Chapter 1023

The music stopped.

The song ended.

The Clown bowed and turned to walk off the stage.

There wasn’t any screaming in the studio nor the explosive atmosphere like after Petal Shower had performed. There wasn’t even any shouting like after Sunflower in the Starlight’s performance. This was a reflective song, one that was not sung in hopes of competing on this stage. However, a lot of people in the audience suddenly started to silently stand up.

One clap.

Two claps.

Han Qi was clapping as she wiped away her tears!

Music Director Bai Yuanfei was clapping with a smile on his face!

Hu Fei, Hou Ge, Dafei, Yao Jiancai, Amy, Chen Guang, Zhang Xia, and everyone else were clapping!

It became a round of constant applause that didn’t stop for a long time!

Some of their eyes were brimming with tears.

While some of them had a sad look in their eyes.

This song had given them such a swirl of emotions that it was very difficult to speak or scream to express what they were feeling inside. Those who had similar experiences were moved by the song, whereas those who hadn’t gone through such a stage in life and had been affected by Sunflower’s gloomy and dark “Mother Said” were now baptized by this “Life’ More Than the Grind.” They felt like their lives were suddenly brightened by an influx of indescribable emotions that felt very comforting.

“The Clown is so great!”

“I like him, I like him so much!”

“Me too! His songs are just so full of feeling!”

“But this song was neither intense nor lively. Will others be able to understand it?”

“Uh, this song is not exactly suitable for a competition and was not a good choice.”

“I don’t care about others. In any case, I understood it and I think it’s wonderful!”

“I can’t use words to describe how much I love The Clown. In my eyes, he poured in every ounce of his emotions into singing this song!”

The audience was chattering away.

A wry smile hung from Chen Guang’s lips. “He’s sung so many songs, but no one can identify him from his voice?”

Zhang Xia shook her head. “I can’t think of who he might be!”

Amy said irritated, “I can’t tell from his voice either!”

Yao Jiancai spread his hands and said with a laugh, “If you people from the music industry can’t identify him, then I definitely can’t guess who he is.”

There were no deafening high notes.

There was nothing uncontrolled in his technique.

The Clown used his extremely magnetic voice to tell a story without any hint of showing off.

This song was so advanced!

This singing was so advanced!

“Life’s More Than the Grind” was performed by Xu Wei in Zhang Ye’s previous world and Gao Xiaosong was the songwriter, with both the melody and lyrics written by him. Zhang Ye had not planned on singing this on today’s stage and had prepared it as a backup piece. But when he took the stage, he could not suppress the thought of it. He just suddenly wanted to sing this song, so he sang it.

In the waiting area.

Petal Shower, Spinach, and the others were all there.

As the applause did not stop, Dong Shanshan did not invite the next singer onstage even though she was already there herself. She was simply waiting for the atmosphere to calm down.

The Clown returned to the waiting area.

Petal Shower looked deep into his eyes. “That was amazing.”

The Clown changed his vocal register and said, “Thank you.”

Sunset Glow looked at him. “I really liked that song. Can I cover it?”

The Clown laughed and said, “Sure.”

Spinach smiled bitterly. “You, you guys are too good! Godly seniors, please lead the way for us!”

Yesterday’s Daylily asked, “Teacher Clown, which big name in the industry are you?”

The Clown chuckled. “I’m just a newbie in the music industry.” He really wasn’t lying.

But how could others believe him? In fact, they were floored!

A newbie?

Stop pretending already!

To Spinach and Yesterday’s Daylily, The Clown and Petal Shower both belonged to the type of singers with elite singing skills, even if they had completely different singing styles. It was very difficult to judge who was better and more of a case of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. But compared to themselves, these two teachers would definitely annihilate them in a singing competition.

Spinach pulled a long face and said, “I don’t want to go out on stage anymore.”

The Clown smiled and said, “Sing well and you’re sure to win.”

Spinach said, “Please don’t try to comfort me. Who can beat you after that song?”

Yesterday’s Daylily suddenly said in amusement, “Teacher Clown’s song was such a divine stab!” He could not prevent himself from bursting into laughter. “Aiyo, I’m dying of laughter!”

Spinach, Sunset Glow, and Petal Shower burst into laughter as well.

Indeed. This stab was really too vicious!

A coincidence?

Bullshit! What coincidence?

How could there be such a coincidence? Sunflower had just finished singing a song about how life was dark and a grind, and then you came along and sang about how life’s more than just the grind. The Clown must have definitely done this on purpose!

Li Yu is probably in his waiting room, his face green with anger!

“Teacher Petal Shower is also amazing!”

“Yeah, she straight up prevented Li Yu from advancing to the next round!”

“Hai, but Li Yu will still be able to make a comeback next episode.”

“Yes, he won’t be stopped in the elimination round.”

“If he sings a Cantonese song, then…”

“Yeah, it’s difficult to say who’ll end up as the eventual winner if that happens.”

“Li Yu is really good at Cantonese songs.”

The masked singers were on quite friendly terms as they chatted. Li Yu’s backstabbing had led the other contestants to become wholly united against him and they grew close as a result.

…

Onstage.

The audience was still applauding.

Dong Shanshan had no other choice but to smile and speak into the microphone, “Shall I tell everyone a joke?”

Only then did the applause lessen.

Dong Shanshan said, “There was once a host who wanted to tell a joke to her audience, but the audience did not laugh. That’s all. That’s the joke, so let’s welcome our next contestant—Spinach!”

The audience was tickled.

“Pfft!”

“What a bad joke!”

“How is that a joke!”

“Hahahaha!”

But with that interruption from Dong Shanshan, the audience was drawn away from the emotions brought on by the song.

