Sounding the Peak: The Music Variety Show Finals Night "Six"

"Ding~ Congratulations, host, on completing the mission. You have received 10 points to add to any attribute and 10,000 Empathy Points. The rewards have been delivered to your system inventory."

"Ding~ 10,000 Empathy Points have been deducted. The host still owes this system 7,210,450 Empathy Points."

"System, put all my Attribute Points into my figure."

"Ding~ Adding points for the host. The process is expected to be completed within fifteen days."

The next round was a revival round, and since Chen Ze had already advanced, it had nothing to do with him.

"Knock, knock, knock~" A knock sounded at the door. Chen Ze opened it, and a member of the production crew handed him a package.

"Who sent me a package?" Chen Ze asked in puzzlement.

Chen Ze opened the package and found several beautifully wrapped boxes inside, along with a postcard. It read, "Dear husband, thanks for all your hard work these past few days! These are gifts from me. I hope you like them. Love you!"

"That girl!" Chen Ze shook his head and smiled.

He opened one of the boxes and found a tube of lipstick lying quietly inside.

"..." Chen Ze couldn't help frowning deeply! He opened another box, which contained a complete set of makeup.

"Damn!" Chen Ze rolled his eyes.

He opened the remaining boxes next. Inside were hand cream for men, moisturizing face masks, and hair removal cream for men. Chen Ze didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Chen Ze took out his phone and called Giant Loli.

"Hello, darling, did you get the package?" Before Chen Ze could speak, Giant Loli's delighted voice came from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, I got it, but I don't like these things!" Chen Ze complained weakly.

"Huh? Why not?" Giant Loli asked hurriedly.

"I don't like wearing makeup. Haven't you noticed?" Chen Ze said.

"Huh? I thought you didn't have the money and couldn't bear to buy it!" Giant Loli said, sounding a little aggrieved.

"Who said I don't have money? I just don't want to buy it. I have lots and lots of money!" Chen Ze argued. Chen Ze really did have money-over a million!

"Oh, oh, oh, I understand. I just won't buy you makeup anymore." Giant Loli sounded a little down. She had wanted to give Chen Ze a surprise, but her well-meant plan had backfired, and he didn't like the gifts.

Hearing the disappointment in Giant Loli's voice, Chen Ze could almost see her aggrieved face. His tone involuntarily softened as he said, "Be good, don't buy me things anymore. I have money to buy them myself!"

Giant Loli looked at the things Aunt Lin had just brought over, spread out on the sofa: designer handbags, expensive perfume, and a luxury car key. Several large boxes sat on the floor too, containing a complete gaming setup. She wondered whether she should still give them to Chen Ze, unable to make up her mind.

"But I want to give you something! I haven't really given you anything since we started dating," Giant Loli said.

Chen Ze couldn't help chuckling. "Who says you haven't given me anything? You're the best gift of all!"

Giant Loli felt as though she had eaten a whole jar of honey—the sweetest kind in the world! "Little Ze, you're so sweet!" she said happily. "You're the best gift heaven ever gave me too!" She glanced at the gifts for Chen Ze beside her. Afraid he wouldn't like them, she decided to set them aside for now. She would let Chen Ze see them when he came back and throw them out if he didn't like them!

She really was a little woman who was easy to satisfy! Chen Ze thought to himself.

Ever since the episode in which Chen Ze sang "Hometown" aired, the internet had been in an uproar. Major entertainment outlets had published headline stories one after another, praising Chen Ze as a musical genius who appeared only once in a hundred years! Naturally, Tianmei Entertainment had been working behind the scenes to make it happen!

At that moment, in the president's office on the eighty-eighth floor of the Tianmei Building, Shangguan Mingyue was concentrating on the data on her computer.

"Knock, knock, knock." A knock sounded at the door!

"Come in!"

Zhang Ting walked in and handed Shangguan Mingyue a USB drive. "Chen Ze's 'Hometown' has been recorded. His manager, Lin Dan, just brought it over."

Shangguan Mingyue took the USB drive and looked at it, then handed it back to Zhang Ting. "Upload it to Wangyiyun Music right away. I want to see whether it can make the top ten on this month's chart."

Wangyiyun Music was the largest and most comprehensive music website in this world.

"There are only seven days left in the month. I'm afraid that might not be a good idea!" Zhang Ting said.

