By the time recording began, a staff member from the show would meet the guest with a costume, and only one dedicated director knew who the guest was. They would also escort the costume for the fitting and makeup session.

Beforehand, a voice changer was installed in the mask. Once the dedicated director entered with the guest, the person who later emerged would already be wearing the mask and costume.

No one else would know who was under the mask, not even their gender. The guest's sole assistant would be left at the hotel, unable to participate in the show's recording.

All of these precautions were spelled out in the agreement, and the production team would bear full responsibility if any issues arose. For this reason, they had even hired a top security company to escort the participants throughout the process.

Of course, the cost was significant, and the penalty for an artist breaking the contract was equally substantial.

Since each artist could only bring one assistant, Xu Qingqiu was accompanied solely by Yiyi. Sister Hua and Chu Tian did not follow; after all, Sister Hua was too recognizable in the industry.

As for Chu Tian, he couldn't help at all when it came to changing clothes, so what would be the point of him going?

As a result, when the show's recording began, Chu Tian found himself with unexpected free time.

"Free time" here referred specifically to his studio; he was anything but idle when it came to the show's production.

What could he do? He had come up with the creative concepts and planning proposal for the show, and having watched it in his previous life, he knew far more about it than anyone else.

He had already inspected the stage and equipment in advance. Compared to his past life, the quality had risen by more than just one level—after all, in his previous life, the show's production era was much earlier.

Here, it was as if he were in another world twenty years later, with technology advancing daily; the stage effects were incomparable to the past.

So, after Xu Qingqiu departed, he promptly rushed to the recording site, where he frowned at the list in his hands.

It wasn't that he was dissatisfied with the production team, but he was rather surprised by the chosen pseudonym of a certain individual.

[Highland Antelope: Su Minghui]

[Jasmine Flower: Qin Xiao]

[Eat Another Bite and Still Not Fat: Xu Qingqiu]

This Qin Xiao is certainly playing a clever game. Jasmine Flower, Flower In The Wonderland—many people had already figured out from interpretations of "Flower In The Wonderland" that it was actually about a jasmine flower. Now that Qin Xiao had chosen Jasmine Flower as her pseudonym, and given that her voice, height, and appearance were very similar to Xu Qingqiu's, her intention behind this name choice was obvious. Considering Xu Qingqiu's current popularity, if people made the connection, Qin Xiao could potentially garner a lot of sentimental votes. The audience, upon seeing the name, would think, 'Isn't this Xu Qingqiu?' Then, noticing the similar appearance, they'd be even more convinced. This would not only draw a lot of criticism for Xu Qingqiu, with people accusing her of using tricks and feigning an unintentional reveal, but it would also lead Xu Qingqiu's fans to vote for Qin Xiao mindlessly. Add to that the public appeal Xu Qingqiu had gained from her new album; even considering the album's acclaim, who could guarantee that some people wouldn't be biased towards Qin Xiao when voting, just because of that association? Truly cunning tactics—killing two birds with one stone! And yet, the production team couldn't do anything because she hadn't broken any rules. She not only misled others' guesses but also boosted her own appeal.

Chu Tian's lips curved in a sardonic smile.

He wondered if this was Qin Xiao's own idea or her company's strategy; it wasn't something just anyone could come up with. Clearly, the other side had put a lot of thought into it. But so what? Ultimately, the competition here came down to genuine talent. If you lacked ability, no amount of scheming would help. And this! This was the biggest trap he had set for her!

The first group of six singers consisted of three men and three women. Apart from the three female singers already mentioned, the remaining three male singers were established, powerful singers in the industry.

[Double Iron Armored King: He Zhengnan]

[Mysterious Wanderer: Zhou Jie]

[Singing Dad: Lin Jiadong]

All three were highly acclaimed figures whose fame once swept across Jiangnan and beyond, and they were regulars at CCTV's Spring Festival Gala.

Among them, Lin Jiadong and Su Minghui were both from the national team; Su Minghui had emerged from a youth singing competition, while Lin Jiadong came from a military arts academy.

Zhou Jie was a pillar of pop music in the Capital. With his high notes, he had captivated audiences far and wide, and producers of many TV drama theme songs were queuing up for his vocals.

He Zhengnan was an A-list singer from Hong Kong Island, having previously won awards for best-selling album of the year and Best Newcomer.

Taken individually, the one with the lowest skill level was probably Qin Xiao. There certainly was a gap, though not by much. After all, Qin Xiao was talented; her fundamental skills were still intact despite a year or two of career stagnation.

As for Xu Qingqiu, it went without saying; she had never been lacking. During "The Sound of Nature," she had already held her own against the veterans and even leveraged Chu Tian's new songs to cleverly achieve high rankings.

Subsequently, after undergoing Chu Tian's devilish training, while she might still be slightly lacking against veterans in their fifties and sixties, among the new generation under thirty, she dared to claim invincibility.

Even among those thirty and older, she remained among the very top.

As for whether she could make it to the end, Chu Tian had not a shred of worry; it was just a question of how far she could go.

At that moment, the first guest arrived.

"President Chu, the first guest, [Double Iron Armored King], has arrived," an intern director informed him.

To ensure confidentiality, Wei Liangxiao had stipulated that everyone must only refer to the singers by their codenames at all times and not use their real names. Most people genuinely did not know their actual identities.

The person notifying Chu Tian was an intern director from his company, a recent graduate recruited through a new talent training program set up by Hou Yichuan.

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