Volume 1, Chapter 168: Every Corner Reeks of Gunpowder

If it were merely a simple contestant selection, it wouldn't matter much—you lose, you exit, and that's the end of it.

However, incorporating mentors into the competition—introducing team retentions, resurrection chances, and final recommendation tickets—changed everything.

After all, what was more entertaining than the drama between contestants? The drama between mentors, of course.

Hearing Jiang Yu's words, Liu Ming offered an awkward smile, not expecting this young man to have such a sharp mind.

As expected, anyone who could make a name for themselves in the entertainment industry had some tricks up their sleeve.

"Teacher Jiang, you can't put it that way. We formulated these rules for everyone's benefit. Your popularity brings high ratings to the show, and with high ratings, won't your own exposure increase as well?"

As he spoke, Liu Ming's expression grew more and more excited.

Jiang Yu let out a cold laugh. "However, I don't really need that kind of exposure."

Hearing this, Liu Ming's expression quickly darkened. "Teacher Jiang, you've already signed a contract with us. If you decide to withdraw now, you'll have to pay a hefty penalty for breach of contract."

Driven to anger by embarrassment?

Jiang Yu looked at Liu Ming with a playful gaze.

Fine. Previously, his opponents were all brainless fools. Now that there were a few high-tier players involved, playing the game would be much more entertaining.

"I understand. I will follow the rules."

"As long as Teacher Jiang agrees, please go and rest for a bit. Recording officially starts at 5:30 PM, and a staff member will come to pick you up then."

......

In the reserved hotel room.

Wu Kenan looked indignant. "What kind of creatures are those people? Sticking their necks out like white geese looking down at people! Back in my hometown, if a white goose dared to look at me like that, I'd throw it straight into the iron pot!"

Wu Kenan hailed from Fengxian, and his nature was straightforward. He couldn't stand such behavior. Previously, under Li Gang's suppression, he had no choice but to rein in his emotions. But now, by Jiang Yu's side, he had no such worries, and his true personality was gradually being unleashed.

"And that director, what kind of attitude was that! Making mentors tear into each other—what kind of trashy show is this?"

Jiang Yu couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, why are you getting so worked up? The Voice has been running for four seasons; didn't you already know what kind of attitude they have?"

"Let me tell you another piece of news: while they claim the mentors are going to tear into each other, in reality, it's those four teaming up to tear into me alone."

"Ah?"

"I'm notoriously bad-tempered in the industry, and Na Ying and the others have always been hot-tempered. Bringing me here is just to manufacture talking points for them; they want to watch us fight. My traffic is so high lately, of course he's going to make full use of it."

"If I had known it would be like this, Aunt Ling would never have let you take part in this show."

"We came this time to bring Guo Qiang and the others along, and besides..."

Jiang Yu left one reason unstated.

After finishing this season of the show, after taxes and revenue splits, he would make at least five million.

"But..." Wu Kenan was still worried.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. In front of the cameras, they wouldn't dare go too far with me." Jiang Yu patted the other man's shoulder with a smile.

Yet, he had still thought too kindly of people.

At 5:30 PM.

The recording of the show officially began.

"Welcome to the fourth season of The Voice of China. This program is sponsored by Wanglaokun, Amsi..."

After reading the commercial reads, the introduction of the mentors commenced.

Na Ying, Yang Kun, Gao Song, and the Headline King walked up one by one, taking their seats at the mentor chairs.

There was an audience present for a preview screening.

When the first few mentors took the stage, the audience's reaction was not particularly enthusiastic.

It wasn't until the final mentor, Jiang Yu, stepped onto the stage.

Enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted, forming a sharp contrast with the reception of the previous mentors.

Jiang Yu wore a smile and waved to the audience.

The cheers grew even louder.

Seeing such a stark difference in the live reactions, the expressions of the preceding mentors instantly turned sour.

Once all the mentors were seated, the host moved on to the next segment. The large screen behind them suddenly displayed interviews with the mentors.

Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes. This was the mentor interview segment, yet no staff member had ever interviewed him.

