Chapter 004: The Divine Song "Faded" Captivates the Entire Audience!

Inside the room, one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone stared at Le Xiaotian, already regarding him as a genius beyond compare.

At first, when he burst through the door, the three lead interviewers had been rather satisfied with him. However, when they heard the hint of arrogance in his words, Zhao Dezhu took an immediate dislike and threw him out with an impossible question. But now, after witnessing his abilities, if they wanted to continue the recruitment process, how could they possibly smooth over this awkward situation?

At that moment, Le Xiaotian smiled and said, “Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Le Xiaotian. I have no formal education to speak of—I'm entirely self-taught.”

No one had anticipated his ability to not only perceive but deftly defuse the invisible tension in the room. As the sole female interviewer, Li Hongmei understood the current predicament all too well.

So, she followed his lead with a warm smile. “Hello, I’m Li Hongmei. What’s your stage name?”

The eighteen female assistants were utterly stunned.

Ms. Li had actually introduced herself to a candidate by her real name, and her tone was so gentle—what on earth was going on?

In truth, I am a kind person, Le Xiaotian thought as he met Li Hongmei’s smile with one of his own. “I have two stage names. One is Brother Xiaotian, the other is Master Ziyang.”

A snicker escaped one of the assistants, unable to contain her laughter. What kind of stage names were those? They hardly sounded like names that would ever become famous.

The atmosphere had already grown much more relaxed. At this, Zhao Dezhu stood from his seat. “Brother Xiaotian, your singing skills are simply beyond words. I must apologize for my earlier rudeness.”

As Zhao Dezhu bowed, the assistants and security guards were once again taken aback.

Le Xiaotian, however, narrowed his eyes slightly. Zhao Dezhu’s display smacked of posturing, perhaps an attempt to guilt him with professional courtesy.

He didn’t consider himself particularly shrewd, but when it came to reading people, Le Xiaotian had always been confident.

At a gesture from the bearded man, one of the female assistants brought over a stool. Le Xiaotian took it and sat, a trace of a smile always lingering on his lips. “Strict vetting is your job. How could I be so petty as to hold a grudge over that? Well, I’m here to apply as a singer-host for your TV station. Are you still going to test me?”

Of course they would—how could they not? If they let such a talent slip away, they’d be a laughingstock.

Feeling secretly delighted, Zhao Dezhu feigned a troubled look. “Brother Xiaotian, I won’t say much more. To be cautious, I can offer you a position right away—there are many roles at the station. If you spend a few months in transition, you’ll be able to take up the role formally. There are benefits to doing it this way. What do you think?”

How could I possibly agree? Le Xiaotian thought. Since I’ve chosen to make a grand entrance, I will never hedge my bets. If I don’t leave you all completely stunned, I’d feel I’ve let down all of humanity.

Besides, even the singer-host position is just a stepping stone for me, let alone anything lesser. Why would I accept a transitional role, just to transition again?

With this in mind, Le Xiaotian smiled. “Go ahead and test me. I’ll be blunt: if I’m fit for the job, I’ll work here; if not, I’ll look elsewhere. I’m not especially interested in this position anyway.”

Had he said this earlier, the three lead interviewers would have thought he was simply boasting, perhaps even scoffed at him. But after his showcase, they accepted it as fact.

With his voice and performance skills, the singer-host role was hardly anything special. So long as he didn’t go astray, he would be famous across the land within a year.

In fact, for a position thousands were fighting over, bringing him in would be almost beneath his abilities.

They couldn’t know his hidden motives, but since he’d come to apply, they absolutely could not let this opportunity slip through their fingers.

Trembling with excitement, Zhao Dezhu began, “Brother Xiaotian, while there are some shortcomings to this role, it’s a key position at Lotus TV, one we’re determined to support, and has extremely high standards.”

Seeing that Le Xiaotian remained unfazed, he continued, “I admit I was intentionally harsh earlier, but that’s no longer the case. You can rest assured about that.”

