Chapter Twenty: Triumph at Last!

The sky-blue hue awaits the misty rain, while I am waiting for you.
The moonlight is lifted from the water, diffusing the ending.
Like a piece of ancient blue-and-white porcelain, beautiful in its solitude,
You smile with laughter in your eyes.

As the song ended, the audience erupted in enthusiastic applause. Everyone was swept away by the novelty of this Chinese-style melody. The lyrics kept echoing in their minds.

“That was beautiful!”

“So this is what Chinese style truly is!”

“Thank you both for such a wonderful performance,” Velek said as he walked onto the stage, with Li Meng close behind.

“Jiang Yun’s original piece has once again stunned the audience!” Li Meng announced, holding the microphone.

“That’s right! Li Meng, weren’t you blown away?” Velek asked.

“I was, I was! The moment Jiang Yun started singing, I was completely swept up,” Li Meng replied, and the two bantered back and forth.

“But I noticed you kept staring at King Zhou, your eyes full of little hearts!”

“Oh stop it, where did you see that?” Li Meng pretended to be flustered, as if her secret had been exposed.

Velek and Li Meng ended their playful exchange and shifted to a more serious tone.

“Perhaps you don’t know, but Jiang Yun originally had no guest performer!” Velek explained Jiang Yun’s situation.

“That’s right. King Zhou joined at the very last minute. They hadn’t rehearsed together, only had about twenty minutes to get in sync,” Li Meng added.

“So, essentially, their performance was almost unrehearsed, a true impromptu collaboration!” Velek exclaimed. “It’s clear that their performance was a huge success!”

“All right, let’s not waste any more time. Now, let’s invite the audience to cast their votes,” Li Meng announced.

Jiang Yun and Zhou Lun turned to face the LED screen, where the numbers were climbing rapidly.

Velek began calling out the votes. “500 votes!”

“700 votes!”

“900 votes! Everyone, it’s already at 900!” he announced, voice trembling with excitement.

“Stop! Oh my god! 1,000 votes!” Li Meng feigned shock. “1,000 votes! Everyone, 1,000 votes! Jiang Yun has achieved another perfect score!”

“And now, judges, please cast your deciding votes!”

As expected, Wang Lan smiled at Jiang Yun on stage and cast her deciding vote.

Velek could hardly contain himself. “1,100 votes. My Jiang Yun has received 1,100 votes. Let’s congratulate Jiang Yun…”

“On winning the championship!”

A thunderous wave of applause burst from the audience.

Backstage in the lounge, Zhou Ziqian stared at the broadcast on the LCD screen, his face ashen.

Now it was over—he hadn’t even had a chance to take the stage before the hosts announced the champion.

“Let’s congratulate Jiang Yun for winning the title of ‘You’ve Got Talent’!”

The show’s hostess, Feifei, pushed a small cart onto the stage, carrying a trophy and a certificate. Two more hostesses followed her, one holding a sign for the one-million-yuan prize, the other carrying a garland.

The three approached Jiang Yun, draped the garland around his neck, and handed him the trophy and certificate. Jiang Yun stood with the trophy in his right hand, the certificate in his left, the garland around his neck. Feifei held up the prize sign beside him.

“Now, let’s invite the other three contestants and their guest performers to the stage!”

Zhou Ziqian, Liu Dongli, and Zhang Yang came up and stood beside Jiang Yun. Their guest performers and the three judges also joined them on stage, lining up for a group photo.

Everyone posed.

Click! A commemorative photo was taken.

Zhou Ziqian’s face remained dark throughout. As for the other rankings, Zhou Ziqian was the runner-up. Zhang Yang had 1,143 votes, Liu Dongli had 1,082, so Zhang Yang was third, and Liu Dongli did not place. However, Liu Dongli’s popularity was high enough that he was also given a third-place ranking.

Thus, Jiang Yun was champion, Zhou Ziqian runner-up, and Zhang Yang and Liu Dongli shared third place.

“You’ve Got Talent” ended in triumph.

“The twelfth season of ‘You’ve Got Talent’ has come to a perfect close!” Velek declared to the camera.

Li Meng, visibly moved, addressed the camera as well: “Let’s end with a performance of the ‘You’ve Got Talent’ theme song—‘Believe in Yourself’!”

“Du du du du, du du du du, du!” The energetic prelude rang out, and Jiang Yun took the lead: “How many times have I sweated in the rain.”

Zhou Lun: “Pain once filled my memory.”

Zhang Yang: “Simply because I always believed.”

Li Gang: “That striving leads to victory.”

Zhou Ziqian: “Always spurring myself on.”

Wang Fei: “To succeed, you must work hard.”

Liu Dongli: “Passion boils on the field, a giant rises in the East!”

Everyone joined in chorus: “Believe in yourself, you will win and create miracles. Believe in yourself, your dreams are in your hands, this is your world…”

Velek, excited, spoke rapidly to the camera: “‘You’ve Got Talent’ twelfth season has concluded successfully. Welcome to log on to MusicWave Weibo, Penguin Video, ArtEase Video, Youku Video, LilyNet, WatermelonNet, RocketNet, PandaTT…”

…

“System, open personal panel.”

“Beep!”

Host: Jiang Yun.
Singing: S-rank (enough to carry a grand concert)
Acting: D+ (even children are more talented)
Directing: D (capable of filming a low-budget indie film)
Skills: Special Forces physique, master chef, master pianist, S-rank hand speed.
Songs: “Hypocrisy,” “Crossing the Ocean to See You,” “Rice Fragrance,” “Sad Pacific,” “Get Rich,” “Summer Night in Beijing,” “Blue-and-White Porcelain.”
Popularity: 5,653,086

“Ding! Congratulations, host, for surpassing five million in popularity. You are awarded three S-rank acting experience cards.”

Jiang Yun gazed at the number—over five million fans—as if he were staring at the balance of his bank account, like a miser counting his fortune.

He lay on his bed, tossing and turning, laughing out loud.

It had been five days since Jiang Yun won “You’ve Got Talent.” He had spent those five days living a life of leisure.

At precisely seven thirty, Jiang Yun turned on the TV and tuned in to Jiangnan Satellite Channel.

Today was Friday, the day the station aired “You’ve Got Talent.” The twelfth episode would be broadcast tonight.

At seven thirty sharp, “You’ve Got Talent” began on schedule.

The show first aired some behind-the-scenes footage.

Jiang Yun appeared on screen, sitting in the lounge.

An assistant entered: “Mr. Jiang, today is the final of ‘You’ve Got Talent.’ I’m here to go over the rules with you.”

“There are four contestants in the final, paired off in head-to-head matches. The winners will compete for the championship.”

“Mr. Jiang, do you have any questions?”

“No, thank you,” Jiang Yun replied.

“Oh, I almost forgot—Mr. Jiang, for the final, you can invite a guest performer. Have you invited anyone?”

Jiang Yun in the footage shook his head.

Viewers at home broke into a cold sweat for Jiang Yun. Without a guest performer, how could he compete?

The editors left the audience in suspense. Without a guest, could he still win? How would he pull it off? Would there be a twist?

The show moved on to behind-the-scenes footage of the other contestants.

A commercial aired, then the program officially began.

Velek and Li Meng appeared on camera.

“Hello, everyone! Welcome to Jiangnan Satellite Channel! This program is sponsored by XX Mobile!” Velek announced.

Li Meng recited the ad: “XX Mobile—crystal-clear photos, great looks, the favorite of young people!”