The production team was stirring up trouble.

On the large screen, Na Ying, Gao Song, the Headline King, and Yang Kun appeared in succession.

And the staff's question was singular.

"Teachers, with a new mentor joining us this season, as mentors of The Voice, what are your thoughts on Jiang Yu?"

Yang Kun: "Music? Does he even have music? Do you consider that to be music? Those songs are truly of extremely poor quality. I feel like they have dragged our music scene back by a decade. These shouldn't be songs sung by a young person."

Wang Feng: "I don't wish to comment. What kind of people listen to his songs? I think I don't need to spell that out."

Na Ying: "Indeed, his songs currently have the highest sales; very few people in the entire industry can outsell him. But we can't just look at sales. His songs truly lack aesthetic value on stage and are devoid of musicality."

Gao Song: "Anyway, I don't like his songs. I find them a bit tacky—they're all bubblegum pop without a shred of substance. If it weren't for grabbing eyeballs through quarrels, you wouldn't have reached this level today."

The audience in the hall gasped in uproar.

They never expected these people to speak of Jiang Yu in such a manner.

Backstage, Liu Bin watched the video, a surge of stifled rage rushing straight to his chest. "Damn it, what are these old fogies playing at? What right do they have to judge Brother Yu? Brother Yu is a ten-thousand times better than them!"

Guo Qiang was equally furious. He knew that Jiang Yu taking on this show was partly to make money, but also to guide them and give them a platform. How could they let Brother Yu suffer such grievances? "Binzi, if worst comes to worst, we won't do this show. Let's pull Brother Yu out and go home."

Liu Bin nodded and stood up.

Wei Hualing blocked their path. "Don't act on impulse. Brother Yu isn't the type to swallow insults quietly when he's hit. If you drag him down now, you'll only be harming him. Trust Brother Yu; just endure these few hours. If Brother Yu comes down and says he won't record anymore, we'll go back with him."

Hearing this, the two men calmed down and turned their gaze back to the stage.

Meanwhile, everyone in the studio had also fixed their gaze on Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu's eyes carried a hint of coldness as he swept a glance across the other mentors.

Yet, they showed no reaction whatsoever, acting as though the people who had appeared in the video moments ago were not them at all.

At this point, the host began to stir the pot.

"Teacher Jiang, how do you view the evaluations and opinions of the other teachers regarding you?"

This question was quite explosive.

Although the audience was furious, they were still eager to hear the answer, and the venue fell completely silent.

All the cameras turned toward Jiang Yu.

The corners of Jiang Yu's lips curved slightly upward. He was here to make money, and while enduring a moderate amount of grievance was fine, it didn't mean he wouldn't fight back!

"Songs are written for people to listen to. If they sound good, people praise them a couple of times; if they sound bad, people curse them a couple of times."

"Everyone has different aesthetics. Fortunately, I've released quite a few works since my debut, and my styles aren't too singular, so the scoldings are spread out a bit. If I were like the esteemed teachers here, having debuted for so many years yet still having the scoldings concentrated on me like that, I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Teachers, am I right or wrong?"

"Whoo-hoo-hoo!"

Hearing Jiang Yu's words, the audience in the hall directly erupted into enthusiastic cheers.

As expected, this was their Brother Yu. He was essentially pointing out that their bodies of work were too sparse. His critique hit the mark with absolute precision!

Upon hearing this, the expressions of Na Ying and the others darkened instantly, becoming incomparably unsightly.

Jiang Yu's counterattack had struck right at their sore spot.

"No matter the industry, nothing can be accomplished without rules. Especially in this circle, I still hope juniors can observe some rules; otherwise, they are going to suffer." Na Ying gritted her teeth and spat out those words.

Jiang Yu glanced at her.

"Old seniors should have the magnanimity of old seniors. Suppressing juniors deliberately out of jealousy when they surpass you—that's not called keeping rules; that's called lacking virtue in old age!"

The atmosphere in the recording studio was instantly ignited with gunpowder.