50: Chapter 5 Clash

Chen Shaoping, Wang Bo, and Zhou Bule walked onto the center of the stage under the spotlight.

Fang Mingjie gazed at the three people on stage.

His emotions quickly transformed from initial surprise and confusion to intense jealousy and hatred, his eyes fixed on Chen Shaoping.

It was one thing for Wang Bo to participate, but why Chen Shaoping? He only wrote two songs, what's so great about that!

A strong sense of injustice surged within him.

Lin Xin walked closer, step by step, her high heels clicking on the ground with a "kaka" sound.

She handed the microphone to Wang Bo, who was on the far left: "Please introduce yourselves."

"Hello everyone, my name is Wang Bo. I sang 'the only one,' and I hope you like it."

Wang Bo wasn't timid at all in such an occasion; instead, he was a little excited, actively introducing his song.

Xu Kun, from the first group, glared fiercely at Wang Bo upon hearing this, suppressing his displeasure.

"Hello everyone, my name is Chen Shaoping, and I am also the lyricist and composer Young Master Ping."

When he decided to participate in this show, Chen Shaoping knew that the alias Young Master Ping couldn't be hidden.

Since that was the case, he might as well admit it himself.

Chen Shaoping handed the microphone to Zhou Bule, feeling his nervousness, and gently patted his shoulder.

"H-hello everyone, my name is Zhou Bule, and I'm a si-singer."

After Zhou Bule finished his self-introduction, he was about to hand back the microphone when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

He quickly added: "A-at the same time, I'm also a lyricist."

The audience burst into laughter.

His face instantly turned red, and he lowered his head, giving off a vibe of protesting too much.

Chen Shaoping and Wang Bo stood tall and straight, their expressions calm, unaffected by Zhou Bule's mistake.

How could the host Lin Xin easily let go of such an opportunity?

She deliberately walked over to Zhou Bule, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk on her face.

"Zhou Bule, just now you introduced yourself as a singer, and then as a lyricist."

"So I'd like to ask, what songs have you sung as a singer, and what songs have you written as a lyricist?"

Chen Shaoping frowned. Why was this woman holding on so tightly? His three people hadn't offended her, had they?

Could it be that his excessive pre-competition instructions had burdened him and made him even more nervous?

The production team didn't require singers to have sung a certain number of songs, or lyricists/composers to have written a certain number of songs to participate.

Although Zhou Bule had little experience, this certainly did not violate the show's requirements for participants.

Cai Guoqiang, in the control room, saw Lin Xin's actions and sternly ordered: "Tell her to skip it quickly, don't keep pressing."

"Understood, Director Cai."

The staff quickly relayed Director Cai's message to Lin Xin.

The reminder from the director's team came through her earpiece, but Lin Xin ignored it after listening.

Her smile remained unchanged, and her gaze still aggressively fixed on Zhou Bule.

Awaiting his reply.

Zhou Bule put the microphone to his mouth, then lowered it, then put it to his mouth again, repeating this several times.

On the third try, he stammered: "I pa-participated in a singing competition, and I only just st-started learning songwriting. Young Master Ping is my teacher."

He seemed to be gradually finding his stride, continuing: "Perhaps my talent isn't enough; after learning for so long, I still haven't been able to independently complete a set of lyrics... I'm sorry, Teacher!"

Chen Shaoping smiled at Zhou Bule, "It's okay. Coming here to broaden your horizons will definitely be of great help to you in the future."

He didn't expect that someone as honest as Zhou Bule would lie when pushed too hard.

He could only go along with Zhou Bule's words.

The other lyricists and composers on stage exchanged glances, and their gazes towards Chen Shaoping contained a hint of disapproval.

So young, and daring to call himself a teacher and take on disciples with just two songs?

Lin Xin clearly didn't believe their statements, and a barely noticeable sneer played at the corner of her mouth.

"So you are a singer who hasn't released any works, and you don't have any independently written lyrics. Do you feel a lot of pressure participating in a show like this?"

Chen Shaoping understood that these words seemed to be about concern for pressure, but in reality, they questioned Zhou Bule's eligibility to participate.

He naturally took the microphone from Zhou Bule's hand, smiled, and calmly responded: "Of course there's pressure. Which group of contestants on stage doesn't have pressure?"

"Although we are young, we have lofty aspirations, and our goal is the championship."

"Zhou Bule has studied songwriting, but when he actually writes, having a teacher guide him will make the effect much better."

He looked directly at Lin Xin with a smile and continued: "It's like how we study for fifteen or sixteen, or even twenty years, but still need a mentor's guidance when writing a graduation thesis."

"At the very least, we respect originality, whether it's songs or theses, and absolutely do not piece things together or even find someone to ghostwrite."

Chen Shaoping's words made several seniors on stage secretly shake their heads, and the lyricist Xiaoxiao from Taiwan even let out a direct snort.

The audience burst into laughter, and many people were whispering.

Chen Shaoping thought to himself, Lin Xin's composure is truly impressive; at this moment, she still showed no change in expression or smile.

Lin Xin was about to speak, but Chen Shaoping hadn't finished: "We have a long-term vision, so we will put in double the effort. Thank you!!"

Seeing that Chen Shaoping had finally stopped talking, Lin Xin said: "Some things require talent; they can't be achieved through effort alone."

"However, we still wish the young people of Group Six good results."

"Now, please return to the creation rooms, contestants 1 to 6, please take your assigned seats."

The three came to the creation room. Chen Shaoping observed carefully; the creation room was simply furnished: a table, a few chairs, a keyboard/guitar, a whiteboard, paper and pens, etc.

However, the room was filled with cameras, truly achieving 360-degree, all-around, dead-angle-free monitoring.

Lin Xin on stage loudly announced: "The contestants are in place. Let's give a warm round of applause to welcome the five judges and ten public judges."

"First to appear is Teacher Liu Huan. He is the stabilizing force of our Dragon Kingdom's Chinese music scene, a famous singer, music educator, and university music professor."

"Hello everyone, I am Liu Huan. It is an honor to be a judge on this program. Thank you all."

A long-haired, broad-faced, plump man walked onto the stage and greeted everyone with a loud voice.

"Next to appear is Teacher Gu Jianfen. She is a famous composer of our country's older generation, one of the founders of Dragon Kingdom's pop music, and a true national treasure artist."

Teacher Gu appeared, and Lin Xin quickly walked two steps to help her, and even Teacher Liu Huan jogged over to support her, slowly walking towards the center of the stage.

"Hello everyone, I am Gu Jianfen."

"Don't think I'm thin now, and my back is a bit hunched, but I'm full of energy! It's not time for people to help me yet!"

Teacher Gu shook off their hands and walked steadily to her seat, step by step.

"Next to appear is Teacher Li Zhongsheng from Taiwan. He is a gold-medal music producer, singer, lyricist, and composer, a godfather-level figure in the Dragon Kingdom's Chinese music scene."

Teacher Li Zhongsheng wore glasses, had a beard, and was kind and approachable.

"Hello, host, Teacher Liu, Teacher Gu, and all the audience. My name is Li Zhongsheng, from Taiwan, Dragon Kingdom."

He walked down the steps, shook hands with Teacher Liu and Teacher Gu one by one, before taking his seat.

Lin Xin stood at the center of the stage and continued to introduce: "Let's give a warm round of applause to welcome the fourth judge. She is our country's famous singer, composer, and philanthropist."

"Has everyone guessed who she is? She is..."