Chapter 67

Everyone had chosen their teammates, and the host then arranged for all the contestants to draw lots on the spot to determine their opponents and the order of their performances.

Li Pu and Qin Xia'er were roughly placed in the middle of the first elimination round live broadcast. Their luck with the draw was not good, and their opponents were a formidable female duo—highly popular contestants Zhang Qianying and Shang Wenjie.

Before the competition, they first had to choose the song they would perform. Since it was a duet, the five alien songs that Qin Xia'er had practiced repeatedly were more suitable for solo performances and were her secret weapons. Therefore, she and Li Pu chose a song from Earth.

Class leader Xia'er was still hesitating about which song to choose, as there were too many good ones! She felt a bit like a headless fly, unable to find a direction. After waiting for a while, the impatient Li Pu made a decisive decision.

"Let's choose one of these three!" Li Pu slapped the songbook and pointed to three songs.

"The theme song 'A Whole New World' from the Disney animation 'Aladdin'; the theme song 'At the Beginning' from the animation 'Anastasia'; and the opening theme song 'The World Is Always Beautiful' from 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Sword of Hua Mountain.'"

The girl glanced at Li Pu with a flicker in her eyes. "All from animations and action movies... but they all sound good."

She thought for a moment, then selected one with her delicate fingers, tilting her head and smiling. "This one should be the most suitable for you, right?"

During this period, Qin Xia'er and Li Pu were considered fellow apprentices. The girl had basically come to understand a fact—Li Pu was very suitable for performing works with elements of grandeur, boldness, chivalry, and passion.

Even the highly professional music teacher Tang Mei repeatedly said that when Li Pu sang such songs, it seemed like his strength was significantly enhanced, making him particularly infectious. However, once he switched to singing sad, tender, and slow-paced songs, his performance level dropped to a series of "hehehe."

"Alright, let's go with this one. We'll start practicing right away." Li Pu nodded. Although this competition was not his dream, just a small side event, he didn't want to be eliminated in the first round.

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On the other side, Zhang Qianying and Shang Wenjie, who were to face Li Pu and Qin Xia'er in the first elimination round, were also complaining about their bad luck with the draw.

They were indeed very popular and had many supporters. However, the same could be said for their opponents.

The combined popularity of their opponents might even be slightly higher...

"Individually, they are quite difficult to deal with, but as a duo, it's not certain." Shang Wenjie, a tall girl with wavy hair and a bit of a punk flavor, pondered. "The girl is of the ethereal and tender type, and the boy has an incredibly powerful voice. It won't be easy to coordinate."

"Exactly, so it looks evenly matched, but we actually have a greater advantage."

Zhang Qianying, who wasn't particularly beautiful but had a very appealing overall presence, smiled and flipped through the songbook, finding a particular song. "We are both technical performers, capable of hitting very high notes and maintaining control. This song has very high technical requirements, but if we coordinate well, it will have a great effect."

"The duet 'When You Believe' from 'The Prince of Egypt' by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey?" Shang Wenjie looked at the song her teammate had chosen, her eyes flashing with confidence and joy. "This song is really perfect for us. As long as we sing it well, there won't be any problem. Let's go with this one!"

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Five days after the group selection of songs, the live broadcast of the first elimination round of "Global Idol - Chinese Language Zone" officially began. The program started with a lively song and dance performance by the four mentors to set the atmosphere, followed by the elimination matches between the contestant pairs.

This globally most popular television talent show had already achieved an average viewership rate of 34.83% in the Chinese-speaking world. As the program proceeded smoothly, online discussions became increasingly heated.

"The original Chinese-style song by Luo Tianyi and Le Zhengling's 'Red Silk and Blue Ribbon' combination is amazing! They are undoubtedly the top two!"

Luo Tianyi and Le Zhengling, both highly popular contestants, had set a record for the highest total votes as a duo, directly placing them at the top of the popularity chart.

"The 'Super Ethnic Style' performance by Wei Linghua and the bald guy is really impressive. The bald guy keeps saying 'Yo, yo, check it out~' non-stop... But as long as Wei Linghua is there, it's fine! Even my company's CEO has announced that all votes will go to her."

Wei Linghua, whose singing style is more down-to-earth, is very popular among middle-aged and elderly viewers. She not only maintains a stable position in the top five but also shows signs of increasing popularity.

The die-hard fans of Tibetan girl Dawa expressed, "Dawa is the true heavenly voice! She sings the authentic flavor of the snowy plateau! The Jiangnan girl surnamed Qin, with her Han level, can barely measure up, no matter how hard she tries, she can't match our Dawa!"

"I'm so angry! My Chengxiu's teammate is really holding him back! Fortunately, he is so invincible and amazing that the votes he gets alone are higher than the total of the other two! Truly the best in Asia, aiming for the world!" This is what the die-hard fans of Jin Chengxiu are spamming in various related threads.

