Being a gigolo was too much for him, so he had to become a music superstar.

Lin Buyi sat down again and put the earplugs back in his ears.

Chen Jiahao is talented, with excellent fundamentals and stage presence, and the capital behind him for twenty years has provided him with a complete package. His weaknesses are creativity and emotional impact, but in a commercial talent show, these two things are far less effective than expensive stage choreography.

This is Chen Jiahao's playing style: using visual appeal to overwhelm the appeal of sound.

Lin Buyi closed his eyes.

He doesn't need to compete with Chen Jiahao in terms of looks.

Time passed by, second by second.

At 9:30, the event organizers came to inform him of his order of appearance—the fifth in Group A, which is also the last one.

Lin Buyi nodded without saying anything.

He was last again. In the last round, he was after Zhou Qian, and in this round, he was after Chen Jiahao. He let the people before him build up the atmosphere, and by the time he went on stage, the audience's emotions had mostly dissipated.

But the results of the previous round told Lin Buyi that this arrangement was actually advantageous to him.

The more lively the crowd in front, the more impactful his quiet appearance becomes.

Lin Buyi mentally reviewed today's strategy, then stopped thinking about it.

He needs to clear his mind.

Before the match, I didn't want to think about anything.

...

At 10:00 AM sharp, recording officially began.

Group A consists of five people waiting in the waiting area.

Lin Buyi sat in the far corner, the hard plastic chair digging into his backside. He wore the noise-canceling earplugs Su Nianwei had given him, his eyes closed, his fingers resting on the guitar strings, completely still.

The outside world has nothing to do with him anymore.

The sounds of footsteps coming and going in the corridor, the buzzing of the sound engineer testing the microphone in the distance, and the sound of cold air blowing down from the air conditioner vents—all of these were kept out of reach of the outside world.

Zhang Mingyu was the first to go on stage in Group A. His skills were average, the kind that neither made mistakes nor stood out. Lin Buyi didn't have much of an impression of him, only knowing that he was Zhou Qian's senior at Longcheng Conservatory of Music.

Second place: Chen Jiahao.

Lin Buyi took off one earbud.

There is a small monitor screen in the waiting area that broadcasts the stage footage in real time.

The lights on the screen dimmed.

Then—the whole stage exploded.

A holographic projection displayed a starry sky, with four string players standing on each side of the stage. The sound of violins began, setting the stage. Two dancers emerged from the side of the stage, their movements graceful, the lights following them, creating an interplay of light and shadow.

Then Chen Jiahao slowly rose from the central stage platform.

He was impeccably dressed in a suit, and the lights shone on him, making him shine like a diamond on the stage.

He sang a custom-made love song with a beautiful melody and exquisite arrangement; every note was perfectly placed. His singing skills weren't top-notch, but the presentation was excellent—with the string orchestra and harmonies, the entire performance was incredibly rich and powerful.

Several people in the waiting area were looking at the screen.

Shen Yihe stood next to Lin Buyi and whispered, "How much money will this cost?"

Lin Buyi remained silent.

He watched Chen Jiahao's performance on the screen and made a very calm judgment in his mind.

Is it good-looking? Yes, it is. Can it move people? Yes, but it only moves the eyes, not the heart.

This is a commercial-grade stage. The lighting, music arrangement, stage design, and costumes—every aspect has been lavishly funded, and when put together, it becomes a perfect product.

But the product has one problem—it has no burrs.

It was so smooth, so perfect. So perfect that you'd applaud after watching it, but you'd forget about it once you left the theater.

Lin Buyi put the earplugs back in.

He doesn't need to look anymore.

Chen Jiahao's performance has ended.

The audience erupted in applause. Some people in the audience even stood up and applauded.

On the mentor's seat, Fang Yizhou picked up the microphone.

"Jiahao, your performance today was excellent. From the arrangement to the stage design, every detail was done to perfection. I can feel the professionalism of your team. In terms of singing, there was a significant improvement compared to the last round. Your high notes were handled cleanly and crisply, and your breath control was also more stable."

Fang Yizhou paused for a moment.

"But I want to ask you a question."

Chen Jiahao smiled and nodded: "Please go ahead, Teacher Fang."

What were you thinking when you sang this song?

Chen Jiahao was stunned for a moment.

Fang Yizhou continued, "After listening to your performance, I thought everything was great. But there's something missing between 'great' and 'moving.' The technique and arrangement were both on point, but it lacked your own unique touch."

Chen Jiahao maintained his smile, but his eyes flickered.

"Thank you for your guidance, Professor Fang. I will continue to work hard."

Xue Xinghe raised the microphone: "Jiahao's stage performance was indeed very good, highly entertaining. My personal suggestion is—next time try subtraction. Remove all those elements and see what's left."

Zhou Wanting and Deng Ziheng's evaluations were mostly positive, but Fang Yizhou and Xue Xinghe's words clearly left room for interpretation.

The mentor scores are as follows: Fang Yizhou 89, Xue Xinghe 87, Zhou Wanting 90, Deng Ziheng 88. The average score is 88.5.

Public vote: 198 votes, out of a possible 300.

Overall score: 92.1.

A faint murmur could be heard from the waiting area.

One in ninety-two. That's a very high score.

Lin Buyi took off his earbuds and heard someone next to him say, "It's probably going to be hard to beat them this time." He didn't reply and put his earbuds back in.

Third place: Shen Yihe.

Before going on stage, Shen Yihe took a deep breath and glanced back at Lin Buyi.

Lin Buyi nodded at her.

Shen Yihe went on stage.

She sang a folk song she wrote herself, accompanied by guitar, with a fresh and clean style. Her voice wasn't particularly amazing, but it was sincere, and the whole performance was steady and stable, without any major ups and downs.

The tutor's grading was average, resulting in an overall score of 86.3. A score that guarantees advancement, but not outstanding.

Fourth place: Wang Ke. A powerful singer with solid vocal skills, scoring 88.7 overall.

And then there's the last one.

Lin Buyi.

A staff member from the competition team came over: "Lin Buyi, get ready to go on stage."

Lin Buyi stood up.

He took off his earplugs and put them in his pocket. Suddenly, all the sounds from the corridor flooded in—applause from afar, the echo of microphones, and the cacophony of instructions from staff walkie-talkies.

He picked up his guitar case and walked towards the entrance tunnel.

The passageway was narrow, with black soundproof curtains on both sides. Fluorescent guide strips were affixed to the floor, emitting a faint green glow in the darkness.

He walked to the end of the passage, where a black curtain stood before him.

The stage is just beyond the curtain.

Lin Buyi stood in front of the curtain, his right hand gripping the neck of the guitar, and took a deep breath.

The curtain was drawn back.

The lights dimmed, plunging the entire stage into darkness.

Only one spotlight shines on the center of the stage.

Within the aperture, there is an empty bar stool.

Lin Buyi walked into the beam of light, holding his guitar.

The entire room fell silent.

Chen Jiahao's lively stage performance had just ended less than twenty minutes ago. The lingering effects of the string orchestra, holographic projection, backup dancers, and light show were still in the minds of the audience.

Now, there is only one person on the stage, a guitar, and a beam of light.