I am Really a Superstar 3

by Little Merger

Zhang Ye was originally a mundane college graduate with aspiring dreams to become a star, but unfortunately has below average looks and height. However one day, he woke up and suddenly found himself in a parallel world!It’s like the same world, but wait a minute…many brands, celebrities and even famous works from his world changed and are gone in this new world!

7. 1041

I am Really a Superstar #Chapter 1041: Winning! - Read I am Really a Superstar Chapter 1041: Winning! Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 1041: Winning!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The performance ended.

Suddenly, a few female audience members stood up.

"I love you, The Clown!"

"I'll love you no matter how ugly you are!"

Applause rang out through the studio!

Screams came from all places!

"This is so good!"

"This song is so amazing!"

"What a good song this is!"

"I'm ugly, but I am so tender?"

"I want to learn this song! I must learn it!"

"The Clown surprises us every time!"

"Yeah, I thought that The Clown wouldn't do well this week. When I read a lot of the comments by industry insiders and other people, they were all talking about how he had done too well. Now that we were into the fourth episode, the audience would no longer feel that he was fresh. That would only make it harder and harder for him to proceed and possibly even put him on the decline. But after listening to him sing today, I find that all those comments are bullshit! How could The Clown not be good enough? Is this what you call not good enough? Is this what you'd fucking call a decline?"

"Each of his songs gets better!"

"What I most admire about The Clown is that he tells a story through each of his songs. And, the stories are always about himself and fit the situations to a T!"

"How surprising!"

"Where did all those songs come from?"

"I don't know. Damn, who on earth wrote them for him?"

"Even a master lyricist and composer like Wang Zhuishu, who is on the judging panel, could not possibly come up with so many earth-shattering songs in such a short span of time, could he? Could it be that Wang Zhuishu, along with Zhang Ye and a dozen of those famous songwriters, fucking wrote all those songs for him? And they're even tailor-made for him and the situations that he's in? That's impossible! If it were that way, why hasn't anyone recognized him yet?"

"The Clown!"

"The Clown!"

"The Clown!"

The shouting came wave after wave!

This song that had come from Zhang Ye's previous world was the famous classic by Zhao Chuan, " I'm Ugly But Tender 1 ," and it had shocked everyone in the studio. A classic would always be a classic. This song that had stood the test of time in Zhang Ye's previous world was also capable of shocking people here now that it had been brought to this world!

The host came back onstage.

Dong Shanshan smiled. "Let's welcome Marshal Persona back to the stage."

Marshal Persona came back up to the stage and gave The Clown a nod.

The Clown nodded back to greet him.

Dong Shanshan looked over to the guessing panel. "Judges, what do you think?"

Chen Guang opined, "My eyes turned red just now. After four episodes of King of Masked Singers, this is the first time I've felt my eyes turn red in the studio. I don't have much to say. This song affected me deeply. Marshal Persona sang well today. In fact, he sang especially well. However, The Clown's performance can only be described with two words: absolutely perfect!"

Amy said, "Earlier, Teacher Chen and Teacher Yao told us about how people who don't exactly have outstanding looks have it almost impossible in the entertainment industry. Although I personally feel that Teacher Chen and Teacher Yao are both quite handsome, after I finished listening to your song, I experienced a lot of emotion. I won't say anything more as there isn't much else to say." She spread her hands and said, "I just like The Clown very much, so much that I can't use words to describe my like!"

Zhang Xia talked from a technical point of view, "Marshal Persona is a very good singer and is very comprehensive technically. I can tell from his singing that he has a very strong foundation and should be a professional singer. His status in the music industry should also be quite high."

Marshal Persona smiled.

Zhang Xia said, "As for The Clown, I really do not know who he is. There's no one I can match him to. Listening to his song today, it felt a little different from his previous two songs. There are even some parts where even the average person would think they could hear a mistake. Like the trembling in his voice? The crack in his voice? But I don't think that's what it is!"

Wang Zhuishu said, "Correct."

Zhang Xia continued, "The way The Clown sang today was by using his emotions to drive the music. He used his raw emotions to sing and transmitted his innermost feelings to everyone through the music. I've already said this once before, but this is such a high standard and not something that every singer can hope to have. This song's difficulty lies not in its high notes or other aspects, but in its expression of emotion. Handling this emotional nuance is truly difficult and I personally believe that I couldn't sing this song either. There can only be two outcomes when singing this song. Either it gets sung really badly or it gets sung really well, of which The Clown belongs to the latter category! Even if the pickiest person faced The Clown's song today, they wouldn't be able to nitpick a thing! It's that good, just that good!"

The Clown nodded to express his thanks. He wanted to say "you're flattering me," but suddenly remembered that he might say it with an accent since this was a commonly used phrase in the Beijing region. So he did not dare to say it since he was afraid that he would get recognized immediately.

Yao Jiancai said, "If I were to vote, I would also vote for The Clown. It's just that simple!"

The judges were done commenting.

Dong Shanshan followed up with, "Alright, we'll proceed to the voting now."

The voting began!

The audience picked up their voting devices!

Marshal Persona looked at the audience, as did the judges. Actually, no matter what their comments were, it was all useless since the voting depended entirely on the audience. They had to be convinced of a contestant's performance. Just like in the previous round where Flowing Time and Spinach were at a pretty similar level of singing with an unclear difference, the audience did not see it that way and voted for Flowing Time in a one-sided affair. The right to vote and decision-making laid in the hands of the audience!

When the voting began, the conclusion became obvious!

When a lot of the people saw the real-time tallies on the big screen, they exclaimed!

The Clown: 10 votes.

Marshal Persona: 1 vote.

And then.

The Clown: 45 votes.

Marshal Persona: 9 votes.

The difference was too large!

There was basically no suspense as to how it'd end!

In the end, when the final tallies were counted!

The Clown's total votes: 377 votes!

Marshal Persona: 123 votes!

Dong Shanshan announced, "The winner of this match: The Clown!"

The Clown bowed in thanks.

Marshal Persona applauded the winner.

The moment he got off the stage, The Clown was surrounded by people!

Xiao Lu was flabbergasted. "Teacher, you were so awesome!"

Dafei said sincerely, "You sang great up there!"

Meanwhile, Flowing Time had gone backstage at some point in time and was nowhere to be found.

Han Qi was beyond excited. "Teacher Clown! Why didn't you use this song for the next round? With it, you definitely wouldn't have lost to Flowing Time, even against a hundred-plus Hokkien speaking audience members!" She was both happy for The Clown and bemoaning the disadvantage he had!

This song was incredible!

But what about the next round?

Flowing Time had challenged him!

Even if Teacher Clown had done well in this round, when he faced Hokkien singer Flowing Time in the next round, he would still not have a good chance of winning. In Han Qi's opinion, this huge killer move should have been used as a last resort. But Teacher Clown had brought it out in the first round!

However, Zhang Ye simply smiled, not saying a word.

The next round?

He had a song up his sleeve for the next round!

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Chapter 1042: Flowing Time vs. The Clown!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

On Weibo.

Someone broke the news.

"The Clown won!"

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously! I'm at the fucking recording studio right now! The program team took everyone's cell phones, but this bro has two of them! I'm in the bathroom secretly connecting to the Internet!"

"By how many votes?"

"300 votes to 100. The gap was massive!"

"What! The Clown has been singing amazingly for four episodes now! How does he continue to be so awesome?"

"This, this isn't scientific!"

"He wasn't just awesome! The Clown was godly today. I won't spoil for you guys, so watch it on TV tomorrow and find out for yourselves! Oh yes, Flowing Time also won his first round match. He won by a huge margin and steamrolled Spinach! And there was an unexpected incident that happened today. Your sister! When I saw the people attending the recording, almost all of them spoke Hokkien. I was dumbfounded. After I asked around, I found out that they were the employees of the show's sponsors from Xiamen and Chaoshan. There are close to two hundred of them! I'll reveal a little more. Flowing Time's identity is as good as confirmed. He's the flag bearer of Hokkien songs—Teacher Zhao Qiquan! Even though he sang a Mandarin song during the first round, we could still hear his accent!"

"Almost all of the audience are Hokkien speakers?"

"Damn, then what's there left to compete on!"

"What are these circumstances?!"

"Flowing Time will definitely win today!"

"What's wrong with Beijing TV?"

"Who knows! What a terrible mishandling of things!"

These Weibo messages were deleted soon after they were posted.

No one really knew if the messages were deleted by the person themself or if Beijing Television found the person and made them delete them.

...

At the television station.

In the waiting room.

Zhang Ye was watching the competition through the TV.

Flowing Time was the first person to proceed to the battle round while The Clown was the second to get through. The fight for the last spot in the battle round was about to begin.

Petal Shower vs. Sunset Glow.

In the previous episodes, Petal Shower had directly or indirectly come up against Sunset Glow. Based on prior experience, Petal Shower's chance of winning was up to 90% and she held a big advantage. Petal Shower performed very well onstage today as she once again went back to the type of falsetto that she had used in the first and second episodes. As she sang entirely in falsetto, her voice sounded ethereal. Although she did not sing to her third episode's godly level, it was still remarkable and she did quite well. Essentially, she had performed the song to her usual level.

That was how the judges saw it.

That was what the audience thought as well.

Zhang Ye also felt that Petal Shower would win.

But when Sunset Glow went onstage and raised her microphone, a lot of people were stunned!

It was still a slow song like before.

It was a love song.

But the Sunset Glow today was just too amazing. Be it her singing skill, voice, or song selection, it gave everyone a completely different view of her. It was a heaven-defying performance and she placed herself in a fantastic position!

This was what it was like being a singer. Talent was only one factor; the ability to perform onstage was another. For example, Zhang Ye was the type of performer who always did things spontaneously. Normally, his singing would probably be average. But when he got into the right mindset, he was able to perform exceedingly well. Today, Sunset Glow was undoubtedly in this frame of mind as well. She had sung a very classic oldie called "How Often Does the Sun Set in the West" to a very godly state. She had been tepid in her performances so far and had been keeping relatively quiet for the past three episodes. But in the fourth episode's recording, Sunset Glow had finally broken out!

Even Zhang Ye was utterly convinced after listening!

In the wings, Petal Shower was applauding Sunset Glow!

When the results came out!

Petal Shower: 218 votes!

Sunset Glow: 281 votes!

Sunset Glow won her match against Petal Shower to become the third person to get through to the battle round!

This was something no one had expected. But when they listened to this matchup's performances, it was still within reason. Someone had analyzed that even if The Clown were to go against Sunset Glow in the first round, it would have been very difficult to decide a victor between the two songs and who would win or lose. In this competition, it was not only The Clown and Petal Shower who knew how to sing. Those who could appear on this stage were all people who could suddenly burst onto the scene someday. In fact, everyone was more or less at the same level!

And the key reason that many people had analyzed the potential matchups before today's competition was that there was too much attention on Petal Shower. Ever since the first episode, discussions about her had never stopped. After three episodes, the audience had become all too familiar with her singing, style, and choices of song. This led to their anticipation lowering. Instead, it was Sunset Glow who had never excelled so far to suddenly perform so well. This surprised the audience greatly!

Thinking of this, a lot of people were feeling even less optimistic about The Clown's upcoming performance. Like Petal Shower, there was too much attention given to The Clown in the previous episodes. He was in the same situation as Petal Shower was earlier. Moreover, today Flowing Time also held the "home field" advantage in the studio!

The first round ended.

There was a 15 minute intermission between rounds.

By rights, the next round should have been the elimination round in which two contestants would be knocked out. But soon, the singers received a notification.

Han Qi knocked on the door and came in. "Teacher."

Zhang Ye looked at her. "What's the matter?"

"Please get ready." Han Qi said, "It's gonna your turn soon."

Zhang Ye asked, "Now?"

Han Qi nodded and said, "Teacher Petal Shower has a bit of a stomach ache, so the program team decided to record the battle round first. That's why it's gonna your turn soon."

Zhang Ye nodded. "Alright."

He was ready at any time.

Han Qi cheered, "You can do it!" In reality, she was feeling quite aggrieved and was not confident at all. If it were normal circumstances, she would feel that The Clown wouldn't lose today. But the problem was that the circumstances were not normal. At least a small half of the audience present today spoke Hokkien. Under such conditions, how could The Clown compete against Flowing Time? Even if he sang really well, it would still be a Mandarin song and the audience might not like it!

...

In the studio.

The judges were also notified of the schedule change.

Dong Shanshan went up onstage and told the audience, "There has been a last-minute change of plans. We'll be moving up the recording of the battle round."

With that announcement, the atmosphere in the studio immediately changed!

"They're going straight into this week's battle for the Masked King?"

"Flowing Time is returning to the stage soon?"

"This is great!"

"I've been waiting for some time!"

"Flowing Time is going to face off against The Clown?"

"I'm looking forward to it!"

"What's there to look forward to?"

"What's the matter?"

"Just look over there and you'll know. There's no suspense to the results of this battle round!"

Many of the audience members looked over.

They saw two groups of many people in the audience wearing the same outfit and shouting in Hokkien. Some of them were cheering while others were shouting Flowing Time's name. When they heard that Flowing Time and The Clown were going to come back onstage next, the atmosphere at their spot in the audience immediately grew frenzied. Many of those who came to attend the recording today were waiting for just this moment. The challenge that Flowing Time had issued to The Clown had caused quite a commotion throughout the country and everyone was waiting to see how it would turn out!

The cameras started rolling.

The battle for the Masked King has begun!

The host's voice resounded, "Let us welcome—Flowing Time."

A round of applause rang out!

"Flowing Time!"

"Go for it!"

"Teacher Zhao, you can do it!"

"Can you sing a Hokkien song please?"

"Don't sing Mandarin songs anymore!"

"Flowing Time, I love you!"

Flowing Time came out onto the stage with a smile. When he saw the audience's expressions and heard their screaming, he got into a great mood and became very confident as well, although this was no longer a matter of whether he was confident or not. On today's stage, it almost felt like he had home field advantage. Flowing Time didn't think that he would lose at all, nor was there any reason to think so. It was just impossible for him to lose since he was the only Hokkien singer here today. He already had an overwhelming advantage, so all he had to do now was sing well and the title of Masked King would safely go to him!

Just a while ago, The Clown's performance had indeed left him stunned.

Later, Sunset Glow's performance had greatly surprised him.

If he had sung a Mandarin song, Flowing Time felt that he definitely wouldn't have beat the two of them. The two of them were in excellent shape today, but it would totally be a different story if he sang a Hokkien song! Even without counting those numerous audience members in the studio who could speak Hokkien, Flowing Time still had his own reasons to be confident. Although the Mandarin song he sang in the first round was very good, that was not his true talent. As a Hokkien singer, his forte was in singing Hokkien songs. His talent was totally different when singing in these two languages. It was like he was two completely different people!

Translator's Thoughts

Legge Legge

Vote with your power stones~~ Thank you!

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Chapter 1043: 'Strive Hard to Succeed'! (First Half)

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Onstage.

The music started playing.

Flowing Time's stage presence was already entirely different from his first round's performance. The moment the music started, he skipped along to the rhythm as he danced playfully for a bit. Compared to his previous song, he was able to let himself go. This was who he really was!

"Ignore me.

"Squinty eyes.

"Hey, ho, hey."

Flowing Time sang loudly!

Authentic Hokkien spouted out with every line!

When the audience heard, they immediately got pumped up. A lot of them were waving fluorescent glow sticks in their hands along to the beat.

At the judging panel.

Amy looked next to her. "Is it Teacher Zhao Qiquan?"

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "He has to be!"

Wang Zhuishu nodded. "I can confirm that he's definitely Old Zhao. I've known him for many years, but I haven't had much contact with him for the past two years. I never expected that industry veteran Old Zhao would come and join King of Masked Singers. This will be interesting. It's been a long time since I've heard him sing, but he's as passionate as ever!"

Chen Guang also nodded firmly. "There's such a huge difference when Flowing Time sings a Hokkien song instead of a Mandarin song!"

Chen Yidong praised, "It's indeed wonderful!"

Yao Jiancai was delighted from listening to the performance. "Is this what the top Hokkien singer is all about?"

How legendary!

How cool!

This song was called "Squinty Eyes." Not many people had heard of it before, because Hokkien songs were less mainstream in this world and there were only a few well-known ones. Flowing Time probably considered how if he sang those well-known Hokkien songs that he had sung so many times whenever he got featured on television shows and in his concerts, everyone would probably be sick of them. It would no longer bring any excitement to the audience, so perhaps it was due to these considerations that he chose this song.

The audience members who understood Hokkien were bought right into this performance!

These people loved watching King of Masked Singers. Among them, there were some who liked The Clown, and some who were fans of Petal Shower, Sunset Glow, and the others. But now that there was suddenly someone singing Hokkien songs on the show, it brought a warm and familiar feeling to them, and they would definitely give their full support to him. Right now, be it The Clown or Petal Shower, they were both forgotten by these people!

This was human nature and easily understandable. For example, when you meet your fellow people in your hometown, you would not feel anything different and might even feel annoyed sometimes. But if you went to a different city and suddenly heard someone speaking your hometown's language on the buses or in the streets, you would surely be overcome by a surge of affection!

There was a man among them who was dressed differently from the employees. He obviously had the air of a boss and was likely one of the advertisers' upper management or even their CEO. He was probably a fan of Zhao Qiquan as he was currently standing and clapping with all his might!

The atmosphere was great!

Some of the audience members who did not understand Hokkien also got energized from listening. Although there was a language barrier, they could still look at the translated lyrics shown on the second teleprompter display behind the contestant. This teleprompter display was not meant for the contestants but the audience to look at. Some of the Hokkien words could not be translated word for word, and there were even some verses that were very difficult to translate into Mandarin, so only a transliteration was possible.

"Squinty eyes.

"Smiling guise.

"Ohh…ohh!"

When he was coming to the end of the song, Flowing Time even started dancing.

This "Squinty Eyes" was sung almost to perfection by him. From the song, his singing skills, to the musical arrangement, everything was flawless!

Although there were some people from Xiamen and Chaoshan who felt that this song's lyrics were just average, and that Flowing Time should have sung one of his more well-known songs, they were still quite satisfied that they could listen to a Hokkien song at the live recording of King of Masked Singers.

The song ended!

Everyone stood up and applauded!

"Good!"

"It was really quite good!"

"Experience still counts for a good showing!"

"I'm beginning to like Hokkien songs!"

"Me too! It was pretty good!"

Even some of the audience members who did not understand Hokkien also came to be interested in Hokkien songs. This was because either only Cantonese or Mandarin songs had been performed on this stage; everyone had heard them too often. So today, the audience was quite curious when someone suddenly sang a Hokkien song. They enjoyed it greatly!

Flowing Time bowed and went offstage with a smile.

When the audience saw this, they gave their most enthusiastic applause to him once more!

Flowing Time did not return to the waiting room. After he left the stage, he waited in the wings as he still needed to go back onstage after The Clown and Sunset Glow were done performing. Flowing Time kept his eyes peeled in the direction of the waiting area as he was quite curious about what song The Clown would sing this time to compete against him for this episode's Masked King!

At the judging panel.

Zhang Xia asked, "What do you guys think The Clown's and Sunset Glow's chances are?"

Wang Zhuishu laughed dryly and said, "They probably don't stand a chance."

When Chen Yidong turned around and saw those Hokkien audience members whose enthusiasm had not subsided yet, he also laughed. "I think so too. How are they going to compete with him this way?"

He had practically brought all of his extended family along!

A third of the people in the studio spoke Hokkien!

Chen Guang analyzed, "Actually, Sunset Glow still has some hope. Her form is very good today and she has maintained a low profile in each of the last three episodes, so the focus on her is lower than The Clown and Petal Shower's. The audience also seems to be looking forward to her performance, but as for The Clown…this round is much too difficult for him."

Amy added, "Unless he can come up with some weird surprises again!"

In the waiting area.

Zhang Ye listened as he watched without saying a word.

Han Qi was anxiously stamping around. Judging from the audience's reaction, Teacher Clown was definitely done for. If this were a normal recording like any other day, Han Qi would have been fine with things as long as The Clown was not eliminated. It was not like he had to be the Masked King every episode—that would be quite impossible—since he had already won it twice. Today was different. Flowing Time had issued the challenge and news of it had spread all over the Internet. If Teacher Clown lost today, who knew what Flowing Time would say? He was here to seek justice for Li Yu after all!

Han Qi did not like Flowing Time as she felt he had been hyping up the incident for his own benefit. Although he had some status in the industry, he was still just a minority language singer. His popularity was considered high, and he hadn't appeared on television for a long time. Before this episode's recording, Flowing Time had challenged The Clown directly. He even used the excuse of seeking justice for Li Yu to attract news and discussion interest onto himself. At the studio, he provoked The Clown through speech on more than one occasion. Now that there were many audience members who could speak Hokkien attending the recording, Han Qi couldn't help but suspect that this was all planned by Flowing Time!

How despicable!

He was just using The Clown to increase his own popularity. Did Teacher Clown offend you or something?

Li Yu was one!

Zhao Qiquan was another!

There were really all kinds of people in the entertainment industry!

Han Qi angered the more she thought about it.

But The Clown did not have much of a reaction. No one knew what he was thinking about.

Dong Shanshan's voice sounded, "Next, let's welcome—The Clown!"

Dafei came over and said, "Break a leg, Teacher."

Xiao Lu apologized, "I'm sorry, Teacher Clown."

The program team felt quite apologetic as they believed it was their negligence that led to this match between The Clown and Flowing Time starting off in an extreme state of unfairness!

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "It's alright."

He slowly walked out onstage.

Petal Shower had recovered a little and came over as soon as she could.

Sunset Glow and Spinach were also standing in the wings.

Everyone knew that it would be very difficult for The Clown to defeat Flowing Time!

Flowing Time was already breaking out into a smile underneath his mask. He was very relaxed as he gazed with great interest at The Clown, onstage. He knew that he already had this round in the bag.

The audience was also discussing, as well as pointing at The Clown.

"It's The Clown turn now!"

"It's time to decide who the victor is between the two of them?"

"Actually, the result is obvious!"

"The Clown won't win."

The lights turned off.

The studio grew quiet.

Chen Guang and Amy sat up straight. Even though they knew that The Clown did not really have a chance of winning, they still couldn't help but look forward to his second song of the day!

Everyone focused their attention on The Clown!

Everyone was paying attention to every move he made!

Zhang Ye looked at the judges, then the audience. From the looks in their eyes, he could see many things.

