During the mentor evaluation segment, several mentors, likely considering the status of Shen Jiajia and Xu Tang, still held back somewhat in their words. They praised the arrangement and said Yu Lun’s performance was about the same as before.
Yu Lun’s smile was a bit stiff, but he still tried hard to maintain a modest attitude. In his view, the version he wanted to sing was more explosive than the one Xu Tang had arranged for him, and the effect should have been better. But he did not expect the result to turn out somewhat different from what he imagined.
After the other mentors finished their comments, it was Xu Tang and Shen Jiajia’s turn to speak.
Xu Tang kept smiling and nodded. “Mm, I don’t have anything to say.”
On matters of music, he was unwilling to be overly polite. Good is good, bad is bad. This was his respect toward music, just as Zong Xuan respected every actor with real acting ability—good performance is good, bad performance is bad. There was no need to make things ugly in person, but there was also no need for fake praise.
In Xu Tang’s view, this was not only due to Yu Lun’s arrogance, but also because he did not deeply study music itself. He only relied on his good voice and thought that was everything. At the same time, it was also disrespect toward him as a musician. Since the other party did not respect him, he also did not need to respect the other party.
Xu Tang said that sentence with a smile, which sounded normal enough, so Zheng Ji simply nodded with a smile and said to Shen Jiajia, “Teacher Shen Jiajia, please give your comments to your student.”
Shen Jiajia smiled and said lightly, “Young people have ideas, not bad.”
To the audience, this sounded like approval of Yu Lun’s performance. But everyone in the industry—mentors and the host included—were all sharp-minded. Some even had a good relationship with Shen Jiajia.
Shen Jiajia usually spoke in an encouraging way. When there were shortcomings, she would point them out; when there were strengths, she would emphasize praise. Because of this, she was known among viewers as a “pep-talk mentor.” But today, she only gave a vague evaluation without pointing out pros or cons, which was not her usual style. So the mentors present also sensed something unusual and began to make guesses in their minds.
In the end, when the voting results came out, as expected, Hao Xin entered the finals, while Yu Lun ranked eighth and was eliminated.
This episode’s live broadcast ended there. The audience left in an orderly manner, and the mentors also returned backstage to prepare to leave.
As soon as they entered the lounge, Shen Jiajia kicked the door shut and said angrily, “What the hell does he mean?! He messed around on his own and sang randomly, fine, but why drag me into this?!”
Her agent hurriedly poured her water and told her to calm down and keep her voice down, saying it would be bad if someone heard. Her assistant also very tactfully went out to stand guard, trying to prevent people from approaching the room.
“Jiajia, calm down a bit,” Xu Tang followed her into her lounge. They would leave together after the program arranged everything.
Shen Jiajia gulped down several mouthfuls of water, but the anger in her heart could not go away. “With the way he sang today, people are going to question my ability to coach. Yes, people in this industry are like this too, but he’s only stepped one foot in and already dares to ruin me? What is he even worth?!”
When a student performs poorly, many viewers assume the mentor lacks ability or arranged things poorly, and almost no one thinks the student acted on their own. So today’s failure had to be carried by both Shen Jiajia and Xu Tang.
Xu Tang was actually not very happy either, but if both he and Shen Jiajia got angry, the situation would definitely spiral out of control, and if it got filmed, it would be ugly.
“Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. Anyway, he’s already eliminated, and you won’t see him again. Why bother?” Shen Jiajia’s agent advised. “Besides, Hao Xin’s performance today already helped you earn back face. No need to be angry over someone unreasonable.”
“I just feel it’s unfair to Xu Tang. He clearly put more effort into the arrangement, and he still pulled this stunt. I’ve really seen it all,” Shen Jiajia said, still furious.
The agent could only continue persuading her.
Xu Tang smiled and said, “Sister Jiajia, realizing someone’s true nature early is better than realizing it late.”
These words made Shen Jiajia calm down a little. After thinking it over, she nodded. “You’re right. Let’s have a late-night snack together later. You’ve worked hard too.”
“Given Yu Lun’s situation, there’ll probably be a lot of reporters wanting to interview you. You should go back and rest early. We can meet another time when you’re free.”
Shen Jiajia thought about it and agreed.
About fifteen minutes later, the program team came to inform them they could leave.
The two of them got into their separate cars and went home.
Originally, the matter should have ended there—but unexpectedly, Yu Lun did not let it rest.
That same night at around 11 p.m., Yu Lun posted a Weibo:
【Thank you all for your concern. I am fine, don’t worry about me. Through this competition, I learned a lot. I also understood that my style is not accepted and appreciated by everyone, especially younger mentors. Perhaps because they are also young, their personalities are stronger, and they are less considerate of others. However, regardless, I sang the song according to my own heart and method. Even though I was eliminated for not following arrangements, I have no regrets, because I am myself and only make my own music.】
Yu Lun was currently very popular, and his fanbase was also at its most enthusiastic stage. As soon as this post appeared, it immediately exploded.
“What does this mean? Was Yu Lun blackboxed?”
“Poor Yu Lun, what happened exactly? I thought you did well today, it’s such a pity you were eliminated.”
“Does ‘younger mentor’ mean Xu Tang?”
