Chapter 139: Musical Prodigy

"Nian Nu Jiao, oh Nian Nu Jiao, so you really are Nian Nu Jiao." At the dinner table, the diva Na Jie draped her arm around Su Tong's shoulder, tapping his head with a manicured finger. Slightly tipsy and slurring her words, she continued, "I've heard your songs; they're excellent, truly excellent. Young man, you made the right choice coming to *The Voice*, and you made the right choice picking me as your coach. Your big sister here..."

Su Tong felt somewhat speechless. He hadn't expected the diva Na Jie to be a heavy drinker with such a high tolerance. He wasn't sure about his own tolerance, mainly because he kept his sister Yaya's warning firmly in mind: he wasn't allowed to drink at all this year. Initially, Na Jie had insisted Su Tong join her, but once she learned he was still a minor, she finally dropped the subject.

Out of the three days scheduled for recording, only one had passed. Na Jie’s team had recruited three contestants so far: Su Tong and two young women. Lin Yin had chosen coach A-Lin, but for now, it was a private dinner between the four coaches and the two contestants; the other contestants had been dismissed for the night. Once the blind auditions were over and all contestants had been gathered, they would move into the hotel sponsored by the show to begin three months of grueling training and competition.

In his previous life, Su Tong had heard from teacher Liu Huan that the first season of *The Voice* usually recorded from two in the afternoon until three or four the next morning. Things were a bit different in this world; recording started at nine in the morning and usually wrapped up by six in the evening. It wasn't that the world was fundamentally different, but rather that the production team had gained significant experience after several successful seasons.

Su Tong’s performance today had been stunning, leaving the coaches completely convinced of his talent. When Na Jie learned that the arrangement of her song "Flower Not Flower," sung by Lin Yin, was Su Tong's work, she had immediately tracked him down through the production crew to invite him for drinks. The other three coaches, having nothing better to do, had tagged along.

"You really are a musical prodigy; the title is well-deserved," A-Lin said, giving Su Tong a thumbs-up.

"A-Lin, the waves of the Yangtze River push those before them. You've become the 'old brat' of the music scene now, haha," the Taiwanese diva A-Jiu laughed.

Liu Fan sat to the side, smoking continuously and smiling without a word. He was a man of few words, busy browsing on his phone.

"Teacher Liu, cut down on the smoking. It's bad for your health," Su Tong advised. Liu Fan was smoking a cigar; while he hadn't drunk much after half a bowl of rice, he had been lighting one cigar after another almost without pause.

"Student Su, listening to your self-introduction today, I thought you were a student at the Conservatory of Music. I didn't realize until I looked it up that your major is completely unrelated," Liu Fan said with a faint, surprised smile.

Su Tong nodded.

"Oh? So little Tong is self-taught?" A-Jiu exclaimed. Like Liu Fan, she was busy catching up on Su Tong's background online.

"What did you find? Let me see, let me see!" A-Lin, ever lively, leaned over to take a look.

Na Jie had already scoured all the information on "Nian Nu Jiao" during the breaks in recording, which was why she had sought Su Tong out the moment the cameras stopped rolling. As they chatted about music, the four coaches became genuinely impressed by Su Tong’s talent. His understanding of music was far beyond what was expected for someone his age.

Previously, the coaches had suspected Su Tong might have a professional team behind him, but now, seeing his genuine reaction, they no longer doubted his claim that he was on his own.

Midway through the conversation, Su Tong checked the time repeatedly.

"Little Tong, do you have somewhere to be? You keep checking your phone," A-Lin asked curiously.

"Hey, hey, does little Tong have a date? Is it more important than dinner with us four coaches?" A-Jiu teased.

Na Jie put on a stern face. "Little Tong is still a minor; no dating allowed."

A-Lin burst into laughter. "Oh, oh, the official can set fires but the commoner can't even light a lamp? Sister Na, haha..." A-Lin gave a knowing, suggestive look.

Na Jie was over forty, and everyone in the industry knew she had a penchant for handsome young male students. She was straightforward and made no effort to hide it, keeping her arm around Su Tong as if to claim him as her own "fresh meat."

"I have a livestream scheduled online. I need to get back; it's supposed to start at eight, and it's already seven-thirty," Su Tong said, tempering his edge in front of the four coaches. Aside from Na Jie, who had acted in television, the rest were pure musicians. Though they pursued music for fame and fortune, their dedication to the craft was profound and worthy of respect. A world without music would be so dim, lacking so much brilliance and emotion.

"Oh?" A-Lin was curious. "What kind of livestream? I'll go check it out, too."

"Me too!" Na Jie, her head swimming with alcohol, insisted on tagging along.

Twenty minutes later, Su Tong hurried back to the hotel. Fortunately, the restaurant wasn't far. Na Jie and A-Lin had indeed followed him; A-Lin out of playfulness, and Na Jie out of a genuine, tipsy infatuation with the handsome young man.

"A presidential suite, eh?" A-Lin exclaimed upon seeing the room Su Tong and Lin Yin shared. "You’re full of surprises, and rich, too! Sister Na, you’re out of the running; little Tong and Lin Yin are already living together."

Lin Yin felt awkward, clearly misunderstood.

"What's wrong with living together? I'm married with kids and even I got divorced," Na Jie said dismissively.

Su Tong felt his head throb. The entertainment industry was chaotic, and the music scene was apparently just as blunt and shameless.

"We’re only staying here due to special circumstances. Yesterday, we were still staying in a room that cost a few hundred yuan a night," Su Tong explained.

"Oh, oh." A-Lin, an aging child at heart, gave a suggestive look toward Lin Yin and laughed. "Haha, the first time I stayed in a presidential suite with Jingjing was... I understand, I understand, haha..."

Su Tong was bewildered, while Lin Yin turned bright red; she understood perfectly.

"Lin Yin, this is where you're in the wrong; little Tong is still a minor," Na Jie giggled.

Lin Yin, completely defeated by the two coaches, retreated to her room.

"I have to start my stream now. Please, make yourselves at home," Su Tong said. His fans were his priority, so he left the two coaches and went into the study to start his computer.

Na Jie, having had too much to drink, clung to Su Tong and followed him into the study. A-Lin, curious, tagged along as well. While a presidential suite might be a novelty to an average person, the two coaches were unimpressed.

"Oh, a camera and a microphone? Even the presidential suite at Xibei has such complete equipment?" A-Lin wandered around, touching things like a child. Na Jie pulled up a chair and sat right next to Su Tong. Before drinking, the diva had been dignified and careful about her image, but now she was acting like a clingy little girl.

Su Tong was speechless.

"I'm about to turn on the camera. Are you two really sure you want to be on screen? Millions of viewers will see you," Su Tong warned as he entered the stream room.

"Is this a live web broadcast?" A-Lin, still curious, stared at the computer screen, where a deluge of comments was already flooding the chat.

"Haha, Big Brother is here!"
"Greetings, My Lord!"
"Long live Big Brother!"
"Big Brother, I've been starving for this!"
"Big Brother, I don't know how many dams have burst waiting for you to come and manage the flood..."
"Turn on the video, or we'll start a riot!"
"Riot, riot..."

Seeing the comments, Na Jie sobered up slightly and quickly sat up straight. Everyone in the industry knew she liked young men, but she couldn't let her fans see her in such a drunken state.