Chapter 1027

Onstage.

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, “Let’s welcome our next singer—The Clown!”

Applause rang out.

“He’s comin’.”

“It’s The Clown.”

“How unlucky of him to have to appear after Li Yu.”

“Haha, it doesn’t matter what he sings now.”

“Li Yu sang really well.”

“But of course. That’s his signature song.”

“Li Yu is still the best when he sings in Cantonese!”

“No one can sing Cantonese songs on this stage except for Li Yu. That in and of itself is an overwhelming advantage for him. Even if The Clown performs exceedingly well like Petal Shower did today, it’s unlikely that he’ll win in this round like she did in the previous one. This round will be decided by the type of song, and even if The Clown sings really well, a lot of people won’t compare his song to Li Yu’s Cantonese song. There’s no way to compare them as they are totally different styles and languages. Since there’s no comparison, it won’t matter who sings better. No one will be able to distinguish whose singing was better, so the only thing left to compare is their popularity. And how many people in the studio today don’t know Li Yu? Who wouldn’t spare him some face!”

“Then is The Clown definitely going to lose?”

“Of course.”

“He can only blame himself for admitting defeat just now.”

The audience was applauding, but it did not sound very enthusiastic and felt more like a symbolic welcome. Although there were still a lot of people who were not Li Yu’s fans looking forward to The Clown’s performance and wondering if he would be singing yet another original, the outcome of this round was already very obvious to many of them.

Li Yu did not return to his waiting room and just waited around at the holding area. He looked at The Clown and sneered internally. He even admitted defeat on purpose so that he could try knock me out in the elimination round?

Alright then!

Bring it on!

What kind of Mandarin song are you going to sing this time? I’m all ears!

The Clown took the stage and walked straight to the house band.

The band looked at him and asked, “Which song will it be?”

The Clown replied, “The third song we rehearsed.”

Music Director Bai Yuanfei was shocked. “Are you sure?”

“I’m quite sure.” Zhang Ye smiled.

The band’s guitarist said in a speechless manner, “Why are the songs you choose always the ones we don’t feel optimistic about? Of the four songs you rehearsed, it was the other two songs we were optimistic about. So why did you choose these two songs to perform?”

Zhang Ye said, “Because you guys haven’t listened to me sing it yet.”

Indeed, The Clown had just hummed along to the melody during the rehearsal. He did not actually sing.

The drummer said, “Are you sure?”

Zhang Ye said, “It must be this song!”

Bai Yuanfei nodded. “OK, you’re the singer, you decide.”

After changing scores, the band did a little warmup.

The audience became confused when they saw that.

Looking at the stage, Zhang Ye’s father asked, “What’s the matter?”

His eldest sister wondered, “Could he have only just decided which song to sing?”

His mother replied, “Can you even do that?”

His eldest sister said, “Generally, no one does that because it’s too risky.”

At the judging panel.

Zhang Xia sighed and said, “If The Clown gets eliminated, it would really be such a pity.”

Amy felt that this discussion of theirs would not be aired, so she did not hold back. “More importantly, it’s unfair. This isn’t a music and singing competition anymore. With Sunflower’s antics, it has turned into a popularity contest.”

Chen Guang said, “The Clown has a chance to win.”

Yao Jiancai asked, “Oh? How?”

Chen Guang said, “He can also reveal who he is by removing his mask onstage.”

Amy gave a bitter smile. “The Clown would never do such a thing!”

Chen Guang spread his hands. “That’s why he won’t win. Under the premise that Li Yu had already exposed himself as a Hong Kong singer, and with this atmosphere, it’s almost impossible for him to win if he uses a Mandarin song to verse Li Yu.”

Amy said, “There’s no hope for him then.”

Everything was ready onstage.

The band nodded to The Clown.

The lights dimmed.

Everyone instantly focused their attention on The Clown.

One second.

Two seconds.

The music did not start yet because The Clown was still adjusting his breathing.

Several of those female fans of Li Yu’s started shouting again without warning.

“Hurry up!”

“Why isn’t it starting yet?”

“Let’s go, Brother Li Yu!”

“Li Yu is the best!”

In the silence of the studio, those voices cut through the air!

When they finished shouting, they looked at each other and laughed!

In the wings, Li Yu was smiling.

Backstage, Assistant Xu was gloating.

However, the judges frowned.

Some of the nearby audience members looked at them in disgust!

Zhang Ye, though, was in no rush to begin and did not seem to hear the commotion. He was no longer bothered by the outcome. All he could think about was his mother’s messages from earlier. He couldn’t refrain from raising his head and looking in the direction of where his parents were seated. He couldn’t quite make them out in the distance, but he still managed to locate where they were sitting.

His parents were looking at him as well.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

As Zhang Ye was in a good mood these days, he had helped them buy breakfast for two days and did the laundry twice. But in the end, his parent’s behavior nearly made Zhang Ye laugh. They thought that there was something wrong with him? They thought that he was in need of money? They thought that he had something to ask of them? And they even quickly transferred 10,000 yuan to him?

