The Overbearing CEO Is Driven Mad by His Frail Canary 14

Chapter 14

The connection was finally established. Old Man Feng was just about to reprimand the person on the other end for chasing fame and fortune when Xia Wansheng spoke first:

“Old Man Feng! I’ve always been your fan, and today I finally have the honor of speaking with you! You not only reached the pinnacle of the music world with your exceptional talent but also contributed to the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture, truly admirable!” Xia Wansheng sincerely recited the pre-written script.

Toasts in the business world were far more complicated than this.

Old Man Feng, who had been prepared to unleash a torrent of criticism, suddenly deflated, but he maintained a stern expression.

He unceremoniously scanned Xia Wansheng’s face.

The aura between his brows wasn’t bad, he seemed composed.

“Let’s see, sing something for me.” Old Man Feng waved his hand.

Looks were useless without talent.

The number of viewers in the livestream surged, reaching millions in an instant.

Everyone was waiting to see Xia Wansheng make a fool of himself, anticipating the enraged Old Man Feng scolding him relentlessly, making him never dare to step foot in the entertainment industry again.

Xia Wansheng himself wasn’t flustered at all. He genuinely had no skills, so he could only rely on feeling. He chose a relatively obscure opera excerpt he had heard before.

After his performance, Xia Wansheng noticed Old Man Feng on the other end was motionless, thinking his internet connection was lagging. He tentatively asked: “Can you still hear me?”

“…”

He could hear, but he wished he couldn’t.

Old Man Feng wondered for the first time if he was getting senile, or if the high-tech software on the other end could achieve such flawless imitation?!

He was known for his impeccable memory, able to judge a person’s musical talent just by listening to them sing.

He had even exposed several fake singers using voice changers in his livestreams, earning him the title of “Voice Warrior.”

Was this person deliberately messing with him? With such talent, how could his family not have noticed?

Old Man Feng waved his hand calmly, indicating he was listening.

“That was average, try something else.” This ignited Old Man Feng’s fighting spirit. He perked up his ears, determined to find traces of technological manipulation.

But the more he listened, the more shocked he became.

The netizens in the livestream had originally come to watch a joke, but the more they listened, the more they felt it was actually quite good, even starting to doubt their own ears:

“Um… why do I think it sounds pretty good? I’ve listened to many songs by other singers, as a semi-professional, I’m confused.”

“I think so too. Although it feels different from the studio versions, it’s still quite good.”

“We’re all amateurs, we can’t understand as thoroughly as the professor. There have been talented amateurs in the livestream before, but it turned out they had professional training!”

“That makes sense, let’s see what Old Man Feng says.”

Everyone started spamming the comments, hoping Old Man Feng would declare Xia Wansheng talentless.

Old Man Feng pondered for a long time, his expression shifting from anger to disapproval, then from shock to silence.

“Have you really never had any vocal training?”

After a long silence, he finally asked.

The young man on the other end clearly hadn’t received any professional training, he didn’t even seem to know how to protect his voice, yet he still possessed such an excellent tone and perfect pitch.

This was a hidden gem!

After all these years, at his age, he had actually encountered such talent. This was a gift from the heavens, and he had been rejecting it all along!

What a waste!

“…Really, never.” Xia Wansheng said, trying to remain calm.

He wondered if his singing was so terrible that the master suspected he had been misled before.

Hearing this answer, Old Man Feng was ecstatic, certain he had found a treasure. But he maintained his composure, coughed, and waved his hand dismissively: “You can go now, I have a few other candidates, I’ll give you an answer tomorrow.”

Old Man Feng ended the connection, overjoyed. As the old saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

He quickly stood up, preparing to tell his granddaughter in the living room that he had “reluctantly” decided to accept this talented young man!

His granddaughter was tuning her guzheng. Seeing her grandfather approaching, she assumed he had scolded Xia Wansheng and quickly went to appease him.

“Grandpa, don’t be angry. I’ll accompany you to the park again tomorrow morning, we’ll definitely find a suitable last disciple.” She comforted him.

She sighed inwardly.

It wasn’t easy to snatch a genius halfway. They all had their own teachers. Any child with talent would have started learning from a young age.

They couldn’t really expect a hidden gem to fall from the sky, could they?

“I don’t want to go to those places anymore,” Old Man Feng couldn’t bring himself to say it directly, so he hinted, “What do you think of that young man’s talent?”

“I’ve only heard of him before, I didn’t force you to take him as your disciple.”

“If you don’t want to accept him, we can keep looking. There’s no need to be angry. I’ll delete his contact information right now!” To show her loyalty and end the topic, his granddaughter reached for her phone, ready to delete Xia Wansheng’s contact.

