55: Chapter 55 makes its grand finale appearance.

As soon as Xu Kun said this, the crowd's reaction was quite spectacular.

Lin Xin looked at him with relief, inwardly praising him for being clever and having quick reflexes.

His fans were even more indignant:

"Our Kun Kun is already working so hard, what more do you want?"

"Exactly! It's all Liu Xue and Ji Ping's fault. Why would they write such high-pitched songs? Isn't this just trying to make our Kun Kun look bad?"

"Person above, you're right. I'm going to the Tiantian Media official website to start a petition to have the company replace these two malicious people. If they dare to backstab our Kun Kun, we have to let them know how powerful we are."

Offstage, Qu Yang, who had already finished his performance, was focused on watching the competition. He murmured under his breath, "Teacher Fang, now I understand why my popularity is always a step behind his—my skin isn't as thick as his, and I'm not as shameless."

He paused and added with a slight smile, "However, I'm glad I didn't turn out like him."

Fang Shuo pushed up the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

"This kind of person won't stay popular for long; it's easy for them to get into trouble."

He was getting on in years and hadn't originally wanted to participate in this kind of competitive program.

However, his brother and sister-in-law insisted that he mentor his nephew. He found it hard to refuse and had no choice but to agree.

Otherwise, at his age, having people judge and point fingers at him was something he truly disliked.

He would rather take his works and seek advice in private than continue to show his face in public.

Still, there was one thing to be relieved about.

His nephew Fang Mingjie's songwriting skills were indeed improving. If only he could fix that habit of looking down on others and being so arrogant.

Chen Shaoping looked at Xu Kun on stage, constantly asking himself how such a person could become a top-tier star.

Such an effeminate person, with no singing ability and no manners, who spent all day applying makeup, was constantly "harvesting" young fans.

Shouldn't this abnormal phenomenon be reversed?

Teacher Han Hong had really seen it all today; so this was how "shifting the blame" could be done.

According to this logic, failing to hit the high notes wasn't one's own problem, but rather someone else intentionally making things difficult?

Fortunately, Liu Xue and Ji Ping were from the same entertainment company as Xu Kun, otherwise, tomorrow's entertainment headlines would definitely be...

"Conspiracy: Two treacherous and selfish seniors, a certain Ms. Liu and a certain Mr. Ji, joined forces to frame the rising superstar Mr. Xu..."

Han Hong was just about to say a few more words, but she didn't expect Teacher Gu Jianfen to beat her to it.

She looked up at the young man on stage, the wrinkles on her forehead appearing even more daunting because of her frown.

"You blame the teachers who composed and wrote the lyrics for your voice cracking? Were the dance at the beginning and the movements at the end also designed for you by those two teachers?"

"A wretched sequel to a masterpiece. You've turned a grand and magnificent work into something neither fish nor fowl, like a child playing with mud."

"When a teacher points out your problems, you have a mountain of excuses. You're rude and self-righteous."

Gu Jianfen's words were incredibly sharp, directly tearing away Xu Kun's ugly mask.

Teacher Han Hong immediately expressed her agreement, standing up to applaud Teacher Gu's critique.

Soon, several of the judges stood up and applauded together.

Some members of the audience followed suit and began to clap.

The sound of applause rippled through the air.

Though it wasn't a lot, it was there.

Xu Kun lowered his head, his face ashen. He desperately wanted to film some videos of himself acting cute and aggrieved for his fans right then and there.

He wanted his fans to help him regain his dignity.

But for now, he could only think about it; he couldn't do it yet.

The scene fell into an awkward silence for a moment.

The host, Lin Xin, stepped forward to break the eerie atmosphere. With a forced smile, she said, "Thank you to Teacher Han and Teacher Gu for their evaluations. Now, let's cast our scores for this song, 'the great yellow river.'"

"Before we score, I'd like to remind the members of the review panel that the judges have provided sharp insights from a professional perspective."

"Now, the decision is in the hands of our hundred-person review panel. Please follow your inner feelings and cast your precious vote."

Under her enthusiastic and passionate guidance, 'the great yellow river' ultimately received 133 votes...

Among them, the judges gave 38 votes, and the review panel gave 95 votes.

Teacher Han Hong gave 7 votes, and specifically noted that these votes were entirely for the song itself and had nothing to do with the performance.

Chen Shaoping silently gave Teacher Han Hong a thumbs-up in his heart; he admired people with the character to speak the truth.

Upon returning backstage, Xu Kun was furious and gave the wall a vicious kick.

Because this score meant he had already lost the chance to compete for first place.

It was a far cry from the scenario he had imagined before joining the show, where he would take first place in every episode as if he were just withdrawing money from CCTV.

In his heart, he deeply resented Liu Xue and Ji Ping, and he made up his mind to replace these "two ungrateful traitors" as soon as he returned to the company.

The fifth to take the stage was Zhang Zhe from Taiwan's Faith Music.

The song he performed was called 'Sun Moon Lake.' Both the arrangement and the lyrics could only be considered mediocre, and he ended up with a score of 114 votes.

After Zhang Zhe left the stage, Lin Xin began to introduce the next group of contestants.

"Time always slips away quietly, and tonight's program is nearing its end. Let's welcome the final group of contestants with warm applause—they are also today's headliners."

"The song they've brought us is called 'rain flower stone.'"

Wang Bo and Zhou Bule were both dressed in white, standing on the stage. They looked slightly nervous as they quietly waited for the accompaniment to begin.

Chen Shaoping stood offstage, looking at the two of them as if he were watching two children heading off to war.

He pondered in his heart how to reward them if they performed excellently, and how to punish them if they fell short.

Zhou Bule: "The rain flutters gently, my heart burns like fire. Whose tears are those, swirling softly on the face?"

Wang Bo: "The stone's love for the rain is like the blue sea. Though there are ten thousand words, I don't know how to confess."

In just two short lines, the lyrics depicted the wandering of the rain and the steadfastness of the stone.

The blue sea symbolized the stone's tolerance and unchanging vigil for the rain.

Zhou Bule: "Hey, where are you? Hey, I can't see you."

Wang Bo: "I am a tiny stone, buried deep within the soil."

Under Wang Bo's clear and bright high notes, one could clearly feel the determination to be content with being ordinary and to wait in silence.

It was easy for people to resonate with it.

Zhou Bule: "A thousand years later, when the prosperity ends, I will still be waiting for you in the wind and rain."

Zhou Bule's feminine singing style placed this love within the vast river of time, transcending worldly brevity and mundanity, praising an eternal, resilient, and fearless vigil.

Together: "I am still waiting for you in the soil (waiting for you)..."

...

After finishing the song, Zhou Bule and Wang Bo looked at each other with satisfied smiles on their faces.

Regarding this song, Chen Shaoping felt that Wang Bo's performance wasn't as good as Zhou Bule's, but it was already very good and was the result he wanted.

Fang Mingjie's face was deeply clouded. He hadn't expected Chen Shaoping to be Young Master Ping, nor that he could write songs so well and so quickly by himself.

No wonder Wang Bo and Zhang Ying had refused his song invitations.

On the other side.

At the Yangcheng Hot Bar, Li Wei had just finished a song and rushed into the restroom, repeatedly sticking her finger down her throat.

She had to vomit up all the beer she had just drunk, otherwise she wouldn't be able to hold on later.

After finishing everything, she returned to the breakroom, where her friend Hu Wen shouted happily.

"Weiwei, come quick! Your ex-boyfriend is on a CCTV program, he's so handsome!"