Chapter 184: Something Has Gone Wrong!

Half past eight.

The six singers arrived one after another.

"Director."

"Director Chen."

Upon arrival, the six of them greeted Chen Qi with great familiarity.

Chen Qi, who was busy with something, merely waved at them casually by way of greeting.

After eight episodes of recording, they were indeed well-acquainted, and there was no need for superfluous formalities.

However, when Li Hongti walked over, Chen Qi couldn't help but walk up to her and chat for a brief moment.

He truly had a completely new level of respect for Li Hongti now.

Although he had long heard that contestants from the national team were formidable, when Li Hongti truly displayed her strength on this stage, he was still astonished.

Out of the eight episodes aired so far, she had participated in six and had already won first place three times!

Apart from ranking fourth in the premiere, she had consistently remained in the top three in all the other episodes even when she didn't win first place.

More importantly, she was the one who had broken all the significant records.

The record for the highest votes in a single performance!

The record for the highest cumulative votes!

The highest number of first-place finishes!

It was no exaggeration to say that her subsequent performances had made people like Qin Mengxue and Song Quqi feel immense pressure.

It might be hard for anyone to believe, but Li Hongti, who had joined as a substitute singer, currently enjoyed an even higher level of popularity than the original lineup—by a wide margin!

"What song have you prepared this time?" Chen Qi asked out of curiosity.

The singers selected their own songs to perform.

Generally speaking, they would notify the production team the moment they confirmed their songs, but because Chen Qi hadn't been in the capital for the past half month, he hadn't paid attention to this aspect.

"I've prepared a folk song this time," Li Hongti replied with a smile, dressed in simple attire.

Whether due to the attribute of being from the national team or not, despite her immense popularity, not a single trace of arrogance or conceit could be seen in Li Hongti.

She remained as modest and courteous as when she first arrived, seemingly appearing quite gentle at first glance.

Chen Qi nodded thoughtfully and smiled, saying, "Alright, go get your makeup done first. Rehearsals are about to start."

"Okay." Li Hongti smiled, turned around, and walked toward the lounge backstage.

Chen Qi also glanced around. Seeing that everyone seemed to be ready, he turned and walked toward the monitor position.

Just at that moment, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly came running over in a flurry.

"Boss." She looked somewhat panicked.

Chen Qi's heart skipped a beat, and a sudden bad premonition arose.

Su Xiaoxiao always handled matters with great composure; this was the first time he had ever seen her so flustered.

"What's wrong?" Chen Qi frowned involuntarily.

"Something's happened." Su Xiaoxiao's expression was unprecedentedly solemn. "Nine musicians said they got into a car accident on their way here and can't make it."

Chen Qi was stunned and subconsciously glanced toward the stage, only to notice that there were only a handful of musicians left up there.

"A car accident?" Chen Qi's heart sank.

Intuition told him that things were likely not as simple as they appeared on the surface.

"That's what they said, but I think they're lying." Realizing the severity of the situation, Su Xiaoxiao spoke at a rapid pace, concisely explaining the sequence of events to Chen Qi.

While checking the preparations that morning, she discovered that nine musicians had yet to arrive.

At the time, she already felt something was amiss.

Logically speaking, the band and musicians should arrive earlier to prepare, but by now, even the production team's official working hours had passed and they still hadn't shown up.

This had never happened before.

She immediately called them, but no one answered.

It wasn't until she made several calls that they answered one after another, but their answers were suspiciously uniform.

They claimed to have been in a car accident and were temporarily unable to come.

The strange thing was, when she asked for their exact location, none of them would say. When she asked if they were injured or had gone to the hospital, they wouldn't answer that either. They simply dropped the line after stating they had a car accident and couldn't make it, hanging up directly.

More importantly, these nine people did not belong to the same band; they were completely scattered individual musicians who didn't even live in the same neighborhood.

Listening to Su Xiaoxiao's words, Chen Qi's expression instantly turned grave.

Nine people heading to the TV station from different directions all got into car accidents simultaneously?

Wasn't that absurd beyond belief?

Clearly, something was wrong!

Those nine people hadn't been in any car accident at all—they simply refused to come!

Trouble!

Someone was stirring up trouble behind the scenes again!

"Hoo..."

Chen Qi took a deep breath, a headache suddenly coming on.

