Chapter 119 Parents Meet: Silhouette Preview, Sparse Support

The entire underground laboratory is the size of two football fields.

To maintain the stability of the building, there are many load-bearing columns along the way, and the place where Qin Shu's parents are placed is accessed through the innermost load-bearing column.

On the steel pillar that two people could hug, the gears slowly turned, and the high platform where the four people stood suddenly descended, taking them to the next level.

"This is the true core of the entire CEW. Even the people from the Bureau of Life Safety only know about the top layer."

As Fan Haiyang explained, he led the group forward, passing through two more checkpoints.

"Don't find it annoying. Sixteen years ago, we took all sorts of precautions, but problems still arose in the end. There was no other way but to strengthen the checkpoints at every level and try to minimize the risks."

"Being cautious is a good thing, Uncle Fan, I understand."

"You'll get used to it after a while—come on, here."

Fan Haiyang opened a door.

The cool air escaped from the room and, upon contact with the outside air, turned into a misty fog.

Further inside, under the bright white lights, two large space capsules came into view.

Through the transparent protective shield, one could clearly see a man and a woman lying in the space capsule.

Their eyes were closed, and their hands were folded over their abdomens.

Jet-black hair, youthful face.

Even with their lips pale, it couldn't conceal their exceptional beauty. Upon closer inspection, their brows and features bore a striking resemblance to Qin Shu, each bearing about seven-tenths of the same features.

"The special devices inside the hibernation pods can effectively prevent the body from oxidative aging. Although they are currently brain dead, their bodily functions and cellular activity remain the same as they were sixteen years ago."

"Ashu".

Fan Haiyang turned to look at Qin Shu.

"Go ahead. They must have missed you a lot over the past ten years."

After saying this, Fan Haiyang glanced at Qin Yong, and the group silently took a few steps back to the exit, leaving the opportunity for the family of three to spend time together.

-

Qin Shu slowly stepped forward and raised his hand to touch the protective shield.

The parents sleeping there look exactly like the ones I remember from my childhood.

The only difference is that it can't speak or open its eyes.

Over the past decade or so, Qin Shu has dreamed of her parents more than once.

At first, they would call out to him and play with him; their familiar voices and smiles were his only solace.

But he never dreamed of them again, not knowing when it started.

Memories that were once clear and vivid are gradually fading away.

Then one day, he suddenly realized that he could no longer remember what his parents looked like.

So he rummaged through drawers and cabinets looking for their photos, but to no avail.

The passage of time and the years have only intensified his longing and yearning, while fading his memories.

Until now.

Gazing at that familiar face as it slept, all the fragments of childhood memories were instantly activated.

"Uncle Fan, do you have any spare clothes or blankets in the lab?"

Song Ying asked in a low voice.

Fan Haiyang was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "Yes, yes, wait for me."

Not long after, they brought over a winter coat.

"These are spare clothes for the lab, used in special environments. They're brand new and never been worn."

"Thank you, Uncle Fan."

Song Ying took the clothes and walked lightly to Qin Shu, draping the clothes over him.

"It's cold inside, put these on. I'll be right outside, call me anytime."

"good."

Qin Shu's voice was a little hoarse.

Song Ying gently patted his head and quietly withdrew.

-

Qin Shu was the only one left in the cabin.

Song Ying, Qin Yong, and Fan Haiyang waited outside, surrounded by various display screens with different cables running behind them, collecting data from different control panels.

Song Ying looked around and asked curiously, "Has Uncle Fan always lived here?"

"Yes, I've spent most of these sixteen years here."

When Fan Haiyang expressed his feelings, he didn't seem to be complaining. He even pointed to the instruments next to him.

"See that? It's a simulated sunlight irradiation device. Although humans don't need photosynthesis, for the sake of health, it's still necessary to get regular sunlight and ingest a certain amount of ultraviolet rays."

"There are two more on the upper experimental layer, but they are used by other people. I'm using this one myself."

