Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Saturday.

At Zhang Ye\'s maternal grandma\'s house.

Today, Zhang Ye came over right after picking up his parents from the airport after they returned from their Hainan vacation. His grandparents had asked for their children to gather today for a meal as they missed them, with the food already prepared. In truth, Zhang Ye was planning to send his parents home first to sort out their luggage and rest for a while before coming over, but their flight was delayed. When they finally arrived, it was already five in the afternoon. Then, he got recognized at the airport by some fans and was trapped there for a long time. With the protracted delay, Zhang Ye was forced to go over right after picking up his parents.

"Brother!"

"Little Ye."

"Grandma, First Uncle, Little Sis."

"Why are you so late?"

"Hai, the flight got delayed."

"First Aunt and Uncle, how was the Hainan trip?"

"Hur hur, it was quite good. The air there was particularly refreshing."

"First Aunt, I\'ll take your luggage for you!"

"Look at our Dandan, she\'s becoming more and more sensible."

The entire extended family had essentially gathered by now. The moment they met each other, they started prattling and babbling on.

Zhang Ye greeted his grandpa and grandma, then enjoyed some time chatting with them. Shortly after, his three sisters approached him all atwitter.

His third sister giggled, "Brother, are you still unemployed?"

Zhang Ye rolled his eyes. "Yeah."

His eldest sister blinked and said, "Why haven\'t you caused any trouble then?"

"Cause what trouble?" Zhang Ye asked, not understanding.

His second sister said, "In the past, during times like these, you would always come out to scold and bombard those people who had offended you. It\'s not your style to keep quiet like this!"

Zhang Ye didn\'t know whether to laugh or cry. "Just why do you three have such a terrible impression of me? Why would I scold people without a valid reason? I\'m no longer the same as before."

His third sister looked down her nose at him. "C\'mon, you?"

His grandma tapped her in disapproval. "Young girl, how can you speak to your older brother in that manner?"

His third sister shouted, "Quick, come and see. Grandma\'s playing favorites again!"

Everyone laughed.

Zhang Ye was currently the most precious child at home. If his parents even dared to say a bad thing about Zhang Ye in front of his grandparents, they would glare at them, much less his three sisters.

Zhang Ye was also quite enjoying these rare family get-togethers. The competition yesterday had really tired him out. Not only had he worried about his vocal chords, it also took a lot of his concentration. He appreciated getting a rare chance to relax like this.

Dinner was ready.

They split into two tables as there were too many people.

His first uncle suddenly asked, "Little Ye, I heard that the show you produced is getting quite popular these days?"

His third sister immediately said, "It is not just quite popular, it\'s very popular!"

His mother swallowed a mouthful of food and said, "You don\'t say. The singers they invited this time are incredible! Their singing is each better than the last. I think that Sunflower and Petal Shower are pretty good!"

His first aunt said, "I like Sunflower too!"

His second aunt said, "Their songs are too complicated, so I prefer Sunset Glow."

His eldest sister spoke up, "The Clown\'s very good too. He was voted to be the Masked King in the first episode."

His second sister shook her head and said, "The Clown isn\'t that good. The media\'s talked about how he won in spite of his talent."

His third sister suddenly banged the table. "Aiyo, I nearly forgot. The second episode of King of Masked Singers is about to start. It\'s already 7:50! Quick, turn on the TV!"

"Oh yeah, let\'s watch it!"

"Yeah, we nearly forgot about it with all that talking just now!"

"Little Ye, who will become Masked King today?"

"Hur hur, watch for yourselves."

"It\'s definitely going to be Petal Shower."

"I think it\'ll be Sunflower."

"Sunset Glow\'s chances are quite high too!"

Almost everyone in the family had watched the show, and they all had their own favorite singers they supported.

The only thing that made Zhang Ye feel dejected was that no one seemed to be supporting The Clown. This fellow felt quite helpless as he was wondered if it was because of the songs he selected being a little too non-mainstream? That the song\'s target audience was too niche? Should he attempt a more mainstream song for the next episode then? Speaking of which, as he was not considered to be someone from this world, all the songs that he brought out had never been heard before by the people of this world. This was his disadvantage, as well as his advantage. He had to slowly figure it out with every step that he took, without having any past experience to fall back on when choosing. Selecting which song to perform was very much like a test to him.

He would wait and observe what happened today.

To see what the reaction was after today\'s episode.

...

On Weibo.

It was whirling online.

"It\'s about to begin!"

"Holy shit, Petal Shower\'s popularity has reached 300,000 votes!"

"That\'s too fearsome!"

"She\'s been chosen internally as the Masked King for this episode, right?"

"More or less. The disparity is too much!"

"Did any news get leaked? Who got eliminated? Who took off their masks?"

"The Clown is sure to get eliminated, yeah?"

"There\'s no hope for him anymore. There\'s been too much negative press about him, with both the media and people bombarding him."

"Actually, I feel that The Clown is decent. Although his singing wasn\'t that good, that was due to him performing with a cold. We should to try understand that."

"He only became Masked King because of the pity votes cast by people like you! So what if he had a cold? This is a competition. It has to be fair."

"Let\'s see how it goes. It doesn\'t matter what The Clown does in this episode. Everything will depend on the performance of my Petal Shower!"

Suddenly, a Weibo user appeared.

That person posted with a chuckle: "I\'ll tell you guys something unfortunate. The Clown has retained his crown as the Masked King for this episode."

"Pfft!"

"Can you please stop teasing us?"

"That\'s impossible!"

"Don\'t go around spreading rumors!"

"Anyone can be the Masked King except The Clown. He\'s been criticized so badly it\'s impossible for him!"

