Perfect Superstar

Chapter 127 - An Extraordinary Opponent

Toot ~.

The spout ofthe electric kettle spewed out long steam, and the low-pitched squeaking soundsechoed in the small building.

Tic!

The nextmoment, under the action of the automatic thermostat, the switch on the basejumps up and instantly cuts off the power.

Chen Xiangskillfully picked up the kettle and poured the boiling water into the preparednoodle cup.

A cup ofbraised beef noodles, plus half a pack of spicy and sour pickles and a spicy marinatedegg.

It wasalready 9 o’clock in the evening and this is his dinner.

There isreally nothing he can do about it. Today, all the employee in the company areworking overtime. They are already lucky if they can get back to the rentalroom before 9 o’clock. Sometimes when they work overtime until 11 o’clock orlater, Chen Xiang sleeps directly in the office.

Chen Xiang haslittle 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 ayear.

At least hecan rely on his salary to support himself and survive in this big city with apopulation of 30 million.

Withoutwaiting for the noodle to be cooked, Chen Xiang went straight to the front ofthe computer.

Tonight isthe last round of "Singing China" tournament, which will determine the NationalTop 10 singers.

He will jointhousands of members of the Lu Family Army to cheer on Lu Chen!

Chen Xiangfirst met Lu Chen a few months ago.

At thattime, he was browsing around [Whale TV] and accidentally clicked on thenewcomer’s recommendation on the home page. As a result, he entered Lu Fei’slive broadcasting roon and got to know the talented newcomer anchor who couldplay and sing.

He likes tolisten 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, thereal reason why Chen Xiang has become a die-hard fan is that Lu Chen, like him,is also a Beijing drifter.

Chen Xiangwatched Lu Chen become famous in [Whale TV] and watched Lu Chen walk out of theanchor 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 Xiangpaid more attention to the competition in the evening and was absent-mindedwhen working overtime. Fortunately, Lu Chen has not yet gone on stage since theprogram started at 7:30 pm.

Otherwise,he can only watch the recorded video and would not be able to cheer for Lu Chenwith hundreds of thousands of fans.

On thecomputer screen, the fifth pair of competitors has just finished.

The tourteam’s singer Mu Xiaochu, with the sweet song "Small Town Nocturne", narrowlybeat Bihai singing area challenger Gao Zhanpeng, with a score of 91.68, winningthe fifth place in the National Top 10. (TN: Not actually fifth place, but thefifth one to enter the national top 10. I think there’s one last voting/electionthat will be held in Beijing for the placing.)

Comparedwith her opponent, her advantage is only 0.12 points!

Chen Xiangcame back late, so he saw only a little bit of the competition between the twosides.

But that didnot stop him from applauding Mu Xiaochu and filling the live broadcast roomwith celebratory barrage.

Like Lu Chen, Mu Xiaochu came out from Beijing singing area.

All the waythrough, this charming girl, like the girl next door, showed to everyone hertenacious will, tenacious courage and commendable strength.

She and LuChen have a good relationship. The two are like brother and sister, and havemade several appearances on live videos.

As thesaying goes, when you love someone, love everything along with that person¹

Everyoneaffectionately called her: Little Sister Xiaochu.

Now, seeingMu Xiaochu defeat her opponent again, the live broadcast room was full ofjubilation, and the barrage flooded the screen like a tide.

Chen Xiang hitenter with a smile and send out the filled content.

"Congratulationsto the Little Sister Xaochu for winning a place in the National Top 10!"

But that’snot the real point.

Thecontestants came off the stage and the host come on again, and read the advertisementat super speed in 10 seconds.

He askedChen Fei’er to draw the sixth pair of competitors.

Lu Fei’slive broadcast room instantly became quiet. Everyone was waiting nervously,anxiously looking forward to it.

The tournamentis more than halfway through, and five contestants each from the tour team andthe Bihai singing area have appeared.

There areonly 10 contestants left. Will Lu Chen be selected?

The televisioncamera focused on Chen Fei’er, who calmly pressed the draw button.

The big LEDscreen immediately began to very quickly scroll the photos.

Stop!

As Chen Fei’erpressed down for the second time, the picture was instantly fixed.

Lu Chen VS XiJia!

Lu Chen,it’s finally his turn to appear!

"Great!"

Chen Xiang excitedlyclapped his mouse and almost knocked over the instant noodles that were cookingon the table.

But hedoesn’t care about the noodles right now.

Lu Fei’slive broadcast room immediately boiled over, and the number of barrage sent wassimply too frightening, so dense and numerous!

If peoplewho do not know the truth saw this, they might think that Lu Chen has already defeatedhis opponent.

In the eyesof hundreds of thousands of fans, there is no doubt that Lu Chen will win thecompetition.

