Chapter 54: Mentor's Critique, The Outcome Decided (Please Vote and Keep Reading)

Liang Yusong continued his commentary: “Actually, what I admire most about Fang Xing isn’t just his vocal skills.

“What’s even more remarkable is that he didn’t try to steal all the spotlight on stage.

“In the second chorus, he raised the key by two steps and gave Lu Ming a chance to shine.

“Their harmonies—absolutely up to the standard of a first-rate choir.

“Lu Ming, you really should thank Fang Xing. Your team is a combination where one plus one is greater than two.

“You’re both numbers, and Fang Xing is the ‘greater than’ sign.

“At first, I thought it would be tough for you to win this round against the united Chao Yin Five, but now I see I underestimated Fang Xing’s abilities.”

When Liang Yusong finished, He Hao turned to Chen Chaonan: “Just now, I noticed that you were frowning. Do you have a different opinion?”

Chen Chaonan pondered a moment before replying, “How should I put this? Judging from a musical standpoint, there’s almost nothing to criticize. Within your capabilities, you gave your very best, but…”

He Hao raised an eyebrow, interjecting, “I knew there’d be a ‘but’—did you and Yusong swap styles today? Let’s hear it, but what?”

Adopting a more serious tone, Chen Chaonan continued, “Fang Xing, today your High C was, strictly by professional vocal standards, a passing grade.

“But you know better than anyone how much strain you put on your vocal cords.

“That’s not how your teachers at school taught you, is it?

“Pushing your voice to hit that High C at the expense of your vocal cords may get you there now, but how many years do you think you can keep singing like this?

“If you keep singing this way, your voice will give out before you’re thirty—before you reach the golden age for tenors. Do you think it’s worth it?”

Fang Xing nodded in gratitude, “Thank you for your guidance, teacher. Tonight’s singing style did push my vocal cords, but I won’t sing like this often. Tonight was just a small test of my limits; my voice is still within what I can handle.”

Chen Chaonan, hearing this, finally eased his serious expression and went on, “As much as it pains me, from a technical standpoint, the section around the High C in the chorus really showed a solid foundation.

“Sometimes, it’s understandable to go all out for an important stage, but if you want to achieve something in vocal music, you must protect your voice.”

He paused, then looked at the other team members. “Lu Ming, your high notes are much steadier than last time. It shows you’ve been focusing on practicing the D5 and E5 range recently.

“It’s good to settle down and practice. Keep it up, and you’ll see results.

“Last time, Yusong gave you very sound advice. Your voice lacks thickness in the fourth octave, but there really aren’t many with your timbre in the fifth octave here.

“In vocal music, the most important thing is to find your direction and develop your own talents and vocal qualities. Only then can you stand out.

“Of course, as a vocal coach, I can only offer suggestions; it’s up to you to decide which path to take.”

“Thank you, mentor.”

Lu Ming bowed to express his gratitude, though inside he was still unsure whether he should focus on the fifth octave.

…

Finally, when it was Shen Xiyin’s turn to comment, she couldn’t stop praising them, both thumbs enthusiastically raised in approval.

After Shen Xiyin finished, He Hao took over to guide the show’s flow:

“Both teams have finished their performances, and both were truly spectacular. In the end, who will emerge victorious?

“On one side, we have the united Chao Yin Five, the alliance of popular contestants, with their explosive dance track ‘Reckless Youth.’

“On the other, we have the heavenly, unbeatable voices of ‘The Wind Rises,’ a performance the mentors couldn’t stop praising.

“First, let’s have Wu Junchen’s team stand on my left, and on my right, Fang Xing’s team.

“Who will win the approval of the live audience and the professional judges? Let’s go to a commercial break.

“Just kidding—let’s look at the big screen and reveal the teams’ power scores live.

“The power score is determined by both the live audience and the judges—70% from the audience, 30% from the professionals.”

Following He Hao’s gesture to the right, the audience saw the big screen displaying the names of the two performances: ‘Reckless Youth’ and ‘The Wind Rises.’

Beside the song titles, two power-score bars appeared.

Both bars began to rise from zero.

They quickly broke 100 almost simultaneously, each overtaking the other in turn.

He Hao continued to build the atmosphere: “It’s a fierce competition—neither side is giving an inch! Who will come out on top? Let’s wait and see.

“Seven hundred! Both teams have passed seven hundred and are still climbing.

“Who will win? Who will it be?”

The tension in the venue was palpable, especially among Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen’s fans, who held their breath as if awaiting the results of a college entrance exam.

The power scores continued to climb. Finally, the ‘Reckless Youth’ team’s score stopped at 907 after surpassing 900.

Almost at the same time, Fang Xing’s ‘The Wind Rises’ stopped at 915.

With the results in, flames erupted on the stage to He Hao’s right.

A cacophony of strange shouts erupted in the crowd—some excited, some joyful, some disappointed, some angry.

Particularly among Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen’s fans, cries broke out: “It’s rigged! The show is rigged! Junchen’s song was produced by a top Korean team—how could he lose? This competition is rigged!”

Some fans even pushed toward the stage, clashing with the security staff trying to maintain order.

The fans were overly emotional, but He Hao, no stranger to such scenes, handled it with experience.

He immediately passed the microphone to Wu Junchen and asked, “Junchen, you lost by just seven points. Do you have anything you want to say?”

At that question, all the fans fixed their gaze on the stage, ceasing their shoving and turning their attention to him.

Wu Junchen felt a deep sense of injustice, but he couldn’t show it.

As an idol, he must remain gracious.

He had been a trainee at Chao Yin Culture for five years. In the early days, he was often scolded by his manager.

He understood well that idols ultimately bear the consequences of their fans’ actions.

Moreover, he was sure there had been no rigging in the power score voting.

After all, the director of artists at Chao Yin Culture, Liu Rongxuan, was sitting right next to the chief director, Tong Fei.

Chao Yin Culture was aboveboard—if anything, it was more likely to be rigged against them.

He Hao, passing him the mic, signaled with his eyes for him to calm the audience.

Wu Junchen gritted his teeth, suppressed his disappointment, and said, “I’m sorry to the fans and to my teammates. This close loss is entirely my responsibility.

“Our team still has many shortcomings, but that just means there’s plenty of room for improvement.

“Even though we lost, we must do so with dignity.

“If we lost this time, we’ll win next time.

“In every match that follows, I will give it my all, holding nothing back.

“I can lose, but I will never admit defeat!

“I hope the audience and our fans will continue to support us. Thank you all.”

Many fans in the crowd were moved to tears by his heartfelt words.

They began waving glow sticks and chanting, “Wu Junchen! Wu Junchen…”

…

…

(Last night, I stayed in the top ten of the new book chart for only two minutes before getting squeezed out. The competition is fierce—please vote if you can.)