Death Group

Whether Qin Baobao drew a lot or not no longer mattered, because there was only one numbered ball left in the box: Number Three.

She was up against Huang Yuteng.

Li Rongxing breathed a sigh of relief, then cracked a joke. "Speaking of shining character, I'm no match for Teacher Huang. He's the truly lucky one."

Huang Yuteng nodded politely at Qin Baobao and faced the camera. "Actually, I'm quite nervous. I know more or less about every guest here, but I know absolutely nothing about Qin Baobao. I know myself but not my opponent. I just hope I don't get tripped up by some dark horse."

The guests chuckled. They could all tell he was merely being modest.

Qin Baobao kept a polite smile. "Everyone else has solid luck. Mine leaves something to be desired."

The Bullet Screen was incredibly lively too, with viewers posting their thoughts one after another: "All right, Qin Baobao gets eliminated. Show over."

"I can already see the ending."

"Qin Baobao just came on to show her face, then get eliminated. Simple as that."

"There's no suspense this episode. It suddenly feels kind of boring."

The shot finally switched to the stage. Amid dazzling, colorful lights, host Yin Jia stood in an evening-gown-like outfit, beaming with festivity. "Dear viewers, I'm delighted to see you all again. Now, please welcome our first singer to the stage. Twenty years ago, he shook the Chinese music scene as a king of his generation. Everyone knows his name, and millions have sung his songs. Now, please welcome our singer."

To the audience's thunderous applause, Hong Jingyao moved through the neon stage lights, walked down the long aisle, and appeared onstage before the eyes of hundreds of spectators.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Hong Jingyao."

The audience answered with cheers, and the cameras captured their excited faces.

The lights softened, illuminating Hong Jingyao onstage. At the same time, the music began.

Holding the microphone, Hong Jingyao sang with feeling, "Beneath a pale gray sky, a coffee shop on the corner."

"Years later, I passed by again, and in a daze, I saw the silhouette you once left behind."

"At that moment, memories surged into my heart, and in an instant, tears rained down my face."

"For at least ten years, I had not shed a tear."

The moment he opened his mouth, the audience erupted. Screams and cheers nearly blew the roof off.

Hands waved, screams rang out—the atmosphere was scorching.

Li Rongxing cried out, "Unchanging Heart!"

Chen Xiaotong blinked. "That's a classic."

Huang Yuteng applauded. "A total classic. An absolute classic."

Li Zongde pulled a long face. "The eternal Unchanging Heart. Why did I have to PK Teacher Hong? Isn't that just tragic?"

Chen Xiaotong comforted him. "It's okay. You can come back in the Resurrection Match."

All the singers knew perfectly well that Qin Baobao would most likely be the one eliminated this episode.

On camera, some audience members began singing along.

This song was far too iconic. It had been enormously popular back then; anyone born in the eighties or nineties could hum a few lines. It was the memory—even the childhood—of an entire generation. Listening to the familiar music, Wang Zijing unconsciously hummed softly along with the rhythm.

Qin Ze said, "That's cheating, isn't it? How can he sing his signature song? How is anyone else supposed to compete?"

"Do you think signature songs are automatically good?" Qin Baobao turned and snapped at him. "First of all, a live performance definitely can't match a studio recording that's been polished and edited. The audience will absolutely hear the difference, and then you'll just be shooting yourself in the foot. Second, for singers like Huang Yuteng, people have heard their signature songs so many times they're sick of them. If you sing one live again, no matter how good it is, people will get tired of it. But if another singer suddenly performs a classic cover, will the audience still vote for you? Only these old classics can coast on past glory and stir up the audience's nostalgia. In music variety shows, singers rarely perform classic songs. Most perform adaptations of lesser-known songs."

Qin Ze thought it over. "That makes sense."

The second singer, Li Zongde, took the stage. He had also drawn Number One, putting him up against Hong Jingyao.

"Time always rushes by, without reason, beyond right or wrong."

"I have never resisted my love for you."

"Even as time rushes by, I still love you."

"Though you have never been captivated by me."

