Are you trying to force me to become a star?

Chapter 4 The Competition Begins

Two days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Friday night's family dinner was sumptuous and delicious, and the atmosphere was pleasant. Except for Ms. Yan Zhi occasionally glaring at him, her "rebellious son," everyone enjoyed it, especially his cousin, who almost bit his tongue off.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and left, Xu Jinyan rushed back to the school, contacted the musicians playing the piano, drums, guitar, and other instruments, sent them the sheet music, and asked them to practice first. They agreed to meet in the rehearsal room at 8:30 the next morning.

Time flew by. They rehearsed in the morning and then joined Grandpa Xu in the afternoon. The next day, they were scheduled to rehearse from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and spent the rest of the time repeatedly working on their coordination to ensure a flawless performance during the evening's competition.

……

……

Sunday, July 5, 2015.

The Oriental Drama Academy's Grand Theater, a top-tier professional theater and a landmark building of the academy, will host the 2015 "Heavenly Voices, Soulmates" Campus Singer Competition tonight at 8 PM.

At this moment, a staff member pushed open the door in the backstage waiting area and said, "Please come over here, five contestants, so we can double-check the order of appearance and the stage movements."

The five people, who were scattered in different places, gradually gathered at the long table in the middle. After confirming the order of appearance according to their surnames and reminding them of some precautions, the staff left.

The remaining five contestants couldn't immediately return to their original positions. The atmosphere was somewhat awkward as they looked at each other. To be honest, most of them were meeting for the first time. They had all fought their way up from various competition zones, and none of them were weak. Moreover, they were about to compete. What was there to say at this moment?

"Hahahaha," just when everyone thought the silence would continue, Tian Xiwei's loud laughter broke the somewhat awkward atmosphere. She laughed and said, "Hello everyone, I am Tian Xiwei, from the Southwest Nationalities Art Academy. Today can be considered our debut battle. From now on, we should address each other as fellow Daoists. Fellow Daoists, if you become rich and powerful, don't forget us, hahaha." As she spoke, she clasped her hands in a fist salute, adopting the air of a cultivator.

With her energetic expression, the atmosphere immediately eased, and the group began to introduce themselves with smiles, complaining about the pressure and how the competition format had been changed so suddenly.

While greeting everyone in a friendly manner, Xu Jinyan kept an eye on the system interface, wanting to see who had signed with Fengtai ahead of time.

"Hello, I'm Xu Jinyan, from Dongxi."

Hello, hello.

[Positive emotions from Tian Xiwei: +25];

It wasn't her; she was just acting out of pure kindness.

"Hello, my name is Meng Wen, I'm from Beijing Film Academy. I think you should study acting at our school, you're so handsome."

[Negative emotions from Meng Wen: +25];

It wasn't him; this negative emotion was probably just jealousy of my appearance.

"Hello Xu Jinyan, my name is Zhang Bichen, from the Northwest Military Academy of Arts. Meng Wen is right, it's a real pity you didn't study acting."

[Positive emotions from Zhang Bichen: +99]

It wasn't her either.

As the two were talking, Xu Jinyan looked at the bright smile on her face and really wanted her to tone it down, since the child's father was still here.

He glanced at Hua Chenyu beside him, and he really didn't expect that the two of them would appear at the same time in an ordinary competition.

"Junior brother, keep it up! We can't let the champion get away when we get to our academy." This was Hua Chenyu.

Xu Jinyan spoke modestly, but was somewhat surprised that the system had not detected any emotions. He looked closely at Hua Chenyu's expression, which was still smug.

Oh! Case solved, they didn't even take him seriously.

Could it really just be Wang Yizhen's doing? Xu Jinyan wondered casually.

But it doesn't matter, as long as I win the championship.

At 7:45, people discovered that a live stream had been opened on Zhiyin.com. Everyone was used to it; every May, the Zhiyin platform would open a live stream, which would feature the annual "Heavenly Melody" Campus Singer Competition.

A few people have started to enter the live stream, and there are sporadic comments floating by.

"Hello"

Is anyone there?

"Occupy the empty screen"

"Is it Dongxi's turn to host this year?"

"What's so interesting about four schools taking turns sharing the cake?"

