Su Yu walked to the center of the stage after being prompted by a staff member.
"Teacher Ting Yu, you got off to a great start in the first competition. Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?" the host asked with a smile.
"Thank you for your support," Su Yu replied concisely.
After waiting for a moment and finding that he had no further comment, the host realized he was finished and let out an awkward cough.
"Our Teacher Ting Yu has a reputation for being a person of action, not many words. It seems that's true," the host said humorously to ease the tension, which elicited a round of laughter from the audience.
He was right.
Whenever people online provoked Ting Yu, he would always shut them down with his skill.
"Everyone knows that Teacher Ting Yu excels at ancient-style and love songs. Why did you choose to write an inspirational song?" As Su Yu remained silent, the host had to find his own topic. After a pause, he added, "Was it to challenge yourself?"
The host looked at Su Yu curiously after his question. This was the question the audience was most curious about, and he was equally curious.
Su Yu smiled at this and said calmly, "I've never said what I'm good at, nor what I'm not good at."
The host was momentarily stunned by his words. What did that mean? Did it mean he was good at everything? Was that even possible? After all, many people strive towards their areas of expertise when writing songs. Some dedicate decades of study to accumulate enough experience to write soulful songs. Su Yu, at only a little over ten years old, how could he be proficient in every genre?
"So, you mean you're good at everything?" the host's voice trembled slightly.
"I wouldn't say 'good at,' that would be too arrogant. I just know a little about everything," Su Yu replied humbly.
*Whoosh!*
The host froze on the spot. The entire audience was bewildered.
"He's showing off again!!" Zhang Yang exclaimed to the crowd, uttering his signature phrase. Seeing Su Yu's familiar demeanor and his poker face, Zhang Yang knew this kid was about to pull some impressive stunt. The key was that Su Yu was different from those who simply showed off; he always delivered the most infuriating yet irrefutable statements with such an innocent expression.
"Hahaha... I'm dying of laughter. Brother Yu is Brother Yu, awesome!" Zhao De, who already had a loud voice, laughed until he was bent double. The singer and producer areas were not far apart. The laughter from Su Yu's group of singers immediately annoyed some of the competing producers.
"He just won one match, does he really think he's omnipotent?" someone grumbled, clearly disliking Su Yu. However, Su Yu had indeed won, so they could only hold their displeasure in.
"But he is quite formidable, to have actually beaten Li Shaojun," another person commented, then looked towards Li Shaojun. Li Shaojun seemed unable to accept reality, staring blankly at Su Yu on stage.
"I refuse to believe he's truly a jack of all trades. If he dares to compete with me in folk music in the next round, I'll make him regret it!" The speaker was Liu Quanlin, a folk music expert and Su Yu's opponent in the next round.
"Among us, the person we fear the least is Brother Hu Yang. Even if Ting Yu is that capable, he can't possibly know Yueyu. He can't challenge Brother Hu Yang in that regard." Hu Yang was a renowned figure in the Yueyu music scene. No one could believe that Ting Yu, from Shuangqing, even knew Yueyu!
"Let him defeat you and then come talk to me," Hu Yang said calmly. He was the last one. For Ting Yu to compete against him, he would have to eliminate everyone before him. If Ting Yu honestly stuck to his preferred musical styles, he might have a chance to meet Hu Yang. But this Ting Yu clearly wanted to show off, so he might very well falter early on and never get the chance to face him.
...
On stage, the host took several deep breaths to steady himself.
"Alright, next, let's invite Teacher Liu Quanlin to the stage to draw the keyword for the next song!" He dared not ask any more questions, fearing Su Yu might say something astonishing again. As time was almost up, he decided to proceed directly to the next segment.
After Liu Quanlin walked to the center of the stage, he briefly introduced himself and then proceeded to draw the keywords.
"Goodbye," "Girl," "Loneliness," "Wine," "Longing."
Five keywords appeared. The audience erupted in a buzz. These words were almost all commonly used in folk music. Was the show's keyword software acting up?
"Ahem... Let me reiterate, these keywords are randomly generated. It's just a coincidence this time," the host quickly tried to regain control. He hadn't expected such a coincidence, where all five keywords were perfectly suited for folk music.
"I'll choose Loneliness," Liu Quanlin said, suppressing his inner elation. His song was about "loneliness," and he had unexpectedly hit the jackpot! As for the singer, he had only brought three singers with him for this round. He chose a middle-aged singer with a distinctive voice, carrying a hint of hoarseness from years of experience, which was most suitable for singing folk music. This person was also a singer he had collaborated with for a long time, and he was considered one of the top artists in the folk music circle.
"Then I'll choose Wine," Su Yu said, looking at the keywords on the screen and finally settling on the word "Wine." Keywords were meant to add fun, and choosing wine meant he could write about it. Seeing this word, he thought of a relatively suitable song. As for the singer, Su Yu glanced at the singer's area. This song would have more flavor if sung by a male. However, Zhang Yang and the others were not suited for folk music. Lin Yanyu and Jiang Xiao'e were girls, so they were ruled out. Finally, there were two singers left from Hai'an Entertainment and Zhanfang Entertainment: Li Yunchuan and Zhao Zhicheng. Su Yu had some impression of these two; he had seen their profiles. Zhao Zhicheng was a frontline singer from Hai'an Entertainment and the singer whose "Later" Su Yu had unintentionally snatched the first place from. Li Yunchuan was a frontline singer from Zhanfang Entertainment, whose "What's Wrong With It" Su Yu had taken first place from. These two had now miraculously become his teammates.
"I'll choose Li Yunchuan," Su Yu's gaze finally rested on Li Yunchuan. He had heard Li Yunchuan sing; his tone was very good and suitable for folk music.
"Me... me?" Li Yunchuan stood frozen as if struck by lightning. He was actually picked by Ting Yu! Damn! After recovering, the overwhelming surprise almost made him jump out of his seat. He had thought he was just here to make up the numbers in the competition, but he never expected to be chosen by Ting Yu!
"Senior Brother, congratulations!" Zhang Wei exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement. As Li Yunchuan's close friend, he was genuinely happy for his senior brother.
"Didn't we agree to just make up the numbers together?" Zhao Zhicheng said enviously. He could understand Li Yunchuan's feelings. If it were him who was chosen, he would have been so excited that tears would have welled up. Amidst the cheers from everyone, this episode of the show also reached its conclusion. After the host finished reading the advertisements, the second episode of the Ace City Competition officially ended.