147: Public service program competition

After the control room finished talking, Lu Qingyu was led to the backstage lounge.

When he entered the lounge, there were already three people inside. Seeing a newcomer, all three stood up, and Lu Qingyu went over to greet them one by one.

Lu Rou said to Lu Qingyu in Hong Kong-accented Mandarin, "Teacher Lu, I've heard your song. 'dispelling sorrow' is really good."

Lu Rou had a kind smile on her face. Feeling the friendly interaction, Lu Qingyu naturally replied with a smile:

"Hello, Teacher Lu. Thank you for liking my work."

Before coming, Su Jixing had already shown Lu Qingyu the profiles of all the teachers. After greeting each other, they sat and waited. At 7:50, the control desk asked the four of them to go to the stage; the program was about to start.

Seeing only four teachers and one missing, Chen Shuangyu subconsciously blurted out, "Aren't there five people? The other one is Teacher Zhang Yabo, right? Hasn't he arrived yet?"

The Staff Member leading them to the front stage cursed eight hundred times in their heart. They had notified all the guests that the live broadcast started at 7:30. Lu Qingyu, fearing he'd be late, had called the station to report in and arrived early. Zhang Yabo, on the other hand, was unreachable with only ten minutes left before the show.

In all his previous activities, Zhang Yabo never arrived early to show off his status as the lead; instead, being late emphasized how busy his career was. But he forgot this was CCTV and pretentiously tried the same trick here.

The guests were already seated at the front. With five minutes left, the director was fuming and about to curse when Zhang Yabo finally appeared.

After arriving, Zhang Yabo put on an act: "Sorry, everyone. I'm late; the schedule was just too tight."

Seeing him, the director suppressed his anger: "Teacher Zhang is here. Get him a microphone and take him straight to the guest seats."

When Zhang Yabo reached the guest seats, there were three minutes left on the countdown. Everyone gave him a brief greeting.

Xiao Mingjie, Chen Shuangyu, and Zhang Yabo were old acquaintances, but they didn't really like him. They just exchanged polite greetings for appearance's sake.

When Lu Qingyu introduced himself, Zhang Yabo pretended to talk to others, ignoring him to make him feel awkward. Noticing this, Lu Qingyu simply withdrew his hand, deciding this person wasn't worth his time.

Zhang Yabo looked at Lu Qingyu with contempt. Brother Wang had told him to be careful of Lu Qingyu, but what was there to worry about with a rookie who had only debuted for a year?

Music played on stage, and the program began. The Host started introducing the five groups to be sponsored this episode.

"Hello everyone, I'm the Host, Xiao Chen. The five groups we are sponsoring this time are: 82 students from Hope Primary School, 29 empty-nest elderly people from Youshu Village, 16 children with heart disease in the plateau region, 13 single-parent families in the border region, and 35 children with Down syndrome from the orphanage."

"Which organization will receive the one-million-yuan fund from the Program Production Team today depends on the singers. Now, please choose the group you wish to represent."

There were five crystal tablets on stage, each engraved with a different group. The singers needed to step forward and choose. As the five of them stood up, Zhang Yabo unceremoniously walked ahead of everyone and chose Hope Primary School.

Hope Primary School had the most people. If he won, he could go there with the Program Production Team to present the one-million-yuan fund. Then, groups of children would give him their drawings to show their gratitude, which would be excellent material for public relations.

As for the empty-nest elderly, he'd probably have to visit them door-to-door, which would be exhausting. And children with Down syndrome—he didn't want to interact with a bunch of 'idiots' who couldn't even express their thanks properly. And the single-parent families didn't sound tragic enough, so he didn't choose them.

Zhang Yabo thought he had chosen the best one; the others saw through him but said nothing.

Except for Zhang Yabo, everyone else was humble and took the crystal tablets in the order of their seating. Lu Qingyu took the one for the 13 single-parent families in the border region.

Lu Rou took the empty-nest elderly, Xiao Mingjie took the orphanage, and Chen Shuangyu took the children with heart disease in the plateau region.

With everything ready, the competition began.

The Host said, "Now that everyone has chosen, the program officially begins. This episode is broadcast live, with one hundred judges on-site. Each judge gives up to ten points, for a total of one thousand points. The first place will be determined by the scores."

"The performance order is at the bottom of your crystal tablets. Please take a look."

They immediately picked up their crystal tablets, and sure enough, there was a number.

Xiao Mingjie was first, Chen Shuangyu second, Zhang Yabo third, Lu Rou fourth, and Lu Qingyu fifth.

Xiao Mingjie looked nervous after seeing the order. Heavens, he was actually first.

"What should I do? I'm starting to sweat."

Chen Shuangyu comforted him, "It's okay, Brother Xiao. You'll definitely be fine."

Xiao Mingjie was nervous because he represented the children in the orphanage, and he wanted to win the one-million-yuan fund for them.

Zhang Yabo was already determined to win the championship. He said to Xiao Mingjie, "Xiao Xiao, there's no use being nervous. Strength is what really matters."

Xiao Mingjie gave Zhang Yabo a standard fake smile, thinking, 'If you don't speak, no one will think you're a mute.'

Xiao Mingjie stood on stage. The song he prepared today was a ballad, a very popular song currently, sung in the vocal range he was best at. Everyone was soon immersed in his singing.

Lu Qingyu listened to the song leisurely; moments like this should be enjoyed.

Xiao Mingjie's voice was deep and textured. As expected of someone who had been singing for ten years, his skill was truly excellent.

After Xiao Mingjie finished singing, thunderous applause erupted from the audience. The Host went on stage to ask the one hundred judges to score.

Xiao Mingjie stood nervously on stage. A minute later, the judges' scores were collected, and the Host continued:

"Now, Teacher Xiao's scoring is finished. Let's see how many points Teacher Xiao finally received."

The numbers on the big screen kept jumping. Xiao Mingjie's heart was in his throat when the screen suddenly froze.

"873 points. Congratulations, Teacher Xiao."

Looking at the score, Xiao Mingjie let out a long sigh of relief. He had seen previous episodes where the highest score was around 890. The first performer usually had to warm up the stage, so they typically got around 840. Although he might not win first place, this score was respectable.

Xiao Mingjie: "Thank you, everyone."

After speaking, Xiao Mingjie walked off the stage.

The second performer was Chen Shuangyu.