzheng had heard many elaborate compliments, but none compared to this simple praise.

“If you want, I can continue to write songs for you.”

In his previous life, his songs had been stolen by Su Ning, but now, facing this man, he was willingly offering them. After all, they were still his creations, and writing them wasn’t hard.

“I don’t need to debut, and I don’t have the vocal talent to sing your songs well, but I can listen to them,” Su Ning smiled at him. “And perhaps, if suitable, they could be used for the debut group, if you’re willing.”

Shen Mingzheng had no objections.

Strictly speaking, this was a work-related discussion. They were already preemptively discussing the debut group’s affairs.

But although they were discussing serious matters, the observant bosses or general managers from other companies still consciously gave them some space.

Su Ning was unaware of the others’ actions.

For a workaholic, having just sorted out the company’s messes, it was natural to start planning the next steps.

The previous investments by Guang Ying Entertainment were either sold or cut off by him, considering them insignificant. But the company needed new projects to reinvigorate itself.

Prospective projects weren’t abundant.

Like finding a pillow when drowsy, an unexpected opportunity was presented by Director Chen Yuan right before the competition.

—The management of Idol Star Map’s debut group for a year and a half.

When the investment contract was signed, the investments from Guang Ying Entertainment and Shen Film Industry included a part of the revenue from managing the limited-time group. However, “revenue” and hands-on management were different things.

The Idol Star Map series had produced three debut groups, but such talent shows almost invariably suffered the curse of “peaking at debut.” Orange Video, as a media platform, lacked familiarity in many aspects.

Director Chen Yuan had endured until Idol Star Map Four’s breakthrough and didn’t want this season to end as abruptly as the previous ones. This batch of contestants showed high overall quality, and she was reluctant to let their talents go to waste. So, Director Chen took a different approach, suggesting that Shen Film Industry and Guang Ying Entertainment jointly handle the debut group’s affairs.

Both companies were already investors, having the advantage of proximity. All things considered, this was indeed a promising project.

So tonight, as Su Ning and Shen Mingzheng watched the finals, it also signified another layer of meaning.

For them, it wasn’t the end but rather a brand new beginning.