What Are We Here For?

Everyone was instantly stunned.

They looked at Zhu Shao, utterly speechless.

Song Dao was caught between laughter and tears as he was about to sit down.

Zhu Shao chuckled. "Just a little joke. Since Song Dao wants to sing first, let's grant his wish. What do you all think?"

Song Dao's butt had nearly touched the sofa when he heard that. The look of shock that flashed across his face was especially amusing.

His handsome face was filled with resentment.

Everyone immediately clapped and cheered.

It had to be said that with that casual move, Zhu Shao had effortlessly maxed out the entertainment value.

Song Dao stood up again, muttering as he walked, "Ten years east of the river, ten years west of the river. One day, I'll be the chief director too!"

Pfft!

Sun Meiqi burst out laughing on the spot.

Even the shy Xue Lin was laughing uncontrollably.

That line fit the situation perfectly.

Paired with that handsome yet deeply aggrieved face, the joking complaint was utterly hilarious.

Zhu Shao smiled smugly.

"Then you'd better work harder, young man!"

Amid everyone's laughter, Song Dao first glanced at the guitar. That was actually what he was best at.

But for today's song, piano accompaniment was more suitable.

The original owner's piano skills had already reached the intermediate level recognized by the system.

Under Xia Kingdom's rating system, that was roughly equivalent to the level of a graduate from a university piano major.

It was not exceptionally impressive, but it was definitely far above amateur Level 10.

He sat down at the piano bench, his posture straight, and casually pressed a few keys to test the sound. Everyone present brightened.

The lazy, listless air around Song Dao seemed to vanish without a trace.

The room fell quiet.

Lin Fei watched Song Dao's profile with admiration.

That feeling of being the only one who knows his true ability is really wonderful!

It was just that the songs Song Dao wrote for himself left her somewhat speechless.

She could not understand why he insisted on making things difficult for himself. Couldn't he write and sing songs like A Lifetime of Loneliness or Well-intentioned but Misguided?

He really was willful, though it was kind of fun too.

The next moment.

A gentle, melodious piano melody began to play.

Then—

[Alone in the night, too lonely to fall asleep]

[I really want someone by my side, I don't want to get drunk alone]

[Because once I'm drunk, I'll start to cry]

[Counting all the sorrow you gave me]

His voice was gentle, carrying a faint trace of melancholy. Accompanied by the piano melody, it sounded like a soft, heartfelt confession.

A flicker of surprise appeared on the faces of those seated before the cameras.

They had not expected Song Dao to open with another deeply moving sad love song.

[Why do you always leave me so worn out]

[Don't Say You Don't Care About My Tears]

[You watch me cry, then turn away without looking back]

[After I've cried, my tears run dry and my heart turns to ash]

[The beauty I want, you still refuse to give]

[How am I supposed to face this wounded heart of mine~]

The melody was simple and smooth, while the lyrics were sincere and easy to understand, presenting the pain of love and the release of emotion with just the right touch.

Especially during the high notes, not only the four mentors and the other three contestants, but even the production staff could easily tell that Song Dao was singing with remarkable ease!

In Chan Bao's words—

A tiny love song. Completely handled.

In the eyes of several professionals, Song Dao sang this seemingly simple but actually somewhat difficult song with effortless mastery.

He was not even trying that hard.

Likewise, they could all tell.

A song with a catchy, easy-to-remember melody like this would most likely explode online just as quickly as Song Dao's previous two songs had.

It would become a popular choice among singing streamers and in KTVs.

Songs like this had one major advantage: they were simple and easy to learn. After hearing them once, people could hum along to a few lines; they also carried strong emotional weight, and whether or not you had ever gone through a breakup, they could easily get under your skin.

"Another song with huge sing-along potential."

Li Jun felt somewhat emotional, sensing that the younger generation had surpassed the old.

At his age and position, he had become quite tolerant. He was not like Ma Shen—if something did not fit his definition of high-end, then he would look down on it as lowbrow.

By the time Song Dao sang the second verse, Sun Meiqi had already begun softly humming along.

This straightforward Hong Kong girl had a bit of a no-nonsense streak in her bones.

If this had really been the work of one of those online musical patchworkers, then no matter how socially savvy she was, she would not have reacted like this.

The way she looked at Song Dao now held genuine admiration.

What songwriter had not written a few things in their youth that would embarrass their future self?

