Chapter 89: At Best, Only a Half-Lost One (3/10)

When the host announced the winner, Su Mu had already become the center of every dancer’s attention.

There was no doubt that the force of his popping had been staggering.

The recording was still going on.

Outside the venue, Zhao Zhouming, who had come to watch, felt a little helpless.

Looking at the scene before him, he could not shake a deep discomfort and sense of awkwardness.

He had to admit, Su Mu was truly an extraordinarily well-rounded star.

Not only was he formidable in costume dramas, he could also dominate variety shows with shocking ease.

And right, he could write scripts too.

The kind of scripts that sprang from wild imagination and were dazzling from the moment they appeared.

The scripts Su Mu had given him before, the one about the cursed doll and the crime story without a legal name, had already been shown to the editors below him.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

At the very least, they were the kind of projects that would not lose money if bought.

And yet, with such a walking cash machine for traffic, he had still failed to secure next year’s collaboration opportunity and had handed it over to Zheng Quan.

Zhao Zhouming felt like swearing.

He suddenly felt he had let down the board of directors, and the video division beneath him.

Every year they approved so much money, and in the end, because he had not dared to raise the bid over a mere twenty million, he had let Su Mu go to Orange Fruit.

Thinking of it now, his regret was enough to wring his guts dry.

By Su Mu’s performance, as long as his image did not collapse, he would almost certainly stay red-hot next year as well.

Whoever worked with him would be the one laughing all the way to the bank.

The moment he thought of Zheng Quan’s smug face, Zhao Zhouming felt even worse.

He walked over to Xu Yang and asked, “Xu Yang, didn’t you say Su Mu couldn’t dance street styles? How is he so good today? Was there a mistake in the information?”

“Mr. Zhao.” Xu Yang hurriedly turned at the sound.

Inside, though, he was already miserable enough to cry.

You ask me, who am I supposed to ask?

Besides, Su Mu was clearly playing the fool to deceive the strong. What could we possibly do about that?

After thinking it over for quite a while, Xu Yang decided to pass the buck.

“Mr. Zhao, Su Mu belongs to the title sponsor’s side. Since they’re the main backers and put in a lot of money, they named him from the start, so I didn’t look into him much. I just never expected him to be this strong.”

Zhao Zhouming said, “When you edit Su Mu’s footage later, pay attention to it. Try to keep as many impressive shots as possible.”

Xu Yang nodded. “Don’t worry, Mr. Zhao, I know what you mean. Leave a good impression, right?”

Zhao Zhouming nodded in satisfaction.

Then he turned and left.

Looking at his back, Xu Yang let out another inward sigh.

As expected, the only flaw of something expensive is that it is expensive.

There really were not many people who could get this kind of treatment from Zhao Zhouming, and Su Mu was one of them.

...

Inside the conference room in the office tower, the video call had already ended.

Yet the room remained strangely quiet.

The few people who had previously questioned Su Mu’s value in promotion had all fallen silent.

It was not that they felt embarrassed, but that they had truly been stunned by Su Mu’s performance in the video.

After a long while, someone finally spoke.

“President Liu, you were right. Su Mu was worth every penny of this endorsement.”

“As long as the show airs, what he just did will definitely become the focus. And the clothes he’s wearing are our brand. With just a little promotion, it will surely explode.”

Hearing this, Liu Qiangxi was very pleased with everyone’s reaction. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, as though everything had already been under his control.

“I said it before: when this man asks you for money, that is precisely when he is about to bring you greater benefits. You must never miss that chance, or all that remains is regret.

“In a few days, prepare several custom-made sets and send them to Su Mu. The award ceremony for the Summit of China is at the end of the year, so it’s perfect for him to wear them.”

“Understood, President Liu. We’ll handle it.”

“Good. Meeting adjourned.”

...

The variety show’s recording lasted the entire day.

After Su Mu won, the next segment was team selection.