I can't beat him? These were the words Zhang Ye had heard most today. Someone mentioned it right in front of him, and he also overheard others who said it in their private conversations. He also knew that Flowing Time had home field advantage today as many of audience members could speak Hokkien. But Zhang Ye never once thought he would lose. He could afford not to fight for the crown of the Masked King today. But you, Zhao Qiquan, if you want to use me as a stepping stone to climb higher? You wish to use me to elevate yourself? Then of course I'm not going to let you have your way! You want to step on me by resorting to those petty tricks? You think you can beat me by getting some audience members who speak Hokkien?

You have really underestimated me, Zhang Ye!

I'll show you what you get for underestimating me!

All of a sudden, Zhang Ye's entire aura changed!

Zhang Xia was taken aback.

Petal Shower looked bewildered.

Flowing Time frowned.

The music started playing!

This melody was still a song no one had ever heard of before. When they saw the title of the song, it was also a song that they hadn't come across before. "Strive Hard to Succeed"? It was obviously an original!

Flowing Time smiled when he saw the title!

Strive hard to succeed?

What are you striving hard for?

How are you going to strive hard?

This is not something you can succeed at just by trying hard! You sure are naïve! Alright then, I'd like to see how you are going to strive hard and how you are going to succeed!

A Mandarin song?

Or a Cantonese song?

Hur hur, sing whatever you want!

The Clown raised his microphone lightly.

Then, when The Clown sang the first verse of the song, Flowing Time received a bolt!

The Clown sang.

"Don't despair when you're in the mourn.

"Don't be afraid when you're forlorn.

"Passing time without any hope,

"Every day going down to tope.

"A person without a soul is like a scarecrow."

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Chapter 1044: 'Strive Hard to Succeed' (Second Half)

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Holy shit!

Holy shit!

Holy shit!

When The Clown opened his mouth to sing, everyone was dumbfounded!

Flowing Time was so shocked he nearly fell down!

Amy stood up in shock!

Wang Zhuishu was stunned!

Hu Fei and Xiao Lu's jaws dropped!

In the wings, Petal Shower, Sunset Glow, and Spinach nearly lost their footing!

The studio audience went slack-jawed!

It was Hokkien!

It was a Hokkien song!

What was going on?

What the fuck was happening?

How could The Clown possibly know how to sing a Hokkien song? This was impossible! I-It was just impossible! When did he learn Hokkien? Who, who could've written all those songs for him?!

The Clown did not even look at how everyone reacted or the expressions on their faces. He just sang loudly and fluently in Hokkien.

"Life is like the waves on the sea.

"Sometimes up, sometimes down.

"Good luck or bad,

"We still must continue to work.

"Thirty percent Heaven's will!

"Seventy percent hard work!

" Strive hard to succeed 1 !"

Oh my god!

Amazing!

It was so goddamn amazing!

The audience members who could understand Hokkien felt like they had seen a ghost. It was quite expected that Flowing Time would sing a Hokkien song because Flowing Time was Zhao Qiquan. He was a professional Hokkien singer and had been singing Hokkien songs for over a decade. But who was this Clown person? Who the fuck was this guy? How could there be someone else who could sing Hokkien songs in such a way? And be it his voice, singing, or vocal technique, all of them was even slightly better than the best Hokkien singer, Zhao Qiquan? This…this…

And where did this song pop out from?

Even though it was their first time hearing it, why was the melody so good? And the lyrics were good as well?

The Clown continued singing.

"Don't despair when you're in the mourn.

"Don't be afraid when you're forlorn.

"Passing time without any hope,

"Every day going down to tope.

"A person without a soul is like a scarecrow."

One!

Ten!

A hundred!

Many of the audience members started standing up!

Especially those who understood Hokkien—they had the greatest reaction out of everyone. Many of them were waving the fluorescent glow sticks in their hands madly as they watched, dumbfounded!

This song was incredible!

It was so good!

"Life is like the waves on the sea.

"Sometimes up, sometimes down.

"Good luck or bad,

"We still must continue to work."

Flowing Time's face turned green from anger!

When the nearby Spinach saw the look on Flowing Time's face, she burst out laughing.

When Sunset Glow noticed Spinach laughing, she let out a giggle as well. Looking at The Clown who was onstage and Flowing Time who stood in the wings watching, she had to give props to The Clown!

Chen Guang was impressed!

Zhang Xia was impressed!

Yao Jiancai was impressed!

The program team staff and everyone present were all impressed!

They didn't know what words they could use to describe The Clown with anymore!

The Clown pointed to the ceiling and sang.

"Thirty percent Heaven's will!"

Dong dong!

"Seventy percent hard work!"

Dong dong!

"Strive hard to succeed!"

Along with the beat, the audience got fired up!

Amy yelled, "Why does he even know Hokkien?!"

Wang Zhuishu said, "Who knows!"

Chen Guang said in amusement, "This person has truly brought us surprise after surprise, over and over again. By the way, who was the one that said The Clown would definitely lose this round?"

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "You were."

Chen Guang coughed, "Did I? I didn't say that."

Yao Jiancai laughed heartily. "Old Chen's trying to go back on his words. Stop denying it!"

Chen Yidong said in a speechless manner, "Who would have thought that he could sing in Hokkien and have such an original song lineup as well! Aiyo, I'm really impressed. Who in the world is he?"

As they listened to the song and chatted among themselves, they could not help but look to Flowing Time. Just by the shocked expression seen in Flowing Time's eyes behind his mask, they knew he could not have expected that The Clown would actually sing a Hokkien song even in a hundred lifetimes!

It truly was a matter of striving hard to succeed!

Everyone had underestimated The Clown!

In the previous episode, they could feel the pain on Li Yu's face!

In this episode, they could feel the pain on Flowing Time's face!

Han Qi was extremely excited as she waved her hands with all her might and screamed from the wings. Everyone thought that The Clown would surely lose, but who could have guessed that he would bring out this song!

"Life is like the waves on the sea.

"Sometimes up, sometimes down.

"Good luck or bad,

"We still must continue to work.

"Thirty percent Heaven's will!

"Seventy percent hard work!

"Strive hard to succeed!"

Flowing Time was already cursing in his head. He still did not wish to believe that The Clown was really singing a Hokkien song. It was unlike the Cantonese songs that many people knew how to sing. As there were more good Cantonese songs around, those who liked listening to Cantonese songs would more or less know how to sing a few lines as well as pronounce the lyrics quite accurately. Flowing Time had sung in Hokkien, which was considered as a minority language. Moreover, there weren't many Hokkien songs that were especially popular in this world!

So how the fuck did you manage to know how to sing this one?

You can even goddamn sing something like this?

Fucking hell, aren't you too multi-talented?!

You must be doing this on purpose!

On the stage.

The Clown finished performing.

The audience erupted into cheers and applause!

"The Clown!"

"The Clown!"

"The Clown!"

The audience members who understood Hokkien were shouting the loudest!

When Flowing Time saw this, his heart skipped a beat. He knew that he might actually lose today. The home field advantage he was relying on had turned into The Clown's advantage! He had intended to step on The Clown to win the competition, but who could have known that The Clown would slap him soundly instead! Flowing Time really regretted coming onto this stage. He didn't gain much popularity and, from the looks of it, might even lose the initial popularity and status he had had!

Although there were winners and losers on this stage, with even Petal Shower losing before, it was really no big deal. However, the current situation Flowing Time was in was different. He provoked The Clown by challenging The Clown to verse him. In the end, as a flag bearer of the Hokkien music scene, he got smacked in the face by a foreigner who sang in Hokkien? What sort of feeling was this? Just thinking about it made it unbearable for him to watch!

How could it just be painful for his face?

It was so painful that it felt like his balls were being crushed!

As Flowing Time thought about it, his face flushed red and green!

Zhang Ye quickly walked off the stage.

Petal Shower gave him a thumbs up!

Spinach raised both her hands and gave him two thumbs up!

Sunset Glow laughed dryly. "It was Flowing Time's misfortune to have bumped into you!"

Spinach nudged her chin in a certain direction. "Teacher Zhao is almost in tears! Teacher Clown, you were so ruthless. That was really ruthless, hahahahaha!"

Today's competition had been quite exciting!

Someone wanted to die while others wanted to laugh.

Everyone was even more baffled by The Clown now. The urge to go onstage and pull his mask off grew even greater as everyone wanted to find out exactly who The Clown was!

You can sing Mandarin songs?

You can sing Cantonese songs?

You can even sing a northeastern-accented song?

And now? You can even sing a fucking Hokkien song?!

Where did you learn all these from? Where did all these songs come from?

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Chapter 1045: An extra round!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The Clown had exited the stage.

It was the next contestant's turn to go on.

However, there were still some people in the audience discussing him in astonishment.

"Zhao Qiquan didn't turn out to be such a big deal after all!"

"Just who is the true Hokkien singer between the two of them?"

"The Clown sang much better than Flowing Time!"

"Yeah. Without a comparison, no one would have known. But the moment they both sang a Hokkien song, I got shocked!"

"So it turns out that Zhao Qiquan, the so-called best Hokkien singer, is only so-so. It's not that his singing is good, but that there's too little competition in the Hokkien music scene. Not many people sing Hokkien songs, but once any of those elite singers sing in the language, any one of them would be better than him!"

"That's not really how it is. It was only because The Clown was so good that it made it seem like it."

"Right, the guy's incredible. How does he know how to sing everything!"

"He has already sung pop songs, rock songs, folk songs, a song without lyrics, songs with lyrics, a Cantonese song, a northeastern-accented song, Mandarin songs, and even a Hokkien song!"

"This is a singing show, but why does it feel like I'm watching a martial arts film instead? The Clown is really versatile and skilled in so many areas! Hahahaha! I'm dying of laughter!"

"That was really enjoyable!"

"This episode's gonna be wonderful!"

"This is what a professional singing competition should be. The Voice pales in comparison!"

"It's Sunset Glow's turn now!"

"Right, Sunset Glow is also a fearsome competitor today!"

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, "Now, let's hand the stage to Sunset Glow."

Sunset Glow went onstage.

The audience was very accommodating as they immediately quieted down.

Sunset Glow nodded to express her gratitude. Then she looked at the band and nodded at them, signaling that she was ready to start.

In truth, in this round of the competition, The Clown's and Sunset Glow's chances of winning were very slim. It was very difficult for the two of them to compete against Flowing Time as he probably had an 80% chance of winning. This was because Flowing Time was a Hokkien singer and a lot of Hokkien audience members had turned up for today's recording. But when The Clown sang "Strive Hard to Succeed," he ruthlessly reversed the situation and utterly broke up Flowing Time's chances of becoming the Masked King. Further, with those two Hokkien songs performed, Sunset Glow as the remaining singer performing a Mandarin song actually gained an advantage. This was because the audience's curiosity had been dulled, and the hundred-plus votes from the Hokkien speaking audience were allocated between The Clown and Flowing Time. With such subtle changes to the circumstances, Sunset Glow instead became the one with the highest chance of becoming the Masked King among the contestants!

"You asked me,

"Why I never cower.

"You asked me,

"Why I never panic."

After just two verses, all the judges revealed astonished expressions! Was Sunset Glow on steroids today? Her form was spectacular. It looked like she had already familiarized herself with this stage. She did not feel nervous anymore and was able to let herself go. Perhaps this was what you call a late bloomer? No wonder even Petal Shower was taken down by her during the first round!

Once the song finished, the studio thundered with applause!

A lot of people were moved by the gentle and soothing voice in Sunset Glow's singing. This song was originally a rock song and was a song that had shot a male rock band to fame. Now, Sunset Glow had arranged it and used a quiet and womanly voice to sing the song. Be it the audience or the judges, none of them had ever heard anyone sing the song like this. It was extremely original and everyone was very impressed with it!

The audience was faced with a dilemma!

"This is too difficult to choose!"

"Yeah, who should I vote for?"

"They are all super great!"

"Sunset Glow was so incredible! I didn't pay much attention to her before, but I could never have expected that she would be such an amazing singer!"

"Sunset Glow should probably win this!"

"Yes, she has really good chances of becoming the Masked King!"

"The interpretation of the song was very well done!"

"It looks like The Clown will perish together with Flowing Time today. The two of them fought such a battle and the victor has been decided, but Sunset Glow should benefit the most from their fight!"

"Let's see what the judges are going to say."

"I still haven't decided who to vote for."

Dong Shanshan went onstage.

The Clown and Flowing Time were also invited back to join her.

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, "Wow, I'm really enjoying today's competition." She gestured to her rear. "This is the first time that I've realized that live singing can really make one sweat." She looked at the judges and said, "I wonder what the judges think. Teacher Zhang Xia?"

Zhang Xia smiled. "In fact, I was sweating too just now."

A smile hung from Dong Shanshan's lips. "You did too?"

Zhang Xia nodded and said, "When I listened to Sunset Glow's singing, I enjoyed it to the point of sweating. But when I listened to The Clown's singing, I was…sweating with shock!"

Everyone laughed!

Indeed, a lot of people were shocked just now. No one could have expected him to sing a Hokkien song so fluently the moment he opened his mouth. At that time, even the Miracle Wheels band members, who were playing the live accompaniment for his performance, were shocked. This was because The Clown did not sing the lyrics during the rehearsal beforehand. Hence, all of them thought that it was going to be a Mandarin song!

Zhang Xia thought for a moment. "If I were to vote, I would vote for Sunset Glow today. She was fantastic!"

Sunset Glow bowed. "Thank you, Teacher!"

Chen Guang laughed and said, "The Clown is the singer I most admire today. I never thought that he would still have that sort of song. But if we are judging from pure singing skills and fine details, I would probably vote for Sunset Glow."

The Clown nodded.

Sunset Glow bowed again. "Thank you."

Yao Jiancai chuckled, "I would vote for The Clown. I can't give any professional comments here. I just feel that "Strive Hard to Succeed" was just that good!"

The judges expressed their opinions.

Four of them supported Sunset Glow while two of them supported The Clown.

Standing next to them, Flowing Time was left hanging. Only Wang Zhuishu, whom he knew from long ago, praised him a little and even that was just a symbolic gesture. The other judges did not even bring him up in their comments. Actually, this was probably the best outcome for Flowing Time. Whether the singing, lyrics, or melody, Flowing Time knew that he was far inferior to The Clown's Hokkien song. If the judges really used their professional point of view to analyze, Flowing Time would be even more disgraced. As the best Hokkien singer, he would have been even more embarrassed!

Then the voting began!

The tallies for each of them kept changing!

The audience's shouts and expressions kept changing as well!

"Ah, The Clown's votes went up!"

"Sunset Glow is in first place now!"

"Give your vote to Flowing Time!"

"Aiyo, vote!"

"Sunset Glow!"

"The Clown!"

The voting ended!

But Zhang Ye did not even turn around to look because he did not have the thought of competing for the title of Masked King in mind today. Nobody could be the center of attention all the time. He had to occasionally give the chance to other people. Besides, he was already making preparations for the King of Masked Singers' grand finals by keeping a low profile. If he kept being the center of attention and the height of popularity and brought out all his killer moves this early on, how could he handle the grand finals of the competition?

As a result, he felt great. This fellow was here today to teach Flowing Time a lesson, and his objective had been met!

However, when the voting ended, he realized that the audience looked surprised. Dong Shanshan also delayed announcing the results!

What was going on?

What has happened?

Did Sunset Glow win?

The audience was stunned.

The program team was stunned.

The host was also stunned.

"Uh…"

"This…"

Zhang Ye couldn't help but turn around to have a look. He was also slightly taken aback by what he saw!

Flowing Time: 36 votes!

The Clown: 232 votes!

Sunset Glow: 232 votes!

They tied!

The Clown and Sunset Glow's tallies were exactly the same!

Dong Shanshan giggled and looked over to Hu Fei and the program team staff offstage. "This is the first time such a situation has arisen. We never expected that there would be a tie, so let me seek the program team's views on this."

Offstage.

The program team staff gathered together to discuss this.

Flowing Time was the most tormented person onstage. His tally was so low that he could not bear to look on any further. It was really, really appalling to look at. Just choose a winner already and end it quickly. Why are you all still making me stand onstage with everyone? Are you people trying to ridicule me? Can't you come to a decision more quickly?!

The audience:

"Flowing Time lost so terribly!"

"Pfft, he was the one who started the clamoring and provoked The Clown a few days ago. But in the end, the outcome turned out like this? He still intended to seek justice for Li Yu? I'm already feeling embarrassed for him!"

"To the victor go the spoils!"

"Flowing Time is no match for The Clown!"

"Yeah, it's useless even if he practices another few years since these two singers are on totally different planes."

"I never expected a tie."

"I thought that Sunset Glow would win for sure."

"That's right. Even the majority of the judges were supporting Sunset Glow."

In fact, Zhang Ye himself was not prepared for this result. He also thought that Sunset Glow would be crowned this episode's Masked King. But he couldn't have expected that the audience would give him so much face. Zhang Ye was hoping that they would stop discussing any further and just declare Sunset Glow as the winner of this episode. He was willing to forfeit this round automatically. But he definitely could not say that as it would be showing disrespect to Sunset Glow. The last time he lost on purpose was because he was targeting Li Yu. But he couldn't do that again as Sunset Glow would definitely not agree with it!

A few minutes later.

The outcome of the discussion was decided!

Dong Shanshan received the program team's instructions through her earpiece. "Mhm…mhm…yes, I understand." Then she smiled and announced, "Since who becomes each episode's Masked King is quite important as it affects the order of appearance in the grand finals of King of Masked Singers, our program team has decided to implement an additional round!"

The audience got excited the moment they heard!

"Wow!"

"An extra round?"

"Haha, that's great!"

"We get to listen to another two songs!"

"I bet Sunset Glow will win!"

"My bet is on The Clown! That guy's abilities can't be fathomed!"

Dong Shanshan looked at the two contestants and asked, "Do you two have any problems with that?"

Sunset Glow was in excellent condition today and she was highly competitive too. She glanced at The Clown, then nodded and said with a smile, "I don't have any problems with that!" It looked like she wanted to compete with The Clown to see who was better.

Zhang Ye smiled and said in return, "Then I have no problems with it either."

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Chapter 1046: Deciding the tiebreaker match song!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

In the recording studio.

The program team hammered out some details regarding the tiebreaker match.

Then, Dong Shanshan received the information through her earpiece and announced the rules for the tiebreaker with a perfect smile on her pretty face, "The tiebreaker match will begin soon. Due to the show's time constraint, each contestant will have two minutes of performance time. After they finish performing, six of the judges on the guessing panel will vote to choose this episode's Masked King."

The judges could vote?

Have the rules changed?

Chen Guang said with a laugh, "We hold the authority today."

Amy was also quite happy since they did not used to have the right to vote.

They understood the program team's intentions. The team must have wanted to prevent the show from progressing too monotonously, always following the same rules. Otherwise, the audience would get sick of watching it. They could make use of this tiebreaker match to make an adjustment and let it become a rule to follow in the future. If a tie happened again, they could use today's rules to decide on a winner.

Dong Shanshan looked at The Clown and Sunset Glow. "Our two singers?"

Sunset Glow said, "OK."

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "I understand."

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, "Then would the two of you please start prepping now."

The two of them nodded and left the stage.

The cameras stopped rolling.

Dong Shanshan told the audience, "We break for 15 minutes."

Although the actual broadcast would seamlessly continue into the tiebreaker, at the live recording, there would definitely be a need to allocate some time for the contestants. As they had only prepared two songs today, and the need for a third song was due to unexpected circumstances, it was absolutely necessary to give The Clown and Sunset Glow some buffer time. It was easier for Sunset Glow as most mainstream songs would not be a problem for the band. They could easily play her accompaniment without much practice. But as The Clown's song selections were a little more troublesome since he was always singing originals, the tiebreaker match presented more difficulties for him.

Zhang Ye did not seem to mind as he was prepared to give up the title of Masked King.

Perhaps Sunset Glow could already see it. She suddenly stopped in her tracks in the corridor and turned around to look at him. "You don't seem too keen on winning today."

Zhang Ye said, "That's not true."

Sunset Glow said seriously, "I can sense it."

Zhang Ye felt a little embarrassed. A woman's intuition was really not something that should be trifled with. In truth, he did not treat the tiebreaker too seriously and was planning to just sing a random song. After all, Sunset Glow was probably someone he knew personally. Since she was in excellent shape today, he did not wish to compete against her for the title of Masked King.

Sunset Glow said, "I want a fair and square match. Can you oblige?"

Zhang Ye did not say anything.

Sunset Glow looked into his eyes and said, "Don't you concede to me."

Zhang Ye gave a wry smile. "I would never."

"Good." Sunset Glow nodded. "See you onstage."

Zhang Ye replied, "Yeah. I'll give it my best shot!"

Sunset Glow was happy. "I hope you'll walk the walk. I don't care for being the Masked King if you just hand it on a platter to me." Then she went to find Music Director Bai Yuanfei to discuss her song for the tiebreaker match.

In The Clown's waiting room.

Walking in, Zhang Ye felt a little embarrassed. Since Sunset Glow had put it so bluntly, what could he say? He also started to feel like he was disrespecting this stage and Sunset Glow!

Concede?

Go easy?

Actually, were they really any better than each other? Even if he did not hold back, he might not be able to beat Sunset Glow today. The thought he had was already belittling others in and of itself. Zhang Ye was a person who could accept criticism and was also critical of himself. Alright, I'll sing properly this time then. Whoever wants to be crowned Masked King this episode will have to depend on their individual talents!

But which song should he sing?

He had not prepared another song in advance!

Immediately, Zhang Ye turned serious. Giving it some thought, the songs sung in this episode's competition were too impressive and the audience's emotions had been brought to a high by the performances. If he had to choose a song for this tiebreaker match, Zhang Ye would not want to sing a fast song or one with high notes. He'd prefer to sing a rather calm song.

Dong dong.

Someone knocked on the door.

Zhang Ye said to the outside, "Please enter."

Three people came in from outside. They were Han Qi, Hu Fei, and Dong Shanshan.

When he saw Dong Shanshan, Zhang Ye became nervous. Every time he met Dong Shanshan in the program team's workspace as The Clown, his entire person would be wary. Because she was not just anyone, but his university classmate of four years. In addition, after graduation, they had lived and worked together as colleagues, so Dong Shanshan knew Zhang Ye very well. He did not even dare to cross his legs in front of her as he was afraid she would recognize him instantly. As a result, his speech and actions all had to be "uncharacteristic" of him. For example, he folded his arms in a way which he usually did not.

