Chapter 161: The Entire Crowd Is Stunned!

As footsteps drew closer backstage, more and more lights came on across the stage.

Every light was directed toward the same spot.

Then Chen Qi, dressed with unusual formality, appeared before everyone with a smile.

“Damn!”

The six singers waiting backstage all slapped their thighs instinctively when they saw him, their long-suspended hearts dropping at once.

All that nervous anticipation for nothing!

They had thought the first singer was finally coming onstage!

Unlike their reaction, the audience made no obvious stir. More than five hundred people simply sat quietly, watching the stage.

It was awkward. None of them knew Chen Qi.

The production crew were also stunned when they saw him appear onstage. Several cameramen even poked their heads out from behind their cameras, as if they could hardly believe their eyes.

It was not only them. Even the station chief and Deputy Station Chief Wang looked completely baffled.

Why was the director going onstage?

Had the recording really begun?

“Hello, everyone. This is I Am a Singer, exclusively sponsored by Kuku Mobile. Welcome.”

While everyone was still utterly confused, Chen Qi spoke.

“Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap…”

The audience dutifully applauded, though the applause was obviously perfunctory.

Even if he had not said it, they knew Kuku Mobile was the sponsor. They were not blind. The glowing logos on the backdrop were practically dazzling!

As the audience applauded, the two station leaders and the rest of the production crew widened their eyes involuntarily. Their expressions as they stared at Chen Qi were indescribably strange.

What was the meaning of this?

Was he doubling as the host?

Since they could not find a suitable host, had he decided to fill in himself?

After guessing the reason, the station chief could not help laughing aloud.

When you said you would rather cancel the show than use one of the station’s hosts, you sounded awfully arrogant!

Even Deputy Station Chief Wang watched him with helpless amusement.

So this was the solution you were talking about?

Well, from the standpoint of saving money, it certainly offered excellent value.

Onstage, Chen Qi had clearly noticed how halfhearted the applause was, but he did not care. Only after the clapping stopped did he smile faintly and cut straight to the point.

“Please welcome the first singer!”

“Ahem—”

The two station leaders below the stage choked on their breath and nearly coughed themselves to death!

Then they stared at Chen Qi in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.

That was it?

It was over already?

That one sentence was his entire opening?

For a moment, they felt an irresistible urge to curse.

Could this host be any more careless?

The production crew were no exception. A string of ellipses seemed to flash across their foreheads.

They could hardly bear to watch!

This host was simply impossible to look at!

They swore he was the most perfunctory host they had ever seen in their lives.

Even Su Xiaoxiao, Qi Qi, and Zhang Yichi—the three people on his own side—stared blankly at the stage, their expressions equally vacant.

This result…

It really was a little too slapdash!

They truly had never imagined it!

When he had said he would not use a station host, he had been so full of confidence. But now…

Even the more than five hundred audience members below the stage could not help smiling faintly when they heard Chen Qi’s words.

Still, they merely smiled. They said nothing and did not take it to heart.

They had not expected much from this music show in the first place.

They had come purely because Tiantian Music had promised generous gifts and a two-hundred-yuan cash packet. Otherwise, they would never have wasted their time.

As for whether the show itself was any good, they did not really care. If they happened to hear some decent music, they would consider it a bonus. If not, they would lose nothing.

As long as they received the cash, they could even sit there doing nothing for three hours and accept it.

“Bang!”

Just as everyone was finding the situation rather amusing, the stage lights suddenly went dark again.

Standing in the darkness, Chen Qi quietly exhaled and waited for the music to begin.

He had not bothered to explain the rules of the show.

They were very simple: compete, vote, eliminate.

There were no complicated gimmicks. The audience would understand everything just by watching. When it was time to ask for votes after the performance, he could mention the rules in passing.

The audience had come to hear the singers perform, not to listen to him ramble. He only needed to give the sponsor its due and warm up the atmosphere between the singers. Otherwise, he had planned to use a voice-over…

Backstage.

When the stage lights went dark again, the six singers—still astonished by Chen Qi’s haphazard opening—straightened up once more, no longer able to spare attention for anything else.

The identities of the other six singers had thoroughly whetted their appetites.

…

In the audience, the spectators—who knew only that this was a music program—stared intently at the stage, their anticipation mingled with curiosity.

Hidden in the darkness, Chen Qi turned to glance at the band and musicians beneath the spotlights behind him.

