Feminine and Stupid

"Teacher Zhang, what do you think?"

The seriousness vanished from Feng Bingbing's face in an instant. It seemed she had finally solved a problem that had been troubling her, and her smile turned sweet and charming.

Zhang Zheng sensed something was wrong. He was about to ask again when the singing onstage resumed.

"Years, don't rush me. I won't push away what's meant to come."

"What I owe, I'll repay. What I should give, I'll give."

"Years, don't rush me. I won't chase what's gone."

"I only want to find out what really happened."

The weathered voice grew raspier, stirring even more longing and heartache.

The audience was swept up in the song, lost in memories they would rather not revisit.

"I want it, but can't have it. What can you do about life?"

"I want it, but can't have it. There are no wise people in love."

At last, the final lyric fell, and the song that had drawn everyone in and left them unable to break free was finally over.

After a brief silence, the entire audience rose to their feet and erupted into another round of enthusiastic applause.

Zhang Zheng and Wang Xinzhe were overcome with excitement. They couldn't help slapping their hands together, moved by the song in a way only two middle-aged men could be.

Host Li Lan applauded as she walked onto the stage. This time, she'd learned her lesson and called toward the backstage area:

"Could the staff keep an eye on the exits? Don't let Dawei Tianlong run off again."

Someone actually called back, "Sister Lan, we're watching them. He won't get away."

The audience burst into laughter. Feng Bingbing also giggled, looking radiant beyond compare.

Her stunning smile appeared on the big screen, leaving the audience spellbound.

"She's so beautiful!"

"See? My heart still belongs to Bingbing!"

On the other side, Zhou Yiyi was completely dumbstruck, gazing at her with adoration.

Zhang Zheng cleared his throat and leaned forward, blocking Zhou Yiyi's view. Then, as if nothing were amiss, he smiled at the stage and asked:

"Brother Long, did you dream this song too?"

The reply came from behind the curtain. "How did you know, Teacher Zhang?"

The audience roared with laughter again. This guy was hilarious.

Li Lan smiled. "It seems Teacher Zhang really likes this song. Would you care to comment?"

Zhang Zheng said seriously, "Personally, I think this song is even better than 'Hill' from last week. People without life experience would find it hard to understand."

His remark was a subtle jab at Zhou Yiyi, who had given Dawei Tianlong a red light last week.

It wasn't that Zhang Zheng was sticking up for a contestant at the cost of offending Zhou Yiyi.

He just couldn't stand the guy. He had no real talent and made money by relying on a pretty, girlish face.

Rock musicians tended to have a bit of a temper, and they especially looked down on people who lacked professional ability and relied on others to prop them up.

Wang Xinzhe sensed the mood turning sour and quickly jumped in.

"I think both of Brother Long's songs are great. It's not just middle-aged guys like us who can relate. Any man who's been through a breakup should connect with them."

Zhang Zheng smiled at Wang Xinzhe. "So, shall we do it together again?"

"Sure!" Wang Xinzhe replied with a cheerful smile.

And so Leather Pants Zhang and Hairline Wang pressed their buttons together once again.

Two blue lights came on.

"Wow! Two votes!"

"That means he's safe from elimination."

"What are you talking about? A song this good will definitely get him straight through."

The audience applauded enthusiastically.

Under the rules, contestants who received three or more votes advanced directly. Those who received two votes weren't eliminated; they went into the waiting group.

Later, they would face off one-on-one against other contestants in the waiting group. The winners would advance, and the losers would be eliminated.

That meant that if he ended up in the waiting group, he'd have to sing another song.

But the audience all thought there was little doubt that Dawei Tianlong would advance. The song's quality spoke for itself.

Li Lan asked Zhou Yiyi, "What do you think, Teacher Zhou?"

Zhou Yiyi ran a hand through his hair and put on a "gentle" smile, prompting shrill cheers from some of the girls in the audience. Then he drawled:

"I don't like this song."

