Chapter 69

In the end, only Wang Yu expressed his support for Zhang Qianying and Shang Wenjie's duo, casting his thousand additional votes. However, this was just a consolation prize. After a while, the SMS voting results were announced: Qin Xia'er received 600,021 SMS votes, barely breaking the 600,000 mark; Li Pu received 570,761 SMS votes; Zhang Qianying received 490,891 SMS votes; and Shang Wenjie received 389,070 SMS votes.

The two successfully advanced to the next round of the elimination. In the overall voting chart for the top 40, Li Pu had improved by two positions, ranking eighth overall. Qin Xia'er was closely behind, ranking seventh.

Luo Tianyi topped the charts with an overwhelming 950,000 SMS votes. Jin Chengxiu came in second with 720,000 votes. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth places were taken by Le Zhengling, Wei Linghua, Le Zhenglongya, and Dawa, with 700,000, 660,000, 640,000, and 610,000 votes, respectively.

The following weekend, after the first round of the competition ended, the top 40 to 20 elimination round began. The competition format was a standard one-on-one match. Li Pu drew a less popular and less skilled opponent, and naturally won easily. As for Qin Xia'er, she drew the Tibetan girl Dawa, who was known as the "Snowland Fairy" on the internet. Dawa had received over 10,000 more votes than Qin Xia'er in the first round of the elimination.

Dawa, a Tibetan girl who didn't look very Tibetan, had wavy black hair, fair skin, and a slender figure. Her face, which fans called "fairy-like," was free of the typical high-altitude redness, but her chest was flat. She was the kind of flat-chested girl who could sing "Small Breasts Are Not a Disease" with Sun Yanzi.

Seeing that her opponent for this round was Qin Xia'er, Dawa's lips curled into a smile.

"Hmph, this big-chested girl is exactly the opponent I most want to eliminate!"

Perhaps because Qin Xia'er had performed "Sister Drum" in the preliminary rounds, a song with Tibetan elements, and had done so excellently, Dawa's fans often compared her to Qin Xia'er, saying that while Qin Xia'er could sing, when it came to Tibetan-style songs, Dawa was the real deal! Her aura—uh, her presence—was so strong that it could span the entire Yarlung Tsangpo River! Qin Xia'er's supporters, of course, would counter, leading to heated arguments.

At first, Dawa just laughed it off. But as the two camps became more and more intense, they became bitter enemies. Whenever they met, they would argue, comparing everything from singing skills, appearance, and personality to even their figures.

In terms of singing skills, both girls were very good, and it was subjective to say who was better. Non-experts couldn't really tell the difference. As for appearance and personality, one side called her the "Snowland Fairy," while the other called her the "Southern Beauty." Neither side could convince the other.

This stalemate continued until the comparison of their figures began.

Whenever a fan praised Dawa online, a professional smear team would post a standard reply:

Dawa's fan (happy): "The Snowland Fairy's voice is truly heavenly! No one can match her in this competition. Remember to vote for her!"

Professional smear team: "Alas, she's flat-chested."

Dawa's fan (angry): "But Dawa is so fairy-like, and her singing skills are top-notch. How many contestants can match her?"

Professional smear team: "But she's flat-chested."

Dawa's fan (frustrated): "Why focus on the chest! Don't you have ears to listen to the music? Are you blind to her great aura?"

Professional smear team (innocent): "I can see clearly, and I'm sure she's flat-chested!"

Dawa's fan (exploding): "You idiot! (Unable to tolerate, starts cursing)"

Professional smear team (calm): "Just flat-chested, small breasts are not a disease. Look at Sun Yanzi, she's living happily, even though she's flat-chested. You should broaden your mind... see, life is still beautiful, at least she hasn't been eliminated yet!"

As a result, even some of Dawa's fans started to use self-deprecating phrases: "Dawa's fairy-like singing is so beautiful, but she's flat-chested..."

Then, some creative fans started to say: "Flat-chested is a rare value!"

So, every time Dawa was mentioned, this fixed phrase inevitably followed!

This made Dawa very angry—why compare figures! Do idols need to compare figures? Annoying, big breasts don't make the voice more beautiful!

Ugh, it shouldn't be like that.

So, this time, facing Qin Xia'er was like a blessing from the goddess of luck! Dawa was determined to win, her eyes burning with fierce determination as she looked at Qin Xia'er.

"Did I do something to offend her?" The innocent class president Xia'er felt very confused.

Perhaps to prove her absolute superiority in Tibetan-style songs, the flat-chested and determined Dawa performed "Lhasa Ballad" in this round. This song, like "Sister Drum," is from the highly influential world music album "Yajinma." It is second in fame only to "Sister Drum" and may even be more widely known.

