Chapter 29: Seizing the Person
At this moment, the mentors began to comment on Xu Ze. Although they did not directly participate in scoring the contestants, their evaluations could influence the audience’s votes.
Mentor Wei Ping was the first to speak: “Xu Ze, I hope you’ll join my team. I’ve spent my whole life studying lyrics, but I’m really optimistic about you!”
A ripple of whispers spread among the audience at Wei Ping’s words.
Yesterday, Teacher Li Lianfeng had claimed he’d spent his life studying classical poetry and found Xu Ze amusing. But now Wei Ping also said he’d spent his life studying lyrics, and he was very optimistic about Xu Ze. Clearly, Wei Ping had no intention of saving face for Li Lianfeng in his bid to recruit Xu Ze.
Many viewers in the livestream picked up on this.
“Wow, Wei Ping is bold!”
“That sounded like a dig at Li Lianfeng—he’s giving him no face at all.”
“Why should he? Wei Ping is a master in the music world; Li Lianfeng is from the literary circle, they’re not even in the same field. Besides, Xu Ze’s lyrics were excellent.”
“Agreed. When Li Lianfeng criticized Xu Ze, he didn’t mind saving face either. Literature is subjective—if everyone thinks it’s good, why should Li Lianfeng’s opinion be the final word?”
“Exactly, I thought Xu Ze’s version of ‘Dreamlike Order’ was brilliant yesterday, but Li Lianfeng’s comment made me doubt myself.”
“+1.”
...
Wei Ping gazed at Xu Ze with burning intensity. He genuinely wanted Xu Ze in his group. In the next round, each contestant would draw a different theme word and compose a song, with the mentor guiding their group in the creative process.
Wei Ping longed to write songs alongside a genius like Xu Ze; perhaps it would spark tremendous inspiration.
“Thank you, Teacher Wei Ping, for your affirmation. I’ll seriously consider it,” Xu Ze replied with a nod.
Mentor Jiang Yiyan followed up with curiosity: “Xu Ze, you said you’re not a music major and you’ve never taken music lessons. How did you learn to make music? And your songs are so impressive.”
The audience turned their curious eyes to Xu Ze. Jiang Yiyan voiced what everyone wanted to know.
Xu Ze shrugged. “I just learned a bit online, messed around, and figured it out.”
The livestream viewers were stunned.
“Damn! Xu Ze’s confidence is so cool.”
“No wonder he got into Qingbei—he excels at everything he learns.”
“Sigh, I wish I had that talent.”
“Resign yourself—ordinary people like us will never write something like this.”
Jiang Yiyan gave Xu Ze a thumbs-up, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she teased, “Xu Ze, will you join my group? If you choose us, the whole Era Girl Group will be your mentors, helping you write songs together.”
She even threw him a flirtatious wink, completely disregarding her youthful image.
The viewers in the livestream were speechless.
“@Star Entertainment boss, please keep your girl group in check!”
“Ah, Jiang Yiyan is acting wild again—but if it’s Xu Ze, maybe it’s okay.”
“So jealous, having the entire girl group as mentors—just thinking about it is blissful.”
“Xu Ze: What should I do, surrounded by beautiful mentors?”
Suddenly, Wang Yihan, smiling, asked, “Xu Ze, I’m rather curious—what do you think of Li Lianfeng’s comments about you last night?”
The audience stirred restlessly. Wang Yihan’s question put Xu Ze in a tight spot.
This was a live broadcast; if Xu Ze wasn’t careful and said something wrong, there’d be no way to take it back.
Wei Ping could disregard such things because his status was equal to Li Lianfeng’s, but Xu Ze was just a newcomer, not yet debuted.
Zhang Yingjing glanced at Wang Yihan in surprise, while Han Ping frowned, contemplating whether to help Xu Ze answer.
Jiang Yiyan shot Wang Yihan a discreet glare and quietly shook her head at Xu Ze, signaling him not to answer.
Xu Ze raised his brows and smiled, countering, “I wonder, Teacher Wang Yihan, do you think my version of ‘Dreamlike Order’ is good, or ridiculous?”
Wang Yihan froze, unsure how to respond.
If he said it was good, he’d slap Li Lianfeng in the face, but he didn’t have Wei Ping’s status. If he said it was ridiculous, he’d make a fool of himself.
Viewers might question his abilities as a mentor—he’d already been doubted for giving Xu Ze a B rating last round and got scolded by the boss. If it happened again, the boss might really tear into him.
Wang Yihan instantly regretted asking Xu Ze such a pointed question.
Meanwhile, Wang Yihan’s fans in the livestream were displeased.
“Xu Ze is so rude—when a mentor asks a question, how dare he retort?”
“Yeah, no respect for Wang Yihan at all.”
“Is your Wang Yihan so polite? He deliberately asked Xu Ze this kind of question.”
“Exactly, Wang Yihan only gave Xu Ze a B last round—where does he get the authority to be a mentor?”
“Why can’t he? His new song is chart-topping, Xu Ze can’t compare!”
“And you fans—how many downloads did you rack up yourselves?”
...
The barrage was instantly chaotic.
At this moment, Mentor Zhang Yingjing suddenly spoke up: “Xu Ze, I’m curious—what’s the line after ‘No worries for the road ahead, for there are no confidants’?”
She wanted to steer the conversation away.
Not to help Wang Yihan, but because she knew that idol stars like him had too many obsessive fans; she didn’t want Xu Ze to attract unnecessary haters.
Seeing Zhang Yingjing shift the topic, Xu Ze decided not to press Wang Yihan further—he wasn’t interested in how Wang Yihan would answer anyway.
So Xu Ze smiled and replied, “That was just something I scribbled—it’s not finished yet. When I figure it out, I’ll write the final line.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Yihan sneered inwardly, “He really thinks he’s a poet—ridiculous.”
Just then, the host began to announce Xu Ze’s current popularity score, using an exaggerated tone:
“What is Xu Ze’s popularity score so far?”
“Let’s reveal it after a 10-second commercial break!”
Audience: “Seriously?”
After the ad, the host shouted, “Xu Ze’s current popularity score is... 2.58 million!”
The audience was stunned.
The highest score among previous contestants was only 500,000, but Xu Ze’s was five times that. And this wasn’t even the final vote count—by the end of the competition, his popularity might explode.