Chapter 5: Star Show Competition

Xiao Chi was a person with strong action-taking ability. The decision he made the moment before would be carried out the very next second.

The lakeside villa where Ji Chenxuan lived was in the city’s most luxurious wealthy district, renowned for its high level of privacy and open, scenic views.

On the road, aside from moving cars, flying vehicles, and housewives walking their dogs, there wasn’t a single pedestrian in sight.

It wasn’t until Xiao Chi left the villa complex, riding a free sightseeing ride, that he suddenly realized he didn’t even know which direction the Huanyi company’s gate faced.

What was even worse was that he had no money, no cards, and not even a mobile terminal.

Standing by the roadside like a beggar, Xiao Chi watched as the busy traffic and bustling crowds rushed by in every direction. He felt like a person from the past, an ancient figure out of place in this unfamiliar world of technology.

The world was vast.

It was no longer the narrow, suffocating, and yet infinitely vast “dark room” he used to live in. This place was colorful, vibrant, and bright, as if an endless array of pleasures was waiting for him to explore.

The people around him were no longer NPCs with preset programs, but independent individuals with their own consciousness.

After experiencing just a few minutes of this exciting life, he never wanted to return to the past.

Xiao Chi walked along a bustling commercial street, his gaze lifted to the massive outdoor electronic billboard across the street—an advertisement featuring him when he was still the virtual idol Xiao Chi.

He stopped at the corner, staring at his own smiling face on the billboard, and touched his own cheek. It really didn’t look like his current face at all. So even though he turned heads as he walked outside, no fans would rush up to ask for autographs.

Before he could look any longer, the vivid colors of the billboard began to fade, and in an instant, it turned blank.

Xiao Chi widened his eyes, watching as his image disappeared from the screen. Before long, a strange new virtual idol replaced him—this was the new star of the AI company, the new rising star which had originally been in testing. Due to the recent incident, it had to be launched earlier than planned.

“So fast? It hasn’t even been three days…” Xiao Chi lowered his head in disappointment, his heart feeling empty, like a piece had been taken away.

Negative emotions spread like ink drops on a white sheet of paper, quickly spreading out. Although it was only a small drop, it couldn’t be shaken off or washed away. It stuck to his heart, making him feel uncomfortable in an indescribable way.

He had never experienced negative emotions before, virtual idols didn’t have these.

Xiao Chi wondered if he had drunk too much soy milk this morning, because his taste buds felt strange and sour.

He didn’t like this feeling, so he stopped looking at the disappointing electronic billboard, lifted his legs, and quickly moved forward.

An enticing fragrance suddenly caught his attention and stopped him in his tracks.

At the corner of the street was a cake café with brick-red walls adorned with electronic posters advertising new product tastings. Customers sat in pairs or small groups on sun loungers in the small garden.

At the entrance, a little girl in a pink skirt and a sun hat was holding out samples of the café’s newly launched pastries to share with passersby.

“Can I try one?”

Xiao Chi was tall, and the little girl had to slightly lift the brim of her hat to see his face. For a moment, she almost forgot to breathe, and her voice involuntarily softened, “Of—of course, please help yourself—”

Xiao Chi picked up a small piece of cake and put it into his mouth. He puffed out one cheek, savoring the sweet and sour taste until it fully filled his taste buds, then reluctantly swallowed. He squinted his eyes with pleasure. “It’s delicious.”

The little girl blushed, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him. “Sir, would you like to buy a box? We’re offering a special on the new fresh mango cream buccino, just 180 yuan for the promo price.”

Ah, humans have to spend money to buy things.

Xiao Chi remembered that he was short on cash and had nothing in his pockets. Embarrassed, he scratched his head. “But I don’t have any money.”

The smile on the little girl’s face gradually faded.

“How about I sing a song for you? I’m really good at singing, and one song is worth tens of thousands of yuan,” Xiao Chi confidently offered, “No need to give change, you’ll be making a profit.”

The little girl, her face now long, unceremoniously kicked him out.

“Sigh, humans are so fickle, turning their faces faster than they turn the pages of a book,” Xiao Chi said as he walked away from the cake shop, looking back three times, feeling dejected.

“Clearance sale! Clearance sale!”

In front of him was a doll shop that was preparing to close. The store was large, with several lifelike dolls still on display in transparent cabinets.

Xiao Chi immediately spotted his own doll, the last one remaining, sitting alone on the top shelf, positioned in the most prominent spot.

“Hey, young man, interested in buying a doll? This Xiao Chi doll is already discontinued, and there’s only one left. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Feel it, the texture is so realistic. Hugging it feels just like hugging Xiao Chi himself.”

The shopkeeper noticed Xiao Chi’s gaze and eagerly began his sales pitch, speaking nonstop and going on about how great it was.

Xiao Chi glanced at him awkwardly. “Does it cost money?”

The shopkeeper was taken aback, thinking, This guy looks decent. Could he be a fool?

“Of course, the original price was 18,800 yuan, but it’s on sale for 18,500! It’s a limited edition, no bargaining!”

“So expensive, I can’t afford it…” Xiao Chi sighed. Then, he realized, even if it were only 1.80 yuan, he still wouldn’t have it.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a sense of balance in his heart.

Seeing his reaction, the shopkeeper immediately switched his expression, looking at him disdainfully. “He looks so handsome, but he’s this poor.”

