After winning the first round, Liang Zhen immediately texted Song Zhou, asking him what he thought.

Song Zhou, of course, praised his friend: “What do you think? You were awesome, of course.”

Liang Zhen: “I wasn’t asking you. Give the phone to Shao Mingyin.”

Song Zhou: “…”

About half a minute later, Song Zhou sent another message: “It sounded a bit dirty.”

From this feedback, Liang Zhen knew Song Zhou had handed the phone to Shao Mingyin. He realized Shao was referring to the dirty words used during the battle, but Liang Zhen didn’t know how to explain. He had actually used very few dirty words, with the worst being a family-related insult. It wasn’t like the current group on stage, who, despite their young appearance and limited rhymes, constantly spat out vulgarities.

Liang Zhen hadn’t gone that far, but many underground battle fans preferred direct personal attacks; it was more exciting. So, every round ended with cheers and applause, no less than Liang Zhen’s previous rounds.

However, Shao Mingyin clearly couldn’t accept this: “Forget it. Compared to this group, you were really civilized just now.”

Liang Zhen: “Should I tone it down in the next round?”

Shao Mingyin: “Just go at your own pace.”

Liang Zhen: “But you don’t like hearing it.”

Shao Mingyin: “I do like hearing it. Whatever you say, I’ll listen. Just go at your own pace.”

Liang Zhen: “And another thing, the stage lights are too bright, and the audience area is too dark. I can’t see you at all.”

Shao Mingyin: “It’s fine, as long as I can see you. Just focus on the competition!”

Shao Mingyin: “By the way, your little fan is here. Do your best!”

Liang Zhen: “??? Little fan???”

Shao Mingyin: “Xue Meng.”

Liang Zhen: “[Rage emoji] Then why don’t you arrest him! He’s underage! At a bar!”

Shao Mingyin: “This time it’s fine. His homeroom teacher is with him.”

Liang Zhen: “???”

Pressed for time, Liang Zhen sent a string of question marks and quickly returned to the stage for the second round. In this round, apart from some interjections, he didn’t use any dirty words. His opponent, however, who had advanced with vulgar language, did not fare as well. If both had used profanities, it might have been a different story. But Liang Zhen’s ability to insult without using dirty words made his skill level clear, although it lacked the same crowd-pleasing effect. Shao Mingyin, standing in the back, could see all the audience reactions and noticed that some didn’t applaud when Liang Zhen’s advancement was announced.

“Hey, Liang Zhen’s style feels different today,” Song Zhou also sensed something was off.

“Hmm?” Shao Mingyin looked at Song Zhou, whose questioning look made Song Zhou suddenly think of a possibility.

“I know! Hmph,” Song Zhou smiled confidently, “Liang Zhen’s ‘Sasha’ must be here!”

Shao Mingyin asked, “Sasha?”

“Yes, Sasha!” Song Zhou puckered his lips and repeated it in a standard Lanzhou accent, “Liang Zhen taught me. It means a pretty girl in Lanzhou dialect. He must be afraid that if he dissed too dirty, he’d scare his beloved Sasha.”

Shao Mingyin was also taken aback: “Liang Zhen… has a girlfriend?”

“Of course! He’s definitely in a relationship,” Song Zhou, no longer the old Song Zhou, now transformed into Detective Niohulu Zhou, “Why else would he keep leaving Green City Square and running out all the time?”

Shao Mingyin didn’t expect this reasoning and looked away evasively. But Song Zhou, getting more excited, said, “Officer, let me tell you, don’t be fooled by Liang Zhen’s cool exterior on stage. Once he’s off stage and back in Sasha’s room, he plays the guitar for her. Who knew Liang Zhen was such a romantic, making me sick with envy. He even learned hand drums, probably to charm his Sasha…”

“Mmm, mmm…” Shao Mingyin was listening, finding it hard to describe his feelings. It was hot, likely due to the crowded live house environment and the smoky air under the lights. Just then, more people entered the bar. The audience focused on the stage wouldn’t notice, but Shao Mingyin and Song Zhou, standing near the entrance, did.

Seeing Shao Mingyin, Xue Meng tried to hide behind Teacher Gu, poking his head out to tell Shao Mingyin that he came with a guardian this time, asking not to be caught.

