Opening Your Eyes, You Vulgar People

The main creative team of the movie "Whiplash" embarked on a rather unconventional promotional tour, which thus began.

Their first stop was the "Talent Show," which was recorded in Shanghai.

Only Bai Youlou and Long Ziqiang came along. Zhang Xiaorong did not participate in this program, as she only needed to register for the show that had the highest buzz.

Bai Youlou and Long Ziqiang were mainly responsible for a one-round exit; they didn't really consider advancing.

To put it bluntly, most programs probably wouldn't let them advance.

Even when seeking traffic, there's a risk assessment involved. Most programs, even if they agreed to let Bai Youlou appear, were very direct about it: just one episode.

Allowing him on for just one episode could guarantee buzz and traffic while also preventing the show from being criticized by anti-fans.

Long Ziqiang, who was associated with him, naturally received the same treatment.

As for the "pure and innocent" Zhang Xiaorong, she didn't need to worry about such things; she could go as far as she could.

Bai Youlou had a lot of confidence in her. Having known her for a few months, he had heard Zhang Xiaorong sing before, and the girl had excellent vocal conditions.

Unlike her clear and crisp speaking voice, when she sang, there was an ethereal quality, and hitting high notes was effortless.

After much thought, Bai Youlou found a singer template for her from his original world: a female version of Zhou Shen.

As for whether she could win the championship or not, she had already signed the contract given by Old Zhou, so winning a championship was out of the question.

Bai Youlou's original plan was for her to participate in a few episodes, then sign with An Luning's company. With popularity and buzz, she could get a better contract and be promoted by a major company.

But now that she had stepped into his own trap, she couldn't expect to win any championships and become famous.

This girl seemed much smarter than An Luning, but her choice was a bit foolish.

Bai Youlou knew exactly how deep the water was in these talent shows.

In these places, talent cannot defeat capital; it's only possible that capital chose talent.

However~

If the two don't meet halfway, talent definitely has the ability to embarrass capital!

Because that's exactly what Bai Youlou intended to do.

"We don't have a chance for rehearsal. They're practically hoping we'll make fools of ourselves. We only get one shot, so sing your best."

Hearing this, Long Ziqiang nodded nervously, "Director Bai, aren't you nervous?"

"Just call me Old Bai from now on. Don't keep calling me Director Bai. Nervous? I get nervous before every performance; that feeling is indispensable," Bai Youlou said casually while chewing gum.

His words seemed to carry some weight. What a great sentiment, that the feeling of nervousness was indispensable.

Long Ziqiang secretly took note, waiting to witness Bai Youlou's performance.

But the plot's development exceeded his imagination!

It also gave him a deeper understanding of what the real entertainment industry was like.

Bai Youlou, who went up first, chose "Blue Lotus," which he had sung on set before.

Long Ziqiang was very excited because he absolutely loved that song. Even though he wasn't singing it himself, seeing it performed gave him a sense of exhilaration, like saying, "Damn, let you common folk open your eyes."

Everything was as he had imagined.

Truly experienced people don't need to shout their lungs out. Just singing softly, calmly, and indifferently, they possess a power that strikes the heart.

Bai Youlou's clear and unrestrained voice was a perfect match for the song!

However, halfway through the song, he was directly stopped by the judges.

Seeing this, Long Ziqiang was stunned. He watched as the judge in the middle, with his head held high, criticized Bai Youlou dismissively, as if everything he sang was worthless and utterly demeaning.

Long Ziqiang couldn't understand. Were these people's ears not tuned to the same frequency as his?

However, he did recognize the person in charge. His name was Wang Jiahua.

The other party wasn't a musician at all.

He couldn't remember if he was a crosstalk comedian or a talk show host, but he was a somewhat famous person who hosted his own show and was quite arrogant.

At this moment, an unnamable anger surged within Long Ziqiang.

Bai Youlou: Damn it!

His anger was different from Long Ziqiang's. It was mainly because the person spewing nonsense opposite him wasn't following the plan.

He didn't care about being criticized or scolded, but at least let him finish the song!

They said he could sing the whole song, right?!

What a lack of professional integrity.

Bai Youlou wasn't aiming to advance, but he at least wanted a little more screen time.

In fact, the program director was also a bit helpless because Wang Jiahua's interruption was his own initiative.

The original instruction was to give "sharp" comments after Bai Youlou finished singing and then eliminate him.

But Wang Jiahua decided to add his own drama.

He didn't even see the other judges on the side giving him signals!

Among the three judges on stage, there was a true musician!

The director saw it very clearly. That guy's eyes lit up when he heard Bai Youlou singing, and when Bai Youlou was stopped mid-song by Wang Jiahua, his eyes were full of disbelief, as if to say: Are you f**king crazy?

Fortunately, Bai Youlou was here to "stir up trouble" in the first place.

He wouldn't tolerate anything!

After Wang Jiahua said, "Do you want to debut again in this way? I'm sorry, I don't see any potential in you," he started to respond.

"I wasn't thinking of debuting again; I came to this stage for other reasons."

This indeed piqued Wang Jiahua's interest, and his expression remained as arrogant as ever, "Oh?"

"I wrote a bunch of songs, and I need to find a place for people to hear them. It's a shame, though, people like you can't appreciate them."

"How dare you speak to me like that!"

They were arguing!

This point was pretty much in line with their prior agreement.

To make up for the time of the unfinished half-song, Bai Youlou went all out, trading insults with Wang Jiahua.

His tongue was so venomous; he even created his own "Bai's nonsensical remarks" when he was spewing insults at a press conference back then, which are still widely circulated online.

He angered Wang Jiahua so much that he started slamming the table.

However, just as the other party was about to call security, Bai Youlou suddenly stopped.

"Alright, time's up. Please announce my elimination."

"Time's up?" the other judge beside him asked subconsciously.

Bai Youlou tugged at his clothes, making the words "Whiplash" more prominent, and then explained, "I'm just here to promote the movie. Whether it's arguing or singing, as long as I fill the time, it's fine."

Except for Wang Jiahua, the other two judges had rather awkward expressions.

Mainly because Bai Youlou had been furious just a second ago, making Wang Jiahua almost have PTSD, and then he suddenly calmed down, making it feel like he was just acting.

If Wang Jiahua hadn't still looked furious and offended, they would have suspected it was all staged.

Oh, right, the audience already felt like this was scripted.

Unexpectedly, Wang Jiahua, who had been red-faced with anger, seemed to calm down as well and signaled the other judge to announce Bai Youlou's elimination.

After this process was completed, he suddenly said, "Aren't you afraid I'll have someone edit this part out?"

Bai Youlou didn't even bother to respond. He put his hands in his pockets and walked straight off the stage.

Saying anything more wouldn't get him any more screen time, so he couldn't be bothered with the guy.

Besides, if it got edited, so be it. This wasn't the only show he was participating in.

He was going to sing this song on his next show! As long as this song got out there, even if Bai Youlou continued to be criticized, it would be hard to say whose face would be slapped.

However~

What Bai Youlou didn't expect was that as he was about to call Long Ziqiang to leave, the show's director stopped him.