The Tibetan girl's clear and pure voice perfectly interpreted this ethereal and distant song, performing beyond her usual level. After she finished, the audience remained immersed in the song's beautiful and cleansing atmosphere, savoring its lingering melody.

The four mentors on stage praised her without end. In particular, Liu Buhan praised it as the best performance of the day, far exceeding the realm of a youth idol and entering the domain of a professional singer.

Perfect! Dawa's face showed a look of pride. As she left the stage, she lifted her chin and gave Qin Xia'er, who was about to go on, a haughty smile.

"Hmph, did you see that? Did you hear that? Did you feel that? This is the original and authentic Snowland song, the heavenly voice, the clear and ethereal voice blessed by the Gandharvas! You're just a Han girl trying to imitate!"

Qin Xia'er had no idea about Dawa's thoughts.

Below the stage were the four mentors, nearly a thousand audience members, and countless viewers across the Chinese-speaking world, including young men and women, uncles and aunts, and elderly people and children... Millions of eyes were focused on her.

Although her parents were not present, Qin Xia'er knew they were watching her. So were her relatives, her father's colleagues, and her school friends and teachers, who had given her countless praises and encouragements in the past few days.

But what she was thinking about now was just one thing.

Unlike the preliminary and first-round group competitions, from this round on, she would use the "secret weapon" she had prepared for a long time.

Qin Xia'er vaguely remembered her first performance in front of many people, which was in her kindergarten senior class.

With her hair in pigtails and wearing a small floral cotton jacket, she stood timidly on the small stage of the kindergarten. Facing her classmates and many parents, including her own, she held a small tambourine with her chubby little hands, shaking it to accompany her own singing of "Learning from Lei Feng is a Good Example."

She was a bit nervous and forgot the lyrics, and the little girl almost cried.

At this moment, a mischievous boy who often pulled her pigtails jumped onto the stage and loudly sang the line she had forgotten: "Clear love and hate, never forget the roots!—Carry the schoolbag, blow up the school!"

Thus, the little girl, led astray, also sang in a childish voice: "Clear love and hate, never forget the roots!—Carry the schoolbag, blow up the school!"

Some of the teachers and parents below laughed uncontrollably. The boy was quickly dragged off by his father and given a good beating.

But the girl, after this commotion, forgot her nervousness and performed smoothly, happily receiving a small red flower as a reward.

From this initial experience, through kindergarten, primary school, junior high, and even high school, the excellent and beautiful Qin Xia'er grew up amidst praise and glory. But what made her happiest was seeing the audience below laugh happily.

However, what she was most concerned about at the moment was the young man sitting next to her cousin Zhang Shi, smiling at her.

Looking back, from the entanglement in kindergarten... to the present, he had always been a somewhat special person in her heart.

Sometimes she found him extremely annoying, sometimes very interesting, making her frustrated and making her laugh. On the day they met again after four years, she was even happier than she had expected. Since then, a series of unexpected events had made her owe him a lot. Moreover, he was becoming more and more impressive, surprising her with his exaggerated combat skills like an action movie hero and those magical songs.

Even... when she occasionally went to his house, she discovered that he was serializing a popular science fiction novel online! It was such a mysterious feeling!

For some reason, and unable to suppress it, every time she saw him, and occasionally when their eyes met, her heart would beat "thump, thump!" a few times faster.

A bit bitter, because he openly cared the most about his sister Xiao Xian. But also a bit sweet, because he often stayed by her side now.

So, Class President Xia'er's heart was a bit confused and at a loss with these bittersweet feelings, but she was also happy that he was there below.

Because this song was about the heartbeat.

Qin Xia'er gazed at the direction of the young man below, and without her realizing it, a beautiful smile, as if glowing, appeared on her delicate face. Then she closed her eyes and raised the microphone.

This was a song he had given her. So, although it was hard to say, just this once, for you alone, listen to me sing well!

"Thump, thump, thump, thump, the planet explodes, it's the heartbeat of love... 1, 2, 3..."

The accompaniment band in the performance area had already been replaced by top professionals personally invited by Qin Xia'er's mother. As the girl raised the microphone, they began to play in perfect harmony.

"Hmm?" Liu Buhan slightly opened his eyes. This was a song he had never heard before, but it was of extremely high quality.

The style was completely unfamiliar, but the melody was lively and dynamic. The various instruments played in perfect harmony, weaving together beautifully. Just listening to the prelude, one could predict that this was a song with the potential to become a classic.

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