However, someone else appeared out of the woodwork. "The Petal Shower you guys thought would be the favorite was eliminated by The Clown in the first round. Ai, just watch for yourselves, I don\'t have the heart to strike you guys with another blow."

"Are you kidding?"

"For real?"

"Even if The Clown resorted to his previous tricks or sang a song with even better lyrics, it\'s still impossible that the audience would buy it a second time."

"I don\'t believe it!"

"Fuck, I also don\'t believe it!"

"Petal Shower\'s popularity has exploded, with Sunflower in hot pursuit behind her. Even Sunset Glow\'s popularity is much higher than The Clown\'s, so how can it be possible for him to be the Masked King!"

"Don\'t believe the rumors."

"Don\'t believe the rumors+1!"

"Don\'t believe the rumors+1000!"

Nobody believed it.

Then the second episode of King of Masked Singers was broadcast for everybody\'s viewing pleasure!

The first contestant to sing was Petal Shower.

"Wow!"

"My Petal Shower is coming on!"

"She\'s gonna sing, she\'s gonna sing!"

"Ahhh, I love listening to her singing!"

"It\'s still her style of singing!"

"I love her to death!"

"Masked King, she must definitely get crowned as this episode\'s Masked King!"

"It has to be her!"

"The Clown is next?"

"Hahaha, it\'s so unlucky for him!"

"Yeah, there\'s no more suspense in this matchup!"

Online, wave after wave of exclamations erupted as the netizens all praised Petal Shower\'s singing.

Next, The Clown took the stage.

When The Clown began to sing, Weibo fell silent without warning!

"Ahh, ahh.

"Ahhhhh, ahh.

"Ahhhhh, ahhhhh.

"Ahhhhh, ahh."

...

At Zhang Ye\'s maternal grandma\'s house.

His three sisters were dumbfounded!

His parents, uncles, aunts, and everyone else\'s hairs stood on end when they heard him sing!

"This!"

"H-His cold is gone?"

"Why doesn\'t this song have any lyrics?"

"Aiyo, I can\'t handle this. I\'m getting the goosebumps!"

"What\'s going on? What\'s with this song?"

...

Zhang Yuanqi\'s house.

A couple of her good friends in the scene had come over for a dinner party.

The latest episode of King of Masked Singers was playing on the television, and they were analyzing it.

Zhang Yuanqi smiled and said, "Who do you girls think Petal Shower sounds like?"

Ning Lan, sitting cross-legged, said, "I can\'t tell since I\'m not involved in the music scene."

The Heavenly Queen\'s manager, Fang Weihong, swirled her glass of red wine. "This show is quite popular, and is very fun to watch. Sister Zhang, you can tell who she is?"

Zhang Yuanqi laughed. "I have a rough idea of who she is, but I can\'t be sure."

Then they heard different singing drift from the television.

At the start, they were not paying much attention to the show as they chatted among themselves. But gradually, their conversation came to a halt.

Fang Weihong was dumbfounded!

Ning Lan looked at the television in shock!

Zhang Yuanqi was slightly stunned as she turned to look at the television!

"Ahhh, ahhhh.

"Ahhh, ahhhh."

The voice filled the entire room!

Fang Weihong exclaimed, "Who the heck is this! Oh my god!"

Ning Lan was also in extreme shock. "Can this singing be any better than it is already?"

Fang Weihong asked, "Which song is this?"

Zhang Yuanqi replied, "There\'s no such song in the music industry!"

"It\'s an original?"

There were no lyrics!

Not a single line!

But they were completely caught off guard by the images that were conjured up in their minds!

...

A lot of the netizens on Weibo were going crazy!

Many of those who had called out The Clown last week for using lyrics to gain pity points were now feeling as though their faces had been slapped swollen. This was done on purpose! This man was definitely fucking with them on purpose!

"A song without lyrics?"

"Holy shit!"

"He sang it to such a godly level!"

"So this is what The Clown\'s real voice sounds like?"

"Dammit, this song made me cry!"

"Is it that good? How come I don\'t feel that way?"

"I didn\'t feel anything either, but his singing was amazing!"

"Didn\'t feel anything? You have to calm yourself when listening to this song. I was also moved by it. This song is simply an enjoyment to listen to! Who said that The Clown needed to rely on lyrics to win? Fuck their granny!"

"This face smacking is ruthless! I can already feel the pain on those media people\'s faces!"

"This song is fantastic!"

"Not even a single line of lyrics?"

"Who is this guy? Who is he?"

Many netizens threw a fit in an instant!

...

Within the music industry.

At an entertainment company.

A vice president was eating with his company\'s staff and some fellow industry professionals. When they heard that voice coming from the television in the room, they were all dumbfounded!

One second.

Two seconds.

The vice president shouted, "Little Li, go and check who that is! You must figure out who he is! If he\'s not contracted to any company, make sure to sign him to our company at all costs!"

The secretary, Little Li, hurriedly replied, "Understood!"

But it didn\'t take long before the question asked by the panel of judges was shown on television.

"Are you above or below the B-list?"

"…Above."

The table of people went quiet.

The vice president laughed bitterly. "Never mind. Don\'t bother trying to find out who he is. It\'s impossible that a big name who\'s at least a B-lister like him would not have a company."

A musician in the industry and seated at the table gasped. "Which famous person in the music industry went to compete on the show?"

King of Masked Singers was very popular!

It was so popular that many of those in the music industry—whether they be established singers or newcomers, including even the Heavenly Kings and Queens—were watching the show on TV!

A lot of people were shocked by the "Opera" The Clown had sung!

But without exception, no one was able to guess who The Clown really was!