Superstar Ch.41

Chapter 41: The entertainment industry is truly fortunate to have you…

When Xie Xizhao arrived at the practice room, he closed his umbrella and took a sip of water.

He had eaten faster than usual today, and since there wasn’t much left for him to practice lately, the practice room was nearly empty at this hour.

Not long after, Ji Yan rushed through the door. “Brother, did you just run into Xia Ruiyan?”

Xie Xizhao replied, “Yeah.”

“I thought so. Someone just told me they saw you two having lunch together,” Ji Yan said.

He paused, scratched his head, and added, “He didn’t look too happy.”

That was pretty unusual.

Although Xia Ruiyan was known for not having the best temper, he had always maintained a polished public image. It was rare to see him openly looking upset. Ji Yan had always thought of him as a hypocrite.

“Yeah.” Xie Xizhao took another sip of water. “Because of me.”

Ji Yan: “……”

“Huh?”

Xie Xizhao briefly recounted what had happened earlier. Ji Yan initially looked incredulous, but the more he listened, the deeper his frown became. “What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s not even close to you, and he’s already trying to push a CP narrative?” Ji Yan scoffed. “Does he think you’re easy to push around or something?”

“Maybe,” Xie Xizhao said.

Then, after a brief pause, he added calmly, “He’s not a good person. It’s best to avoid him.”

Ji Yan opened his mouth but was momentarily stunned.

It was rare for Xie Xizhao to be this blunt.

From what Ji Yan remembered, no matter how much Xie Xizhao disagreed with something, as long as it didn’t cross his bottom line, he would rarely say it outright.

Over time, Ji Yan had started to understand his ways.

His brother was the kind of person who was strict with himself but lenient with others.

He had his own strict principles for handling things, but he never imposed them on others. If someone had a different perspective, he would just smile, brush it off, and change the topic.

Xia Ruiyan had probably crossed his brother’s bottom line this time.

Ji Yan calmed down and thought for a moment. “Was he just doing it casually, or…?”

“It wasn’t casual,” Xie Xizhao replied succinctly. “Yun Pan’s ranking has gone up this time.”

Ji Yan froze for two seconds before suddenly cursing, “Sh*t.”

In the eyes of fangirls, every CP they shipped was real. But for those in the industry, it was common knowledge that at least 80% of popular CPs were just business deals.

It was something that seemed simple on the surface but was actually quite complex.

At the very least, Xie Xizhao knew that for most artists, engaging in CP marketing had already become part of their job.

CPs generally fell into three categories.

The first kind—naturally occurring.

This was more common among contestants with high popularity, like Xie Xizhao.

The higher the buzz, the larger the fanbase. And in any diverse fandom, there were always fans who loved shipping. Typically, in a talent show or an idol group, the most popular CPs wouldn’t always have equally famous members, but neither would they be entirely made up of obscure contestants.

A key characteristic of these organic CPs was that the two people involved either had a genuinely good relationship or had strong chemistry due to their personalities.

Ji Yan and Xie Xizhao’s CP fell into the first category—based on genuine friendship. Meanwhile, Ai Qingyuan and Xie Xizhao’s pairing was an example of strong personality chemistry.

The second type was deliberately planned business partnerships.

This one was much more pragmatic.

Because of the need to maintain hype—either for the show itself or for the individuals involved—if both parties’ agencies (or the contestants themselves) felt that CP marketing would benefit them mutually, they would conduct private negotiations.

Or, they might just go along with it without explicitly discussing it.

This was especially common in film and television promotions.

The first two types of CP marketing had long been normalized. Especially the second type—whether the people involved actually got along in private was another matter, but in public, they had to act like they did.

That was just professionalism.

But Xia Ruiyan clearly didn’t fall into either category.

Neither Ji Yan nor Xie Xizhao knew why he and Yun Pan were tied together in a CP, but Xie Xizhao could more or less guess—it was probably company-mandated. Looking at the importance given to Yun Pan in the initial stage performance, even though he was a secondary pick, it was clear that the company hadn’t completely ruled out the possibility of him debuting.