Zhang Zheng's rear suddenly lifted off his seat. Wang Xinzhe hurriedly reached out and grabbed him.

Zhang Zheng paused, then sat back down, his face ashen.

He stared coldly at Zhou Yiyi.

You don't like it?

Who the hell are you?

The song had struck a deep chord in Zhang Zheng and moved him profoundly.

He believed that anyone who understood even a little about music and had some life experience would at least recognize the song's merit, even if it wasn't their preferred style.

Who would've thought Zhou Yiyi would oppose him just like last week?

And then he'd put on airs, using the exact same line as last time: "I don't like it."

If you don't like it, then get lost!

Zhang Zheng had nearly jumped up and gone over to beat the girly little punk to a pulp.

Luckily, Wang Xinzhe had reacted quickly and stopped him.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yiyi basked in the screams of his mindless fans and smugly continued:

"It's the same problem as last week. Contestant Dawei Tianlong's guitar playing is a little weak.

"It's clear that you can only play guitar and piano.

"For an original musician, that's nowhere near enough.

"Besides, this song is a little melodramatic. Life is so beautiful, so why all this sadness?

"Does anyone still think life is hard and dating is difficult?

"Surely not?

"People should be more positive. Don't you agree?"

The rest of the audience said nothing. Only that group of mindless fans shouted, "Yes!"

Zhou Yiyi smugly glanced at the curtain onstage, thinking the young singer must be furious by now.

But what good would being furious do?

You had the nerve to go after me last week, so today I'll show you who the mentor is!

Wang Xinzhe, who had just stopped Zhang Zheng, couldn't help saying, "I personally think Brother Long is very good on the guitar."

Zhou Yiyi replied bluntly, "If you're only 'very good,' that's still nowhere near enough for a stage at this level. You'd need to be at least half as good as I am, wouldn't you?"

Wang Xinzhe turned his face away and said nothing.

He was mainly afraid that if he kept looking at that girly, stupid face, he'd get up and punch the idiot too.

What top-notch musicians hadn't I seen back when I was famous?

Who are you trying to impress?

Seeing that both Wang Xinzhe and Zhang Zheng were on the verge of losing their tempers, Li Lan quickly changed the subject.

"Contestant Dawei Tianlong, would you like to say anything?"

A mechanical male voice rang out from behind the curtain, completely devoid of emotion. "Who am I supposed to talk to?"

Li Lan prompted him. "Mentor Zhou Yiyi just gave you some feedback. Is there anything you'd like to discuss with him?"

The reply came at once from behind the curtain. "I didn't hear any mentor speaking just now."

"You didn't hear him? That was Zhou—"

Li Lan cut herself off.

The venue fell silent too.

A lot of people caught on.

Brother Long meant he didn't consider Zhou Yiyi a mentor at all!

"Damn, what a guy! I like him!"

"Oh my god, he really said that? They'll definitely cut this out in post, right?"

"Isn't he afraid of offending Zhou Yiyi?"

The audience was stunned, wondering if Zhou Yiyi and Brother Long might actually come to blows onstage.

Everyone eagerly turned to look at the mentors' panel.

They wanted to see how Zhou Yiyi would react to such a blatant provocation.

With everyone watching, Zhou Yiyi actually smiled.

"Contestant Dawei Tianlong, you shouldn't zone out while a mentor is evaluating you. What a mentor says to you can become an asset. Understand?"

Perhaps to show how magnanimous he was, Zhou Yiyi repeated his entire critique.

Li Lan: "..."

The audience: "..."

Zhang Zheng burst out laughing, and Wang Xinzhe's body trembled slightly.

That idiot hadn't even realized Brother Long was insulting him!

How could anyone be that stupid?

The muscles in Li Lan's face twitched twice. She fought to hold back her laughter, simply skipped past that exchange, and turned to Feng Bingbing.

"Mentor Bingbing, what do you think of contestant Dawei Tianlong's performance?"