The next morning, Henry woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed.
For the first time in what seemed like forever, he didn't wake up with a heavy weight pressing against his chest. There was no immediate crisis demanding his attention, no desperate calculation of how he was going to survive the next few days, and no fear that another bill would arrive before he had enough money to pay it.
Things were finally moving in the right direction.
He had a contract waiting to be signed, money would soon be flowing into his hands, and the precarious situation he had found himself in after taking over this body was gradually becoming a thing of the past.
Henry stretched lazily before sitting up in bed.If he could win the Rookie of the Century competition on top of all that, it would be the cherry on top.
The thought immediately brought a smile to his face.
For a moment, Henry simply sat there, letting himself imagine it.
He could see himself standing beneath the blinding stage lights, thousands of people filling the venue and screaming his name. Cameras would be pointed at him from every direction, capturing every movement as the host announced him as the winner of Rookie of the Century. The thought of hearing that roar from the audience, knowing that all those people were there because they had come to see him, sent a strange thrill through his chest.
Then there was everything that came after.
The recognition. The money. The opportunities. The freedom to choose his own path instead of constantly worrying about whether the next opportunity would disappear before he could grasp it.
Henry had once spent his days trapped behind an office desk, staring at spreadsheets and waiting for the clock to reach closing time. Now, for the first time, he could actually see a different future waiting for him.
A future where his name meant something.
A future where people would recognize his face the moment he walked into a room.
A future where he wouldn't have to chase opportunities anymore because opportunities would come looking for him.
So this is what it feels like to have a real shot at becoming a superstar.
Henry's smile widened.
He wasn't there yet.
Not even close.
But for once, the distance between where he was and where he wanted to be didn't seem impossible to cross.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Henry could actually see himself becoming the superstar he had once only dreamed of becoming.
The competition would resume tomorrow, but the contestants had been given a few days to prepare after the auditions and qualifying rounds. Starting tomorrow, their lives would also change considerably.
The show's organizers had arranged accommodation for the remaining contestants in hotels, where they would stay throughout the competition so they could attend rehearsals, recording sessions, filming, and other activities without constantly traveling back and forth.
Henry wasn't particularly bothered by the arrangement.
If anything, it sounded convenient.
He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and began casually browsing through his notifications while thinking about what he needed to do that day. He had just decided that he should probably take a shower when his phone suddenly started ringing.
Henry frowned.
The number displayed on the screen was unfamiliar.
He stared at it for a moment.
Peter?
Jonathan?
Or perhaps Anne.
Surely, neither of them had given up after only one day.
Henry rejected the call.
"Not today."
He tossed the phone onto the bed and continued browsing.
A few seconds later, it rang again.
Henry glanced at the screen.
The same number.
He rejected it again.
It rang a third time.
"Seriously?"
He declined the call.
Less than a minute later, the phone started ringing for the fourth time.
Henry stared at it with an increasingly irritated expression.
"This guy is persistent."
He picked up the phone and sighed.
"I really need to change my number."
With obvious reluctance, he answered.
"Hello, who is this?"
A man's voice came from the other end, tinged with weariness and helplessness.
"Hello, is this Mr. Henry?"
Henry frowned.
He didn't recognize the voice.
It wasn't Peter.
It wasn't Jonas either.
"Yes, it is."
There was a brief pause before the man spoke again.
"My name is Daniel Carter. I'm the director of Rookie of the Century."
Henry's eyebrows rose.
The director?
The man continued before Henry could respond.
"First, I wanted to congratulate you on your performance during the audition rounds. I've been watching the contestants closely, and I have to say, your performance was exceptional. The response from the judges and the audience was far beyond what we initially expected."
Henry leaned back against the headboard.
The director's tone became increasingly enthusiastic.
"To be perfectly honest, Mr. Henry, you're one of the contestants we're paying the most attention to. You have the voice, the stage presence, the songwriting ability, and, more importantly, that rare quality that makes people want to keep watching you. If you continue performing at this level, I wouldn't be surprised if the industry starts calling you the next big superstar."
Henry blinked.
He wasn't sure how to respond.
Being praised was nothing unusual, but hearing such words directly from the director of one of the biggest talent competitions in the country still caught him off guard.
His fingers stopped scrolling across the screen.
The next big superstar?
A faint smile appeared on his face before he quickly suppressed it.
The director continued talking.
"You've already made quite an impression, and I believe you have a very bright future ahead of you."
Henry listened patiently for another few seconds.
Then his eyes narrowed.
The man's praise was becoming a little too excessive.
It was almost as if he were deliberately circling around something he didn't want to say.
Henry finally decided to cut through it.
"Director Carter."
"Yes?"
"You didn't call me just to praise me, did you?"
Silence.
Henry's expression became slightly amused.
"I assume there's something you actually wanted to tell me."
The man on the other end went quiet.
Then came a long, helpless sigh.
"You really are straightforward."
Henry didn't respond.
Carter sighed again."That's not exactly my style, but... there's no point dragging this out."
His voice became considerably more serious.
"Last night, there were some changes made to the program."
Henry's smile disappeared.
"Changes?"
"Yes."
