I am Really a Superstar

The old man was taken away to fill out some forms.

Left at the scene of the audition were a group of people from the staff of The Voice, all looking shocked.

Ha Qiqi could no longer just sit around and keep quiet anymore. She knew of Zhang Ye’s temper and also knew that he was the executive director. Even if all the decision-making in passing or failing a contestant was up to him, she still had to say something about it, because if this was not handled properly, it could turn out to be a very serious problem. She asked, “Director Zhang, are you really serious about letting the grandpa on to the show? Why don’t you reconsider. That really isn’t doable. He’s too advanced in age. If anything happens, the people responsible will be those of us at Central TV. You should know that Central TV Department 1’s broadcast coverage is nationwide and even airs on some overseas channels, so this pressure is not something that everyone can take. I’ve even seen many youngsters who look very healthy and strong faint during program recordings due to anxiety. This has happened so many times just in Central TV alone, and they’re even young people, so let’s not mention what would happen to a 60-year-old grandpa!”

Wu Yi wiped away his sweat. “Yes, Director Zhang.”

Assistant Director Zhang Zuo also came over to the audition venue after finishing his work. When he heard that Zhang Ye had let a 60-year-old grandpa through the auditions, he too very nearly fainted. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Teacher Zhang, you must never, ever, ever do that. If something happens, then it will cause big trouble!”

Zhang Ye laughed, “That’s why I asked him about his health first.”

Ha Qiqi immediately interjected, “He might have said that he is all well and good, but that doesn’t guarantee anything. Aren’t there exceptions?”

Zhang Zuo said in panic, “We can’t take such a risk. Tha-that’s really too dangerous.”

“What’s so dangerous? Are you all taking the elderly to be too weak?” Zhang Ye disagreed. “I agree that being cautious is correct, but an elderly person is still a person. They have things they like as well as dreams to chase after. No one has the right to take that away from them. You guys have seen it for yourself too, the grandpa isn’t in bad shape at all. He’s still very strong and able. How could he perform a rock song like that otherwise? So why don’t we not take Grandpa Zhou to be just the typical old man, alright?”

Ha Qiqi replied, “But there’s never been any case of an old man on a talent show before.”

When she said that, many of the program team staff at the side couldn’t help but snigger.

Zhang Ye chuckled. “If other programs don’t have that, then we’ll have it. The programs I make have never aimed to be the same as others. To me, there’s no difference whether it’s an old or a young person. Since we’ve already said that we would not look at their ages, then we shouldn’t judge them based on that!”

Ha Qiqi: “…”

Zhang Zuo: “…”

No one else said anything.

Zhang Ye added, “I don’t see a problem with Grandpa Zhou. In fact, I think we should give him more focus. I believe that all of you were too concerned with his age earlier and did not listen to his singing, right? Grandpa Zhou’s style of rock, that scream, that attitude to life—those are all things a young person can’t express through their singing. The feeling it gives to me…can only be described as shocking! It was that great!”

Ha Qiqi wondered, “Was that so? I didn’t notice it.”

Wu Yi and the others also weren’t listening attentively back then.

“That performance was recorded. I’ll show it to you all again later.” Zhang Ye said, “But for now, let’s not talk about it. We’ll just settle it this way!”

With those words, it didn’t matter if there were any more objections.

Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and the others could only look at each other helplessly. They knew better than to say more. Whatever, if it’s settled, then it’s settled. We’ll just do it however you decide, hai.

Qian Pingfan.

Sun Daxuan.

Zhou Danian.

In the first round of the preliminary auditions, three people had qualified for the next round.

At this time, Ha Qiqi thought of someone else who had come. She said, “Oh right, Director Zhang, didn’t you bring a woman here earlier? Is she a contestant too? How’s she?”

Zhang Ye smiled and answered, “You’ll know when you hear her sing.”

Little Wang blinked. “Then, should I?”

“Call Teacher Luo in,” Zhang Ye said.

Little Wang went out to get her. She knew that this person was brought here specifically by Zhang Ye, so they might have known each other beforehand. Because of that, Little Wang was more polite to Luo Yu than she was to the other contestants.

The door opened.

Luo Yu walked in with a gust of wind following her—because she was fat.

Faced with a contestant like that, with looks that wouldn’t have passed most auditions, the program team’s staff no longer cared anymore as they were already numb to it. In the past, they used their own understanding and expectations when it came to such kinds of auditions. But today, after Zhang Ye had overturned their cognitive understanding over and over again, they were no longer bothered by any surprises. Even if a mute person walked in now for the auditions and was given a pass by Zhang Ye, they wouldn’t have any reaction. Because to them, Zhang Ye’s criteria for picking a contestant was really not something that they could understand at all!

Luo Yu looked to the left and the right, then said, “Teacher Zhang, what now?”

Zhang Ye said, “Oh, you may begin singing now.”

“Alright then.” Luo Yu did some warm-ups by flexing and stretching her arms, and then by kicking out her legs a few times.

Zhang Zuo: “…”

Ha Qiqi was wondering to herself what was up with this person? Warm-ups? But these warm-ups were too much, weren’t they? Were you getting ready to sing or to throw a shot put? Does singing require this kind of warm-up?

All the other staff also came to a conclusion. As expected, it was another odd one!

Other contestants might clear their throats or do some light singing to open up their throats. But Luo Yu was different from other people. Due to her profession as a physical education teacher, she was more used to such a way of warming up. Perhaps for her, this was a way to relieve the stress, to move around a bit more to take the edge off and get into the best condition, So whether she was going to sing or throw a shot put, this had always been Luo Yu’s standard warm-up routine.