She was still very young, but she already had works she did not want to mention—works that made her cringe to the point of social death just thinking about them.

And they had become quite popular, too.

So from every angle, she felt that the Song Dao Sister Fei had brought along was a very talented young man.

And he was handsome, too. She liked him!

However, Li Jun and Sun Meiqi's reactions were not what the production team was focusing on.

Earlier, Zhu Shao had told the cameramen to pay more attention to Ma Shen and Lin Fei while Song Dao sang.

At that moment, Lin Fei sat elegantly on the sofa with her legs crossed.

She looked completely relaxed, her fingers lightly tapping along to the beat.

Her eyes were full of appreciation as she looked at Song Dao.

Ma Shen was rather more interesting.

Also a singer who had started out with love songs, Ma Shen was no slouch when it came to songwriting. Combined with his distinctive voice, he had carved out a unique place for himself in the music industry.

Having stood firm in the entertainment industry for more than twenty years, he naturally had his strengths.

He usually liked to talk big and throw his seniority around, always wanting to point fingers and comment on everything.

Yet he had never gotten himself into trouble doing so. On one hand, he knew his limits and would not casually provoke people he should not provoke; on the other, it was because he was genuinely knowledgeable in his field.

Whenever he openly tore into something, he was rarely wrong.

So he simply could not understand it. How had a diva of Lin Fei's standing taken a liking to some little internet celebrity?

Just because he was handsome?

That was indeed what he had thought before.

But when Song Dao released his second song, "Sad City," he had already begun to waver.

People said that catchy pop songs were easy to write, but then why had there not been that many catchy pop songs that truly became hits over the years?

Why had those musical patchworkers, who could write a song in minutes using generic chord progressions, failed to become popular?

If he could still stubbornly refuse to admit defeat before, insisting that the works written by a little internet celebrity like Song Dao were no good and that Song Dao himself would never make it—

Now, he really could not say that anymore.

Lin Fei had given him a boost, and he had directly joined this top-tier music variety show with enormous investment behind it.

His piano skills could not be called outstanding, but they were at least good enough.

One song with a simple melody and rich emotions would not win Ma Shen over, but making listeners think it sounded good and like it would not be a problem!

More importantly, once this big boy cast aside his lazy air and sat upright on the piano bench to play and sing—

He gave off an image that felt both professional and beautiful.

He could debut as an idol right where he was!

His expression looked as if he were constipated, utterly conflicted.

Because he knew that the production team had definitely not invited him here to praise Song Dao.

And someone really had hinted at it to him before...

So damn it, this was really awkward!

After Song Dao finished singing, he stood up amid the lingering notes of the piano and gave everyone a slight bow.

The crowd responded with enthusiastic applause.

Whether Sun Meiqi did not know about the conflict between Ma Shen and Song Dao, or knew and did it deliberately, no one could say.

She called out loudly, "That was so good, Teacher Song! Thumbs up for you, you were really amazing!"

Song Dao pressed his palms together and bowed slightly in thanks.

Lin Fei spoke up as well, "Teacher Song, this song of yours really is quite good. As always, you've maintained your usual standard."

Song Dao smiled.

When others said that, it was encouragement. When she said it, it was pure teasing.

What did she mean, "as always, you've maintained my usual standard"?

Wasn't she basically looking down on it a little?

You'd never guess that every song I sing was once a massive hit in another world. You could hear them in shops' speakers or on the motorcycles of reckless teens anywhere in the country.

Song Dao thought to himself.

At that moment, Ma Shen said, "I see it a little differently. How should I put it? Little Song's song will probably be popular for a while, but as I said before, with your ability, you shouldn't limit yourself to writing this kind of song."

After all, it was his first song. He would just criticize it lightly for now. If he went too hard, he'd damn well offend someone.

That damned production team.

Ma Shen cursed inwardly.

Li Jun was the last to speak, smiling as he said, "A love song—very nice. Love truly is an unforgettable memory in a person's life..."

As he spoke, he looked at Lin Fei. "Little Lin, aren't you going to consider tasting the sweetness of youth?"

Lin Fei shook her head with a smile. "I won't consider it, Teacher Li."

They had not interacted much before, but after recording the show together, she discovered that he was an Old Urchin.

Part of it was for the show's effect—there needed to be more interaction between the two main stars.