“Probably Xu Tang, he’s the youngest there.”
“So Yu Lun was eliminated because he didn’t follow Xu Tang’s arrangement and got blackboxed?! Is that it?!”
“Probably, otherwise he would’ve had a chance to win.”
“The show is actually doing shady stuff? That’s disgusting!”
“Yu Lun, keep doing your own music, we support you.”
“Xu Tang is just jealous of Yu Lun, right? Yu Lun is younger than him, maybe Xu Tang will be washed away soon, so he couldn’t let Yu Lun win!”
“I agree!”
…
When Xu Tang found out, it was already the next morning. The topic #Yu Lun blackboxed elimination# had already been trending for the whole night.
Yu Lun never named anyone directly, but fans had already unanimously concluded that Xu Tang was responsible for his elimination.
The “Tang fans,” who had already been unable to unite against previous drama, finally found a common enemy this time and immediately mobilized.
“Yu fans, stop overpraising Yu Lun. Jealous of him? What does he even have that Xu Tang would be jealous of?!”
“Xu Tang is a recognized young music king. That Yu guy is just barely stepping into the industry. What is there to be jealous of? Are you guys crazy?”
“I think Yu Lun just can’t accept being eliminated and is venting on the weakest target, Xu Tang. Did you even hear what he sang yesterday? It was terrible!”
“That ancient-style song was ruined completely. He turned it into screaming high notes with no emotion at all.”
“I think Xu Tang’s arrangement was actually really good. The intro and instrumentation were very thoughtful, but it got ruined by Yu Lun’s so-called ‘personality.’”
“Trash Yu Lun, messes it up and then cries blackbox. Do you think the audience is stupid?”
…
“Are Tang fans here to stir trouble? Don’t think just because Xu Tang is more popular you can slander Yu Lun!”
“He still needs you to slander him? Go check your IQ first.”
“I actually like Yu Lun, but I also think he messed up this time. The arrangement was solid; his singing style just didn’t fit.”
“If you’re not a fan then shut up, you don’t understand anything. His signature is high notes!”
“Yu Lun fans are funny. Anyone telling the truth is a fake fan?”
…
Xu Tang skimmed through the online discussions. Most people tended to sympathize with the weaker party. For non-professionals, they mostly just saw the excitement, thinking Yu Lun sang passionately with impressive high notes, but they did not perceive how monotonous and exhausting it actually was.
Many platforms also commented on the matter, mostly leaning toward Yu Lun.
And now Xu Tang was being labeled as someone jealous of newcomers, a label that would not be easy to remove.
When Kang Duo found out, it was already a bit late. “The other side clearly prepared in advance. If he entered the top eight, they would praise him as expected, highlight that he sang according to his own style, and emphasize his talent. If he lost, they would shift the blame to you, since you were the guest mentor who joined halfway. Shen Jiajia had coached for so many episodes without issues, but the moment you joined, the student got eliminated—it’s the easiest way to blame you.”
“Mm, I know,” Xu Tang said, closing his laptop. He had nothing to respond to. For someone like Yu Lun, he did not even consider arguing.
“The program team is actually backing off now. When I contacted them, they only said they are still in meetings,” Kang Duo said angrily. She had tried to get an official clarification, but the production team gave no clear answer.
“It’s fine. They want to use this for hype. This kind of thing happens a lot in this industry,” Xu Tang said with a cold smile.
“I thought this was a mature production team. I didn’t expect them to play these kinds of games,” Kang Duo said loudly over the phone.
Xu Tang smiled. “Didn’t Shen Jiajia stay silent too?”
“She’s just protecting herself. No backbone,” Kang Duo said, furious.
“Self-preservation,” Xu Tang leaned back on the sofa. He did not bother to comment further. Everyone now thought Yu Lun’s elimination was Xu Tang’s doing. Shen Jiajia’s silence helped her stay out of trouble, and no one would say “Yu Lun sang badly because of the mentor.” Everyone just assumed he lost because he disobeyed instructions. She naturally did not want to step into this mess.
“So what are you going to do now?” Kang Duo asked.
“Let them stir for a few days. You still have the evidence, right? No rush. Wait until after my fan meeting,” Xu Tang said with a faint smile. He was not some naive fool. If others came for him, he would not just take it. He just needed the right timing.
Kang Duo exhaled. Since she had backup evidence, she did not rush to attack either. Sometimes waiting until people fully take sides produces better results. Kindness is for those who deserve it; for fake kindness, you just need to slap them hard enough that they remember.
At the same time Kang Duo was on the phone with Xu Tang, Wen Hui also called Zong Xuan.
“Aren’t you going to make a statement?” Wen Hui asked.
She had watched the live broadcast the day before, so she already knew why Kang Duo had called earlier. She had immediately contacted Zong Xuan to smoothly handle the phone interaction.
Zong Xuan held a cigarette between his lips, eyes slightly narrowed. “Let him come beg me. If he begs me, I’ll help him shut them down. I can even push Yu Lun out of the industry.”
Wen Hui was speechless. She thought: Is your brain broken?! Why would he come beg you?! Isn’t that what you, as his man, are supposed to do?!