Chapter 111: “Vast Sea and Sky” in the Breakthrough Round
“Teacher Shen Qing, I have a very mischievous cat at home. It just broke the light bulb. Could you please help me change it?”
Seeing Shen Qing about to leave, Zhang Tian’ai made a bold move.
She felt she couldn’t wait any longer.
Without even a phone call, how could she be considered to have “hooked up” with Shen Qing!?
“Oh? Can your cat do a backflip?” Shen Qing wasn’t a fish in her pond; such little tricks could only fool naive boys.
At this moment, Zhang Tian’ai, having cast her fishing line, stood with her legs together. The streetlight shone through her thin gauze skirt, outlining her straight legs, the gap between them hazy.
Quite nice…
She felt Shen Qing’s intense gaze, blushed, and directly took his hand: “My cat can do a backflip. Would you like to see? We could have some ice-cold beer while watching its performance, as a thank you for your previous care. Would that be okay…”
Shen Qing: “It was just a small favor; I’d forgotten about it if you hadn’t mentioned it. Just work hard, and don’t forget me when you become famous… I like capable women; a pretty face alone doesn’t attract me… I get tired of those women after a few nights.”
Zhang Tian’ai was stunned, feeling a bit hurt. She took a deep breath and said, “Teacher Shen Qing, I will continue to work hard and hope to impress you one day.”
After chatting for a while.
Shen Qing still gave her his number.
The girl was so excited she jumped up and down. She couldn’t sleep until three in the morning, her mind filled with Shen Qing’s earnest advice.
“He’s truly so different! He speaks like a father. I really envy Zhang Liangying; he must dote on her like a daughter.”
…
Meanwhile, Jay Chou, Pan Weibai, Wang Fei, and Na Ying were having a blast, playing mahjong until the next morning.
Shen Qing drove Na Ying’s car back home around four in the morning. Zhang Liangying was already asleep.
After showering, he quietly climbed into bed. As soon as he lay down, Zhang Liangying’s leg draped over him, and she hugged Shen Qing like a little panda, sleeping soundly.
The next day.
When Shen Qing woke up, Liangying, that mischievous girl, was still making the covers bulge. As she sat up, Zhang Tian’ai’s shadow flashed before Shen Qing’s eyes.
He almost called out the wrong name~
Damn it, that woman Xiao Zhang is really messing with my mind!!
…
Time flew by.
It was six-thirty in the evening.
Shen Qing and Zhang Liangying had just landed at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. Long Danni and Li Jing, along with several staff members, were there to pick them up.
“It’s been a while, Liangying. I’ve missed you. Congratulations on your album’s great sales; you’ve really brought honor to our Mainland China singers.”
Li Jing also said, “You’ve created a miracle for Mainland China singers. It’s the first time a Mainland singer has sold over 2 million copies in a month. Even people from Hong Kong and Taiwan couldn’t do that.”
Zhang Liangying: “Sister Danni, Sister Jing, if you keep saying that, I’ll get a big head, haha. The album is already heading towards 2.5 million.”
Liangying, you’ve changed!
You’ve actually learned to show off subtly.
2.5 million sales in just over a month is outrageously strong; it wouldn’t be surprising if it entered the global top 100 sales.
Restaurant.
8:20 PM.
Chen Gang, the director of the Entertainment Channel, the editor-in-chief and host of Entertainment Star World, also came to the banquet after work.
The reason they were so polite and attentive to Shen Qing and Zhang Liangying was simple: Zhang Liangying was incredibly popular.
Shen Qing didn’t believe they were so impressed by him just because he “shook his body”; that was the illusion of reborn individuals – without strength, no one takes you seriously.
As soon as Chen Gang entered, he congratulated Zhang Liangying and then sat next to Shen Qing: “Talented Shen, long time no see. Come On! Boys owes its current success to your plan.”
Shen Qing smiled: “Not at all. Now that 《Come On! Boys》 has the highest ratings, it’s everyone’s credit. I just offered a small suggestion.”
Long Danni: “The direction was wrong; efforts would have been in vain. If you hadn’t revised the plan for us, we likely wouldn’t have achieved this result.”
In the world of fame and fortune, it’s all about mutual flattery.
Shen Qing also flattered them a few times.
Everyone put on a good show.
