Chapter 127 – An Extraordinary Opponent
Toot ~.
The spout of the electric kettle spewed out long steam, and the low-pitched squeaking sounds echoed in the small building.
Tic!
The next moment, under the action of the automatic thermostat, the switch on the base jumps up and instantly cuts off the power.
Chen Xiang skillfully picked up the kettle and poured the boiling water into the prepared noodle cup.
A cup of braised beef noodles, plus half a pack of spicy and sour pickles and a spicy marinated egg.
It was already 9 o’clock in the evening and this is his dinner.
There was really nothing he can do about it. Today, all the employee at his company had to work overtime. He was already lucky that he was able to get back to his rental room before 9 o’clock. Sometimes when they work overtime until 11 o’clock or later, Chen Xiang sleeps directly in the office.
Chen Xiang has little to complain about, because for a graduate from a third-rate university, this job as a base programmer is one of the best he can find in more than a year.
At least he can rely on his salary to support himself and survive in this big city with a population of 30 million.
Without waiting for the noodle to be cooked, Chen Xiang went straight to the front of the computer.
Tonight is the last round of “Singing China” tournament, which will determine the National Top 10 singers.
He will join thousands of members of the Lu Family Army to cheer on Lu Chen!
Chen Xiang first met Lu Chen a few months ago.
At that time, he was browsing around [Whale TV] and accidentally clicked on the newcomer’s recommendation on the home page. As a result, he entered Lu Fei’s live broadcasting roon and got to know the talented newcomer anchor who could play and sing.
He likes to listen to Lu Chen’s playing and singing, likes the anchor’s optimism and humor, and also likes the other party’s original folk songs.
However, the real reason why Chen Xiang has become a die-hard fan is that Lu Chen, like him, is also a Beijing drifter.
Chen Xiang watched Lu Chen become famous in [Whale TV] and watched Lu Chen walk out of the anchor circle, all the way to a broader world, and stood on the starry stage.
In Lu Chen, he saw the dream that he has been striving for!
Chen Xiang paid more attention to the competition in the evening and was absent-minded when he was working overtime. Fortunately, Lu Chen has not yet gone on stage since the program started at 7:30 pm.
Otherwise, he can only watch the recorded video and would not be able to cheer for Lu Chen with hundreds of thousands of fans.
On the computer screen, the fifth pair of competitors has just finished.
The tour team’s singer Mu Xiaochu, with the sweet song “Small Town Nocturne”, narrowly beat Bihai singing area challenger Gao Zhanpeng, with a score of 91.68, winning the fifth place in the National Top 10. (TN: Not actually fifth place, but the fifth one to enter the national top 10. I think there’s one last voting/election that will be held in Beijing for the placing.)
Compared with her opponent, her advantage is only 0.12 points!
Chen Xiang came back late, so he saw only a little bit of the competition between the two sides.
But that did not stop him from applauding Mu Xiaochu and filling the live broadcast room with celebratory barrage.
Like Lu Chen, Mu Xiaochu came out from Beijing singing area.
All the way through, this charming girl, like the girl next door, showed to everyone her tenacious will, tenacious courage and commendable strength.
She and Lu Chen have a good relationship. The two are like brother and sister, and have made several appearances on live videos.
As the saying goes, when you love someone, love everything along with that person1, so Lu Chen’s fans also fell in love with Mu Xiaochu.
Everyone affectionately called her: Little Sister Xiaochu.
Now, seeing Mu Xiaochu defeat her opponent again, the live broadcast room was full of jubilation, and the barrage flooded the screen like a tide.
Chen Xiang hit enter with a smile and send out the filled content.
“Congratulations to the Little Sister Xaochu for winning a place in the National Top 10!”
But that’s not the real point.
The contestants came off the stage and the host come on again, and read the advertisement at super speed in 10 seconds.
He asked Chen Fei’er to draw the sixth pair of competitors.
Lu Fei’s live broadcast room instantly became quiet. Everyone was waiting nervously, anxiously looking forward to it.
The tournament is more than halfway through, and five contestants each from the tour team and the Bihai singing area have appeared.
There are only 10 contestants left. Will Lu Chen be selected?
The television camera focused on Chen Fei’er, who calmly pressed the draw button.
The big LED screen immediately began to very quickly scroll the photos.
Stop!
As Chen Fei’er pressed down for the second time, the picture was instantly fixed.
Lu Chen VS Xi Jia!
Lu Chen, it’s finally his turn to appear!
“Great!”
Chen Xiang excitedly clapped his mouse and almost knocked over the instant noodles that were cooking on the table.
But he doesn’t care about the noodles right now.
Lu Fei’s live broadcast room immediately boiled over, and the number of barrage sent was simply too frightening, so dense and numerous!
If people who do not know the truth saw this, they might think that Lu Chen has already defeated his opponent.
In the eyes of hundreds of thousands of fans, there is no doubt that Lu Chen will win the competition.
Didn’t someone smear Lu Chen on the Inspur Blog the day before yesterday? This made an uproar. As a result, that someone’s face was slapped swollen by Beijing Satellite TV. The four major judges all spoke out in a strong voice. If he does not win, who could still win?
