Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Lu Qi was practically clenching her teeth as she said, “Tang Guo is such a straightforward person. Of course I won’t mind what she says. I’m even growing to like her more and more.”
“I don’t know why she doesn’t like me, but I don’t mind.”
Lu Qi maintained a beautiful smile, still refusing to let her image crumble the slightest bit.
Now she was just afraid that Tang Guo would continue with something like, “Even though you like me a lot, I still don’t like you.” If that happened, she really didn’t know what else she could say.
Tang Guo was trying to sell to her audience the idea that she was the kind of person who had to express her true temperament. That way, no matter what other people said about her, it wouldn’t ruin her image.
And right from the very beginning, Lu Qi projected an image of perfection. So now, she was really in a predicament where she had no way to back down.
After today, if she were to express even the slightest bit of dissatisfaction with Tang Guo, her perfect image would instantly collapse.
Thinking about what it would be like if that were to happen, Lu Qi blacked out for a fleeting moment.
The backstage host probably found it boring to talk to Lu Qi, as he couldn’t find anything to talk about. So, he turned away from her to continue talking to Tang Guo instead.
For a while, Lu Qi sat on the cold bench. But at the moment, she wanted to be a benchwarmer. She was afraid that the backstage host would ask her more provocative questions that would easily rouse her emotions and make things more difficult for her.
After about an hour, it was finally Lu Qi’s turn to go on stage. Fortunately, during that one hour, she’d been able to adjust her mood back to normal.
This time, she chose to sing a song about forsaken love, and like the song she sang in the quarterfinals, it was in English. This song not only allowed her to show her singing prowess but also allowed her to fully express the feelings of someone who had experienced great disappointment in love.
Lu Qi had a good foundation. Whether it was her singing prowess or her ability to express her emotions, she had incredible skill. The five judges, who were also mentors, were all silently wiping tears from their eyes as they listened to her sing.
Towards the end of the song, there was a melodic inversion to show the state of mind of the lovelorn person walking out of the heartbreaking situation, which calmed the listener and made them feel peaceful.
In short, this song made people recognize how outstanding Lu Qi really was.
The five judges raised their scorecards in unison: 99, 98, 98, 99, 98.
“She sang very well. Right from the beginning, I was hooked and sucked into her song.” The one who said this was Chen Yun, a veteran singer with relatively strong singing skills. And she went on to say, “The feelings she expressed reminded me of the time I experienced my first breakup. So many beautiful memories were instantly brought back to my mind right then and there, which is why I gave her 99 points.”
“The way she executed the emotional aspect of the song towards the end is the reason why I like her. It was a kind of release, where one lets go of everything,” Tong Can said. And he further explained, “But it was also because of this part that I deducted two points. I can’t help feeling that there’s something missing here.”
Of course, Lu Qi knew what was missing. She hadn’t been able to find a way to express a true release during the final part of the song. Earlier on, Tang Guo had made her extremely angry, which had made it difficult for her to fully regulate her emotions back to normal.
If it hadn’t been for her strong mentality, which she’d gained after going through those long hours of training, she definitely would have collapsed this time around.
Fortunately, her score was already quite high, and she didn’t think that Tang Guo’s score would be higher than hers. Plus, Ziyue had made an arrangement with these two judges, Tong Can and Chen Yun, to help her. They were absolutely on her side.
The next and final contestant to go up on stage was Tang Guo.
Tang Guo had given everyone the impression that she was a sweet, innocent girl, like a little angel—an angel that could make people feel at ease and peaceful.
So when Tang Guo went up onto the stage all dressed in black, evoking a kind of heavy, depressing feeling, everyone, audience and judges alike, was stunned.
It was as if she was an angel who had fallen deep into a dark abyss. Her pure, beautiful smile was gone, leaving only despair, and even pain, on her face.