Quiet

"Hello, please show me your registration card."

Lin Mu pushed open the door and went inside. It was a fairly large room, about fifty or sixty square meters, with more than a dozen makeup tables arranged around it. It was probably usually the dressing room for the actors at Jiangrong Drama Center.

Now it had temporarily been turned into a waiting room for contestants.

There was a table by the entrance, with two young women sitting there. When one of them saw someone come in, she stood up and spoke to Lin Mu.

Her tone was mechanical and her expression vacant. Clearly, she had repeated those words many times already. But when she saw Lin Mu's face, she let out a soft cry without thinking.

"So handsome!"

Her exclamation drew the attention of everyone else in the room. The contestants waiting to go onstage all turned to look, their gazes unfriendly.

Only twenty contestants from each regional division would advance to the main competition. Everyone in this room was a competitor, and the sudden arrival of such a handsome young man made them feel inexplicably pressured.

"Heh, this is a singing competition, not a face contest."

"Yeah, the judges can't even see his face. Being handsome won't help him."

A few people scoffed and muttered under their breath. But the room was quiet, so their words still reached Lin Mu clearly.

Lin Mu paid them no mind and handed his contestant card to the staff member.

She took the card and, seemingly by accident, brushed her fingers against Lin Mu's hand.

"Zhang Hen. Wow, handsome, your name sounds so tough."

After registering him, she returned the contestant card and gave him a flirtatious smile.

"Thanks." Lin Mu gave her a perfunctory smile and walked over to sit in a secluded corner.

He was used to this sort of thing by now. It wasn't anything to make a fuss over.

All he wanted was to quietly win the S Card for the Jiangsu Province regional division and then go back to the company to work.

Naturally, he couldn't use his real name as a contestant. When Fat Tiger had signed up the day before, he'd used A Hen's name and personal information.

"Hi, I'm Wang Lu. I'm number 25. What number are you?"

But some people couldn't hide the aura they gave off, even when standing in a corner. As soon as Lin Mu sat down, a young woman came over and sat beside him.

"I'm number 36," Lin Mu said.

The young woman exclaimed, "What a coincidence!"

"What's so coincidental?"

"Your number is exactly eleven higher than mine. Isn't that a coincidence?"

Lin Mu: "."

What was this painfully awkward way of striking up a conversation?

"What a coincidence! I'm number 47, so I'm also exactly eleven higher than you!"

A man walked over and sat beside Wang Lu.

Lin Mu sighed softly in resignation. He'd only wanted to find a secluded corner, but now it had become the liveliest spot in the whole room.

Wang Lu nudged Lin Mu with her elbow. "Zhang Hen, what song are you singing?"

The man beside her chimed in. "I'm singing Feng Bingbing's You Don't Know I Love You."

The others all looked at him in surprise.

The man said nonchalantly, "It's harder for a man to sing a woman's song. If I pull it off, the judges will remember me."

His words gave some of the others pause. They seemed to be wondering whether they should switch to a woman's song too.

"I'm singing a man's song," Wang Lu said. "Chen An's Secret Love Is Not a Crime."

The others immediately cried out in surprise.

"You two didn't plan this together, did you? I heard Chen An wrote that song specifically for Feng Bingbing!"

"Chen An's so talented. He and Feng Bingbing would actually make a great couple."

"Yeah, I thought the person Feng Bingbing confessed to yesterday was Chen An. What a shame!"

"A man singing a woman's song and a woman singing a man's song—there's some logic to that. Should I change my song at the last minute?"

The room, which had been quiet and peaceful, suddenly grew noisy. Lin Mu rolled his eyes, regretting that he'd forgotten to bring a mask.

Damn it, being handsome was such a hassle!

"Zhang Hen, what song are you singing?"

"Quiet," Lin Mu said expressionlessly.

The lively room fell silent. Wang Lu looked a little embarrassed, and the man beside her angrily pointed at Lin Mu.

"Hey, that's too much. We're just chatting. If you don't want to talk, then go somewhere else. What gives you the right to tell us to be quiet?"

The others chimed in. "Even if we're competing, you don't have to be so hostile, do you? You look perfectly decent, but you're so petty!"

Just then, the assistant director on site pushed the door open and called out:

"Number 10, Wang Lu. You're up."

"Okay, sir! I'll be right there!"

Wang Lu sprang to her feet and walked over to the assistant director, wearing a sweet smile that was both adorable and respectful.

"?" Everyone else was baffled. Hadn't that pretty young woman just said she was number 25?

"What's the name of the song you're singing?" The assistant director glanced down at his notes and asked to confirm.

"You Don't Know I Love You," Wang Lu answered at once.

Everyone was baffled again.

Hadn't she just said she was singing Chen An's Secret Love Is Not a Crime?

Wang Lu turned to the people in the room and gave them a sweet smile. "Good luck, everyone!"

Then she hopped out of the room.

The people who had just angrily criticized Lin Mu fell silent. A few of those who had planned to change their songs at the last minute looked completely dazed.

They realized that their previously well-prepared state of mind had been thrown into disarray by the interruption.

More contestants went onstage one after another. Around eleven that morning, the assistant director on site opened the door again and called out:

"Number 11, Hao Jian. You're up."

The man who'd just talked with Wang Lu, claimed to be number 47, and said he was singing a woman's song immediately stood up.

"Coming."

Everyone watched him in silence.

The assistant director asked, "What song are you singing?"

"Secret Love Is Not a Crime," Hao Jian replied.

Everyone: "."

Hao Jian turned and flashed his competitors in the room a wicked smile, then walked out of the waiting room.

This time, no one in the room said another word. Everyone looked as if they'd just swallowed a dead fly.

The contestants tried to collect themselves, hoping to recover from the mental disruption Wang Lu and Hao Jian had caused.

A few more people went onstage. Around eleven that morning, the assistant director on site pushed open the door.

"Number 16, Zhang Hen."

"Coming."

Lin Mu stood up and walked to the door.

"What song are you singing?"

As usual, the cautious assistant director asked to confirm.

"Quiet," Lin Mu answered.

The people who had criticized Lin Mu earlier all looked at him in surprise.

The assistant director asked one more question. "An original?"

Lin Mu nodded.

"Good. Come with me. I'll take you to the original-song section. There are instruments over there. What instrument will you use?"

"Piano."

"Good. Let's go."

After Lin Mu left, the room finally broke into discussion again.

"So that really was the song title he'd been talking about. We misunderstood him!"

"Quiet? That title sounds pretty ordinary."

"Original songs don't have much of an advantage in Pure Voice unless they're really outstanding."

"Wait, didn't that guy just say he was number 36?"

"...Damn it! Can't anyone in this world be honest?"

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