Chapter Fifteen: There Is No Man in This World More Handsome Than I

"I've been so busy these past few days, I haven't had time to listen to your new song."
"Are you confident?" Ji Mei asked worriedly.
The company backing Ke Min had set their sights on Chen Fang.
After all, Chen Fang had cost them not only their pride, but also a significant portion of their fan base.
Ke Min might not matter much.
But they would never allow a street singer nobody to trample over them and act recklessly.
Looking at Ji Mei before him, Chen Fang opened his arms and pulled her into an embrace, his right hand gently caressing the silky hair at the back of her head. He whispered, "I will make them all fall silent."
Ji Mei stiffened.
Oh no!
This was backstage!
She hadn't expected Chen Fang to be so bold; what if someone walked by and saw them?
But strangely enough, Ji Mei was only worried about being seen, not about pushing him away.
Chen Fang didn't mind—if they were seen, so be it—but if online rumors started to hurt Ji Mei, that would be a problem. So he didn't hold her for long, just a few seconds before letting go.
"I'm going to rest for a bit," Chen Fang said with a smile, waving as he pushed open the door to the lounge.
It wasn't until the door closed that Ji Mei finally came back to her senses, her face flushed with embarrassment. "He... has abs!"
She had felt them just now.
Eight distinct abs hidden beneath the white T-shirt.
She hadn't expected it—Chen Fang was not only handsome, but his physique was extraordinary.
Ji Mei lingered for a moment before hurriedly leaving.

Inside the lounge.
Chen Fang took a small bottle of green liquid out of his pocket.
He had found this in a recent unboxing; just a sip would let him sing for hours without any discomfort.
His intense practice these days was thanks to this, or his voice would have long been hoarse.
"An intern," he mused.
"Interesting."
Chen Fang smiled.
It seemed the company behind Ke Min didn't take him too seriously, thinking they could deal with him by sending over a promising trainee.
Not long after, a staff member pushed open the lounge door and handed Chen Fang a stage order sheet.
After the first round of auditions, most contestants had been eliminated, leaving thirty to compete today in the second round.
"Number twenty-four."
"Pretty late in the lineup."
But Chen Fang didn't know what number the trainee would be.
Since Ke Min’s company could slip someone in at the last minute, they’d probably arrange for that trainee to go on stage toward the end.

Elsewhere, in another lounge.

A makeup artist was touching up the makeup of a handsome young man, while a middle-aged man stood nearby.
"Cheng Jie, it's up to you," the middle-aged man reminded him.
The young man smiled, "Brother Wang, you're more nervous than I am. It's just a small audition. Back in the day, I made it into the top hundred of National Voice."
"I listened to Chen Fang's song in the first round. He's got some skill, don't underestimate him. And I'm worried he'll perform another original in this round—the internet is expecting it. If he brings out another good piece, we'll be in trouble," the middle-aged man was far less optimistic.
He felt the company had set him up.
"Brother Wang, don't worry."
"I won't lose."
Cheng Jie brimmed with confidence.
"And what's so impressive about originals? I brought an original song this time too."
He sneered.
Chen Fang wrote his own songs, but Cheng Jie had a famous composer hired by the company—there was no comparison.
That’s the advantage of resources.
No individual could match it.
After hearing this, Brother Wang felt much better. Indeed, their original wasn’t worse than Chen Fang’s, and in fact, far stronger than the likes of him.
"As long as you're confident."
With that, Brother Wang fell silent.
Time flew by.
Soon, it was five in the afternoon.
The second round of auditions officially began. After the lengthy, familiar commercial opening, it was finally time for everyone’s favorite stage performances.

"Finally starting—I've muted all those commercials."
"The ad time could have fit a whole song!"
"Checking in, I came just for Chen Fang today."
"Chen Fang’s already searchable on QYun Music, and he has three originals!"
"Damn, writing songs behind our backs, huh?"
"Who’s Chen Fang? Never heard of him. I’m only here for my Cheng Jie."
"Isn’t Cheng Jie supposed to be on the show 'Let’s Fall in Love Together'? Why’s he here?"
"I really want to see Cheng Jie and An Tinghan as a couple! They're so perfect!"
"Are you crazy? Cheng Jie doesn’t deserve it."
"An Tinghan is a diva, pairing her with a trainee? If you’re still dreaming, go back to sleep."
"Heh, jealous losers, just envious of my idol."
"A nation of fragile men!"
...
The competition hadn’t started, but the online comments were already off-topic.
A lively flame war erupted online.
As the arguments raged, viewer numbers soared past half a million—even before the show began, its popularity was already several times that of the first round.
In the lounge.
Cheng Jie watched the live comment feed, a smug smile on his face.
He knew full well he wasn’t worthy of being paired with An Tinghan, but as long as he dropped a hint, the fans would run with it—that was marketing. Any hype was good hype.
On Weibo, his follower count was climbing.
But most private messages were defending An Tinghan, saying he wasn’t good enough.
So what?
Haters are just fans in disguise!
Cheng Jie paid no attention to the competition itself.
When he’d competed in National Voice, he faced rivals from all over the country—those were worth taking seriously.
A mere street singer...
What a joke!
"After this contest, I'll go on the reality dating show—maybe I’ll catch An Tinghan’s attention," Cheng Jie fantasized. If he could latch onto her, his future would be set.
He glanced at his number card.
Twenty-three.
Right before Chen Fang.
On the other side.
Chen Fang watched the first contestant perform. He wasn’t familiar with the national song catalog, but judging by the reactions of the judges and audience, this song must have been chosen from it, and everyone seemed to know it.
It was decent.
The contestant sang with heart.
But the song was too old.
To have a twenty-something sing a song as old as he was—it was like a foal pulling an overloaded cart, pure nonsense.
As expected!
Four judges: two votes to pass, two to reject.
The next contestants faced similar issues, none able to earn unanimous approval.
Listening on, Chen Fang grew sleepy.
During this time, Ji Mei came to the lounge and told him the trainee’s name.
At seven in the evening.
After two long hours, it was finally time for the contestant before Chen Fang to take the stage.
Under the spotlight, Cheng Jie strode onto the stage in a white suit, exceptionally handsome, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
"That's him."
Chen Fang perked up.
This flamboyant man was his biggest rival today.
Hmm...
Chen Fang relaxed.
"Not as handsome as me."
"Not as flashy as me."
Indeed!
There was no man in this world more handsome than him.