It was truly a very funny incident.

But right now, Zhang Ye could not muster up a smile at all.

He felt very guilty about how little his contributions to his family were. That just by doing a few minor chores at home, his parents felt overwhelmed by his actions. Thinking back on things, Zhang Ye felt very embarrassed as he suddenly thought that he had not been a good son. All of a sudden, he felt like he had a lot of things that he wanted to say!

The music started.

It was very soft guitar strumming.

The title of the song was projected onto the teleprompter screen.

The moment when they saw the title of this song, many audience members were stunned!

“I Really Love You”!

Zhang Xia was stunned!

Chen Guang was surprised!

Petal Shower and Spinach were both taken aback!

Li Yu was dumbstruck and a dark expression spread across his face!

The audience stared and their jaws dropped!

“I Really Hate You”?

“I Really Love You”?

Zhang Ye was facing his parents. He gently raised his microphone. The moment he sang the first line, everyone in the studio—including the program team, judges, contestants, and the audience—were dumbfounded. They could not believe what they had just heard. Some of the audience members even jumped out of their seats in shock!

The Clown sang softly.

“Those hands that cannot be beautified.

“Forever warming me from behind.

“Nagging but still caring for me.

“I’m guilty of not seeing your love.”

Amy screamed, “Ahhh!”

Zhang Xia stared, slack-jawed!

Chen Guang stared wide-eyed!

Petal Shower said in a speechless manner, “What?”

Spinach said in a daze, “He, he…”

Hu Fei was dumbfounded!

The audience was also dumbfounded!

A Cantonese song!

The Clown was singing a Cantonese song as well!

And why did his Cantonese sound so fucking standard?

Why?

Oh my god!

Oh my god!

Everyone in the studio looked like they had seen a ghost!

The band playing the accompaniment was shocked!

The Clown closed his eyes and sang.

“Absorbed in music she did not like.

“But a mother’s love never dies.

“With tenacity and joy, I strive.

“To return your love at last.

“Your lessons and gift still warm my soul.

“Looking after me without complaint.”

Suddenly, the guitar accompaniment stopped!

Half a second later, the drumbeat kicked in as the guitar accompaniment came back along with the bass and drum set all at once. The music exploded through the studio!

The entire studio was shocked!

Everyone felt like their blood was erupting with energy!

The Clown pointed into the audience.

“It’s you!

“With those loving eyes!

“You taught me to face the future with grit!

“You urged me not to quit when I fell down!

“I can’t explain how to return your love!

“Your immense love is endless!

“So, please, permit me to say ‘I really love you!'”

Dad.

Mom.

I’m not too good with words and don’t know how to express myself that well. I can talk a lot with other people. When I meet my friends, I can chat with them day and night. If someone offends me, I can scold them for three days and nights. But in front of you two, I sometimes can’t even speak a single word. I don’t know what to say or how I should express myself.

But…

I really love both of you!

I, I really love both of you!

In the audience, his mother suddenly burst into tears. For some reason, she had started to cry!

Zhang Xia was also in tears as she looked at her pair of aging hands. Tears streamed down her face for whatever reason. When she reached up to wipe them away, she realized that her tears were increasing even as she tried to wipe them away.

In the studio, a lot of mothers were crying!

Many children clenched their teeth!

They did not know what was happening to them, just that they thought this song was amazing!

It was really great!

Zhang Ye continued singing.

“Those hands that cannot be beautified.

“Forever warming me from behind.

“Nagging but still caring for me.

“I’m guilty of not seeing your love.

“I still recall your loving hands.

“Taking care of me unchangingly.

“My dream has finally come true; I hope I can share the glory.

“Your lessons and gift still warm my soul.

“Looking after me without complaint.”

The music stopped!

And exploded again!

Zhang Ye sang loudly.

“It’s you! With those loving eyes!”

At this moment, a lot of people could not help but stand from their seats and wave the fluorescent glow sticks in their hands to the rhythm. A lot of them were shocked and had tear stains on their faces. No one could believe that The Clown could actually sing such a song!

“You taught me to face the future with grit!

“You urged me not to quit when I fell down!

“I can’t explain how to return your love!

“Your immense love is endless!

“So, please, permit me to say ‘I really love you!'”

Screams!

Applause!

He was about to upend the studio!

Suddenly, the music stopped again.

There was no sound at all!

The audience unconsciously stopped clapping and covered their mouths. Hypnotized, they stared at The Clown onstage as the entire studio went eerily quiet!

The Clown raised his microphone.

Dad.

Mom.

Thank you.

Thank you for bringing me up.

Thank you for teaching me right and wrong.

I…

I..

The Clown raised his microphone again and lowered it again.

One second.

Two seconds.

Everyone was looking at him.

The Clown raised his microphone for the third time:

“So please permit me…

“…to say.

“‘I really love you.'”

https://youtu.be/ZZIndZdZPTY