Chapter 354: Isn't That... A Bit Inappropriate? (Smile)

Chen Ling watched the man in green robes step off the stage and offer him a bitter smile.

"Disappointed?" Chen Ling asked.

"...Sigh." Li Qingshan looked at the judges, opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately sighed. "Perhaps, perhaps my performance just wasn't good enough. I'll work harder next year..."

"Can't you tell? They weren't even listening to your performance."

"I know. That just means I need to practice more. One day, I will make them look at me properly." Li Qingshan's voice was incredibly firm.

“……”

For a moment, Chen Ling couldn't tell if Li Qingshan was truly naive or just pretending; such stubborn people were rare indeed.

"What era is this? People still sing opera?" A sneer came from the side. A tall figure looked at Li Qingshan with disdain. "You brainless, blind greenhorn, even if you sang for a hundred years, you'd never make it out of this dump of a town!"

"You?!" A flash of anger appeared on Li Qingshan's face.

"Number 23, Number 23 Wu Shaohua!"

The call came from ahead. The figure shot Li Qingshan a provocative look and strode toward the stage.

Wu Shaohua...

Chen Ling remembered the name. He had just discovered a large transfer of funds under this name in Supervisor Sun's metal cabinet.

"Interesting... Looks like I need to change the script." Chen Ling watched the back of the man striding onto the stage, a faint glimmer in his eyes as if he were calculating something.

Li Qingshan sighed, his tightly clenched fists inside his sleeves loosening helplessly. With a dim look in his eyes, he said to Chen Ling:

"Brother Lin, let's go."

Li Qingshan had failed the preliminary round once again, and there was no need to stay here any longer. What awaited him was perhaps another cycle of seasons passing... That figure in green stood alone, apart from the crowd, lonely and helpless.

"Why leave?" Chen Ling said calmly.

"Huh? You want to keep watching?"

"The good show hasn't even started yet. It would be a pity to leave now." Chen Ling looked back at Li Qingshan. "Regardless, thank you for treating me to a meal yesterday. From now on... we have never met, and we don't know each other, understand?"

With that, Chen Ling turned and walked toward the other side of the venue.

"Brother Lin?"

Li Qingshan looked blankly at the departing figure in red, not understanding what he meant. Just as he was about to step forward to ask, a jarring singing voice erupted from the stage.

Wu Shaohua stood in the center of the stage, one hand holding the microphone, the other waving excitedly in the air as if performing a ritual.

"When you see injustice, you roar, hey!"

"When it's time to act, you act, hey!!"

"Storming through the nine provinces, yo~~~"

The wild voice echoed across the venue. Everyone subconsciously frowned. This singing had no technique or breath control to speak of—no, strictly speaking, it could only be called rapping, because even with such a simple melody, he was almost entirely off-key.

"Who is this guy?"

"Wu Shaohua, from the Wu family in Wu Town, right? I heard his dad is a relative of some singer in the Red Dust Main City..."

"Wu Dongxuan?? Is that the famous singer? He's a relative of Wu Dongxuan??"

"No wonder... Is he trying to get his younger relative into the main city?"

"But this is sung so poorly, they can't possibly let him pass, right?"

“……”

The audience whispered among themselves, while Wu Shaohua on stage was completely immersed in his own world. His singing grew increasingly reckless, and in the face of his wild voice, the voices of doubt seemed to vanish.

Meanwhile, the six judges' expressions were rather ugly. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with bitterness.

This money is really hard to earn...

"What is Old Sun doing? Why hasn't he come yet??"

"Yeah, is he busy too?"

"After this person's performance, I'll go look for him."

The judges spoke while writing, and before Wu Shaohua had even finished singing, six identical "8"s were already recorded on their forms.

"Heh..."

Just then, a sneer came from the side.

Amidst the quiet whispers of the crowd, the laughter sounded particularly abrupt, and it happened to land right on Wu Shaohua's breath-taking pause, causing the immersed, howling Wu Shaohua's expression to stiffen.

His singing stopped abruptly.

Everyone turned their gaze toward the source of the laughter. By the side of the stage, a figure in red was leaning against the wall. A black veil covered his face, but it couldn't hide his contemptuous and absurd smile. After the singing stopped, the laughter became even clearer.

Wu Shaohua stared fixedly at Chen Ling in the corner, wishing he could tear him apart. Gripping the microphone, he said coldly:

"What are you laughing at?"

"Sorry, I've been feeling a bit unwell lately." Chen Ling shrugged, speaking with a light laugh. "Sometimes I can't help but laugh... especially when I see something funny."

"Is my singing funny???"

"Not funny, not funny at all," Chen Ling said seriously.

As soon as these words were out, the audience couldn't help but whisper, interspersed with soft chuckles. They looked at the furious Wu Shaohua on stage with expressions ready to watch a good show. After all, these people knew some of the inside story; it would be one thing if someone with actual talent took the spot, but they were extremely dissatisfied with Wu Shaohua's level.

Chen Ling's appearance served as a vent for their frustration, but they were also curious: with young master Wu Shaohua put on the spot so awkwardly, how would he end this?

"You!!!" Seeing Chen Ling's mockery, Wu Shaohua was furious.

"Enough." A supervisor looked coldly at Chen Ling. "Causing trouble during a performance? What's your number? I'm canceling your eligibility for the preliminary round immediately! And you are banned from testing for life!"

Hearing this, Wu Shaohua's expression finally softened slightly, and he looked at Chen Ling with sarcasm.

To everyone's surprise, Chen Ling waved his hand indifferently.

"I didn't sign up. I'm just here to watch the show."

“？？？”

Not just the judges, but Wu Shaohua was also stunned. Generally, the punishment of disqualification and a lifetime ban was a devastating blow in their industry, but they never expected that Chen Ling had no intention of competing at all... It was like throwing a full-force punch only to hit cotton; a sense of frustration welled up in them.

Seeing Chen Ling still staring at him with a mocking gaze, Wu Shaohua's chest heaved violently. He knew the troupe's rules couldn't bind Chen Ling, so he simply said coldly:

"Judging by your outfit, you're an opera singer too, right?

If you've got the guts, come up and perform a piece for the judges to score. If your score is higher than mine, I, Wu Shaohua, will admit my singing was funny and kowtow to you three times... But if your score is lower than mine, you kneel down and kowtow to me thirty times. How about it?"

Wu Shaohua wanted to provoke Chen Ling into falling for the trap. After all, these six judges were his own people. If Chen Ling came up, he would definitely be the one to embarrass himself. He wanted to make this guy kowtow to him; only then could he wash away his shame!

But what he didn't expect was that this request was exactly what Chen Ling wanted.

Chen Ling smoothed his sleeves, squinting his eyes, and said with a half-smile:

"Oh my... this... isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

[Audience Expectation +4]