novelraw Chapter 82 Protecting One's Own
Chapter 82 Protecting One's Own
Song Ze stared at Hong Tao's second message for a long time.
I anticipated it, but I didn't expect it to come so quickly.
He dialed Zhang Juan's number.
"Sister Juan, do you have the complete set of materials for Tian Xiwei's partner interview?"
"Yes, we kept records of everything from registration to hiring." Zhang Juan spoke quickly. "What's wrong?"
"Someone raised objections with the station, saying that her relationship with me might affect impartiality. The station is going to hold a meeting to discuss whether or not to replace her."
There was silence for about two seconds.
"I'm coming right away. Where are you?"
"hotel."
"Twenty minutes."
Zhang Juan hung up the phone.
Song Ze stood up from the sofa and walked to the window.
These things can't be rushed, nor can they be waited for. Rushing will only lead to trouble, while waiting will only lead to acquiescence.
He ran through the timeline in his mind. Registration: Tian Xiwei was an individual, with no affiliation to Xingyao. Interview: She prepared her own PowerPoint presentation and gave it herself. Training: The program team notified her, and she reported according to the procedure. Shanghai Theatre Academy granted special approval: He Yan signed off on the school-enterprise cooperation project registration.
Every step is clean.
Zhang Juan knocked on the door eighteen minutes later.
She came in carrying a brown paper bag and laid the contents directly on the conference table. The contents included: personal application forms, interview attendance records, second-round scoring sheets, partner training notices, special approval materials for Shanghai Theatre Academy's artistic practice, project registration signed by He Yan, and a copy of Tian Xiwei's personal contract.
Song Ze flipped through the documents one by one.
After flipping through it, he pushed the document back.
"Organize it into three copies according to the timeline. One copy is for the production team, one copy is for the school, and one copy is for Yang Mi."
Zhang Juan nodded and took out a pen to make marks. When she marked the fourth mark, the pen tip paused.
"Song Ze, even if the materials are fine, the production team might just replace her to save trouble. Tian Xiwei isn't a big star, replacing her won't affect the show."
Song Ze leaned back in his chair.
"They can exchange it, but they need to provide a written reason."
Zhang Juan was taken aback.
"Verbal communication is too much trouble, but written evidence is essential."
Song Ze picked up his phone and dialed Hong Tao's number.
Three rings, then I answered.
"Director Hong, the materials will be delivered to your office in half an hour."
There was a lot of background noise on Hongtao's end; people were talking. "Professor Song Ze, the station has indeed received feedback, and we are following the proper procedures—"
"I understand." Song Ze interrupted him, his pace unchanged. "If Tian Xiwei has violated the rules, I'll be the first to make her leave. If she hasn't, I hope the production team won't make a nineteen-year-old student take the blame for someone else's misbehavior."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
"The materials have been sent over; I'll conduct an internal review first. There will be no personnel change announced today."
"OK."
Song Ze hung up the phone.
Zhang Juan hesitated for a moment after seeing him put down his phone. "Have you told Tian Xiwei?"
"not yet."
"Do you want me—"
"I'll do it."
Song Ze opened Tian Xiwei's chat window.
The message she sent ten minutes ago was still displayed above: "Senior! The partners' behind-the-scenes footage crew wants me to film something, so I need to go over the process beforehand!"
He typed and sent it.
"Xiwei, there's something I need to tell you. Someone raised objections with the production team, questioning the impartiality of your role as a partner. The station is having a meeting to discuss it."
The message was sent, but there was no reply from the other end for a minute.
Then a voice message played.
Song Ze clicked to listen. He didn't cry.
"Senior brother, have I caused you any trouble?"
He stared at the screen for two seconds.
"Don't be afraid. From registration to acceptance, you've taken every step on your own. Through the Music Partner program, it's all thanks to your personal efforts."
There was another half minute of silence on the other end.
He replied with four words.
"I don't want to leave."
Song Ze looked at the three words and replied with four words.
"You won't leave."
After sending that message, he locked his screen and nodded to Zhang Juan. "Let's go deliver the materials."
The program team's review meeting was held in a small conference room on the third floor of Hunan TV.
Song Ze didn't go in. He sent Zhang Juan alone.
……
In the corridor, Song Ze leaned against a fire hydrant, scrolling through his phone. Zhang Juan pushed open the door and walked up to him.
"It's saved. The production team will issue an official statement."
Song Ze nodded, not asking about the process. He looked down at his phone; Tian Xiwei's message was still stuck on the line, "I don't want to leave."
He typed four words and sent them.
Go wash your face.
The reply came quickly.
"?"
"After washing your face, go back to the training room and memorize your partner's workflow chart."
About a minute later, Tian Xiwei sent an "Mm".
Song Ze could imagine what she had done in that minute. She rushed into the bathroom, scrubbed her face hard in front of the mirror, then took a deep breath and straightened her back before coming out.
Without thinking much, he switched to Yang Mi's chat window.
The news about Yang Mi came faster than he expected.
"We found it. The whistleblower email was forwarded via an anonymous email address, but the earliest batch of screenshots came from Huanyu's internal publicity group. The filenames of the screenshots show remnants of naming conventions, indicating they were sent by Li Qianru's assistant."
The sentence below was followed by another sentence.
"Bai Lu still remembers the time you angered her."
After reading it, Song Ze replied with two sentences.
"Suppress it for now. Protect Tian Xiwei."
I'll remember this favor.
Yang Mi replied instantly with an "OK" emoji.
That evening, the official Weibo account of "I Am a Singer" released a brief statement.
"All music partners this season were selected through a standardized interview, re-examination, and training assessment process, with no internal resource bias. The production team welcomes public oversight and will also protect the legitimate rights and interests of every staff member."
There were no names mentioned, no specific references. Those who needed to understand, already understood.
Tian Xiwei saw this Weibo post in the training room, paused for a moment, and then sent a message to Song Ze.
It's very short, just two words.
"Thanks."
Song Ze was flipping through his mixing notes for "The Lone Warrior" in the hotel when he saw the message and typed it out.
"Don't thank me, it's the result of your own hard work."
There was a long silence on Tian Xiwei's end. Song Ze guessed that she was either preparing a touching confession or struggling with which emoji to send.
The result was a reply.
"Can I have shark fin soup dumplings tonight?"
Song Ze almost slammed his notebook down: "This thing isn't cheap." But to maintain his senior status, he reluctantly replied.
"You'll be full."
Tian Xiwei sent a string of hearts, followed by a little person kneeling and kowtowing emoji.
Song Ze glanced at the string of pink hearts, his lips twitched slightly, but he didn't reply. He put down his phone and continued flipping through his mixing notes.
I turned two pages, and my phone vibrated again.
Caller ID: Wang Churan.
Song Ze answered the call.
"Senior brother!" Wang Churan's voice was a half-tone higher than usual, "I've joined the crew! Liu Xiyin's costume fitting is today, and filming starts tomorrow!"
Just as Song Ze was about to speak, a commotion of footsteps and shouts came from the other end. Immediately afterward, Wang Churan lowered his voice.
"But there's something. The director just told me that the male lead for my scenes with him has been replaced at the last minute."
"Who was replaced?" Song Ze asked.
Wang Churan remained silent for two seconds.
"A person who has never acted before. But he is the only son of the investor."
She paused again.
"Everyone on set is saying that he didn't come here to act, but to pursue me..."