Chapter 83: Hero Zhou

Jeans paired with a plaid shirt, an electric guitar slung diagonally across his body, he looked fresh and effortless. Zhou Miao stood at the center of the stage, his expression rebellious, raising a hand to snap his fingers crisply. Instantly, all the lights converged upon him.

On the livestream screen, three grand, ink-brush characters appeared: Hero Zhou!

The moment the drummer began, Zhou Miao’s fingers swept rapidly across the strings, the fierce, rhythmic intro igniting the atmosphere in a flash!

“I kick away
Strings of bright red candied hawthorn
I punch away
Scenes of memories scattered in moonlight
A piece of old ginger
A segment of bygone days
I can give you
A signed photo for your imagination
I say, screens should hide the frost
Eaves should block the moonlight
Rivers and lakes should open a window
Opera should wield a flowery spear
Planting my stance, I don’t sway
When I’m stifled, anxious, weary
I put on my kung fu suit!”

The familiar Zhou-style fast song brimmed with wit and arrogance, nearly spilling from the screen, mesmerizing the live audience. With lyrics and music like these, there was no one else in the entire Chinese music scene but Zhou Miao!

As Zhou Miao slipped deeper into his performance, a large jib camera approached, aiming for a close-up. Zhou Miao noticed and leaned in, his index finger teasingly lifting the lens as if caressing a woman’s chin.

This moment, broadcast live, gave the audience the illusion that Zhou Miao was teasing their chins, sending countless girls’ hearts fluttering.

“You’re like tofu, tofu, tofu, tofu
Skin so soft it shatters with a touch
Testing my kung fu
Kung fu, kung fu, kung fu, kung fu
Better put on a cheongsam
Or you’ll say I’m taking advantage of you!”

With a roguish smile, Zhou Miao released the camera, his expression hardening. At that instant, the most domineering verse arrived!

“I stretch my fists and feet just a bit
And you’re sent to the frontier
A spinning kick too fierce
Turns the scenery desolate
Falling petals paired with sunset
Crossing mountains and rivers
I clear my throat
Clear my throat to sing Qinqiang
Flying to Dunhuang, north to the wilds
Who’s across the water
I raise a paper umbrella and look back
Ah, what place is this, what circumstance
La la la la, stifled, anxious, weary
I step on your shoulders!”

The lyrics detonated the room; no woman could resist this man, radiating wildness and defiance. Any man hearing such bold and swaggering words would feel their blood surge!

Even the top idol An Qi, in the lounge, stomped her feet excitedly like a fangirl.

Lin Zekai’s expression darkened. After hearing the song, he felt he might not even keep second place.

Was it necessary? Unleashing his trump card right at the start?

Lin Zekai fell silent—every song Zhou Miao composed seemed to be a trump card…

As the song ended, the studio’s atmosphere remained electric, with the audience below screaming his name.

Zhou Miao breathed lightly; he’d poured his all into the performance, and judging by the crowd’s reaction, it had worked well.

The scoring began, and the numbers on the big screen behind Zhou Miao soared, breaking three hundred in the blink of an eye.

Three hundred and one, three hundred and two, three hundred and three—still climbing!

Finally, Zhou Miao’s score stopped at 345! He broke Huang Chengxi’s record, taking first place in the initial round of “Battle at the Summit!”

With this, all first-round rankings emerged: from first to eighth—Zhou Miao, Huang Chengxi, Lin Zekai, An Qi, Ning Xia, Hui Yuan, Li Hongzhi, and Guan Wenhui.

First, third, fifth, and seventh formed Group A: Zhou Miao, Lin Zekai, Ning Xia, Li Hongzhi. The rest were Group B.

Next was the second round’s group draw. All eight artists took the stage, Hui Yuan visibly unhappy—he’d thought his score of 305 was high, but ended up third from the bottom.

Luckily, he wasn’t grouped with Zhou Miao, so he still had hope to stick around.

Qian Jin arrived, holding a lottery box. Zhou Miao reached in and drew his next opponent.

Opening it, he saw Ning Xia. Zhou Miao was a bit disappointed—why not Lin Zekai?

Seeing herself drawn by Zhou Miao, Ning Xia’s face fell. If she lost again in the second round, she’d be done when the third round cut from eight to four.

After the draw, Qian Jin interviewed the eight, “The next round is a friendly duet. Who will you invite from the industry?”

Lin Zekai answered without hesitation, “Li Qin. We’re good friends, and she’s a strong singer. With her as my duet partner, I believe we’ll win.”

At this moment, the camera caught Zhou Miao, his lips curled, eyes slanted, openly displaying disdain.

The barrage exploded!

“It’s here! Miao’s signature disdain.”

“Wow, Lin Zekai is so disgusting. He knows Li Qin was made famous by Zhou Miao, yet he deliberately invites her for the duet, and claims they’re good friends? What a hypocrite!”

Qian Jin understood, turning to Zhou Miao, “So Miao, who do you plan to invite?”

Before Zhou Miao answered, impatient fans in the audience began shouting Zhao Li’s name.

Zhou Miao didn’t keep them waiting. “Zhao Li,” he replied simply.

The crowd erupted in delight. No one expected that the recently disbanded Summer Foam would reunite in this show in such a way.

The only pity was that Zhou Miao and Lin Zekai weren’t direct rivals in the next round, so the drama between the two couldn’t unfold yet.

But in the third round’s group rotation, Zhou Miao and Lin Zekai’s head-to-head was inevitable.

Just imagining that scene made everyone excited!

The first episode of “Battle at the Summit” thus ended, but discussion about the show had only begun.

Whether it was the dazzling performances from the top idols, Zhou Miao’s peerless and domineering “Hero Zhou,” or the next round’s tantalizing preview, countless viewers feasted on the drama and called it brilliant!

The explosive popularity brought joy to both Goose Media and their advertisers.

The second episode would be recorded next week at the same time, giving everyone a week to prepare.

Upon hearing the news, Zhao Li rushed to Zhou Miao’s office. It was already late at night. Zhou Miao was bent over his desk, working on the arrangement for his next competition song.

Zhao Li brought him a late-night snack. “Eat something first—it’s already midnight.”

Catching the aroma, Zhou Miao put down his work and sat to eat with Zhao Li.

Zhao Li took only a few bites before stopping; as a female artist, she had to manage her figure, and eating late led easily to weight gain.

She sighed, “Li Qin actually didn’t want to participate, but after joining Waves, she has no say. She has to obey her manager in everything.”

Zhou Miao had anticipated this. Big companies had their advantages, but also their drawbacks.

Ordinary artists had no power to decide, especially since Li Qin’s popularity plummeted after switching agencies.

Adults must pay the price for every choice they make.