Chapter 61

Li Pu held the hand of the famous singer and nodded, saying, "Hello, Miss Tang. I've seen your performance on the Spring Festival Gala before."

"Hmm? What did you think?" Tang Mei asked with a smile.

"Your singing is amazing, better than Na Ying, who performed with you." The young man said a polite but meaningless greeting, but Tang Mei still showed a happy expression and invited Li Pu in.

The villa was large, and there were already several musicians busy inside. These were not brought by Tang Mei, but by Xia'er's mother, who had arranged for military workers from the cultural troupe. One of the leaders eagerly took the sheet music Li Pu handed over.

Li Pu wasn't worried about any issues. After obtaining the Earth versions of the instrumental arrangements from "Mo," he had registered the copyrights with a specialized agency.

For a while, Li Pu watched the band try to play the Earth versions of the alien famous songs... and the advertisement songs.

The professional musicians Xia'er's mother had specially arranged might not have had a very distinct style, but their technical skills and coordination were excellent. After a few tries, they could play the new songs quite well.

The first song they tried was "Full Sky of Stars ★ Shining Bright ☆~ All in the Picture ~," a melodious and exotic alien folk song. It was very difficult, and even Qin Xia'er, who was very talented in this area, with Tang Mei's dedicated help, had to try singing the beginning dozens of times to get a feel for it.

Just to grasp this little bit of feeling, it was already past noon. Li Pu had lunch at Tang Mei's house.

While eating and chatting, Li Pu learned that Tang Mei was one of the four judges for the Chinese-speaking region's competition. The other three were the popular idol Wang Yuzhi, who had returned from abroad; the academic and powerful singer Liu Buhan; and the super-popular young queen from Taiwan, Zhou Jielun.

A mainland powerhouse, a respected senior, a returned idol, and a young queen from Taiwan. The resources were well-distributed. Unfortunately, Li Pu, who didn't follow pop culture, didn't recognize many of the current stars, only having seen Tang Mei and Liu Buhan on the Spring Festival Gala.

However, Qin Xia'er was clearly a die-hard fan of the young queen, Zhou Jielun. Tang Mei jokingly said that if the competition had a mentor selection phase like another show, Xia'er would definitely abandon her real teacher and join Zhou Jielun's team.

As they talked, the topic somehow turned to Li Pu.

"Speaking of which, you have a good appearance. Have you ever thought about participating in the global idol audition next month?" Tang Mei looked at the young man in front of her. In her opinion, if Li Pu tidied up a bit, he had the potential for this.

"Uh... me?" Li Pu was slightly taken aback; he had never thought about this.

Qin Xia'er, who was holding a bowl of soup, almost choked when she heard Tang Mei's suggestion.

"No way, Teacher Tang," Xia'er laughed. "When Li Pu was young, he sang in music class and made the whole class laugh so hard they were holding their stomachs... The music teacher was so angry she made him stand outside as punishment. He'd be better off as a comedian."

Li Pu recalled and realized that this was indeed true. Back then, he was trying to make Xiao Xian laugh...

"That's true, being able to evoke emotions in others is also a necessary talent," Tang Mei smiled. "You've been listening to Xia'er sing all this time. Why don't you perform something yourself?"

With Tang Mei putting it this way, even Qin Xia'er started to look forward to it. However, she didn't think Li Pu would agree to participate in any idol audition—she thought he would be more suited for a fighting competition.

But after thinking for a moment, Li Pu suddenly smiled broadly.

He had been stuck in a mental rut. Even if he wasn't strong enough to face the "Tangled Fruit Snake," he could still find a way to let Xiao Xian see him.

Publishing "Men in Black" as a serialized novel was an indirect method, but becoming a widely recognized figure might also work.

Just like in his childhood, he would perform silly acts just to make his childhood friend laugh.

And as a bonus, it could solve his social identity problem. He couldn't just become a social loafer after high school...

Li Pu thought for a moment and asked, "Sister Tang, if I promise to write a song specifically for you, can you teach me how to sing during this time?"

A hint of joy flashed in Tang Mei's eyes, but she maintained a professional attitude. "Hmm, your voice is good, but I need to hear if you have a sense of rhythm and musicality."

Lacking a sense of rhythm and musicality would mean being tone-deaf and unable to sing or play an instrument properly. No matter how good your voice, it couldn't be saved.

Fortunately, Li Pu had no worries about this. He had practiced his martial arts techniques, including "Touching the Crane Like Lightning," to the rhythm of alien songs, including Furiya's, and would occasionally hum along. If his sense of rhythm was poor, his martial arts wouldn't have been as good.

Capoeira, one of the important sources of street dance, is a martial art originating from African black uncles.

Under Tang Mei's guidance, Li Pu tried a few vocal exercises. As a result, Tang Mei temporarily put Qin Xia'er aside and spent almost the entire afternoon on Li Pu.

