116: Program begins

He was professionally trained, having dedicated seven or eight years to studying music, and had composed over a hundred original works.

He just lacked an opportunity to let everyone see his worth.

If Lu Qingyu were truly a judge, he would be the first to refuse to accept it. A mere greenhorn with high traffic—what qualifications did he have to be a judge?

How far one can go still depends on strength; luck is only temporary.

"I believe that everyone here, aside from those traffic singers pushed by capital just to make money, has real talent."

When Wang Tong mentioned the words "capital" and "traffic singers," his eyes drifted toward Zhao Xinyu, and everyone understood what was going on.

Zhao Xinyu remained silent. In his heart, he felt angry and aggrieved by this situation. He had endured his fair share of cold shoulders over the years. In the past, he would have argued back, but life had taught him the only lesson that mattered: until you have the strength, don't stick your neck out.

Sooner or later, he would prove himself to everyone with his own strength.

At 7:55, the director notified the guests in the lounge that the show was about to start and asked everyone to get ready.

Hearing the director, the group stopped talking and returned to their seats to prepare the songs they would perform on stage later.

In front of the stage, Lu Qingyu had also arrived. The judges' seats and the investor seats were connected, totaling ten seats across two rows.

Lu Qingyu sat in the fifth seat of the first row. Glancing across the ten people, everyone's gaze would subconsciously fall on Lu Qingyu.

It couldn't be helped; he was young and handsome. The youngest of the other judges was 32, and as for the investor delegation, it went without saying that they were all middle-aged men over 40.

Lu Qingyu sat in this seat very comfortably; he felt that this job Su Jixing had arranged for him was truly great.

Once eight o'clock arrived, the show began. The Host first introduced the lineup of judges and the investor delegation on stage.

When the camera panned to Lu Qingyu, the audience suddenly let out screams an octave higher than before.

This was enough to show his current level of popularity.

The synchronized live broadcast also hit its first climax the moment Lu Qingyu appeared.

"Ahhhh, my little brother is so handsome."

"Finally he's out! It's been so long since I saw little brother on a variety show."

"Who is this handsome person? Oh, it's Lu Qingyu. Wait, am I seeing this right? Is little brother not a judge today, but part of the investor delegation?"

Because the seats for the four main judges and the investor delegation were the same and they were all sitting together, and Lu Qingyu was in the first row—if counting from right to left, he was effectively in the first seat—everyone almost thought he was the main judge when they first saw him.

It wasn't until the Host finished the introductions that everyone realized he wasn't.

"A bit mind-blowing!"

"Yesterday, my friends were all guessing whether little brother would be a guest or a judge. It turns out they were all wrong; little brother is the financial backer."

"Case solved: little brother is purely here to listen to songs."

"What a pity, I thought I'd be able to hear little brother sing."

After introducing the judges and the investor delegation, the show officially began, and the Host announced the first guest to take the stage.

The first guest was Wang Simiao, a singer who had debuted four years ago. His signature work was a love song about a breakup, which he had written during his senior year of college. It had been moderately popular for a while, and thanks to that song, he signed with an agency after graduation, but his subsequent works hadn't really broken into the mainstream.

However, his musical foundation was good; he could play the guitar and piano, and knew a little bit about arrangement.

The music started on stage, with a soothing rhythm slowly unfolding.

Wang Simiao stood in the center of the stage and began to sing slowly. His voice was deep and rich; the moment he started, it felt as if many fans who had heard the song before were transported back four years.

Lu Qingyu leaned back in his chair naturally, occasionally tapping his fingers on the chair to the rhythm.

Wang Simiao had 500,000 followers on Weibo. Although it wasn't many, they were all long-time fans who had accompanied him for four years.

When the song ended, the audience's reaction was very enthusiastic, giving Wang Simiao affirmation for his music.

Seeing the enthusiastic reaction of the audience, Wang Simiao let out a long sigh of relief from his chest. He had been very nervous since getting on stage, but fortunately, he hadn't made any mistakes.

After the Host went on stage to interact with Wang Simiao for a few moments, he asked the judges to start scoring.

The four judges on stage—three men and one woman—were all teachers who had been in the music industry for over ten years. Each person held the power of 10 votes, while each member of the investor delegation held 5 votes.

Among the four judges, two provided comments on Wang Simiao. They acknowledged Wang Simiao's musical level but also pointed out some issues.

Wang Simiao humbly accepted the teachers' comments on stage.

After the four judges finished their comments, under normal circumstances, they would proceed directly to scoring. However, because Lu Qingyu was sitting with the investor delegation and the director hoped to leverage Lu Qingyu's traffic, the director had instructed the Host via earpiece in advance that even after the four judges had spoken, he should still interact with Lu Qingyu to give Lu Qingyu a sense of participation.

After receiving the prompt, the Host asked Lu Qingyu separately after the other judges had finished their comments.

"Teacher Lu, do you have any comments on Wang Simiao's performance?"

Lu Qingyu was stunned when his name was mentioned. Wasn't he supposed to just enjoy himself today? Why did he have to provide comments?

However, since the Host had already asked him, Lu Qingyu had to cooperate.

Lu Qingyu picked up the microphone. Everyone looked at him, wondering what kind of comments Lu Qingyu would give Wang Simiao.

Then, amidst the anticipation of the masses, Lu Qingyu slowly uttered only two words.

"Very good!"

The Host waited on stage for Lu Qingyu's next sentence, but after waiting for three seconds, he realized that after saying the two words "Very good," Lu Qingyu had put down the microphone.

"???" That was it?

Host: "Teacher Lu, are you finished with your comments?"

Lu Qingyu smiled and nodded. Just kidding; he wasn't a judge today, so he wasn't going to do the kind of thing that involved nitpicking others and offending people.

The Host laughed awkwardly twice and then announced that Wang Simiao had received 58 votes. Lu Qingyu had five votes in his hand, and he cast all five for Wang Simiao.

Wang Simiao left the stage satisfied, but the people backstage felt even more disdain in their hearts when they saw Lu Qingyu's behavior.

"I told you he wouldn't be able to provide any real comments. A person who hasn't even debuted for a year—what kind of musical appreciation could he possibly have?"

Wang Tong watched the screen backstage as it cut to Lu Qingyu, and a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

He had been silent in the industry for too long and desperately needed an opportunity to prove himself, and Lu Qingyu could perfectly serve as his stepping stone.