"It's fine," Shangguan Mingyue said. "Chen Ze will surely give us more surprises. Haven't you noticed that he hasn't sung anyone else's songs since his debut?"

"But he's only sung three songs in total!" Zhang Ting said.

"He has only sung three songs, but all three were his own original works. I believe he'll sing more of his own songs in the future. Lin Dan also told me he has dozens more!" Shangguan Mingyue wore an expression that said she had everything under control.

"He has dozens more original songs!" Zhang Ting said in shock. She was the one who had brought Chen Ze in, but she hadn't expected him to be so formidable!

"That's not certain yet, but he definitely has quite a few!" Shangguan Mingyue said.

"I just remembered that the contract we signed with him only lasts a year," Zhang Ting said.

"Mm, we do need to find a way to keep him!" Shangguan Mingyue said, touching her sexy lips.

"Do you have any good ideas?" Zhang Ting asked.

"For now, all we can do is give him every resource we have. Go notify the publicity department and have them do their utmost to promote Chen Ze and build momentum for him."

"Director Wang, the viewing figures for this episode have risen quite a bit again," an assistant said to Wang Shufen in an office.

"Very good, keep it up! Give Chen Ze plenty of camera time in the next round too!" Wang Shufen said.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for the competition again. The five winners of the previous revival round and the twenty-five who had advanced in the second round made thirty contestants in total. They would draw lots, and those who drew the same number would compete, with the winners advancing!

The thirty contestants stood in a row onstage while the host held a box for each of them to draw from. Unlike before, starting with this round, all the remaining matches would be livestreamed across the internet.

Before long, every contestant had a slip of paper.

Once everyone had one, the host, Lin Jia, said, "Now, contestants, please open the slips of paper in your hands!"

Chen Ze opened his slip. The number eight was written on it.

"Now, contestants with the same number, please stand together!" the host said.

Chen Ze looked over the contestants and soon found someone with the same number as him. She was a stunningly beautiful girl!

When the girl saw that she had the same number as Chen Ze, her cute face immediately scrunched up. In fact, of all the contestants, Chen Ze was the one she least wanted to face, yet she had run into him anyway.

All the contestants onstage felt the same way. Seeing Chen Ze standing with a girl, they all breathed a sigh of relief. None of them believed they could beat Chen Ze while he was riding so high.

"Next, contestants who drew the same number will face off in pairs, starting with number one and continuing in order through number fifteen. Would the contestants with number one please get ready!" the host said.

Meanwhile, the internet was buzzing too!

"Wow! Look, that's Lin Hao. He's so cute!"

"Oh! I see Chen Ze. He's my idol!"

"Su Yao's good too. She drew number eleven. Luckily, she didn't get matched with Chen Ze!"

"Sun Yingsha's in good form today. I really wish I could hear her world-weary voice right now!"

"This program is sponsored by..." The host read out a pile of advertisements, then began chatting with the mentors.

"Mentor Song, who do you think will advance today?" the host asked Song Ying.

"I think Chen Ze. He's outstanding in every respect!" Song Ying said.

"What do you think, Mentor Lin Qingxue?" the host asked.

"I think Chen Ze, Lin Hao, Su Yao, and Sun Yingsha are all quite talented," Lin Qingxue said.

The host also asked the other two mentors, and both gave their own opinions.

"So who will advance today? Let's wait and see! This program is sponsored by..." The host went on with another pile of nonsense!

"Why is this host so long-winded? Start the competition already!"

"Yeah, this host talks way too much!"

"Stop yapping and get started!"

The internet immediately erupted in complaints!

Finally, with the host's announcement that "the competition has officially begun," the number-one contestants took the stage.

One of them was an overweight middle-aged woman. In her earlier introduction, she had mentioned that she owned a matchmaking agency and had been busy working all these years. Music was her greatest hobby, so netizens jokingly called her a singer held back by matchmaking.

Her opponent was a young female sophomore who had fought her way through round after round with her unique hip-hop style.

In the end, the matchmaking agency owner won. Her gentle voice had conquered every mentor present.

"Ding~ The system has issued a new mission. Please sing a song and successfully advance. The mission reward is 10 points to add to any attribute and 10,000 Empathy Points. There is no penalty for failure. Does the host accept?"

Chen Ze was backstage, quietly watching the competition, when the system notification sounded.

"Accept!"