I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

After the music ended, Qin Yunshang stood up and bowed.

Applause erupted from the audience.

This is heartfelt applause.

Her song successfully moved everyone, and even her rivals had to applaud her.

As the applause subsided, one persistent clapping clapped like a rock in the receding tide, stubbornly standing its ground, refusing to stop.

Everyone looked over and saw Ren Jinqing standing in his seat, clapping his hands continuously.

The old man's words sparked another round of applause.

No one dared to stop before Mr. Ren did.

The host hesitated, but seeing Ren Jinqing's serious expression, he didn't dare to interrupt and could only let the old man continue clapping.

It took him a full minute to sit down before the applause finally ended.

The host exclaimed and went on stage, saying, "Thank you, Yunshang'er, for your wonderful performance. Yunshang'er, it seems your performance was excellent, and everyone was very enthusiastic. What are your thoughts?"

Qin Yunshang was also very excited, her face was flushed, her chest was heaving, and sweat was running down her smooth neck and piling up on her chest.

She said, "It's not just my performance that deserves credit; it's also thanks to Chen Liang, whose song is so well-written."

Chen Ya instantly felt very comfortable.

That's more like it.

This is what collaborating with a normal singer should be like: you praise me, I praise you, everyone is great.

Unlike when we worked with Jinlan before, they only knew how to sabotage us from the start.

Thinking this, he involuntarily turned his head to look at Jin Lan, only to find that the girl was staring at him.

Her eyes were red, and her gaze was off, as if she had just had an abortion.

Chen Ya quickly turned his head to look ahead.

What's with this gold and blue? Why are you looking at me?

Something's not right.

The host continued interviewing Qin Yunshang: "Yunshang'er, what is the main theme of this song? Can you tell me about it?"

Qin Yunshang scratched her head, grinned, and said, "Actually, I'm not really sure either. Chen Liang only told me that it's a song dedicated to my mother."

"Mother?" The host was a little puzzled. "So it was written for your mother? I didn't realize that."

Some audience members laughed.

Indeed, the word "mother" does not appear at all in the entire song.

The live stream chat was flooded with comments:

"Huh, wasn't this about reincarnation? How did it get back to the mother?"

"Didn't I recognize Mother's voice? Am I just too dense?"

"My mother passed away from cancer when I was 20. I cried when I listened to this song, and now I'm smoking on the balcony."

"It is indeed written about mothers. Those who don't understand it are very lucky, while those who do understand it are already crying their eyes out in the bathroom."

……

Qin Yunshang stuck out her tongue and said, "I only know how to sing, I can't explain the meaning, don't ask me, ask Chen Liang."

She insisted on maintaining a down-to-earth, uncultured idol image, which was still quite endearing, and this performance sparked a lot of comments wanting to stick close to her.

The host did not interview Chen Liang, but turned to Ren Jinqing and said:

"Just now, Mr. Ren applauded this song for a long time. Mr. Ren, do you like this song very much?"

The microphone was handed to Ren Jinqing, who adjusted his glasses and said:

"So far, this is the best song I've heard here."

Upon hearing these words, Guo Xiaoran's spirits immediately collapsed.

Ren Jinqing continued, "Both the lyrics and the music are of extremely high quality, and of course, the singer's performance is also very good."

He glanced at Chen Ya and continued, "The lyrics of this song are very skillful, more so than the other songs. They're like poetry."

"Many people say they don't understand what the lyrics are about, but it's actually very simple. If we look at the beginning, 'I'm carrying luggage that's heavier than my body...' this part describes the scene of birth."

"The luggage heavier than the body is the placenta. Passing through the bottom of the Nile River signifies rebirth. Seeing a group of people refers to the doctors who delivered the baby. Taking my luggage with scissors means cutting the umbilical cord... So, the beginning of this paragraph describes the process of birth."

After Ren Jinqing finished speaking, everyone present had an expression of sudden realization.

It turned out to be the case.

Yu Xiaoxiao covered her mouth and turned to He Su, saying, "The beginning is like a riddle. You can't understand it at all just by looking at the riddle. But once Mr. Ren explains it, you understand it all. It's quite fitting and really fun."

He Su nodded.

Ren Jinqing continued, "What follows is that after experiencing repeated reincarnations, the protagonist finally meets his mother again as a mother and son or a mother and daughter. Of course, this is a flashback; what follows is the protagonist's multiple reincarnations in his memories..."

Ren Jinqing then recounted the story in order.

Literature has such magic. When you first read it, you only vaguely understand it. But after Ren Jinqing finished explaining it, and you reflected on it again, Yu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but tear up.

The story of repeatedly meeting each other in countless reincarnations under various identities is itself a poignant tale. The final scene, where they yearn for each other across the divide of life and death, is an even more heart-wrenching moment.

However, these intense emotions are well wrapped in a layer of calm words, making them appear very composed, like a man with a blank expression telling his story.

Especially in the chorus, the repeated chanting of "Come and hug me" is not only imitating a newborn baby asking for a hug from its mother, but Qin Yunshang's singing also seems to be a kind of care, as if she is hugging everyone who understands the song and is sad.

The more you listen to this song, the more you appreciate its charm, especially for those with a certain amount of life experience, who may find it relatable as a way of showing concern for the sad moments in their own past.

“True good art ultimately cares about people; that’s the spirit of humanity,” Ren Jinqing concluded. “This song is good art. Other songs, with their desire to be number one and to please the audience written all over their faces, are different; this song cares about its listeners.”

