Junior Feng's Probe

Whoa!

The whole venue erupted in an uproar.

Zhou Yiyi was pleased to find himself the center of attention. He folded his arms across his chest and sat up straight, putting on the air of an expert.

"I trained for three years before my debut, and I'm especially good at singing, dancing, and playing instruments. I'm very familiar with the guitar, too.

"I don't think Dawei Tianlong played the guitar very skillfully. Singing while playing seems a bit beyond him.

"And his singing didn't move me at all. I never got into the music from start to finish. It just felt... completely out of place!"

Wang Xinzhe, sitting beside him, stared at Zhou Yiyi in bewilderment. This is singing, not acting. Who are you saying was out of place?

Zhang Zheng slowly raised a hand to cover his face, though his body trembled slightly.

He was about to lose it!

Zhang Zheng was in a band himself. To musicians like them, a guitar was as essential as chopsticks were to someone sitting down to eat.

He'd only heard the first few notes Dawei Tianlong played, and he'd already realized the man was a master.

You couldn't develop that kind of skill without immersing yourself in it for ten or twenty years.

And yet Zhou Yiyi, that idiot, had the nerve to dismiss more than a decade of someone else's skill based on his so-called "three years of training"?

It was like an ignorant elementary schooler pointing at a university professor and calling him uneducated.

Was that not hilarious?

The beautiful host was a little speechless, but Zhou Yiyi was a huge draw, after all.

She didn't dare offend his fanatical fans, so she turned to Lin Mu behind the curtain and asked,

"Dawei Tianlong, do you have anything to say about Teacher Zhou's comments?"

Lin Mu replied impatiently, "Can we just vote already?"

Junior Feng was still staring at me with those wide eyes. Every extra minute onstage meant more danger.

The sooner this was over, the sooner I could pull up my pants and leave.

"..." The host was stunned.

The audience fell silent, too.

What did he mean by that?

Someone muttered, "Is he taking a shot at Zhou Yiyi?"

The person beside him said, "Seems like it. I can practically smell the gunpowder."

"Damn, no wonder even Teacher Zhang calls him Brother Long."

"Brother Long is awesome!"

Some people had actually started calling Lin Mu "Brother Long."

"Our boy trained hard for three years. He couldn't be wrong!"

"What a clown, putting on a show just to ride our boy's coattails!"

There were quite a few Zhou Yiyi fans in the audience. The girls were furious that Lin Mu dared to take a jab at their giegie.

"Heh."

Zhou Yiyi hadn't expected Dawei Tianlong to dare talk back to him. He gave a cold laugh. You want me to vote already?

Fine!

He slapped the red button.

The venue buzzed with discussion once more.

Anyone with common sense could hear how good "Hill" was. There was nothing wrong with Dawei Tianlong's performance, either.

Even Wang Xinzhe and Zhang Zheng had voted to let him through without hesitation, yet Zhou Yiyi had hit the red button.

What the hell?

This was amazing television!

The audience was thrilled. What fun was it if everyone ended up happy? They'd much rather see a contestant burst through the curtain and pick a fight with the judges.

Now that would be exciting!

"Very good. Keep going."

Chen Xin's voice sounded in the host's earpiece. Smiling, she turned to Feng Bingbing.

"Teacher Feng Bingbing, your vote is crucial now. If you vote yes, Dawei Tianlong will advance straight to the Top 80.

"If you hit the red button, he'll go to the pending zone.

"Please make your choice."

At the host's words, every eye in the venue turned to Feng Bingbing.

The other three judges also turned to look at her.

Wang Xinzhe and Zhang Zheng felt a little solidarity with the contestant. Given Junior Feng's ability, surely she couldn't be as blind as Zhou Yiyi?

Zhou Yiyi, meanwhile, wore a confident smile.

As far as he was concerned, Feng Bingbing was his age, so she probably didn't like this song either.

By saying he disliked it first, he'd paved the way for her. Feng Bingbing would surely be grateful.

Then they'd be two young singers brave enough to say they "didn't like" the song. He'd get more attention, and perhaps even win the beauty's heart.

As he gazed at the youthful, beautiful Feng Bingbing, Zhou Yiyi's imagination was already running wild.

Under countless watchful eyes, Feng Bingbing finally spoke.

"I'd like to ask Dawei Tianlong a few questions. Is that all right?"

The host smiled and nodded, about to respond.

"No."

A mechanical male voice came from behind the curtain.

The whole venue was stunned.

The host, who'd been about to say yes, froze, too. She turned toward the thick curtain, looking as though she wanted to charge in and drag the guy out to see what kind of person he was.

Hadn't he just taken a jab at a top star?

Now he was going after the popular Little Diva, too?

Behind the curtain, Lin Mu looked helpless.

He had no qualms about taking a shot at Zhou Yiyi, but he had no choice but to refuse Feng Bingbing.

Damn it, I know Junior Feng too well!

It'd be far too easy for her to coax something out of me in just a few sentences.

The more I say, the more likely I'll slip up. Better to say nothing.

While the audience and host were still stunned, Feng Bingbing acted as though she hadn't heard Lin Mu's refusal and asked anyway.

"This song, 'Hill,' feels like it was written by someone with a lot of life experience. It seems like only someone of a certain age could have written it.

"But I heard the song you sang in the preliminaries, and your voice sounded quite young.

"I'm curious, Dawei Tianlong. How old are you, exactly?"

Feng Bingbing's question reminded Zhang Zheng and Wang Xinzhe of the footage they'd watched earlier at Director Chen's station, featuring the S Card winners from the preliminaries.

When Dawei Tianlong sang "Quiet," his voice had indeed sounded very young.

The two exchanged startled looks.

Could one person's voice really change that much?

Zhang Zheng nudged Wang Xinzhe, silently asking, Can you do that?

Wang Xinzhe spread his hands and looked at Zhang Zheng. I sing love songs. How could I do that? Can you?

Zhang Zheng smiled wryly and shook his head. I sing rock. I can't do it either!

Damn!

We've run into a monster.

Their eyes met, and they cursed in unison.

Feng Bingbing's question naturally drew the audience's attention back to the stage.

Behind the curtain, Lin Mu could see what was happening through the monitor.

Damn it. I only wanted to sing one song, get through the round, and hurry offstage.

The last thing I wanted was to have the whole venue focused on me.

And now Junior Feng had pushed me right to the edge of a volcano with one sentence.

Feng Bingbing had indeed heard his performance in the preliminaries. This was trouble!

After a brief silence, Lin Mu said expressionlessly, "Host, I'd like to leave the stage."

"???"

The venue fell silent. Everyone was a little confused.

Huh?

The beautiful host stood there, dumbfounded.

The judge was asking him a question, and he was telling her he wanted to leave the stage?

Only after Chen Xin reminded her through the earpiece did the host recover. She smiled and said,

"Looks like our contestant is a little shy in front of our Little Diva.

"Dawei Tianlong, do you know how many people would love to talk to Feng Bingbing, but never get the chance?

"This is your chance to show us who you are. Don't be shy. Be brave."