This Star Only Wants More Money - Chapter 8
Translator: Diviner
As the countdown from the staff ended, the show officially began its live broadcast.
Feeling utterly humiliated, Meng Guang quickly took the opportunity to return to his position.
After a few minutes, when the host had finished all the pre-show preparations, several large screens in the waiting room lit up, showing the live footage of the competition.
On the big screen, the judges appeared one by one under the host’s commercial praise.
Lin Shenghuan was still wearing her striking, form-fitting azure qipao. Her captivating eyes swept quickly across the camera, and after nodding to the audience, she gracefully walked along the runway and took her seat at the judges’ table.
“Wow, Sister Huan is really beautiful!”
“She’s just too young. If she had debuted during the heyday of physical albums, she would have definitely been a pop diva.”
“She’s a true talent; she doesn’t need those superficial titles.”
“Honestly, Sister Huan and Xu Feng make the best-looking mentor-student duo this show has had in years.”
“Xu Feng was a fan she pulled from her own concert!”
“Too bad he chose to do an original song. He’s probably going to crash and burn this round.”
“…”
As the broadcast began, various comments flooded the live chat.
Although Lin Shenghuan wasn’t the highest-ranking judge, she was certainly the most popular.
Smiling gently, Lin Shenghuan greeted the audience. As soon as she sat down, an annoying voice reached her ears.
Xiao Yue smiled mockingly, “Little Huan, that contestant of yours is pretty impressive, huh?”
The scene in the waiting room earlier had been witnessed by all the judges, and the rivalry between the two judges had already started to spark tension.
Little Huan…
As the junior, Lin Shenghuan clenched her fists but maintained a polite smile and kept her composure, tilting her head slightly, “Of course, the waves behind push the waves ahead in the Yangtze River, right, Teacher Dayue?”
On music variety shows, judges occasionally had to “show off their skills” to earn the respect of both the contestants and the audience.
Lin Shenghuan surpassed Xiao Yue in singing skills, looks, and age, but she was still lacking in resources, publicity, and experience. Thus, the two remained evenly matched on the surface, both being strong contenders for the title of the current queen of pop.
When Lin Shenghuan mentioned “the waves behind push the waves ahead,” it was not just about Xu Feng but also a veiled jab suggesting that Xiao Yue’s current status was not entirely due to her abilities.
The less skilled Xiao Yue’s face froze for a moment and decided not to continue this topic.
Instead, she redirected the conversation back to the contestants, “But your prized student seems to be a bit too arrogant. The path of personal originality isn’t easy… You, of all people, should understand that, right?”
Lin Shenghuan’s expression remained unchanged, “I trust Xu Feng.”
Xiao Yue looked at Lin Shenghuan’s charming face and felt a surge of annoyance, “Really? I have more confidence in Meng Guang… His creative team tailored a song just for him. Your prized student might not have such an easy time this round.”
Lin Shenghuan turned her gaze back toward the live camera, “I think rather than hoping others perform poorly, it’s better to improve one’s own skills. Don’t you agree?”
Though she spoke confidently, Lin Shenghuan still felt worried—after all, Xu Feng had stubbornly refused to take the “regret pill” and insisted on singing his original song.
Please, Xu Feng, don’t mess this up… I don’t want to be embarrassed in front of Xiao Yue…
At this point, the host had finished his opening lines.
“Now, let’s welcome our first contestant to the stage!”
…
With all the judges seated and the host delivering the opening remarks, a staff member in the waiting room announced to all contestants, “Just like before, you can go on stage when your name is called. Remember, your instruments are stored in the backstage crates, so don’t forget to grab them.”
“First up, Meng Guang, it’s your turn.”
Meng Guang glanced at Xu Feng, got up, and left the waiting room, grabbing his instrument as he made his way to the stage.
He performed a modern pop song with a good rhythm and lyrics, clearly showing that he had put in effort and practice over the past few weeks.
He sang the entire song without any noticeable mistakes and ended up with a score of 7.5.
This score might be considered average in other rounds, but in the 8-to-5 elimination round, where contestants had to play their own accompaniment and perform their original song, it was a relatively high score.
Xiao Yue was evidently pleased with her contestant’s performance, confidently lifting her chin toward Lin Shenghuan.
Her expression was clear—could Xu Feng, who had to both compose and write lyrics, perform as well as this?
Meng Guang looked at his score and took a deep breath, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. “Thank you to all the mentors and everyone for your support.”
Afterward, he walked back to the waiting room with a spring in his step, not forgetting to give Xu Feng a provoking glance.
In the waiting room, the staff member wearing headphones nodded slightly and looked at Xu Feng, “Second up, Xu Feng, you’re on.”
At the same time, the screen in the projection room displayed Xu Feng’s profile.
Ignoring the petty provocations from the clown in front of him, Xu Feng stood up and took his chosen obscure instrument—a bass guitar.
This instrument, at first glance, looked quite similar to a guitar.
The bass guitar, also known as the “low-pitched guitar,” is unique in its ability to provide a rhythmic foundation.
Xu Feng ignored the scrutinizing and curious gazes from the audience as he walked to the main stage and greeted the guest judges politely.
“Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Xu Feng.”
Lin Shenghuan, who wasn’t shy about her personal connection with Xu Feng, immediately picked up the microphone and smiled, “Xu Feng, your performance at my concert is still fresh in my memory. Can you give us a little hint? Do you have any surprises for us today?”
Xu Feng thought for a moment, “No, it’s just a regular song.”
“Is that so?” Lin Shenghuan tilted her head slightly, “Are you sure it’s not another song dedicated to someone?”
At this, many in the audience laughed.
Everyone knew that at Lin Shenghuan’s recent concert, Xu Feng had humorously chased away a “green tea” girl with a German song—at least, that was the version circulating online.
Given the many interesting things about him, who knows, perhaps this song would also have a story?
However, Xu Feng replied with certainty, “Yes, I’m sure.”
How long had it been, and she still couldn’t get over it? Clearly, that children’s song had left quite an impression on Lin Shenghuan…
Of course, it had—because of that song, Lin Shenghuan’s concert had gained significantly more popularity than other performances. It wasn’t surprising she remembered it so vividly.
“This song, both the lyrics and composition, are your own work. You didn’t use the program’s mentor team at all; that’s quite a mystery,” Lin Shenghuan said, clearly speaking more than usual after seeing Xu Feng. “Can you give us a hint before you start? What type of song is it?”
Xu Feng pondered briefly before answering, “Hmm, it’s a love song.”
The song was randomly chosen; Xu Feng couldn’t decide its type himself.
“Oh…” Lin Shenghuan dragged out the word, and the eyes of everyone present seemed to fill with more gossip. “We’re looking forward to your performance. Please begin!”
In their minds, it was impossible for a complete song to be composed by one person in such a short time—Xu Feng was probably still in a relationship when he wrote this song.
A love song written while still in love obviously had something to do with that girl from the concert.
Young people these days are still too stubborn with their words.
But none of that mattered, as long as the song’s quality was good. What story lay behind it wasn’t important.
Though not many were optimistic about the quality of this original song—after all, for newcomers in the entertainment industry, mastering the basics of singing and dancing was already quite an achievement, and creative ability was almost out of the question.
Xu Feng cleared his throat, nodded at the backstage staff, and introduced, “The song I am going to sing is called ‘Ugly Monster.’ I hope everyone likes it!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the originally somewhat noisy scene fell silent, and those prying eyes were caught off guard by this unexpected turn.
What?
What did he say this love song was called?!