A Valiant Life

The place was in complete silence. Everyone was awaiting Zhou Hai Tao’s decision.

The judging panel.

Zhou Hai Tao looked like he was in a dilemma. “This is the first time I’ve had my eyes closed throughout a performance. Wang Yu Chen’s singing expressed so much emotion. It was an exquisite performance. Today has been your best performance so far.”

With a dignified expression, Wang Yu Chen took a bow.

Zhou Hai Tao continued with her critique, “Wu Huan Yue’s voice is one that I like very much. An ethereal voice, which makes listeners feel as if they are floating in a blue sky. If I had to choose, I would choose Wu Huan Yue as my winner.”

After he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in cheers. It seemed Wu Huan Yue was the crowd favorite.

Wu Huan Yue couldn’t stop smiling, “Thank you, mentor.”

Host Yi Ming then said, “Mr. Zuo Teng Fei.”

Zuo Teng Fei was in deep thought for a moment, “In terms of the song choice for today, I reckon Wang Yu Chen was better. That original song was very compatible with her voice. On the other hand, Wu Huan Yue performed very well too, but she didn’t deviate at all from the original version of ‘Road in the Distance’. That was my only disappointment. If I were to choose, I would choose Wang Yu Chen.”

Wang Yu Chen, who had a grave expression the whole time, let out a joyous smile at that moment.

“Thank you, mentor.”

Zuo Teng Fei smiled, “Sister Ying, what do you think?”

Mentor Ying Jin was the only female among the four mentors. She held the microphone in her hands, “If I were to compare the quality of their voices, both of them are equal. Wu Huan Yue’s voice has an ethereal element to it. Among all the contestants…heck, even among professional singers, Wu Huan Yue’s voice is the purest. However, in terms of song choice, Wang Yu Chen takes the cake. That original song had beautiful lyrics. It was a very emotional performance. That’s why I pick Wang Yu Chen.”

Wang Yu Chen grinned, “Thank you, mentor.”

The audience was displeased. They admitted that Wang Chen Yu sang very well and that her creativity was brilliant too, but she had gone out of tune, how could Wu Huan Yue have lost to that?”

In the online live broadcast comments section, the viewers were starting to cause an uproar too.

“F*cking hell, these mentors must be deaf. She clearly was out of tune, but they didn’t even mention it. They even complimented her so much.”

“If that song was really composed by Wang Yu Chen herself, I would eat sh*t on camera.”

“Wu Huan Yue, please advance! If she doesn’t advance, I’ll never watch this trashy show again!”

F*ck off! My Yu Chen is a real talent. She’s not someone who Wu Huan Yue can compare with.”

“Everybody stop arguing. Mentor Qi Ming hasn’t even given her critique yet. He’s known for being unbiased.”

“May Buddha bless us. Please let our Huan Yue advance. If Mentor Qi Ming supports Huan Yue, I will be his fanboy for the rest of my life.”

…

Lin Fan, who was seated below the stage, just blinked his eyes.

Where did these judges come from? Are their ears spoiled? They couldn’t even tell that Wang Yu Chen went out of tune and even keep nodding in approval. That’s messed up.

Lin Fan glanced left and right. There was nobody looking. He lowered his head and yelled, “Let Wu Huan Yue advance!”

With that, Wu Huan Yue’s supporters erupted. The whole stadium was filled with roaring chants.

“Let Wu Huan Yue advance!”

“Let Wu Huan Yue advance!”

“Advance!”

…

Wu Huan Yue took a bow.

Wang Yu Chen looked calm, but on the inside, she was unhappy.

Ying Jin looked displeased too, but then she quickly covered that displeasure with a smile.

The host was in charge of the event. In such a situation, he had to step in.

Yi Ming smiled, “Everyone, please be quiet. We still have Mentor Qi Ming to give his critique.”

Mentor Qi Ming, who had been quiet the whole time, finally opened his mouth.

“I support Wu Huan Yue’s advancement. Her singing moved me. It was perfection.”

There was a roaring applause.

The fans were exhilarated.

Ying Jin giggled, “Mentor Qi Ming, Wu Huan Yue was indeed brilliant, but so was Wang Yu Chen!”