Sorry, celebrity dude, I don’t want to be nagged for a month.

“Wait!” Old Man Feng exclaimed anxiously.

This was such a rare talent, if he disappeared into the vast sea of people, where would he find him again?

“Why would you delete his contact? That young man has some skills, I think he’s promising.” Old Man Feng tried to hide his admiration.

Hearing this, his granddaughter finally understood.

Her grandfather didn’t dislike Xia Wansheng, on the contrary, he admired his talent and wanted to take him as a disciple!

“Have you really decided?” His granddaughter couldn’t hide her excitement.

Finally, her grandfather wouldn’t have to worry and lament about not finding a good successor.

“Okay! It’s rare for you to find someone you like. I’ll contact him first thing tomorrow morning, lest this talent be snatched away by someone else.”

This was the first time her grandfather had used the term “promising.” When Old Man Shao brought his junior over seeking guidance before, he was directly scolded by Old Man Feng.

“Go now, don’t wait until tomorrow!”

Old Man Feng was afraid the talent he had his eye on would be taken by someone else. If this duck flew away, he wouldn’t be able to hold his head up in front of his old friends.

He had already planned to brag to his old buddies after successfully training Xia Wansheng.

Those old friends would constantly boast about how talented and quick-witted their new disciples were.

Now it was finally his turn to show off!

The comments section, originally filled with mockery of Xia Wansheng’s last-minute efforts, gradually shifted. The netizens who watched the livestream found they couldn’t criticize him anymore. They felt like they had witnessed true talent.

“If I could sing like that in the shower, my entire village would pool money to send me to music school.”

“I thought he was truly unskilled, but now you’re telling me he was just being humble?”

Some netizens who didn’t watch the livestream naturally didn’t believe it: “How much did he pay for this whitewashing?”

Then, skeptical, they clicked on the livestream recording, carefully listening several times, rewinding and fast-forwarding.

“…” He was so pretentious.

He was totally showing off!

Didn’t he say he was looking for a teacher for beginners? Did Xia Wansheng misunderstand the concept of “beginner”?!

And perfect pitch?

Dude, you don’t seriously think that talent is just a click away, do you?

“Grandpa was actually very happy with the connection, don’t listen to him saying he’ll give you an answer later, he’s just being modest.” Feng Yue explained.

“As for the previous rumors, don’t worry. Grandpa said someone this talented couldn’t possibly need a ghostwriter for those mediocre songs.”

It must have been deliberate manipulation by investors, trying to smear Xia Wansheng because he refused to go along with them.

Countless misunderstandings and injustices, how did Xia Wansheng endure all these years?!

“Actually, they’re not wrong…”

Xia Wansheng wanted to explain, after all, the original owner genuinely couldn’t write songs. It wasn’t a rumor, it was the truth.

But before he could finish, Old Man Feng quickly interrupted with a pained expression: “Child, I know you’ve been wronged these past few years.”

With such talent, an ordinary person would have already made a fortune, but Xia Wansheng endured and hid his abilities, pretending to be just a pretty face. There must be a hidden story.

Old Man Feng looked like he understood his pain.

He had heard of newcomers being tricked into signing exorbitant contracts, with agencies exploiting them until they were worthless.

“Let them see what true talent looks like!”

Xia Wansheng: “…”

Why did things suddenly get so intense?!

While Xia Wansheng was discussing his learning schedule, a message popped up from his agent.

“Latest news, the director team is planning to change the format of the program this season.”

At guest Shao Huan’s insistence, it was changed from pre-recorded to a full livestream.

“!!!”

A full livestream, a term synonymous with unexpected events and social death.

Xia Wansheng looked at the pile of discarded manuscripts and dark history left by the original owner in the corner, feeling a sense of dread.

If he was exposed, his white moonlight persona would crumble in an instant.

Xia Wansheng could only resign himself to his fate, starting a small bonfire in the CEO’s backyard, watching the flames gradually consume the sheet music in his hands, one by one.

Progress 1/50… Progress 32/50…

Xia Wansheng comforted himself, every piece of manuscript thrown into the fire was another layer of insurance for the five million prize money.

Yu Congyan happened to walk to the window overlooking the backyard and saw this scene.

Xia Wansheng sat across from the flickering flames, his figure thin and frail, throwing his manuscripts and notes into the fire one by one, his expression indifferent, as if the sheet music in his hand was a farewell to the past.

As if he would disappear in the next second.

“!!!”

Was Xia Wansheng’s mental state so precarious?!