Chapter 164: It Was Simply Torture

Meng Xiaotian sat in his chair, already drenched in sweat from anxiety. Not to mention singing an ancient-style song about porcelain, even for a simple ancient-style song, there were only a handful he could actually perform well. Under such circumstances, how could he possibly compete?

Yet, Meng Xiaotian was still fortunate—he wasn’t the first to take the stage. He still had time to hurriedly search on his phone, hoping to cram at the last minute. Although this approach was hardly ideal, at least it meant he could find a song to sing! As the saying goes, sharpening the spear at the last moment may not make it sharper, but at least it shines.

Meng Xiaotian only needed to find a song he could sing, but Su Chen was in a completely different position. Su Chen had to write and create his own song! Ancient-style songs were not like pop music—Su Chen clearly didn’t understand traditional opera, and without that understanding, he couldn’t compose properly.

Since it was an ancient-style song, if Su Chen gave up, that would be one thing. But as long as he failed to write well or sing beautifully, Meng Xiaotian could stand on the moral high ground and criticize Su Chen mercilessly.

With this thought, Meng Xiaotian’s anxiety instantly faded, replaced by a desire to witness Su Chen’s failure. He glanced coldly at Su Chen sitting behind him, who was confidently scribbling away. A bitter smile crossed his lips.

“Haha, still pretending, huh? You don’t understand opera, yet you’re scribbling away? How laughable!”

Meanwhile, outside the waiting room, a staff member entered and called one contestant to prepare for their performance. The contestant stood up trembling, sweat soaking through his clothes. In the short time allowed, he had only managed to find one song fitting the dual-theme challenge, but he hadn’t even memorized the lyrics!

With no choice but to proceed, he followed the staff’s lead to the stage.

“Now, please welcome the first contestant to take the stage, He Zhengyan from Mentor Cai Xukun’s team!”

At the side of the stage, Liu Shao finished announcing, and He Zhengyan, pale-faced and unsteady, walked onto the stage. His steps were shaky, his complexion unnatural—an obvious sign to the four mentors.

He Zhengyan forced himself to steady his nerves and barely managed to finish singing the song. Liu Shao then stepped up and said, “He Zhengyan has completed his performance. The voting channel will close in three seconds: three… two… one, closed!”

---

“Next, let’s invite six professional music critics to evaluate He Zhengyan’s performance.”

At the judging panel, the critics exchanged glances before selecting one to deliver a summary.

“First, we acknowledge He Zhengyan’s vocal qualities, tone, and overall ability. However, his execution of the opera-style singing was a complete mess.”

“It’s clear the contestant has no grasp of opera singing and even misremembered the lyrics. But that’s not the main issue. For me, the key problem lies in his mindset.”

“Before participating in this show, I was skeptical about this random dual-theme competition format, feeling it was unfair. Some singers naturally struggle with certain genres, and this randomness could eliminate those who are otherwise well-suited for the stage.”

“But after experiencing it firsthand today, I see the value in this system.”

“For example, the randomness tests contestants’ adaptability and mental resilience—showing their truest selves. It also reveals their song repertoire, which is fundamental for any singer.”

“Unfortunately, none of these qualities were evident in He Zhengyan’s performance.”

Hearing the judges’ words, He Zhengyan’s pale face grew even more ghastly, as if he had been submerged underwater all day.

The mentors’ evaluations that followed only sealed his fate. Their opinions aligned closely with those of the six critics. The mentors offered some emotional support to the contestant but could not alter the outcome.

“Alright, the mentors have all commented on He Zhengyan’s performance. Now, let’s reveal his scores!”

“First, Mentor Zhou Zhiqian: 40 points!”

“Next, Mentor Han Hong: 40 points!”

“Mentor Cai Xukun gave: 50 points!”

“Finally, Mentor Yan Mi: 45 points!”

“The six music critics collectively awarded 98 points!”

“Adding the audience vote of 112 points, He Zhengyan’s total score is 385 points!”

He Zhengyan almost fainted on stage upon hearing the score. Out of a total of 1000 points, he had only earned 385—far below the passing mark.

---

Without the early assistance from Zheng Huayu in preparing answers for the dual-theme challenge, He Zhengyan finally realized how inadequate he truly was.

Following He Zhengyan was another contestant from Cai Xukun’s team, who, as the second performer, had slightly more preparation time. Nevertheless, his final score was only 623 points.

Notably, Meng Xiaotian, due to his own skill level and somewhat better preparation, scored an impressive 859 points!

This result boosted Meng Xiaotian’s confidence—he believed he could easily surpass Su Chen.

Moreover, achieving this without any leaked questions made Meng Xiaotian feel even more satisfied.

At that moment, inside the waiting room, Su Chen was finally led toward the stage by a staff member.

He tidied up the new song he had just written and stepped onto the stage.

“Next, please welcome the final contestant from Mentor Yan Mi’s team and Mentor Cai Xukun’s team—Su Chen!”

“Let’s invite Su Chen to the stage!”

As Liu Shao’s announcement echoed, the audience erupted like an engine revving to life.

“Damn! Finally it’s Su Chen’s turn! Honestly, I’ve already fallen asleep three times waiting! If it weren’t for those awful opera songs that hurt my ears, I could’ve slept even better!”

“Now I really understand why no one listens to ancient-style songs anymore. This is torture—like being locked up against your will!”

“Enough—after those three songs, I have no expectations for Su Chen. Opera singing can’t possibly sound good!”

“Yeah, I’m sick of it too!”

…

Amidst the sighs and murmurs, Su Chen finally walked onto the stage.