Don't call me a singing god, I just want to go back to doing scientific research.

Holy crap... I understood it again...

[Don't even mention it, the boss just gave me a pep talk, saying the company is doing this for our own good, so everyone should voluntarily work overtime... I'm so pissed off...]

This song is addictive! First listen: What the heck? Second listen: It seems... somewhat true. Third listen: Isn't this just me?!

Kill me, just give me a quick death!

ended.

That's the end of it.

There was no nice ending, no outlet for the emotions.

It's like someone yelling insults at you and then walking away without looking back, leaving you standing there dumbfounded, feeling suffocated.

The entire studio fell into an eerie, suffocating silence.

No one applauded.

No one cheered.

Everyone seemed to have had their souls ripped out by that song; their expressions were numb, and their eyes were empty.

On stage, Zhang Minghui was panting heavily, sweat streaming down his face. He slowly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes sweeping over the deathly silent audience below, but a sarcastic smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

The host, Dong Xuelan, stood on the side stage, holding her cue cards. She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

She had never encountered such an awkward silence in her entire career.

How is she supposed to respond to that?

To say "Thank you Zhang Minghui for the wonderful performance"?

Was it exciting? The ear-piercing noise and suppressed screams were completely unrelated to the word "exciting".

Say, "Let's give him a round of applause"?

But not a single person applauded!

  

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

A good ten seconds or so passed.

On the judges' panel, a deep, cold voice finally broke the deathly silence.

On the judges' panel, Qi Hanze's expression froze.

He felt like he wasn't listening to music, but rather being pointed at and forced to shout out all the darkest, most unacknowledged, and depressing things deep inside his heart!

When Gu Yang heard this song at the company, he felt that the chances of winning were slim.

Because the lyrics are too short, the emotional fluctuations are too few, and even the arrangement lacks any twists or turns.

But Lingluo told him that this is the life of many people.

They wanted to work hard, but reality kept crushing them time and time again.

Life isn't a TV drama plot. There are countless people who simply live to survive, while those like them, who can recklessly pursue their dreams, are just a drop in the ocean.

This song doesn't need fancy vocal runs or perfect high notes.

What it wants is this most primitive, unadorned, and authentic "melancholy".

On the judges' panel, Qi Hanze's voice clearly resonated throughout the entire studio through the microphone.

He didn't look at Zhang Minghui, but at the audience members who were still in a daze.

"This song is awful."

His first words stunned everyone.

The live stream chat immediately responded.

What is Qi Hanzhe saying?

[It sounds awful? If it sounds awful, why did you break the silence?]

[Oh no, Minghui's going to get yelled at.]

Dong Xuelan's heart was in her throat, and her palms were covered in cold sweat.

How do we smooth things over?

However, Qi Hanze's next sentence was a huge turning point.

"It's harsh, rough, and unreasonable, like a smelly, hard stone stuck in your heart, making you feel nauseous and want to vomit."

He paused, then his gaze finally turned to the young man on the stage, who was soaking wet but whose eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.

"But it's real."

"So real it's...brutal."

Qi Hanze leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped in front of him, his tone carrying a complex mix of emotions.

"We've heard too many songs that glorify dreams and hard work. We've almost forgotten that most people's lives aren't like that at all. Most people's lives are just a daily struggle, a feeling of frustration that they can't express, and a feeling of powerlessness that makes them feel like they're turning into a pile of mud."

"This song is like tearing down that layer of pretense."

"It's not singing, it's cursing. Cursing the world, and cursing ourselves."

After saying that, he picked up the scoring device in front of him and pressed the number without hesitation.

On the big screen, a bright red number popped up.

Qi Hanze: 93 points.

A score that surprised everyone!

Holy crap! 93 points! I thought he was going to give me a low score!

[This comment is absolutely hilarious! Qi Hanzhe is so outspoken!]

[So real it's cruel... He's right, this song makes me sad precisely because it's so real!]

[Criticizing ourselves...has broken the defenses of our family members.]

With Qi Hanze's introduction, Dong Xuelan finally found a lifeline, and she immediately handed the microphone to Ba Meng next to her.

"Thank you for your comments, Professor Qi Hanze. Now, Professor Ba Meng, what are your thoughts on this song, 'Rotten Mud'?"

Ba Meng's face didn't look good; she was frowning, as if she was still caught up in that suppressed emotion.

"Although I will be collaborating with Mr. Luomu later, I still want to say that I don't really like this song."

She expressed her opinion very directly.

"I admit it has a strong attitude and the lyrics are bold. But for me, music should be something that brings strength or comfort. It can be sad, but after the sadness, there should be release and hope."

"But this song, from beginning to end, is purely 'depressing.' It doesn't offer any way out; it just drags you into a quagmire of despair. After listening to it, I felt very uncomfortable and depressed."

She sighed, looking somewhat troubled.

"As a musical experiment, I respect its existence. But as a competition, based on my feelings upon hearing this song, I find it difficult to give it a high score."

After saying that, she pressed the score button.

Ba Meng: 88 points.

This score might be considered high for other contestants, but for a contestant singing the closing song, it's a record low.

However, Tomoe didn't give a high score just because she was about to collaborate with the end of the project; instead, she gave the score based on her own subjective feelings.

"I'm only scoring this song based on my own feelings, so please don't use my opinion as a benchmark."

[What Teacher Ba Meng said makes sense; this song is indeed too negative.]

I support Ba Meng. Listening to music is meant to make me happy; who wants to add to their stress after get off work?

[To the person upstairs: Art isn't meant to please you.]

[They're arguing! They're arguing! The judges' opinions are divided, that's what makes it interesting!]

Ling Luo looked at Ba Meng's troubled expression on the screen, her expression unchanged.

Ba Meng's reaction was exactly what he had expected.

Ba Meng herself comes from a well-off family. Since she stood on the Spring Festival Gala at the age of fifteen, she has had a smooth life. It is normal that she cannot truly feel the "melancholy" expressed in this song.