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

"I need that bonus."

The audition room fell silent for a second after those words were spoken.

It wasn't awkward, but rather that no one expected this answer, and it took a second to process it.

Xue Xinghe paused for a moment as he twirled his pen. He didn't make any deliberate reaction, but he still turned his head slightly to look directly at Lin Buyi.

Of the more than one hundred contestants who came in before, he only spent about a third of the time looking at people; the rest of the time he was either spacing out or secretly looking at his phone.

His phone screen is currently off.

Zhou Wanting raised an eyebrow. She put down her pen and leaned back in her chair: "You're here for the money?"

"Yes."

Lin Buyi didn't hesitate or explain; he just said one word.

Fang Yizhou put down the documents, leaned forward, and placed his hands on the table.

"Then can you tell us why you need this money so much?"

This was a very natural question. Fang Yizhou had been a music producer for over twenty years and had seen countless people of all kinds. Many had said they were there for the money, but very few had said it so bluntly in the preliminary audition room. He wanted to know why.

Lin Buyi remained silent for a second.

In that instant, a picture flashed through his mind of Lin Qingxue smiling and saying to him from her hospital bed, "Brother, the doctor praised me for recovering well."

Then he pressed the button on the screen.

"I'm sorry, Professor Fang, this is my personal privacy."

His tone was polite, even apologetic, but he made it very clear—I cannot answer this question, please do not ask again.

Fang Yizhou stared at him for two or three seconds, then nodded.

"Alright, let's begin your performance. What are you going to sing?"

"An original song."

Lin Buyi bent down, picked up the guitar, and sat down on the stool. He fastened the strap, tuned the strings, and plucked the strings a couple of times to make sure the pitch was correct.

Then he pulled the microphone stand to the right height and took a deep breath.

The song is called, "If One Day I Become Very Rich".

There was a silence for about half a second.

Xue Xinghe's expression changed. It wasn't anger, nor contempt; it was just the look of someone who needed to confirm if they had heard correctly after hearing something he hadn't expected at all.

"Wait a minute." Xue Xinghe leaned forward slightly, stopping his pen. "Are you serious?"

"Seriously," Lin Buyi replied expressionlessly.

Zhou Wanting couldn't help but chuckle, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. She turned to look at Fang Yizhou, whose lips twitched slightly, though he quickly suppressed his laughter.

"Alright, interesting." Zhou Wanting turned her gaze back to Lin Buyi. "Please begin."

Lin Buyi lowered his head, pressed down on the chord with his left hand, and plucked the fourth string with his right index finger.

The intro begins.

The simple guitar arpeggios and the upbeat, even slightly whimsical, sounded out of place in this serious audition room.

But it was precisely this incongruity that made the three judges, who had been experiencing aesthetic fatigue all day, unconsciously focus their attention.

Then he spoke.

"If one day I become very rich—"

When Lin Buyi uttered the first sentence, his voice was quite different from his usual tone. It wasn't a deliberately staged theatrical tone, but rather a relaxed, nonchalant narrative, as if he were talking to himself.

"My first choice is not to travel around the world—"

"Lying in the world's biggest and softest sofa—"

"Eat, sleep, then eat again after waking up, and live for a year—"

Upon hearing these words, Fang Yizhou's brows furrowed immediately.

The lyrics were too cliché. What big sofa, what eating and sleeping? This is a talent show, not street performances. His professional instincts told him that the song's scope was too small, completely unlike a piece that should appear on an S-level music talent show stage.

He was already mentally labeling the song as amateurish, casual, and lacking in professionalism.

But he did not interrupt.

It's not out of politeness, but because the melody is indeed quite catchy.

"If one day I become very rich—"

"That way, I can keep everyone by my side—"

"Eating, drinking, and chatting happily every day—"

"Don't worry about tomorrow or parting—"

When the second segment came on, Fang Yizhou stopped tapping his fingers on the table.

He frowned and re-examined the young man in front of him, who was wearing a cheap coat and sitting on a wooden stool playing guitar.

Zhou Wanting is a vocal coach, and her focus is different from Fang Yizhou's. Whether the lyrics are good or not, or whether the scope is grand or not, is something the producer should worry about; she listens to the voice itself.

Lin Buyi's breathing was weak. That was her first judgment.

His breathing positions were very irregular; in several places, the air vents were handled very roughly, and you could hear a noticeable break in the breath. Professional singers don't breathe in those places.

But the problem is his tone.

That natural, husky quality, not smooth, but with a unique texture. His voice is highly distinctive; the moment he opens his mouth, you can tell him apart from all the other contestants.

Zhou Wanting silently wondered to herself.

That voice is a gift from God.

Xue Xinghe has changed the most among the three.

He started off nonchalant, even with a bit of a "let's see what kind of tricks you can pull off" attitude, but by the middle of the song, he had somehow put his pen on the table and sat up straight.

He stared at Lin Buyi for several seconds.

"The technique is crude," he thought to himself.

His breathing was unsteady.

There are subtle deviations in some pitches, especially in the first "bian" in the chorus, where the pitch is about ten cents off.

but--

"Become rich, I'll become rich—"

"How many people waste their time day and night—"

"Become rich, I'll become rich—"

Then, feigning modesty, he said that money isn't everything—

Xue Xinghe narrowed his eyes.

These lyrics are fucking accurate.

On the surface, they are talking about getting rich, daydreaming, and making fun of themselves, but beneath every word lies another layer of meaning.

The phrase "pretending to be modest and saying that money isn't everything" clearly implies that money is everything, and that I dream of having money.

Then, immediately following the second verse—

"If one day I become very rich—"

"I will buy all the rare and precious smiles—"

"Let all the poor children no longer be afraid—"

Xue Xinghe tapped his finger on the table.

No. This isn't daydreaming. This is the truth.

"If one day I become very rich—"

"I will do everything I can to turn back time—"

"It's not about contributing to human ideals—"

"I just wanted to tell her I was sorry—"

When he sang the word "she," Lin Buyi's voice deepened.

It was a very slight change, so slight that you wouldn't notice it if you weren't listening carefully. But Xue Xinghe noticed it.