“What’s going on? Why is Shao Zhong’s performance not as good as before?”

  “The music is not warm or healing at all. What is he doing?”

  Everyone was discussing his performance below. Their voices weren’t out of control, but they were filled with disappointment.

  Conan, who was sitting in the front row and was scheduled to perform toward the end, smiled, and his tense body relaxed.

  The people who had come to the competition were all very impressive, but Conan only had his eyes on Xiao Wu, as he was the opponent he valued the most. Normally, a theme like healing and warmth should be Xiao Wu’s specialty. He had been nervous, but as it had turned out, Xiao Wu wasn’t all that.

  He might have overestimated him.

  During the rest of the performance, Conan watched in a relaxed state. When it was almost his turn, he went backstage to prepare. As soon as he started performing, the tired spectators perked up.

  Conan didn’t stay close to the theme. He presented a song full of fighting spirit, which suited his style. He grabbed people’s ears in a moment. The music was very aggressive, making it difficult for them not to notice it. It made the audience’s hot blood course through their veins.

  Conan had chosen a different approach. He had been afraid that he wouldn’t be able to beat Xiao Wu at what Xiao Wu was good at, so he had chosen what he himself was best at. The result proved to be good. The response he received was different from the one the audience had to Xiao Wu, who had received enthusiastic applause when he had gone up the stage and sparse applause when he had gotten off.

  In Conan’s case, when he went on stage, the applause wasn’t considered enthusiastic, but when he got off the stage, the applause was resounding. Even the judges applauded.

  Conan left the stage with a face full of arrogance and confidence, certain that he was going to win this time. The attitude of the audience and the judges proved this. He was even more impressive than Xiao Wu!

  Conan saw Xiao Wu backstage. Perhaps because Xiao Wu had yet to realize this was a crisis, his expression was no different from before.

  “I’m going to win this time,” Conan said bluntly.

  Xiao Wu only replied, “Let’s wait for the results. However, you’re really impressive. Your music was nice. I wish you all the best.”

  \r \r \r

  Those who deserved praise had to be praised. Xiao Wu gestured at him with his fist and left.

  Conan thought that Xiao Wu was unconvinced. Fortunately, a translator told him what Xiao Wu had said. Only then was Conan satisfied. “At least you have good taste. I’ll definitely be the one to win the Best Movie Score Award next time.”

  After the performance, Conan relaxed. Now it was all up to the judges. He trusted the judges’ taste.

  Xiao Wu also relaxed. He hadn’t rested well previously. After the performance, he went back to the hotel and slept soundly.

  Mu Jingzhe and Ji Buwang did the same. Their hearts were full as they slept happily in the hotel, but they didn’t know that there was going to be a commotion outside soon.

  The entire process was broadcast live on the radio station. The television station quickly broadcasted it as well. Everyone had been waiting for Xiao Wu to do well and win the competition, thus bringing glory to their country. But now that they had seen his performance, they were disappointed. That was it?

  Regardless of whether they knew much about music or not, they could judge with their instinctive feelings. Their hope had turned into disappointment.

  Jiang Feng had even heard the music live. To be honest, he was very disappointed. If he hadn’t been worried about making Xiao Wu feel pressured, he would have gone to look for him long ago. However, he still called Shao Qihai consecutively and asked him to come to Ocean City to see what was wrong with Xiao Wu.

  After the competition was broadcast on television, the newspapers reported about it. Everyone was outraged as they kept discussing Xiao Wu’s performance.

  “I just feel that his music fits the theme the least. It’s not even as good as his work was a long time ago. At the time, I could still hear smiles in his songs, but this time…”

  “Maybe it’s because he had limited time.”

  “Previously, it was said that he was a genius and that it wouldn’t take him long to compose a piece of music. Now, it looks like it’s not true, doesn’t it?”

  “Maybe our expectations were too high. After all, he’s a child, so he doesn’t understand much about complicated feelings.”

  The newspaper commented specifically on Xiao Wu’s performance. In order to prevent Xiao Wu from becoming the next ‘Shang Zhongyong’, everyone should be more rational. The overall meaning was that they shouldn’t flatter Xiao Wu too much in the future. Otherwise, he might become arrogant at a really young age and end up becoming an ordinary person.

  When the newspaper article was published, many people felt that it made sense. Some people were angry, while others were disappointed. They felt that Xiao Wu had disgraced everyone.

  The public vote had also changed. They had agreed to vote for Xiao Wu, but Xiao Wu had disappointed them, so no one was willing to vote for him now. Instead, they felt that it was their place to encourage, advise, and warn him.

  Many a time, people acted like this. If a person performed very well all the time, everyone would be particularly disappointed if they didn’t perform well every once in a while. But if a person’s performance was always very poor, everyone would be amazed if they suddenly performed well just once.

  Xiao Wu had performed too well previously. Now that he had suddenly performed like this, everyone had lost control of their emotions. The main reason for this was that everyone wanted him to become stronger for the world to see so they could also show their excellence.

  Since they couldn’t do it themselves, they had placed their hopes on the person who could do it. The greater one’s hopes were, the greater their disappointment would be.

  When Mu Jingzhe finished resting and heard what was going on, she lost her composure and scratched her head. “I thought the results were not announced yet? Why are they scolding him?”

  The reason was naturally because everyone felt that there was no hope of winning the award.

  Mu Jingzhe felt helpless when she heard everyone’s comments. She could only feel glad that the Internet had yet to become prevalent. Otherwise, in the modern era, Xiao Wu would probably have faced endless criticism.

  Now, everyone’s voices couldn’t reach them. They could just pretend not to hear.

  “We’ll talk about it when the results are out. Rest well for two days and don’t go out too much.” That way, Xiao Wu wouldn’t hear those comments and feel sad.

  However, although Xiao Wu understood Mu Jingzhe’s good intentions, he still insisted on going out. “Mommy, we all have to be criticized eventually. Like you’ve always told me and Sister, we’re not money. It’s impossible for everyone to like us. We have to face dislike and criticism. I was already prepared before making this choice. Since that’s the case, let’s just listen to everyone. I have to face criticism early and learn to be strong.”

  Before the results were announced, Xiao Wu went out to face the criticism of others. Not only did he have to face the gazes of his competitors, but he also had to listen to everyone’s criticism at the door.

  Xiao Wu was very calm the entire time. He only jumped into Mu Jingzhe’s arms when they returned to the hotel.

  “Mommy, I’m still too young. I still can’t face this. That’s as much as I can bear. I don’t want to hear any more for now.”

  “I was wondering why you were so calm. So you were pretending.”

  “Mommy, was it really that bad?” Xiao Wu started doubting himself.

  “No, you don’t have to think too much about it. Just do your best.”

  Amidst everyone’s disappointment, it was soon time to announce the results of the preliminary round. The top ten contestants in the preliminary round could enter the next and final stage.

  The final ranking of the competition was mainly determined by the final round. However, even though this was only the ranking of the preliminary round, it was still important. They’d even specifically created medals for this.

  Although winning a medal couldn’t compare to the real trophy at the finals, it was still not bad.

  The most exciting moment had arrived, but everyone was uninterested, as they had guessed that Xiao Wu probably wouldn’t even enter the final. Not only would Xiao Wu not be able to enter, but if they were unlucky, all the contestants from China would probably be completely wiped out.