At 8:30, the dishes started to be served.
The private room’s TV was showing Mango TV. Tonight was the first round of the 《Super Boy》 National Competition. Chen Gang and Long Danni were paying close attention.
Now that they had reached the national competition stage, the contestants’ skills were not too bad, and the show’s entertainment value was far greater than during the preliminary selections.
This was the stage for decisive battles.
The lead gained in the preliminary selection phase could easily be overtaken.
Chen Gang: “This year’s Super Boy has several good contestants, such as Zhao Lei, Chen Chusheng, Su Xing, Wang Lexin, Ji Jie, and Wang Zhengliang.”
Long Danni: “Yes, especially Chen Chusheng and Zhao Lei, they are quite popular. Chen Chusheng’s vocal is very unique; no one in our Come On! Boys can compare to him.”
Your worries are indeed very necessary~
Especially since Zhao Lei will be singing two original songs tonight, you’ll be even more nervous then.
Soon, the show began.
The opening, like 《Super Girl》, started with a video introducing contestants from various divisions, followed by an opening dance. The dance style was similar to Come On! Boys, quite robust, reflecting male charm.
Tonight’s two main hosts were Mango TV’s pillars – He Jiong and Wang Han. Additionally, Cao Ying, Li Xiang, Xie Na, and Li Weijia were there to support.
Wang Han: “What you are seeing now is the first live broadcast of the 48-hour breakthrough battle.”
He Jiong: “Tonight and tomorrow, for two consecutive nights, we will select six individuals to participate in the finals. They will compete with the champions of the six divisions for the national championship.”
Wang Han: “In today’s competition, 8 contestants will leave our stage! Of course, two will successfully advance.”
He Jiong: “The breakthrough battle is imminent. Let’s quickly meet our judging panel.”
The judges for this year’s Super Boy are even stronger than for Super Girl, including Wu Qixian, Bao Xiaobai, Yang Erche Namu, Hei Nan, Cai Kangyong, and others.
The judges present tonight are Huang Yunling, Bao Xiaobai, and Yang Er.
While He Jiong and Wang Han were introducing them, Chen Gang casually remarked, “These hosts from Mango TV are all very good and perfectly suited for this type of variety show.”
Long Danni, having worked at Mango TV, was most familiar with it.
“Mango TV has always focused on developing variety shows. These hosts are all carefully selected; those who weren’t suitable were eliminated long ago.”
Chen Gang was a bit envious.
He felt that if Dragon TV had a host as capable as He Jiong, the show’s effect for Come On! Boys would definitely reach another level.
Cao Kefan was a bit lacking; he was more suited to hosting food shows!?
…
The first round of PK for tonight’s Super Boy was also quite interesting.
The six divisions would be divided into three groups for inter-division PK: Changsha VS Guangzhou, Xi’an VS Chengdu, Jinan VS Nanjing.
Changsha and Guangzhou would compete first.
The order in which contestants from different divisions would appear was determined by the champion of their respective division drawing lots.
Lu Hu, the champion of the Changsha division, pressed the draw button and selected Guo Biao from his division. Wang Lexin, the champion of Guangzhou, selected Liu Zhoucheng.
Guo Biao and Liu Zhoucheng would be the first to PK on stage.
In the future, both of these individuals would develop careers in the entertainment circle, but their development would be quite ordinary, belonging to the third or fourth-tier artist category, with many people unaware of their existence.
In this round, Guo Biao sang an English song 《It Is My Life》, while Liu Zhoucheng performed Edison Chen’s 《I Never Told You》.
To be honest, both of them sang acceptably.
But one had to be put on hold.
After comprehensive consideration by the judges, Guo Biao was given temporary safety, while Liu Zhoucheng entered the waiting area.
After three rounds of competition, the contestant ultimately eliminated was Wang Xi from the Guangzhou division.
…
The contestants from these two divisions were all unremarkable. After watching, Chen Gang and Long Danni felt relieved.
“If all of them were at this level, then our Come On! Boys could easily crush them.”
“Exactly. We’re just worried about Zhao Lei, who’s about to appear. I really hope he doesn’t sing any original songs, and even if he does, I hope they aren’t too good.”
“Didn’t the news a couple of days ago expose that Zhao Lei would be singing an original song in this round?”