Dong Shanshan said, "Teacher Clown."

The Clown looked at them.

Dong Shanshan asked, "Sunset Glow is just about done preparing and will be ready anytime. If you need more time here, we can still delay a bit more."

Hu Fei said, "If not, we can also leave the tiebreaker match's recording for after the elimination round is done. In any case, we skipped past the elimination round and went straight to recording the battle round just now."

The Clown said calmly, "It's alright."

Dong Shanshan confirmed with him, "Are you sure?"

The Clown nodded.

Dong Shanshan looked at Hu Fei. "Director Hu, shall we proceed as planned?"

"Yes," Hu Fei acknowledged.

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, "Then I'll speak freely later."

Hu Fei said, "Sure. Thanks for the hard work."

Dong Shanshan looked at The Clown as she blinked and said, "You can continue preparing for now. We'll await your word, then?"

Han Qi said, "Teacher, you can do it!"

The Clown nodded and gazed at Dong Shanshan and the others as they left.

As the door was not fully closed yet, he could hear Hu Fei talking to Dong Shanshan. "Teacher Shanshan, I saw the info on your ID card and know that your birthday is next month. What would you like as a present?"

Dong Shanshan replied, "There's no need for that, Brother Hu."

"Then why don't we organize a birthday party for you?"

Dong Shanshan seemed to want to refuse him. "There's really no need to. Actually, my birthday is not—"

"Hur hur, that won't do," Hu Fei interrupted. "This is what our department's usual practice is. You're not exempt."

The door closed.

He could not hear the voices anymore.

Zhang Ye was stunned. Dong Shanshan's birthday? Next month? How could that be?

He immediately looked at the calendar, and then laughed. He facepalmed and silently cursed himself for being so harebrained. It was already that day? He had almost forgotten about it! He even forgot to send her his well-wishes! As her old classmate of many years, an old friend, and an old colleague, he really did not deserve to be called all that!

He was hoping to gift her a song now.

But which song?

Zhang Ye could not think of anything, but he remembered the lottery draw. So he simply opened the game ring's virtual screen and activated the Lucky Halo (Upgraded). In Lottery Draw (One), he added 500 additional stakes!

The wheel began to spin!

Spinning and spinning…

It spun and spun…

Finally, it stopped in the Skills Category region!

Gold Treasure Chests (Small) appeared!

[Guitar Skill Experience Book] 500: Increases player's guitar skill experience.

Guitar?

How convenient.

Piano? Guitar? He was now equipped with these two performance skills!

After he deactivated the Lucky Halo, he narrowed his eyes to a slit.

Guitar.

Guitar.

Why not that song?

Alright then, that song it is!

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Chapter 1047: Happy Birthday, Ms. Dong!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Around the stage.

Scattered voices were sounding from all around in the audience.

"Why isn't it starting yet?"

"Hurry up, I can't wait anymore."

"Good things are worth waiting for, haha. Don't worry!"

"It's already been 10 minutes? Just 5 more minutes and it's gonna start!"

"I'm really looking forward to the tiebreaker match between those two!"

"Speaking of performance ability, Flowing Time really isn't comparable to The Clown and Sunset Glow. It's really exciting to see them both fighting for the crown of Masked King in this episode!"

"I can't wait to see how it turns out!"

"Who do you guys think will win?"

"If we're talking about their form, Sunset Glow is totally unbeatable today!"

"The contestant's form isn't everything. Do you guys still remember the competition's first episode? The then Clown was so sick, and his voice had deteriorated so badly as well, so how could he be in good shape? Yet he was still crowned Masked King in the crucial first episode! The Clown has always been someone who's really unpredictable!"

"Are they coming on yet?"

The audience was getting excited and eager for the next match to begin.

Everyone was waiting for The Clown and Sunset Glow to take the stage.

In the wings, Petal Shower and Spinach were also watching.

Spinach asked, "Sister Petal Shower, who do you think will win?"

Petal Shower laughed and said, "I'm more optimistic about Sunset Glow's chances today, but I'd like to hear what The Clown will sing."

Spinach's eyes lit up. "Me too. I just want to hear what he'll sing this time."

Dong Shanshan checked her watch and felt that it was almost time to begin. She went onto the stage in advance and had a short exchange with a few staff members to brief them on the things to look out for later.

Dong Shanshan said, "Hand the microphones to the contestants at the waiting area in a bit."

The staff said, "Got it, Teacher Shanshan."

Dong Shanshan said, "Those of you who are standing here, move a little to your right. You're blocking the third camera's view."

"OK."

"Understood."

After everything was set, Dong Shanshan stood there to catch a breather. She suddenly remembered Hu Fei's words and could not help but reveal a helpless smile. On the way here to the stage earlier, Xiao Lu and Dafei also seemed to be preparing for her "birthday" next month. The two of them did not put it clearly but were trying their best to find out what kind of things she liked. They were probably trying to prepare a gift for her. However, Dong Shanshan was too embarrassed to let them know that the actual day of her birthday was not next month.

It was today!

Today was the actual day of her birthday!

Not many people knew this!

Because of a mistake made during her birth in which her parents completed her birth registration late, the birthday shown on her household register and ID card was late by a full month. But as particulars were already exposed and her birthday was also posted for all to see online, no one knew that it was her birthday today and everyone believed it to be next month. In fact, in recent years, Dong Shanshan stopped explaining. She had always been the carefree type and since others thought that her birthday was on that day, she'd just let it be. Besides, she also felt quite helpless about it.

Her earpiece crackled.

"All departments, attention. All departments, attention. The contestants are ready and standing by."

"Ten seconds and counting down."

Dong Shanshan adjusted her suit and nudged her gold-rimmed glasses upward.

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One…"

Instantaneously, a glittering smile appeared on Dong Shanshan's face as she announced, "Next, we'll be heading into the tiebreaker match. Let's welcome—The Clown!"

Screaming came from the audience!

"The Clown!"

"Break a leg!"

"I love you!"

"I'm so looking forward to this! I'm really looking forward to this!"

"What song will he be singing? Will it be a Cantonese or a Hokkien song?"

"Eh? Where did the band go?"

The Clown walked onstage in his usual unhurried pace.

Chen Guang noticed it first. "Where's the band?"

Amy was startled. "Oh yeah, why isn't the band there?"

Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw The Clown walk toward where the house band should have been and pick up an electric guitar from among the musical instruments!

Spinach said in surprise, "A guitar?"

Petal Shower did not expect this either. "He even knows how to play guitar?"

Wang Zhuishu said, "What's this supposed to mean?"

Yao Jiancai asked with interest, "Is he going to sing and play at the same time?"

Zhang Xia gasped. "He's quite brave. He's going to be playing and singing at the same time on this stage?"

Singing and playing a guitar at the same time without any accompaniment might be workable in street or pub performances. But on a grand stage like this with such a large audience, this way of singing and performing was much too risky. It wasn't something most people could handle!

Dong Shanshan was stunned by this too. After she handed the stage to him, she went off and looked at The Clown curiously.

The Clown had taken his seat onstage. He clasped the guitar and adjusted himself while one hand strummed the strings to check the tuning.

Everyone focused their attention on him!

No one knew how he was going to sing or what song he'd be singing.

Sunset Glow unwittingly made her way to the waiting area to look at The Clown onstage.

Zhang Ye shifted in his seat, then smiled.

He wanted to dedicate this song to a certain someone today, a very important person to him and was someone he liked a lot, someone who used to give him butterflies.

He could still remember the first time they met. It was during an English class in university. It would be a wonder if Zhang Ye, someone who got into Media College by tossing a pen to answer his English tests' multiple choice questions, could understand the English classes in university. The teacher had distributed a set of papers on that day, which gave him such a headache that he was crying out in his seat with worry. That made the female student seated right in front of him turn around. She looked at him and smiled. Zhang Ye could remember that smile with perfect clarity. Even today, he still couldn't forget that smile of hers.

It was very sweet.

And very beautiful.

Zhang Ye smiled.

As he strummed the guitar, a dulcet melody took to the air.

Chen Guang was stunned. "A ballad?"

Amy wondered, "Is he singing a ballad this time?"

The next moment, they were no longer talking.

The Clown started singing softly.

"Ms. Dong.

"You've never forgotten about your smile.

"Even if you're just like me, eager to get senile.

"Ms. Dong.

"When your lips curl downward, it's so pretty.

"Like the pure water under Anhe Bridge in the city."

Dong Shanshan froze!

The judges and audience also froze!

Ms. Dong?

Which Ms. Dong?

Amy instinctively glanced at Dong Shanshan!

Many of the audience also instinctively looked toward Dong Shanshan!

The Clown smiled as he continued playing and singing.

"Ms. Dong.

"I, too, am a complicated creature.

"Saying one thing, replaying it inside as a feature.

"Ms. Dong.

"Time flew by that night at Gulou.

"Stranger, please give me a Lanzhou 1 ."

On the day after their English class, that female student was very patient as she explained the questions to him one by one. In fact, thinking about that right now, Zhang Ye had not really taken in anything she'd said on how to answer those questions. He only cared about looking at her while replying with "mhm's" and "ah's." But that female student still patiently explained things to him and even assured him that English was actually very simple. That was likely the most they had ever talked during their days in university. After their second year, there wasn't too much interaction between them.

Zhang Ye knew that they were people from two different worlds.

One was a fairy from heaven.

The other was just an earthly mortal.

But somehow, the two of them became best friends after graduation. She confided in him that she did not wish to get married and shared many other things with him. To others, she was someone who liked to laugh and didn't speak truthfully to people. But the person they knew was not the real her.

I know the real her.

Strong.

Carefree.

With many stories to tell.

Zhang Ye closed his eyes and sang.

"So, Ms. Dong, all those things may not be true.

"You aren't a schoolgirl with no stories to look to.

"Befriended a wild horse, but there's no prairie in my home.

"This makes me feel despair, Ms. Dong."

A lot of people were covered in goosebumps!

They were uncontrollably brought back to their days of youth!

Chen Guang said, "This…"

Wang Zhuishu's jaw dropped and he stared. "Wh-Who is he singing this for?"

In the wings, Sunset Glow and Petal Shower were looking at Dong Shanshan in shock!

Dong Shanshan was stunned, her eyes reddening as she gazed unblinkingly at the young man singing onstage. All sorts of images were suddenly conjured up by her mind's eye!

They flashed in front of her eyes one after another!

Touched!

Dazed!

Shocked!

Zhang Ye also experienced a lot of emotions. He remembered the times they were on campus when their group was chatting and fooling around. He remembered the times after graduation when that female student brought up those memories of their times on campus. That female student's expression at that time looked a little nostalgic and sentimental, or perhaps it was a look of sadness?

Zhang Ye continued playing and singing.

"Ms. Dong.

"You closed your book, and started talkin' 'bout the past.

"You said to let the first half of life be, tomorrow's still at last.

"Ms. Dong.

"You know I've shared enough goodbyes.

"And on one May morning, I finally lost sleep likewise.

"So, Ms. Dong, all those things may not be true.

"You aren't a schoolgirl with no stories to look to."

Tears were somehow rolling down Dong Shanshan's cheeks!

Is this song for me?

The Clown!

Do…you know me?

The Clown sang in a cappella.

"Befriended a wild horse, but there's no prairie in my home.

"This makes me feel despair, Miss Dong.

"So, Ms. Dong, all those things may be true.

"Who's gonna go out of their way to comfort that ignorant young man?

"I wanna be like you, ignore all those reasons.

"Cheer up.

"Ms. Dong."

The thrumming of the guitar fell silent.

The Clown's hands stopped moving.

He suddenly looked in the direction of Dong Shanshan and sang:

"Happy birthday.

"Ms. Dong."

The strumming of the guitar came back.

The melody and voice resonated throughout the studio!

When they heard the last verse, a lot of people were suddenly enlightened!

Hu Fei laughed and said, "So it's not a song for Teacher Shanshan."

Xiao Lu wiped her sweat away and said, "Yeah, I also got a fright. I thought that The Clown and Teacher Shanshan knew each other!"

People in the audience also heaved sighs of relief.

"Dong Shanshan's birthday is next month, right?"

"That's right, it's next month!"

"Then that song isn't for her!"

"I knew it! But that still gave me such a scare!"

However, when Dong Shanshan heard the last verse of The Clown's song, she had a totally different reaction from everyone else. Dong Shanshan's hair stood on end at that moment as she was dumbfounded with an astonished expression! No one should know it. There were not many people who knew when her actual birthday was! At this moment, Dong Shanshan was almost sure that The Clown definitely knew her!

Happy birthday?

How did you know!

How did you know that today is my birthday?!

Who are you really?

The Clown!

Just who the hell are you?!

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Chapter 1048: Who is the Masked King this episode?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

He finished singing.

The Clown put down the electric guitar and bowed before exiting the stage.

Only then did the audience's applause gradually sound. Many people had not even come around from the images brought about by the vocals, but the song had already ended!

Just two minutes. That was how short it was.

"I haven't had enough of it yet!"

"Why is this song so good!"

"I like it so much!"

"Me too, I love this song to death!"

" Ms. Dong 1 ? Who was The Clown singing this for?"

"Who is Ms. Dong?"

"It doesn't sound like his lover, but it's definitely someone very important to him!"

"This song has such a good feel to it. This ballad really brought me back to the time when I was still in school!"

"Although I don't know what some of the verses mean or what the story behind it is, I'm sure that the Ms. Dong he is singing about would definitely understand. It's really good."

"Whose birthday is it today?"

"Me! It's my birthday today!"

"Is your surname Dong?"

"No, my surname's not Dong, but my second maternal aunt's husband's is."

"Get lost! Who's asking about your second maternal aunt's husband!"

The stage was emptied.

The audience was in heated discussion.

The judges were also exchanging their opinions.

Zhang Xia said, "This song is actually…how should I put it?"

Chen Guang shook his head. "It's not easy to describe."

Wang Zhuishu added, "Let's talk about this later, it should be Sunset Glow's turn now? Eh? Where's the host? Why hasn't anyone announced the next contestant?"

Sunset Glow was already on standby behind the door.

However, Dong Shanshan was still standing offstage in a daze. It was as though her soul had left her body as she stood there thinking about something. She even forgot to announce the next contestant.

Xiao Lu ran over. "Teacher Shanshan!"

Dong Shanshan turned around. "Ah?"

Dafei didn't know how to react. "What's the matter with you?"

Xiao Lu laughed and said, "The Clown has finished singing."

Only then did Dong Shanshan come around. She immediately went back onstage and said, "Let's welcome our next performer—Sunset Glow."

Dafei whispered to Xiao Lu, "The song that The Clown sang, could it really have been dedicated to Shanshan?"

"No way." Xiao Lu blinked and said, "Teacher Shanshan's birthday is next month. The dates just don't match."

Sunset Glow took the stage.

The house band also came on.

Zhang Ye did not go far. He stayed just offstage to listen to Sunset Glow's performance. Sweeping his peripheral vision, he realized that someone was watching him. He turned to look into the distance.

It was Dong Shanshan!

Zhang Ye smiled and looked away.

He was very satisfied with today's song and had been very serious when he sang it. He modified some parts of the lyrics like "fell in love with a wild horse" into "befriended a wild horse." Then, there was the part of "extinguishing your cigarette and reminiscing about the past" that got changed as Dong Shanshan did not smoke, as well as that ending verse of "happy birthday, Ms. Dong." He had sung it according to his personal style, not the original version by Song Dongye or Zuo Li's cover of "Ms. Dong." He had performed this song based on what he felt in his heart.

Sunset Glow's performance had begun.

"That day, we said nothing to each other.

"Standing at the bus stop, you frowned.

"When suddenly, I felt the urge to grab your hands.

"Yet, I did not.

"I did not."

It was another love song!

It was still as good a listen!

It was still as exquisite as before!

The Sunset Glow today had truly performed in a godly manner. It was as though she had been enlightened and suddenly had a breakthrough. Her entire scope of singing skills was fully embodied into this performance!

Even Zhang Ye couldn't help himself and wanted to shout about how good it was!

The song ended!

The applause continued for a long time!

Zhang Ye was also smiling and clapping the wings.

Dong Shanshan had gone back onstage at some point in time. "Let's welcome The Clown back to the stage."

Zhang Ye strode out and made his way up.

Dong Shanshan still behaved very professionally. She kept a smile on her face and did not look at The Clown a second longer than required. "The tiebreaker match has come to an end. What do our judges have to say? Or perhaps we could also proceed straight to the voting. Remember, your votes will decide who becomes the Masked King this episode. Please choose carefully."

Yao Jiancai nodded. "Understood, Ms. Dong."

Dong Shanshan said, "Please vote then, Mr. Bite."

The judges laughed.

The audience egged them on.

Bite Building Materials. This was the name Zhang Ye had given Old Yao during their crosstalk when he teased him.

After some bantering, it was time to get to the main event.

Wang Zhuishu started the commenting. "I feel that Sunset Glow performed really well today. There's nothing I can find fault with at all, it's just that good. Whether it's her singing or emotion, it was all on point. The Clown's previous two songs were also especially good. But that third song called 'Ms. Dong,' I feel that it's not as good as the other two when it comes to the lyrics and melody. Of course, that's just my opinion. As I am a lyricist and composer, I'm very picky on these two aspects. I understand that it's not easy for an original to do well, not to mention that every song you've performed thus far has been an original. Since it's everyone's first time listening to them, you're usually at a disadvantage, especially in a competition. But since you performed it on this stage, I have to evaluate it objectively."

The Clown laughed.

Dong Shanshan looked at Wang Zhuishu. "Then who do you choose?"

Wang Zhuishu said, "I'll be giving this vote of mine to Sunset Glow!"

Sunset Glow bowed in thanks.

The Clown clapped next to her.

Chen Guang spoke up, "Let me say a few words as well. This ballad is a rather quiet one and usually wouldn't require an electric guitar. But I can understand why The Clown would choose to play and sing simultaneously. It's due to the stage and set being quite large with a lot of audience members, and in this atmosphere, an acoustic guitar wouldn't be able to sustain the performance. That's why he chose to use an electric one. But, even though he restricted the noise to a very low level and controlled the vibrations when playing, I still found it to be too noisy. Perhaps I was the only one with this issue, so I shall reserve my feelings on it. I'll also give my vote to Sunset Glow."

Sunset Glow gave her thanks.

The Clown nodded and clapped.

Chen Yidong said, "I think the guitar part was alright. He played really well and I can accept the change from an acoustic guitar. I do not think it's a problem at all, although I couldn't really understand the song. So, I'm sorry, but I'll be voting for Sunset Glow."

Out of the six judges, Sunset Glow had gained three votes!

The audience began to bellyache.

"What's this?"

"Why are they all voting for Sunset Glow?"

"Damn, I liked 'Ms. Dong'!"

"Me too! It's such a good song!"

"What do you mean you can't understand?"

"The evaluations of the judges had all been great, but I think that they've finally reached their limit this time! It's too unprofessional!"

"If Sunset Glow gets another vote, she'll win!"

"Honestly, I don't care who wins. I feel that both of them performed incredibly. But if you say that the song, 'Ms. Dong,' is not good? Then I'll definitely disagree with you!"

Many in the audience complained!

However, the tiebreaker match's votes were for the judges to decide, not them.

At this moment, Zhang Xia said, "Maybe it's because I'm old, but I don't really understand what 'Ms. Dong' is trying to express either. Also, the song is somewhat mellow. The other ballads I know are like that too, but in the current setting, the song is definitely at a disadvantage. So I'll also vote for Sunset Glow. She definitely deserves to become the Masked King today!"

Four votes!

Sunset Glow had won!

It was Yao Jiancai's turn to speak. "'Ms. Dong' is a rather nice song. But compared to The Clown's previous songs, it was indeed a little lacking and couldn't showcase his technique as much. Although I've been supporting The Clown all this time and like him a lot too, I'll also be voting for Sunset Glow today."

5 votes!

Sunset Glow bowed. "Thank you, Teacher."

But for reasons unknown, Sunset Glow showed no trace of happiness or excitement. Her eyes turned to The Clown and seemed to contain a tinge of unhappiness.

The Clown smiled wryly.

What are you looking at me for?

What's up with that gaze of yours?

Afterwards, the last judge commented.

Amy was silent for a while before suddenly saying, "Before, even if I had a different opinion from the other judges, our general understanding was still quite similar. But that isn't the case today." She stood up, a little agitated, and protested for The Clown, "I know Sunset Glow and have confirmed who she is. Logically, I would vote for her since we've known each other for many years. But I'm really can't do so today. My vote will definitely and absolutely, a 100%, be given it to The Clown! There's no two ways about it!"

When many in the audience heard this, they suddenly started clapping for Amy!

Amy looked at the judges next to her. "So what if he used an electric guitar? Playing a ballad on an electric guitar is not something that nobody's done before![1.] This song was not nice? How can that be? By the time I listened to the third verse, I could feel goosebumps rising all over me." She rubbed her arms. "And they're still there now!"

Bba bba bba bba!

The audience's applause boomed again!

Chen Guang lifted his arms and pressed them down and said with a laugh, "Calm down, calm down."

Zhang Xia added, "To each their own. That's quite normal."

When Amy heard that, she sat down and said, "Yes, ballads are not considered mainstream, and most people would not use a ballad in a singing competition either, but this 'Ms. Dong' is no ordinary ballad. The Clown's singing also wasn't ordinary at all, so I really can't accept this result."

Wang Zhuishu smiled and said, "But it's five against one."

That's what the rules were.

With five out of six judges saying that "Ms. Dong" was just ordinary and with Sunset Glow already as today's Masked King, whatever Amy said had no effect on the outcome at this point.

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, "Then let's congratulate Sunset Glow for taking the crown of Masked King this episode!"

Sunset Glow gave her thank you speech.

The Clown had already quietly departed from the stage.

Looking at Amy, Zhang Ye smiled inside. He rather liked this girl as she spoke without qualms and seemed even more headstrong than him. In fact, Zhang Ye could accept this result. It wasn't that he was worse than Sunset Glow, but that he knew that back in his previous world, "Ms. Dong" wasn't an instant hit. Sometimes, after listening to it several times, one would start thinking of their own "Ms. Dong." Afterwards, they would start falling in love with this song until it got out of control. This was why Zhang Ye did not mind the result. If he had really wanted to become the Masked King today, he wouldn't have chosen to sing this song.

It was fine if the judges didn't like it.

