45: Theme Competition

There are many night owls on Friday nights, and plenty of people scroll through their phones in the middle of the night.

Liu Qian likes scrolling through TikTok before bed; he can't sleep if he doesn't check it every day.

After two hours of scrolling, he was already sleepy when, suddenly, TikTok pushed a short video to him.

"the temptation to go home? Let me see what kind of temptation this name is about."

With the intention of watching something taboo and exciting at midnight, Liu Qian started watching the video.

As he watched, Liu Qian, who had been ready to sleep, became wide awake. But once he was truly awake, he realized it was over.

"Damn, why is it gone? Ten episodes released, five minutes each. These ten episodes combined aren't even as long as a single episode of a TV show."

Liu Qian angrily turned off his phone, but after turning it off, he couldn't sleep even more. He had the feeling that if he didn't watch the next episode, he wouldn't be able to rest in peace.

Finally, he sat up in bed, distraught: "Ahhhhh, did Pinru actually die or not?"

Similarly, Liu Qian wasn't the only one who was curious.

"You are so shameless; I send these words to the director as well—why only release ten episodes?"

"Has Pinru been reborn? Is she going to destroy Hong Shixian?"

"Aili is so annoying; can Pinru slap her twice?"

"Ahhh, when will the next episode update?"

Overnight, the temptation to go home swept through like a storm, with its view count directly surpassing three million.

Wang Ning woke up in the morning and remembered to check how the video was doing. When he logged into TikTok, damn, it had exploded.

Comments and private messages were all 999+, and people were actually starting to urge for updates.

A huge wave of joy swept over him; the show he originally thought would flop had actually become a hit.

He immediately called Lu Qingyu: "Boss, it's a hit! Our show is a hit!"

Lu Qingyu had just arrived at the company to discuss the evening's performance with Chen Ting and encouraged Wang Ning a bit over the phone.

"This is due to your hard work; your contribution is indispensable."

Wang Ning was full of energy at this moment: "Don't worry, Boss, I will definitely work hard."

After hanging up, Wang Ning immediately went to work. Chen Ting asked in passing: "Was that a call from a friend?"

Lu Qingyu: "Yeah, he was recommending a web drama to me called the temptation to go home."

Chen Ting's eyes widened: "It's not good, don't watch it. I watched ten episodes last night; what a mess, the plot is melodramatic, five minutes an episode, and the acting is also terrible. Don't learn that kind of acting style."

Lu Qingyu smiled and didn't speak. Heh, if it's not good, why did you watch ten episodes?

Seeing that Lu Qingyu didn't speak, Chen Ting picked up his phone to urge for an update.

At 7 PM, the livestream pre-show started an hour early again. Lu Qingyu and Chen Ting were stuck in traffic on the way, and when he arrived, the other three contestants had already arrived.

After Lu Qingyu entered, Zhang Xiaoxiao greeted him first: "Qingyu, you're here."

Lu Qingyu nodded and sat down in the seat he had used last time.

Lu Jin remained calm at first, but when Lou Qingran took the initiative to speak to Lu Qingyu, he felt slightly broken, because from the moment he walked in until now, Lou Qingran hadn't acknowledged him at all.

Lu Jin stood with his back to the streaming equipment and silently clenched his fists. The theme of each episode of Music Partner is different, and this episode's theme is on-site original creation.

This means that within each pair of partners, one person writes the lyrics and composes the music, and the other performs the singing.

He had previously bribed a Staff Member of the Program Production Team and knew about this topic a day in advance. Therefore, he had long since found a professional lyricist to write a song for him. During the competition, he just needed to put on an act, and others would regard him as a talent. As for Lu Qingyu, Lu Jin sneered, remembering the profile he had seen on Lu Qingyu—someone who had frequently dropped out of school since childhood, with a highest Chinese language score not exceeding forty points; what kind of thing could he possibly write?

Lu Jin felt like victory was in his grasp, and he also had a little ulterior motive.

In the previous two seasons, this on-site songwriting and composing was usually done by veteran singers. They were experienced and had good musical literacy. He believed that once this topic was announced, the other three groups would also have the veteran singers write and the young singers perform, but his group would do the opposite, which would better highlight his prowess.

Lu Jin could already imagine that once this episode finished airing, his reputation would definitely reach a higher level.

Once it hit eight o'clock, the program officially started, and the guests walked to the front of the stage.

Bullet comments: "It's here, it's here! I've been waiting for my little brother for a long time."

"I'm really looking forward to this episode; I'm full of anticipation for Lu Qingyu."

"How did Lu Jin get even more handsome? The white suit suits him so well."

"Sister Qingran is still so beautiful, those long legs, *drool*."

"Xiaoxiao, fighting! The Xiaoxiao family will always support you."

The guests took their seats, and the Host began to go on stage to Host the program.

"Hello everyone, we meet again. Welcome to watching Saturday's Music Partner."

"Now, let me read the rules for this episode to everyone. This episode, we will adopt an on-site, time-limited original competition."

Hearing this rule, the veteran singers couldn't help but sigh. Although the previous season also had this format, wasn't it supposed to be placed in the final episode? Why are they playing like this in the second episode?

This format tests a singer's comprehensive quality very much; it's truly difficult, and the veteran singers are not particularly willing to touch this mode.

The Host continued: "Within each pair of partners, one person is responsible for writing the song and composing the music, and the other is responsible for performing. The time limit is two hours, and the entire process will be tracked throughout the livestream."

"The original theme for this episode is: Regret. Everyone, you may go to your exclusive music rooms. The timer starts now."

After the Host said to start, no one moved immediately because this theme was a bit difficult. If you were writing a song about love, family affection, friendship, or inspiration, everyone could have more confidence. But this "Regret" is an emotion; how can one express this kind of regret?

Zhang Xiaoxiao completely couldn't write anything. She looked at her partner: "Teacher Wang, I'll leave it to you; I can only be responsible for singing."

Teacher Wang Hai nodded; he knew Zhang Xiaoxiao's level and that she couldn't write anything at all.

Lou Qingran didn't have any ideas for a moment. Li Qingming patted her: "I'll write it; you just prepare to sing."

The first two groups decided on young singers to sing and veteran singers to write. Just when everyone thought everyone would do this, they didn't expect Lu Jin to volunteer first.

"Teacher, I also like to create in my spare time. Let me write it; I have confidence."

Sure enough, once Lu Jin's words came out, the bullet comments in his livestream room went crazy.

"Our Treasure Jin is amazing; looking forward to his work."

"Hmph, let you all witness our Treasure Jin's ability; he is the one who wrote searching for you at sixteen."

"Lu Jin is so amazing; the others all have teachers writing the lyrics, but their group is actually him writing it."

"Don't speak too soon; Lu Qingyu's group also has the young singer writing, okay?"