Ren Jinqing looked at Chen Liang with a look of approval in his eyes.

"I haven't heard such good modern poetry in a long time. The lyrics of this song, taken individually, are an outstanding poem."

Meng Xing, who was standing next to Chen Liang, gasped.

For Ren Jinqing, the vice president of the Writers Association, to say such a thing is the highest praise one can give.

Chen Liang's market value has been significantly boosted after this round of competition.

Meng Xing looked at Chen Liang, a hint of jealousy in his eyes.

Unexpectedly, he witnessed firsthand how a complete novice went from being penniless to becoming a hot commodity in just two weeks.

The host announced, "Okay, now the two mentors will score the performances of the four contestants, and the audience will vote at the same time."

After a pause, the host continued, "Attention, viewers! Your votes are very important! The rankings in this round will not only determine the group order for the next round, but will also eliminate two contestants from one group!"

Hearing this, Jin Lan's heart clenched.

Chapter 443 Chen Ya, a womanizer

Based on their previous performance, it's clear that she and Jia Yi are destined for the elimination zone.

But what can you do if you're not as skilled as others?

She glanced at Chen Liang again, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and hope.

Only she knows what she's thinking.

The tense and exciting scoring process has begun.

The vote counts for each contestant were displayed on a large screen in the background and updated in real time, which made the atmosphere at the scene very anxious.

However, there was really no suspense about who would win this time.

Since the start of voting, "I Remember" has consistently been in the lead, and not just by a little, but by a wide margin.

Guo Xiaoran's song ranked second, far behind "I Remember", not even half as good;

Meng Xing's song ranked third, only slightly more than half of the song in front of him;

As for Jia Yi and Jin Lan's songs... they were simply awful.

For a full three minutes after voting began, the song only had double-digit votes, barely breaking 100 after three minutes.

At this point, "I Remember" already had more than 5,000 votes.

If it weren't for Jia Yi's auntie fans starting to exert their efforts and vigorously promoting the song on the charts, the song's data would probably be even more dismal.

The camera, not content with just causing trouble, slammed its lens over Jia Yi and Jin Lan's faces and filmed them relentlessly.

Jia Yi tried hard to force a smile and maintain basic decorum, but he couldn't even do that; his expression was worse than crying.

Jin Lan is much better off. She has experienced many ups and downs and is no longer the loud and boisterous girl she used to be. Her mindset is much better now.

Currently, it's a foregone conclusion that the two will finish last, and both have already begun to think about what to do next.

According to the rules, songwriters have an extra layer of resurrection, so Jia Yi still has a chance. However, the singers can no longer choose him, and he can only rely on picking up the leftovers in the next round.

In that case, his partner will most likely still be Jin Lan.

If they also end up with Jin and Lan, they'll both be eliminated together.

Fortunately, Jinlan also has a resurrection item.

In the first round, she and Chen Liang both won first place, so they both have a layer of resurrection armor, and Jin Lan still has a chance.

Moreover, as a player, Jin Lan's revival privilege is equivalent to having the first priority in selecting other players.

In other words, she can choose people at the same time as the first place winner.

As long as Jin Lan doesn't choose Jia Yi, he still has a chance.

Jia Yi turned to look at Jin Lan and pursed his lips.

We absolutely cannot let ourselves be burdened by this scoundrel again.

He decided that if Jin Lan dared to glance at him and show even the slightest intention to choose him, he would angrily berate her and make her give up that idea.

Fortunately, Jin Lan seemed to know what Jia Yi was thinking, and didn't look at him at all, but instead kept secretly glancing to the side.

Jia Yi was slightly surprised, and felt a little resentful.

He was afraid that Jin Lan would choose him, but if Jin Lan didn't even want to choose him, he would feel very angry.

What? You ruined my song, so now that I can't carry you, you want to go and cling to someone else's coattails?

With your skill level, you could easily break your back by clinging to anyone's coattails!

Jia Yi cursed under his breath.

Ten minutes later, the voting screen slowly froze, and the growth slowed down.

"I Remember" remains far ahead, while Jin Lan and Jia Yi's songs are still far behind.

Yu Xiaoxiao and He Su also announced the results of the mentors' scores.

Although Ren Jinqing, as a guest, did not participate in the scoring, his opinions still greatly influenced the two mentors.

"I Remember" deserves to be ranked first in all categories, and it also received a high score of 90+ in terms of creativity.

Jia Yi and Jin Lan's songs remain far behind, failing to turn the tide in terms of ratings. Not only are their performances lacking, but their creativity has also been overshadowed by "I Remember".

With the score settled, the host returned to the stage and said:

"Okay, then the rankings are roughly determined."

"So, before announcing the next round of matches, I first have some unfortunate news to share:"

"Jin Lan, Jia Yi, you have been eliminated."

"This result is quite regrettable, but the competition is cruel, and we can only accept it."

"but--"

Just as the host was building up the atmosphere to one of profound sorrow and grief, he suddenly shifted his tone and loudly proclaimed:

"Both of you still have a chance to be revived! In the next round, you will compete in the revival match!"

"If you rank in the top two in the next round, you will have the opportunity to continue the competition; otherwise, you will be eliminated!"

Sparse applause broke out in the room. Jin Lan sniffed. Although she knew this would be the result, she was still in a much better mood.

"At the same time, Jin Lan, as a contestant, also has the right to choose first, which is equivalent to the first place winner of this round. Now, let's start the group formation!"