"Ahhh, I heard they invited Nanfeng to be a judge this year! That's great! I love her piece 'Flying Bird' the most!"

"Those in front, if you don't want to watch, you can leave."

"I heard that this year's semi-finals require original works, that's interesting."

"Huh? Original content?"

"..."

The number of participants gradually increased, eventually reaching nearly six figures before slowing down. Ultimately, even with China's current population of 1.5 billion, not many people would watch a few amateur singers on a weekend evening. This kind of competition is more of a representation of official support, and this support has played a role. In previous years, the number of viewers for the live stream was even less than five figures.

However, those within the industry see things differently. They sensed a different meaning from this competition format reform. Numerous media companies sent talent scouts to the scene, and once a promising talent emerges, a fierce competition is inevitable. Wang Yizhen and his cousin Wang Yiming are currently whispering amongst themselves in the audience.

As the live stream began, the five contestants gradually stopped interacting. Whether they could secure a higher starting point for their debut depended on what happened next.

Although few of the contestants from previous years have become particularly famous, people always feel that they are special.

A short while later, a stirring piece of instrumental music began to play, and colorful spotlights began to flash regularly. The seats gradually quieted down, and it was already eight o'clock.

Two elegantly dressed hosts came to the stage and delivered their opening remarks in standard broadcasting voices; the man's voice was warm and friendly, while the woman's voice was elegant.

"Respected leaders, teachers, students, and viewers, good evening, welcome to the Class of 2015..."

The host on stage spoke with great enthusiasm, while in the audience, three roommates from dormitory 404 were talking quietly.

Kong Chun: "Is Lao Xu any good at this? It's such a big event, and he's even live-streaming it. He might just make a huge mistake."

Pang Lei: "Don't be such a jinx, who do you think is like you?"

Yu Han: "Stop arguing, what number is Jin Yan?"

Kong Chun punched Pang Lei and said, "It should be the fourth one."

At this moment, the female host announced, "After fierce competition, the five finalists are: Hua Chenyu, Meng Wen, Tian Xiwei, Xu Jinyan, and Zhang Bichen. Let's look forward to a wonderful performance from these five contestants tonight."

The male voice then announced: "Next, let's welcome our judges for this competition with warm applause. They are:"

"Music producer Li Aizhou from Zhaochen Pictures;"

"Slap slap slap"

"From music producer Zhao Ming of Yunling Media;"

"Slap slap slap"

"Music producer Sun Dakang from Fengtai Group;"

"Slap slap slap"

"From music producer Shen Nan of Canglan Entertainment;"

"Slap slap slap"

"Finally, there's the famous actor and singer, Nanfeng."

"Clap clap clap clap, South Wind (screams), clap clap clap clap clap."

Hearing the applause, which was far more enthusiastic than theirs, the music producers smiled helplessly. There was nothing they could do; in terms of industry standing, they were certainly above the singers, and even Nanfeng had to address them respectfully as "teacher," but behind the scenes was behind the scenes.

Xu Jinyan, who was backstage, was a little stunned when she heard the identities of the judges. It wasn't that she was surprised by their identities; it was the same lineup every year. Each of the four leading large media companies sent a music producer, plus a top-tier singer, for a total of five judges.

To his surprise, the last judge, Nanfeng, was someone he knew, and even quite familiar with.

Nanfeng signed with the artist management department of Canglan Entertainment. She is both an actress and a singer. He knew her because she had studied vocal music with his father for two years, making her his senior. Nanfeng had even eaten at his house a few times.

But when he thought of Nanfeng again, his expression became a little strange, because she resembled the female lead in the movie "Buddha Mountain".

Transmigrating to the Entertainment Industry: My Senior Sister is Fan Xiaopang?

In the audience, Xu's mother, Yan Zhi, said with some surprise, "Oh dear, Xiao Feng is a judge? If my son wins, and then his relationship with our family is exposed, won't we be accused of rigging the game?"

Xu Wenqing said speechlessly, "Your son hasn't even competed yet, how did you get so carried away?"

The two of them lived nearby and came over on a stroll after dinner without telling Xu Jinyan.

"I was just saying, just what if!"

"Just in case... we'll see then, the competition has started."