Even if the audience didn't like it, that was alright too.

As long as Dong Shanshan liked it—that was all that mattered. As long as Dong Shanshan could understand it, it was good enough. Today, this song was meant for Dong Shanshan alone!

Happy birthday.

Ms. Dong.

Chapter 1049: Zhang Ye, you're The Clown, aren't you?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Later that afternoon.

Recording continued into the elimination round.

In his waiting room, Zhang Ye called Yang Shu.

"Hello, Little Yang."

"Senior Bro."

"Come and pick me up."

"Alright, I'll be there immediately."

He had planned to leave after he finished recording his parts, but with Yang Shu saying that she'd be there immediately turning into half an hour later, he got a call from her. She sounded embarrassed.

"Senior Bro."

"Are you here?"

"No, I…I'm still stuck on the road."

"Where are you?"

"Xizhimen Interchange."

"Wow, how'd you end up all the way at Xizhimen Interchange?"

"I got lost."

"But you dropped me off here this morning!"

"But weren't you giving me directions this morning?"

"Use the built-in GPS!"

"Uh, I don't know how to use it."

This junior sister of his was way too unreliable!

Whatever! She can come whenever she arrives. I'll just wait.

Zhang Ye was forced to stay behind to watch the competition between Petal Shower, Spinach, and Marshal Persona. Among the three of them, two would be eliminated. It was very cruel, but those were the rules. In the end, Petal Shower won to almost no surprise. Petal Shower was feeling a little unwell today, probably because her menstrual cycle had arrived as she had been complaining of stomach cramps earlier. She was in average shape, but no matter how average she was, she was still a strong competitor. She couldn't possibly lose at this stage.

Marshal Persona did not reveal himself and exited the stage, keeping the audience in suspense.

Spinach chose to take her mask off. At the moment of the reveal, gasps of astonishment filled the studio!

It was a very pretty young lady!

She wasn't old and looked to be around twenty, maybe even younger!

Liao Yiqi!

It was Liao Yiqi!

"Wow!"

"It's her!"

"What the!"

"H-How does she know how to sing?"

The judges had already figured out who she was, but many audience members hadn't!

Liao Yiqi. She was the granddaughter of a famous Peking opera master, a professional Peking opera singer. Liao Yiqi was also very well-known and had even gone on the Central TV Spring Festival Gala before, but of course that was to perform Peking opera! No one had expected that they would see her on this stage. Wasn't this crossover too huge of a leap? A Peking opera singer singing pop songs? And she even sang quite well?

All the judges gave her a standing ovation!

The entire studio audience also stood up and cheered for her!

"Liao Yiqi!"

"Liao Yiqi!"

"Liao Yiqi!"

Spinach's eyes reddened. She was very touched and clasped her hands together to thank everyone. She said, "Thank you, thank you, teachers. Thank you, everyone, thank you!"

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "There's still the revival round! We'll be waiting for your return!"

Liao Yiqi, also known as Spinach, looked at the judges. "I definitely will!"

This reveal had greatly surprised everyone and left them in disbelief!

Meanwhile.

Yang Shu finally arrived from the upper side of Xizhimen Interchange. She called Zhang Ye to tell him that she had arrived.

In his waiting room, Zhang Ye was just about to get changed and leave. But there was a knock on the door and in came Sunset Glow.

Zhang Ye was startled. "What's up?"

Sunset Glow gazed at him. "Didn't I say to not go easy on me?"

Zhang Ye laughed dryly. "I didn't."

"If you're like that, what's the point of me grabbing the title of Masked King?" Sunset Glow said coolly. She wanted to become the Masked King at least once, but why did it now feel like she had been given the win?

Zhang Ye finally understood why Sunset Glow had seemed a little unhappy despite getting crowned as the Masked King. So this was the reason. He said at once, "You became the Masked King today based on merit. Did you think that I didn't sing seriously?"

Sunset Glow quietly nodded. "Your song was simply average."

But Zhang Ye laughed. "That might not be true."

Sunset Glow looked at him with some doubt.

Zhang Ye tacked on, "You don't believe me? Then let's wait and see." So many people felt that "Ms. Dong" was just average? They even thought that I was holding back? You guys are really funny. Would I need to do that? Forget it. It doesn't matter what I say now. Let's just wait till after tomorrow's broadcast and we'll know how this song does. Zhang Ye, in truth, did not agree with the judges' evaluation of the song. He was waiting to smack them in the face. But of course, it might be his face getting smacked. He couldn't say for sure since it was a different world after all, so who knew?

20 minutes later.

Zhang Ye had quietly sneaked out of Beijing Television. He found his car in the parking lot and opened the door to the front passenger seat and got in.

Yang Shu looked at him cautiously. "Senior Bro."

Zhang Ye said, "Drive."

"OK." Yang Shu quickly started the engine.

As they drove, Zhang Ye started criticizing her and also taught her how to operate the GPS. Then he continued scolding her.

Yang Shu listened in silence.

Later, when Zhang Ye realized that she probably couldn't recognize the roads because she had arrived in Beijing recently, he stopped chiding her. He started humming a ditty in a good mood.

Yang Shu gave him a furtive glance, then heaved a sigh of relief.

Yang Shu might act impetuously around others, but she was still very afraid of Zhang Ye.

At this moment, a call came in!

This was a call that Zhang Ye was rather unwilling to pick up right now!

It was Dong Shanshan!

Zhang Ye cleared his throat and answered with a chuckle: "Hello, Shanshan. What's up? Who won today? I didn't get to watch the latter half of the recording since I went home."

The voice on the other end stayed silent for a moment.

Dong Shanshan then said: "Go on, keep pretending."

Zhang Ye faked surprise and said: "Ah? Pretend about what?"

Dong Shanshan probed: "You're The Clown, aren't you?"

"Whoa!" Zhang Ye said in surprise: "What are you talking about? The Clown? You must really have a rich imagination!"

Dong Shanshan laughed and said: "If it's not you, then who is it?"

Zhang Ye said: "How would I know who it is? I would like to know too. Hey, why'd you even guess that it was me? It's not like you don't know what my singing sounds like, right?"

Dong Shanshan rolled her eyes and said: "You can even fly a plane, so who knows if you could suddenly sing too? I wouldn't be surprised if you did!"

Zhang Ye couldn't deny this.

"So tell me. Don't lie to me!"

Zhang Ye coughed and said: "It's really not me."

Dong Shanshan said coldly: "Today at the studio, that last verse of 'Ms. Dong' was to wish me a happy birthday. If it wasn't you, who would it be? Who else knows that it's my birthday today?"

Zhang Ye pretended to be taken aback. "Huh? It's your birthday today? Isn't it next month?"

"You don't know?" Dong Shanshan blinked.

Zhang Ye said: "Why would I know? Have you ever told me when your birthday is?"

Dong Shanshan thought for a moment and suddenly felt uncertain. "I haven't told you before."

"Then that settles it!" Zhang Ye said: "Since I don't know, does that mean The Clown knows you? Could he be a relative of yours?"

Dong Shanshan said in a speechless manner: "I don't have any friends or family who can sing that well! There's only you who's worth being suspicious about. Are you sure that it's not you?"

"It's not me," Zhang Ye lied without even blinking.

With Zhang Ye standing his ground, Dong Shanshan got confused. She said: "Alrighty then, I probably guessed wrong. I'll go think about who it could be."

After hanging up, Zhang Ye could finally sigh a breath of relief and he laughed. Dong Shanshan had indeed not told him her birthday, but that did not mean that Zhang Ye did not know. When they were in college, Dong Shanshan had told one of her close friends that her birth date had been registered wrong. Zhang Ye was nearby at the time and accidentally overheard it. As he had liked Dong Shanshan at the time, he remembered this quite well. However, he had never given Dong Shanshan a birthday present in all these years.

Haha.

Keep guessing, just guess whoever you want.

In any case, this bro will never admit to it!

Yang Shu said, "Senior Bro, we're almost there."

Zhang Ye acknowledged her and said, "Pull over to the curb and help me get some cigarettes. There's no more at home."

"OK, Senior Bro," Yang Shu responded.

All of a sudden, his phone rang again.

Dong Shanshan said: "Are you sure that it's really not you?"

Zhang Ye said anxiously: "It's not."

Dong Shanshan gave a plain sound of understanding and said: "Swear to me. If it's really you, you won't be able to get breakfast when you want to buy some, and all the cigarettes that you buy will turn out to be fake, the same for any alcohol that you have…"

She rambled on for a minute about this.

Zhang Ye was dumbfounded!

Fuck!

You're too ruthless!

"Hurry up and swear to it!" Dong Shanshan urged.

Zhang Ye stemmed his tears and said: "Alright, I'll swear to it."

Only then did Dong Shanshan hang up.

Yang Shu parked the car. "Senior Bro, what cigarettes do you want?"

Zhang Ye was about to burst into tears. "Forget it. I don't want them anymore. Let's head back."

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Chapter 1050: 'Ms. Dong' is a hit!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Saturday.

The fourth episode of King of Masked Singers was broadcast!

All over the country, countless people waited at their televisions and tuned into Beijing Television to catch the broadcast. As the show went on, a lot of people were getting excited and astonished by it. There were many discussions happening online as well!

"It's starting!"

"Wow, Spinach's singing is quite good!"

"Someone revealed that she is Liao Yiqi!"

"Ah? The Peking opera singer? Surely not?"

"It's true. Just listen to her singing. It really sounds like her!"

"It's Flowing Time's turn!"

"Damn, there's already no need to guess anymore based on that accent. It's definitely Teacher Zhao Qiquan!"

"He's the best singer in the Hokkien music scene! So he can also sing in Mandarin this well?"

"Haha, wait till he sings a Hokkien song. Then you'll know just how amazing he really is!"

"It's The Clown turn now!"

"Let's see what he's gonna sing!"

"The country's ugliest celebrity, lol."

"That poll was so funny! I keep laughing each time I see it!"

However, when The Clown's first song began, a lot of them could no longer laugh.

...

At a recording company.

"Don't be like this, OK?"

"Brother Liu, can you please listen to my song?"

"There's no need to. You won't make it. The company won't sign someone like you."

"Brother Liu! Give me a chance, I—"

"Don't tell me any more. I've already made it very clear to you, so just leave already. You don't have the looks, so my advice to you is to not take this route. You won't make it in this industry."

The young man silently left the recording company. With the dark night sky hanging overhead, he walked on feeling quite lost. He did not know where to go and how he should continue on from here. That was already the third company he approached. Every time he sent a demo to the recording companies, he would always get invited for an interview. However, when they saw him in person, those companies all turned him down without an exception. This was all because he did not have good looks nor the face of a star!

He liked music. In fact, he liked it so much that he felt that it was as important as his life. However, there was an insurmountable wall in front of him that he could not breach!

He had no way of doing so!

He really did not know what else he could do!

Give up?

Or maybe he should just forget about it?

Suddenly, he heard a voice singing.

The young man stopped in his tracks and looked toward a street food stall. When he saw the singer on the TV and heard his singing, he was shocked.

"I'm ugly,

"but I am so tender.

"Cold on the outside,

"passionate inside.

"That's who I am!"

The singer on TV put a hand over his chest.

"I'm ugly,

"but I have music and beer.

"A little lowly,

"a little fearful,

"but I'll never cower!"

The people who were eating at the street food stall were all dumbfounded when they heard the song. They could only stare in shock at the television.

The young man was also stunned in his tracks. Suddenly, a gush of tears poured from his eyes.

By the time the song finished, the young man's fists were tightly clenched. He wiped the tears off his face, then turned to walk off toward a bright light in the distance. His footfalls contained an unprecedented determination!

Thank you, Mr. Clown!

I know what I have to do now!

...

On Weibo.

"How spectacular!"

"Damn! This song is bursting with greatness!"

"I'm ugly, but I am so tender?"

"I cried listening to it!"

"Holy shit, I was the same!"

"I can't stop crying. Goddammit, what song is this!"

"It's such a nice song!"

"He came up with this song right after he got voted as the Ugliest Celebrity?"

"The champion, he'll definitely become this episode's champion!"

"Don't forget that there's still Flowing Time."

This "I'm Ugly But Tender" created a huge shockwave online. Countless netizens joined in the discussion as many of them were touched and inspired by the song!

Soon after.

When it was time for the battle for Masked King, everyone was once again shocked!

"Flowing Time really is Zhao Qiquan!"

"This Hokkien song is great!"

"Of course! This is Zhao Qiquan we're talking about!"

"This is the easiest singer to guess by far!"

"Let's see how the matchup between him and The Clown will go. Have you guys noticed that a ton of people in the audience are speaking Hokkien? Just listen, they're all cheering in Hokkien!"

"Yeah, what's with that?"

"Then won't Zhao Qiquan win for sure? Will there be any suspense to the results?"

Then The Clown sang.

"Don't despair when you're in the mourn.

"Don't be afraid when you're forlorn.

"Passing time without any hope,

"Going down every day to tope,

"A person without a soul is like a scarecrow."

The netizens were dumbfounded!

The audience was dumbfounded!

The industry insiders who were watching the show were also dumbfounded!

It was Hokkien!

The Clown could also fucking sing a Hokkien song?

And it was even an original that no one had ever heard of?

"This is bad for Flowing Time!"

"How painful!"

"Pfft! I'm dying of laughter!"

"Teacher Zhao Qiquan's fine reputation will be destroyed today!"

"He has as good as fallen to The Clown!"

"He's worse than The Clown, yet he still clamored for a match against him. Seems like he's the fool this time!"

"This 'Strive Hard to Succeed' sounds like an extremely good song!"

"Godly tune! An absolute godly tune!"

"He sang it so well!"

"Where does he get all his songs from?"

...

Meanwhile.

Zhang Yuanqi was currently on the phone with her manager, Fang Weihong.

"Are you watching King of Masked Singers?"

Fang Weihong said loudly: "I'm watching it. Who on earth is The Clown!"

"I was just about to ask you: Have you found out who he is yet?"

Fang Weihong said: "I totally can't find anything. You're not the only one who is concerned about this—everyone else in the industry wants to know who he is as well. But there are no clues to follow at all, and now he's even singing a Hokkien song too? He's a singer who knows how to sing Hokkien songs? This has widened the scope even further! The clues are too confusing! I suspect that The Clown is deliberately confusing the public because he's afraid that he'll get recognized. He's purposely trying to mislead us!"

They were completely confused!

...

At a recording company.

A vice president of the company made five calls in a row.

"Check! Check thoroughly!"

"But—"

"No buts! I want an answer as to who The Clown really is!"

"President Qi, I really can't find out. I-I've already asked everyone!"

"Then ask again! I don't believe that he broke out of some stone. Who in the industry would not know a singer as amazing as him? How can that be possible?! I want to know everything about him. If he doesn't have a contract with any recording company, we'll sign him immediately. If he's already contracted to one, then we'll steal him away at all costs! Can't you see? This man has the makings of a king!"

"I-I understand!"

...

On TV.

The voting for the episode's Masked King began!

The netizens were either anticipating it or feeling nervous. Many of them were "shouting" for their favorite singer's name online. When the netizens saw that the final results indicated a tie between The Clown and Sunset Glow, and with Dong Shanshan announcing the implementation of a tiebreaker match, they got excited!

"Awesome!"

"We can get to listen to another two songs now!"

"Go, The Clown, go!"

"Sunset Glow, you can do it!"

Afterwards.

The Clown went on stage.

The studio was filled with a song that became extremely popular for several years back in Zhang Ye's previous world, "Ms. Dong."

The Clown strummed his guitar as he sang.

"Ms. Dong.

"You've never forgotten about your smile.

"Even if you're like me, eager to get senile.

"Ms. Dong.

"When your lips curl downward, it's so pretty.

"Like the pure water under Anhe Bridge in the city."

...

The next day.

Sunday morning.

The air quality today was quite good. When Zhang Ye looked out the window, he saw white clouds and a blue sky.

Zhang Ye stretched his back before getting out of bed. Seeing the rather rare blue sky, he was feeling quite satisfied as he had played a part in contributing to it. Although he had been castigated and hated by a lot of people after the reveal of Zhang Ye's Documentary on Air Pollution in China that eventually led to his soft ban, Zhang Ye did not feel a tinge of regret whenever he saw a sky like today's.

After breakfast, he went to read up on Weibo.

He was stunned to find that there were many critical voices on his Weibo notifications.

For a person like Zhang Ye who often offended people on a large scale, his first reaction when he saw these critical voices was to wonder whether they were all aimed at him. This was because out of all those large scale scolding battles that happened on Weibo, the forums, or Tieba each year, 60-70% of them were targeted at Zhang Ye. He was feeling a little guilty, but this bro hadn't really stirred up any trouble recently, had he? I haven't even appeared much in public, no? When he read more carefully, he realized that the online criticism was not aimed at him!

"The Clown lost? Go fuck yourselves!"

"Were those judges all blind?"

"Do you all know music? How can 'Ms. Dong' not be nice? Oh my god!"

"I really have to give it to those judges on the guessing panel!"

"Amy was the only one with taste!"

"I could not hold myself back after I listened to this song once yesterday and played it on repeat over 20 times through the night! Over 20 times! How could the judges not vote for The Clown? I really have nothing to say to that!"

"That song was really great!"

"There should be a version of a 'Ms. Dong' in everyone's heart as well! But clearly, there's nothing at all in the hearts of those judges!"

"The Clown sang really well! Why wasn't he crowned Masked King this episode?"

"I like Sunset Glow too and I feel that she performed incredibly in the most recent episode. But I have to admit that for the two songs at the end, it was The Clown who sang better!"

"'Ms. Dong' was judged to be not good by Chen Guang, Zhang Xia, and the others. I'm speechless!"

"The entire song tells a story!"

"I don't know who The Clown was singing it to, but when I heard the song, my tears fell. No matter who that lady is whose surname is Dong, I would also like to wish her a 'Happy birthday, Ms. Dong!'"

Countless netizens were refusing to accept the result. They were all complaining on Weibo, and some of them were even flinging abuse at the outcome!

There were also sudden changes on the Top Chinese Music Chart!

The daily music chart's ranking had been published!

Some people felt that Sunset Glow's second song should have been ranked first. However, that song was only ranked in third place. Some people thought that The Clown's "I'm Ugly But Tender" should have been in first place. However, that song was only ranked in second place. "Strive Hard to Succeed" was ranked fourth on the daily music chart!

As for which song was in first place?

It was actually "Ms. Dong"!

And it was even far ahead of the second and third place songs!

This song had been a hit since last night. And today, it got even more popular, so popular that things got out of hand. All over the Internet, people were discussing this song and the controversy of why The Clown had not become the Masked King in the most recent episode!

...

Old Chen's house.

Fan Wenli had already made breakfast. "You misjudged it, didn't you?"

Chen Guang looked at his phone and couldn't help but give a wry smile. "I've been face smacked, right?"

"Yes," Fan Wenli laughed.

Chen Guang rubbed his cheeks and could somehow feel a little pain.

At other locations.

When Wang Zhuishu saw the Top Chinese Music Chart's rankings, he was dumbfounded!

Chen Yidong was speechless.

So was Yao Jiancai.

And Zhang Xia.

This ranking had caught them completely off guard!

That "Ms. Dong" which none of them had thought well of turned out to be the most talked about and widespread song of the songs sung yesterday! Now, they could not deny it even if they wanted to. This was because the market's reaction to a work was the most direct and fastest judgment of all!

They had misjudged the song!

They had truly misjudged the song!

This Clown was way too scary!

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Chapter 1051: Attention and speculation from the industry!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

On this Sunday morning, the lyrics of "Ms. Dong" and discussions about it could be seen all over the Internet. All over the country, any lady whose surname was Dong suddenly became popular without any warning! On the music platform that was working with Beijing Television, the single sung on the show, "Ms. Dong," had already broken 10 million plays. And this was merely 12 hours after the broadcast! The song Sunset Glow sang in her match against this "Ms. Dong" had only garnered about 2.1 million plays. It was almost a five times difference!

"Thank you to The Clown for singing such a touching song!"

"This is my favorite song of the year!"

"My wife's surname is Dong!"

"My girlfriend's surname is also Dong. I finally know how I'll be proposing to her. I've already bought a ring, so I'll just sing this song for her tomorrow. Wish me luck, everyone!"

"Congratulations!"

"Good luck, bro!"

"Best wishes!"

Back at home.

Even Zhang Ye found this turn of events a little unexpected. He knew that "Ms. Dong" was a good song that could be easily overlooked, but he did not think that it would be so well-received in this world.

Suddenly, his cell phone's text message tone beeped.

It was from the phone meant for The Clown.

An unfamiliar number. "Hi, this is Sunset Glow."

Zhang Ye was taken aback, but replied: "Hi."

"I got your number from the program team. I just wanted to let you know something. I take back what I said to you yesterday at Beijing TV."

"No worries."

"I'm not being polite here. Rather, I listened to 'Ms. Dong' 7-8 times in a row yesterday. It really is a good song."

"Thanks."

"If the tiebreaker had been decided by audience vote, then you would have been yesterday's Masked King."

Zhang Ye immediately replied: "Not for sure."

"For sure."

"It's really not for sure. That song I sang was never meant to be a competition song."

"A good song is a good song. It has nothing to do with whether it's suitable for a competition."

"Perhaps."

"I'm looking forward to your songs next episode."

"Same here. I'm looking forward to yours too."

Sunset Glow sent: "See you next week."

"See you next week."

Their text message conversation was very simple, but Zhang Ye was starting to learn more and more about Sunset Glow's behavior and character. In his mind, a vague figure was starting to appear that would match Sunset Glow. He had already more or less guessed who Petal Shower and Sunset Glow were. They were both people he knew, and one of them was even a rather close friend of his with whom he had a lot of dealings with. However, Zhang Ye knew that even though he could guess their identities, they would never be able to guess his. He had put up too many smoke screens, so even if there were anyone in the industry who did an extremely detailed analysis, they still wouldn't find out who he was. They would never even start to suspect him.

Zhang Ye chuckled and felt that this was really quite interesting and fun.

In the Celebrity Goof Group, there was a flurry of activity today.

Ning Lan: "@ChenGuang @FanWenli Old Chen, Old Fan, are you two around?"

Chen Guang appeared. "I just woke up." Then he sent a yawning emoji.

Ning Lan: "Do you have any tickets to the live recording of King of Mask Singers? Help me get five of them. A few of my friends who would like to attend the studio recording have approached me for help."

Chen Guang: "Five tickets?"

