Chapter 73: Old Enemies

After filming for nearly half a month in Modu, Cheng Chen received word from the Singer Competition production team:

The finals have arrived.

This final round of the Top 10 advancement will determine the champion, runner-up, and third-place winner.

The promotion for this final had already begun a week ago.

Contestant interviews, vote-pulling, and gossip among contestants flooded in.

Of course, awareness might be weak elsewhere, but within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, it was the hottest music talent show at the time.

Cheng Chen was one of the three judges for this final.

The hosting lineup continued the same style as the auditions, though the hosts' fame was significantly higher than before.

For example:

Representative of the music industry: Cheng Chen.

Representative of Huaxia Yinyuehui: Li Daoquan.

Jingtai host: Xu Chunni.

Li Daoquan needs no introduction—he was the Huaxia Yinyuehui President who publicly denounced Cheng Chen as "disrespectful to seniors, disrespectful to fans, disrespectful to music!"

Cheng Chen had already clashed with him multiple times in public opinion; they were old enemies.

As for Xu Chunni, this host had only been with Jingtai for two years but already showed strong hosting skills and was emerging as their leading female anchor.

Her hosted knowledge-based competition show, SK Top Scholar List, was extremely popular with audiences.

She would go on to host Jingtai's Spring Festival Gala for over a decade.

But the incident that truly made her go viral was when Cao Yunjin exposed her affair with Guo.

This instantly plunged Xu Chunni, who had just jointly carried the Olympic torch with her husband, into a scandal of infidelity.

Her husband, enraged, assaulted her.

Their love flame was extinguished, ending in divorce.

……

Although he was filming, Cheng Chen had already told director Wang Wenjie about his role as a judge.

Cheng Chen had few scenes in the Modu shoot, so scheduling was simple; Wang Wenjie checked the schedule and approved it.

Upon receiving permission, Cheng Chen immediately flew back to Jingcheng to participate in the recording.

As soon as he landed, reporters waiting at the airport surrounded him:

"As a judge for this Singer Competition, what would you like to say to fellow judge Li Daoquan?"

"From contestant to judge—this is almost unheard of in the same talent show. What's your take on this?"

"Among these Top 10 contestants, who do you most favor?"

Questions came one after another; Cheng Chen could only smile and answer the reporters' probing.

Fortunately, Haitian Records staff arrived in time to rescue him.

When he reached the Jingtai recording venue, Cheng Chen finally relaxed.

"Professor Cheng, please give us your support going forward."

In Cheng Chen's dressing room, fellow judge Xu Chunni came to visit.

"Support? Hardly—I'm your guest here. If I get into a fight with the other judge, I'll need you to side with me."

Cheng Chen said with a smile.

Although the contestants were the main focus of the Singer Competition finals,

Cheng Chen and Li Daoquan's feud drew even more attention, and cunning Jingtai heavily amplified this angle in their promotion.

They practically hoped the two would start fighting on stage!

"Side with you?"

The female host playfully feigned confusion.

"Of course you'll side with me—I was invited by your production team. Li Daoquan is your partner. If you two gang up on an outsider, who else will dare appear on Jingtai? Isn't that right?"

"Uh… Professor Cheng, you're so funny."

Xu Chunni responded awkwardly to Cheng Chen's audacity.

Could she say, "Go ahead and fight Li Daoquan—our station leaders are hoping you'll brawl!"?

The recording began soon after. The host and judge Xu Chunni, standing amid dazzling flames, introduced the Top 10 contestants.

Each contestant's entrance triggered thunderous cheers from the audience; the atmosphere was electric.

Among these ten contestants were two of Cheng Chen's old acquaintances: Zhang Jie from Sichuan and Zhang Guangfeng, who had left Tianhai.

Seeing these two reach the finals, Cheng Chen immediately lost all hope for the competition.

The former was still immature; though he had some musical talent, his overall skills were still raw.

The latter? Even worse—in Cheng Chen's eyes, he was a pretentious show-off with no artistic integrity.

"Let's warmly welcome our judge, President of Huaxia Yinyuehui, Master Li Daoquan!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, but clearly Li Daoquan was unfamiliar to most—the response paled compared to the Top 10 contestants.

Cheng Chen even suspected the audience had Jingtai-planted cheer squads.

"Mandopop New Heavenly King, genius music producer who established his popularity with two albums—Cheng Chen!"

Xu Chunni smiled and gestured toward Cheng Chen.

"Big boss, big boss, I love you!"

"Big boss, we've waited so long for you—big boss, awesome!"

"Li Daoquan, die, you bastard…"

The moment Xu Chunni finished speaking, the venue exploded—lights instantly focused on Cheng Chen in a single beam from above.

Cheng Chen, dressed in a suit, stood up and waved to the audience; the atmosphere grew even more lively than it had been for any previous singer.

As for competing with Li Daoquan... emmm

Li Daoquan was nearly forty, trained in opera singing, and had released many excellent works in his early years.

Yet opera music, being niche, meant his presence was not strongly felt among the general public.

Of course, now he held the position of China Music Association President—a title that commanded far more credibility than any label like "hot star" or "popular singer."

Watching Cheng Chen steal the spotlight, Li Daoquan felt deeply displeased.

He never imagined that a little-known nobody could, within just a few months, stand on equal footing with him—even surpassing him in fan count.

"Heh, fans actually offer no real help to making music.

If you only make music to please your fans, constantly catering to them, you'll lose yourself and sink into mediocrity.

You'll abandon the achievements you've already earned. Am I right, Cheng Heavenly King?"

After Xu Chunni finished introducing the event and delivered a long stretch of sponsor ads, Li Daoquan leaned close to Cheng Chen, covering the microphone, and whispered.

"They're going to fight! A fight's coming! Leaders really are leaders—they see people so clearly!"

Hearing Li Daoquan's words, Xu Chunni, eager for drama, grew wildly excited.

The two former rivals, now fighting on a new battlefield, were far more explosive than listening to a few songs or chasing gossip.

And Jingtai wanted exactly this outcome...