Chapter Sixty-One: End of Recording

At this moment, the host had already taken the stage. Lin Xinrou stood frozen in place, completely bewildered. As a top-tier singer, this was the first time since her debut that she had ever encountered such a situation.

What more was there to say? Wasn’t the targeting obvious?

“Mr. Chen Nian, may I ask if you intend to eliminate contestant Lin Xinrou?” Seeing that the situation was about to spiral out of control, the host hurried up to the stage to defuse the tension.

“Isn’t it obvious? Should I press the button again?” Chen Nian shrugged, his face expressionless.

“Mr. Chen Nian, can you give me a reason?” Lin Xinrou asked through gritted teeth.

“Does it even need a reason?” Chen Nian shot back. “With someone of your caliber, Lin Xinrou, making such a basic mistake is inexcusable. It only shows that you don’t seem to respect this stage.”

“I hadn’t even finished singing a single line—what gives you the right to decide I’m not good enough?” This time, Lin Xinrou was truly enraged. She cared nothing for saving face or her status; she stood on stage and confronted Chen Nian directly.

“You don’t need to question my decision. The show gave me the right to eliminate with one button because of my expertise. You don’t need to doubt my ability, either. In certain matters, if I say you’re not up to it, then you’re not up to it!”

As soon as Chen Nian finished speaking, the audience erupted into chaos.

“Isn’t this a bit much? At least let her finish the song before making a judgment.”

“I agree, this is going too far.”

“What are you all talking about? Mercy to an enemy is cruelty to yourself!”

“Exactly! Have you all forgotten how she used to target Chen Nian? All Chen Nian wants is to eliminate her from the show; she wanted to get him out of the industry entirely!”

“She’s lucky not to have been kicked out of showbiz already, and you still think she’s to be pitied?”

“With all she’s done, she doesn’t deserve any sympathy!”

Listening to the audience’s reactions, Lin Xinrou could no longer contain herself. She pointed at Chen Nian from the stage and shouted, “On what grounds do you say I don’t respect the stage? Do you have any idea what I’ve sacrificed for this stage?”

“And what exactly have you sacrificed?” Chen Nian replied coldly.

Lin Xinrou was struck dumb, at a loss for words.

What had she sacrificed for the stage?

Chen Nian’s three years of youth? Chen Nian’s mother’s life? Her own body?

Indeed, the things she’d sacrificed for this stage—could she really say them out loud at a moment like this?

Seeing that Lin Xinrou remained silent, Chen Nian finally ceased his aggressive questioning.

Lin Xinrou shot Chen Nian a deadly glare, threw her microphone aside, and turned to leave the stage.

In this confrontation, she had lost—and lost completely.

Because of Chen Nian’s outburst, the number of viewers in the live broadcast room skyrocketed again. In just half an hour since the show began, online viewership was about to break a million.

Relying on years of experience and solid hosting skills, the host managed to bring the atmosphere back under control.

The recording resumed.

Having just witnessed such a fierce showdown, most of the contestants backstage now fell into deep self-doubt, afraid that they’d be next—eliminated before even finishing the intro.

Yet, surprisingly, after Chen Nian eliminated Lin Xinrou, no matter how poorly the following contestants performed, he didn’t press the button even once.

“Mr. Chen Nian, could you give a reason for passing these contestants? I noticed you haven’t pressed the elimination button since,” the host inquired.

“These contestants have all worked hard. It hasn’t been easy for them. Let’s give them some encouragement. Keep going!” Chen Nian replied with a smile.

Backstage, Lin Xinrou wandered, lost and in tears.

She’d been eliminated.

She was out of “The Creative Camp.”

This elimination—she was finished. Everything was destroyed.

No matter how hard she worked from now on, it would be useless.

Worse yet, she was locked in a binding contract with Heartmark Entertainment. If they decided to freeze her out and stopped arranging any appearances for her, she’d have no opportunities left.

She had thought she could make a comeback through “The Creative Camp,” yet Chen Nian had snuffed out her hopes in their infancy.

It was over. Completely over.

She had poured so much effort into this—seducing Brother Wei, meeting his every perverse demand, all for a chance to rise to the top. But now, everything had been ruined by Chen Nian’s hand.

The first episode was nothing short of dramatic, for Chen Nian, after eliminating Lin Xinrou, didn’t eliminate anyone else—it seemed targeted solely at her.

Thus, when “The New Voice” and “Who Is the Singer” ended, “The Creative Camp” naturally inherited their audience and instantly became the hottest, most dramatic show of the season.

“You and Lin Xinrou have a grudge?”

“Isn’t our history common knowledge in the industry?” Chen Nian replied.

“Heh, I was actually thinking of letting her stay on a bit longer. After all, you only signed on for two episodes; we needed a high-profile contestant to keep things lively,” Ye Hao said with a helpless shrug.

“Don’t worry. I trust in your abilities, Mr. Ye.” To him, such matters were trivial.

After the recording finished, Chen Nian and Ye Hao met privately to discuss “Sorrow as Silent as the Sea.”

Ye Hao was extremely invested in the script Chen Nian held. Even after a brief verbal exchange, he was already tapping into his industry connections to find suitable actors.

“I’ve found a few promising actresses for the script. When do you have time? I can invite them over to meet you.”

“No need. I trust your judgment, Mr. Ye. Take care of it as you see fit.”

Chen Nian had already told Ye Hao that, apart from the female leads, the rest of the casting was up to him.

“How much investment are you planning for this movie?” As one of the main investors, Ye Hao wanted to know the details.

At this, Chen Nian began to calculate. The film was a campus tragedy—low budget. With the two female leads being from his own company, all expenses, including post-production and publicity, should stay under thirty million.

He shared his thoughts honestly with Ye Hao, since Ye Hao was the expert.

“Thirty million?” Ye Hao considered. In that case, they couldn’t cast any popular actors.

Currently, even second-tier celebrities command at least a million per film.

“No problem. Leave it to me.”

Even without big-name stars, Ye Hao remained confident about the movie.

Not for any particular reason—just for the deep, unbreakable brotherhood between him and Chen Nian.

They spoke a little more, settling a few details. Then Chen Nian called for his personal driver and left the filming site.