Li Zongde sang a Cantonese Song. He was from Hong Kong, and singing Chinese songs was difficult for him. The song was called Silent Meeting. It was not very famous—at least Qin Ze had never heard it—but the live audience clearly loved it and cheered generously. Li Zongde's voice was beautiful, his technique was solid, and he handled the song perfectly.

Backstage, the guests discussed it. "Xiao De sang wonderfully."

"His vocal technique is absolutely amazing."

"Sounds great, sounds great."

After Li Zongde finished singing, he bowed to the audience on all sides and stepped offstage.

Yin Jia announced loudly, "Thank you to Teacher Hong and Xiao De for their songs. Now it's time for the voting segment. Dear audience, I'm sure you all have your own thoughts by now. Pick up your voting devices and vote for our singers."

The voting began.

On the giant screen behind Yin Jia, the two singers' vote totals rose in turns.

There were five hundred audience members in total, equivalent to five hundred judges and five hundred votes.

The audience, singers, and host all watched the numbers nervously and excitedly.

At last, the vote count froze.

Hong Jingyao: 302 votes.

Li Zongde: 190 votes.

Some votes were abstentions and did not count as valid votes.

Yin Jia smiled. "I will now announce the first singer to advance: Hong Jingyao. Congratulations, Teacher Hong."

Backstage, Hong Jingyao bowed. "Thank you, everyone. Thank you."

Li Zongde applauded and spread his hands with a smile. "It was expected. It's not that I sang badly. My opponent was simply too strong."

Bullet Screen: "Unchanging Heart will live forever. So nostalgic."

"Don't cry, Xiao De. Get up and keep going."

"It's fine, it's fine. There's still a chance. The Resurrection Match will definitely be no problem."

"Anyway, Qin Baobao is destined to be OUT."

"Look at how calm Xiao De is. He's not worried at all, which means Qin Baobao is the eliminated contestant this episode."

"Hehe, let me tell you a secret: Xiao De gets eliminated this episode."

"I'll tell you a secret too: Huang Yuteng gets eliminated this episode."

"I'll tell you a secret too: host Yin Jia gets eliminated this episode."

"Get lost."

"Stop messing around."

"Yin Jia can't sing. It makes perfect sense for her to be eliminated."

"Hahaha."

The second group of singers: Chen Xiaotong versus Li Rongxing.

Li Rongxing: "My beloved, did you hear my call?"

"Without you, everything in this world is black and white."

"When you embraced him beneath the sunlight, did you hear me, standing on the street corner, my heartbeat stopping..."

Chen Xiaotong: "I fell in love with someone I was not allowed to love."

"She was so outstanding that I felt inferior."

"His devotion drove me to despair."

"My love has reached the end."

"My heart has been buried in the earth."

The voting results came out. Li Rongxing advanced with a lead of ten votes, while the former Hong Kong Queen of Pop had to enter the Resurrection Match. The result was unexpected, yet understandable. The Queen of Pop was, after all, a former one. First, her fame had declined, and she could not compare to the currently popular Li Rongxing. Second, her singing had deteriorated somewhat from her peak. One was fading into the sunset, while the other was at the height of his glory. The audience had sharp eyes.

Yin Jia smiled. "Now, please welcome our final pair of singers to the stage. I'm sure everyone has been waiting for a long time. Since his debut, he has had many nicknames: King of Love Songs, King of High Notes, Romantic Talented Man. That's right, he is our beloved Huang Yuteng."

As she spoke, Huang Yuteng walked onto the stage.

The cheers from below were thunderous, like mountains toppling and seas roaring.

Huang Yuteng's popularity was second only to that of a King or Queen of Pop.

He wore glittering stage clothes and high-top boots. Just over thirty, he had handsome features and tremendous charm.

The Bullet Screen erupted as well, nearly covering half the screen:

"The main character is finally here."

"Huang Yuteng, I love you."

"Yuteng is the best. None of the guests this episode can surpass him."

"I want to hear your sound of the wind."

"King of Love Songs!"

"I can already foresee the future: five hundred votes for him, and some newcomer hands in a blank paper."

"I watched it on TV. Qin Baobao is amazing. She wasn't eliminated."