In other words, if Yun Pan’s popularity surpassed Xia Ruiyan’s…

Their company might shift its promotional focus to him instead.

Right now, the benefits of CP-driven marketing were obvious. Pairing up two artists from the same company was a strategic move—it allowed the company to test the waters while keeping all the profit in-house.

But Xia Ruiyan himself might not have seen it that way.

When Yun Pan wasn’t that popular in the early stages, playing into the CP dynamic helped Xia Ruiyan enhance his own persona. It benefited him.

But now that Yun Pan’s popularity had risen…

He was no longer just a tool to boost Xia Ruiyan’s fame—he had become a direct threat.

So, how did Xia Ruiyan detach himself?

Reduce on-camera interactions.

Or—

Find a replacement.

—

Ji Yan, despite his usual carefree attitude and tendency to joke about CPs, actually understood the inner workings of the industry quite well. Xie Xizhao only had to give him a slight hint, and he got it immediately.

“So,” Ji Yan said, “he used Panpan until he was no longer useful, kicked him aside, and then turned around to leech off you instead.”

The third type of CP marketing—also the most repulsive—

Was one-sided exploitation.

Or, in simpler terms, shameless clout-chasing.

Even though Xie Xizhao’s popularity was currently on par with Xia Ruiyan’s, it was obvious that he wouldn’t stop there. Meanwhile, Yaoxin Entertainment was in complete chaos at the moment. Forget CP marketing—they were still struggling to figure out their basic promotional strategies. They wouldn’t be pulling any moves in this direction.

For Xia Ruiyan, tying himself to Xie Xizhao came with all benefits and zero downsides.

Ji Yan was so frustrated he almost laughed. “At this point, how is anyone supposed to tell him apart from a scam artist? He’s really got this freeloading game down to an art.”

Compared to him, Xie Xizhao remained much calmer.

“In any case,” he said, “stay away from him.”

Ji Yan snapped his fingers. “Got it.”

He knew Xie Xizhao was only reminding him because he saw him as a friend.

“But seriously, are you really not planning to avoid anyone when picking your group?” Ji Yan asked. “I feel like at least avoiding the top five might be necessary.”

Even though he had enjoyed hearing Xie Xizhao’s earlier words.

“I don’t like being restricted,” Xie Xizhao said. “If a song I really like comes up and I don’t get to choose it, I’d regret it. I’d rather not make any promises from the start.”

Ji Yan suddenly understood.

Xie Xizhao paused for a moment before asking, “Are you really not teaming up with me?”

Ji Yan’s expression stiffened slightly.

This was the second time Xie Xizhao had asked him this.

The first time had been more subtle—right after the first ranking announcement.

Back then, Xie Xizhao had asked him:

Do you want to stay in the competition longer?

Ji Yan had understood what he meant.

But he had laughed it off.

He knew that Xie Xizhao wanted to help him. At the time, he had even been a little curious about how Xie Xizhao would do it—surely, he wouldn’t start a CP with him just to funnel popularity his way, right…?

Thinking about nonsense in the middle of the night, only to wake up the next morning wanting to slap himself.

And sure enough—

He had been the only one with impure thoughts.

His brother never took shortcuts.

Ji Yan hesitated for a moment before asking, “Brother, do you want to help me stay in the competition?”

Teaming up with Xie Xizhao—if nothing else—meant guaranteed stage impact. And as Xie Xizhao’s friend, Ji Yan knew better than anyone how well he understood the show’s inner workings.

As ridiculous as it sounded—

Ji Yan truly believed that if Xie Xizhao wanted to, he could even push him into the debut lineup.

But after a brief silence, Ji Yan still shook his head. “No.”

He smiled. “I’m not suited for the stage. Better to leave the spot for someone who really wants it.”

With these words, his decision was made.

Xie Xizhao didn’t insist. “Alright.”

His straightforwardness made Ji Yan itch to stir things up again. “Brother, doesn’t this count as favoritism? That’s not like you.”

He felt smug.

Finally, he had won against that brat Ai Qingyuan for once.

