Chapter 80: I Must Correct You on Two Points

Zhang Yingjing’s words stunned everyone. The audience immediately erupted into a frenzy of discussion.

“Wow, at first I thought Xu Ze’s ability to write such great love songs was thanks to Zhang Yingjing—she’s always been talented with them.”

“I’m not surprised. I heard that Xu Ze composed ‘Do You Know, Do You Know’ at the last minute and never even revised it.”

“So all the lyrics are really written by Xu Ze himself? I’m in love!”

The host quickly took the cue: “It seems Xu Ze truly makes things easy for Mentor Zhang Yingjing. With such an outstanding student, which mentor wouldn’t be tempted? I’m suddenly very eager to see the creative VCR from Mentor Zhang Yingjing’s team. Don’t miss it, everyone—be sure to tune in.”

The host then turned to the guest sitting beside the judges, Du Yuanzhou.

“Now let’s invite Teacher Du Yuanzhou to comment on contestant Xu Ze.”

The camera focused on Du Yuanzhou, who lounged in his seat, leisurely fanning himself with a landscape fan, looking utterly unruffled. He had commented on previous contestants, but only in terse, dismissive phrases. His attitude made it clear he looked down on them, as if the production team had humbled themselves to invite him.

The other mentors were somewhat displeased by his demeanor, though none showed it openly, given his status in the industry.

Hearing the host’s invitation, Du Yuanzhou kept fanning himself, eyes half-closed, and spoke lightly: “I have no objections, really, but I think Wei Ping’s praise was somewhat excessive.”

His words immediately drew everyone’s attention. Wei Ping’s brows furrowed; had anyone else said this, he would have retorted right away. It was a blatant slight to his reputation. Yet this was Du Yuanzhou, someone with more capital and status than himself. Though Wei Ping had some standing in the music world, he hadn’t reached Du Yuanzhou’s level.

The host grew nervous, sensing that Du Yuanzhou might be about to drop a bombshell. He suddenly regretted his own curiosity—why did he have to ask? If Du Yuanzhou criticized Xu Ze and Xu Ze was displeased, wouldn’t the director really tear him apart? He knew Director Yang Yin’s temper well—when she got angry, she was terrifying.

Yet the question had been asked; there was no taking it back. The host could only steel himself and press on: “Teacher Du Yuanzhou, what do you mean by that?”

Du Yuanzhou smiled and said, “I admit, Xu Ze’s ‘Snow Like Hair’ is well-written, and his singing is decent.”

“But to say he could lead an era is simply too much.”

“Everyone knows Mr. Pavarotti from America, the world-renowned king of singers.”

“In America’s unique environment, he mastered all kinds of songs, and as a result, became a global icon and led an era.”

“But Xu Ze’s Chinese-style songs, to be honest, are niche.”

“To lead an era with niche songs?”

At this, Du Yuanzhou gave a soft, derisive laugh, shaking his fan and his head.

Hearing his remarks, Mentor Jiang Yiyan could no longer hold back. She immediately switched on her mic to rebut: “I disagree with Teacher Du Yuanzhou!”

Upon hearing Jiang Yiyan’s words, a man nearly jumped in shock—her agent. He knew Du Yuanzhou’s reputation and connections well, and was now frantic.

“Oh dear, why did you have to provoke Du Yuanzhou?”

Standing below the stage, he waved wildly at Jiang Yiyan, signaling desperately.

Jiang Yiyan saw her agent in the audience, but after a quick glance, she looked away, focusing on Du Yuanzhou and speaking earnestly:

“Perhaps Chinese-style songs were niche before Xu Ze appeared.”

“But after Xu Ze’s emergence, they can no longer be called niche!”

“How can a song heard by tens of millions, even hundreds of millions across all of China, be called niche?”

Her words drew widespread agreement from the audience.

“Exactly—Xu Ze’s songs are so popular, altogether they must have over a hundred million plays.”

“Right, everyone around me has heard his music; many elders in my family have too.”

Du Yuanzhou merely smiled and shook his head: “You and Xu Ze are still too young.”

“It’s all right, youth brings a shallow perspective, understandable—just needs more learning.”

“For example, do you think I was criticizing Xu Ze just now?”

“No, I wasn’t. I was kindly reminding him.”

“Tell me, when people mention Xu Ze, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?”

“Of course it’s his ancient-style songs, his talent, isn’t it?”

“And if you strip away those labels? Would people still like him?”

“I’m afraid that’s uncertain.”

“So if Xu Ze wants to be liked by everyone, he must maintain those personas.”

“But over time, people will grow tired of them.”

“That’s why I brought this up—for his own good.”

“But I suspect it will be hard for him to take it to heart. Just like the ancients, knowing something is wrong yet never correcting it.”

Jiang Yiyan had planned not to speak further, not wanting to trouble her agent. But hearing Du Yuanzhou’s patronizing “I’m only telling you for your own good” attitude, she couldn’t help but retort:

“Excuse me, Teacher Du Yuanzhou—how exactly were the ancients wrong?”

Her tone was direct, hardly concealing her displeasure.

It seemed Du Yuanzhou had been waiting for this question. He immediately gave an example:

“Let’s talk about our Chinese characters. When our ancestors created them, it’s clear they got ‘shoot’ and ‘short’ mixed up.”

“By the meaning of the characters, ‘cùn’ means short, ‘wěi (shǐ)’ means shoot.”

“So the radicals for ‘shoot’ and ‘short’ obviously should be swapped.”

“This obvious mistake has never been corrected—why do you think that is?”

Jiang Yiyan had been ready to argue, but hearing Du Yuanzhou talk about Chinese characters, she realized she was out of her depth. All the words she’d been ready to say suddenly stuck in her throat.

Her cheeks flushed as she struggled for a reply.

The audience started discussing:

“Teacher Du Yuanzhou seems to have a point. Looking at it this way, the two characters do seem reversed.”

“Yeah, looks like he’s genuinely offering advice to Xu Ze. No wonder the show invited him—he’s so knowledgeable.”

“I’ve heard of him before. He returned from studying abroad in America twenty years ago—a formidable figure.”

At that moment, Xu Ze, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up:

“Teacher Du Yuanzhou, allow me to correct you on two points.”