The director Carter hesitated before continuing. "Some of the rules and eligibility requirements were revised by the program's higher-ups. I should make it clear that these changes weren't originally proposed by our production team. They were... improvised rather suddenly."
Henry's sixth sense immediately began screaming.
Here it comes.
He remained silent.
He continued."Under the new rules, contestants who don't currently have representation from an established entertainment company will need to secure sponsorship or formal backing from an approved company before they can continue participating in the later stages of the competition."
Henry's eyes narrowed.
"Because of bureaucratic requirements," the director added awkwardly. "The official explanation is that the contestants need proper legal and commercial representation to handle contracts, scheduling, promotional obligations, liability, insurance, media appearances, and other matters associated with the competition."
Henry almost laughed.
What a load of bullshit.
He didn't need to be a genius to understand what was really happening.
Someone had pulled strings and there was only one person Henry could think of who had both the motive and the influence to do something like this.
Peter.
Henry's expression remained calm, but his fingers slowly tightened around the phone.
So that was his response.
Peter couldn't stop him directly, so he had decided to use his influence behind the scenes and force Henry into a corner.
If Henry wanted to continue on the show, he needed a company.
And if he needed a company badly enough, Peter could simply wait for him to crawl back to RockMedia.
Henry's jaw tightened.
He hated this feeling.
That familiar sense of helplessness.
Back on Earth, he had spent years trapped behind a desk, following orders from people who had more authority than him. No matter how capable he was, there was always someone above him who could dictate what he did with a single sentence.
And now?
He had thought he had escaped that life.
Yet here he was again.
At the mercy of people with power.
Henry clenched his free hand into a fist.
Not forever.
His eyes gradually hardened.
One day, I'll have enough power that nobody can force me into a corner like this again.
And when that day came, he would remember every person who had tried.
The director's voice pulled him back.
"I know you've been treated unfairly in this matter, but I swear on my conscience, this really has nothing to do with our program team."
His voice carried genuine frustration.
"We genuinely refused to accept this change at first, but the higher-ups remained firm. In the end, we had no choice but to compromise. I hope you understand. Our hands are tied."
There was a strange sadness in the man's voice.
Henry could almost picture him sitting behind his desk, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
And, judging by his tone, the director was genuinely troubled by the situation.
He's telling the truth.
Henry had dealt with enough office politics in his previous life to recognize the pattern.
People at the top rarely got their hands dirty.
They gave orders.
People beneath them carried those orders out.
Then, when everything went wrong, the people at the bottom were left to absorb the anger.
Director Carter was simply another person caught in that chain.
On the other side of the call, Carter lowered his phone slightly and stared at the documents scattered across his desk.
His expression was deeply regretful.
He couldn't understand why the higher-ups were doing this.
In the sixteen years that Rookie of the Century had been running, there had been plenty of independent contestants. Some had even gone on to become successful solo artists without signing with a major company during the competition.
So why change the rules now?
He wasn't stupid.
Everyone could see Henry's potential.
Perhaps the higher-ups had seen it, too.
They wanted to force Henry into signing with a company early, securing him under someone's sponsorship before his value exploded.
It was essentially an attempt to snap up a promising talent before anyone else could.
Carter hated it.
But there was nothing he could do.
He could only hope Henry found a company willing to back him and continue with the competition.
Because if Henry couldn't...
Carter didn't even want to think about what would happen.
The backlash would be enormous.
Henry remained silent for several seconds before finally answering.
"Okay. I understand."
He exhaled quietly.
"I'll think about it."
Carter visibly relaxed on the other end.
"Please don't take too long."
His tone became encouraging.
"You're already one of the favorites in the competition, Mr. Henry. If I were in your position, I'd start looking for a good company immediately. You need someone who can provide the proper backing so you can continue."
Henry gave a small, modest laugh.
"I understand. Thank you for letting me know."
"Of course."
The director hesitated before adding,
"And Henry..."
"Yes?"
"Good luck."
Henry's expression softened slightly.
"Thank you, Director Carter."
The call ended.
Henry lowered his phone and stared at the screen for a long moment.
The room became quiet again.
So this was Peter's move.
Henry had expected retaliation, but he hadn't expected it to come this quickly,and more importantly, he hadn't expected Peter to be so ruthless.
The message was obvious.
Sign with a company, and everything goes back to normal.
At least, that was what it appeared to be on the surface.
Henry knew better.
Peter didn't want him to simply sign with any company.
He wanted Henry to return to RockMedia and he had no intention of doing that.If he went back now, they wouldn't treat him like a returning employee.
They would treat him like someone who had been dragged back on a leash.
After everything that had happened, he knew RockMedia would make his life even worse.
Henry leaned back against the headboard.
For a while, he simply stared at the ceiling.
He did have options.
Silver Records immediately came to mind.
Sarah Sterling had already contacted him, and their negotiations had gone considerably better than he had expected. More importantly, Silver Records was powerful enough to provide him with legitimate industry backing.
If he signed with them, he wouldn't just satisfy the show's new requirements.
He would also gain a powerful shield against RockMedia and Peter.
That alone made the decision considerably easier.
Henry slowly sat up.
The uncertainty that had clouded his expression disappeared.
A firm look settled over his face.
He had made his decision.
If Peter wanted to force him into a corner, then he would simply build a wall behind himself.