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Ning Lan: "Yep, the more the better."

Chen Guang said: "I might still be able to get one or two tickets, but it's gonna be difficult to get five or more of them."

Huo Dongfang sent a nose-picking emoji. "I want three tickets too. A few relatives from my hometown came to visit and said that they really wanted to attend the live recording. Old Chen, I'm depending on you."

Another movie star said: "I want a ticket too. Are there any left?"

To be a part of this celebrity chat group, everyone had to be at least a B-lister. In the industry, every one of them was more highly revered than the last. If they themselves wanted to attend the recording, Beijing Television would more than welcome them to do so and make all the necessary arrangements for it to happen. But as they wanted to get the tickets for their friends instead, they found it harder to approach the television station. First, it was unnecessary to do so. Second, a favor owed to a television station was not so easily repayable. It just wasn't worth all that trouble to get a few tickets.

Chen Guang: "Do you guys take me for a scalper?"

Fan Wenli spoke: "Hur hur, it's no use approaching Old Chen for help on this anyway. He doesn't have that great an influence. Isn't Zhang Ye in the group as well? Why don't you guys ask him instead?"

Xiaodong: "I'll help to @ZhangYe for you guys."

Ning Lan said: "Oh yeah! I've totally forgotten about Zhang Ye!"

At home, Zhang Ye heard this notification on his cell phone. He opened up the group chat and replied without hesitation: "Sure, I got it. You need around 10 tickets, right?"

Ning Lan: "Correct."

Huo Dongfang: "Will it be a bother? If it is, then forget it."

Zhang Ye: "It's nothing."

Zhang Ye then made a call.

A while later, he typed: "I've arranged for them. I'll leave a number here for you guys. 138XXXXXXXXX. Get your friends to go to the studio on Friday and call this number. Someone will come out to bring them in afterwards."

Ning Lan sent a smiley face. "Thanks, Zhang'er."

Huo Dongfang: "Thank you very much."

In Beijing Television, Zhang Ye could be considered rather influential. Although he did not really take part in the current production run of the show and was really more of an executive producer in name, everyone knew how much Zhang Ye's words were worth with the program team. His words were as important as Executive Director Hu Fei's!

Ning Lan: "King of Masked Singers has gotten really popular these days."

Zhang Ye said with a laugh: "Sister Ning, are you interested in joining the competition?"

Ning Lan: "Haha, forget about me. My terrible voice? I haven't sung in such a long time."

Xiaodong: "Teacher Zhang, you haven't been gaining much popularity recently. You'll soon be replaced if it goes on like this."

Zhang Ye simply sent a "yeah."

Xiaodong: "Why don't you try to release an album? I know a few people in recording companies who could tailor-make some songs for you. You can just release it online since being banned or not won't matter."

Zhang Ye sent a neutral face emoji.

Ning Lan was amused. "He can't even sing!"

Huo Dongfang also said: "I've heard Zhang Ye's 'A Letter to Home' before. It's rather good. But as for cutting an album…uh, I think it's better not to think about that. I think it's pretty unlikely that'll happen. Cough cough." He was already putting it out quite tactfully.

Xiaodong said: "He won't be able to sing live for sure, but it might be worth a try in the recording studio. At worst, he'll have to record a song multiple times. If it doesn't work the first time, try another ten times. If ten times don't work, try twenty times. There'll surely be a few times when it's good enough. Besides, they can also tune his singing to sound better than it is. Technology's so advanced nowadays. They can even fix someone's completely out of tune singing."

Zhang Ye: "Thank you, Xiaodong. But I'll pass."

Xiaodong: "OK, but if you need anything, feel free to ask me. There's always a way no matter how badly you sing, so don't worry."

Zhang Ye was smiling on the inside. "Sure."

Zhang Yuanqi suddenly appeared: "Hello, comrades."

"Whoa, what a rare guest."

"Sister Zhang, hello."

"Sister Zhang is here?"

"You're up this early?"

A few familiar names were joking around with her.

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Zhang Yuanqi said: "I'm still in bed right now. Xiaodong just PMed me and suggested that we get the other two members of Spring Garden into this group as well. One of them is Amy, the other is Li Xiaoxian. I'm here to communicate this and see what everyone thinks. We can have a vote to decide."

The Goof Group could be considered a very famous group in the whole of the entertainment industry. Not just anyone could join it, as there were many big names and elites of the industry in it. The group didn't really invite anyone to join, and there were only several dozen people who were members of this group. Zhang Ye was the last person to have joined the group before this.

Xiaodong cheekily said: "Since they're my good friends and my teammates, I'll abstain from speaking."

Although that was what she said, Zhang Ye received a PM from Xiaodong very soon after.

Xiaodong secretly said: "Teacher Zhang, please help!"

Followed by four pitiful expression stickers in a row.

Zhang Ye was amused. "Alright, I know what to do."

Xiaodong sent a crying emoji. "Thank you!"

Zhang Ye then said in the Goof Group: "I'll allow it. Amy's popularity is getting higher and higher these days, and I believe it's also just a matter of time for Li Xiaoxian. With friends as good as these, we must get them into the group ASAP!"

Huo Dongfang said: "I also feel that it's OK."

Chen Guang: "After Amy appeared on those episodes of King of Masked Singers, she indeed became more popular. She also has a great character; I've spoken to her privately a few times. I find her to be quite friendly, so I'll definitely support her. As for Li Xiaoxian, there's even more nothing to say. We already know her identity. I suppose everyone here has realized as well?"

Ning Lan: "I don't have any problems with it either. We can let them join."

Quite a few people gave their opinions and a majority of them felt that it was OK.

Zhang Yuanqi said: "Alright, I don't have any complaints either. So let's invite them in."

Before long, a group notification appeared.

Zhang Yuanqi has invited Amy into Goof Group.

Zhang Yuanqi has invited Li Xiaoxian into Goof Group.

"Let's welcome the newbies!"

"Welcome!"

"A warm welcome to you!"

Everyone was very friendly. Even a Heavenly King appeared to welcome them.

Amy was stunned. "My god, is this the legendary group I've heard about?"

Ning Lan said happily: "It's the Goof Group."

Li Xiaoxian said quietly: "Hello, seniors."

Amy: "Ahhhh, I've finally been admitted into the Goof Group! How exciting! Ah, Sister Zhang! Ah, Sister Ning Lan! Wow, even Teacher Zhang Ye is here!"

In the Spring Garden, the most well-known member definitely had to be their leader, Xiaodong. Compared to her, even though the other two members were very popular as well, they were behind her by quite a bit. As a result, the number of big names in fields other than music that Amy and Li Xiaoxian knew personally could not really be considered that many and their contact with those people was not that great. Xiaodong had pushed for them to join the group mainly because she wanted to help them network some more. If they could become familiar with these people, they would definitely have it easier in the future. Like the time Ning Lan and her team were encircled by the martial artists. Zhang Ye had gone to help her after she sent a message for help in the group. They were all about looking out for one another.

Ning Lan was one of the group administrators and would usually join in the conversation whenever there was one. Zhang Yuanqi and some of the other Heavenly Kings and Queens might have been the most popular celebrities in the group, but as their time was very limited, they didn't usually appear to chat in the group. So a lot of the matters were handled by Ning Lan.

Ning Lan said: "Amy, Xiaoxian, if there's any trouble you girls meet with in the future, just holler at us in the group. Don't be shy."

Amy: "Got it."

Li Xiaoxian: "Thank you, seniors."

Huo Dongfang asked: "Amy, who is The Clown?"

Amy: "Um, I don't know too."

Ning Lan asked: "Does Xiaoxian know?"

Li Xiaoxian said: "I'm not sure either."

Ning Lan: "Old He was asking me today if I knew who The Clown was. I bet he was trying to scoop him up for the company."

Chen Guang: "Old He? You mean the chairman of your company?"

Ning Lan: "Yeah. A lot of people in the industry have now set their sights on the trio of The Clown, Petal Shower, and Sunset Glow. The other two contestants' identities have been more or less confirmed. Only The Clown does no one have any clue about!"

Zhang Ye laughed, then closed the chat app.

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Chapter 1052: A Children's Day singing contest?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Wednesday.

June 1, Children's Day.

Early in the morning, Zhang Ye was sound asleep when he suddenly felt someone prodding him.

"Zhang Ye!"

"Unh."

"Zhang Ye, get up!"

"Eh?"

"Get up!"

His arm was being shaken violently.

Zhang Ye couldn't continue sleeping. When he opened his eyes and saw that it was Chenchen who came, he frowned and made a shooing motion with his hand, seething, "Leave, leave." Then he turned around and went back to sleep.

Chenchen was so angry that she went to complain, "Grandpa, Grandma, Zhang Ye is lazing around in bed!"

His mother went into his room angrily and shouted, "Chenchen is here! Hurry and get up so that you can take the child out to play!"

Zhang Ye said in annoyance, "Play what?"

His father also came in and said, "It's Children's Day today. Get up quickly."

Zhang Ye sighed, "What about Old Rao? Why don't you get Old Rao to take her instead?"

"You have two interviews scheduled, and there's also an award presentation this afternoon. Didn't Chenchen's aunt become your agent? She's already gone out to handle all that for you, so how would she have any time today? She brought the child here early this morning and mentioned that it was Children's Day, so she wanted you to take Chenchen out to play." His mother grumbled, "Get up already."

At this, Zhang Ye was no longer annoyed. "Alright, alright, I'll do it."

He got out of bed, went to wash up, then ate breakfast.

Chenchen seemed pretty excited as she kept urging him to hurry up.

"Zhang Ye, brush your teeth faster.

"Zhang Ye, eat faster.

"Hurry up."

Zhang Ye had a terrible headache from her nagging. "Where do you want to go? Why the rush?"

Chenchen said, "I want to go to the haunted house at the amusement park!"

Zhang Ye rolled his eyes. "Going to an amusement park on Children's Day? You really don't think that it wouldn't be crowded?"

His mother stared at him and said, "What's with all your nonsense? Hurry up!"

"Fine, fine, fine. We'll go to the amusement park, OK?"

A little after 8 AM.

They arrived at the Beijing Amusement Park.

In Zhang Ye's previous world, this amusement park had closed down several years ago. But in this world, the amusement park was still in operation. It was so packed with visitors that the sea of people in front of them was blocking their view of where the ticketing office was located.

They lined up to buy the tickets.

After passing through security, they entered the park grounds.

Zhang Ye stretched his hand out. "Hold onto my hand."

Chenchen took his hand. "Where's the haunted house?"

"It should be somewhere up ahead." Zhang Ye wasn't in a great mood as it was very hot today. In the middle of summertime, he was wearing a surgical mask, hat, and aviators. If it were anyone else, who wouldn't feel hot?

When they reached the haunted house, they had to stand in line for almost an hour before they could get in.

The entrance was right in front and all the screams of the children could be heard coming from inside.

"Ah!"

"Mommy!"

"I don't wanna play here anymore!"

"That scared the crap out of me!"

"Sob sob sob!"

Some were even crying as screams rang out.

Zhang Ye looked at Chenchen and smiled. "You better not end up crying later."

Chenchen smirked. "Hur hur."

Then, Zhang Ye led her into the haunted house. It was also his first time visiting one.

After only eight steps in, a skeleton fell from above and dropped right in front of Zhang Ye and Chenchen. It was springing up and down in front of them.

Zhang Ye immediately got the goosebumps all over as his shouts nearly pierced the roof of the haunted house. "Aiyo, what the hell!"

Deadpan, Chenchen glanced at him. "Zhang Ye, are you sure you'll be OK?"

Zhang Ye shouted, "Quick, move along! Keep going!"

As someone who would even tremble in fear when he went to a hospital, how could he possibly enjoy this experience!

But just as they took a few steps forward, a figure with a protruding red tongue suddenly jumped out next to them and let out a chilling scream!

However, Zhang Ye screamed out even louder than him. "Holy shit!"

His scream nearly scared the employee dressed up as a demon out of his wits. Damn, Big Bro, is it really necessary for you to scream like that? You scared the shit out of me!

In comparison, Chenchen was pretty calm. She looked at that "demon" with a red tongue and pointed at him, saying, "This tongue doesn't look real at all. I could see straight away that this was made from cotton. And look at this." She pressed the red tongue and said, "It's so dirty. Just how many days have you not washed this tongue?"

The employee speechless.

Chenchen pointed out, "Next time, remember to use one that is made of rubber. It'd be more realistic than this."

The employee stayed speechless.

When they continued forward, there was yet another terrifying scene!

Something covered all in hair was striding step by step toward them!

Zhang Ye was frightened so badly that he kept screaming wildly.

But Chenchen just blinked her eyes and walked over to it. She pushed aside the disgusting‑looking hair several times to reveal the shocked face of a female employee.

Chenchen nodded at her and said, "You're scarier than those people we met earlier on."

The female employee said, "Eh?"

Chenchen asked, "Is your pay higher than theirs?"

The female staff said nothing.

Chenchen: "How much do you get paid?"

The female staff still didn't respond.

After a trip through the haunted house, Zhang Ye's face had paled beyond white. He still couldn't get over it for the longest time after coming out and kept walking in places where the sun was shining, avoiding any place that was dark and shaded. It was not that he had no balls, but because he was just afraid of things that shocked and scared people.

But unknown to them, the staff in the haunted house were all feeling like they were going to vomit blood. They really had never seen a child like this before. She was clearly not brought up by a normal family. How did they know that? There was no need to ask this, of course. Have you fucking seen any normal child go and uncover a demon's hair and ask how much she was paid when they saw a ghost walking toward them? Have you witnessed something like this before?

Actually, Zhang Ye was also wondering how Chenchen could be so brave. She was too scared to sleep alone at night, but she was braver than anyone else once they were inside the haunted house. Even Zhang Ye nearly had his soul scared out of him, but this little kid could still find the time to mock the staff? Did you come all the way to the amusement park just to do that?

Zhang Ye asked, "Did you have fun?"

Chenchen nodded and said, "It's not too bad."

Zhang Ye said, "What do you mean by not too bad!"

Chenchen said, "Zhang Ye, you're such a weakling."

Zhang Ye said angrily, "Don't ask me to bring you out to this awful place again in the future!"

Chenchen said in a serious manner, "Don't you know that they're all just pretending?"

"Of course I know that!" Zhang Ye said angrily.

Chenchen let out a hur hur. "Zhang Ye, you're such a coward."

Zhang Ye rolled his eyes and harrumphed, "I'm a coward? You just haven't seen this bro pilot a plane! That's what you would call a big occasion. What do you know?"

Chenchen pouted and turned to look at a shop that was selling things. She pointed at the shop and said, "Zhang Ye, I want ice cream."

Zhang Ye nodded. "Keep dreaming."

"Go buy it for me."

"Buy it yourself."

"You buy it for me!"

When an old couple who had brought their grandson out to have fun saw this, they could not help but criticize Zhang Ye with a few choice words.

The old lady said, "Boy, if the child wants to eat, just go and buy it for her."

The old man said, "Since it's Children's Day and they only get to enjoy one such holiday, you should give into her."

The two of them walked away after that.

Zhang Ye was at a loss.

"Alright, alright, you're the king today." Zhang Ye forced himself to go and buy ice cream for her. "But let me say this first. After Children's Day, I won't go so easy on you!"

Chenchen ignored him and continued to eat the ice cream. She kept flicking her eyes around like she was scoping out what to do next.

All of a sudden, sounds of a festive atmosphere drifted over from up ahead. It seemed to be an event. A host was onstage talking at the moment. Several hundred people were around the stage!

It sounded like there was some sort of a singing contest?

And there were even prizes?

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Chapter 1053: 'The King Sent Me on Mountain Patrol'!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

At the amusement park.

More and more people gathered around a stage set up on the southern side of the park.

The host was a young and pretty woman. Although she was not exceptionally beautiful, she still looked good nonetheless. From the way she spoke, she was definitely a professional broadcast host too. This was the occupation that Zhang Ye held. So, when faced with a fellow peer, he would know from feeling alone. Beaming, she raised her microphone and announced, "Good day to all the parents and children here today. I am the host of Central Radio Children's Channel, Yuan Meng. You can call me Little Yuan or Little Meng."

Some of the people in the crowd actually knew her.

"Ah, Yuan Meng?"

"Central Radio Children's Channel?"

"I know her!"

"Yeah, I always let my kid listen to her show!"

"I've only ever heard her voice in the past. I didn't think that Yuan Meng would look so pretty as well."

"What event are they holding here? Why is there a band and all those instruments?"

Everyone was very interested.

Yuan Meng smiled and said, "We're holding a live broadcast here for the June 1st Children's Day Special. The signal will be broadcast in-sync through our radio station." Looking at her watch, she said, "We'll be starting in about another 15 minutes' time, so I hope everyone will cooperate and join the singing contest that we're holding here today. It can be the children taking part alone, or teamed up with their parents as a group. We have invited a professional band to play for today's event as well, and there are even three music teachers from the Central Conservatory of Music here to judge the contest. Every participating family will stand to win a prize, with the top three prizes even grander, so we hope everyone will participate enthusiastically."

The prizes were all placed behind her on the stage.

The three judges were also beckoning with their hands and calling for everyone to join.

"A singing contest?"

"There are even prizes to be given out?"

"Wow, it's going to be live radio broadcast?"

"Really? It will be broadcast live on Central Radio Children's Channel?"

Zhang Ye had a look at the equipment and the workers at the venue and knew immediately that this was truly a setup for a live broadcast. He used to work in a radio station, so of course he would know.

A lot of the children started to shout in excitement.

"It's Big Baby Bear!"

"Mom, I want that!"

"Dad, let's join the contest!"

"I wanna join too!"

"Alright, alright, let's participate!"

"Let's go and register!"

"We're going to register too!"

"Are we really going to be on a live radio show?"

"We can sing any song that we want? Then I'll join too!"

The parents and their children were all very enthusiastic.

But Zhang Ye was not really interested. He had already been on countless live television broadcasts, to say nothing of a live radio broadcast. Besides, if a channel like Central Radio Children's Channel wanted a celebrity like Zhang Ye to appear on their show, they would have to pay a fee for his appearance.

"Let's go," Zhang Ye called out to Chenchen.

But Chenchen did not move.

Zhang Ye turned around. "What's the matter?"

Chenchen raised her arm and pointed at the top prize on the stage. "Zhang Ye, I want that."

Zhang Ye said in annoyance, "Do you even know what the name of that thing is?"

Chenchen nodded. "I know. It's Big Baby Bear."

The prizes were quite good. The first place prize was a plushie of one of the characters in one of this world's children's cartoon. It was pretty big and even seemed like it was a limited edition collectible that couldn't be bought with money.

Zhang Ye wondered, "I thought you didn't like to watch cartoons anymore?"

Chenchen looked at the other children who were all grabbing their parents' arms like spoiled brats. A lot of them seemed like they wanted to win that limited edition Big Baby Bear.

Chenchen also tugged at Zhang Ye's arm. "Zhang Ye, I want that too."

Zhang Ye was amused and laughed, "What? You want it just because the other kids want it as well?"

Chenchen nodded. "Win it for me!"

Zhang Ye gave her a look. "You know how to sing?"

"I do."

"Really?"

"I just can't sing well."

"That means you don't know how!"

"…Oh. Do you know how?"

"Hur, do I know how? Why are you so funny? What do I not know! But what's so attractive about this contest? Do you know how much of an appearance fee I can command? If you want me to sing, you'd have to fork out at least a million or two. Would I have to be so desperate over just a lousy bear?"

Zhang Ye was not bragging in this case. He was really worth that much these days.

Zhang Ye tried to pull her away. "Let's leave."

Chenchen did not move. She stood there looking at a family beside her.

A little girl who looked about five years old was shamelessly making a scene in front her parents. "Daddy, Mommy, I want Big Bear! I want Big Bear!"

Her father smiled bitterly and said, "But Daddy and Mommy can't sing well."

The little girl was nearly crying. "I don't care, I want Big Bear!"

Her father gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, since my daughter has spoken, Daddy has to do it somehow. I'll go register!"

The little girl cheered, "Yay, Daddy's the best!" She even kissed her father on the cheek.

Her mother patted her husband's chest and covered her mouth as she laughed. "Don't embarrass yourself when you're up there."

The father thumped his chest and declared, "For our daughter, I don't mind being embarrassed!"

Chenchen looked at them without blinking.

That little girl noticed Chenchen looking at her. She looked back curiously and said, "Big Sis, do you want Big Bear too? You can ask your daddy to join the contest." She pointed at Zhang Ye.

Chenchen said, "I don't have a daddy."

The little girl was surprised by this and said, "But everyone has a daddy."

Chenchen looked at her and expressionlessly said, "I don't have one."

When the girl's parents heard that, they quickly pulled their daughter back and hurriedly said to the man in sunglasses beside Chenchen, "Sorry about that, sir. You know how kids are. We're really sorry!"

Zhang Ye smiled. "It's fine."

The mother asked out of curiosity, "Her parents?"

Zhang Ye was silent for a moment, then whispered, "They've passed away."

The mother was taken aback and said, "Oh, look at me, why did I ask! I'm sorry!"

Chenchen did not say a word.

Zhang Ye looked into her eyes and when he thought about her situation, he suddenly felt very sorry and bad for her. He knelt down and said to Chenchen, "About that Big Bear, do you really want it?"

Chenchen nodded. "Uh-huh."

Zhang Ye snapped his fingers. "Alright." He then stood up and said, "Even if I have to risk everything, I'll definitely win Big Bear for you!"

Instantaneously, this fellow was eager to fight!

He seemed to change into a different person as he strode up to register for the contest!

A few minutes later.

The live broadcast began.

Yuan Meng stood onstage and announced, "Good day, everyone. You're listening to Central Radio Children's Channel. I'm your host, Yuan Meng. I'm currently out at Beijing Amusement Park, where we are holding a spectacular singing contest. Over here, we have 13 groups signing up for the event, and we will be starting…"

At the same time, the radio broadcast started.

...

Zhang Ye's parents' house.

His father was tidying up the room when he found an old radio.

He asked, "Do we have any batteries in the house? Triple-As."

His mother clicked her tongue. "Why are you fiddling with that?"

His father said, "I want to see if it's still working. Otherwise, I'm gonna throw it away."

He tried tuning into a few radio stations.

Then he said, "It's still in working condition."

His mother suddenly said, "Wait, that station earlier was Central Radio Children's Channel? Are they broadcasting live from Beijing Amusement Park? Didn't Little Ye bring Chenchen there? A singing contest?"

