Chapter 75: Performing with One’s Back to the Audience—What Kind of Move Is That? (Please Keep Reading!)

Afterward, the host exited the stage.

The first contestant to perform was Yu Shibo. After he finished singing, many in the audience applauded—his song was quite good.

Next, Justin Zhu took the stage.

At that moment, Justin Zhu did something that baffled everyone—he actually turned around, presenting his back to the audience.

Everyone was confused. What kind of move was this? Did he intend to sing facing away from the crowd?

Many in the audience joked, “I should call the police—someone’s singing to me with the back of his head.”

Witnessing this, Wang Yihan couldn’t help but scoff, “Is Justin Zhu drunk or something? Isn’t this disrespectful to the audience?”

Zhang Yingjing shot him a silent glance, her lips curling into a faint smile.

Just wait, she thought. After you hear him, perhaps you’ll be the ones left reeling.

The piano intro began—a series of light, ethereal notes.

“What a beautiful intro,” was everyone’s first impression.

Then Justin Zhu slowly raised the microphone, and a breathtakingly beautiful voice resonated through the hall.

“The waves silently drown the night in darkness, flooding the farthest corners of the sky…”

Just the first line left the entire audience slack-jawed.

“My god, what is this voice?”

“That’s Justin Zhu? Oh my, he sounds like a girl.”

Even the experienced mentor Wei Ping suddenly sat up straight in astonishment.

Justin Zhu continued to sing.

“A great fish swims through the seams of dreams, gazing at your sleeping silhouette…”

“Hear the sea and sky as one, listen to the wind and rain fall…”

“Take your hand and let the misty waves scatter…”

“There it is—the song’s fish motif!”

“Wow, I’ve got goosebumps. Is this even Justin Zhu? At first, I thought it was a backing vocal, but it’s really him!”

“This voice is so ethereal, and the song suits it perfectly. I feel as if I’m truly by the sea.”

“Yes, the song and the voice together are just wonderful—the lyrics and melody are so pure and clear.”

“Wow, who would have thought Justin Zhu was this talented?”

The studio buzzed with excitement.

In the control room, the assistant excitedly called out to Yang Yin, “Director! This is a bombshell! I never realized Justin Zhu’s voice was like this. And the song is top quality—he should have saved this for the finals!”

“Director, why did we let Justin Zhu’s group perform in the first round? We should have saved them for the end!”

The assistant’s words found agreement among the staff. If not the last, this song should at least have been placed mid-show—otherwise, with such a stunning opener, the audience might find what follows less impressive, which could impact the ratings.

Yang Yin merely shook her head and replied, “Don’t forget, we still have Xu Ze.”

At that, the assistant swallowed his words, thinking to himself, “Even with Xu Ze, I doubt he could compose something more powerful than ‘Big Fish’.”

As the song reached its climax, Justin Zhu finally turned around.

Now, everyone was hearing this stunningly feminine voice while seeing Justin Zhu on stage—the sensory effect was unprecedented.

At last, the song ended.

The hall erupted in thunderous applause.

Justin Zhu bowed to the audience, then turned toward the backstage area and gave a deep bow.

Everyone wondered if he had bowed in the wrong direction; surely, that bow was meant for his mentor, Zhang Yingjing?

This child must be a little directionally challenged.

But Zhang Yingjing knew—this bow was for Xu Ze.

At that moment, she wondered what everyone would think when they learned that “Big Fish” was also composed by Xu Ze.

The host returned to the stage and announced that the audience jury would now begin voting.

While the results were being tallied, the host asked, “Justin Zhu, your voice is extraordinary. I’m curious—why was your voice so different in the previous two rounds compared to today?”

Justin Zhu replied, “Actually, my voice has always been like this, but because it’s so unique, I was afraid to show it.”

“I was afraid people would laugh at me, since it’s so unusual.”

“But there was someone who changed me. He noticed I was hiding my true voice.”

“He told me not to be afraid, that my voice was the best, that it was unique. He made me brave enough to sing as myself.”

Everyone, including the host, assumed he was referring to his mentor, Zhang Yingjing.

But then Justin Zhu declared loudly, “The person I want to thank is… Xu Ze!”

The crowd: “???”

Xu Ze?

The camera cut to Zhang Yingjing, who nodded in affirmation.

Only then did everyone believe it—Xu Ze had been the one to recognize Justin Zhu’s unique voice. Was Xu Ze’s ear really that sharp?

The jury’s voting concluded.

The host announced, “For this round, advancing is… Justin Zhu! The votes are 398 to 102.”

“With 398 votes, Justin Zhu has defeated his opponent and advanced to the next round!”

Applause filled the hall.

Yu Shibo, Justin Zhu’s opponent, gave him a hug—clearly, his luck just wasn’t in his favor this round.

He accepted the result without complaint—not only was he outmatched in vocal quality, the song itself was on another level.

The competition continued.

After a few more duels, the host announced the next round: Sun Na from Zhang Yingjing’s group versus Huang Minghao from Wang Yihan’s group.

Their theme word was “Wind.”

Upon hearing that Sun Na’s opponent was Huang Minghao, Zhang Yingjing felt a pang of concern.

Though the song Xu Ze gave Sun Na was of high quality, Huang Minghao was, aside from Xu Ze, one of the top contenders for the championship—arguably even stronger than Justin Zhu.

For this round, the opposing company had surely pulled out all the stops, likely commissioning a team of top-tier songwriters for Huang Minghao.

Shenghuang Entertainment could afford it.

Huang Minghao took the stage. As expected, the song he performed was far superior to those in the previous rounds.

Mentor Jiang Yiyan couldn’t help but mutter inwardly, “There’s no way he wrote this himself. If he had this kind of talent, I’d eat my hat.”

After Huang Minghao’s performance, it was Sun Na’s turn.

At this moment, Sun Na was extraordinarily calm.

Whenever she was uncertain during her preparation, she had consulted Xu Ze.

Xu Ze’s explanations were always thorough and precise—every time she stumbled, a few words from him would resolve her doubts.

With absolute trust in Xu Ze, she now felt unshakeably confident.

As the intro played, Sun Na closed her eyes and began to sing.

“The fiercer the wind blows, the more my heart soars…”