Taking a bottle of water from a female assistant, Le Xiaotian replied naturally, “I haven’t experienced many big scenes before, so my words may have come off as blunt. If I offended you, please don’t take it to heart. In my view, you’re hiring, I’m applying; as long as both sides are satisfied, that’s enough. There’s no need to complicate things. I personally dislike beating around the bush.”

Hearing this, Zhao Dezhu, Li Hongmei, and the bearded man all nodded to one another, deciding to proceed with the test.

In the end, it was Zhao Dezhu who spoke. “The purpose of this position is simple—we hope to create a program with international renown. So, singing generic pop or ordinary rock won’t cut it; the standards are extremely high. You’ll also need to play multiple instruments, sing in multiple languages, and your Mandarin rating is a minor matter.”

Le Xiaotian nodded. In truth, with his system, singing and playing instruments were no issue at all. Stunning the world would be the work of minutes. The real challenge was steering the entire music industry towards the light.

He took another sip of water, then walked over to the piano in the room.

Standing before it, he said, “I can play a bit. The piano has the broadest range of any instrument—though it’s not the most difficult, playing it can still prove a point. Why don’t I perform a piece for you as my answer?”

To call the piano easy—unless you’re a third-rate amateur or an industry prodigy like him—is unheard of.

Seeing no objections from the three interviewers, Le Xiaotian chose one of the songs that had gone viral online the previous night: “Faded,” the most-commented hit on a certain music platform, by Alan Walker.

Eighty-eight black and white keys; no electronic effects, just pure piano technique.

The moment his hands touched the keys, the three lead interviewers were completely stunned. They would do anything to keep him.

His technique and artistry were flawless, as light as a dragonfly skimming the water, even accounting instantly for the piano’s touch and rebound.

This deep-sea model 8530 piano was no ordinary instrument—rare and prestigious. For Le Xiaotian to have played it before was virtually impossible.

In other words, he must have deduced the piano’s construction through his extraordinary hearing alone. He was beyond human!

For a moment, a million sparks seemed to flash in the interviewers’ eyes, each regarding the others as rivals.

“Lao Wang, Hongmei, this young man is mine. I don’t care about the other shows—you can’t have him!”

“Hmph! Zhao, could you be any thicker-skinned? You just threw him out, and I haven’t even called you to account for it.”

“She’s right, Zhao. Why don’t you take a break? You can have all the shows we’re responsible for. Hongmei and I will fully support—no, assist—Brother Xiaotian in making the program a success.”

As the first notes rang out, the eighteen female assistants dropped their notebooks, and the two security guards were left dumbstruck.

Le Xiaotian’s fingers danced across the keys. Considering the language requirement and the need to save time, he began to sing as well.

Not with a male voice, but with a pure, ethereal female one—perfect as any finished studio track, without any post-production.

Little did he know, even if he hadn’t sung, the three interviewers would have fought over him. Now, with his voice, the competition was fierce beyond words.

Thud, thud, thud.

The eighteen female assistants fell to their knees, enraptured, humming along as if they were beautiful themselves.

Of course, the only line they could sing was “Faded~.”

No one knew how much time had passed before the silence was broken by Le Xiaotian. “Come on, why are you all kneeling to listen? I thought I played pretty average today. Don’t be like this, or I’ll get embarrassed.”

Wiping away his drool, Zhao Dezhu replied respectfully, “Master Ziyang, shall we go to the company now?”

Standing, putting on his suit jacket, and heading for the door, Le Xiaotian said helplessly, “I haven’t even had breakfast for this interview. I’ve got some personal matters to attend to these days. Leave me your number, and I’ll let you know the specific start date.”

“All right, of course! Master Ziyang, take care.”

After seeing Le Xiaotian out, everyone was left dumbfounded.

Wait, wasn’t that line reversed? He’ll contact them about the start date? Who’s the real interviewer here?

But after their shock, the three lead interviewers rushed to report the news to the big boss, thrilled.

As long as they could hire Le Xiaotian, Lotus TV would finally outshine Blue Sky in the capital, making a triumphant comeback for sure!