Volume One: Peak at Debut Chapter Sixteen: Chen Jing's Former Team

The capital city of Jing in Huaxia was shrouded in silence within a subterranean training room of the military’s national defense building, when the quiet was abruptly shattered by a loud shout.

“Damn! Damn! Damn!” A man stared at his phone, shouting in an exaggerated manner.

“Fifth, what the hell are you screaming about?” The muscular man exercising nearby responded irritably. He was enormous—over two meters tall, with bulging muscles threatening to burst his fitted tank top, appearing as solid as iron, a veritable human beast.

The man who had been shouting, known as Fifth, hurried over, waving his phone. “Third Brother, stop training for a moment and look at this! Do you know who this is?” He handed his phone to the muscular Third Brother.

Third Brother paused his workout reluctantly and took the phone. “What could possibly be so shocking?” He glanced at the screen and was instantly stunned. “This... isn’t this...?”

Fifth blurted out, “It’s Big Brother, right?”

The phone was showing a clip of Chen Jing singing on ‘Voice of Huaxia’.

“Let’s go, call everyone over to take a look,” Third Brother decided instantly.

“Alright.”

The two quickly notified the others, and soon the lounge filled with four more men.

“Third Brother, Fifth, what are you calling us for?” one of them asked, puzzled.

“Where’s Big Sister and Ninth?” Third Brother ignored Fourth’s question, noticing the absence of two members.

“Oh, they were watching TV. You didn’t say what it was about, so they said they’d come later,” Seventh shrugged.

“Watching a show?” Third Brother and Fifth exchanged glances, about to say something when Sixth suddenly spoke up, “Here they come.”

At the door, two women entered. The smaller one complained, “What’s the matter? Calling us out so late, disturbing our program.”

The other quietly found a chair and sat down.

Third Brother ignored Ninth’s grumbling, took out his phone, cast it onto the big screen, and took a deep breath. “I’ve found Big Brother.”

Everyone turned to the screen. Chen Jing’s performance on ‘Voice of Huaxia’ played.

“Big Brother?”

“Damn! This...”

“Shit!”

Fourth and the others stared at the screen in disbelief.

“Is Big Brother really debuting as a star?” Eighth exclaimed incredulously. Chen Jing had once joked he might become a celebrity, but Eighth had never believed him.

Sixth asked, “Isn’t this the popular ‘Voice of Huaxia’ show?”

“No wonder Big Brother didn’t let us contact him. Turns out he really went to become a star,” Fourth shook his head.

Watching Chen Jing perform on stage, Seventh admired, “Awesome! Big Brother is always Big Brother—even his singing is incredible.”

Third Brother and Fifth, after the initial shock, were calmer, their eyes drifting toward Big Sister and Ninth.

Big Sister and Ninth watched Chen Jing’s performance, but they did not seem surprised. Big Sister was serene, her gaze gentle as she watched Chen Jing on screen. Ninth looked delighted, engrossed in the performance even though she had just watched it earlier.

Fifth hesitated, then asked, “Big Sister, did you already know Big Brother was participating in this show?”

The woman addressed as Big Sister nodded, “Yes.”

Ninth boasted, “Brother told me before. But he said not to tell you all.” Ninth was Chen Jing’s younger sister, Xie Yuanshan, who had chatted with him on the phone earlier. Big Sister was Sun Ruoqing.

These people were Chen Jing’s former team—bound by years of training and dangerous missions, they were as close as siblings.

Big Brother was undoubtedly Chen Jing. Big Sister, or Second, was Sun Ruoqing. Third was the muscular Liu Zexuan, Fourth Ji Hao, Fifth Li Zijie, Sixth Yang Luan, Seventh Wu Wen, Eighth Tan Xu, and Ninth, the little sister, Xie Yuanshan.

They addressed each other as brothers and sisters.

“Big Brother really plays favorites,” Fifth Li Zijie rolled his eyes, feigning sadness. “He only told Big Sister and Ninth, while we brothers didn’t even get a call. Heartbreaking.”

Sun Ruoqing shot Fifth a sidelong glance, her tone cool, “Do you have a problem with that?”

Xie Yuanshan stuck out her tongue, taunting, “Yeah, Li Zijie, do you have any objections? Hmph.”

Li Zijie grinned awkwardly, “Uh... no objections, none at all.” With Big Sister speaking, he dared not push further. He wasn’t Big Brother; if he kept teasing, she’d drag him off for extra training—under the pretext of helping him improve his endurance.

Ignoring Fifth’s chatter, Third Brother Liu Zexuan flexed his wrists, pondering, “Isn’t ‘Voice of Huaxia’ filmed in Xiang City?”

“Huh?” Everyone looked at him, puzzled.

“Our next mission target is in Xiang City, right?”

“Yeah!” Fourth Ji Hao clapped his hands.

“Heh, let’s team up and go watch Big Brother together,” Eighth said happily.

