Volume One: Peaking at the Start Chapter Thirty-Five: Oh My God! He’s Actually Gay!

"Li Qingwei is a pretty decent guy," Lin Xi remarked calmly as she watched Li Qingwei walk away.

Chen Jing smiled. "I’m usually a pretty good judge of character."

Lin Zitan frowned, troubled. "So, Jing, what do you plan to do? The next round of the competition..."

Chen Jing shrugged. "Give it my all, what else can I do?"

"Ah? But..." Lin Zitan was at a loss for words.

Chen Jing spoke earnestly, "Of course I’ll give it my all. That’s the greatest respect I can show Li Qingwei." He shook his head, adding, "And honestly, don’t you think you’re underestimating him? He’s not as bad as you all imagine."

Lin Xi seemed thoughtful after hearing Chen Jing’s words.

Over the next two days, Chen Jing was constantly running back and forth to the recording studio.

"Stop, Xueyue, try to raise your pitch a bit here."

"Let’s try that again..."

"Very good, that's it. This time was great, but we can do even better. Come on, Xueyue, let’s go once more."

"Perfect!"

After more than ten days of recording, Xueyue’s first solo album was finally completed.

Inside the recording studio, Xueyue let out a soft breath and removed her headphones. Through the glass, she saw Chen Jing smiling at her from the mixing console, and for the first time, she felt a deep sense of peace.

When Xueyue came out of the studio, Chen Jing greeted her with a smile. "Congratulations, Xueyue, the album is finally finished."

Xueyue shook her head. "Thank you, Chen Jing."

"Heh, if you really want to thank me, wait until the album is released and does well, then treat me to dinner."

"Definitely!"

It wasn’t yet five o’clock, still early to get off work. Chen Jing realized he hadn’t worked out in a couple of days, so he headed to the gym.

As soon as he walked in, he saw his fitness coach, Qin Xueyao, helping a female celebrity with her training.

Qin Xueyao spotted him too, her eyes lighting up. She spoke a couple of words to her client, then walked over to Chen Jing.

"Jing! I haven’t seen you here for a couple of days," she said.

Chen Jing smiled at her. "Xueyao, I’ve been busy recording the album, no time."

"Well, you can’t slack off. If you let that great physique go to waste, it’d be a crime," she said, patting his arm.

Chen Jing replied helplessly, "I know."

"Why don’t we grab dinner together after you finish your workout?"

"I don’t think so—Molly’s at home. I need to go back early." Qin Xueyao was well aware that Chen Jing had suddenly gained a daughter, no doubt from Lin Zitan.

"I see." Qin Xueyao pondered for a moment, then pressed on, "Well, how about we buy some groceries and cook at your place?"

Chen Jing immediately felt a headache coming on. Indeed, Qin Xueyao had been openly pursuing him lately—so much so that he found it hard to deal with her advances. It was one reason he’d been avoiding the gym.

He sighed helplessly and said with a wry smile, "Xueyao, you know as performers we can’t get too close to women."

She covered her mouth and laughed. "It’s fine, Jing. We can keep it a secret. I don’t mind having an underground relationship." She even threw him a flirtatious look.

Chen Jing thought to himself, Must you say things so suggestive? It makes us sound like illicit lovers. Well, having a secret affair might be exciting, but...

He shook his head and said in a righteous tone, "Sorry, Xueyao, I’m not interested in... well, I’m not looking for a relationship right now. I hope you understand."

Xueyao pursed her lips—what a blockhead. She, a stunning, sexy woman, was practically throwing herself at him and he didn’t even notice. Was she really losing her charm? That couldn’t be right—every man in the gym looked at her like hungry wolves. Could it be...

She glanced at Chen Jing suspiciously. Was it his problem?

Chen Jing noticed her odd look and shifted uncomfortably, checking himself for anything amiss.

"What’s wrong?" he asked.

Xueyao quickly waved her hand. "No, it’s nothing." Then, casually, "Since you said so, let’s just be besties."

Chen Jing thought she meant being platonic friends and didn’t object. He joked, "Sure, being besties is my favorite thing."

Hearing him agree to be her bestie, Xueyao was utterly shocked.

Oh my god! Chen Jing... he’s gay!

Such a handsome, talented, perfect man... and he’s gay. Heaven, do you have any sense?

After a brief inner struggle, Xueyao waved her hand in resignation. "Alright, go ahead and work out."