Xie Xizhao shot him a glance. “I’m not the show’s director, and I can’t control the votes. How would this count as favoritism?”

He simply felt that compared to those with ulterior motives, someone with a pure heart—even if they weren’t the strongest—was more deserving of that spot.

Of course, that was only if Ji Yan truly wanted to be an idol.

If he didn’t, then forget it. No need to force anything.

Ji Yan blinked. “But what if I really did want to debut?”

Xie Xizhao considered for a moment.

“Then,” he said, “start by adding three extra hours of practice every day. We’ll talk about the next step once your fundamentals are solid.”

Ji Yan: “…”

He sincerely said, “Brother, the entertainment industry is truly fortunate to have you.”

Not only had Xie Xizhao descended from the heavens to bless the audience himself, but he was also personally cultivating a continuous stream of future idols for them.

Who wouldn’t call him a saint after hearing that?

—

The issue with Xia Ruiyan was put to rest.

After Xie Xizhao had made things clear that day, the other party never approached him again.

That, at least, was a sign of some self-awareness.

Xie Xizhao was someone who disliked trouble. Since Xia Ruiyan didn’t come bothering him again, he simply acted as if the whole thing had never happened. The only minor annoyance was that for the next two days, people kept asking him:

“Teacher Xie, not walking with Brother Yan today?”

These deliberately suggestive questions came to an abrupt halt one morning when Ai Qingyuan happened to accompany Xie Xizhao to work.

He had no idea about the friction between Xie Xizhao and Xia Ruiyan over the past two days.

Xia Ruiyan already irritated him whenever he showed up, and Ai Qingyuan never liked the guy to begin with. So when he overheard someone asking that question, he was completely baffled. “Walk together? Are they even close?”

Not only did he say that, but he also turned to ask Xie Xizhao directly, “Since when did you and Xia Ruiyan become close?”

Xie Xizhao: “…”

He replied, “Uh… We just happened to have a meal together before.”

Ai Qingyuan let out an “oh” before adding, “You hear that? They happened to, in the past. They’re not happening to anymore.”

The expressions on the fans outside were a sight to behold.

That night, entertainment forums were flooded with posts featuring detailed images and text, several threads quickly reaching over a thousand comments.

Ji Yan, hiding under his covers, had initially planned to patrol the internet to check if any new CP posts about Xia Ruiyan and his brother had appeared. Instead, he found no trace of Xia Ruiyan—only an overwhelming number of posts celebrating ‘our YuanZhao CP is real’.

Clicking into one of them, he skimmed through the content and his lips twitched.

What could he say?

Dumb, but effective.

He supposed it counted as an achievement… barely.

—

Whether Ai Qingyuan had made any contributions, he didn’t know.

But for the past two days, he had been conflicted.

He asked Xie Xizhao, “What song are you choosing?”

Xie Xizhao replied, “No idea.”

Ai Qingyuan choked on his words.

The other two people in the room at the time were already used to this—Guan Heng and Fu Wenze acted as if they hadn’t heard anything. The only one who took it seriously was Yun Pan, who had been hanging around lately to mooch off their snacks.

With a serious and innocent expression, Yun Pan asked, “Are you still going to team up with Brother Xizhao?”

Then, after a beat, he added, “Haven’t you already lost twice?”

Ai Qingyuan: “…”

This brat!

He snapped, “What do you know?!”

Then he stormed off to the restroom to cool down.

Yun Pan blinked.

On the other side, Xie Xizhao, without looking up, casually stuffed a piece of chocolate into Yun Pan’s mouth.

“Don’t mind him,” he said.

Fu Wenze added, “He’s having an episode.”

Yun Pan’s mouth formed an “O” shape.

He silently swallowed the chocolate. But after a moment, he tugged at Xie Xizhao’s sleeve.

“Brother Xizhao,” he said softly.

Xie Xizhao lowered his head. “Hm?”

He absentmindedly pinched Yun Pan’s cheek.

Seemed like he had gained a bit of weight.

Then, he heard Yun Pan say, “Brother Xizhao, can I be in your group for the second public performance?”

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