lcionline Chapter 87 Xia Lizhi VS Wang Bo
Chapter 87 Xia Lizhi VS Wang Bo
"Seven people, two eliminated?" Lin Xiaoya exclaimed in surprise.
In the first episode, there were seven contestants, and one was eliminated—folk singer Chen Tao.
Two out of the eight contestants in the last episode were eliminated – Zhao Chen and Su Na.
There were seven contestants this season, and two of them were eliminated!
Several contestants looked at Xia Lizhi. It was dangerous for anyone who faced her; the probability of them being placed in the loser's bracket was extremely high.
"Yes," the director said expressionlessly, "that's the cruelty of the competition, so please give it your best, because this might be... the last time you stand on this stage."
The atmosphere in the dressing room instantly plummeted to freezing point.
Li Xuan's hands began to tremble, fearing that Xia Lizhi would ultimately choose him as her opponent.
He glanced at Wang Bo instinctively and found that the other man remained calm, tuning his guitar.
Qin Xiao closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Lin Xiaoya and Bai Wei exchanged a glance, both seeing panic in each other's eyes.
Afei took off one earphone and frowned.
Only Xia Lizhi was still slowly and methodically applying her eyeliner, as if the director had just talked about what to eat for dinner, not the elimination round.
"Furthermore," the director added, "the theme for this episode is 'time,' and all song selections must fit the theme. Any that don't will receive zero points."
After saying that, the director left.
The heavy atmosphere in the dressing room eased a little.
"Xia Li's smart choice of opponent?" Li Xuan's eyes darted around as he began to rapidly calculate probabilities and risks.
There are six people. One challenger will be chosen, and they will form a pair.
Two of the remaining five were eliminated and entered the loser's bracket.
Li Xuan quickly scanned the room; he could basically not beat Wang Bo and Qin Xiao.
Ah Fei's rock 'n' roll style is too aggressive; his live performances can easily become explosive, so it's hard to say.
Lin Xiaoya and Bai Wei... well, easy targets.
Xia Lizhi, you wouldn't choose yourself, would you?
Li Xuan's gaze involuntarily drifted towards Xia Lizhi, who was applying eyeliner.
Her short, misty blue hair and aloof profile, her fingers deftly drawing the final line of her eyeliner, seemed to have nothing to do with the turbulent undercurrents around her.
"Damn it," Li Xuan lamented inwardly, "This girl is the type I only enjoy fighting when I'm up against strong opponents!"
The next moment, Xia Lizhi put down her eyeliner, winked at herself in the mirror, and seemed quite satisfied with her battle costume makeup.
Then she turned around and glanced around the dressing room.
That look in his eyes was like that of a king surveying his hunting grounds.
Lin Xiaoya subconsciously shrank her neck, while Bai Wei maintained her obedient smile, though her fingertips turned slightly white.
Ah Fei was still wearing headphones, but through the reflection in the lenses, you could see that he squinted.
Qin Xiao crossed his arms, his expression unchanged, except that his jawline tightened slightly.
Wang Bo... Wang Bo is changing the strings on his guitar.
After leaving the dressing room, the group sat down in the recording studio.
When the director asked Xia Lizhi which contestant she wanted to choose.
"Tsk." Xia Lizhi uttered a soft syllable, then laughed, "Wang Bo."
Two words, light and clever.
Everyone secretly breathed a long sigh of relief.
Li Xuan almost burst out laughing, and quickly lowered his head to pretend to straighten his collar.
Very good!
It wasn't me!
Wang Bo, you're such a tough nut to crack, let the overseas returnees tackle it.
Ideally, both sides would be severely injured and enter the loser's bracket.
Unfortunately, only one can go in.
Qin Xiao's brow twitched almost imperceptibly before returning to calm, but his gaze towards Wang Bo held a more complex meaning.
There was a mix of sympathy, curiosity, and a sense of relief that he himself was unwilling to admit.
He is proud, but not stupid.
He had heard of Xia Lizhi's name. She was a newcomer that Orange Music was going to promote. She had returned from studying at a top music academy abroad and was an all-rounder in original composition, performance, and singing. She had an excellent reputation online and was called an "academic wild horse" by music critics.
The average viewer may only know the aura of "overseas returnee academic elite", but those in the industry know that Xia Lizhi has real substance beneath that aura.
Even Qin Xiao wouldn't dare say he'd be guaranteed a win against her.
"The pressure has been transferred," Qin Xiao thought to himself, his gaze falling on Wang Bo.
The other person looked up and smiled at Xia Lizhi.
"It's an honor!" Wang Bo said, his tone as casual as if he had just agreed to have a meal together.
Xia Lizhi raised an eyebrow: "Not nervous?"
"I'm so nervous!" Wang Bo laughed, but it was hard to tell why he was nervous.
Xia Lizhi stood up, cracked her knuckles, and made a slight clicking sound.
Wang Bo put the guitar back in its case.
The other contestants, watching the almost eerily bland conversation between the two, all had the same thought in their minds.
These two, one daring to challenge and the other arrogant, are neither normal people.
The stage recording is about to begin, and the staff are coming to urge us to start.
The buzzing sound coming from the audience was like a distant tide.
Li Xuan lowered his voice next to Wang Bo, speaking with a tone of schadenfreude and feigned concern: "Wang Bo, good luck! Xia Lizhi is a highly educated returnee from overseas; her fans say she's a force to be reckoned with. But don't put too much pressure on yourself, just play normally... although she is indeed very strong."
Wang Bo glanced at him: "Thanks, you too."
Li Xuan was taken aback by this lukewarm response and awkwardly shut his mouth.
The living room's large screen turned on, and the host's voice came through the speakers, passionately introducing this episode's brutal competition format and the heavyweight challenger.
"Dear viewers, let's first welcome our six starting contestants for this episode—Qin Xiao! Wang Bo! Li Xuan! Lin Xiaoya! A Fei! Bai Wei!"
Applause erupted, accompanied by enthusiastic shouts from the fans.
"And—our mystery challenger for this episode is Xia Lizhi, a talented singer-songwriter from Orange Music, a graduate of a world-renowned music academy, and hailed as the 'Academic Wild Horse'!"
On the big screen, Xia Lizhi appeared. Her short, misty blue hair shone with a cool luster under the lights. The silver chain on her black T-shirt swayed with her steps. She wore ripped jeans and Martin boots, looking both cool and aloof with an academic air.
The audience erupted in cheers!
Wow! That's so cool!
"A returned overseas student with an amazing aura! Her presence is incredible!"
"Xia Lizhi! I've heard her songs! She's amazing!"
"A devastating attack has arrived! Other players are in danger!"
"Just the words 'world-class music academy' are enough to win, okay?!"
Backstage waiting area, Li Xuan listened to the commotion outside and felt a pang of envy: "Tsk, those who return from overseas are just different. They come with their own background music and academic aura."
He glanced at Qin Xiao and noticed that the other man's expression was calm, but his lips were pursed.
Even Qin Xiao is under pressure?
Li Xuan felt a little better, but also a little uneasy. In everyone's mind, Wang Bo and Qin Xiao were in the same tier.
On stage, the host began to introduce the competition format.
When Xia Lizhi heard that she had the right to choose her opponent first, and that she had chosen Wang Bo, the audience erupted in uproar again.
"Should we just pick the strongest one?"
"Xia Lizhi is so cool!"
"Wang Bo is in danger..."
"Academic superstar vs. grassroots prodigy? This is going to be interesting!"
"Hang in there, Wang Bo!"
Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, indicating that he was safe for the time being...