Then he quietly signaled through his earpiece for them to begin.

The distance was short enough that, even with all the stage lights extinguished, the band members could still see him.

They were momentarily stunned when they received his instruction, but they did not think too much of it and quickly began to play.

Chen Qi stood quietly where he was.

He was excited now, almost impatient to see the expressions on everyone’s faces when they realized that he, too, was one of the singers.

To create this enormous surprise, he had not even attended the rehearsal. He had merely handed the band the score for this new song in advance so they could practice it more.

Even the musicians behind him had no idea he would be performing.

Soon, the music began.

“Hm?”

When the singers backstage heard the introduction played by the live band and musicians, nearly all of them frowned instinctively.

This music…

It sounded unfamiliar.

The audience, however, did not react very strongly. To be polite, they swayed gently along with the music.

After all, they had been paid. Still, they had to admit—the introduction had a rather compelling feel to it!

“War smoke rises!”

“Searching for love, like waves sifting sand!”

A sonorous voice suddenly rang out across the stage!

“Bang!”

At almost the exact moment the singing began, the stage lights blazed to life.

Chen Qi, fully absorbed in his performance, appeared abruptly before everyone’s eyes.

“Holy shit!”

“Holy shit!”

The instant the lights came on, exclamations that could never be broadcast erupted throughout the backstage lounge.

All six singers stared wide-eyed in sheer horror!

Two of them even sprang up from the sofas on reflex.

They stared at Chen Qi on the screen, shocked and unable to believe their eyes, their minds going completely blank.

What the hell was going on?

…

Backstage.

The moment the stage lights came on, the previously bustling backstage suddenly fell silent.

The entire production crew, whose attention had been focused on the stage, opened their mouths in collective shock as if they had just suffered a tremendous fright!

The cameramen poked their heads out from behind their cameras for the second time.

The band members’ fingers even began to tremble, nearly affecting their performance!

They stared in astonishment and horror at Chen Qi, now singing earnestly in his new role as a contestant. Their expressions were nothing short of spectacular.

This…

Had I missed some crucial meeting?

At that moment, nearly every staff member had the same thought flash uncontrollably through their mind.

…

In the audience.

The station chief also froze for a moment upon seeing Chen Qi, his expression tinged with surprise.

Deputy Station Chief Wang, who knew considerably more about Chen Qi and the program, was nowhere near as composed.

When she saw Chen Qi appear onstage, she too widened her eyes in disbelief, her face filled with astonishment.

She had truly been frightened.

She had never imagined that Chen Qi, who already held several positions on the show, also had the identity of a contestant.

Not far away, Su Xiaoxiao—completely unprepared—had already turned toward the stage in disbelief the instant she heard the first lyric.

Then she saw Chen Qi beneath the lights.

And then she was stunned.

Qi Qi and Zhang Yichi were just as frozen.

They stared at their boss singing onstage in utter disbelief, their mouths wide enough to hold two eggs.

They knew their boss could sing, but…

They were dumbfounded!

At that instant, everyone who knew Chen Qi was completely stunned.

As if they had been struck motionless, they simply stared at him onstage, their expressions growing more shocked by the second.

Many of the backstage staff and the band members onstage were practically completing their tasks on instinct.

Not in their wildest dreams had they imagined that the director would appear onstage as a contestant.

It was terrifying!

Truly terrifying!

There had not been even the slightest warning!

They were utterly dumbstruck!

Only those who had experienced that moment firsthand could understand just how enormous a shock it had delivered.

“Holy shit!”

After finally coming back to their senses, they all cursed in astonishment and sucked in a sharp breath.

This director…

He was absolutely insane!

He had even set up his own people?

Unbelievable!

Simply unbelievable!

“Whoa—”

At that moment, a wave of cheers suddenly rose from the audience.

Unlike those who knew Chen Qi, the spectators had been almost completely captivated by the fiery song.

Delight appeared on every face.

They had no idea who this young man onstage was, but the song—one they had never heard before—had an irresistible energy.

More importantly, the immersive, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree surround effect made the music extraordinarily enjoyable.

At the rear of the stage, a young man who had been leaning back in his chair with his arms folded and sleeping soundly suddenly opened his eyes in surprise.

After carefully taking in the singing reaching his ears, he straightened up involuntarily and, for the first time, turned his attention toward the stage he had not even bothered to look at before.

His expression grew faintly solemn.