"We also have dedicated delivery channels, rest rooms, and sports facilities for meals, rest, and exercise."

"The Qin family has always been generous with the CEW project, providing ample basic support and funding, which is why many scientists here come voluntarily."

"Anyway, when we're doing research outside, with our level of secrecy, it's usually difficult to go home before the project is completed, so everyone is mentally prepared."

Fan Haiyang spoke casually, but Song Ying discerned a deeper meaning in his words.

He and other scientists involved in the study have hardly ever left since they entered this place.

Scientific research comes at a price.

And researchers like Fan Haiyang are not uncommon.

"To be honest, we are quite lucky. The Qin family has taken good care of our family members and provided generous compensation. It is much better than the Bureau of Safety and Security."

Song Ying suddenly remembered that Qin Yong had said that over the years, the Qin family had spent at least half of the group's annual revenue on CEW research.

The basic biotechnology research in the upper-level factory does not require much investment, and even the profits are used for the operation of the lower-level facilities.

This has been the case every year for the past sixteen years.

"Does anyone else usually come into this floor?"

"Besides me, Lao Qin, and the old man, only you and your wife have come here. Some things are safer if fewer people know about them."

As they were speaking, footsteps were heard.

Everyone turned around and saw Qin Shu coming out of the cold room.

"Uncle Fan, could you please compile a copy of the existing research data and send it to me?"

“Anything connected to the internet is unsafe. I can make a copy for you on a USB drive, and you can check it on a device that hasn’t been connected to the internet. But Ash, you should understand what this data represents, so I don’t recommend you take it out.”

“Then starting tomorrow, I will come here every day.”

"No problem, I'll arrange a private lounge for you."

-

It was getting late; the group left CEW after 8 p.m.

They had experienced so much that day, and the information they received was so overwhelming that, looking up at the starry sky, Qin Shu and Song Ying both felt as if they had been transported to another world.

Although the truth behind it is complex and heavy, the current situation is already good news.

Qin Shu's fighting spirit was rekindled.

Venturing into a new field is no easy task.

Over the next few days, Qin Shu worked from dawn till dusk, staying at CEW to monitor the situation.

In addition, there are other company and group collaborations underway.

Song Ying stayed home reading the script for "Temptation Star" and was busy taking stock of Qingcheng's affairs.

So far, Song Ying has not appeared at Qingcheng, because it is not the best time yet.

The veteran employees and directors, who were originally on high alert and ready to confront the mysterious new chairman, were also confused by Song Ying's avoidance.

Meanwhile, Song Ying had Peng Wen spread the word that the new director met with one person in the company today and another person tomorrow.

The interplay of truth and falsehood sowed suspicion among these individuals, causing the supposedly united alliance to crumble.

-

Qin Shu returned home earlier than usual that day.

As soon as I opened the door, I heard Song Ying's voice coming from the bedroom door, which was not closed.

"No, Sister Hong, my husband has been quite busy lately, and I don't want him to waste his time on these things, so I'll just go alone tomorrow night. I'll handle any problems..."

Is it "The Voice of Heaven" tomorrow night?

Qin Shu's voice rang out, interrupting Song Ying's half-finished sentence.

Song Ying, who was lying on the bed, suddenly sat up.

"Honey? When did you come in? And why are you home so early today?"

"I've mostly taken care of things at the company. I was thinking about how I haven't spent much time with you these past few days, so I came back early—you were talking to Sister Hong about the variety show tomorrow night, right?"

Song Ying quickly covered her phone.

But then Sister Hong shouted, "That's right! The contract's already signed. If you don't come, Ah Ying won't be able to explain it to the other party!"

The sound still came through.

Song Ying pressed the button directly.

"Don't listen to Sister Hong's nonsense. It's nothing serious. I can handle it."

"I'll go with you."

"No need, no need, you go about your business."

Song Ying didn't want Qin Shu to delay his important matters because of her. In the past, the two of them only needed to live their own little lives, but now Qin Shu was carrying heavy responsibilities. How could she continue to drag him down and waste his time?