Tang Mei was surprised to find that Li Pu had an excellent sense of rhythm, but what surprised her even more was Li Pu's super lung capacity and the speed at which he mastered vocal techniques.

Any vocal techniques, such as pronunciation, pitch changes, vibrato, and breath control, that she taught Li Pu, he could almost master after a few tries. Many students from the Central Conservatory of Music had to practice repeatedly to learn these techniques.

Li Pu's lung capacity and explosive power were almost inhuman in her eyes. Tang Mei knew a few singers who were called "Iron Lungs," but they were far inferior to Li Pu. If those "Iron Lungs" were like firecrackers, then Li Pu was like a heavy artillery shell, and it seemed he still had more power in reserve!

"Your singing skills are indeed very raw, almost a beginner. But you are a genius, absolutely a genius," Tang Mei concluded firmly. "Xia'er is also very talented, and her technical and emotional performance is much better than yours, but her 'hardware' definitely can't match yours. No, a talent like you, I've never seen in the Central Conservatory of Music or in any previous auditions."

Of course... I don't think any grandmaster of martial arts would be silly enough to go to a music college or participate in an audition. Li Pu thought to himself.

During the six months he spent with the Little Fist Saint Zhang Shi, Li Pu had used the supreme martial arts technique "Touching the Crane Like Lightning" to break through to the Transformation Stage. He had finally begun to touch the realm of Subtle Perception. Controlling the fine movements of his throat and vocal cords was a trivial matter.

He also learned the Wudang Great Toad Qi from Zhang Shi, along with the original breathing techniques like the Crane's Cry and the Dan Tian Roar, practicing the Purple Mansion True Words. In terms of the foundation and potential for breathing and vocal techniques, there were very few in the professional singing world who could match him. Not to mention pitch changes and vibrato, even the Buddhist Lion's Roar, given some time, he could imitate almost perfectly. Using this extraordinary "hardware" to sing... that would be a waste of talent.

Anyway, the Transformation Stage's muscle and bone transformation and blood and marrow cleansing required the use of sound waves and airflow to refine the internal organs and vibrate the bones and tendons. This could be a two-for-one deal, not wasting much time.

What Li Pu lacked was singing skills and emotional techniques. This could be taught by the professional, Tang Mei.

After agreeing, Li Pu temporarily became Tang Mei's student—of course, it was a transactional arrangement, and Qin Xia'er seemed quite happy about it.

"This time, you're my junior," she said, trying to suppress a laugh. "You'll have to listen to your senior's words from now on."

"You're younger than me," the young man pointed out.

"The capable come first," Qin Xia'er said, lifting her chin proudly. "Singing isn't just about lung capacity!"

"True, it also needs good songs," Li Pu said with a smile, raising an eyebrow.

Qin Xia'er thought about how all her songs were provided by Li Pu and was momentarily speechless.

"By the way, when you register, are you planning to use the name Qin Xia'er?" Li Pu suddenly remembered something—Swallowing Star had dug a pit for him, and now he had the opportunity and reason to indirectly ask.

"Eh?" Qin Xia'er blinked in confusion. "Is this name not good?"

"It's good, but it's a bit childish. Usually, stars take a stage name. Look at Sister Tang, she probably has a stage name too."

"Actually, Xia'er is quite cute, much better than my real name," Tang Mei smiled. Her real name was Tang Meiniang, which could be found online. As a common name, it was fine, but as a star's name, it was a bit too earthy.

Li Pu's point seemed to make sense. Qin Xia'er frowned, thinking that her name was indeed a bit childish. She hesitated and said, "Then, what name should I use?"

Li Pu put on a casual expression, as if he wasn't particularly interested but had just thought of it. "Hmm, I remember your cousin mentioned that you and he both have a courtesy name?"

"Oh, yes," Qin Xia'er nodded. "I remember Uncle Xie Zong gave it to me when I was young—Uncle Xie Zong is a bit nostalgic and usually wears a robe called a 'hechang'—my mother agreed and said it was quite good. It's even on my ID card. But at home, my parents always call me Xia'er, so I rarely use it."

Li Pu couldn't help but laugh inwardly. That strange martial arts master, Zhang Xie Zong, had a hobby of giving names to the younger generation? He knew he was close to his goal and asked, "Oh, what is it?"

Qin Xia'er smiled slightly. "Hehe, it sounds very nice." She paused for a moment. "It's Yue Zhuang."

Qin Yue Zhuang? It really has an ancient and elegant charm. Li Pu thought to himself: What pit? It's a very nice girl's name! Swallowing Star was just scaring me!

But Swallowing Star, Yue Zhuang, the stars and the moon are complete—only the sun is missing! Hahahaha! Li Pu's mind wandered in a rather silly direction.

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End of the chapter.