But he genuinely liked teasing people too!

No wonder so many veteran big names had mentioned this old master back then with helpless looks, saying he was incredibly funny.

The second person to perform was Zhong Yutong. This major internet celebrity had probably figured out by now that this was not a music variety show decided by live voting.

The real test would be outside the venue.

So the order of performance really didn't matter, because the current order did not necessarily represent the final broadcast order.

Holding a guitar, she sat on a stool and smiled at the camera. "Hello, teachers and fellow students. My name is Zhong Yutong, and I'm from the beautiful grassland. Today, I'm bringing you an original song called Beautiful Grassland."

It was a folk song with ethnic flair, incorporating a short section of khoomei throat singing. Its quality was not bad.

It drew surprised expressions from everyone below.

When she finished singing, they applauded repeatedly.

Although the production team had not arranged a commentary segment and had said earlier that they would hand the power of judgment over to the market and the public—

Ma Shen still gave it high praise.

"Yutong sang this song very well. I'm from the grasslands too, and your singing let me smell the fragrance of the green grass back home."

"Thank you, Teacher Ma." Zhong Yutong responded gracefully, but her eyes could not help drifting toward Song Dao, who sat quietly there with a smile on his face.

She was confident in her songwriting ability, but she felt that this song might not be able to beat Song Dao's.

Before coming here, she had been full of confidence, hoping to take first place on this show in one fell swoop.

And make her debut successfully!

Just like Kong Xi's lucky young friend, rising from an internet celebrity to a true singer.

But now, she suddenly realized that idea might have been a little naive.

Still, since she was already here, she could treat it as a learning experience.

At the very least, she could meet so many celebrities she had never had the chance to interact with before, and make a few friends her own age.

Even if she went back to being an original-song internet celebrity afterward, she could still build up a great deal of popularity through the show.

Zhao Qi was the third to perform.

This guy also chose the piano, and his skill was unexpectedly quite good. He had probably been learning since childhood as well.

The title of the song he performed was grand enough—Huazhou.

Its style carried a bit of that old Huazhou flavor, with a touch of graceful restraint and some operatic singing added in. Honestly, it was not unpleasant to listen to.

In fact, many songs felt completely different when heard live versus through audio.

For example, bel canto singing in high, middle, and low registers, which many young people did not enjoy listening to.

When watching singers of that gala-style genre on a screen, people usually did not feel much.

But if they heard them live, the experience immediately became different.

Song Dao had once attended a dinner party where a not particularly famous baritone sang a patriotic song live without accompaniment.

It was incredibly moving and truly opened his eyes.

That was why, on so many music variety shows, the reactions of the live audience were worlds apart from those watching through a screen.

People who were not there would never understand how someone could cry just from listening to a song.

Zhao Qi's Huazhou was highly polished and had clearly been carefully refined.

After she finished singing, a burst of enthusiastic applause rang out.

As Zhao Qi walked back, he wore a confident expression. In his eyes, "Huazhou" was definitely in the bag!

It was far more sophisticated than something like "Don't Say I Don't Care About Your Tears." Unless the audience were all idiots, there was no way they wouldn't like it!

Xue Lin, who performed last, indeed sang a very quiet folk song, just as she had said she would.

The song itself... was decent.

But her voice was a little too sweet.

It didn't really suit a folk song that needed a certain sense of story.

Moreover, among the many styles Little Heavenly Queen Sun Meiqi excelled at were pop, rock, R&B, electronic, and traditional Chinese styles—but she had hardly ever created folk songs.

Therefore, there was no doubt that this song had been written entirely by Xue Lin herself.

If it had been sung by a performer who specialized in folk music, it probably would have had a better effect.

She herself simply was not quite suited to it.

Still, everyone gave her warm applause.

Xue Lin seemed to have realized where the problem lay, but this shy girl was not as dejected as people had expected.

She merely puffed out her cheeks slightly and walked up to Sun Meiqi. "Sister Qiqi, you were right. I really don't seem suited to this style."

Her candid reaction made everyone smile.

Sun Meiqi took her hand and laughed. "It's fine, it's fine. I'll help you adjust from here on out. Take it slow—this is only the beginning. Besides, what are we here for?"

"To have fun."

Xue Lin answered softly, a little embarrassed.

She looked utterly adorable, instantly maxing out the variety-show charm.