However.

"A thing that has been done for sixteen years without success will not suddenly make a breakthrough just because I go there for one more day."

"Mom and Dad are important, but you are more important."

"Besides, I was the one who agreed to go in the first place. If I can't even spare this little bit of time and you have to clean up my mess, then what use am I to you?"

After saying this, Qin Shu gently pinched Song Ying's cheek and pointed to her phone, which had started ringing again.

"Answer Hong's call. I'll go wash up first."

The bathroom door was closed.

Song Ying touched her cheek where Qin Shu had touched her, and finally answered Sister Hong's call.

-

The news that the mysterious singer-songwriter Shu Song would participate in "The Voice of China" caused a sensation as early as the day of the official announcement.

However, with the aftermath of "All-Round Trainee" already in the works, the trending topic didn't last long.

After a few days of cooling off, the day has finally arrived for the premiere of "The Voice of Heaven".

The production team spared no effort in promoting their show. During the countdown a few days ago, they posted front-facing photos of other guests every day, but on the last day, when they posted the final photo, it was a silhouette of two people.

This suspenseful behavior quickly sparked heated discussions among netizens.

I thought the show would show a full-face photo of Teacher Shusong, but it turned out to be a silhouette.

[What are you thinking? A full-face shot will definitely be shown during the live stream! As one variety show personality put it, this is already an old trick.]

[The trick may be old, but it's irresistible to those who are willing to take the bait. I'm the fish that got caught—even just to catch a glimpse of Shu Song's true face, I have to tune in tonight's live stream.]

Didn't you guys notice that this is a double silhouette?

We're not blind; this was obviously created using two loosely spaced images for a more aesthetically pleasing design.

[Seriously? These aren't just two pictures of one person, they're pictures of two different people! Especially the one on the right, wow, she's got a huge chest! And she's even wearing an earring!]

[Holy crap?! It really is! What is the production team doing?! Did they post the wrong picture? The poster designer deserves a deduction! This huge blunder shows absolutely no respect!]

In recent years, Shu Song has attracted many die-hard fans with his works.

Furthermore, his refusal to participate in public programs and his refusal to show his face have only fueled the curiosity of many.

Now that it's finally open for business, and it's their first stage performance, the production team is so careless.

The fans immediately objected.

They all flocked to the Weibo post announcing the trailer, demanding an explanation from the production team.

Lü Nianwei is a die-hard fan of Shusong. At this moment, disregarding her celebrity status, she forwarded the Weibo post and demanded that the program team apologize to Shusong.

This inspired other singers in the music industry to follow suit.

A massive "Shusong support" campaign has begun.

-

On the other hand, after posting on Weibo, the young woman from the "Voice of Heaven" operations department went to the restroom and then went to the tea room for a cup of coffee to perk herself up.

Before she could even sit back down at her desk, her colleague next to her looked anxious.

"Something's happened! Quick, check that Weibo post you just made!"

The little girl almost spilled her coffee.

I hurriedly sat down to take a look, then checked the contents again, and was completely bewildered.

"That's right, this is the drawing provided by the design department!"

At the same time, I took a screenshot and sent it to the work group, tagging the colleague I was working with.

Design department colleague: "That's right, that's the image they provided!"

Others: ?

You can only tag the director and producer.

Director: "Don't ask, the answer is that there's no mistake."

Producer: "The person upstairs is right."

Others: ?

Since the leader had said so, the young woman had no choice but to forward the previous Weibo post and attach the chat history.

Netizens: ? ? ?

[Was "The Voice of Heaven" scammed?]

While I don't think a top music variety show would make such a stupid mistake, it really seems like they've been scammed!

[@Director Zheng Hanyin, Lao Zheng! If you've been kidnapped, blink twice!]

Not long after, Zheng Hanyin, the director of "The Voice of Heaven", posted on Weibo.

—I wasn't kidnapped, I wasn't scammed, see you tonight!

Seeing that the director didn't seem to be in a very clear-headed state, everyone rushed to leave comments on Shusong's Weibo.

