The creative team behind The Rocker's unique "publicity tour" had officially kicked off.
The first stop was Talent Show, which was recorded in Shanghai.
Only Bai Youlou and Long Ziqiang had come. Zhang Xiaorong wasn't participating in this show; she only needed to sign up for the most popular program.
Bai Youlou and Long Ziqiang's main job was simply to make it through one round. They hadn't even considered advancing.
To put it bluntly, most programs probably wouldn't let them advance.
Even exploiting their popularity came with risks. Most programs, even if they agreed to let Bai Youlou appear, were very straightforward about it: one episode only.
Letting him appear for just one episode guaranteed discussion and traffic while preventing the show from being swarmed by haters.
Naturally, Long Ziqiang, who was tied to him, received the same treatment.
As for the "spotless" Zhang Xiaorong, she didn't have to worry about any of that. She could go as far as she could.
Bai Youlou had great confidence in her. After knowing her for several months, he had heard Zhang Xiaorong sing long ago, and the girl had an exceptional voice.
Unlike the crisp clarity of her speaking voice, there was an ethereal quality to her singing. She could also hit high notes with ease.
After thinking for a long time, Bai Youlou finally found a singer from his original world who fit her as a template: the female version of Zhou Shen.
As for whether she could win the championship or not—she had already signed the contract Old Zhou gave her. What championship was she going to win?
Originally, Bai Youlou had planned to let her participate in a few episodes, then use the opportunity to sign with An Luning's company. Once she had popularity and exposure, she could get a better contract and be promoted by a major company.
But now she had jumped into his own pit. She could forget about winning the championship and becoming a huge star.
The girl looked much smarter than An Luning, but the choice she had made was a little stupid too.
Bai Youlou knew exactly how deep the waters ran on talent shows.
In places like these, talent couldn't defeat capital. At best, it was capital choosing talent.
Still~
If the two didn't move toward each other, talent absolutely had the power to make capital look bad!
Because that was exactly what Bai Youlou intended to do.
--
"We won't have a chance to rehearse. They're practically hoping we'll embarrass ourselves. We only have one shot, so sing properly."
Hearing that, Long Ziqiang nodded nervously. "Director Bai, aren't you nervous?"
"Just call me Old Bai from now on. Stop calling me Director Bai. Nervous? I get nervous before every performance. That feeling is indispensable." Bai Youlou chewed his gum and spoke casually.
Those words sounded surprisingly sincere. What a profound statement—nervousness was indispensable.
Long Ziqiang quietly memorized it, waiting to enjoy Bai Youlou's performance.
But the turn of events still exceeded his imagination!
It also gave him a deeper understanding of what the real entertainment industry was like.
Bai Youlou went on first and chose "Blue Lotus," which he had sung at the filming site before.
Long Ziqiang was thrilled because he loved this song. Even though he wasn't the one performing it, he still felt an exhilarated urge to shout, Damn, let me open your vulgar eyes for you people!
Everything was more or less as he had imagined.
People who truly had a story to tell didn't need to sing themselves hoarse. Even a calm, indifferent murmur could carry the power to strike straight at the heart.
Bai Youlou's clear and carefree voice was a perfect match for the song!
However, halfway through, the judges at the scene called for him to stop.
Long Ziqiang was completely dumbfounded. He saw the judge sitting in the middle lift his chin and criticize Bai Youlou with undisguised disdain, as if what Bai Youlou had sung was worthless and he had utterly torn it apart.
Long Ziqiang couldn't understand. Were these people's ears somehow tuned to a different channel from his?
Still, he recognized the leading guy. His name was Wang Jiahua.
The man wasn't a musician at all.
Long Ziqiang couldn't remember whether he did crosstalk or stand-up comedy. In any case, he was a somewhat famous guy who hosted his own show, and he was extremely arrogant.
At that moment, an indescribable fury began to rise in Long Ziqiang's chest.
Bai Youlou: Damn it!
His anger was different from Long Ziqiang's. He was mainly furious because the guy spouting nonsense opposite him wasn't following the agreement.
He didn't care about being criticized or cursed at. Damn it, just let him finish the song~
Hadn't they agreed he would sing the entire song?!
That guy didn't have the slightest sense of professional integrity.
Bai Youlou hadn't intended to advance, but shouldn't he at least get a little more screen time?
In fact, the show's director was also rather helpless, because Wang Jiahua's sudden interruption had been entirely his own decision.
The original instructions had been to let Bai Youlou finish singing, offer a few "cutting" comments, and then eliminate him.
Instead, Wang Jiahua had decided to add his own scene.
He hadn't even noticed the other judges signaling frantically at him!
Of the three judges present, one was a genuine musician.
The director saw it clearly. That judge's eyes had lit up when he heard Bai Youlou sing. Then, when Wang Jiahua stopped Bai Youlou halfway through, his eyes had filled with disbelief, as if saying: Are you freaking crazy?
Fortunately, Bai Youlou had come specifically to "cause trouble."
He wasn't going to put up with a single bit of this!
After Wang Jiahua said, "Are you trying to relaunch your career this way? Sorry, but I don't see any potential in you at all," Bai Youlou began talking back.
"I'm not trying to relaunch my career. I came on this stage for another reason."
That naturally piqued Wang Jiahua's interest. His expression remained as haughty as ever. "Oh?"
"I've written a whole pile of songs. I have to find somewhere to let people hear them. Unfortunately, someone like you wouldn't appreciate them anyway."
"What do you mean by that!"
They started arguing!
That part was more or less in line with what had been arranged beforehand.
To make up for the time lost from not finishing the first half of the song, Bai Youlou went all out and traded insults with Wang Jiahua.
How poisonous was his mouth? Back when he had held a press conference and attacked people, he had even created his own brand of "Bai's nonsensical remarks," which was still widely circulating online.
Wang Jiahua was enraged enough to start slapping the table.
However, just as the other man was about to call security, Bai Youlou suddenly stopped.
"All right, time's up. Please announce that I'm eliminated."
"Time's up?" another judge beside him asked in confusion.
Bai Youlou tugged at his clothes, making the four words The Rocker more conspicuous, then explained, "I'm just here to promote the movie. Whether we argue or sing, all that matters is filling the allotted time."
Apart from Wang Jiahua, the other two judges looked somewhat awkward.
The main issue was that Bai Youlou had still been furious one second earlier, cursing Wang Jiahua so viciously that he seemed to have given him PTSD, and then had suddenly calmed down the next second. It felt as though the entire exchange had been an act.
If Wang Jiahua hadn't still looked furious and deeply offended, they might really have suspected it was all staged.
Oh, right—the audience already thought it was a freaking script.
Unexpectedly, Wang Jiahua, who had been red-faced with rage, seemed to calm down as well. He signaled for the other judge to announce Bai Youlou's elimination.
After the procedure was completed, he suddenly said, "Aren't you afraid I'll have this entire segment cut?"
Bai Youlou didn't even bother responding. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked straight off the stage.
There was no point saying anything else; it wouldn't get him more screen time. He couldn't be bothered with this guy.
Besides, so what if the segment was cut? This wasn't the only show he was going to appear on.
He was going to sing this song on the next program too! As long as the song was released, even if Bai Youlou continued to be criticized, it would be hard to say whose face was actually being slapped.
Still~
What Bai Youlou hadn't expected was that, just as he was preparing to call Long Ziqiang and leave, the show's director called out to him.
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