But there are also a few rational voices.
“Xi Jia is Bihai singing area top 10 champion. She sings very well”
“Un, Lu Fei can’t be careless.”
“Xi Jia seems to be a graduate of Sichuan Music, really strong, and probably a good match for the anchor.”
“I’ve seen her in two matches and she’s really good.”
“This is the third time the anchor has competed against the champion of the singing area, isn’t it? There’s something wrong with it, otherwise there wouldn’t be such a coincidence!”
“I don’t know what song General Lu will be singing this time…”
Of course, these worries and even doubts are very weak, and they were soon drowned out by the barrage tide.
Everyone’s attention was focused on the live broadcast.
Lu Chen and Xi Jia appeared on the stage at the same time.
Xi Jia is 23-year-old and a native of South Island. She is tall and fair-skinned, but has a normal appearance.
The top 10 champion of Bihai singing area has a neutral look, with short hair and earrings. The combination of T-shirts, jeans and casual shoes makes her look refreshing. She has a dimple on her left cheek when she smiles.
“Hello!”
Two people walked onto the stage from different directions and met face to face in the middle. Xi Jia took the initiative to extend her hand to Lu Chen.
“I like your song very much. It’s my honor to compete with you on the same stage!”
The girl is so graceful. Lu Chen, of course, would not behave badly. He shook the other party’s hand and said with a smile, “It is also my pleasure!”
The dialogue between the two was clearly passed through the microphone and into the ears of the 5,000 audience, and the gymnasium was immediately filled with a tsunami of applause and shouts.
“Xi Jia!” “Xi Jia!” “Xi Jia!”
Many audiences shouted Xi Jia’s name and held up the fluorescent cards in their hands to cheer her on.
This is home court advantage.
Xi Jia is the Bihai singing area top 10 champion, and is also a native of South Island. After the accumulation of many previous competition, she already has a high popularity, and naturally received strong support from the audience.
Of course, the 5,000 audiences are not all Bihai people. The support for Lu Chen is also not small, but the momentum is a little worse than Xi Jia. It is estimated that after the competition, the number of his votes in the venue will be weak. (TN: The in-site audience vote)
Due to the rules and regulations of the “Singing China” tour competition, the tour team will usually have an off-court advantage, but will have a difficult time gaining the upper hand when facing the local singing area contestant. The two sides formed a relatively balanced situation.
Who wins or loses depends on the overall score!
According to the rules of the competition, the home players sang first, so Lu Chen temporarily retreated to the waiting area at the side of the stage.
Xi Jia switched to an electric guitar.
She charmingly held the guitar in her arms and spoke into the microphone, “Tonight, the song I brought to everyone is my own work. Its name is “Uninhabited Island”.”
“I hope everyone likes it!”
Wow!
The whole place was in an uproar. Unexpectedly, Xi Jia took out her original work in this very important competition!
Anyone who is familiar with Xi Jia knows that when she started her audition in Bihai singing area, went through to the qualifying, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finally topped the top 10 of the singing area, all she sang were covered songs.
Xi Jia’s voice is very special, with the kind of metallic sense and slightly tearing magnetic characteristics, coupled with her first-class singing and excellent stage presence, she has won the love of countless audiences, all the way to the present.
In “Singing China” blog, post bar and forum, Xi Jia’s fans had been speculating about which song she will choose to sing in the evening. There were all kinds of theories, but she didn’t say that she wants to sing her own work.
What’s more, she is facing the strongest singer in the tour team, Lu Chen, who has swept his opponent with his original works!
Isn’t this the weakness of one’s own against the strength of the enemy?
Of course, a lot of the audience don’t know that the songs are prepared in advance, whether they are the tour team or singing area contestants. It is impossible to say when the competition suddenly changed.
Because the tournament is all accompanied by live bands.
Xi Jia herself could not have guessed that she would be matched up with Lu Chen, but since she dared to take out her first original work, she must be confident enough to use it in this crucial match.
Xi Jia believed in her strength, and her confidence was written on her face.
She held her head high and smiled until the band behind her played the prelude!
With sonorous steel string, unusual rhythm, cheerful and enthusiastic melody, the unique summer island style moment was presented to the four judges, and 5,000 audience.
Xi Jia’s unique female voice immediately joined this auditory feast!
Standing in the waiting area, Lu Chen suddenly straightened up, and his eyes showed an unexpected and pleasant look.
Even after listening to the first part of the song, he was acutely aware that Xi Jia’s original work was extraordinary. It was not only excellent and impressive, but it was also a fast song that the audience liked.
This Bihai singing area top 10 champion is definitely not an opponent that can easily be defeated.
But it was precisely her wonderful performance that inspired Lu Chen’s fighting spirit completely.
Only by winning such an opponent can his victory be indisputable!
______
TN: 爱屋及乌 – Love House and Wu is a Chinese idiom with a pronunciation of ài wū jí wū. This mean loves a person and cares about the person or thing associated with him.
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