Chapter 7

At this moment, the classroom door was pushed open again, and everyone was startled once more, falling silent. Tao Dayu then poked his head in with a mischievous smile, “The teacher is looking for a few people to help set up the venue. Who’s coming?”

Upon hearing this, all the students in the class rushed out.

For newcomers, it was essential to be proactive and show initiative to stand out in the TV station.

When everyone went out to help, Xiao Xueli and a few others stayed behind. They quietly opened Han Jin’s bottle of vocal tea and poured pepper water into it.

...

Han Jin, Liu Qingyun, Wu Junru, and other classmates arrived at the venue to find Principal Liu Fanggang already setting up.

Everyone hurriedly joined in, moving and lifting things, showing great enthusiasm.

Han Jin and Liu Qingyun carried a table together. Although the table wasn’t very heavy, both of them pretended to be struggling.

Seeing Han Jin, Liu Fanggang waved him over. Han Jin put down the table and ran to the principal with an admiring look from Liu Qingyun.

“Hello, Mr. Liu! What do you need me for?” Han Jin asked with a smile.

Liu Fanggang had always held Han Jin in high regard and had helped him a lot. He had even specially arranged for Zeng Hua to give him extra lessons for this test, which made Han Jin very grateful.

“How have your practice sessions been going? Are you confident about passing the test?” Liu Fanggang asked with a smile.

He really liked Han Jin, who was handsome, upright, and hardworking—a very promising star in the making. Although his talent was a bit lacking, his effort made up for it, so Liu Fanggang was willing to give him more opportunities.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Liu! Under Maggie’s guidance, I’ve practiced very well,” Han Jin said confidently.

Seeing his confidence, Liu Fanggang nodded with a smile but still warned, “The teachers participating in the evaluation today include Mr. Gu Jiahui, Mr. Li Xiaotian, and Mr. Dai Sicong. They are all well-known musicians in Hong Kong with very high standards. So you mustn’t be careless and must perform your best.”

Hearing this, Han Jin’s eyes lit up. Mr. Gu Jiahui was a famous composer in Hong Kong, known as one of the “Two Saints” along with Mr. Wong, and held a significant position in the Hong Kong music industry.

Mr. Li Xiaotian was the teacher of superstar Leslie Cheung and another renowned musician, with representative works like “The Great Wall Will Never Fall,” “Ask Me,” and “Red Rose and White Rose.”

Mr. Dai Sicong was a famous music educator in Hong Kong, known as the “Music Godfather” and “Father of Superstars.” Divas like Anita Mui and Faye Wong, and superstars like Andy Lau, Leon Lai, and Aaron Kwok, had all studied under him.

“If I can make a strong impression on these three today, it won’t be difficult for me to enter the music industry,” Han Jin couldn’t help but think.

After setting up the venue, there was less than thirty minutes left before the test, and everyone became nervous, finding places to warm up their voices.

Han Jin, however, didn’t need to practice at the last minute; he just needed to drink more water to warm up his voice.

Back in the classroom, Han Jin picked up his bottle of vocal tea, intending to drink it, but he frowned. He noticed that the water level in the bottle was two milliliters higher than it should be.

An ordinary person wouldn’t have noticed such a small difference, but Han Jin had a photographic memory. His IQ was over 140, making him a genius.

Besides being naturally sensitive to music, his memory was exceptional. He could recite a book backward after reading it twice. To avoid remembering too many trivial things, Han Jin usually focused on small details around him, like the number of bus stops, trash cans, and streetlights on the way from the radio station to his dormitory.

He remembered that the water level in the bottle was lower than it was now, and the extra two milliliters made him suspicious.

Han Jin unscrewed the bottle cap and took a light sniff. Among the faint herbal scent, he detected a hint of pepper.

“Pepper water?!” Han Jin was stunned, and anger surged within him.

Pepper water could ruin a singer’s voice; even a small amount would cause continuous coughing, which singers dreaded the most.

He couldn’t believe someone would be so heartless as to put this in his water. If he hadn’t noticed and drank a little, he would have been coughing uncontrollably, unable to even speak, let alone sing on stage.

If that happened, he would fail the singing test and have to leave the training class in disgrace.

“Damn it, who is so heartless to use such a low-down method to sabotage me?” Han Jin couldn’t help but curse.

The first person he thought of was Xiao Xueli. In the training class, Han Jin had always been kind to everyone and was friends with everyone. Only Xiao Xueli, jealous of his popularity with girls, had always looked at him unfavorably.

However, without concrete evidence, Han Jin couldn’t do anything to Xiao Xueli.

Feeling frustrated, Han Jin put down the vocal tea and went to the water room to get some hot water. Although hot water wasn’t as effective as vocal tea, it was better than nothing.

After drinking two cups of hot water, Han Jin felt his voice become much clearer, and he became more confident about the upcoming test.

At this moment, hearing his classmates practicing their voices, Han Jin suddenly had an idea.

He suddenly covered his mouth and started coughing lightly.

“Ai Jin, what’s wrong? Why are you suddenly coughing?” Zeng Hua asked in surprise when she saw Han Jin coughing for no reason, and it was getting worse.

Her panic drew the attention of many others. Shang Tian’e, Wu Junru, Liu Jialing, and others all gathered around, looking at him with concern.

Han Jin waved his hand while coughing, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I probably choked on some water just now.”

“Are you really okay? You’re coughing so badly,” Zeng Hua asked doubtfully.

Han Jin waved at her, but his eyes were observing everyone’s expressions. He saw that Liu Jialing, Wu Junru, Shang Tian’e, Zeng Hua, Liu Qingyun, and Wu Qi all looked worried.

Only Xiao Xueli, Du Yan, and Chen Wei looked gleeful. Du Yan even high-fived Xiao Xueli, looking like they had accomplished something and were waiting to see the show.

Han Jin was now certain that Xiao Xueli had put the pepper water in his bottle. He began to plan his next move.

If it were the old Han Jin, he would have let it go since he hadn’t suffered any real harm.

But now, Han Jin realized a principle: “If you are too kind, people will take advantage of you.” Sometimes, your tolerance is seen as weakness rather than kindness.

So this time, he decided to fight back.

Back in the classroom, Han Jin quietly switched his bottle of vocal tea with Xiao Xueli’s.

...

Twenty minutes later, the students carried their chairs to the venue, preparing to perform on stage.

Four judges were seated below: Principal Liu Fanggang, the music saint Gu Jiahui, musician Li Xiaotian, and Dai Sicong.