Chen Jing was bemused by her sudden mood shift, but glad she wasn’t pressing the issue. He nodded to her and went to exercise.

Watching him walk away, Qin Xueyao sighed deeply. Was it really so hard to find her ideal man? She’d finally met someone nearly perfect, yet the romance was over before it even began.

The third round of "Voice of Huaxia" was broadcast soon after. Among the contestants, Gu Tao’s performance was the most surprising, winning her a surge of popularity. Chen Jing’s performance, as always, left the audience in awe.

But what was even more astonishing was not their songs, but the single "Thinking of You, Thinking of Me" that Li Qingwei released after the show aired.

On "Voice of Huaxia," the song had been dismissed by both the judges and the live audience. But after its release, it became a dark horse, breaking into the top ten of the most popular music charts on its second day out. It quickly became the subject of much discussion.

"I don’t get it—why did the judges and audience look down on such a good rap song?"

"This song is stuck in my head! 'Thinking of you, thinking of you, thinking of me'—can’t get it out!"

"I want to know—who is the 'Fairy Zixia' in the lyrics?"

"I don’t think it’s fair to say they all looked down on it. It was really Su Tingting who did. Without her nitpicking, it wouldn’t have gotten so few votes."

"Exactly, I think Su Tingting was deliberately picking faults. Li Qingwei sang really well!"

"Isn’t it obvious? Su Tingting is an artist from Huafu, and Li Qingwei is signed with Jingrun. They’re rival companies—of course she’d look for flaws."

"Heh, I don’t think Su the Diva said anything out of line. Isn’t it a judge’s job to point out a contestant’s shortcomings?"

"Diva? If she can’t even tell a good song from a bad one, her title is overrated."

"She can tell. It’s just you guys who like these lowbrow rap songs."

"What’s lowbrow about rap?"

"…"

Love it or hate it, nothing could stop the rising popularity of "Thinking of You, Thinking of Me." Within two days, it had soared to fourth place on Huaxia’s most popular music chart, just beneath Chen Jing’s "All Under Heaven," with the top two spots occupied by "Aurora" and "Drifting North."

As the original singer of both "Drifting North" and "Thinking of You, Thinking of Me," Li Qingwei’s popularity exploded. After all, he was the only rapper with two songs on the chart simultaneously.

Still, the one with the most buzz and popularity was Chen Jing. His flawless performances on "Voice of Huaxia" kept winning him fans, and every song he released became a hit. Even more noteworthy, people began to realize that the composer and lyricist for every song from first to fourth place on the chart was Chen Jing. Fans everywhere wanted to know more about him, and in the music industry, countless singers wanted to collaborate with him. Even with offers as high as 200,000 yuan per song, Chen Jing didn't respond. The only ones getting his songs were Jingrun’s own artists. The songs he’d given the company became even more coveted—those who got one were secretly delighted, while those who missed out could only regret not acting sooner.

With this growing fame, Chen Jing’s reputation as a musical prodigy was firmly established. No one doubted his talent anymore—not as long as he didn’t stumble.

Another hot topic emerged: the evening the third round aired, the rules for the fourth round of "Voice of Huaxia" were announced, instantly captivating the audience. Everyone vowed to follow the next round closely. As expected, audiences love nothing more than dramatic showdowns between rivals.

Amidst all this, Xueyue’s debut album "Origins" was quietly released without any grand promotion, simply and quietly entering the world.

Let’s turn back time a few days, to the day after Chen Jing and the others finished recording the third round of "Voice of Huaxia."

At Jingrun Company, in Chen Jing’s office.

Chen Jing and Li Qingwei sat facing each other.

Chen Jing smiled and asked, "Qingwei, have you picked your song for the fourth round?"

"Uh, not yet. I was planning to choose one later," Li Qingwei explained. "It’s not that I don’t want to tell you—really, I haven’t decided. You know, there aren’t many rap songs, and even fewer that are stage-worthy."

Chen Jing nodded in understanding. "I get it. If you haven’t chosen one yet, take a look at this." He handed a notebook to Li Qingwei.

Li Qingwei took it, puzzled. "This is...?"

"It’s a rap I wrote for you. If you like it, use it for the fourth round."

"This... this..." Li Qingwei was so moved he could barely speak. He had never expected that for the fourth round, Chen Jing would write him a song—especially since they were no longer teammates, but rivals.