The first elimination round was already in the middle to late stages. After Shang Wenjie and Zhang Qianying's duo performed the theme song "When You Believe" from "The Prince of Egypt," the audience erupted into thunderous applause.

The two outstanding performers delivered the high-difficulty song, originally sung by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, with great passion and skill. On stage, they started with tender and emotional melodies, gradually transitioning into a competition of soaring high notes.

After the last note, Zhang Qianying lowered her head to catch her breath, feeling the lingering resonance, then held hands with her partner Shang Wenjie and exchanged a glance. They both saw confidence in each other's eyes.

—They performed very well. As long as there are no unexpected issues, they should have an 80% chance of winning!

After they left the stage, the atmosphere was already at a high pitch. When Li Pu and Qin Xia'er took the stage, everyone looked at the young couple with great anticipation.

Since they were performing a classic martial arts song, Qin Xia'er wore a specially tailored, finely crafted Han-style dress. Li Pu, of course, could no longer wear his usual pseudo-military casual attire. He now wore a white "zhuasa" with golden dragon embroidery, black leather boots, a straight posture, a toothed badge hanging from his waist, and his hands behind his back, exuding an air of invincibility—those in the know would recognize this style as similar to the villainous boss Cao Shaoqin from "New Dragon Inn."

Although the opening theme song of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Sword of Hua Mountain" is set in the Southern Song Dynasty, the "zhuasa" style became popular only during the Ming Dynasty. However, Li Pu always felt that the grand appearance of the eunuch Cao Shaoqin was impressive—respect the fashion of the times! Since there was an opportunity, he decided to wear it.

These two outfits were specially made by a top-notch tailor at the request of Zhang Shi, who had heard they were performing "The Sword of Hua Mountain." Now, Zhang Shi was sitting in the audience with his arms crossed, as solid as a bell.

Holding the microphone, Qin Xia'er took a deep breath and secretly glanced at the boy beside her. For some reason, whenever she stood next to him recently, her heart always felt a bit "thumping."

Li Pu noticed her gaze and deliberately controlled his facial muscles, exaggeratingly raising his eyebrows at her.

Idiot, stop fooling around. Focus, the competition is about to start! Qin Xia'er dared not look at him anymore. She quickly lowered her eyelids, but her eyelashes trembled, and a pair of dimples appeared on her delicate face.

—The other side is indeed very strong. However, in the few days since they chose the song, the默契 (rapport) and improvement they practiced together were even stronger than she had expected!

If the other side is very strong, then we, now, at this moment, with this song—will be super strong!

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Meanwhile, in different corners of the Chinese-speaking region.

In a villa in the southern district of Hu Hai City, a chubby girl who looked like "Grandma Fire" had sparse eyebrows and small, beady eyes filled with tenderness and affection, glued to the TV.

"Bang!" The door opened, and a middle-aged man in a floral shirt walked in, asking the chubby girl, "Xiao Mei, still watching TV! Come with Dad to the square for some 'Peng Qia Qia' exercise, or you'll get fatter and fatter..."

The chubby girl was none other than the senior high school bully "Grandma Fire" Ou Yang Mei, who had once intimidated Qin Xia'er at school. Irritated by her father's interruption, she grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at him, "Go do 'Peng Qia Qia' yourself! Don't bother me! Can't you see I'm watching a program! Li Xuede is about to perform... Wow (screaming), it's starting! So cool, so cool!"

"This girl..." The middle-aged man was disappointed in front of his precious daughter. He grumbled a few curses and also came over to sit with her, wanting to see what program she was obsessed with.

"Oh, a talent show. You kids just like this kind of thing... Uh, this boy looks familiar?" He focused and felt that the boy in the "zhuasa" on TV looked somewhat familiar.

"Damn! What the hell!" The middle-aged man—Ou Yang Nan, who had once led a group to block Li Pu in an alley—thought for a moment and suddenly shouted, "Is that the guy who can take on dozens, Fang Shiyu?! This little monster is actually participating in a talent show?"

"What Fang Shiyu? His name is Li Pu." Ou Yang Mei's face twitched with dissatisfaction as she glared at her father, who was involved in the underworld. "Stop shouting and being annoying! You're hindering me from listening to him sing!"

In another apartment a few blocks away, Wang Shujun, holding a laptop with "Legend of Mir" open, sat in front of the TV for the first time.

"My best friend is on the 'Global Idol Chinese Language Zone' program! Brothers in the guild, if you have time, go vote! Just send a text message! Today I'm in a good mood, I'll throw money in the Zhongzhou Earth City! Give me, the Invincible Scholar, some face and try to support me!"

In a roadside stall in southwestern China, eight people sat around a large round table, with home-cooked dishes and soft drinks mixed with Maotai wine filling the table. They were eating and chatting, seemingly having a very good relationship.

Suddenly, one of the men glanced at the TV that had been playing all along. His thick eyebrows raised, and he smiled with interest.

"What program is this? Using micro-true speech to sing, and it's a young person? Are experts so common these days?"

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