Chapter 54: Which Poem Will He Adapt This Time?

When the young woman spoke up, everyone turned their curious gaze toward Director Chen. None of them had ever heard this song before; perhaps it was a newly composed piece by some master.

Director Chen burst out laughing. Then, with a mysterious air, he said, "This song was written by a newcomer, and he's also the one who sings it. Can you guess who it is?"

A newcomer? The idea that such a song was written by someone new seemed almost unbelievable. If not for Director Chen's expression, they would have thought he was joking.

The young woman who had just asked the question exclaimed with excitement, "I know! His voice sounded familiar to me—it’s Xu Ze! The same Xu Ze who recently sang 'Do You Know, Do You Know.'"

Xu Ze? Everyone was familiar with this rising star in the music scene. Many of them had even changed their ringtone to "Eastern Wind Breaks" and "Do You Know, Do You Know."

It turned out this song was also written by Xu Ze?

Director Chen nodded, then asked in a leisurely tone, "What do you all think—should we have Xu Ze sing this song and headline the show?"

Headlining the show?

Everyone exchanged glances, surprised at how highly Director Chen regarded Xu Ze. Although the song was excellent, wasn't this a bit risky?

At this point, no one dared speak up. After all, if anything went wrong, they wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility.

Director Chen shook his head with a laugh and said, "Look at how timid you all are—this is why none of you can be leaders! I’ve made the decision: Xu Ze will headline the show!"

Someone reminded him, "But Director Chen, the plan has already been approved and signed by the leadership. Isn’t it too sudden to change it..."

Director Chen waved his hand dismissively. "I’ll speak to them. I’ll have the leadership sign again!"

He seemed to remember something and asked, "How much do we have left in our publicity budget?"

"Three hundred thousand."

"Spend it! Spend it all! Spread the news that Xu Ze will be taking part in the show—put it out everywhere! The more people who see it, the better!"

Director Chen looked as if he had suddenly grown ten years younger. Years of working at the station had worn away his passion and sharpness. Before this, he could never have imagined himself being so bold for the sake of a single song.

Others might not hear it, but he could. This song was far more than it appeared on the surface.

Xu Ze, it seemed, would soon become a legend.

Before the meeting ended, Director Chen emphasized, "Make sure not to reveal anything about the song itself. Just publicize that Xu Ze will be bringing a new piece to the show. Understood?"

"Understood, Director Chen!"

...

These past few days, Xu Ze had been working hard at his writing; "The Immortal Executioner" was about to go online and start making money, and he was highly motivated.

Meanwhile, online, numerous media accounts had begun promoting the Yang TV Children’s Music Competition.

Among the flood of information, one piece of news stood out:

"Xu Ze will bring a new song as a guest performer at the Children’s Music Competition."

Xu Ze was currently the darling of the media. Any news about him always drew immense attention.

Soon, the announcement of his appearance at the competition shot up the trending charts.

Many netizens began discussing it.

"Is this the show on Yang TV?"

"Xu Ze is actually going to appear on Yang TV!"

"I know this program—they’ve invited several celebrities this time, including Zhang Yingjing!"

"Zhang Yingjing is going too? I had no idea."

"It seems Xu Ze’s popularity is even higher than Zhang Yingjing’s now."

"Wow, Xu Ze has another new song. Do you think he’ll adapt another classical poem?"

"I bet he will! He said he wants to promote Chinese-style music, and Yang TV is the perfect platform."

"I can't wait—learning poems through songs is so much fun, haha."

...

Now, when searching for the Children’s Music Competition online, Xu Ze’s name automatically appeared alongside it.

It was clear how exaggerated his influence had become.

Inside a villa, Wang Yihan threw his phone violently to the ground.

"It’s just an adapted old poem—what’s so impressive?"

Wang Yihan was indignant. Ever since Xu Ze overtook him on the new song charts, his days had been miserable.

Especially after Xu Ze’s second song, "Do You Know, Do You Know," surpassed him, he felt everyone at the company looked at him strangely.

It was as if they were all laughing at him!

These days, he had been avoiding his boss at the company. Every time the boss saw him, he couldn’t help but berate him, and Wang Yihan couldn’t stand it.

He desperately wanted to say, What does this have to do with me? The company made the song for him—now it’s been overtaken, what can he do about it?

"This damned Xu Ze—it’s all because of him!"

What infuriated Wang Yihan even more was that, although he had also been invited to the Children’s Music Competition, there wasn’t a single discussion about him online.

All the talk was about Xu Ze or Zhang Yingjing.

Zhang Yingjing he could accept, but Xu Ze—a rookie who hadn’t even officially debuted—why did he deserve so much attention?

Just wait, Xu Ze. Right now, everyone finds you novel, but if all you can do is sing these classical-style songs, people will tire of you eventually.

Let’s see what you come up with this time!

In the entertainment industry, when someone’s popularity grows, others’ share of the spotlight inevitably shrinks.

Wang Yihan was not alone in his resentment toward Xu Ze.

Inside a luxury apartment, the stunningly beautiful Zheng Xiyi scrolled through her social media feed, her brows knit ever tighter as she unconsciously tore at the stockings on her thigh.

"Why is everything about this Xu Ze!"

As a popular young actress who had debuted two years ago, she too had been invited as a guest performer at the Children’s Music Competition.

Normally, her social media would be abuzz with people talking about her.

But now, she couldn’t even find a trace of herself—everything was about Xu Ze.

"Who is backing this Xu Ze?"

Zheng Xiyi refused to believe that someone without a company or connections could achieve this level of fame.

"I’ll just wait and see. Let’s see what poem he adapts this time. If the song’s bad, he’ll become a laughingstock."

Finally, her stockings couldn’t withstand her tugging and tore open at the thigh.

...

Under the intense attention of the entire internet, the day of the Children’s Music Competition finals finally arrived.

Backstage at the Yang TV studio, the area was crowded with competing students, their parents, and several celebrity guests.

At this moment, everyone was going through the final rehearsal before the show.

Xu Ze wore the white shirt and black casual pants that Zhang Yingjing had bought for him. Though simple, his outfit lent him the air of a mature man. Combined with his handsome features, he drew the curious glances of many parents.

A little boy, facing a stylishly dressed woman in her thirties, grumbled angrily, "Mom, you tied my red scarf too tight! I’m going to be strangled!"

The boy was clearly displeased with his mother’s distraction.

The woman, startled by his shout, finally came to her senses and apologized, "Sorry, let me loosen it for you."