“I hope it’s fake.”
During rehearsals a few days ago, Zhao Lei sang 《Anhe Bridge》. Wang Peng, who happened to pass by, was very surprised and immediately had news leaked to attract viewers to the live broadcast.
Moreover, he had a heart-to-heart talk with Zhao Lei, saying that if he signed, he would guarantee him a spot in the national top three.
Lei Zi wasn’t stupid.
He cried poverty and played the victim, basically refusing to sign.
This greatly angered Wang Peng, who felt he saw a reflection of Zhang Liangying in Zhao Lei.
However, he didn’t think too deeply about it, believing he could control the situation. But the thought of Shen Qing made him fearful again, “Damn it, Zhao Lei can’t possibly be Shen Qing’s person, right?”
…
Not long after.
It was time for the Chengdu Division VS Xi’an Division.
The champion of Chengdu was Chen Chusheng, and the champion of Xi’an was Su Xing.
It was rumored that during the Xi’an finals, Su Xing’s wealthy mother used her money power to boost his text message vote count to first place, but whether it was true or not was unknown.
In any case, Shen Qing didn’t pay attention to these things.
In this group, Yu Hongjun and Cai Sitao would PK first, followed by Wang Zhengliang and Suo Xuan, and finally Zhao Lei and Li Xingliang.
If Wang Zhengliang and Zhao Lei were to PK, it would definitely be more exciting.
But in the elimination rounds, kings don’t fight kings; it’s fine. They could PK in the finals.
As Wang Zhengliang entered, the camera swept past Zhao Lei. Zhang Liangying chuckled, and Long Danni curiously asked, “Liangying, what’s wrong?”
Zhang Liangying: “Ah, it’s nothing. I feel like these contestants are a bit nervous, especially Wang Zhengliang. His lips were trembling just now. Huh? He’s accompanying himself on the piano?”
This was the first contestant everyone had seen accompanying themselves on the piano today.
In the center of the stage, an electronic piano was already set up. Wang Zhengliang, wearing a blue outfit, was singing Shin Band’s 《Vast Sky》.
This song, 《Vast Sky》, is one of Shin Band’s representative works. Like 《Farewell Song》, 《Love Me to Death》, and 《If》, it’s one of the first impressions people have of Shin Band.
Shin’s vocal ability is well-known; the songs he sings are not simple.
Although the pitch of 《Vast Sky》 isn’t very high, singing it well is still difficult. Anyone who has ordered this song at KTV knows its difficulty.
Especially since Wang Zhengliang chose to accompany himself on the piano, the difficulty increased.
It must be said that the selection singers who could make it in this era truly had some skills. Wang Zhengliang’s breath control, tone, and pronunciation were all very stable throughout, with almost no mistakes.
“Vast sky, after bravery,”
“We must break the chains of fate with persistence.”
“Indifferent people,”
“Thank you for looking down on me.”
“Let me not bow my head and live more brilliantly.”
“…”
Shen Qing also loved listening to this song.
Shin’s rendition of this song fully conveyed a sense of hardship and helplessness, while also containing unyielding persistence, which was similar in spirit to Beyond’s 《Vast Sky》.
Unsurprisingly, Wang Zhengliang received unanimous approval from the three judges. His opponent hugged him, accepting defeat wholeheartedly.
Finally.
It was Zhao Lei and Li Xingliang’s turn.
The cheers on stage were noticeably louder than when Wang Zhengliang performed, indicating that Lei Zi, in his idol phase, indeed attracted some female fans.
His opponent, Li Xingliang, was currently a fresh graduate from the Industrial Design department of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Last year, influenced by Zhang Liangying, he signed up for this year’s Super Boy.
He had been self-teaching music since high school and had some talent, learning quite quickly. During his university years, he often performed at bars, and his singing skills were decent.
“Zhao Lei, Zhao Lei!”
“Folk songs don’t need to wait, Zhao Lei is in his prime!”
“Zhao Lei, go, go!”
“…”
Zhao Lei’s female fans and friends were cheering. In contrast, Li Xingliang had far fewer fans, only a few relatives and classmates.
This was the disadvantage of looks; they couldn’t attract female fans.
Soon.
Zhao Lei, carrying his guitar, was the first to take the stage.