His father turned up the volume. "Let's have a listen! Do you think Little Ye and Chenchen will take part?"

His mother's lips curled upward. "With our son's terrible voice, what can he sing?"

...

At the venue.

The first family was already performing onstage.

"Little bunny, be good,

"Open the door.

"I will not, I will not / open the door."

This was a nursery rhyme that Zhang Ye had sung before on a radio broadcast, At that time, it received a resounding response and a lot of people learned how to sing it as well.

This family could only sing it rather averagely, but they received rapturous applause nonetheless!

Those three teachers from the Central Conservatory of Music also smiled and applauded them.

Then it was the second group's turn to perform.

Then the third.

The father of the little girl who spoke to Chenchen earlier was the seventh to go onstage. He was very nervous as his hands trembled while holding his microphone. After all, all those people who were taking part in the contest did not have any prior experience of being on a live radio broadcast, and every other group displayed a similar anxiety when it was their turn to go onstage.

The little girl shouted, "Daddy, I'm cheering for you! Daddy, go for it!"

When he heard his daughter's cheering, the father straightened up and raised his microphone to sing along with the band's accompaniment.

He sang very terribly.

He even went off-key.

But the little girl kept clapping and shouting, "Daddy, you're great!" She held her mother's hand and said, "Mommy, Daddy's really great!"

Her mother laughed and said, "Yes, your daddy is the best!"

Chenchen looked at the girl and her mother without saying a word.

Zhang Ye could not watch this any further, so he purposely patted Chenchen on her head and said, "It's my turn, haha. Watch me."

Chenchen looked at him. "Are you sure you can do it?"

Zhang Ye laughed loudly. "Just you watch, kiddo."

Yuan Meng looked into the crowd and said, "Let's welcome the eighth group onstage."

Zhang Ye pulled Chenchen to the position closest to the stage and left her there as he walked up to the stage with a big smile. When a lot of people in the audience saw him dressed in that outfit, they looked at him strangely. Who would cover themselves with a surgical mask and a large pair of sunglasses on a warm summer day like this?

Yuan Meng also gave him an additional once-over before passing the microphone to him.

The band asked him, "What will you be singing?"

Zhang Ye took off his surgical mask. "Just give me a beat and I'll be fine." He walked over to communicate some details with the few of them.

The band was actually not that professional to begin with, so they were rather confused when they heard his instructions.

What do you mean?

You're even thinking of singing an original?

Who do you think you are?

Chenchen looked at Zhang Ye up on stage.

Beside her, a small hand grabbed hold of her hand. "Is that your daddy?"

Chenchen turned her head and realized that it was the little girl from earlier. She answered, "No."

Some people were looking at the sunglasses-wearing young man on the stage.

"Eh?"

"What's the matter?"

"That guy looks so familiar!"

"Ah, you're right!"

The stage was prepared.

Zhang Ye stood there and thought back to when he didn't know how to sing. He cleared his throat and deliberately adjusted his voice away from The Clown's voice pattern. Then he saw Chenchen looking at him and started feeling a little sad. Chenchen, don't be sad. Your parents are no longer around, but don't you still have your aunt? Don't you still have me? I may not be your father, and neither do I know how to be a father, I really don't. But I can assure you of this: As long as you need me, I'll always be by your side!

Believe me!

I definitely will be!

So, please, cheer up!

The music started!

A folk music accompaniment started playing!

Zhang Ye raised his microphone and stunned everyone the moment he opened his mouth to sing 1 .

"The sun winks at me." He looked and blinked several times at Chenchen!

"Birds are singing songs for me. I am a very hard-working and unclingy little genie." He pointed to him own chest.

Everyone was taken aback.

What?

What song was this?

An original? Did you write it yourself?

The host, Yuan Meng, was also dumbfounded!

Zhang Ye walked to the front of the stage and put his hand into a flower basket. From it, he picked out a flower.

"Don't ask me where I'm from.

"Or ask me where I am going.

"I want to pick the prettiest flower,

"To offer to my little princess!"

He stooped down and placed the flower in Chenchen's hair. He pulled Chenchen and led her up onto the stage as well. Then he bent down and, amazingly, lifted Chenchen up on his left shoulder with astonishing strength.

Chenchen was terrified!

Zhang Ye laughed and said in a loud voice, "Aiyo, I nearly forgot!

"The king sent me on mountain patrol.

"Through the mortal realm, let me take a stroll.

"Beating my drums.

"Sounding my gong.

"Life is full of the feel of rhythm.

"The king sent me on mountain patrol.

"To capture a monk as his dinner roll.

"This mountain stream is so sweet that I don't envy couples or immortals!"

And then, suddenly, the audience broke into cheering!

The children were getting excited!

The parents were also mesmerized from listening to the song!

It was really good!

The song was perfect!

The three judges were stunned!

The band was also dumbfounded!

Dammit, this is just a children's singing contest held for entertainment's sake. What's with this song of yours? Isn't this song too professionally written?

...

Back at home.

His mother said in surprise, "Hey, hey, hey. This voice?"

His father said in astonishment, "Is that our son's voice?"

His mother said, "Did he really bring Chenchen onstage?"

...

At a music production company.

A department manager was just listening to the radio as he had nothing much to do. Suddenly, when this song was played, another assistant manager and he were both stunned!

"This song?"

"Who's that?"

"It's not very well sung, but the song is…"

"Have you heard this before? What song is that?"

"I've not heard of it before. Could it be an original?"

...

At the venue.

Zhang Ye raised his microphone to Chenchen's mouth. He knew that Chenchen was a smart girl.

Chenchen looked at him, then opened her mouth awkwardly to say, "The sun winks at me. Birds are singing songs for me."

Zhang Ye took it from there and laughed, "I am a very hard-working and unclingy little genie.

"Don't ask me where I'm from.

"Or ask me where I am going.

"I want to pick the prettiest flower,

"To offer to my little princess!"

Then Zhang Ye plucked out another flower and swiftly put it into Chenchen's hair again!

Chenchen suddenly laughed.

She was laughing very happily.

This was the first time Zhang Ye had seen her laughing in such a way. It was really the first time that it happened!

When he saw that, his singing became even more enthusiastic. He was already singing and skipping around mischievously. That bobbing motion of his head was especially funny.

It was obviously very funny to watch, but the parents of that little girl from earlier could not laugh at all. They knew that the sunglasses-wearing young man was not the girl's father and that her real parents had already passed away. Their eyes reddened a little and they couldn't hold back their tears anymore!

It was quite touching to see!

But they felt a sense of admiration even more!

Zhang Ye, who had Chenchen bouncing up and down on his shoulder, was laughing and singing.

"The king sent me on mountain patrol.

"Through the mortal realm, let me take a stroll."

Chenchen followed along and sang.

"Beating my drums.

"Sounding my gong.

"Life is full of the feel of rhythm.

"The king sent me on mountain patrol.

"To capture a monk as his dinner roll.

"This mountain stream is so sweet that I don't envy couples or immortals!"

Applause rang out!

Cheers were erupting from the audience!

This song had sent the atmosphere of the entire audience to its highest point!

This was not a children's song. At least, it was not like a nursery rhyme that was sung to children. The song carried a great meaning of the unconditional love between family members that even the adults could understand and be touched by it!

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Chapter 1054: Rave reviews!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The song ended.

"Great!"

"Great singing!"

"It was so nice to listen to!"

"This song is so well-written!"

"How awesome!"

"Yeah, there is brilliant talent among the people!"

"A random parent who went up on stage is this amazing? I'm impressed!"

Everyone applauded loudly. Many of the children were also clapping with all their might!

Suddenly, someone who was staring intently at Zhang Ye's face shouted, "Damn, what do you mean by there is brilliant talent among the people? Is, isn't that goddamn Teacher Zhang Ye?"

"Ah, he really looks like him!"

"What do you mean he looks like him? It is him!"

"It really is Zhang Ye!"

"Holy shit, Zhang Ye is here!"

"What?! I was wondering how a normal parent could write a song!"

The audience erupted into shouting!

A lot of people in the amusement park rushed over upon hearing the news.

The host, Yuan Meng, was stunned. "Teacher Zhang?"

The band and music teachers from the Central Conservatory of Music were also shocked!

By now, Zhang Ye had taken off his aviators knowing that it was pointless to wear them. When the people saw that it was really him, screaming again came from the crowd.

"Zhang Ye has made an appearance here!"

"Quick, come and see!"

"Oh my god, I've finally seen Zhang Ye in person!"

"This is my first time seeing an A-lister!"

The stage was surrounded by a large crowd of people!

Yuan Meng was very happy as she did not expect that she would meet a big shot like Zhang Ye while doing an outdoor live broadcast show. This was like the pie in the sky falling down, and it would definitely pull up her show's listenership ratings. "Teacher Zhang Ye, would you like to say something to the live audience and radio listeners?"

Zhang Ye plucked Chenchen off his shoulders with a smile and patted her head. "Hai, I won't say anything much or delay everyone's time. I was just bringing this kid out to play today. Since she said that she wanted that first place prize, how could I say no? Even if I had to risk my life, I would still have to win it."

Yuan Meng asked, "What's the title of this song? How could it be so good?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "It's called 'The King Sent Me on Mountain Patrol.' Hur hur, I've written it just for my king."

"You mean this girl is your king?" Yuan Meng looked at Chenchen with a smile.

Zhang Ye replied happily, "Yes."

Yuan Meng said, feeling a little moved, "You're so good to your daughter."

Zhang Ye waved it off and said, "Hai, all parents are the same."

Chenchen said, "Can you give me that Big Bear already?"

Embarrassed, Yuan Meng said, "But there are still four more groups to go."

Chenchen gave an "oh" in disappointment.

"Alright, please proceed with the contest." Zhang Ye led the child off the stage. The moment they left the stage, they were surrounded by a group of people asking for his autograph. As he couldn't reject them, he signed for them one by one.

Shortly afterwards, the contest finished.

After the three judges and the band had a round of discussion, the results of the top three were soon decided!

Zhang Ye had gotten first place!

It was not because of his fame or some preferential treatment. Anyone who heard that song would know that first place was definitely his. His song was really good and was even an original. Moreover, this was also his first time performing it in public, so who else should get first place if not him?

The prizes were given out after that.

Zhang Ye smiled as he received the prize and then stuffed it into Chenchen's arms. "Here, I won it."

Chenchen instantly grabbed the Big Bear, which was nearly as tall as her, into her arms.

At the moment, the little girl who had talked to her earlier was holding her parents' hands as she stared fixedly at the Big Bear in envy. She could not help but approach. "Big Sis, your daddy treats you real well."

Chenchen said helplessly, "I've already told you that he's not my daddy."

The little girl nodded, then gulped. "Then, then can I touch Big Bear for a little bit?"

Chenchen looked at her and then placed the Big Bear into her arms. "I'll give it to you."

The little girl exclaimed in surprise, "Ah? Really?"

Her parents quickly said, "No, no, that won't do!"

Chenchen said, "This is just a toy for little kids to play with. I don't play with such things, so you can have it."

Big Bear was so big that the little girl couldn't quite wrap her arms around it, so she fell the ground with a heavy thud. However, joy lit up on her face as she said, "Thank you, Big Sis! Thank you, Big Sis!"

Chenchen tugged at Zhang Ye's arm and said, "Zhang Ye, let's go."

Zhang Ye asked, "What do you want to do next?"

Chenchen pouted and said, "You've been recognized by others, so how can we still have fun with anything?"

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "Alright, blame it on me. Let's go home then."

"Zhang Ye."

"What's the matter?"

"Sing that again."

"Yes, my king."

At the amusement park, several hundred people were taking pictures and recording videos of the young and old duo with their cell phones. The adult was holding the child's hand as they left the amusement park, singing as they walked out of the place.

"The king sent me on mountain patrol!

"To capture a monk as his dinner roll!

"This mountain stream is so sweet that I don't envy couples or immortals!"

...

On Weibo.

There was a heated discussion happening!

An article on Weibo titled "Zhang Ye's surprise appearance at the Central Radio Children's Channel live broadcast event" immediately started trending and the song played on the radio was posted as well.

Numerous netizens also posted threads on Weibo and shared their pictures from the event.

"I got Zhang Ye's autograph!"

"Come and see! We bumped into Teacher Zhang at Beijing Amusement Park!"

"Video clip of Zhang Ye's singing on stage! Come quick!"

Picture after picture!

Video after video!

This song titled "The King Sent Me to Mountain Patrol" was trending all over Weibo!

"It's so incredible!"

"Zhang Ye is indeed Zhang Ye!"

"Haha, Teacher Zhang released a new song?"

"Why didn't he distribute the song over the Internet or through publishers? There weren't any promotions either? He just went up onstage to sing after chancing upon a minor singing contest? Isn't this a little too carefree? Uh, why do I seem to think that the fellow wrote that song on the spot?"

"Since when did Zhang Ye have a kid?"

"That little girl is a relative of his or the child of his friend, right? I know who she is."

"I know her too. That little girl previously led a group of her classmates and cracked the largest burglary case that startled the nation!"

"That's right, it's her!"

"Pfft, I remember too now!"

"I wonder why her parents are not with her, but it seems that Zhang Ye occasionally takes care of her and sometimes takes her to and from school. He has also attended her school's parent-teacher meetings. That was reported on the news before."

"This song is really funny, hahaha!"

"I don't think it's funny. I find it very touching instead."

"Me too! I was really touched by the song!"

"The person I respect the most in the entertainment industry is Zhang Ye. Although the fellow is always insulting people, picking fights, starting trouble, and constantly kicking up a fuss, I believe that everyone in the entertainment industry isn't what they seem like on the surface, except for Zhang Ye. I really believe that to be true. He is truly a good person who wouldn't hesitate to speak up about right and wrong."

"My son also listened to that song and he really likes it!"

"It's Children's Day today. I must give a Like to Zhang Ye!"

"Yes, Teacher Zhang Ye is a very good person."

"Yeah, he treats kids really well."

"Even though she's not his own daughter, he still treats her so well and specially wrote a song to make her happy. My impression of Zhang Ye has changed now, and I'll try my best not to criticize him in the future."

"It's so full of positive energy!"

"It's so full of Teacher Zhang's spirit!"

"This song is really amazing!"

The remarks online were all positive!

The netizens were all giving rave reviews to Zhang Ye and his song!

It was probably due to the alignment of many factors, but "The King Sent Me on Mountain Patrol" had incredibly squeezed into the Top Chinese Music Chart within just two short hours!

It was placed at #7 on the daily chart!

It even pushed one of Sunset Glow's songs down the rankings!

And the numbers kept increasing with more and more people listening to it!

With the Children's Day festivities in full swing, this song became popular very quickly!

#6…

#5…

#4…

A dark horse emerged and appeared against all odds on the Top Chinese Music Chart that had been mainly occupied by songs from King of Masked Singers for the past few weeks!

Many of the industry insiders were dumbfounded by what they saw!

However, most of them were already used to it. This was Zhang Ye, and one would never be able to measure him through common sense. Even if everyone thought that something was impossible or would not do well, when it got handled by Zhang Ye, he would complete it with earth-shattering results. There was no logic in how he did things and no amount of logic could be used to explain it!

For a time.

This song was heard all over the streets and on the radio stations!

It was so catchy that some people even learned how to sing it after just listening to it three or four times!

...

In a neighborhood.

"Daddy, hurry up and learn this song!"

"But Daddy doesn't know how to sing."

"I don't care! You must learn it!"

"But why?"

"Because I'm going to be your king!"

"Hahaha, alright, alright. Daddy will learn it just for you!"

...

People in the entertainment circle also started talking about it.

Zhang Xia posted on Weibo, "Recommending a song to everyone. 'The King Sent Me on Mountain Patrol' is a really nice song to listen to."

Chen Guang replied to her post below: "Grandma Zhang has already listened to the song? Haha, I've also just finished listening to it. It is indeed quite good. I only just found out that Director Zhang can even write songs of this genre. He's impressed me again. But Director Zhang's singing is still as terrible and he can't control his breathing that well. I've got to give him some pointers soon!"

Xiaodong: "@ZhangYe Teacher Zhang, can you seriously practice your singing to become better? Although, the song's really good and I found it quite enjoyable. If I were to cover it, please don't charge me a copyright fee!"

Fan Wenli: "'The King Sent Me on Mountain Patrol' is already #3 on the Top Chinese Music Chart! Congratulations, Director Zhang!"

Dong Shanshan: "What a nice song!"

Amy: "Teacher Zhang, you're amazing! Please write a song for us again!"

This song also received rave reviews from the industry!

Of course, quite a few people also ridiculed Zhang Ye's singing. Be it "A Letter to Home" or "The King Sent Me on Mountain Patrol," these two songs were the only times Zhang Ye used his true identity to perform in public. They all felt that Zhang Ye's performance had no singing skill to speak of at all!

When the people saw that, they were also amused.

"Haha, his singing is really a little terrible!"

"So Teacher Zhang also has his shortcomings!"

"It's just a children's song. What singing skills are needed!"

"It's not like Teacher Zhang's a professional singer. Not going off-key is already pretty good!"

"Eh, I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"Do you guys think that those songs sung by The Clown on King of Masked Singers were written by Teacher Zhang Ye? If not, where could he have gotten so many originals?"

"That might be possible!"

"Right, that's really a possibility!"

Soon after, Zhang Ye's Weibo was updated.

He posted: "Thank you, everyone. Thank you to all my friends and fellow peers for your support. This song was only meant to cheer up the children. I did not expect that it would cause such a big commotion. It was really unexpected that the song could even get to #3 on the Top Chinese Music Chart. You all have given me such a shock, haha. Anyway, I will use this song to wish all the children in our country a happy Children's Day!"

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Chapter 1055: King of Masked Singers gets investigated!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Noon.

At home.

Zhang Ye scarfed down his meal.

Chenchen had finished lunch much earlier and was playing "The King Sent Me on Mountain Patrol" on her cell phone. She went over to Zhang Ye's mother and held the phone out in front of her. "Grandma, Zhang Ye wrote this song for me."

His mother patted her head and smiled. "It's such a nice song."

Chenchen turned around. "Grandpa, Zhang Ye wrote this song for me."

His father nodded enthusiastically. "It's great. Granny and I both listened to it on the radio just now."

Chenchen said, "You can hear me singing in it as well."

His mother smiled. "You sang much better than Little Ye!"

Chenchen nodded. "Yup."

Zhang Ye was rolling his eyes at everything they said. "Don't you guys feel bad making such lies?"

His mother shot him a look. "With that lousy voice of yours, how can you be better at singing than our Chenchen?!"

Zhang Ye threw up his hands. "Alright, but can I eat in peace?"

"What place is it at now?" his father asked.

"You mean on the Top Chinese Music Chart?" Zhang Ye laughed and answered, "I think it's almost reached second."

His mother said in astonishment, "How many hours has it been?"

Zhang Ye analyzed, "It's Children's Day today, so the momentum from that is pushing it up. I think it shouldn't be a problem for it to get first place by tonight, but I doubt that it can muster up a fight in the monthly chart's top rankings. The fifth episode of King of Masked Singers will be broadcast in another few days. At that point, there will be another flurry of songs released."

However, that was already good enough. The drop in his popularity after so many days without being in the public eye had been turned around a little bit.

A phone rang.

It was Chenchen's cell phone.

Chenchen answered her phone. "Aunt."

Rao Aimin: "Did Zhang Ye take you out to play?"

Chenchen said: "We went to Beijing Amusement Park and even sang a song together."

Rao Aimin: "Did you enjoy yourself then?"

Chenchen said: "I guess it was alright."

Zhang Ye interjected: "Only alright?"

Chenchen handed her cell phone to him. "Zhang Ye, my aunt is looking for you."

"OK." Zhang Ye took the phone from her and said: "Sorry to have inconvenienced you, Old Rao. Have you accepted the award yet?"

It sounded rather chaotic on Rao Aimin's end, so she was probably outside somewhere. "It's been withdrawn."

Zhang Ye said: "Ah?"

"I don't know what's with this bunch of bastards. They withdrew your award at the last minute and changed the recipient to someone else. It seems like they received some instructions from above or something."

A man's voice sounded over the phone: "Hey, why are you swearing at us?"

Zhang Ye heard Rao Aimin say: "What's wrong with me swearing at you people? You made me come all the way here to accept the award, then changed the recipient to someone else on the spot? You people might have nothing better to do, but I have many things to handle on my end!"

When the man heard this, he felt a little guilty. "Big Sis, why is your temper even more terrible than Zhang Ye's?"

Zhang Ye's and Rao Aimin's temperament were very similar. The two of them always did as they liked and would scold others the moment they disagreed with something.

Zhang Ye said: "Calm down, cool your jets. It's fine. If they've withdrawn the prize, so be it. Come back quick. The kid's waiting for you."

Rao Aimin said: "Alright, I'll head back soon. But let me give them another piece of my mind first!"

Just before the call ended, Zhang Ye heard Rao Aimin say: "Call your organizer's manager out! Are you people taking us for fools?"

The award was not actually an important one, but neither was it pointless. It was still considered an officially recognized award in the Beijing municipality called the "Lifetime Contribution Award to Variety Shows." With King of Masked Singers becoming so popular, Beijing Television had fought hard to get this award for Zhang Ye. As the value attached to this award was not really that great, Zhang Ye had sent his agent to collect the prize on his behalf. However, he did not expect it to be withdrawn at the last minute like this. Based on his time in the entertainment circle, Zhang Ye knew that there was something behind this decision. Perhaps this was done to send a signal of some sort.

Sure enough, it happened.

A few minutes later, there was a sudden change in the Top Chinese Music Chart!

"The King Sent Me on Mountain Patrol" was removed and its popularity score was locked. Even though the netizens could still access the song from various channels, the popularity score of the song would no longer increase. It had disappeared from the chart completely.

A lot of people on Weibo were stunned by the development.

"What happened?"

"Why is 'The King' no longer on the charts?"

"Did its popularity ranking drop all of a sudden?"

"That can't be! It was in second place! And almost in first place! It can't possibly just drop off from second place to outside the top hundred spots!"

"I've tried searching for it, but 'The King' is no longer in the top hundred!"

"What the hell? What's with this turn of events?"

"Was there a mistake with the statistics calculations?"

"What happened? Can anyone explain this?"

