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

Fang Yizhou nodded and put the microphone to his mouth.

"I've been making music for almost thirty years. I've listened to a lot of songs, including many good ones, but there aren't many songs that can make me sit still."

He paused for a moment.

"But you brought me three songs like this."

The audience erupted in applause once again.

Before the applause subsided, Fang Yizhou continued, "Your technique still has the same old problem. Your breath control is unstable, your breathing positions are sometimes not clean enough, and the resonance in your mid-to-low range is lacking. But these things—"

He pointed to Lin Buyi on the stage.

"None of that matters when your song comes along."

He put down the microphone.

Xue Xinghe took it.

He looked at Lin Buyi but didn't speak immediately.

Several seconds passed before he spoke.

"Lin Buyi, I've seen a lot of things about you online. Things like cheating on re-enrollment, plagiarism, and all sorts of nonsense."

Some people in the audience booed.

Xue Xinghe ignored him and continued, "When I used my special recommendation to protect you, many people said I was gambling. They said it wasn't worth it for me to use my only chance of the entire season to protect an amateur."

He paused, staring at Lin Buyi.

"Your song today tells me I made the right bet."

Lin Buyi remained silent.

Xue Xinghe said, "Your song 'One Meat, One Vegetable,' along with your previous songs 'Sorrow' and 'A Person Like Me,' three songs, three emotions, each hitting the most painful spot precisely. This kind of creative ability is rare in the current Chinese music scene—to be honest—very rare."

He put down the microphone and looked into Lin Buyi's eyes.

"Keep writing. Don't stop. No matter what those people outside are doing to you, don't stop."

When Zhou Wanting took the microphone, her voice was slightly nasal. She put her glasses back on and took a deep breath.

I'll just say one thing.

She looked at Lin Buyi.

"This is the third time you've made me cry. I don't know how many songs you have left, but I'm really afraid of you singing them again."

Laughter and applause mingled together from the audience.

Deng Ziheng concluded by saying, "I won't repeat the technical details; Teacher Fang explained it very clearly. I'll just say one thing—Lin Buyi, your work makes me feel that you shouldn't be on a talent show stage. You should just release an album."

The tutor's evaluation is out.

Fang Yizhou: 96.

Xue Xinghe: 95.

Zhou Wanting: 93.

Deng Ziheng: 93.

Average score: 94.3.

In the control room, Zhao Leiming sat in front of the monitor, his palms sweaty.

His eyes were fixed on the real-time data from the public jury voting system.

This time, he didn't cheat.

Before the recording, he secretly instructed the atmosphere team—those people who were arranged in the audience and could vote remotely. He told them, "Vote normally, don't cheat."

He suddenly remembered what he was like when he first entered the industry twenty years ago. Back then, he was also a young man with only passion and no connections.

Voting channels are closed.

Public votes: 241, out of a possible 300.

Overall score: 93.2.

First place in Group A.

Zhao Leiming let out a long sigh and wiped the sweat from his palms on his pants. He picked up his phone and sent a message to his wife: "I might be home late tonight."

He knew Wang Shaohui's call could come at any time.

But this time, he finally felt a little relieved.

……

Backstage.

Chen Jiahao sat in the dressing room, having already dismissed the stylist and assistant.

The door was closed.

He sat alone in the dressing chair, looking at himself in the mirror.

Lin Buyi ranked first in Group A with 93.2 points.

Chen Jiahao, second place in Group A, with 92.1 points.

One point short.

His team spent over 600,000 yuan to build the stage. String orchestra, holographic projection, backup dancers, and custom-made music. Every penny was spent wisely.

I lost to a guitar.

Chen Jiahao stared at himself in the mirror, his smile fading. His lips drooped, and his eyes held a complex expression.

He reached for the mineral water bottle on the table, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

Then he slowly screwed the bottle cap back on.

Then I unscrewed it.

It was twisted back.

A manager's voice came from outside the door: "Jiahao?"

"Don't come in."

The agent stopped outside the door.

Chen Jiahao took three deep breaths, readjusted his expression, stood up, and opened the door.

"Let's go."

The agent glanced at him, his face ashen, but said nothing.

As the two walked towards the backstage exit, they passed an empty lounge at the end of the corridor without a nameplate.

The door was open.

It's empty inside. Lin Buyi has already left.

There was only an empty mineral water bottle and a disassembled guitar case left on the table.

Chen Jiahao paused for a moment, then continued walking forward.

Tianhai Entertainment President's Office

Wang Shaohui watched the entire live broadcast while sitting in his chair.

The tutor's score was 94.3.

The public vote received 241 votes.

He tapped his fingers twice on the table.

The number of votes from the public jury is incorrect.

In the previous round, Lin Buyi's score from the audience jury was reduced to 68 points. That was because Zhao Leiming had arranged for the atmosphere-building team to participate.

In this round, there were 241 votes—a perfectly normal, or even slightly high, number.

There is only one possibility.

Zhao Leiming did not execute the score-down instruction.

Wang Shaohui didn't lose his temper. He remained calm.

He picked up the landline and dialed a number.

It's not Zhao Leiming.

It's the Ministry of Justice.

"Get Zhao Leiming's contract. I need to see his non-compete clause and liquidated damages clause."

The legal representative on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, then asked, "Mr. Wang, now?"

"Now."

Wang Shaohui hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair.

He doesn't swear.

Cursing is a useless way to deal with things.

To deal with disobedient people, all you need to do is look at the breach of contract clauses.

……

It was already dark when Lin Buyi came out of the back door of the studio.

He took out his phone and called Lao Zhou. "Brother Zhou, I'm out."

"Okay, Mr. Lin, I'm in the third row of section B of the parking lot."

Lin Buyi carried his guitar case through the parking lot, found the black sedan, opened the back door, and got in.

Old Zhou glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "Thanks for your hard work."

"fine."

The car started, drove out of the parking lot, and merged into the night traffic.

Lin Buyi placed his guitar case on the seat next to him, leaned back, and closed his eyes. His mind was still racing with today's competition—a mentor average score of 94.3, 241 votes from the audience, a total score of 93.2, and first place in Group A.

Won.

But what if we win?

Chen Jiahao's overall score is 92.1, just one point short. This gap is too small; so small that Wang Shaohui could easily close it in the next round with just a little effort.

Thinking of this, Lin Buyi opened his eyes.

My phone vibrated.

Lin Qingxue sent a WeChat message: "Brother, are you done with your competition?"

Lin Buyi lowered his head and typed: "It's done, everything went smoothly."

"Great!" Lin Qingxue sent a bouncing emoji, followed by another message: "I knew you'd be okay!"

Lin Buyi's lips twitched slightly.

The next message came in.