Chapter 57

Li Pu suddenly recalled with a lack of tact, "I remember in elementary school, once you recited an essay in front of everyone about what you wanted to be when you grew up. You said you wanted to be an inventor, right?"

Class President Xia'er denied it unhappily, "At that age, don't kids all write about wanting to be 'inventors' or 'astronauts'? How can that count..."

Qin Xia'er suddenly stopped walking, took a deep breath, and as if making a decision, asked the young man, "There's something that's been bothering me. Can you give me some advice?"

Classmate Li Pu immediately looked tense, "What's bothering you? Did you get stuck in stocks? Sell quickly!"

"...Don't make such boring jokes, okay?" Qin Xia'er said irritably.

The carefree young man shrugged, "Alright, the wise man is here. Speak, and I'll listen."

"How do you think my singing is?" Qin Xia'er didn't answer directly but asked a question, trying to appear nonchalant, though her big eyes, fluttering with lashes, were full of nervousness and anticipation.

"Huh, you, singing?" Li Pu was slightly taken aback, "I only remember hearing you sing once during a school celebration in elementary school, and another time when I was woken up and didn't hear clearly. I don't really remember how it was. Why don't you perform now?"

Li Pu made a good point. Class President Xia'er nodded, but she was a bit embarrassed to sing on the street. So she dragged Li Pu to a small, deserted park.

"Cough, cough..." The girl cleared her throat nervously, then said seriously to Li Pu, "I'm being very serious now! No laughing at me on purpose."

Seeing the young man nod in agreement, she closed her eyes and sang "Sister Drum" by Zhu Zheqin. Her voice was melodious and clear, and she added her own unique touches in some places, which was surprisingly excellent, much to Li Pu's surprise.

"How was it?" After finishing the last note, Class President Xia'er opened her bright eyes, full of anticipation, and looked at Li Pu.

The young man's lips twitched, and he suddenly said, "Have you practiced seriously?"

"Eh?" Qin Xia'er was a bit confused.

Li Pu explained, "A few notes require a lot of lung capacity, but you sang them effortlessly. Your voice didn't waver at all, and it was very powerful."

"Uncle Xie Zong taught me some breathing techniques before, saying they could improve lung capacity," Qin Xia'er said proudly.

"No wonder." Li Pu nodded. Breathing techniques were the entry point to internal martial arts, which could cleanse the body's organs and enhance physical strength. The breathing techniques specially taught by a grandmaster of martial arts to his niece were definitely of high quality, so improving lung capacity was no problem. Qin Xia'er naturally had little interest in martial arts, but she liked singing, so it wasn't surprising that she learned them.

"You still haven't told me how I sang," Qin Xia'er asked eagerly.

"I haven't heard the original version of this song, so I don't know who sings it better," Li Pu smiled, "But you sang very well, I can guarantee that."

"Really?" Class President Xia'er was overjoyed, but she felt that Li Pu might still make a sarcastic comment, so she asked guardedly, "Is there something you haven't said?"

This time, Li Pu really didn't intend to mock her. He shrugged and said, "And you are quite a beauty. With your classic idol looks and powerful singing voice, you stand out in every way! Don't you really want to be a singer?"

This time, the blackening was too subtle for Class President Xia'er to notice. She just clenched her little fist, "I really want to. But..."

"Then do it," Li Pu said nonchalantly, "Your family's conditions are so good, and you have no worries. What's there to hesitate about?"

Qin Xia'er took a deep breath and said forcefully, "Then... will you go with me?"

"Eh?" Li Pu blinked, "Go with you where?"

"The 'Global Idol' preliminary selection in the city next weekend," the girl's eyes sparkled.

"Uh, what's Global Idol?" Li Pu, who never watched such shows, was completely clueless.

"Such a popular show, and you haven't seen it?" Qin Xia'er couldn't accept Li Pu's ignorance.

So Class President Xia'er explained to Li Pu. It turned out that this show was a global super talent show. First, the most popular "super idols" were selected in different countries, then there were "continental finals," and finally, the "world finals" to determine the "best new idol in the world."