"Comrades, I've just received news that there was supposed to be an official award presented today in Beijing called the 'Lifetime Contribution Award to Variety Shows.' Teacher Zhang was slated to receive it, but just a moment ago, the recipient was switched to someone else. It seems like they received notice from the Ministry of Culture to prevent the award from being given to Teacher Zhang, and his agent even got into an argument with the organizers."

"This…"

"A ban?"

"The smog issue still hasn't blown over yet?"

"What was supposed to happen still couldn't be avoided, huh?"

"Dammit!"

"Would King of Masked Singers be affected by this then?"

"Who knows!"

"Teacher Zhang is in the news again!"

"The Brain Gold commercial has been taken down as well!"

"What?"

"I have a friend working at a television station and I just got notified about that!"

"But why?"

"No reason was given. There was just an order to change the commercial and redo it. The meaning couldn't be simpler! It just means that Zhang Ye's scene in the commercial has to be cut!"

"'A Letter to Home' has disappeared from the Top Chinese Music Chart as well!"

"Damn, those are both good songs!"

"It's not an issue with the song. It was clearly taken down because of the singer!"

The bad news kept coming.

At home, Zhang Ye's phone was blowing up!

His mother said in shock, "Why are they suddenly targeting you?"

Zhang Ye said calmly, "This should have happened much earlier, but it just got delayed."

His mother said angrily, "How can you be this calm?"

"I was long prepared for this," Zhang Ye replied.

Yes, he already knew about this long ago as Wu Zeqing had warned him about it.

All this time, all these days, Zhang Ye was being soft banned. Although there was no official statement about his status from any agencies, the truth was that Zhang Ye had already been banned for about a month or two. But due to the controversy at that time and the topic still being fervently discussed in the public sphere, this matter was not explicitly picked on during that sensitive period. If Zhang Ye had continued maintaining a low profile, this problem should have blown over in another month or two with Old Wu around. That would have been the end of the issue and Zhang Ye would have been able to stand up anew to do whatever he wanted to do. But today, Zhang Ye, who had been quiet for over a month, had come out with a new work. It even managed to shoot up to the top of the Top Chinese Music Chart at the double with momentum that was a force to be reckoned with. This was what attracted the current response from the authorities.

Ring, ring, ring.

The Clown's cell phone rang.

Han Qi spoke in a flustered tone: "Teacher, can you make a trip down to the television station now?"

Zhang Ye disguised his voice and said: "Did something happen?"

Han Qi said: "An executive from the Beijing Ministry of Culture and directors of some associations came for an inspection, so Director Hu got me to contact you. The other contestants are also on their way over now."

Zhang Ye acknowledged: "I'll be right there."

...

At Beijing Television.

In a meeting room.

Petal Shower, Sunset Glow, and Flowing Time, along with two other replacement masked singers, were present. They were all wearing their masks and seated in the meeting room when The Clown finally arrived.

Before long, Hu Fei also came into the meeting room with a group of people trailing behind him. They came in one by one until a dozen or so people in suits were inside the room. Finally, a deputy station head of Beijing Television who accompanied them throughout also arrived.

Hu Fei said, "Let me introduce all of you."

There was an honorary chairman from a television association.

There was a director from a certain cultural institution.

There were some enforcement officials from the Beijing Ministry of Culture.

Then, one of the leaders of the delegation smiled and said, "I'm very honored today to meet all of the show's contestants. This show you're doing is fantastic and I love watching it as well. However, there are some problems that I have to point out regarding some of the contestants' choice of song. I find them a little negative and not exactly helping to spread positive energy to the audience. Since this show has become so popular all over the country with over tens of millions of people watching the show, we have to pay more attention to what goes on it. The management of the SARFT is already preparing a censorship control system regarding song titles, as well as drama series and film titles. In the future, we'll all be following this system to carry out our enforcement of the rules. I think this is a good thing as there really is a necessity to make the censorship control system stricter. This is a kind of respect for our culture, as well as a guiding our citizens down the correct path."

He rattled on and talked about many things.

After that, the group of people moved off and continued with their inspection.

The deputy station head went with them while Hu Fei, Hou Ge, Xiao Lu, and the others stayed behind.

Flowing Time asked, "Director Hu, what's the meaning of this?"

A new replacement masked singer said, "We don't even have the freedom to choose what we want to sing anymore?"

Sunset Glow added, "If we're talking about songs with positive energy, how many love songs would be considered positive? Aren't they unnecessarily limiting a great deal of songs that we can sing? We won't even be able to sing love songs from now on?"

Hu Fei fluttered his hands. "It's not that bad. Everyone, just pay a bit more attention to your choice of songs for this episode and everything will be fine. Don't choose something like what Li Yu chose and everything should work out."

Petal Shower said, "We won't even be able to sing children's songs now, much less love songs."

Flowing Time agreed and said, "Zhang Ye's song has already been taken off the Top Chinese Music Chart."

Hou Ge said, "That was strictly targeted at Director Zhang, not you guys."

Petal Shower gave him a look. "Those people from the Beijing Ministry of Culture and the associations are probably here for Zhang Ye as well, aren't they?"

Hu Fei sighed.

Flowing Time asked, "Was this move initiated by the SARFT?"

Hu Fei answered, "It's not the SARFT this time."

Flowing Time heaved a sigh of relief. "That's not so bad then."

One of the replacement masked singers said curiously, "Why isn't the SARFT leading the crackdown this time? In the past, banning artists and program censorship have always been the SARFT's business, hasn't it?"

Hu Fei thought about it, then shook his head. "We're not sure about that either. Whatever it is, everyone should just take note of this matter. It's Children's Day anyway, so it might not be a bad idea to sing some children's songs for this episode."

Children's songs?

The contestants looked at each other.

Meanwhile, The Clown sat there, having not said a word since the beginning of the meeting.

He did not know what to say at all. He wanted to apologize but was unable to say that. This entire affair started because of him as he had offended too many people the previous time. This was why even though Wu Zeqing was holding down the fort over at the SARFT and they did not come to trouble him, there were still other departments and their leaders trying to prevent Zhang Ye from rising again!

This was all very logical.

This was all within his expectations.

No matter how he thought about it, everything pointed to this outcome. Zhang Ye himself knew this too. Although Zhang Ye looked very calm and was not exactly bursting with emotion, this thought he was holding inside him made him feel quite disappointed and exhausted!

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Chapter 1056: The Clown sings a children's song?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Friday.

On the day of recording.

Since morning, a lot of unverified news appeared all over the Internet.

"Zhang Ye faces yet another ban!"

"The King of Masked Singers program team gets investigated!"

"King of Masked Singers to stop broadcasting soon?"

"With the introduction of new regulations, all songs in violation will be banned!"

"King of Masked Singers in an awkward position!"

"Guidance and suggestions from the Ministry of Culture to variety singing sings: Promote positive energy and boycott pessimistic and negative musical pieces."

"The SARFT yet to make a statement!"

The netizens were getting very anxious.

"Are they really going to stop the broadcast?"

"Impossible. This must be fake news."

"They can't stop such a large show just like that!"

"But there's no doubt that King of Masked Singers has been implicated in a sticky situation!"

"I heard that the contestants were called up individually for talks!"

"Have you seen Li Yu's Weibo yet? He had sung about his mother telling him of the hopelessness of life, and then there's that 'I Really Hate You.' Now though, he has to step forward to make an apology and even declare that he is fully supportive of the authorities' guidance and suggestions and that all his works from now on will contain positivity."

"This Old Li! He's so spineless!"

"He has no other choice since the general environment's like this."

"I wonder if King of Masked Singers can carry on recording as usual today!"

"Yeah, the contestants might be greatly affected by this!"

"The Clown seems to have been called out and criticized as well!"

"Petal Shower and Sunset Glow were called out and criticized too. They've also performed love songs onstage that seem to have crossed the regulations' line."

"What the heck are they trying to do!"

For the past two days, this matter was constantly being discussed online. Everyone was worried that King of Masked Singers would really be taken off the air.

...

Later that morning.

At Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.

Han Qi was already calling him for the third time.

"Teacher Clown, you're still not here yet?"

"I have something to do, so I'll be running a little late."

"I've already drawn the lots on your behalf. You'll be the sixth contestant to go onstage today."

"OK, thank you."

"Th-Then, please hurry and don't be too late."

After hanging up, Zhang Ye, dressed all in black, found his way and walked forward.

For some reason, when he woke up this morning, Zhang Ye suddenly thought of coming here to chat with Old Wei. He did not know why; he just wanted to come.

There were some reporters and cameras in front.

Zhang Ye immediately recognized them to be employees from the Central TV News Channel as he had met the host once before. When he saw them, Zhang Ye did not go over but stood in a distant, inconspicuous corner.

Other than the portrait of the deceased and the birthday on Old Wei's tombstone, a line inscribed on it: "When some people live, they are already dead. / When some people die, they are still alive." This was from the poem Zhang Ye had recited at Father Wei's funeral. After Old Wei passed, this line served as an epitaph inscribed on his tombstone to accompany him on his journey of eternal sleep.

Besides the reporters and cameras stationed around the tombstone, 20 to 30 students were standing there.

"Father!"

"Father Wei!"

"Sob, we miss you!"

"Father Wei, we're doing very well right now. You don't need to worry about us anymore. My second mock exam results were very good. The teacher said that I would definitely qualify for Peking University. I'll be taking the college entrance examination in a few days' time and I'll definitely work hard to do well. By the way, Tongtong has already been assured of a place in a university. He was your favorite back then and he did not disappoint you at all!"

"Father, please come back to us!"

"We really miss you so much!"

Some of them were crying out to the tombstone, while the others did not speak at all and just covered their mouths as they cried.

It was Old Wei's birthday today and the children brought many things to pay their respects to him.

When the Central TV News reporter heard what the children said, she quietly turned around to wipe away her tears. "…With that, we have come to the end of our report here."

They finished packing their equipment.

The television station staff left and were gradually followed by the children.

Zhang Ye, who was still standing far away, decided to slowly make his way over at this time. Standing in front of the tombstone, he smiled and said, "Old friend, I'm here to see you. How are you doing?" Then he sat down and smiled at the tombstone. "I did not bring anything with me today, but I guess there's no need for it either, really. Just look, so many of your children have been thinking of you, and so many people miss you. With them bringing you so many offerings and things, you must definitely be living a good life on the other side."

The cemetery was quite peaceful.

Zhang Ye was the only one around and he muttered to himself.

"I really envy you, really. Haha, you don't know how popular you've become. You're respected by many and your name has been immortalized for the ages. But I know that you definitely do not care about that because you're different from me in that you don't covet riches or fame. Look at me now. I have it far worse than you. There are people criticizing me every day, with some wanting to censor me and others trying to step on me. By the way, this bro has been banned yet again. Even when I sang a children's song, people were whispering and pointing their fingers at me.

"I've been shrouded in an especially bad aura these past two days. I'm not afraid that you'll laugh at me, so can you tell me what I'm slogging so much for? Hur hur, I don't even know what I'm doing all this for anymore! You must be enjoying yourself since there's definitely no air pollution in Heaven. Oh yeah, there probably aren't traffic jams either? You can cause as much trouble as you like in such a vast place. How wonderful would that be? But just look at where I am. Before I even rise up, my head is struck. Any little thing that I do, people nitpick and tell me what to do. Do you think this is interesting? It's way too fucking uninteresting! But I still have to continue moving forward. I'm not as carefree as you, leaving just like that without even saying goodbye to me.

"Old Wei, do you think I'm a huge failure? Everyone says that I'm successful, but why don't I feel that way? Please don't find me annoying, Old Wei. I'm only able to say these words to you. I'll feel better when I let everything out. Then I'll have to go and perform after this!"

Ring ring ring. His cell phone rang again.

Han Qi was calling again.

Zhang Ye did not take the call. He waved the cell phone at the tombstone and said with a smile, "See? Everything is about work, and they're hounding me again. Alright, I've said enough to you. I'll come back to see you again when I'm free. Oh yes, don't worry about your daughter, Wei Ying. She's doing quite fine and has gotten quite a good job as well. I've given her my number, so if there's anything she needs help with, I'll definitely help her out. With me around, you can rest assured."

He stood up.

Zhang Ye was about to walk off, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned back for a last glance. "I'm leaving now."

...

At Beijing Television.

In the King of Masked Singers' recording studio.

Recording had long since begun and four contestants had already finished performing.

Onstage, Flowing Time was currently singing.

"The king sent me on mountain patrol!

"To capture a monk as his dinner roll!"

He was performing Zhang Ye's song that had gotten really popular over the past few days.

Hu Fei said anxiously, "Is The Clown still not here?"

Hou Ge looked at Han Qi. "What's going on?"

Han Qi also said anxiously, "He should be here soon, he should be here soon!"

"It's gonna be his turn next." Hu Fei said, "Pester him a bit more."

When Han Qi was just about to make the call, an employee rushed over from elsewhere and said, "The Clown is here and is waiting in the waiting area. We can continue to record normally!"

Hu Fei nodded. "Great!"

Han Qi heaved a sigh of relief. The Clown had been a very punctual and polite person and had never been late before. So she was unsure as to what was going on with The Clown today.

Could it be that the investigation had left him unsure about what song he should sing?

Anyway, what was The Clown's first song going to be today?

Han Qi immediately checked the title of the song. When she saw it, she was a little stunned.

Eh?

This title is a children's song?

It was going to be another children's song?

Three contestants had already sung a children's song today!

Han Qi suddenly felt a little disappointed and helpless!

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Chapter 1057: 'I'm a Small, Little Bird'!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

In the studio.

Flowing Time's performance ended.

The audience gave an enthusiastic round of applause, but the discussions weren't as enthusiastic as they looked on the surface.

"Great song."

"Yeah, it sounded good."

"But I feel that something's missing!"

"All the songs are children's songs today!"

"Yeah, we already heard three such songs. The new replacement masked singer sang the first one, followed by Sunset Glow, and then Flowing Time. The other replacement masked singer's song added an excerpt of a children's song to the end of his performance as well, except that he slightly arranged the melody. That was the only hint of creativity I saw today. Even though it was very enjoyable to listen to, this is too much. It's good that there's positive energy, but isn't this too goddamn positive, don't you think?"

"What can they do other than this? The contestants have been called out individually and criticized!"

"Not only on King of Masked Singers. It's the same story for other singing shows."

"Hai, is there not a single contestant with the backbone to stand against it?"

"Who'd wanna step forward? They'd just be sticking their necks out if they did that!"

"Do you think everyone is like Zhang Ye?"

"Speaking of Teacher Zhang, I'm really starting to miss him. If Teacher Zhang were here competing, he would surely be wonderful to watch. He definitely wouldn't be afraid of the Ministry of Culture or some television association!"

"Haha, that's right. That's just how Zhang Ye is!"

"That's totally spot on. Sometimes, I criticize Zhang Ye too. But having not seen him for some time now, it feels like I'm missing a part of myself. Do you guys think I'm insane?"

"Sucks that Zhang Ye isn't taking part."

"Teacher Zhang has been thoroughly banned. Who knows how long it'll be before he can make a comeback."

"Hai, showbiz without Zhang Ye is as good as boring!"

"It's The Clown turn now!"

"He's the last one to perform in this first round!"

"Let's see what he's gonna sing."

Dong Shanshan's voice reverberated, "Let's welcome the final contestant—The Clown."

The audience erupted into applause. Everyone still had great expectations for The Clown.

The Clown went onstage.

The title of the song was displayed on the teleprompter screen at this moment.

"I'm a Small, Little Bird"?

When the audience saw this, they were left speechless.

"Hell."

"It's another children's song?"

"A small, little bird? This is definitely a children's song!"

"I'm sick of listening to them!"

"Can they not sing children's songs anymore? Please!"

"Why did those people from the television association have to butt in and cause all this trouble! A proper singing show has been forced to this state? These singers too. Why isn't there anyone with some backbone?"

"How weak!"

"Yeah, will no one step up and shout back?"

"This is actually pretty good. You guys just haven't seen how the other singing shows reacted. The songs on those other shows are basically all the same."

"Hai. Even today Zhang Ye is remembered. He who refused to return to Jiangdong 1 !"

Backstage.

The contestants who had finished performing were all seated in the tearoom.

Flowing Time, who had just returned from the stage, glanced at the television but did not say anything.

A new replacement masked singer said, "The Clown is also singing a children's song?"

"' I'm a Small, Little Bird 2 '?" Sunset Glow blinked.

Petal Shower sulked, "What can we sing other than children's songs? It's the safest choice we have!"

The other replacement masked singer sighed. "We're the focus of attention right now, so it's best that we take the necessary precautions."

At the panel.

The judges were also giving each other looks.

Another children's song?

Hai.

Chen Guang smiled wryly.

Zhang Xia and Amy wore neutral expressions.

Even they were finding today's episode pointless.

The lights dimmed.

The music started playing.

Some of the audience members had lost concentration and had let their minds wander off after they saw the title of the song.

Without warning, The Clown began singing. With him singing, a lot of people froze on the spot and were taken by surprise!

"There are times I feel like I'm a small, li'l bird.

"I wanna fly,

"but no matter how I can't fly high."

Everyone was stunned!

It wasn't a children's song!

Holy shit!

This was not a children's song!

It was a fucking rock song!

In the tearoom, the look in Petal Shower's eyes shifted!

Flowing Time's eyes widened in shock!

This song…

These lyrics…

The audience perked up in an instant!

The Clown's eyes held gloom and despair.

"Perhaps I'll one day perch on the branches,

"Yet the hunters I've incurred.

"Only when I flew into the blue sky did I discover that I had nothing upon which to rely."

What to do when born under evil stars;

Before I could even rise,

I was beaten unwise.

A worn-out hat covering my face,

I cross the busy marketplace.

In a old ship laden with wine jars—

floating down the brine 3 .

He was really annoyed!

He was downright disappointed!

The Clown's voice trembled. "Every time the dead of night arrives, I can never fall asleep."

He pointed at his chest and thumped it. "Is it only my tomorrows that won't ever get better, is that my keep?

"What's the future hold?

"Exactly who could know?

"Whether happiness is just a legend,

"I'm forever unable to find and show."

Chen Guang was gnashing his teeth listening to the song!

Yao Jiancai was stunned!

Amy was also deeply shocked by the few lines The Clown had sung. She didn't even notice that her mouth was hanging agape in an inelegant manner. She just kept listening while looking like that!

The Clown suddenly sang louder.

"I'm just a small, small, little bird!

"I wanna fly and soar, but I just can't fly high!

"I'm searching and finding, looking for and seeking a warm bosom in which to lie!

"Does this request seem too hard to apply?"

Many in the audience suddenly stood up!

"This is so great!"

"Oh my god!"

"The Clown! The Clown!"

The audience was getting extremely excited!

In the tearoom, the other contestants were surprised by this!

Flowing Time said, "He's really willing to sing something like that?"

Even a fool could tell that other than the title of the song resembling a children's song, the rest of it had nothing to do with being a children's song!

The Clown closed his eyes.

"All you who know my name, you doing well, by the by?

"The world's such a small place.

"We're destined to have no escape, no space.

"When I've had my fill of fickle feelings,

"When you decide to fight for your ideals,

"The pressures of living and the dignity of life, which has more appeal?"

To me, the most important thing is dignity!

To me, it's even more important than life itself!

But I've already given my best!

I've really given my very best!

I don't ask for much. All I want is to work in peace, to find a place that suits me and accepts me for me. But why can't I find it? Why have I been unable to find such a place in all this time?

Is it really that difficult?

Is this request really so difficult to fulfill?

Han Qi was in tears listening. It was as though The Clown's song contained some sort of spell that made her tears flood down her face. She did not know who The Clown was, nor did she know what The Clown's story was. But she was sure that it was a story full of sadness, anger, and loneliness!

Teacher Clown.

Just who are you?

How much have you gone through to be able to sing a song like this!

The Clown suddenly jumped an octave.

Was he lost?

Or was it a cry for help?

Maybe he was asking this world a question?

"I'm just a small, small, little bird!

"I wanna fly and soar!

"But I just can't fly high!

"I'm searching and finding! Looking for and seeking! A warm bosom in which to lie!

"Does this request seem too hard to apply?"

The Clown laughed at himself. Then his voice softened as he conveyed his disappointment at the industry. He sang like he was asking the world a question, "Does this request. Seem too hard. To apply?"

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Chapter 1058: For dignity!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Did this request seem too hard to apply?

Petal Shower fell silent!

Sunset Glow fell silent!

The judges fell silent as well!

After he finished performing, The Clown took a deep breath and bowed to the audience. Then he turned around and calmed himself. Feelings of disappointment and anger were written all over his back!

The audience roared!

Based on what they saw and heard, The Clown's song and his singing weren't even good. The song did not have any showy high notes or any portamento techniques. He did not even care about his stage presence or the atmosphere and just quietly stood there singing, telling a story, a story about himself.

The sheer power of the song was immense!

It resonated deeply with the crowd!

" I'm a Small, Little Bird 1 ."

Some of the audience members started crying when they thought of their experiences!

Some others clenched their fists angrily when they recalled their past!

The studio erupted into thunderous applause!

"He's so cool!"

"The Clown is so cool!"

"It's really good! He sang really well!"

"I don't know how to describe it!"

"Someone really stepped forward!"

"Damn, who was saying earlier that this was a children's song? Come out! I promise that I won't beat you up!"

"The Clown!"

"The Clown!"

"The Clown!"

A lot of people started chanting his stage name, soon joining in unison!

Dong Shanshan walked onto the stage and looked deep into The Clown's eyes before announcing, "Let's welcome Flowing Time back to the stage. Next is the voting."

Flowing Time gave a bitter laugh!

Why the fuck is it me again?

Why am I always being placed next to him in such critical moments during a battle?

Flowing Time really did not wish to go up on stage as he knew that it would be meaningless whether he went up or not. In this first round of performances, it was impossible for Flowing Time to beat The Clown no matter what. Even he himself did not have any hopes of winning. In fact, he had also been moved by the song, but he concealed it very well and did not let show his eyes it. For a slight moment, he was very impressed with the song. He was not impressed by The Clown's singing but by the person who wrote it.

Yao Jiancai could not wait to speak. "I'll leave the professional comments to the other teachers since I can't make any professional judgments when it comes to music. But I want to give my vote to The Clown. It definitely has to be him!"

Chen Guang said, "I'm voting for The Clown."

Zhang Xia: "The Clown."

Amy: "The Clown."

Wang Zhuishu: "The Clown."

Chen Yidong: "I'll vote for The Clown too."

