Chapter 114: The Truth

On the stage of "Tomorrow's Star," the contestant from Zheng Huayu's team sang the entire song in an orderly manner, then bowed deeply to the audience and mentors. Meanwhile, Liu Shao stepped onto the stage with a microphone at just the right moment.

"Alright, our contestant Wu Shuang has finished singing. Now, I invite the four mentors and the 600 audience members present to pick up your voting devices and cast your precious vote for Wu Shuang!" Liu Shao announced to the crowd.

"The voting channel will close in three seconds. Please make your choice quickly!"
"Three..."
"Two..."
"...One! The channel is closed!"

"Before revealing the scores, let’s first hear the mentors’ evaluations," Liu Shao said, signaling for the mentors to speak.

Following the seat order from left to right, Zhou Zhiqian spoke first, smiling wryly: "Last episode, I was always the first to speak. This time, I really didn’t want to go first!"

"But these bad guys, not one of them agreed to switch seats with me... Ah!" Zhou Zhiqian sighed deeply, prompting laughter from the other mentors and the audience.

Despite his sighs, Zhou Zhiqian had no choice but to be the first to comment. He said, "This round’s theme is a dual proposition of positivity and answers. The song Wu Shuang chose is certainly appropriate, but it’s clear that Wu Shuang’s control over the song is rather average, obviously due to insufficient preparation."

"However, with our competition format, there’s really no such thing as being well prepared or not. It can only be said that Wu Shuang’s song repertoire still needs improvement."

After Zhou Zhiqian finished, it was Han Hong and Yan Mi’s turn. Their evaluations were not much different, giving Wu Shuang some recognition, but also offering suggestions regarding his performance.

For the three mentors who spoke almost the same words, the director guided the rhythm, focusing the camera on the helpless Zhou Zhiqian.

The first to comment must think quickly, and it’s easy for the following mentors to copy!

Soon, it was Zheng Huayu’s turn to evaluate.

"As the three mentors just said, Wu Shuang, you really weren’t prepared enough!"

"This is something you really shouldn’t have let happen! So I hope you work harder next time, that’s all."

Zheng Huayu spoke with displeasure, leaving the other three mentors momentarily stunned.

This was a member of Zheng Huayu’s team—rather than praise, he criticized his own!

The other three mentors didn’t know that Wu Shuang had been given the topic in advance and still performed like this, but Zheng Huayu knew!

Zheng Huayu was annoyed that even after giving Wu Shuang the topic, Wu Shuang couldn’t prepare twenty-five songs in a whole day, and the one he sang on stage was a complete mess!

Wu Shuang was part of Zheng Huayu’s team, and being criticized by several mentors was like Zheng Huayu himself being slapped in the face!

Zheng Huayu’s remarks made Wu Shuang’s expression darken, but he could only accept it in silence.

Twenty-five songs in one day—even preparing one per hour would leave an hour short!

Seeing the atmosphere on stage stiffening, Liu Shao quickly intervened: "Alright... The four mentors have given their evaluations. Let’s see Wu Shuang’s score!"

"First, Mentor Zhou Zhiqian... 60 points!"

"Mentor Han Hong... 60 points!"

"Mentor Yan Mi... 60 points!"

"And our Mentor Zheng Huayu... 30 points!"

"So, adding in the votes from our 600 audience members, Wu Shuang’s final score is 566!"

At this announcement, Wu Shuang couldn’t hold back any longer and left the stage in dejection.

Meanwhile, the livestream chat was flooded with commentary about Wu Shuang’s score.

"All the other mentors gave sixty. Why is Zheng Huayu so harsh to his own team member, only giving thirty?"

"Isn’t it a good thing that Huayu is strict with his scoring? If he’s like this with his own team, he’ll be even stricter with others. That’s real fairness!"

"Exactly! This is a competition—not some place for connections and favoritism!"

"I trust Huayu’s scoring. Low scores push contestants to improve!"

...

The barrage of comments was lively, though none truly hit the mark.

Zheng Huayu gave a low score simply because he was annoyed that Wu Shuang had embarrassed him. That was all.

The show continued on stage.

Others might not understand Zheng Huayu’s thinking, but those in his team knew all too well.

So, they all seized every moment to practice their songs, determined not to become a target for vented frustration like Wu Shuang.

With Wu Shuang’s example before them, the subsequent performances showed significant improvement.

When Meng Xiaotian achieved the highest score so far—918 points—it was finally Su Chen’s turn to take the stage.

"Alright, as the competition stands, only our contestant Su Chen has yet to perform," Liu Shao announced.

"Now, let’s welcome the last hope of Mentor Yan Mi’s team—Su Chen—to the stage!"

As Liu Shao finished speaking, the camera focused on Su Chen, who put down his pen and, as always, brought a few sheets of paper onto the stage.

Yet, where there should have been enthusiastic applause from the audience, there was an unusual silence.

When Su Chen stepped onto the stage, the audience erupted in uproar!

"Su Chen, how can you still show your face here? Do you think you deserve us?!"

"Yeah! The elderly collapsed on the ground and you still went to harm him—do you even have a conscience?!"

"Get off the stage! You don’t deserve to perform, you’re not worthy!"

"Su Chen, withdraw! Su Chen, withdraw!"

...

Hearing the audience, before Su Chen could speak, Mentor Yan Mi intervened from the mentor’s seat.

"Everyone, please quiet down and listen to me!"

"Based on my knowledge of Su Chen, he would never do such things. Technology is so advanced now, and even videos online can be faked!"

"Moreover, regardless of what Su Chen is like offstage, on this stage—where music is the focus—we should respect the music. Whatever the issue, it should be addressed after the competition."

"I hope you’ll give me this grace, and give Su Chen a chance. I believe in him!"

Yan Mi spoke with heartfelt sincerity, bowing deeply to the audience.

Hearing Yan Mi’s words, the audience’s anger gradually subsided.

Though they still resented Su Chen standing on stage, at least they didn’t immediately drive him off.

At this moment, Su Chen handed the written sheet music to the band behind him, then stepped into the spotlight, picked up the microphone, and spoke.

"I know there are rumors about me circulating online. I also know that no matter what I say, as long as that so-called video exists, some people will never believe me."

"So, I am here—on this show—to let everyone see the truth from that night."