The lights across the venue came on, and the chorus rang out once more: "Oh, that girl across from me, walking closer step by step—how could I not look forward to it?"①
The next moment, the barrage was flooded with a sea of "Aaaahhh!"
"My ears are pregnant! They have to be!"
"Just one line? More, more!"
"Holy shit! Ye Zexi's voice just now was so damn gorgeous!!!"
"Who was it in the comments that said he was lip-syncing? Come out and apologize right now!"
"I'm losing my mind! With vocals this good, which idiot bought him a trending topic accusing him of lip-syncing?"
"Is the voting channel open? I'm going to vote for Ye Zexi!"
"It's open, it's open! Hurry! It's right next to the comment section—I just voted!"
The length of one song was neither long nor short, but it was enough to completely overturn everyone's impression of Ye Zexi.
Yet the people shocked were far more than just the audience. Tang Jing, who was sharing the stage with Ye Zexi, was equally stunned.
The moment Ye Zexi opened his mouth onstage, Tang Jing froze.
There was no other reason: Ye Zexi's performance today was worlds apart from before.
Whether it was his vocal technique, his voice, or even his stage presence, Ye Zexi could be considered the best in their group today.
Tang Jing was so surprised that he was somewhat distracted throughout the entire performance that night.
If Ye Zexi had not lightly nudged him with his elbow just now, he would have nearly forgotten that it was his turn to sing the next line!
Tang Jing's face immediately turned somewhat pale, the color draining from his lips as well.
How could he make a mistake at a time like this?
During a position change, Tang Jing took a moment to glance below the stage and immediately spotted He Jinyun sitting upright at the judges' table. A faint smile rested on the man's pale lips, his gaze—
Following the man's line of sight, Tang Jing's eyes settled on Ye Zexi beside him.
The smile at the corner of Tang Jing's lips stiffened at once, and the hand hanging at his side quietly clenched.
Could it be that Ye Zexi had deliberately been hiding his abilities by singing so badly before?
Tang Jing was not the only one who thought so. Many contestants below the stage had the same idea.
Jiang Ran's face had turned green with anger, and the expressions of the other group members seated beside him were no better.
Someone muttered softly, "It has to be fake, right? He was off-key the entire time before. How could he possibly improve so much in just one day—"
Jiang Ran glanced at the camera in front of them and lowered his voice. "Keep it down!"
The person froze, instantly realizing they were still filming, and shut his mouth in lingering fear.
Jiang Ran's gaze returned to Ye Zexi onstage. He really was singing well—so well that even Jiang Ran felt inferior.
Damn it! He was furious!
He had even mocked Ye Zexi earlier today. Looking at it now, wasn't last night's trending topic simply paving the way for Ye Zexi?
Whoever had bought that trending topic for Ye Zexi was probably regretting it so badly his intestines had turned green by now!
*
The song reached its climax. As the lingering harmonies faded away, the accompaniment dispersed as well, bringing the first performance to a perfect close.
A tide of applause rose up. The spotlights poured down, and the camera focused on the ten contestants onstage.
Someone in the venue shouted, "That was amazing!"
The viewers in the barrage grew excited as well.
"That was so, so, so, so good!"
"Ye Zexi was such a surprise!"
"Era Idol is fucking awesome! Every contestant is incredible! I'm already looking forward to the next performance!"
"Ye Zexi really is kind of strong..."
"More, more! I'm not satisfied! I want Ye Zexi to sing a solo!"
"What kind of wild talk is that?!"
Unfortunately, one song was just one song.
The livestream continued, but by then, the barrage no longer contained the mockery from before. It was filled entirely with people cheering on and supporting their favorite contestants.
When it came time for the contestants to introduce themselves and canvass for votes, the barrage nearly covered the entire screen when it was Ye Zexi's turn.
Ye Zexi's self-introduction was very brief. "Hello, everyone. I'm Ye Zexi."
After saying that, Ye Zexi raised his eyes and gave the host a faint smile.
The host's smile was somewhat forced. His name was Xi Shu, and he had been working as a host for just three years. He had only become the host of Era Idol this time through someone's recommendation.
Xi Shu treasured this hard-won opportunity and had diligently memorized the script the entire time.
Until this morning, when chief director Li Changjian had called him in for a talk.
Xi Shu had prepared all day, but when he thought of the question he was about to ask, he was still nervous.
Only after taking several deep breaths did Xi Shu clear his throat and joke, "Since it's Zexi's turn, I have a question for you too. Would it be convenient for me to ask?"
Ye Zexi smiled. "Please, go ahead."
Xi Shu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly threw out the question Li Changjian had instructed him to ask. "I'm sure you saw last night's trending topic. After yesterday's teaser video was released, many netizens questioned whether you were lip-syncing. What do you think about that?"
The moment Xi Shu asked the question, everyone present changed expression.
"This question! The host is obviously stirring things up!"
"So was he lip-syncing or not?" The doubts that had previously been suppressed surfaced once more.
"Yeah. Although Ye Zexi sang pretty well, I still want to know what happened in the teaser."
"He probably won't admit it. After all, every singer who runs into this kind of thing just denies it outright."
There was plenty of speculation in the barrage, and naturally, the camera focused on Ye Zexi onstage.
Under the lights, his pink hair was especially eye-catching, making his fair skin seem even paler. Even the small mole at the corner of his eye looked particularly vivid and alluring. He gave a light cough. "Ahem—I don't really think anything of it. I really wasn't familiar with the song at the time. I apologize to the audience."
After all, he had only transmigrated here yesterday, and it was a song he had never heard before. Being able to match the lip movements at all was already pretty good.
Xi Shu froze. "Huh?"