Chapter 24: Wang Tianqi Takes the Stage!
The song Liu Ruyun was singing was none other than the hottest original hit at the moment, “I Really, Really Love You.” Letters slowly appeared on the giant screen.
Title: “I Really, Really Love You”
Performed by: Liu Ruyun
Lyrics: Chen Feng
Music: Chen Feng
Arrangement: Chen Feng
Mixing: Chen Feng
Liu Ruyun’s voice was truly pleasant. She stood center stage in a black evening gown, her tone clear and melodious as she sang, “Once you said you’d walk with me, so far, so far.”
She had barely sung the first line when the live chat exploded: “Wow, the live version is amazing! Yun Yun really has diva potential!”
The audience quieted, all eyes fixed on the lyrics displayed on the screen.
Even Shen Xian had to admit that Liu Ruyun was talented. She had an uncanny ability to grasp the emotion in every lyric. If she weren’t such a heartbreaker, with Shen Xian’s current resources, she could easily be pushed to stardom, perhaps even surpass Zhou Wan. But there are no “ifs” in this world.
To become a diva, one needs not only massive influence in the music industry, but also awards to their name. Zhou Wan, in just a few years since her debut, had claimed the top spot on the Golden Song Awards, ranked among the annual Top Ten Most Popular Singers, topped the Hot Songs chart, and was one of the most influential artists in the Mandopop scene…
Liu Ruyun had none of these accolades. So she remained just a first-tier singer.
Soon, Liu Ruyun finished her song and stood quietly, waiting for the judges’ feedback.
“I’ve always loved Liu Ruyun’s voice. This song—I've listened to it a lot lately, and it’s truly wonderful,” the first judge said, raising his score card. “So, I give a ten!”
The second judge commented, “This song has dominated the new releases chart, the hot songs chart, and the trending chart recently. But the lyrics and melody lack depth, so I’ll give it an eight.”
The third, fourth, and fifth judges didn’t comment but simply raised their cards, awarding her a high score of nine.
This round’s advancement mechanism relied on both the judges’ scores and the audience votes. If the votes were high enough but the judges’ scores didn’t meet the threshold, advancement was still impossible.
“Now, let’s invite the audience to vote!” the host called out.
The audience began casting their votes, and the final tally appeared on the screen: 811 votes!
Host Wang Ling announced, “Now, let’s reveal Miss Liu Ruyun’s score and votes: 45 points from the judges, 811 audience votes!”
Liu Ruyun let out a sigh of relief.
Both the score and the votes marked her highest achievement since debuting.
To think, at Shen Xian’s peak, he too participated in a variety show, but only managed 700 votes and a judges’ score of 40.
“Thank you, Chen Feng.” As she stepped off the stage, Liu Ruyun looked at Chen Feng with genuine emotion.
Chen Feng smiled slightly. “No need to thank me.”
He then cast a proud glance toward Shen Xian, only to find Shen Xian sitting beside Ning Cai, chatting incessantly.
Ning Cai frowned, tilting her head at Shen Xian, silent.
Shen Xian was grumbling about Liu Ruyun’s song, “How can this even be called a song? It’s just bubblegum pop.”
Ning Cai said nothing.
Shen Xian continued, “President Ning, remember our deal: if Wang Tianqi places today, the eighty million in breach-of-contract fees won’t be pursued, right? Every morning I wake up, I can’t eat, thinking about owing eighty million.”
Ning Cai replied, “I know.”
“Do you think Liu Sheng will win?” Shen Xian pressed.
Ning Cai’s face was expressionless. “He’ll most likely be eliminated in the first round, but that’s fine. I just want him to show his face today.”
“I heard he offended some big shot in the entertainment industry. Aren’t you worried?” Shen Xian asked.
Ning Cai remained robotic. “I dared to take you on, why would I fear that? Your reputation is worse than his. You’ve stacked all the debuffs.”
Shen Xian laughed. “Those are all slanders. President Ning, have some water.”
As he spoke, he twisted open his bottled water and handed it to Ning Cai, even thoughtfully preparing a wet wipe and placing it in her hand.
Ning Cai took a sip, and Shen Xian quickly took the bottle back, screwed the cap on, and helped her wipe her hands.
He was practically fawning.
Many noticed Shen Xian’s actions and scoffed, but Shen Xian paid them no mind.
What’s wrong with a man being attentive?
What’s wrong?
Bold, meticulous, thick-skinned—these are the strongest skills in any relationship, don’t you know?
Soon, it was Liu Sheng’s turn.
He sang his signature song from twenty years ago.
His voice was magnetic, a little husky—a classic “smoky” tone.
When the scoring came, the judges gave him scores of six and seven.
Clearly, they knew whom he had offended and dared not grant higher marks.
Audience votes were low, just over five hundred.
It was obvious he would be eliminated in the first round.
After stepping off stage, Liu Sheng didn’t seem disappointed, remaining upbeat. “Sorry, President Ning, I let you down.”
Ning Cai replied, “There’s nothing to be disappointed about. This is your first appearance after being sidelined. That’s already a success.”
When the director’s team saw Ning Cai’s list, they hesitated for a long time.
They finally called the entertainment industry bigwig, saying Ning Cai wanted Liu Sheng to participate.
The bigwig replied, “Let him compete. I want to see how many eyes Ning Cai has.”
Next, the singers took turns on stage, and Wang Tianqi began feeling nervous.
Time dragged on, the judges’ seats became uncomfortable, and the audience started losing patience.
If not for Wang Tianqi still waiting to perform, many would have left early.
Wang Tianqi was getting more anxious.
In the live chat, comments floated by: “When is Wang Tianqi going up?”
“Can Wang Tianqi hurry up? I need to pick up my kid.”
“Let’s see what Wang Tianqi can do!”
“Almost there, only two singers ahead of Wang Tianqi!”
Unexpectedly, the live broadcast’s popularity didn’t drop; instead, more viewers flooded in.
Many shared the stream.
Even official media began reporting: “Update from ‘Singer’—Wang Tianqi is about to perform!”
“Will the bar singer wow the audience?”
“Will Wang Tianqi rise, or become a casualty of the Shen Xian affair?”
The Li family.
Li Xiurong was watching the live broadcast, hands clenched with anxiety.
Notably, the singer performing before Wang Tianqi was the soon-to-be king, Zhang Cheng’an, who scored 48 from the judges and a staggering 913 audience votes!
Su Ying and Tan Jie also scored high: 46 points, 897 votes; 47 points, 892 votes.
“Now, let’s welcome our final contestant, from Yu’an Media—Wang Tianqi!” Host Wang Ling announced loudly.