Entertainment Era: Starting with Teaching Sister Meng to Sing

"Wow, this girl is beautiful. She could easily be considered a rising star in the film and television industry."

"So pure, she doesn't need any makeup or styling; she exudes the feeling of first love from any angle."

"Judging by his appearance, this guy is tone-deaf. Did the production team just find a pretty face? The first guy with the mushroom haircut was too good, and no one else could keep up, so they just put on a beautiful woman for us to feast our eyes on?"

"Is the person upstairs stupid? Didn't you hear that she only said one thing in her vlog: she withdrew from the competition without getting four turns, and she was even singing an original song! Would a beauty of this caliber do something ugly for a publicity stunt?"

"I'm really looking forward to the original content."

......

The comments section was buzzing with debate, and Sun Jiayi was also eagerly anticipating Meng Ziyi's performance.

That's the good thing about The Voice of China; after the contestants' vlogs, there's no fluff, just straight to their stage performances.

As the music begins, a song announcement appears in the lower right corner of the screen.

Song: "One Meat, One Vegetable"

Singer: Meng Ziyi

Original singer: Meng Ziyi

Composer: Wang Xiaozhou

Lyrics by: Wang Xiaozhou

Music production: Wang Xiaozhou

......

The comments section exploded like a pot of boiling water.

"Holy crap, who is this Wang Xiaozhou? I've never heard of him before."

"This guy is either a super genius, handling everything from lyrics to music, from pre-production to post-production, leaving no room for his peers; or he's a complete clown, showing off his own poorly made, incoherent creations."

"This announcer list is so clean, there are only two people..."

Sun Jiayi, watching from outside the screen, also covered her mouth and stared wide-eyed.

No way, the Wang Xiaozhou written on the screen isn't the same person I know, is it?

"The school bully from the neighboring school who can write songs falls for the innocent girl with a tragic background?"

It's 12 now, and there weren't any idol dramas this outrageous back then.

But... thinking about it, it's still kind of interesting.

As the melodious prelude of "One Meat, One Vegetable" played, Sun Jiayi imagined hundreds of chapters of a novel's plot in her mind, and then the plot came to an abrupt end as Meng Ziyi spoke.

"No, how can she sing so well!"

Wasn't she tone-deaf before?

How could someone possibly sing better than me, someone who's had several vocal lessons!

At first, Sun Jiayi was still amused by her own shock, but after Meng Ziyi said, "The moon is bright, the wind is gentle," she lost all interest in anything else and only wanted to immerse herself in the world of music and grieve silently.

After listening to the entire song, Sun Jiayi silently pressed the pause button, sat in front of the computer in a daze for a while, and then even skipped the mentor selection segment that she liked the most. She pulled back the progress bar and wanted to listen to it again!

This time, however, she was finally able to spare some time to look at the comments while enjoying the music.

"Wow, the density of comments on this screen... How many people are like me, skipping back to listen to a song again right after finishing it?"

"These lyrics and music really hit me hard. Who exactly is the creator, Wang Xiaozhou? Are there any other songs he's written?"

"Meng Ziyi sang well too. The whole song was sung with a chest-voice sighing style, and she maintained a warm low frequency throughout. It was very distinctive. Her strength and appearance are both top-notch. The first episode of this season of The Voice of China was amazing."

"Calmly busy, so careful when I came, afraid I'd be a light sleeper." These two lines of lyrics really made me cry. I miss my mother so much, but I'll never see her again.

How did she manage to hold back her tears while singing?

"What's most heartbreaking isn't the question, 'Am I doing okay now?' 'I'm okay,' that's even more painful than saying I'm doing well. I often say that to my family; it's so realistic."

"How have you been lately? I'm doing fine, pretty good."

"I cried for a different reason than you guys. The beginning was fine, but when the whistling started, I really couldn't hold back. It was exactly the same whistle my mom used to play to lull me to sleep when I was little."

......

She had calmed down and was trying to listen to the song again by skipping ahead, but the comments from netizens on the screen still made Sun Jiayi burst into tears.

Speaking only of the present, she actually felt more emotional about this song than netizens, because she knew what kind of experiences Meng Ziyi had gone through to sing it. The various stories between the two of them in the past were like a tear gas canister stuck in Sun Jiayi's nose, making it impossible for her not to cry.

My heart aches for Ziyi!

After listening to it again, she still wasn't satisfied, but this time Sun Jiayi didn't dare to skip ahead, afraid that she would cry herself to death in the comments section of the live stream.

In the show, the four mentors started praising each other repeatedly. A-mei didn't give the others a chance and kept trying to recruit people. The other mentors were not to be outdone and made promises whenever they had the chance.

This scene seemed to be helping netizens vent their emotions. No one felt that the mentors were exaggerating. On the contrary, everyone felt that if they could sit in the mentor's position, they would definitely behave even more excessively than A-mei.

Meng Ziyi finally had the opportunity to put her hands together in gratitude to her mentor, introduce herself, and, in response to Wang Feng's question, briefly reveal some of her personal experiences.

"Like many unfortunate children, I lost my parents at a young age."

But I was even luckier than them, as I enjoyed my parents' meticulous care for more than ten years.

I won't go into detail about that; I'm not someone who needs pity, because I've had the best parents in the world.

These words caused another uproar among netizens, with a flood of comments appearing on the screen.

"Holy crap, after watching so many variety shows, this is the first time I've ever seen such a sincere girl. She's not putting on a show of being strong and optimistic; she genuinely doesn't want to talk about her tragic past."

"Talented people are just that capricious; they don't need to tell stories to the audience. Their works will speak for them."

"When Meng Ziyi first appeared, I was a little worried. In the chaotic entertainment industry, having good looks as an trump card might be a death sentence. After listening to her sing a song, I felt that she would become popular. After hearing what she said after the competition, I decided that I must pay attention to her and see how far a girl with this kind of personality can go."

......

After thinking for a long time, Sun Jiayi finally joined the netizens in posting a message in the live chat.

"Only two contestants appeared in the first episode, but I feel like I've already seen the champion."

Next came the highly anticipated contestant segment, where the four mentors each showcased their unique strengths to Meng Ziyi. Yingzi even went on stage, took Meng Ziyi's hand, and told her to make sure she spoke with her feelings in mind when making her decision.

The tense situation was finally broken by Wang Feng's classic question: "What is your dream?"

"My name is Meng Ziyi, I am a senior high school student, and my biggest dream is to get into Beijing Film Academy."

As soon as this sentence was uttered, the number of comments on the screen surged to its peak once again. Everyone was stunned by Meng Ziyi's utterly tactless remarks. But upon closer examination, the sentence also seemed quite arrogant, further solidifying her image as the domineering female lead.

Amidst much anticipation, Meng Ziyi ultimately chose to join Yingzi's team. However, the subsequent performances by other contestants left the audience feeling somewhat uninterested. After all, few contestants who participated in the blind auditions of The Voice of China could match the performances of the first two. After the initial amazement, things inevitably became mundane.

Until a silly comment came from a netizen in the live chat.

"Quickly go check Meng Ziyi's Weibo, but whatever you do, don't read the comments section!"