Nine musicians!

If it were just one or two, they could muddle through and manage the performance somehow.

But to lose nine all at once...

"What should we do now?" Su Xiaoxiao looked at Chen Qi with worry, evidently aware of the gravity of the situation as well.

With insufficient musicians, how could this show be recorded?

The crucial point was that all their previously stockpiled episodes had already been broadcast. If they didn't record today, they might miss this week's airing schedule entirely.

"Don't panic, let me think." Chen Qi waved his hand, forcing himself to calm down.

Calm!

I must stay calm!

Chen Qi kept reminding himself inwardly.

Can't panic!

Must not panic!

Yet...

He genuinely had the urge to flip the table right now!

How ruthless!

Truly ruthless!

The mastermind behind the scenes certainly knew how to pick their timing!

This mastermind must have known he wasn't in the capital during this period and that his recording schedule for this week was tight, which was why they stabbed him hard at this exact juncture.

What now?

Pursuing accountability for those musicians was clearly unrealistic, and this wasn't the time to discuss that.

The critical issue now was the show—what should be done about this week's episode?

Chen Qi walked silently to an empty corner, his mind spinning rapidly.

Without enough musicians, live accompaniment was clearly out of the question.

No live accompaniment, use a backing track?

No!

The thought had barely flashed across his mind before he dismissed it.

Quality over quantity!

He would rather not produce this episode at all than use shoddy work to muddle through, ruining an entire program with a single subpar installment.

Looking back later, to have a piece of garbage among twelve explosive episodes...

He couldn't tolerate it!

He didn't want such a regret to happen.

The effect of electronic accompaniment was far inferior to live accompaniment; this plan was unviable.

However, failing to produce this episode at all was obviously impossible either.

Forget the station executives; even Vice President Wang would never agree. That would count as a broadcasting accident, and the responsibility would be immense!

So what now?

After ten minutes of silence, he turned to Su Xiaoxiao, who had been standing behind him, and said, "Go invite Vice President Wang over, and you can brief her on the situation along the way."

"Okay." Su Xiaoxiao said nothing more and left swiftly.

Following that, Chen Qi took out his phone and called Xu Man.

"Can you help me find a few reliable musicians? Immediately, it's very urgent!" Once the call connected, he skipped all pleasantries and went straight to the point.

"...Alright." Probably sensing the urgency in Chen Qi's tone, Xu Man paused for two seconds, asked no questions whatsoever, and agreed directly.

Chen Qi didn't say anything further. After hanging up, he dialed Xu Bunian's number.

He repeated the exact same words.

After ending that call, he carefully pondered who else he could trust.

However, there was no one left.

The only people he could trust right now were Xu Man and Xu Bunian.

He had considered asking Qin Mengxue and the others for help, but realizing that the mastermind could target those musicians, there was an eighty percent chance they had also contacted these singers.

He suddenly felt that the situation was far more severe than he had imagined.

He didn't even know who was stabbing him in the back.

However...

An idea suddenly struck Chen Qi, and he strode back toward the backstage area.

He might not dare trust others, but he could trust Li Hongti!

For the sake of her national team affiliation alone, she was trustworthy!

No matter how powerful the mastermind was, they wouldn't dare—and couldn't—reach into that territory. The people she knew should also be reliable.

Walking quickly to Li Hongti's lounge, Chen Qi excused the makeup artist and a few staff members under the pretext of discussing confidential program requirements.

Then, he concisely explained the situation to her.

"I've been plotted against. Nine musicians suddenly notified us they wouldn't come. Do you know any trustworthy musicians around here? Can you get them to help out? I need them today!" Chen Qi spoke at a rapid pace.

"Ah?" Listening to Chen Qi's words, Li Hongti looked a bit dumbfounded, staring at him in disbelief.

Plotted against?

Nine musicians not coming?

What kind of mess was this?

Chen Qi nodded with a serious and grave expression, indicating he wasn't joking.

"Oh, let me see." Seeing the anxiety etched on Chen Qi's brow, Li Hongti quickly suppressed her astonishment, took out her phone, and scrolled through a few contacts.

One call.

Two calls.

After making seven or eight calls, Li Hongti looked at him apologetically. "They can't get away these few days."

"Alright, I understand, thank you." Receiving the reply, Chen Qi didn't dwell on it and hurried away once more.

