Chapter 17 - The Second Round
The second round was set on the same stage as the preliminaries.
This round was different from the previous one. Upon arrival, all contestants found seats in the audience. They were going to view the competition from the spectators' perspective.
The seating arrangement on the stage was grouped by team. The contestant who was on the same team as Su Jinli was seated next to him. Due to the nature of their song, their attire was rather normal.
Su Jinli, clothed in a light blue solid-colored shirt, chuckled at the stylist's peculiar arrangement -- one side tucked into his pants while the other left loose. His outfit was completed with a pair of ripped jeans and sneakers.
His female counterpart, also on his team, kept muttering under her breath as if reciting a Buddhist scripture. It was eerie enough to give Su Jinli the chills.
Just then, his pocket vibrated. He fiddled with his new phone for a moment before figuring out how to unlock it.
Upon opening his phone, he saw that An Zhihan had sent him a message.
He purposely avoided the cameras and read the text from An Zhihan: "Let's play before going on stage."
Su Jinli: "Why is that?"
Su Jinli's stupidity made An Zhihan very angry. He quickly typed to explain the situation, showcasing his typing speed.
An Zhihan: "Are you stupid? The first round is broadcast in two parts, so my brother purposely had me go on stage first."
An Zhihan: "After the first broadcast, voting opens. Only those we've seen on screen can become familiar to the audience and receive votes."
An Zhihan: "We, who are featured in the first broadcast, have an extra week of votes compared to the others. However, the second round is aired in one episode, so those who perform later have a more recent impression in the audience's memory, giving them an advantage."
Su Jinli was left with his mouth agape, meticulously hand-writing his response: "I see... Which broadcast will I be in on the 23rd?"
An Zhihan: "I asked my brother, you're quite lucky. You are in the last segment of the first broadcast. According to what I heard, several groups in the second broadcast are just quickly shown, their screens flashing by. After just watching one performance, the audience tends to forget faces easily. The first group, and the last group, serve as points of memory for the audience."
Su Jinli let out a sigh of relief, then replied: "Mhmm, I hope we both perform in the latter part."
Su Jinli put down his phone only to see An Zhiyan standing on stage, already drawing the song names for the groups.
On the big screen, there was a close-up of An Zhiyan's face. The distinctly outlined face, a result of his mixed heritage, was magnified to an enormous size, yet no flaws could be found.
These brothers really do have good genes.
"The first group will be singing a very classic song," An Zhiyan said, holding a slip of paper.
A chorus of boos immediately erupted from the audience, as today's performances are all classic songs.
"It's a classic rock song," An Zhiyan revealed the genre, making some groups nervous.
"It's by BEYOND."
After he said this, someone quickly asked, "How many groups are singing BEYOND songs?"
"Two groups!"
A member of one group promptly began shouting in protest, "Ah ah ah!"
An Zhiyan, with a slight smirk, looked at the audience which had a mischievous undertone. This immediately attracted a swarm of screaming girls.
"That smile is totally illegal!!!"
"Yan Yan, you're so handsome!"
As Su Jinli watched nervously, his phone vibrated again.
An Zhihan wasn't familiar with the people in his group, but he couldn't resist expressing his thoughts, so he took to his phone instead.
Su Jinli pulled out his phone and saw that An Zihan had actually created a chat group, which included Wu Yu, Chang Siyin, Fan Qianting, and the two of them.
An Zhihan: Seeing him show off like that, I can't help but want to kick him.
Fan Qianting: I think your brother is way more handsome than you. How did you end up growing up off track?
An Zhihan: My brother has huge nostrils. You could fit a green onion inside them.
Chang Siyin: The main point is that Yan Yan's nose is straight and prominent. A high nose with small nostrils wouldn't look as good.
An Zhihan: My nostrils look better than his.
Wu Yu: If your brother found out you're saying this, wouldn't he give you a hard time?
An Zhihan: Would I be scared of him?
Su Jinli: Yes, you would.
Fan Qianting: Hahahahaha!
Chang Siyin: Pfft.
Wu Yu: [Smile]
"The first group, 'Earth', has done some modifications to their song. Each competitor in this group is extremely talented, let's look forward to their performance," An Zhiyan finally stopped teasing.
Inside the chat group.
An Zhihan: Zhang Caini's group.
Fan Qianting: The one who is interested in Su Jinli?
An Zhihan: Yes.
On the stage, the four competitors stood in a line facing the audience. Each person had a unique style. Zhang Caini was quite distinctive, with a bass hanging on her.
An Zhiyan would have them introduce themselves one by one.
A rather interesting scene unfolded when it was Zhang Caini's turn.
"Could I have Su Jinli give me a blessing?" Zhang Caini asked into the microphone with remarkable composure.
As soon as she finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in cheers.
An Zhiyan had to struggle to keep a straight face, so as not to reveal his slight discomfort. Regardless, he managed to keep a smile on his face, asking, "Why Su Jinli?"
"We all know he's a 'Jinli', a symbol of good luck!" She exclaimed. (Note: Jinli = koi)
Su Jinli stared blankly at the stage while discreetly hiding his phone. As he turned his head, he noticed a camera zooming in on him.
After a moment of thought, he rose and walked over to the edge of the stage.