[@Shusong, honey! Someone is impersonating you and trying to scam you!]

【Honey, wake up! We're here to expose this fake news!】

[Honey, if you don't come out soon, your butt will be gone!]

Just a few minutes later, Shusong posted on Weibo.

—No impersonation, it's the real me, see you tonight!

Netizens: ? ? ?

[Was my account hacked?]

The IP address and device model are displayed correctly! They're the same as before!

[I know! Teacher Shusong is going to do a cross-dressing role on stage! He can be male or female, dominant or submissive!]

【! I just went straight to my wife!】

You can always trust the imagination of netizens.

For example, right now, some strange things are starting to trend on social media.

#Loose androgynous, can be male or female, top or bottom

#Some people are husbands or wives

#Do you love cross-dressing men?

#LoveCon artist ShusongV I'm 50, see my two-faced beauty

...

While getting her makeup and hair done, Song Ying, who was idly scrolling through her phone, thought: ...? ??

No, are you being polite?

Most people are polite.

But those who cause trouble are not very polite.

Some people brought up the old story again, digging up stage footage from the night of the incident on "All-Round Trainee".

[The days of those plagiarizing celebrities are numbered! My family usually ignores everything, but now they're finally making an appearance. It's time for this plagiarism and imitation issue to be resolved, right?]

[Waiting for Shu Song to slap Song Ying in the face. Don't think that just because Tan Mu has failed, Song Ying is innocent. They're all villains. All plagiarists must be punished!]

[Please have Song Ying accompany Tan Mu inside to operate the sewing machine, thank you!]

[Relax the crackdown on the music industry; plagiarists should be kicked out of the Chinese music scene!]

Meanwhile, paparazzi surrounding the recording building of "The Voice of China" happened to capture Song Ying getting out of her van and entering the building in formal attire.

After the image was posted online, netizens' insults and malicious speculations towards Song Ying increased even further.

[Song Ying still has the nerve to show her face? Isn't she afraid of being exposed on the spot by Shu Song?!]

As far as I know, Song Ying wasn't among the invited guests. She's dressed so flamboyantly; is she trying to piggyback on someone else's fame?

[Do some obscure celebrities really have to piggyback on others' fame to survive?]

The more praise one gives to Shu Song, the more malice one shows towards Song Ying.

"Nothing happened these past few days, but suddenly this wave of slander against you has started. Sister Ying, this is clearly something that has been planned for a long time!"

In the dressing room behind the stage, Xiao Lu was secretly dissatisfied.

Song Ying didn't say anything, but turned on her phone and followed the trending list to the homepage of the blogger who was making the most noise.

After flipping through it a few times, Song Ying chuckled.

"I thought they could come up with something new, but it turns out they're nothing special."

Little Deer: "What? What?"

Song Ying handed over her phone, saying, "Take a look."

Xiao Lu quickly took it, and upon looking at it, her eyes widened. "She's actually a fan of Tan Mu?! No wonder!"

The blogger's latest Weibo posts seem to show a lack of support, but going back further, almost all of them are support links for Tan Mu.

Not only this one, but under the topic of criticizing Song Ying, there are many other active accounts that have all forwarded or liked content related to Tan Mu to varying degrees.

Wen Jinzhao, who was next to him, took a sip of milk tea, chewed on coconut jelly, leaned over to take a look, and then clicked his tongue.

"Are these people even reluctant to register new accounts? At the very least, shouldn't they have cleaned up the previous information? Leaving it out so openly, full of loopholes, it seems the Tan family is really doomed."

As he said this, Wen Jinzhao looked at the man next to him who carried a laptop.

"Xiao Zhou, we've got a job. Teach them a lesson."

"Yes, Miss."

The man called Xiao Zhou responded, immediately turned on his computer, sat cross-legged on the floor with the laptop on his lap, and started typing away.

Before long, all the interactions between these accounts and Tan Mu were compiled into an Excel spreadsheet and posted online.