"Hey..." Li Hongti looked at his retreating figure, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't dare call him back.

Musicians suddenly refusing to come?

What kind of situation was this?

Li Hongti was still somewhat dazed.

Stepping out of the backstage area, Chen Qi happened to see Vice President Wang, who also looked somewhat anxious, walking over hurriedly under Su Xiaoxiao's guidance.

"Director Wang." Chen Qi hurried to greet them.

"What's going on?" Vice President Wang's expression was equally grave.

"I'll explain later." Chen Qi gave a bitter smile, turned to Su Xiaoxiao, and instructed, "Go arrange for them to rehearse first; have them rehearse with a backing track. Also, check with the other musicians and ask if anyone has contacted them recently."

"Understood!" Su Xiaoxiao acknowledged and departed in a hurry once more.

Chen Qi led Vice President Wang to an empty backstage lounge and said with bitterness and helplessness, "Director Wang, don't worry, I'm working on resolving it. I asked you here to help me analyze who on earth is trying to undermine me behind the scenes."

"How are you going to resolve it? There are less than 72 hours left until broadcast time!" Vice President Wang clearly wasn't very reassured.

The day after tomorrow was Friday. If there was no show ready by then, what on earth were they going to do?

"I know, I'll find a way to fix it," Chen Qi forced himself to make a promise, though he didn't have the slightest bit of confidence inside.

Vice President Wang glanced at him. Having already vaguely guessed the truth, she fell silent for a few seconds before asking, "Have many music companies been calling you recently demanding you arrange for their artists to be on the show?"

Chen Qi nodded.

"And you rejected all of them?"

Chen Qi nodded again.

"Not a single one was arranged?"

Seeing Vice President Wang's incredulous expression, Chen Qi frowned involuntarily.

"As I thought..." Seeing his expression, Vice President Wang already had her answer.

"Director Wang, do you know something about this?" Chen Qi asked tentatively.

"Sigh..." Vice President Wang looked at him with helpless resignation. "To be frank with you, during this period, many music companies and even film and television companies have been calling me, aiming to have me help arrange for one or two of their singers to get onto this show."

Chen Qi nodded slightly, putting on a look of attentive listening.

He wasn't surprised by this; days ago, people had even called Xu Bunian. It was only natural that Vice President Wang would receive such calls too.

"But since we agreed that you would have sole discretion over this show, I told them I couldn't arrange it and directed them to contact you directly."

Chen Qi continued to nod, gesturing for her to go on.

"Yet I never expected that you wouldn't arrange a single one for them." Vice President Wang looked at him with a headache, feeling thoroughly overwhelmed.

Too young!

Still far too young!

He understood none of the worldly tact and social graces!

So many people swallowed their pride to call you, yet you didn't give them an ounce of face. How could they not be angry?

You've gone and offended the entire music industry!

At this rate, it might well be the entire music industry joining forces to freeze you out!

Thinking of this possibility, Vice President Wang couldn't help but shiver slightly.

Offending the entire music industry was something even a TV station with deep roots like theirs wouldn't dare to do!

"Oh..." Hearing these words from Vice President Wang, Chen Qi finally had a belated realization.

"So by that logic, am I being isolated by the entire music industry right now?" he asked.

"I don't know, let's hope not." Vice President Wang smiled wryly, saying, "If you can still find people from here on out, it means maybe only one or two large companies are targeting you. But if you can't find a soul, then we've got a massive problem!"

Just as Vice President Wang finished speaking, Chen Qi's phone rang.

It was Xu Bunian calling.

"President Xu?" Chen Qi answered promptly, listening for a moment before nodding. "Okay, okay, I understand."

After hanging up, he shook his head bitterly toward Vice President Wang.

Xu Bunian couldn't help either.

Vice President Wang sighed and opened her mouth to speak, when Chen Qi's phone rang once more.

It was Xu Man.

"How is it?" Chen Qi quickly picked up.

"Did you offend some big shot?" As soon as the call connected, Xu Man's grave tone sounded in his ear.

"I just asked a few bands. They agreed immediately thinking it was for your regular recording, but the moment they heard you were the one needing people, they all stammered excuses and refused."

"..." Chen Qi fell speechlessly silent, knowing he had his answer.