Sun Ruoqing frowned and said sternly, “Don’t disturb Mirror’s life.” After a moment’s hesitation, she added softly, “Mirror has finally moved on... don’t drag him back into it.”

Everyone fell silent at her words.

Xie Yuanshan’s eyes reddened. She sniffled, biting her lip as she looked at Sun Ruoqing. “But Sister, I want to see Brother. I miss him so much.”

Sun Ruoqing patted Ninth’s head, pulled her into a gentle embrace, and stroked her back to comfort her. “Be good, we’ll see how things are when the time comes, alright?”

Mirror, I miss you too...

‘Voice of Huaxia’ was an overnight sensation—the broadcast’s final crescendo, led by Chen Jing’s performance, sent the ratings soaring. Xiang TV, which aired the debut episode, captured a 3.2% viewership share. As the show’s closing act, Chen Jing entered the public eye for the first time, his name quickly rising to fame.

Yet, Chen Jing paid little heed to this. That night, he watched ‘Voice of Huaxia’ with Lin Xi and the others. When the final ratings came in, Lin Zitan jumped with joy, while Chen Jing and Lin Xi simply exchanged a quiet, knowing smile.

The next morning, Chen Jing arrived at the company early. He was supposed to have the day off, but he came anyway—not to work, but to find Ling Ruohan, hoping to resolve the delayed release of ‘Birch Forest’.

After asking around, he learned Ling Ruohan was in the recording studio. Chen Jing headed straight there.

He found Ling Ruohan’s team in one of the studios, deep in discussion. Ling Ruohan herself was inside, recording.

Chen Jing waited, and soon saw her emerge from the recording booth. He didn’t approach immediately, choosing to wait quietly. At last, Ling Ruohan and her assistant headed toward the restroom.

Chen Jing’s eyes lit up—this was his chance. He strode quickly after them.

The restroom was at the corner of the floor, requiring two turns to reach. Chen Jing rounded the corner to find Ling Ruohan’s assistant waiting there. Without hesitation, he walked up.

Standing before the assistant, Chen Jing smiled. “Hello, Sister Li.”

Wang Li looked at him, puzzled. She knew exactly who Chen Jing was—she was the one who had filed with the company to postpone the release of his ‘Birch Forest’ single, and had reviewed his profile and photos. She hadn’t expected him to be even taller and more handsome in person, truly star material. While her mind wandered, she maintained a calm exterior. “Hello, Mr. Chen. Is there something I can help you with?”

She wondered why Chen Jing sought her out—was he here to ask them to change the release date, or to plead for the company to allow his song to launch as scheduled? Surely, he couldn’t be that naive. If he was, they could rest assured—such people wouldn’t go far, and there’d be no need to take him seriously.

“I’d like to see Sister Ruohan, if possible,” Chen Jing replied with a bright smile.

Wang Li frowned slightly. “Why do you need to see Ruohan?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I just have—” Chen Jing began, but saw Ling Ruohan coming out of the restroom.

Ling Ruohan approached, asking her assistant, “Is something the matter, Sister Li?” She looked at Chen Jing, puzzled.

Wang Li gestured toward her, then said casually, “Ruohan, this is Mr. Chen—he’s here to see you.”

Chen Jing greeted her, “Hello, Sister Ruohan. I’m Chen Jing, the new artist signed by President Lin.”

Ling Ruohan nodded, smiling warmly. “I know you, Chen Jing. I watched your performance on ‘Voice of Huaxia’ last night—it was perfect. I have high hopes for you.” She finished with a playful wink.

Ling Ruohan debuted at nineteen and had been in the industry for six years. At twenty-five, she was known for her sweet and romantic songs, earning the nickname ‘Sweetheart Diva’. Her current ambition was to shed the diminutive ‘sweetheart’ label.

“Thank you for the compliment, Sister Ruohan.” Though Chen Jing was tall, Ling Ruohan’s height of 1.66 meters made her seem petite beside him. Yet, as she was his senior in both age and industry status, it was only proper for him to address her as ‘Sister’.

Ling Ruohan smiled, “So, what can I do for you?” She guessed Chen Jing was here about the delayed single—everyone knew what was going on, but it was best left unspoken. To bring it up would only sour relations.

If that was indeed his purpose, there wasn’t much she could do. She could simply brush him off, saying it was a company decision and she was just following orders. That was the truth—it wasn’t her intention to block Chen Jing’s single. She hadn’t known he would release it in these days; she herself was preparing a new album, but was dissatisfied with her lead track and couldn’t find a replacement. The original release date was postponed, and fearing her public presence would fade, she decided to release a single to stir up her fans, and the company arranged accordingly.

Chen Jing smiled brightly, his tone sincere. “Actually, I do have something. I’ve written a song and I’m not sure if it suits me. I’d love for you to take a look and give me some advice.”

“Hm?” Ling Ruohan looked at him in surprise. What was this about?