Incidentally, countries in the Middle East did not allow idol worship, so they were the only countries with sufficient economic conditions that completely banned such competitions, apart from some African countries that couldn't afford to host them and North Korea, which was politically restricted.

Qin Xia'er was participating in the preliminary selection for the Chinese region. Although Chinese contestants were often overshadowed by Japanese contestants, who dominated the Asian pop culture industry, the enthusiasm of domestic audiences was very high, and the number of participants was second only to the United States.

"Ah." Li Pu nodded in understanding, "You want to be like Lin Mingmei?"

Li Pu could probably recognize and name more alien singers than Earth singers. However, Lin Mingmei was an exception—because she was a character from the "Robotech" anime he liked in his childhood.

"Who is Lin Mingmei?" Qin Xia'er, who rarely watched anime, didn't understand Li Pu's reference.

"In short, she's a beautiful idol. The kind most girls want to be," Li Pu didn't bother to explain in detail. He looked up and down at Class President Xia'er and suddenly smiled.

A somewhat fanciful idea flashed in his mind.

What would happen if Class President Xia'er performed alien songs?

Maybe he could really "raise" a Lin Mingmei himself! And he could indirectly promote the alien music that only he appreciated so far.

"Maybe I can earn some living expenses too. I'm really broke right now," Li Pu's personal savings were less than 60,000 RMB. If this continued, after paying this year's rent, his living expenses would be tight, and he would have to count his pennies to buy anything.

Especially since he met Zhang Shi, during the time they hung out, he ate at the same level as Zhang Shi every day. He didn't realize before how beneficial it was for his physical development to eat carefully prepared health dishes like Zhang Shi.

Little Martial Saint Zhang Shi could face Li Pu, who had undergone alien enhancement, and even use his ultimate move, the Heavenly Buddha Palm, to disperse Li Pu's qi and blood, giving him a significant disadvantage. This was not only due to his super talent with three times the innate true strength and the rigorous martial arts training, but also because of his excellent diet. The combination of these three factors had nurtured Zhang Shi's young but monstrous physique.

In the years Li Pu lived alone, he basically ate cheap cafeteria meals, which didn't even ensure a balanced diet, just enough to fill his stomach.

It wasn't that he didn't want to eat better; it was that he didn't have much money. He had also promised Xiao Xian that he wouldn't resort to illegal means. Relying on occasional "hiring" by acquaintances—Wang Shujun being the most generous—didn't earn him much.

If he could eat rare ingredients like Zhang Shi, his physical condition might improve faster. After all, the "Divine Warrior Armor" could only optimize his basic physical foundation, maximizing the absorption and utilization of nutrients to strengthen his bones and cells, but it couldn't create something out of nothing.

"If Class President Xia'er makes these songs popular, selling them might earn a lot of money," Li Pu calculated. Over the years, he had collected quite a few alien cultural products, especially songs by Furiya, which were almost enough for two albums.

As for the copyright issues of alien songs, Li Pu's home planet, Earth, was just a remote planet in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way, not yet connected to the "Pan-Civilization Commercial Union." Therefore, as long as it didn't spread to the real alien market, this would be considered a "fan cover" behavior.

Even if it generated profits locally, according to the regulations of the copyright holders—such as the "Interstellar Wisdom Entertainment Company," one of the three major publishers of alien art products (still owned by the wealthy Shar-Sago)—if the total income was below a certain amount of Castor Coins, it was not considered a commercial activity. The judgment would depend on the exchange rate between the local currency and the Castor Bank's issued currency.

"The only problem is to adapt the songs to Earth versions."

Li Pu could only read sheet music, but he wasn't worried. He had the "Divine Warrior Armor" system AI.

Speaking of the "Divine Warrior Armor" system AI, it wasn't just a simple AI for an alien fitness product. It was a small part of a subordinate unit of a supercomputer that integrated the entire "Interstellar Wisdom Entertainment Company" and a significant portion of the "Pan-Civilization Commercial Union"—an extremely small and insignificant service terminal.

"Ten Thousand Sects Model" was the name of this supercomputer.