Mentor Qi Ming opened his mouth again, “Wang Yu Chen was not bad, but she went out of tune at that last part. If you go out of tune, it doesn’t matter how well you sang before anymore, it’s all useless.”

Lin Fan nodded. This Mentor Qi Ming was indeed as the netizens had said: Fair and unbiased.

Ying Jin furrowed her brows and then smiled again, “Although she went out of tune, this originality of her’s more than makes up for it. The good outweighed the bad.”

Mentor Qi Ming shook his head as if he had no respect for Ying Jin. Then, he started to speak like he was educating his junior, he said, “Ying Jin, your reasoning is flawed. This show is called ‘The New Voice’, not ‘The New Composer’. What we are judging are their voices and their singing ability. Singing an original song doesn’t earn bonus points, nor does it make up for mistakes.”

*applause*

The applause was thunderous. The audience was in agreement with Mentor Qi Ming.

Ever since Ying Jin had turned into an empress in the musical world, she had attended many events as a judge, but this was the first time that someone was opposing her.

However, the person opposing her was Qi Ming. Even if she was unhappy, she didn’t dare to express it any further. She then laughed it off and kept quiet.

As the host, Yi Ming knew that he couldn’t let these two mentors quarrel any further, so he immediately intervened.

“Alright, it’s now time for our 99 media representatives to vote. Red is for Wang Yu Chen. Black is for Wu Huan Yue.”

Very quickly, the votes added up.

“Wang Yu Chen has 48 votes. Wu Huan Yue has 51 votes,” announced Yi Ming.

Wang Yu Chen’s heart sank. However, she still had a little hope.

The four mentors stood up. Ying Jin was smiling, but she was very displeased.

“The difference is 3 votes. This 3-vote gap can be widened or reversed with the scoring in Sister Ying’s envelope. The result will be decided by that score. Sister Ying, please bring us the envelope.”

The stadium was filled with cheers.

Ying Jin walked up onto the stage with a smile on her face and handed the envelope to Host Yi Ming.

“Thank you, Sister Ying.”

“Currently, Wang Yu Chen has 48 votes and Wu Huan Yue is leading by 3, with 51 votes.” Yi Ming opened the envelope. Wang Yu Chen and Wu Huan Yue both held their breaths in. They were both extremely tense.

Heck, even Lin Fan was nervous.

Host Yi Ming looked at the score, then his eyes widened, “Sister Ying’s final score for Wang Yu Chen is…”

Lin Fan started to curse. Does this host have to take so d*mn long?

Even the live broadcast viewers were cursing.

“God d*mn, those media representatives are also idiots! How could it be that the vote difference is only 3? This must be scripted! If it was up to me, the difference would be at least 10 votes!”

“It’s over. Anyone can tell that Ying Jin is clearly on Wang Yu Chen’s side. If the decision is reversed, I’ll smash my screen immediately.”

Then, the host opened his mouth.

“51 points.”

“Wu Huan Yue gets 48 points.”

“Wang Yu Chen has a final score of 99 points and Wu Huan Yue also has 99 points. This is the first draw in ‘The New Voice’ history!”

…

At that moment, the fans went crazy.

The netizens watching the live broadcast also went crazy.

“That must have been staged!”

“F*cking hell, that Ying Jin’s ear must be spoiled or something!”

“I won’t settle for this bullsh*t!”

“F*ck, I’ve broken my screen already!”

Lin Fan was stunned. This was outrageous! It was clearly some kind of dirty trick!

Mentor Qi Ming was even more enraged. He glared at Ying Jin. His face had turned black. Then, something happened that made the whole place erupt.

Mentor Qi Ming slammed the microphone on the judges’ table. He snorted, then turned and left. Even though not a single word was said, everyone could tell that he was furious.

After he left…

“Sh*t…Mentor Qi Ming is mad.”

“That Ying Jin thinks she’s so great, to be able to cheat everyone. Other people may buy her bullsh*t, but Mentor Qi Ming won’t have it!”

“Mentor Qi Ming is a man of action. He doesn’t give a d*mn if this is being broadcasted.”

Lin Fan shook his head. Wu Huan Yue was still maintaining her smile on stage, but she was very discontent on the inside.

At least it was a draw.

There was still a chance.

However, the organizing staff was at a loss. They had to conclude the show somehow.