"Spoiler: Qin Baobao is insanely good. Her singing is unbelievably beautiful."

"Get lost. Everyone in a spoiler's family should die."

"I watched it on TV too. Huang Yuteng got eliminated by Qin Baobao."

Quite a few people posted spoilers in the Bullet Screen, while others were simply joining the fun and saying all sorts of nonsense. So no one believed the people telling the truth.

Backstage, Chen Xiaotong sighed. "His popularity is so high."

Li Rongxing said, "Teacher Xiaotong, you were just as popular back then. No need to be envious."

Chen Xiaotong said, "Not at all. Teacher Hong was far more popular back then."

While the guests chatted and laughed, Qin Baobao sat to one side, smiling. She could not join in, because they were not from the same circle and had no common topics. Li Rongxing did want to chat up Qin Baobao, but they were recording a show, so he could not make it too obvious. The camera only swept briefly over Qin Baobao, indicating that it had not forgotten her, but it did not linger.

Onstage, once the opening music began, the venue suddenly fell silent. In the camera shot, the audience held their breath and listened intently. Some even closed their eyes. Before the song had even begun, they were already preparing to be intoxicated by it.

Huang Yuteng's rich, magnetic voice spread through the venue via the microphone, and he launched straight into a high note:

"I wander along a long street."

"The sky has begun to rain."

"Tonight, can you have a good dream?"

"Or are you quietly watching the rain in some man's embrace."

"This bleak autumn rain..."

"So many years ago, we met in the autumn rain."

"Looking back again, it feels like a dream."

This was an old song from many years ago, a lingering and sorrowful love song whose original singer had been a woman. Huang Yuteng had adapted it, turning a young woman's softly murmured confession into a high-note love song in his own style. He had also changed the lyrics. For example, "in some man's embrace" had originally been "holding some woman in my arms."

When the song ended, applause, cheers, and shouts rose one after another, as though this were a grand concert.

Li Rongxing applauded. "I'm convinced. Completely convinced."

Li Zongde said, "He really is a popular singer. That voice—oh my God, I definitely can't hit those notes."

Chen Xiaotong nodded. "The adaptation was excellent. Romantic Talented Man indeed—his reputation is well deserved."

Hong Jingyao said, "Impressive. Truly wonderful. This song was from my era, but I'd wager it absolutely surpassed the original."

When Hong Jingyao had taken the stage, Qin Ze had turned off the Bullet Screen because it had been flooding the screen and affecting the viewing experience. Now he turned it back on.

"Leader Huang made my blood boil."

"Pfft. It's a love song. Why would your blood be boiling?"

"I never liked this song before, but Leader Huang sang it so well. I guarantee this song is going to become popular."

"So handsome. He sings with total immersion, and everyone else listens in enjoyment. A thoroughly satisfying audiovisual feast."

"Huang Yuteng has the bearing of a true master. He only lacks a good lyricist and composer to become a King of Pop."

"Pfft, I heard newcomer Qin Baobao is singing an original song?"

"Forget Qin Baobao. If she wants to release originals, she should go online. What is she doing on this stage? There are plenty of original songs, but how many become classics? How many sound good? Writing an original song does not automatically make you impressive. You have to create something truly excellent."

Host Yin Jia took the stage amid applause that refused to die down and said with a smile, "Thank you to Leader Huang for bringing everyone this singer." She paused, putting on a troubled expression. "What is going on? It was obviously a sad love song, but I got completely absorbed in it. My blood was pumping, and I almost wanted to dance along with the beat."

The audience burst into knowing laughter.

"That is probably Leader Huang's charm." After saying that, Yin Jia called out brightly, "Has everyone calmed down yet?"

"No!" the audience shouted.

"Then let's have today's newcomer wait a little while. Once everyone has calmed down, she can sing. All right?"

"All right."

Seeing this, Qin Ze turned to look at his sister's face.

"What?" Qin Baobao said irritably.

Qin Ze said nothing. He reached out and gently rubbed her head.

At that very moment, watching this backstage, Qin Baobao must have felt deeply resentful and bitter. He understood his sister's personality: competitive, stubborn, unable to tolerate even a grain of sand in her eyes.