Chapter 122: Do You Realize How Pitiful Your Singing Was?

"Who is the chairman of Creative Entertainment?" Chen Fang asked out of curiosity.

He had suddenly become very interested in this company. After all, Chen Fang had never considered himself a man of great tolerance. Creative Entertainment had thoroughly annoyed him, and before taking action against them, he needed to know more. Of course, the "action" Chen Fang spoke of was not some trivial, amateurish trick like leaking scandalous rumors. He and Qian Youlai were the same breed: they rarely made a move, but once they decided to act, they went for the jugular. At the very least, Creative Entertainment would have to lose a significant chunk of its flesh.

Xi Yuanyuan thought for a moment. She had a vague impression of having met the chairman of Creative Entertainment somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place it. "I only know the chairman is named Ji Donglai. He wasn't involved in the entertainment industry in his younger days; it seems he was in international trade. He only gradually transitioned into entertainment after marrying his first wife, who was a superstar singer."

Ji Donglai. Chen Fang committed the name to memory. However, he didn't need to act just yet. For the time being, the crisis facing Creative Entertainment was far from over; the information Qian Youlai had exposed online was enough to give them a headache for quite a while.

Chen Fang watched the stage quietly, while Wang Situ sat beside him, looking remarkably well-behaved. Seeing this, Xi Yuanyuan frowned slightly. A girl standing one meter eighty-seven, yet acting so submissive and sweet? No! Wang Situ was dangerous. This little girl had the makings of a "little green tea" manipulator. Most importantly, Xi Yuanyuan worried that Chen Fang would fall for that act. She gave a cold huff, kept silent, and turned her attention back to the competition.

On stage, Zheng Wenyan and Qiao Yuezhu had already begun their performance. It had to be said that although Zheng Wenyan was an artist under Creative Entertainment, his reputation as a "Little Heavenly King" was well-earned. His voice leaned toward the robust; the moment he opened his mouth, it carried a massive, weighty presence. This meant Zheng Wenyan didn't need to deliberately show off vocal techniques.

The person beside him, Qiao Yuezhu, was far inferior. Her voice was ethereal, somewhat like An Tinghan’s, but her vocal range was higher, which made her fond of hitting high notes during performances. Hitting high notes was normal; many singers liked to use them to elicit cheers from the audience. For instance, a certain "ritualist" singer was very fond of hitting high notes while singing. Regardless of whether his songs were pleasant, one had to admit that his unique style and stage presence attracted a large group of fans with equally unique tastes.

Therefore, Chen Fang didn't discriminate against high notes. But when he heard Qiao Yuezhu hit them, he couldn't help but frown.

It was terrible. Qiao Yuezhu’s high notes were abysmal. Her upper register suffered from obvious vibrato, and she even cracked—a mistake that hadn't even happened to Wang Situ. Although the crack was brief, lasting only a second or two, anyone in the industry could hear the glaring error. Not to mention the four judges, who were big names in the entertainment world; such a minor slip would be magnified infinitely.

"Looks like the first place is locked in," Chen Fang chuckled to himself. Zheng Wenyan’s performance was strong, but unfortunately, he was saddled with an incompetent teammate. Moreover, this show was meant to test the contestants, so no matter how well Zheng Wenyan performed, it was merely support; the true scoring hinged on Qiao Yuezhu’s execution. At this rate, their group’s score wouldn't be very high; it might not even exceed 95.

Sure enough, at the judges' table, the four of them looked equally stunned. A crack during a high note! That was a major taboo. They began to whisper among themselves.

"Qiao Yuezhu’s performance was a bit poor."

"That’s putting it mildly. I think it was terrible. If Zheng Wenyan hadn't been carrying her, I might have been tempted to interrupt her performance."

"She gives me the feeling that she didn't practice at all these past few days and just rushed onto the stage when the time came."

"What’s hardest to stomach is that this song’s high-note range only goes up to E5, while the song Wang Situ just performed, 'Madam Shexiang,' reached at least B5. And Wang Situ has a smoky voice, which makes hitting high notes inherently difficult. Yet, under those conditions, Wang Situ didn't crack, but she did."

"I’m getting confused about who actually has the high-pitched voice here..."

The four judges didn't speak loudly, and their attention was no longer on the stage. After all, with Qiao Yuezhu singing like that, there was no need to keep listening. They now had to consider the upcoming scoring segment.

On stage, Zheng Wenyan was also suffering. As a "Little Heavenly King," he heard the massive error, but he couldn't show it. He had to feign an expression of admiration and enjoyment to encourage Qiao Yuezhu.

The song ended. Zheng Wenyan wore a smile, looking suave and composed. Qiao Yuezhu, however, was beaming with excitement, her forehead lightly beaded with sweat, her pure features conveying one message: *I am very satisfied with my performance.*

And indeed, that was exactly what she thought. She believed she had performed brilliantly.

Applause erupted throughout the venue. However, the intensity was clearly not as great as it had been after Chen Fang and Wang Situ’s performance. The audience didn't know Qiao Yuezhu had made a mistake. In their eyes, many singers cracked due to being overwhelmed by emotion, which was often seen as a sign of dedication. Thus, her high-note slip didn't cause resentment or confusion among the fans; some even thought she had sung with great passion. The reason the applause wasn't enthusiastic was simply that the audience found the song itself unappealing.

That was all. Compared to "Madam Shexiang," the song Zheng Wenyan and Qiao Yuezhu performed, "Buried in the History Books of Time," lacked distinct rhythmic beats, and the composer hadn't clearly defined the changes in syllables between the verses and the chorus. Simply put, the song was flat. There was no real climax. From beginning to end, the melody remained lackluster. If not for Qiao Yuezhu hitting those few high notes, the audience might have fallen asleep.

The applause died down. The four judges looked at each other, none willing to speak first. After all, nobody wanted to be the one to offend others. Besides, Zheng Wenyan was a "Little Heavenly King," and behind him stood Creative Entertainment, one of the three major industry titans.

The venue remained silent for a long time. On stage, Qiao Yuezhu still hadn't sensed the awkward atmosphere. Zheng Wenyan’s smiling mouth twitched slightly; he was struggling to maintain his composure.

Just as the audience began to murmur, the only true "vixen" superstar among the judges spoke up: "I’ll go first. The quality of this song is average. I feel the composer didn't put much effort into it; both the lyrics and the arrangement are quite mediocre."

"Zheng’s performance was perfect; I can't find any fault with it."

"As for contestant Qiao Yuezhu... keep working hard."

"I give it a score of 94."

To be honest, 94 was generous. If not for the sake of Zheng Wenyan, she would have wanted to give a 90. Anyone with eyes could see that the three minutes that had just passed on stage was a deeply failed performance.