Chapter 465: Chapter 463: Who Can Lock In the Top Five?

It was hard to say if Sun Dongling had just given up on herself, but in any case, she messed up twice during her performance.

The song, an ordinary and already mediocre ballad, was sung terribly.

The voting progress bar only made it to a third of the way before it stopped moving.

Sun Dongling walked off the stage, her eyes red.

The next to perform was Tang Wanqing.

She had changed into a new outfit: a set of jade-green, ancient-style robes. She was also holding a pipa.

"At the head of Xunyang River, seeing a guest off at night, / Maple leaves and reed flowers rustle in the autumn air.

The host dismounts, the guest is in the boat, / They raise their cups to drink, but there is no music.

...

The thick strings clattered like a sudden shower, / The thin strings murmured like a private whisper, a private whisper.

Clattering and murmuring, plucked in turn, / Like large and small pearls falling on a jade plate, on a jade plate..."

The crowd listened, dumbstruck and full of admiration.

Many students from the literature and history departments immediately started transcribing the lyrics.

[Wait, can you even use a poem like this for lyrics?]

[Why not? It sounds amazing, doesn’t it?]

[What I mean is, lyrics like these don’t belong here. They should be written with a brush and hung in a museum.]

[When it comes to elegance, nothing beats these ancient-style songs.]

[Tang Wanqing is so beautiful, she truly looks like the perfect image of someone from ancient times!!]

[Well, she comes from a family with a scholarly tradition, after all. I heard she’s been learning Chinese opera since she was a child and loves classical literature.]

When the song ended, the host walked onstage, applauding. "Thank you, contestant Tang Wanqing, for bringing us this ’Pipa Song.’"

"Now, let’s have the judges and the audience cast their votes."

The progress bar on the large screen shot up rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it surpassed Sun Dongling’s bar next to it, reaching about five times higher.

That huge number of votes set the bar incredibly high, putting immense pressure on the contestants who had yet to perform.

Julie, who came on next, once again performed a high-energy heavy metal rock song with powerful high notes.

However, this song was clearly less technically flashy than the one she had sung before.

After all, for the first round, most contestants would choose the song they felt was their best and gave them the highest chance of advancing.

The song they prepared as a backup, in case they were eliminated and had to compete in the revival round, was naturally going to be a bit weaker.

She had never believed she would actually be eliminated; preparing an extra song was just a precaution.

She never expected to actually be eliminated.

After her song, she received a decent number of votes—three times more than Sun Dongling.

The next to perform was Tai Xingwen.

This time, he sang a quiet ballad with a touch of melancholy.

Dressed in a simple white shirt, he sat on a high stool, looking so very lonely.

With no backup dancers, he sat alone on the high stool and sang the entire song, his gaze distant and lost.

It had to be said, the stage atmosphere captured many people’s attention.

Even Jiang Qin found herself liking this style. Her mind was suddenly flooded with ideas for similar songs.

He was like a lonely watchman, keeping vigil in a lighthouse.

Soon, it was time for the voting.

Everyone watched as his vote count rose, slowing down when it nearly caught up to Julie’s.

However, with that slow and steady progress, by the time the countdown ended, he had miraculously surpassed Julie by more than a thousand votes!

The audience below the stage was stunned.

Even Jiang Qin was a little surprised. ’I really thought Julie would make it into the top five.’

She had predicted that Tang Wanqing and Julie would secure the last two spots.

She hadn’t expected Julie to be confirmed for elimination at this point.

The viewers in the livestream were also shocked:

[Holy shit, what a huge upset!]

[Damn, this Tai Xingwen kid has really got something. He wasn’t favored either time, but he made a comeback both times.]

[Tsk tsk, a true dark horse!]

[Julie let me down so hard. I even bet on her to win. I’m so screwed. I’m gonna go feed myself to the Alien Beasts.]

[Who would’ve thought Julie would get pushed out by Tai Xingwen...]

...

The final contestant, Heimu Ying, also felt the pressure.

She secretly gave herself a pep talk. ’I don’t have to beat Tang Wanqing, I just have to surpass Tai Xingwen!!’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The song Ophina gave her this time was, once again, a sweet-style song.

This just confirmed it for the online viewers: as expected, Ophina could only produce this style of music.

No wonder she chose a contestant with this kind of voice!

After her sweet song ended, her vote count was decent, just a little lower than Julie’s, ultimately landing her in fourth place.

She had a solid fanbase, but in today’s performance, she lost a lot of her appeal to casual viewers.

After all, the contestants before her had been outstanding, so when it was her turn, her performance felt rather unremarkable by comparison.

People might have liked it, but it was far from being captivating.

As a result, her vote count for this round was also lower than yesterday’s.

Finally, the host came out to announce the results. "Congratulations to contestants Tang Wanqing and Tai Xingwen for locking in the final two spots and successfully advancing!

Next, we’d like to thank our sponsor, the XX brand, as well as..."

"And with that, this episode comes to an end! Please tune in to our live semi-finals in five days to cast your precious vote for the contestants!"

***

Although the show was over for the week, Jiang Qin was still incredibly busy.

Her previous plans to hang out with her partner and friends or visit the film set more often during her free time were completely impossible to carry out.

The semi-finals were only five days away, and she still had three trainees under her wing.

So, she had no choice but to spend all day with them in the practice room.

During this time, the show’s film crew came over again.

Perhaps because of the accident last time, the crew members who came to film seemed a bit awkward around them.

"Mentor Jiang Qin, sorry to bother you."

"It’s like this, we’d like to record some behind-the-scenes footage. We’ll air it after the recorded version of the show is broadcast."

"So, would you mind sparing some time to cooperate with us?"

Jiang Qin nodded. "Of course."

This was part of her contract, so she naturally wouldn’t refuse to fulfill her obligations.

She then led her three trainees and began their vocal practice under the watchful eyes of the crew.

For five whole days, she left early in the morning and returned late at night.

It made her feel a little guilty, and she even discussed it with Yun Xie, suggesting that maybe he should take Zhaozhao back to the Main Star first.

Being away from home and staying in a hotel was certainly not as convenient as being at home.

But Yun Xie and the others didn’t want to leave. "Seeing you in the mornings and evenings is better than not seeing you at all."

"You just focus on your work. We’ll take good care of Zhaozhao. We’ll take her out for walks so she won’t be cooped up in the room all the time."

"Once you’re done, we can have some fun on this planet."

"Alright then. You guys have fun. You can invite Long Yue and the others, too."

Hearing this, Long Hao scoffed. "Oh, please. We don’t need to worry about her. She’s already scouted out all the good restaurants in the area."

Jiang Qin: "..."

’That’s Long Yue for you,’ Jiang Qin thought. ’A certified foodie through and through.’

But since she didn’t have to worry about her partner and child, she threw herself back into her work.

After all, she genuinely treated these three trainees as her own students and had already discussed signing contracts with them.

All three of them had ecstatically agreed.

So, this competition was, in a way, laying the foundation for their debut.