Exhaling, Luo Yu said, “The song I want to sing is ‘Wishing We Last Forever.\'”

This song again?

There were already four or five people who had sung this song today.

No one said anything and just sat there quietly, ready to listen. They were curious about how different this contestant who Teacher Zhang Ye had brought would be.

Then Luo Yu started singing.

When her voice came out, everyone immediately understood how she was different from all the others!

“When will the moon be clear and bright?”

“With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the clear sky.”

“In the heavens on this night…”

It turned out to be such a raspy and rough voice. The roughness and friction that her voice brought out gave people goosebumps. This woman was actually singing in an old man’s voice!

Luo Yu’s voice was the direct opposite of Qian Pingfan’s voice, although still with some differences. Qian Pingfan was a male singing in a female voice and his singing was much better than a woman would have sung. But Luo Yu was different; her voice was very deep and very rich. It sounded like a male voice yet there was still a hint of a woman’s charm in it. On top of that, the emotions in the voice were no doubt a woman’s. As long as their eyes were closed, they could still tell that it was a woman singing, only that her voice was somewhat rough.

Ha Qiqi gave a long sigh. I knew it, I just knew it!

Wu Yi also facepalmed himself and rubbed his forehead for a long time!

Why?

Why was it all these kinds of people!

Teacher Zhang, can’t you find someone normal? Just one will do! A man singing in a woman’s voice, a burly man singing a soft love song, an old man rocking it out with his performance, a woman singing in a man’s voice. This was a competition of who was the strangest!

But Zhang Ye quietly listened in appreciation, as though he did not notice the speechlessness of those around him. He really liked Luo Yu’s singing, not only because of her extremely unique voice but also the way she handled the song. Even if her voice was raspy, she was able to keep the softness and delicate feel of the song and expressed it in her own way that was different from others! Voice, singing, emotions—all of these were flawlessly expressed. It was like an uncut piece of jade, devoid of any complex singing techniques but leaving people very comfortable listening to it.

This was what you’d call a good contestant!

In the future, for whichever coach chose her, she would definitely be one of the key members of that team!

Yes, even Qian Pingfan and Zhou Danian were the same, but as for Sun Daxuan the train driver, he still wasn’t quite as good compared to them, but he was still good anyway and would definitely pass the blind auditions!

On this first day, four seeded contestants had qualified. Looking at the statistics, it might look like a poor qualification rate, but Zhang Ye was already extremely satisfied with the outcome as he had uncovered some gems. To him, the numbers did not matter. What was important was their quality. If he had wanted to just make up the contestant numbers, he could easily get it done, but to have found these “red flower” contestants, it was really one in a million. Each and every one of them were treasured finds. And just like Zhang Ye had predicted, although there were some differences in this world’s recognition of what a good singer was, there were still some good voices in it. There were still talented people around, which made Zhang Ye hopeful and expectant of many hitherto undiscovered prospects. Right now, Zhang Ye could finally thump his chest assertively, knowing that The Voice he had brought over and reproduced from his previous world would really have no problems at all!

Luo Yu finished singing.

Everyone stayed silent for a long time.

Luo Yu seemingly got hooked on her own singing, even suggesting to do another one. “Why don’t I give ‘Woman Flower’ a try too?”

Zhang Ye laughed and said, “Teacher Luo, there’s no need. I hereby announce that you have passed the audition and qualify for the next round as our fourth-seeded contestant. Congratulations.”

Luo Yu said happily, “Then I…Does that mean I can appear on television then?”

Zhang Ye gave her confirmation. “We will be starting the program recording in some days.”

With regards to Zhang Ye’s decision this time, Ha Qiqi and the rest did not find it surprising at all. They knew at this point that they just had to go along with whatever Zhang Ye decided.

But hearing Zhang Ye’s words, Ha Qiqi got a hint of surprise and immediately asked, “Director Zhang, this Teacher Luo is? From a school? Or?” Hearing Director Zhang address her as a teacher, Ha Qiqi’s first thought was that it was her profession.

Zhang Ye affirmed, “Yes, she’s from a school. She’s a teacher of a relative of mine.”

A real teacher?

That’s great!

When everyone in the program team heard this, they finally managed to regain some of their composure. A music teacher from a school, no matter what, would still be considered a professional musician. At last, there was a professional, even if her voice was a little…Well, regardless, at least she had given the program team a shot of confidence. Compared to those other contestants who had qualified, Luo Yu’s profession as a teacher was really comforting and reassuring to know!

Ha Qiqi casually spoke, “Teacher Luo, you’ll still have to teach normally, won’t you? Our program recording schedule can take up to a day sometimes. Hopefully it won’t delay your classes and inconvenience the students.”

Luo Yu laughed and replied, “I’m not too busy usually.”

Zhang Zuo smiled and said, “That’s true, a music teacher has a lighter workload than a teacher teaching the sciences.”

Hearing that, Luo Yu was taken aback. “Huh? What music teacher?”

Ha Qiqi was also a bit stunned. “Aren’t you teaching music at the school?”

Luo Yu nearly fainted. “What? I teach physical education!”

Ah?

You teach physical education??

Everyone: “…..#$%^&*(! ! !”

Teacher!

A respected teaching professional had finally joined the competition, but how the f**k did it turn out to be a physical education teacher!

At this moment, only the image of a beautiful creature called the Grass Mud Horse1 could be used to describe everyone’s feelings. They could no longer see the future of their new program as it became enshrouded in pure darkness!

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_Mud_Horse