Not only that, but they also brought extremely professional data analysis tables and correlation tests, providing visual and undeniable proof that these people were Tan Mu fans pretending to be Shu Song fans, coming to criticize and incite conflict between Song Ying and Shu Song.

Upon seeing this evidence, the account owners quickly deleted their historical records.

They then discovered that, let alone deleting their posts, they couldn't even log into their own accounts.

Once, twice.

The third time I forced my way in, I received a notification that my account had been banned.

Tan Mu's fans, who were planning to cause trouble amidst the chaos: ? ? ?

-

Without the messy troublemakers stirring things up, although some people on Weibo are still dissatisfied with Song Ying and question her plagiarism of Shu Song, at least their attitude and tone are relatively normal, instead of resorting to insults right away.

Just when everyone thought that Song Ying would remain silent and not say anything, she suddenly posted on Weibo.

—The answer you're looking for, don't miss "The Voice of Heaven" tonight at 8 PM.

As for the answer to what question it is, it goes without saying.

Silhouette mystery, sparse true appearance, and plagiarism allegations.

The series of events aroused the curiosity of the entire internet, and "The Voice of Heaven" dominated the trending searches for the entire afternoon, until just before the live broadcast.

-

The program officially started at 8 p.m.

As the pinnacle of music variety shows today, "The Voice of China" does not feature traditional group PKs, but rather champion defense and challenge.

From the very first episode, the winner of each stage will become the defending champion for the next episode, while the show will invite other well-known musicians in the industry to challenge the defending champion on the same stage.

Then, a new champion will be identified, followed by challenges from subsequent guests.

Because the contestants are all established singers and songwriters in the industry, they have demonstrated a high level of professionalism from the very first episode, bringing the audience an outstanding audio-visual feast and thus becoming an instant hit.

This is the ninth episode of "The Voice of Heaven".

The defending champion is Wei Haiyuan, a talented singer-songwriter who has won for two consecutive episodes.

During the previous "All-Round Trainee" period, Tan Mu, as his student, was involved in plagiarism. However, because Wei Haiyuan clearly stated in an interview before the matter was exposed that the stage and arrangement were designed by Tan Mu and had nothing to do with him, Tan Mu's scandal did not affect Wei Haiyuan.

The moment he appeared on stage, the thousand audience members below the stage erupted in cheers.

Even sitting in the backstage dressing room, Song Ying could hear the deafening cheers.

"Wei Haiyuan's popularity is incredible. His voice doesn't sound like he's recording a show; it sounds like he's at a concert."

The little deer was a little envious.

Wen Jinzhao bent his arm and leaned on her shoulder.

"Don't boost others' morale while diminishing your own! A few days ago, someone started an online poll to discuss who is the true ceiling of singer-songwriters in today's Chinese music scene. Do you know the results?"

"have no idea……"

Since handing over operations to Wen Jinzhao, Xiaolu has shifted her focus elsewhere.

They had no interest in paying attention to Wei Haiyuan.

Wen Jinzhao took out his phone and scrolled through the records.

"Look! Wei Haiyuan's votes are only half of our Shusong's! If they knew that Shusong is Sister Ying and Brother Shu, the uproar would be no quieter than the one outside!"

When Wen Jinzhao said this, his tail was practically wagging in the air.

If you didn't know better, you'd think she was the one who was slack.

The little deer noticed something sharp: "Hey, wait a minute? Jinzhao, isn't this the discussion you started?"

"Yes, yes!"

Wen Jinzhao nodded repeatedly, "A good operations manager must seize every opportunity for promotion!"

This poll was initiated by Wen Jinzhao on the very day he learned that Song Ying was Shu Song.

The extent of her shock will give a glimpse into how shocked netizens will be in the future.

In the past few days, Wen Jinzhao has even arranged for people to continuously generate data for Shusong to keep this ID popular.

The ultimate goal is to ensure that all the buzz surrounding Shu Song after her identity is exposed tonight will flow back to Song Ying herself.