Spinach took a deep breath. “I’m going on!”

The Clown said, “Break a leg.”

Yesterday’s Daylily looked at her with sympathetic eyes. “Just do your best.”

Spinach forced a smile and quickly walked onto the stage.

The music started.

The melody was very familiar.

When Zhang Ye heard it, he got slightly surprised and then smiled.

Spinach sang softly.

“To my dear Mom and Dad. How are you two?

“Have you been busy working? Are you healthy?

“I’m in Beijing, it’s pretty good.

“Mom and Dad, don’t you worry for me.”

It was “A Letter to Home,” which Zhang Ye had sung at Beijing Television’s Spring Festival Gala.

The audience was stunned!

She was singing really well!

She was singing it incredibly well!

Zhang Ye, Yesterday’s Daylily, and the others had not expected that Spinach could sing so well either. Her singing style was very silky, her crystal-clear voice sounding fantastical. When she sang “A Letter to Home,” it felt completely different from Zhang Ye’s version. It carried a unique flavor!

After the song was over, some of the audience were in tears.

Soon after, The Clown was invited back onstage.

Dong Shanshan smiled. “Let’s first have the guessing panel of judges say a few words.”

Chen Yidong was the first to speak. “Spinach’s singing and voice were quite good. The emotions were on point and I was moved when she sang that last part of the song. But compared to The Clown, she’s probably not at his level yet.”

Spinach humbly bowed. “Thank you, Teacher.”

Zhang Xia asked, “Spinach, have we ever worked together?”

Spinach coughed. “Yes.”

The audience gasped.

Zhang Xia immediately probed further. “Was it at that gala last year?”

Gala?

What gala?

Nobody could understand what she meant.

Spinach smirked and said, “The director isn’t letting me answer.”

“Alright, I get it.” Zhang Xia said, amused, “So it really is you. No wonder you can sing this well.”

But Chen Guang was not in the know. “Who is she?”

Amy said, “Grandma Zhang, please tell us.”

Zhang Xia smiled and said, “I can’t say who she is aloud, but I can give you a hint. This young lady is not considered as someone from the music industry or someone with a musical background.” Then she told Spinach, “You sang very well, and us two are like old friends. But if I had to vote, I would still vote for The Clown. Please don’t blame Grandma.”

Spinach laughed and said, “It’s fine, Grandma Zhang.”

The judges’ attitudes were very obvious.

The audience felt the same.

Spinach was indeed not bad. She could sing well, her song was good, and her singing touched people. But The Clown’s song had already reached a level where it couldn’t be distinguished between good or bad. He had sung to another plane!

…

In the waiting room.

Sunflower watched the television, utterly uninterested in the results. He knew that The Clown would definitely win. In the next round, Sunset Glow was certain to get through as well. Then only he, Spinach, and Yesterday’s Daylily would be left to compete in the elimination round. Since it came down to that, he knew that he would still be able to win even without singing. Therefore, he was not worried at all. He was in a terrible mood right now and had not expected that things would turn out this way, nor that Petal Shower would perform so exceedingly well.

He had not managed to fight for the position of Masked King today!

Then he’d just have to leave it for the next episode!

Or the episode after that!

In any case, he still had plenty of future chances. He would stop underestimating his opponents’ talent in the future and sing the Cantonese songs he was best at to sweep everyone aside!

…

In the studio.

Dong Shanshan nodded and said, “Alright, please get ready to vote.”

There wasn’t much suspense to the voting, though.

The Clown was going to win this for sure.

In the wings, Hu Fei started talking with his coworkers.

Dafei asked, “Brother Hu, do you think that Spinach can eliminate Sunflower?”

Hu Fei shook his head. “There’s no chance of that.”

Hou Ge added, “Even if Spinach excels, she’s still not a match for Li Yu. Moreover, there are so many Li Yu’s fans in the studio today.”

Xiao Lu said, “Yeah, don’t expect too much from Spinach and Yesterday’s Daylily. Even if Sunset Glow somehow loses and goes into the elimination round, she still won’t be a match for Li Yu. He is a tenor singer and his next song will definitely be a Cantonese one. Even if Petal Shower went up against him again, I think it would still be difficult to beat him!”

Han Qi came over. “Then wouldn’t Sunflower still act smug onstage tomorrow? He’s so annoying!”

Dafei said, “Then what should we do? Petal Shower defeating Li Yu even when he had all the advantage was already a miracle. Other than Petal Shower and The Clown, who amongst the other contestants can stop him?”

But a voice shocked everyone!

The Clown suddenly spoke up and his words dumbfounded everyone in the studio!

“Please wait a moment.” The Clown lifted his microphone as he said with a chuckle, “Spinach sang admirably this round. If the voting begins, I’m afraid that the votes would be too disproportionate and I would lose badly. So why don’t we skip the vote and I admit defeat instead!” Then he looked at Dong Shanshan and asked, “I am allowed to admit defeat, right?”

Dong Shanshan was stunned!

Hu Fei was shocked!

Zhang Xia, Yao Jiancai, and the other judges were surprised!

In the waiting room, the look on Li Yu’s face became one of thunder!

The audience exclaimed!

Han Qi was dumbfounded!

Petal Shower and Sunset Glow were stunned!

Spinach nearly fainted on the spot!

Admit defeat?

You’re admitting defeat?

A second later, realization dawned on many people!

He was doing this on purpose!

He was definitely doing this on purpose!

Petal Shower had gotten rid of Li Yu in the first round!

And now, The Clown wanted to follow up on it by taking him on in the elimination round!?

Dammit!

Have you gone crazy?

Isn’t this as good as going for broke?

https://youtu.be/goyAisTR4P0