On stage.
Lin Yanyu had returned to the singer area.
Su Yu stood with Shen Jinghong.
The two were of similar height. Shen Jinghong was good-looking, but not nearly as much as Su Yu.
After all, Su Yu and Lin Yanyu represented the pinnacle of appearance in the entertainment industry.
However, Shen Jinghong possessed an inherent aura, an ineffable confidence, and a touch of rebelliousness.
This also added considerably to his charm.
As the disciple of the Music God Mo Yan, it was natural for him to be confident.
Even facing Ting Yu, he showed no fear, instead his fighting spirit was ignited.
He had intended to play the underdog, but his own master had set him up. Due to Mo Yan's favor, he had already boosted Ting Yu's profile twice, serving as a stepping stone for Ting Yu.
However, this had not affected him much. Even stepping stones could cause discomfort!
Moreover, his achievements went far beyond what was visible on the surface.
By the time of the finals, everyone would be greatly surprised!
"Ting Yu, shall we do something different?"
Shen Jinghong acted like an old acquaintance, lightly nudging Su Yu's shoulder.
"What do you mean by 'different'?" Su Yu was taken aback.
He remembered Shen Jinghong had challenged him online, saying he would wait for him in the finals.
However, Su Yu didn't recall ever meeting this person.
Nor did he feel any hostility from him now.
Su Yu was somewhat bewildered.
"How about we compete with ancient style songs in the finals?" Shen Jinghong grinned.
Su Yu was surprised again. He had already planned to use ancient style songs in the finals; even if Shen Jinghong hadn't mentioned it, he would have.
He hadn't expected Shen Jinghong to bring it up first.
"Okay." Su Yu didn't know where Shen Jinghong's confidence came from, but he didn't refuse.
Since both wore microphones, their conversation could be heard by everyone.
The live audience immediately erupted.
Shen Jinghong was going to compete with Ting Yu in ancient style songs?
Wasn't that showing off to an expert?
"This Shen Jinghong is too confident."
"If he were to compete in ancient style, it would be more fitting for his master, Mo Yan, to speak up. He actually dared to initiate it."
"You guys don't know, this is Shen Jinghong's personality; confidence is his characteristic."
"Isn't it? During the regional qualifiers, he was already provoking Ting Yu, and even said he would wait for Ting Yu in the finals. He didn't expect his words to come true."
"Shen Jinghong isn't stupid. Challenging Ting Yu's strongest suit, ancient style, is clearly his intention to defeat Ting Yu and achieve instant legendary status."
"But, would Ting Yu lose in ancient style?"
"Who knows? We'll find out when they compete."
As the audience discussed.
Shen Jinghong looked at the host and said with a smile, "We don't need to draw keywords; let's just skip this segment."
The host looked troubled.
The program rules were as they were, and he had no authority to change them.
Just then, the voice of the general director came through his earpiece.
"Cancel the keyword segment!"
The director's voice was somewhat excited.
Even before the next episode had begun, there was such palpable tension on stage.
The city qualifiers already had the highest viewership among all the competitions, and with today's events spreading, the popularity would likely reach new heights.
A battle of ancient style prodigies against the Music God's closed-door disciple.
Just this hype alone was enough to predict the viewership for the finals.
And the advertising fees for the city qualifiers were settled on a per-episode basis. The revenue from the finals was likely to astound the production team!
"Haha, if the two have such enthusiasm, our production team will naturally oblige." The host quickly said after receiving the order.
He paused and continued, "Then please have the two choose your singers."
Shen Jinghong said, "I don't need a singer."
"Alright, what about you, Ting Yu?" the host turned and asked Su Yu.
Su Yu smiled calmly, "I'll sing my last song myself."
The host exclaimed, "What?"
He realized he had lost composure and quickly apologized, adding, "Sorry, I almost forgot that Ting Yu is also a very outstanding singer."
Su Yu waved his hand dismissively.
"Then, the finals will be a battle of ancient style between the two singer-songwriters. Where are the applause, everyone!"
The host breathed a sigh of relief and extended the microphone towards the audience.
The venue instantly erupted in thunderous applause.
The audience cheered with all their might.
Both Ting Yu and Shen Jinghong would write and perform their own songs.
Furthermore, this would be Ting Yu's first performance in the city qualifiers!
At this moment, both the audience at the venue and those in the live stream were filled with anticipation for the finals.
Would the ancient style prodigy Ting Yu continue his path of dominance, or would the Music God's disciple snatch the final glory?
Who would claim the position of the fifth Music God in the Chinese music scene? Everyone was watching with bated breath!
...
After the program ended.
The internet was instantly flooded with overwhelming discussion.
#Ting Yu and Shen Jinghong’s finals ancient style battle.#
#A ‘Bloody Love Story,’ a different Lin Yanyu.#
#Couple partnership triumphs over married partnership, Lin Yanyu’s vocal performance amazes the entire audience.#
#Ting Yu’s song tells you what true yandere is.#
With the niche yandere theme, ‘Bloody Love Story’ once again solidified Ting Yu’s title as the "Melancholy Musician."
This dark-style song once again showcased Ting Yu's versatility.
Whatever theme he tackled, he could make it extraordinary.
In this city qualifiers, Ting Yu was undoubtedly the most dazzling presence.
As this song became a massive hit, streamers online complained bitterly.
Ting Yu was trying to kill them!
They hadn't even mastered the suona, and now another song with such high notes had emerged.
Covering it?
The first half was fine.
The second half just exploded on the spot!
No more singing, whoever wants to sing can sing!
The streamers had given up. This wasn't singing; it was a death sentence.
Fortunately, many streamers reached a consensus: they would play the original track and slack off.
The audience wanted to hear it, so this was the only way, even if they were scolded. Ting Yu wrote this song specifically to torment cover artists.
Unlike the streaming community.
Major bloggers on short video platforms were ecstatic.
The yandere theme offered countless stories to be filmed.
Not long after the city qualifiers concluded, the trending topics on short video platforms had become a yandere special.
Various yandere-themed stories were filmed into short videos, set to the background music of ‘Bloody Love Story,’ and appeared on the homepage.
“I don’t like yandere anymore…”
“Thanks to Ting Yu, I’ve lost all my illusions about yandere.”
“That stage effect made me pee myself. The man being controlled, and then both of them leaning against the basement wall – thinking about it now still gives me chills.”
“The scariest thing isn’t that the yandere likes you, but that the person the yandere likes also likes you.”
“If you’re good-looking, it’s called yandere; if you’re not, it’s called a pervert.”
“Lin Yanyu sang this song really well. Those lines, ‘Don’t give me back,’ filled me with despair!”