Zhang Caini had been watching him the entire time. She promptly moved to the edge of the stage and crouched down, extending her microphone toward him.
Taking the microphone, Su Jinli, at the same time, lightly patted the crouching Zhang Caini's head on the stage.
One crouching on the stage, the other standing below it, the stage's height allowed them to complete this gesture effortlessly.
Holding the microphone, Su Jinli simply said, "Good luck!"
Afterward, he handed the microphone back to Zhang Caini and returned to his seat in the audience.
The cheering grew even louder this time.
Crouched at the edge of the stage, Zhang Caini's girlish emotions overflowed. The usually cool and rebellious rocker girl revealed a rare shy expression.
Returning to the stage, Zhang Caini appeared somewhat flustered.
An Zhiyan continued to smile, but he already wanted to move on to interviewing the next contestant, swiftly finishing with Zhang Caini.
However, the judges were still discussing the scene that had just unfolded.
Cang Ai couldn't help but exclaim, "My goodness, it feels like I just watched a scene from a youthful idol drama!"
Han Kai followed up, saying, "And it's the kind that inspires."
Cang Ai covered her face while speaking, "How sweet! My girlish heart!"
Gu Ju then chimed in, "Both contestants are highly talented and are among those I paid close attention to during the training process. Although Zhang Caini is in Group B, her skills are not inferior to anyone else. If her dancing were slightly better, she would definitely be in Group A."
In An Zhiyan's earpiece, the PD (producer) was still talking, suggesting that they could ask a few more questions as this moment could be an interesting focal point.
An Zhiyan, expression unchanged, took control of the situation, "Alright, let's interview the next contestant."
PD: "..."
In the group chat.
An Zhihan: I'll go, I'll go, I'll go!
An Zhihan: Zhang Caini is somewhat interesting, quite bold.
Wu Yu: Thinking of stirring up a CP sensation?
An Zhihan: She has a keen eye, instantly setting her sights on my younger brother.
Fan Qianting: Either way, this scene will surely be aired. Su Jinli even managed to get some extra screen time, so nothing was lost.
Wu Yu: If her feelings are genuine, I admire her courage. But if it's for stirring up a CP to get more screen time, that seems a bit strategic.
Chang Siyin: Isn't it true love?
An Zhihan: Isn't it quite obvious? Among the top four in the male group, only Su Jin Li has a pleasant personality who might accommodate her, so it's not surprising she chose him. Stirring up a CP with one of the top four ensures camera time. Otherwise, as someone from Group B who might easily be overlooked, how else is she to stand out?
Su Jinli held his phone nervously, his hands shaking. He hadn't typed a word for quite some time and could only watch their conversation.
Seeing their analysis, it seemed quite reasonable. He didn't even have the confidence that girls would like him.
Having hardly interacted before, how could someone possibly fall for him?
As he glanced up, he saw Zhou Wenyuan looking back at him. When their eyes met, Zhou Wenyuan didn't avoid his gaze and simply smiled at him.
Su Jinli returned the smile, but inside, he was secretly filled with apprehension.
After Zhang Caini's group finished performing, the final scores were given, and Zhang Caini took first place in her group.
As she left the stage, Zhang Caini ran towards Su Jinli with her arms open, clearly wanting to embrace him in celebration.
In response, Su Jinli stood up and gave her a high five.
A high... five.
Zhang Caini paused for a moment before laughing and running away.
Han Kai saw this scene and commented through the microphone, "During class, Su Jinli told me that he particularly wanted to be in a relationship. Now it seems like he's single due to his own capabilities."
Laughter erupted all around.
Feeling confused, Su Jin Li turned to his peers and asked, "What just happened?"
A team member nearby waved their hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright," then continued reciting the Buddhist scripture.
-----
Among the acquaintances of Su Jinli, Wu Yu and Chang Siyin were the first to perform, and they were in the third group of performances.
Logically, being the top performer in the first round, Wu Yu should have been saved for the last performance. But this time, the order was determined by drawing lots, and Wu Yu went on stage relatively early.
After Wu Yu took the stage, it could be described as a display of overwhelming strength.
When one person is too outstanding, it makes others feel like mere accompaniments.
Wu Yu's excellence made the other three people around him pale in comparison. Chang Siyin sang with great effort, but couldn't achieve the explosive effect that Wu Yu had on the audience.
Su Jinli had his eyes wide open watching the whole show, and then clapped his hands in admiration, saying, "That sounds amazing."
After the scoring, Wu Yu remained the first in his group and the top performer so far.
Chang Siyin and another contestant faced suspense in their scores. In the end, when the scores were announced, they were surprised to find that there was only a one-point difference between the two of them.
Chang Siyin was incredibly lucky to be ranked in third place.
No one else could see, only Su Jinli could, that his blessings for Chang Siyin had paid off.
After embracing the fourth-ranked contestant who was in the pending area, Chang Siyin hugged Wu Yu again, hiding the teary corners of his eyes.
Being rejected by several companies before, and now being able to advance to the second round of the competition, Chang Siyin suddenly felt his luck had turned.
Chang Siyin himself knew that his qualification was the result of the guidance from his friends over the past few days, his own hard work, and, of course, a bit of luck.
-----
Author's Note:
Don't cry, Chang Siyin, little Jinli will help you to succeed!
Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter
No comments:
Post a Comment