The judges did not say more than what was necessary as they were at a critical juncture where the relevant associations were conducting a large scale boycott of negative and pessimistic music pieces. They couldn't say anything at all since no matter what evaluation they gave, it would still be seen as wrong. This was because "I'm a Small, Little Bird" was a song full of negative energy. There was not a trace of positivity in it! However, they did not try to avoid the matter and used the most straightforward way to express their opinions!

They just gave their votes to The Clown!

They gave no reason for their choice!

The audience voting began and ended very quickly.

The Clown: 422 votes!

Flowing Time: 78 votes!

The Clown won!

...

Offstage.

Hou Ge said with a wry smile, "Brother Hu, when The Clown submitted the song, it was without any lyrics. We still thought that this would be a children's song and didn't think much of it, but who could have expected…"

Dafei said worriedly, "Can this part be broadcast?"

Hu Fei looked at the two of them. "Why not?"

Dafei said, "But didn't those associations…"

Xiao Lu also asked, "What if they come here and find fault with us? Will we be able to handle them?"

At this, Hu Fei suddenly said, "I also used to feel that we should follow the guidelines from the relevant organizations and make sure that 'positive energy' songs are sung. But when I heard The Clown's song, I suddenly had a change of heart! Find fault with us? Let them come then! Zhang Ye's the most troublesome person of all, but we still hired the biggest troublemaker in the entertainment industry to be our program's executive producer. Why should we be afraid of attracting any other trouble?"

Dafei chuckled, "Alright!"

Xiao Lu also got excited all at once. "Understood!"

Suddenly, Petal Shower came over.

Hu Fei started and looked at her.

Petal Shower said, "Director Hu, since we're currently in the intermission, I came over to look for you about something."

Hu Fei said, "Just speak. What's the matter?"

Petal Shower solemnly said, "I'd like to change my second round song."

Dafei was taken aback. "Change your song? At this time?"

Petal Shower nodded. "Yes."

Sunset Glow also walked over from afar. When she saw Petal Shower, she was surprised as well. Then, without saying anything to her, she walked up to Hu Fei and said, "Director Hu, I'd like to change my second song."

Xiao Lu exclaimed, "You want to change your song too?"

Hu Fei looked at the two of them. "Can you tell me why?"

Petal Shower thought for a while. "For the sake of dignity."

Sunset Glow looked at her and nodded. "For dignity."

Xiao Lu said anxiously, "But it's too late for that now. We're already—"

"OK!" Hu Fei cut her off. "I'll approve it!"

Xiao Lu groaned, "But, Brother Hu, this—"

Hu Fei dismissed her complaint with a wave of his hands. "It's settled. Please get ready!"

...

In the waiting room.

Zhang Ye came back alone and sat down on the sofa. He drank some water and continued to stay silent. He had sung all that he wanted to say about his past few years of experiences and plights. But for some reason, he was still unable to calm down on the inside. Instead, he was angering even further!

He felt a cell phone's vibration come from his bag.

Zhang Ye looked over and dug out the offending cell phone. It was his personal cell phone, and the caller ID was displaying the name of Wu Zeqing's secretary: Bai Li.

He picked up.

Zhang Ye said: "Hello?"

Secretary Bai immediately said: "Is this Teacher Zhang?"

Zhang Ye said, "This is he."

"Chief Wu is away on an overseas business trip, so it's not convenient for her to contact you. She wanted me to pass you the message that she already knows about what's going on here and that she'll handle it as soon as possible. I'll also be helping to sort out the issue regarding your two songs and—"

Zhang Ye interrupted: "I don't care about my affairs. Secretary Bai, you all may ban 'A Letter to Home' and 'The King Sent Me on Mountain Patrol' as you wish. I'll accept it without grudges. I was already mentally prepared for all of this. It's also fine if you want to withdraw the Brain Gold advertisement and any of my other works. I can deal with all the trouble that I've caused on my own. If I can't handle it, I'll accept the consequences! But what has this got to do with King of Masked Singers? What has this got to do with the other singers in show business? Can't you all leave the contestants in peace? Can't you all leave a way out for the television variety industry's workers who are battling on the front lines? Can't you guys do that?"

Secretary Bai hurriedly replied: "Teacher Zhang, you've misunderstood, you've really misunderstood. The matter this time was really not handled by us at the SARFT. We wrote up a guiding white paper related to musical and film work directives, but it was definitely not supposed to be like this. I assure you that this was not our original intent, and that this was just the Beijing Ministry of Culture making things up by themselves! It was just those television associations talking nonsense! We definitely did not issue such guidelines regarding musical pieces! We did not ask for all songs to only spread inspirational messages or positive energy!"

Bai Li did not know what the relationship between Zhang Ye and Wu Zeqing was even now. But she understood quite clearly that the relationship between them was definitely very close. That was why Bai Li spoke to Zhang Ye in a very polite manner, approaching him very professionally from her official standpoint. She spoke to Zhang Ye in the same way she would speak to Chief Wu.

Secretary Bai said: "Teacher Zhang, I'll handle this matter from here on out, and I'll get it taken care of immediately. The lower-downs are much too outrageous! Leave this matter to me!"

She ended the call.

A knock on the door followed.

Zhang Ye tucked his cell phone away and said to the outside, "Please come in."

Han Qi, Xiao Lu, and a few others came into the room. "Teacher Clown."

"What's the matter?" Zhang Ye asked.

Xiao Lu replied, "It's nothing. W-We're just here to see you."

Worried, Han Qi asked, "Teacher, are you alright?"

Zhang Ye nodded. "I'm fine."

Han Qi said, "Your condition today as compared to the previous times…I'm afraid…"

Today, The Clown was indeed different from before. Han Qi and the program team staff felt an ominous feeling about it and were afraid that The Clown would start having negative thoughts and do something irrational due to those associations taking large-scale actions to ban music pieces. Maybe he would withdraw from the competition?

The program team staff were trying very hard for the longest time to find out what he was thinking.

Zhang Ye took a while before he finally understood their worries and concerns. Then he laughed.

Withdraw from the competition?

Don't worry, I won't do that!

Even if the sky is falling, I won't run away!

Besides, the sky hasn't even fallen yet, right?

When he thought about this, Zhang Ye froze.

His works were taken down!

His commercial was taken down!

Getting banned!

His musical pieces got restricted!

Several associations all came pointing their fingers at him!

If it were anyone else, they would probably have quit at such a time. Even a clay figure would retain some fire, let alone such a notorious figure like Zhang Ye. Who in the entertainment industry didn't know about that foul temper of his? But with everything turning out this way, Zhang Ye suddenly realized that while he was angry and disappointed, he still believed deep down inside that everything would work out!

Only then did he realize that he was never a pessimistic person to begin with. He was more of a natural fighter. He might feel dejected, lonely, and hopeless at times, but he would never shirk from a battle he had to fight!

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Chapter 1059: 'The Internationale'!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Three contestants asked for a last-minute song change!

An hour later, the fifth episode's elimination round of King of Masked Singers officially began recording.

The three contestants who advanced into the battle round were Petal Shower, Sunset Glow, and The Clown. The remaining contestants of Flowing Time and the two replacement masked singers had all lost in the first round.

Onstage.

One of the replacement masked singers was singing "The Colors of Youth" loudly.

"Don't expect too much of some people.

"Don't be too stubborn with some things.

"Maybe someday, we'll look back on the past.

"And you'll realize that some things can't be changed."

The audience's eyes lit up!

"It's not a children's song!"

"This is great!"

"I was so sick of listening to all those children's songs today!"

"What's going on? Why did they started singing this type of song as well?"

"This should be a pessimistic song, right? Right?"

"They were all affected by The Clown! Everyone is finally angry! They're just singing as they should now. What censorship? What guidelines? They're not going to listen to them anymore!"

"We're finally listening to a proper song!"

"The song that The Clown sang was not for nothing. Everyone has been awakened!"

"All those lousy associations know is how to give arbitrary directions!"

"That's right. A nice, world-class variety show was nearly wrecked by their meddling!"

The elimination round ended and Flowing Time managed to keep his place in the competition with a Hokkien song.

Next up was the fifth episode's battle to be Masked King.

The first contestant to take to the stage was Petal Shower, followed by Sunset Glow.

The two of them had also changed the songs they were to perform. They stuck to their previous approach in the competition and sang in their same respective styles. The audience was largely enjoying their performances as they completely differed from their performances in the first round.

Sunset Glow finished her part of the recording.

Dong Shanshan went up on stage and announced, "Next up, let's welcome the last contestant—The Clown."

However, even before the audience could applaud, a group of people suddenly arrived and interrupted the entire recording process. Eight or nine people dressed in suits had barged right into the studio!

Xiao Lu was startled and immediately went to stop them. "What are you people trying to do!"

The leader of the group was a middle-aged man who said coldly, "I'm from the Television Show Association!"

Dafei also went over. "We're in the midst of recording a show!"

"I don't care about that!" Another middle-aged man said, "We were here two days ago and made the guidelines very clear at that time. And what's happening here and now? You didn't listen to a single word we said, did you?"

The people from the association were here!

No one knew how they received the tip, but they rushed over immediately to deal with things when they found out about the discordant factors that had occurred during the recording of King of Masked Singers.

Hu Fei was angry. He strode forward and confronted them. "This is a recording studio! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed in here! Whatever you have to say, you have to wait until we're done recording!"

That person from the association said, "You don't have to record the show anymore!"

"What do you mean?" Hu Fei sneered.

Behind them, an executive from Beijing Television rushed over after hearing about this interruption.

The middle-aged man from the association said firmly, "We stated the guidelines clearly the other day. Are you all deliberately trying to cause trouble? Alright then, let's see whose backing is stronger!" He turned to his secretary and said, "Issue an order to the relevant departments, then get in touch with Director Zhou and immediately notify him about this!"

The secretary said, "Understood!" Then he stepped to the side to make the call.

The Beijing Television executive asked, "Old Hu, what's going on?"

Hu Fei did not know how to answer him.

Sunset Glow, who had just finished her song, was frowning.

Petal Shower's face sank.

The judges on the guessing panel looked over.

Zhang Xia frowned. "Those people are from the authorities?"

Amy said, "What are they doing here at a time like this? Will recording still continue?"

Wang Zhuishu said angrily, "The cameras are still rolling. How can they just charge in like that? What is happening? Even if they're higher-ups from the authorities, there's no need for such behavior, is there?"

The audience was not having any of this either!

"Fuck!"

"These bastards!"

"They've really come?"

"Fucking hell, what are they doing!"

"Are they here to cause trouble?"

"That's what I'm wondering too. It's just singing. Why are they making this so difficult!"

"It's over. We won't be able to finish the recording today."

"What the hell is going on!"

"How infuriating!"

"Are they really going to impose all those regulations on the music industry? Aren't they a little too hell-bent on that?"

"This move doesn't make any sense at all!"

"The people won't even have the right to listen to the music they like anymore?"

"Do we really look like such pushovers to them?"

"We have our own thinking process and we know how to judge right from wrong. We don't need you people poking your nose into our business!"

"They're taking us for slaves!"

"Ai, don't bring that up. We're just a bunch of powerless folk, a bunch of shitty workers. How can we possibly stand up to them!"

Dong Shanshan looked down into the audience.

Over there, the group of people from the association were arguing with the program team!

Flowing Time walked over.

The two replacement masked singers also appeared there.

But right at that moment, a shadowy figure suddenly took the stage as if no one were present. The figure stood in front of the microphone stand and adjusted it, then looked over to Music Director Bai Yuanfei and the band.

They instantly understood.

Bai Yuanfei hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Straight away, a drumbeat kicked

The guitar strummed!

Hu Fei, Xiao Lu, Dafei, and the others from the program team were stunned. Music? Where did the music come from? They looked over to the source of the sound and realized that The Clown was standing on the stage!

Petal Shower was stunned!

Sunset Glow was startled!

Flowing Time widened his eyes a bit and stared!

Meanwhile, those people from the association were angered.

"What is that?"

"Get him off the stage!"

"Why is he still singing!"

The audience was caught off guard too. No one knew what The Clown was planning or what he was going to sing. But for some reason, when that passionate music started playing, excitement surged through the crowd!

Then The Clown opened his mouth!

With that, the studio was shocked!

The first sound that came out when his mouth opened was a roaring high note!

The Clown pointed to the ceiling and screamed 1 .

"Arise!

"ye pris'ners of starvation!

"Arise!

"ye wretched of the Earth!

"For justice thunders condemnation:

"A better world's in birth!"

Arise?

Prisoners?

Arise?

Condemnation?

The program team staff were dumbfounded!

Petal Shower and Sunset Glow were staring with mouths agape!

The audience felt the rush of hot blood course through them!

What was this song?

Just what the fuck was this song?

Someone looked at the teleprompter screen!

"The Internationale"?

Rock?

The Clown was singing loudly and angrily in a high pitch. He had never sung in such a way on this stage before. Today was the first time he was doing so. It was as though he wanted to use this song to sing the anger in his heart!

"No more tradition's chains shall bind us!

"Arise, ye slaves, no more in thrall!

"The Earth shall rise on new foundations:

"We have been naught; we shall be all!"

The faces of those people from the association darkened as they got infuriated!

However, the live studio audience was brought to a blood boiling high from listening to the song!

The Clown pointed at them and sang loudly.

"'Tis the final conflict;

"Let each stand in his place.

"The International working class / Shall be the human race!"

The Clown raised one of his hands high in a clenched fist 2 —the universal symbol of industrial workers all over the world!

International?

"The Internationale"?

The International Workers' Association?

This was a song of the workers?

This was a song for ordinary folk like them?

Chen Guang was visibly moved!

Amy was listening in disbelief!

The Clown sang loudly.

"We want no condescending saviors

"To rule us from their judgment hall;

"We workers ask not for their favors.

"Let us consult for all."

No one can help us!

But neither do we expect a savior to come forward!

We have ourselves!

We have weapons!

Arise!

Don't be afraid!

Arise!

People who are like me!

The Clown screamed.

"To make the thief disgorge his booty

"To free the spirit from its cell,

"We must ourselves decide our duty,

"We must decide, and do it well."

Suddenly, a middle-aged man in the audience raised his hand high and displayed the gesture of the International Workers' Association, then stood up silently!

A young man beside him also proudly raised a fist as The Clown did earlier as he slowly stood up as well!

Then a third person!

Followed by a tenth person!

A fiftieth!

A hundred people!

The Clown sang loudly.

"'Tis the final conflict;

"Let each stand in his place.

"The International working class / Shall be the human race!"

Chen Guang stood up and raised his right hand!

Amy stood up and raised her right hand!

Wang Zhuishu!

Yao Jiancai!

Petal Shower!

Sunset Glow!

They all raised their hands in a clenched fist!

Han Qi also raised her right hand. She was bursting with emotion and could not help herself, having been influenced by the mood in the studio.

Dafei raised his right hand proudly!

Xiao Lu slowly brought her hand up as well!

A hundred people!

Three hundred people!

Five hundred people!

At this moment, no one in the studio was sitting down!

Even some of the backstage staff stood up with their right hands raised as hot tears welled up in their eyes!

The Clown sang loudly.

"How many on our flesh have fattened;

"But if the noisome birds of prey

"Shall vanish from the sky some morning,

"The blessed sunlight still will stay."

All of a sudden, without anyone leadership, without anyone saying a word, and with the entire audience seeming to have discussed it beforehand, everyone started singing loudly along with The Clown.

"'Tis the final conflict;

"Let each stand in his place.

"The International working class

"Shall be the human race!"

Petal Shower was singing!

Sunset Glow was singing!

Bai Yuanfei was singing!

Chen Guang was singing!

Zhang Xia was singing!

Amy was singing!

"'Tis the final conflict; / Let each stand in his place.

"The International working class / Shall be the human race!

"The International working class / Shall be the human race!"

The nearly thousand people present were singing with raised right fists!

If someone witnessed such a scene, they would be deeply shocked. This shock was something that simply could not be described in words. The source of this shocking scene originated from something known as dignity!

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Chapter 1060: A battle for music and dignity!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

" The Internationale 1 " also existed in this world!

There was also a song for the International Workers' Association in this world!

But it didn't sound as passionate or indomitable as this version!

This song was " The Internationale 2 " from Zhang Ye's previous world. It was the most famous song of the international Communist movement. The Soviet Union had used it as a national anthem, and it was even an openly acknowledged Communist song. You could even find traces of "The Internationale" within the melody and lyrics of China's national anthem. Historically, this song carried a great significance for the past generations and had left its mark all around the world. And Zhang Ye had sung just that song. It was the rock version by the domestic Chinese rock band, Tang Dynasty 3 !

Positive energy?

There should be no other song with more positive energy than this song!

Although it was no longer that era anymore!

Although many young people had forgotten!

Although this song had gradually exited stage left from history!

Its spirit was still around!

Its dignity was still around!

Its anger was still around!

Zhang Ye believed that this was a peaceful and orderly world. He loved this new world that split away from his previous world. But there existed some black sheep he could not tolerate and some forms of oppression he had to resist!

Banning pieces of music across the board that carried any hint of negativity?

He could not accept it!

Love songs were also considered songs that spread negativity?

He could not accept it!

So he rose up!

And along with him, everyone in the studio rose up!

As Flowing Time looked at The Clown onstage, he suddenly felt a sense of respect for him. The song had awakened many of his memories. He suddenly remembered that he had his pride too and that he should also rise up to resist!

For music!

Or maybe for dignity!

'Tis the final conflict!

'Tis the final battlefield!

They had no room for retreat!

The song ended but no one sat down!

The expressions of the association members were as ugly as they could get. They could not say anything, because in this atmosphere and situation facing everyone's anger, they did not risk saying another word more. The middle-aged man who was leading the group looked at his colleagues behind him as their group exchanged looks before they quietly left the place in defeat.

When those troublemakers left, recording of the show continued.

The results of the fifth episode's voting came out very quickly!

Petal Shower: 21 votes!

Sunset Glow: 18 votes!

The Clown: 461 votes!

It was an overwhelming victory!

The Clown became the Masked King in the fifth episode with a dominating number of votes!

Earth-shattering applause, cheers, and screams instantly rang out in the studio!

...

Sunday.

King of Masked Singers was broadcast.

"Ah?"

"Why is it all children's songs?"

"How boring!"

"Aiya, it's The Clown's turn!"

"'I'm a Small, Little Bird'? This song is really great!"

"It's such a nice song!"

At the start, everyone was watching the show without expecting much. But when The Clown's performance of "The Internationale" came on, everyone was shocked!

"Arise!

"ye pris'ners of starvation!

"Arise!

"ye wretched of the Earth!

"For justice thunders condemnation:

"We have been naught; we shall be all!"

...

At a music production company.

It was very late, but a lot of people were still working overtime to help several singers cut some of their new albums' songs that did not comply with the regulations.

"Quick, everyone. Let's work a little harder on it."

"But how are we supposed to change this line in the lyrics?"

"Director Li, the singers are protesting strongly against this!"

"Actually, I also feel that this part is quite good. If we have to change it, then we might as well change the entire song!"

"Do we have to do it this way from now on?"

"Yeah, do all the songs have to be like this in the future?"

"If all the songs are this similar, how can we still call this music?"

Everyone had very strong opinions about it, and they even had the impulse to just quit!

Suddenly, a female employee in the office space shouted, "Hey! Come and watch this!"

"Watch what?"

"What's the matter, Little He?"

"Quick, watch King of Masked Singers!"

"We're in a tight squeeze and you're watching TV? Their show is definitely facing the same problems as we are since all pieces of music are being restricted now. The restrictions they have are even stricter than ours, so what's the point of watching their show when it's expected that their performances will all be either revolutionary songs or children's songs?"

"Yeah, do your work."

"Aiyo, guys! Just come here and watch!"

Everyone was wondering what was going on as they eventually gathered around her.

When "The Internationale" played onstage; when The Clown's angry shouting roared through the studio; when the entire audience, all the judges, and staff members in the studio slowly rose up with their right fists raised!

The company's staff were stunned and their jaws dropped!

Hot blood coursed through their veins!

"Someone has come forward!"

"Someone in the music industry has finally come forward!"

"The Clown?"

"What a good song 'The Internationale' is!"

"He's fighting for the truth?"

Suddenly, an employee threw down the stack of documents in his hands and said, "Dammit, I'm not changing this anymore! Is there any meaning to it if we end up making a crappy piece of music after making the changes?"

Three people!

Five people!

Ten people!

All of them put down the tasks they had on hand!

…..

At Zhang Yuanqi's house.

Watching the show on television, she was left speechless by what she saw.

Fang Weihong's chin was trembling as she watched the show. She was neither a nationalist nor someone who liked getting angry. As an elite manager in the entertainment industry, she had gotten used to such situations and seen past all of it. But today, when she heard The Clown's "The Internationale," Fang Weihong did not know why or how, but her usually weak fist was clenched so tight that her fingernails were digging into her palms, and she was nearly bleeding!

She could feel the blood coursing through her veins!

...

On Weibo.

A highly respected veteran artist in the music industry finally said something!

It was a domestic veteran singer who was from the same generation as Zhang Xia. In fact, he had even debuted several years earlier than her. He had come from an art troupe and had a military background. He was the famous singer Cui Haiquan!

Cui Haiquan: "Regarding the recent implementation of the new regulations for works of music, I will neither acknowledge nor accept it. This is as good as strangling the life out of the music scene! This is basically going to kill the music scene! Musicians, please don't remain silent anymore! Musicians, this is our last line of defense! Musicians, please rise up!"

The netizens were greatly shocked!

"Another person has come forward!"

"It's Grandpa Cui!"

"Grandpa Cui is amazing!"

A few minutes later!

Zhang Xia and a group of veteran singers jointly issued a response: "Arise, ye musicians! Arise, 'tis the final conflict! From now on, we will never take a step back!"

Chen Guang spoke up: "Arise, ye singers!"

Fan Wenli spoke up: "Please rise up, China's musicians!"

Xiaodong, Amy, and Li Xiaoxian issued a response as a group: "Please rise up for the last shreds of our dignity as musicians! Please rise up and fight together with us!"

A lyricist: "Arise, ye musicians!"

A composer: "Arise! We can no longer retreat!"

Ten!

Twenty!

Fifty!

"The Internationale" had united the entire music industry!

The Heavenly Kings spoke up!

The Heavenly Queens spoke up!

The music companies spoke up!

Each and every one of the musicians stood up!

This was the first time people in the music industry had ever responded in such a united manner!

This was a battle!

A battle for music and dignity!

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