Once the teams were formed, they would move into the camp battle elimination round.

At first, many of the dancers had not wanted to join Su Mu’s team.

But after seeing his performance, the situation changed completely.

“Teacher Su Mu, please, choose me for your team!”

“Teacher, I’ve been dancing jazz for six years. I’m filthy good!”

“Me, me, me! Teacher Su Mu, look at me, I made the KOD top eight!”

“I’m runner-up in the national finals!”

Even after the recording ended, people were still trying every possible way to join Su Mu’s team.

Not for anything else, but simply to learn from a popping master like him. That alone made the trip worthwhile.

On the way out, Su Mu spotted Zhang Huaan.

His face was haggard, as though he had suffered some grave blow.

The four people from Night-Noon-Quantum-Tide behind him did not even dare breathe loudly, obediently following along.

Su Mu asked in confusion, “Mr. Qian, is Zhang Huaan all right?”

Qian Jida replied, “You beat him four against one and utterly crushed him. What do you think?”

Su Mu blinked. “That serious?”

“From the moment you won the first round, the guy started questioning life itself. He didn’t say a word the whole afternoon.”

“Isn’t that a bit much? It was just a variety-show battle.”

Qian Jida sighed helplessly. “No idea. Anyway, he still owes me fifty and hasn’t sent me any red packet.”

“...”

...

In the car, Zhang Huaan looked out the window with the air of a man forsaken by life, as though he had spent half his existence under a cruel fate.

But the real question was: how on earth could Su Mu dance street styles?

He trusted his intelligence absolutely; it could not have been wrong. Even if Su Mu had studied for two months before, there was no way he could have reached that level in such a short time.

That could only mean he had known how to dance long ago.

Yet for all these years, he had never shown the slightest hint of it.

One had to know, in the present day, when packaging a star, even the faintest talent... no, even a slightly better-than-average education, had to be brought out and advertised, used to build a persona.

And yet Su Mu? Not only did he never reveal it, he had even deliberately hidden his abilities?

My God. An opponent like that.

Too terrifying!

From now on, he would have to be even more careful if he wanted any hope of beating him.

Just then, a tentative voice came from behind him.

Zhao Feng said, “Boss Zhang... are you all right? Want to eat a plum candy? It’s good for the mood.”

Sun Han added, “Yeah, Boss Zhang, have one. Victory and defeat are ordinary matters for soldiers. Cheer up a bit. Tonight the hotel has a seafood hotpot buffet!”

Li Hang chimed in, “Exactly. Besides, haven’t we lost to Su Mu before? One more time doesn’t make much difference. Just get used to it. Once you get used to it, it becomes natural. And naturally, you lose. If you lose, then so be it, haha.”

Zhou Yang said, “Actually, this loss isn’t unfair. Su Mu really is strong. Even Zhang Junyu lost, so we’re not exactly losing face. At most this time it’s only... half a loss!”

Zhang Huaan: “???”

What the hell is a half-loss...

He almost wanted to jump out of the car.

Wouldn’t it be better to just end this life altogether?

Damn it, what kind of sin had he committed in a past life to owe these four people?

The psychological defenses he had already built up were once again shattered to pieces.

This was not merely a matter of a broken mindset.

Zhang Huaan felt a tight pressure in his chest.

Then he took a small bottle from his pocket.

His mouth twitched a few times, and he sneered inwardly. Sure enough, he really had prepared well.

He had long guessed this day would come.

So he had gone to the pharmacy in advance and stocked up on quick-acting heart pills.

A pity.

He had strategy to spare, yet not a single capable general under his command. Only four hopeless fools he could not carry no matter how hard he tried.

Pathetic.

Truly, damnably pathetic.

“Eh? What’s Boss Zhang eating? Is that for the appetite too?”

“I told you, Boss Zhang is open-minded. He doesn’t need our comfort. Hotpot tonight?”

Zhang Huaan: I’ll open your damn... appetite!

The end.