148: The older generation is oppressive.

Chen Shuangyu chose one of his original songs, and this performance was its debut.

His operatic vocal style was very pleasant to the ear. Lu Qingyu was just immersing himself in the song when Teacher Zhang's voice suddenly came through his earpiece.

"He's been debuted for quite a few years now, but what kind of garbage is he singing? Bel canto is so old-fashioned; it'd be a miracle if anyone liked listening to it."

Zhang Yabo didn't realize his mic was still on, so his voice clearly reached the ears of the other guests. Fortunately, Chen Shuangyu had changed his earpiece before going on stage, so he wasn't affected.

Lu Qingyu frowned. So this was the conduct of the legendary kind-hearted, high-quality senior of the music industry. The circle really is a mess.

The other two guests heard it as well. A flash of disbelief appeared on their faces, but they quickly returned to normal and continued listening to the song as if nothing had happened.

The people in the control room were speechless and turned off Zhang Yabo's mic.

After Chen Shuangyu finished his performance, he received a final score of 871, two points lower than Xiao Mingjie.

However, when he stepped off the stage, Xiao Mingjie gave Chen Shuangyu a very warm, big hug.

It was the third performer's turn, and Zhang Yabo walked onto the stage with a confident smile on his face.

Today, he was singing a song called "Hope for the Future." He had spent over 3 million to have someone write the lyrics and compose the music. The theme of the song was to call on everyone to care more for vulnerable groups.

The Staff Members behind him had already started buying bot accounts to boost hot search topics. Zhang Yabo hoped this song would become a classic—ideally, one that people would perform or use as background music whenever there was a charity event.

That way, not only would he become famous, but he would also make a fortune just from copyright fees.

On stage, Zhang Yabo began to sing. With its lyrical rhythm and moving lyrics, it was indeed a decent song.

[A-Bo is so kind-hearted. This is a song he specifically wrote for the Program Production Team; it's full of sincerity.]

[It sounds great. This song is bound to take first place.]

[This is Zhang Yabo, who peaked the moment he debuted. Once this level of performance comes out, it raises the entire program to another level.]

[Who doesn't know the story of Zhang Yabo's first album selling out a hundred thousand copies in two days?]

[Sounds like he's really amazing.]

Zhang Yabo's bots were not only boosting hot search topics but also constantly educating netizens on his past glorious achievements, which indeed piqued the curiosity of many netizens.

Before Zhang Yabo could even finish his song, Weibo hot search topics had already appeared.

#ASeniorIsASenior#, #PeakAtDebut#, #ZhangYabosStrength#—nearly five hashtags were all about Zhang Yabo.

The Staff Member monitoring the data in the control room showed the trending hashtags to the director.

"So many hot searches? What about the data?"

The data monitoring Staff Member shrugged: "No significant change."

The director looked speechless and wanted to roll his eyes. Normally, if a singer's popularity was exceptionally high and hot searches appeared during the performance, the show's ratings would definitely be very high—at the very least, the number of live viewers should explode. Yet, five hot searches for Zhang Yabo had appeared, but the playback data showed no fluctuations. They must be bought hot searches.

After Zhang Yabo finished singing, the judging panel cast their scores.

The big screen flickered, and the final score was 928, fifty-five points higher than Xiao Mingjie!

Looking at this score, Zhang Yabo puffed out his chest and smiled confidently. If he wasn't the champion, then who could be?

The Host looked at the score and felt happy for the guest.

"Teacher Zhang, congratulations on obtaining 928 points. This is currently the highest score."

Zhang Yabo picked up the mic: "I'm a very laid-back person with no competitive heart, but I want to do my part for the children in the mountains, so I will definitely win today's championship."

Zhang Yabo put on a soulful expression for the camera: "Children, don't worry, I will definitely secure this fund for you."

Lu Qingyu gave a fake smile for the first time. If she hadn't heard that sentence in the earpiece just now, even Lu Rou would have been fooled by him.

The next one to perform was Lu Rou. Lu Rou sang one of her representative works, a Cantonese song.

Although it was also very beautiful, this song didn't have an advantage in a competition. Lu Rou's votes weren't low, exceeding nine hundred as well.

The final vote count was 902.

Zhang Yabo was now full of confidence. He signaled Brother Wang offstage to prepare the marketing for his victory and winning the fund for the Hope Primary School.

Brother Wang nodded and sent a message on his phone. At this moment, Lu Qingyu took the stage.

[Little Brother is here, he's finally here.]

[I've been waiting! If Little Brother didn't sing soon, I was going to uninstall my music player.]

[So excited! What is Little Brother singing today?]

[Ahhh, cheering for Little Brother!]

As Lu Qingyu stepped onto the stage, the number of live viewers rapidly soared from the original 11 million to 15 million. The Staff Member monitoring the backend data couldn't resist taking out their phone to snap a photo.

"Director, look at this big data curve. It's beautiful."

The director took a look, and a flash of amazement crossed his eyes: "This is true traffic. If only my stock data looked like this."

Staff Member: "Director, it's time to buy more of that stock you have to lower your average cost."

Director: --- Zhang Yabo looked at Lu Qingyu on stage. To look good when the camera panned to him, he kept a fake smile on his face, though the disdain and contempt in his eyes couldn't be hidden.

Zhang Yabo couldn't help but want to laugh when he thought about how Brother Wang had told him to be careful of Lu Qingyu earlier. His song was written specifically for the program's theme. He had also searched for and listened to Lu Qingyu's songs online; he admitted Lu Qingyu wasn't a bad singer, but he was still too green compared to himself.

An unfamiliar melody began on stage. Zhang Yabo was stunned. Was Lu Qingyu also going to sing a new song? It seemed he knew he couldn't win the championship and wanted to use the platform to promote his music.

Zhang Yabo was dreaming of becoming a god with one song, but he would soon be unable to smile, because this song "Wishing" would deal him a heavy blow.

"You are the distant road,"

"The lantern in the mountain mist."

"I am a child, walking in your gaze."

"You are the bright moon and the clear breeze,"

"I am the dream you nurture."

"Whether we meet or not, I will embrace you for a lifetime."

Lu Qingyu sang with deep focus. The lyrics were gentle, like a breeze brushing against the heart, creating ripples.

The fresh melody combined with the realistic yet poetic lyrics made the judging panel listen intently.

They had previously thought Lu Qingyu would sing one of his famous songs, but why did it feel like this song of his was also written specifically for the program?

On stage, Lu Qingyu continued to sing:

"And I will love the world you love,"

"Wish for the smiles you wished for."

"Holding your hand as I stumble along,"

"Please lead me to tomorrow."

"If you once suffered for my sweetness,"

"I am willing to live as your wish."

"May it not be in vain, may we go forward bravely, every day of this flourishing age."

Although the lyrics didn't directly state a love for this world, it was reflected everywhere. Some members of the judging panel were moved to tears.

Su Qiang's eyes welled up. As one of the judges, he felt the emotions in the lyrics too deeply. A small portion of the hundred-person judging panel were employees of the Program Production Team; they were responsible for searching for people in need of help across Dragon Kingdom and submitting them to the program.

The Program Production Team received over a hundred such groups, and in each episode, five groups were randomly selected.