Tang Xiaoyu followed Lin Qingying and three people, and came to a dedicated passageway prepared for singers and staff.
Tang Xiaoyu then saw a familiar face: Xiao Chenfeng.
"Master Lin, Uncle Lu, Sister Lan." Xiao Chenfeng greeted.
Tang Xiaoyu was just thinking about the forms of address for Lu Changchun and Sister Lan: [Uncle Lu, Sister Lan? This is a bit out of line with seniority, it was fine to say before, but now it feels a bit jarring.]
Xiao Chenfeng looked at Tang Xiaoyu and said: "Who is he?"
"Tang Xiaoyu."
Xiao Chenfeng said in surprise: "Brother Tang, why are you here?"
Lin Qingying said: "He's here to participate in the competition, I'm registering him now."
Xiao Chenfeng said awkwardly: "This doesn't seem right!"
"What's not right about it?"
"Isn't this like a father beating his son, bullying them!"
Lin Qingying dissatisfiedly said: "I just want those people to know what real skill is, don't keep your tails up so high every day."
"Especially that Uncle Zhou of yours, who doesn't even know his own surname anymore."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Chenfeng said: "Brother Tang, you guys go ahead first, I'll go arrange it."
Tang Xiaoyu walked into the resting area for the singers. There wasn't a single person inside yet.
"How many people are participating this time?"
Lu Changchun said: "Including you, fifteen."
Tang Xiaoyu was a little puzzled: "Only so few people signed up?"
"No, these were all shortlisted through layers of selection."
Tang Xiaoyu nodded: "I see, you guys go busy yourselves then!"
"Then you rest here, we'll go get busy."
"Go busy yourselves, don't mind me, I'm used to these kinds of scenes."
"Okay then, we'll go get busy."
The three left. Tang Xiaoyu boredly looked around.
He just happened to bump into a rushing woman. The woman was very beautiful, and was dressed very formally.
The woman dissatisfiedly said: "Watch where you're going!" Then hurriedly left.
Tang Xiaoyu was about to say sorry, but the apology got left out.
The woman came to the resting room for the hosts: "Ruo Xue, are you ready? We absolutely cannot make any mistakes hosting today."
"I'm ready, are you ready Zi Yan?"
"Of course I'm ready."
Just then, a voice came from outside: "Master Wang, Master Sima, the singers are here, you should go on stage to host now."
The two said in unison: "Coming right away."
Not long after, a deafening roar of cheers and screams could be heard from outside.
Tang Xiaoyu was just sitting there bored, and got scared onto the floor by the sound.
"Damn, have they all gone crazy, is it necessary to scream so horrifically, with ghostly wails?"
"Still little Wei, peak peak, I also have a beautiful little girl, her name is called little Wei!"
This was clearly malicious jealousy, but I simply won't admit it.
Then the hosts' voices rang out: "Hello everyone, I'm your host Zi Yan."
"Hello everyone, I'm your host Ruo Xue."
"Next, let's welcome our singers entering the venue, everyone give them a warm welcome!"
Tang Xiaoyu thought upon hearing this: "So it's that little brat Zi Yan, her hosting skills haven't improved one bit."
"If it were me, I would definitely have said: Welcome our singers into the venue with your screams and cheers, let me hear their names."
Right after mentally patting himself on the back, the audience outside was still quite cooperative: "Little Wei, little Wei, little Wei..."
Tang Xiaoyu was completely speechless: "Damn, singing a countermelody to me huh!"
He didn't know how much time passed, but the noise outside finally settled down. Fourteen men and women, handsome gentlemen and beautiful ladies, walked in.
Then, everyone's gazes fell upon Tang Xiaoyu.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
Tang Xiaoyu hated these kinds of boring dialogues and scenes the most.
He stood up and said: "Don't ask who I am, just take it that I have backing."
Everyone was speechless, no one could admit to using the backdoor so shamelessly.
Since they knew Tang Xiaoyu had backing, everyone stopped saying anything, they just networked and kept their distance from him.
Wang Ziyan had just finished her opening remarks and went backstage when someone handed her a few sheets of paper: "This is the order the singers are going on stage."
"Okay, got it." She took the papers and put them away.
When Sima Ruo Xue was close to finishing, she picked up the papers and went on stage.
"Next, let's welcome our first contestant, Tang Xiaoyu entering the stage."
Wang Ziyan thought she had misread it. She took a careful look, no she didn't misread! It really was Tang Xiaoyu. Full of doubts, she walked off the stage.
Sima Ruo Xue asked: "There was no Tang Xiaoyu in the beginning right?"
"I don't know either, the paper the staff handed up just had Tang Xiaoyu written on it."
Hearing his own name, Tang Xiaoyu stood up and struck a pose, singing: "Don't be crazily obsessed with me, bro is just a legend."
Ah~ Just that arrogant, just that ostentatious, because Tang Xiaoyu's skills don't allow him to keep a low profile.
Holding the microphone, Tang Xiaoyu walked onto the stage. Wang Ziyan was stunned: "Damn, it really is my Brother Tang, there's no more suspense in this competition now."
When Old Zhou saw Tang Xiaoyu, he almost choked on his tea: "Damn, how did this brat come back."
Tang Xiaoyu stood on the wide, luxurious stage, looking out at the audience of countless tens of thousands.
"Hello everyone, my name is Tang Xiaoyu."
He then loudly shouted: "Your god has returned."
The youngsters down below didn't recognize Tang Xiaoyu: "Who's this! So arrogant."
"I really don't like the look of this guy."
"Get lost"
But before that "get lost" could gather momentum, it was drowned out by cheers from several areas.
"Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu."
Xiao Wu and his crew who often hung out at Orchid Lodge were the first to call out, followed by those from the tea house.
Of course the disciples of Qingyun Sword Sect were no exception.
And actually, the numbers weren't low at all, their momentum was much stronger than the youngsters'.
In the Qingyun Sword Sect disciples' designated area, a girl who looked innocent and cute, but not childishly so, was cheering the hardest.
"Sister Tang, pay attention to your image."
Tang Xiaoxue glared at that disciple and commanded: "All of you cheer for me, if anyone isn't enthusiastic enough, don't think I'll let you off when we get back."
Some disciples whispered: "Sister Tang has gone crazy today, why is she like this?"
"Keep your voice down, look at Sister Tang's expression, if you don't cheer she could eat you alive."
On Xiao Wu's side: "Hurry go inform the brothers, say our Brother Tang is back."
"Got it."
Tang Xiaoyu calmed himself down, and signaled for the person behind him to start.
The music rang out, a song only Tang Xiaoyu knew and also really liked: [Title]
.................................
This song was about himself, and was also singing about this real world.
Tang Xiaoyu sang this song very emotionally and dedicatedly.
Yet he didn't know how many people's hearts he had touched.
The venue resounded with Tang Xiaoyu's name.
With just this one song, Tang Xiaoyu had secured today's championship already. No one went to question it, and no one would question it.
After all the singers had performed, a song rang out from an area in the audience:
"The golden shield is forged from hot blood."
"Show your skill in times of danger."
Tang Xiaoyu went on stage, and sang the song Aspirations of Youth Should Not Be Sung of Sorrows with Xiao Wu and the others,
ending the competition with Eternal Brothers.
He came to Old Zhou, and stretched out a hand to Tang Xiaoyu: "Pay up."
Old Zhou speechlessly took out the money. Tang Xiaoyu conveniently took a bag from him too.
[Still standing on courtesy with you guys now? If not for lacking skills, I'd be charging you copyright fees.] Tang Xiaoyu kept scolding in his heart.