Didn’tsomeone smear Lu Chen on the Inspur Blog the day before yesterday? This made anuproar. As a result, that someone’s face was slapped swollen by BeijingSatellite TV. The four major judges all spoke out in a strong voice. If he doesnot win, who could still win?

But thereare also a few rational voices.

"Xi Jiais Bihai singing area top 10 champion. She sings very well"

"Un, LuFei can’t be careless."

"Xi Jiaseems to be a graduate of Sichuan Music, really strong, and probably a goodmatch for the anchor."

"I’veseen her in two matches and she’s really good."

"Thisis 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 acoincidence!"

"Idon’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 bythe barrage tide.

Everyone’sattention was focused on the live broadcast.

Lu Chen andXi Jia appeared on the stage at the same time.

Xi Jia is23-year-old and a native of South Island. She is tall and fair-skinned, but hasa normal appearance.

The top 10 championof Bihai singing area has a neutral look, with short hair and earrings. The combinationof T-shirts, jeans and casual shoes makes her look refreshing. She has a dimpleon her left cheek when she smiles.

"Hello!"

Two peoplewalked onto the stage from different directions and met face to face in themiddle. Xi Jia took the initiative to extend her hand to Lu Chen.

"I likeyour song very much. It’s my honor to compete with you on the same stage!"

The girl isso graceful. Lu Chen, of course, would not behave badly. He shook the otherparty’s hand and said with a smile, "It is also my pleasure!"

The dialoguebetween the two was clearly passed through the microphone and into the ears ofthe 5,000 audience, and the gymnasium was immediately filled with a tsunami ofapplause and shouts.

"Xi Jia!""Xi Jia!" "Xi Jia!"

Many audiencesshouted Xi Jia’s name and held up the fluorescent cards in their hands to cheerher on.

This is homecourt advantage.

Xi Jia isthe Bihai singing area top 10 champion, and is also a native of South Island. Afterthe accumulation of many previous competition, she already has a highpopularity, 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 notsmall, but the momentum is a little worse than Xi Jia. It is estimated thatafter the competition, the number of his votes in the venue will be weak. (TN:The in-site audience vote)

Due to the rulesand regulations of the "Singing China" tour competition, the tour teamwill usually have an off-court advantage, but will have a difficult timegaining the upper hand when facing the local singing area contestant. The twosides formed a relatively balanced situation.

Who wins orloses depends on the overall score!

According tothe rules of the competition, the home players sang first, so Lu Chentemporarily retreated to the waiting area at the side of the stage.

Xi Jia switchedto an electric guitar.

She charminglyheld the guitar in her arms and spoke into the microphone, "Tonight, thesong I brought to everyone is my own work. Its name is "Uninhabited Island"."

"I hopeeveryone likes it!"

Wow!

The whole placewas in an uproar. Unexpectedly, Xi Jia took out her original work in this veryimportant competition!

Anyone who isfamiliar with Xi Jia knows that when she started her audition in Bihai singingarea, went through to the qualifying, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finally toppedthe top 10 of the singing area, all she sang were covered songs.

Xi Jia’svoice is very special, with the kind of metallic sense and slightly tearingmagnetic characteristics, coupled with her first-class singing and excellent stagepresence, she has won the love of countless audiences, all the way to thepresent.

In "SingingChina" blog, post bar and forum, Xi Jia’s fans had been speculating aboutwhich song she will choose to sing in the evening. There were all kinds oftheories, 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 hisopponent with his original works!

Isn’t thisthe weakness of one’s own against the strength of the enemy?

Of course, alot of the audience don’t know that the songs are prepared in advance, whether theyare the tour team or singing area contestants. It is impossible to say when thecompetition suddenly changed.

Because thetournament is all accompanied by live bands.

Xi Jiaherself could not have guessed that she would be matched up with Lu Chen, butsince she dared to take out her first original work, she must be confidentenough to use it in this crucial match.

Xi Jiabelieved in her strength, and her confidence was written on her face.

She held herhead high and smiled until the band behind her played the prelude!

Withsonorous steel string, unusual rhythm, cheerful and enthusiastic melody, theunique summer island style moment was presented to the four judges, and 5,000 audience.

Xi Jia’sunique female voice immediately joined this auditory feast!

Standing inthe waiting area, Lu Chen suddenly straightened up, and his eyes showed anunexpected and pleasant look.

Even afterlistening to the first part of the song, he was acutely aware that Xi Jia’soriginal work was extraordinary. It was not only excellent and impressive, butit was also a fast song that the audience liked.

This Bihaisinging area top 10 champion is definitely not an opponent that can easily bedefeated.

But it wasprecisely her wonderful performance that inspired Lu Chen’s fighting spiritcompletely.

Only bywinning 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.