"Have you ever heard of taking a roundabout approach to achieve your goal? This is it. From today onwards, if anyone says that Sister Ying is washed up, I'll throw my actual achievements in their faces and show them what a top star in the music industry really is!"

As he spoke, Wen Jinzhao turned to look at his team.

"You know what to do tonight, right?"

The four spoke in unison.

"Please rest assured, Miss!"

The little deer trembled slightly, then silently gave a thumbs up.

Their financial power is truly impressive.

Bringing a whole group to work, Wen Jinzhao is definitely the most arrogant working person Xiaolu has ever seen.

Wen Jinzhao casually tossed the milk tea cup into the trash can and glanced at the time.

"By the way, Sister Ying, when is Brother Shu coming? It's almost your turn to perform in about half an hour. Hopefully he won't be delayed on the way."

"No, he'll let me know if there's any delay."

Song Ying leaned back on the sofa, closed her eyes to rest, and remained motionless.

The two of them had originally planned to go out together today.

However, a sudden change occurred at the group, requiring Qin Shu's personal intervention to resolve the issue.

With no other option, Qin Shu and Song Ying split up: one went to the group to handle the issues, while the other came to the recording venue to get her makeup and styling done.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"It must be Brother Qin who's here!"

The little deer quickly ran to open the door.

When the door opened, it was indeed a man, but it wasn't Qin Shu.

"I was wondering why I didn't see Teacher Song outside. Turns out he was hiding here having a good time."

Song Ying frowned slightly, but without lifting her eyelids, she could tell who it was.

Ran Chengwang, who just participated in "All-Round Trainee" with me last week.

When the teams were being divided for "All-Round", he was the one who badmouthed Song Ying and maliciously assigned one of his own team members to Song Ying.

Even when Song Ying's group had the highest number of votes, some tea enthusiasts said it was because they had more people.

As a result, netizens calculated that even when calculated on a per capita basis, Song Ying's group had the highest number of votes per person.

Despite all these factors, the major case involving the Tan family did not cause much of a stir.

But Song Ying remembered every single one of these things.

She disliked this petty and narrow-minded man at all.

However, Ran Chengwang seemed oblivious to Song Ying's rejection and unwelcomeness, and continued to approach her.

At this moment, he gazed at Song Ying, who was wearing a royal blue diamond-encrusted off-the-shoulder dress, a crown on her head, and long hair that was loosely draped like seaweed, his eyes filled with a deep, mysterious light.

"Teacher Song, there's something I'm not sure if I should say..."

"It's not appropriate to say that."

Song Ying cut Ran Chengwang off directly.

Ran Chengwang choked, but this only fueled his curiosity.

When he first met Song Ying, he didn't take her seriously.

The entertainment industry is full of beauties, and quite a few have spent a night with him.

—As a former member of a boy band, Ran Chengwang's looks are undeniably striking.

Although young heartthrobs have emerged frequently in recent years and handsome men are becoming increasingly rare, he still ranks high on the list of mature, older male celebrities in the industry.

The adoration from his female fans once made him quite arrogant.

So when they first met in "All-Round", he didn't take Song Ying, who was without makeup, seriously at all.

However, on the stage of the qualifying round, Song Ying made a grand entrance, becoming the focus of the entire audience.

When the stage lights shone on her, Ran Chengwang, sitting in the audience, immediately felt a surge of desire to conquer her.

-

Ran Chengwang's participation in "The Voice of China" was arranged long ago.

He was the first challenger to challenge Wei Haiyuan in the previous PK.

Without a doubt, they're playing the "sacrifice at the start" scenario.

But Ran Chengwang was not disappointed at all—this was expected.

He came to participate in "The Voice of China" just to make a brief appearance and earn some appearance fee.

Facing Wei Haiyuan, he never thought he would win.

He could have left once the event was over.

However, after seeing Song Ying in the waiting area in the afternoon, Ran Chengwang suddenly changed his mind.

He didn't mind doing one more thing at night.