A homeroom teacher as a guardian? Shao Mingyin didn’t bother correcting him, just warned him not to do it again. Xue Meng, eager to join the crowd but unable to leave his teacher’s side, stayed at the back with the others to watch Liang Zhen’s second round.

Afterward, Xue Meng gave a similar comment as Song Zhou: Liang Zhen was unusually clean today, very civilized.

“Yesterday’s audition was nothing like today,” Song Zhou said, “I was there with him. It’s a pity we didn’t record it. Liang Zhen, new to the underground scene, barely has any online photos. Few people recognize him. Several contestants in the first round were eager to choose him, thinking they’d win easily, but ended up stuttering from his disses. In the second round, no one dared to pick him.”

“Liang Zhen…” Shao Mingyin’s smile was faint, “Liang Zhen is that good?”

“Yeah, he’s amazing, with triple and quadruple rhymes. Of course, he won’t mention genitals—that’s too low. But officer, think about it,” Song Zhou pointed to the environment, “Everyone’s here to hear dirty words, to—” Song Zhou trailed off, his eyes shifting to a tall girl at the door. Despite her flat chest, she had long legs, a curvy figure, and a thin skirt despite the January cold. Song Zhou’s eyes were glued, and he quickly apologized to Shao Mingyin before following the girl outside.

“Wait—” Shao Mingyin reached out, “Your phone!”

Song Zhou, without turning back, grabbed his phone by feel and followed the girl out. Shao Mingyin understood Liang Zhen’s occasional complaints about Song Zhou.

For a moment, only three of them were left at the entrance. The homeroom teacher, unfamiliar with rap, was there solely to accompany Xue Meng. Xue Meng noticed Shao Mingyin’s confusion and continued where Song Zhou left off.

“I haven’t seen Liang Zhen’s previous battles, but I personally think a bit of dirtiness is better,” Xue Meng made a quotation mark gesture with his fingers, “Battle and releasing songs are different. Battle is about verbal attacks until the opponent can’t respond. Since it’s verbal combat, dirty words are inevitable. Without them, it’s just pure skill and strength.”

“Actually, I think if Liang Zhen wants to win quickly, he could start swearing in the final round. His northwestern accent gives him an edge,” Xue Meng analyzed. “But this way is good too—being more civilized, it’s easier to attract female fans.”

“Does Liang Zhen…?” Shao Mingyin felt odd asking this, “Did Liang Zhen have a lot of female fans before?”

“I’m not sure,” Xue Meng stood on tiptoe to look ahead. “But he probably gained a lot today.”

Shao Mingyin looked up and indeed saw many young women in the front holding up their phones to record, with only Liang Zhen in their camera frames. He recalled that when the MC asked earlier which contestant people supported, the women’s voices drowned out the men’s when they pointed to Liang Zhen.

“Ah… that’s good.”

Xue Meng didn’t hear clearly, “Officer, what did you just say?”

“Nothing,” Shao Mingyin continued watching the stage. Liang Zhen had already won three rounds, and the clock had passed eleven, which was beyond the expected time for the performance, yet the competition for the Wenzhou regional champion hadn’t truly begun.

Aside from Liang Zhen, Shao Mingyin hadn’t remembered any other rappers’ names, so he asked Xue Meng again who Liang Zhen was up against in the final round.

“Jewish.”

Shao Mingyin didn’t recognize many faces, but this name sounded familiar. Xue Meng reminded him of the previous round. Since both were from Wenzhou, they used the Wenzhou dialect, and most of the audience were Wenzhou locals who understood. Xue Meng had laughed several times. Jewish had dominated with his strength. Xue Meng couldn’t explain the unique dialect jokes to Shao Mingyin, so he summarized it with—awesome.

Shao Mingyin asked, “What’s Liang Zhen’s chance of winning?”

“Hard to say, they’re both strong.”

“If it were you, who would you pick?”

“Liang Zhen.”

Shao Mingyin was pleased with this answer, “I think he’ll win too.”

Xue Meng smiled awkwardly, “Actually, I think Jewish will definitely win the final round, so I’m giving Liang Zhen a sympathy vote.”

Shao Mingyin: …

Shao Mingyin didn’t believe Liang Zhen would lose. Liang Zhen was strong, how could he lose?

“They’re equally matched, but—” Xue Meng wasn’t on stage but could still speak with pride, “this is Wenzhou.”

This is Wenzhou, with so many Wenzhou people in the audience, and Jewish, on stage, was from Wenzhou.