Xiao Chi stared longingly at his doll, then suddenly asked, “Boss, do you know anywhere I can make money quickly?”

The shopkeeper gave him a dismissive glance. He originally wanted to mention a duck shop, but as the words were on the tip of his tongue, he suddenly recalled something interesting. He looked at Xiao Chi over again and said, “With that face of yours, you might want to try the National Star Show Competition. There’s a selection point just across the street, not far from here.”

The National Star Show Competition?

Xiao Chi’s mind lit up again. “Is it hosted by Huanyi Company?”

“That’s right. I heard that those who make it to the finals can enter a lottery, and the chances of winning are pretty high. There are cash prizes, and if you make it into the top ten, you might even get a chance to sign a contract with Huanyi.”

After saying goodbye to the doll shop owner, Xiao Chi followed his directions and found the National Star Show Competition venue.

There were 300 selection sites worldwide for the National Star Show Competition, with two-thirds of them in China.

The Beijing station, where the headquarters was located, was the largest of them all, situated on the first floor of a high-end commercial building in the most prominent spot.

A long line had formed outside, almost like a sea of people. A group of fans holding up advertising boards were shouting the names of several small internet celebrities, their voices hoarse from calling out.

Xiao Chi blended into the crowd, calmly ignoring the pointing and whispering of the young girls around him.

The crowd was moving quickly, and at the end of the line, there were a dozen or so temporary mobile recording booths. The thick frosted glass and crimson exteriors resembled old-fashioned outdoor phone booths from decades ago, providing excellent soundproofing and privacy.

The booths were fully automated, with no sound editing allowed. The original sound data was directly uploaded to a cloud database to prevent any manipulation behind the scenes.

The man behind Xiao Chi was wearing a black baseball cap, exuding confidence as if getting selected was almost a sure thing. He kept boasting on the phone to his friend non-stop.

For this National Star Show Competition, the songs had to be original, meaning the requirements for the musicians were higher. Not only did they need to be able to sing, but they also needed to be able to create music.

In order to prevent any voice manipulation, the organizers provided recording booths and required live recordings.

Xiao Chi wasn’t nervous at all. His database still stored an unreleased new song that was originally composed using AI’s new auto-arrangement program. This program used big data to extract the most popular rhythms and melodies favored by the audience.

It wasn’t the most elegant art, but it was tailored to the market, appealing to the listeners’ preferences.

Unfortunately, the AI’s auto-composed lyrics and music program hadn’t been put into use yet. It, along with the database, had crashed.

Even the AI developers didn’t know that Xiao Chi had secretly experimented with it before, just out of curiosity about the new toy.

Today, it will see the light of day again, thanks to Xiao Chi’s voice.

Xiao Chi stepped into the temporary recording booth, and as he closed the door, the outside noise seemed to press mute. The narrow space was a world of its own, quiet and isolated.

In front of him was an embedded all-in-one touch screen for recording, with a separate microphone that could be adjusted for position and height.

Although Xiao Chi wasn’t someone with much practical life knowledge, when it came to operating these old professional devices, he was entirely self-taught.

Since he had decided to participate in the competition on a whim, Xiao Chi neither had a USB drive nor a mobile terminal to upload the accompaniment. Fortunately, the recording equipment had its own arrangement program, with a wide variety of instrument sounds and automatic post-production features. Xiao Chi simply decided to compose and arrange the music live.

His long fingers moved swiftly across the simulation instrument, each note and melody clearly in his mind, almost as if he didn’t need to think at all.

In the vast array of instrument options, beats, tonalities, and harmonies, he picked and chose effortlessly. Without even needing to hum, the music intertwined and formed in his mind, a clear and captivating melody that felt like a brilliant live performance.

He focused intently on the sheet music that was gradually taking shape, his eyes bright with excitement. Every step was calm and confident. In his domain, he was the king, in control of everything.

With fluidity, he pressed the rest note, patiently waiting for the recording to be input, the data uploaded. Once everything was adjusted, the clear, beautiful accompaniment flowed from the headphones. He grasped the microphone and naturally began singing.

It all felt like a dream. He was still standing on the stage, the spotlight on him, with crowds of people from all directions cheering his name.

Xiao Chi stood on the crystal chandelier platform, stretching his body freely. Whether it was the powerful percussion or the delicate, emotional piano, both could be expressed to perfection through his posture and voice.

What the audience saw was his dance, his song, or his performances in other films and works. But for Xiao Chi, that was the only proof of his existence in the world.

If a virtual idol could be said to have life.

Leaving the stage, leaving those who loved him, he would have nothing left—nothing at all. He would just be a cold, lifeless mass of data, silently lying dormant in the infinite darkness, waiting.

Until the next time someone needs him.

The song ended.

Xiao Chi curiously touched his throat, where the tremors of his singing still lingered, making him feel intoxicated and excited.

“So this is where humans make sound, huh? It’s like my whole upper body is vibrating. How strange…”

Reluctantly, he put the microphone back in its place.

A muffled thud echoed, as though someone was knocking on the recording booth door from the outside.

Xiao Chi furrowed his brow and opened the door. A chaotic rush of voices pushed in, and the noise made his eardrums tingle.

“Sir, you’ve seriously exceeded your time limit!” A staff member looked at him irritably. “Once you’re done, please step out so the next person can come in. The lottery is to the left.”

“Oh, sorry,” Xiao Chi said, ignoring the complaints around him. He eagerly made his way toward the lottery area. Subconsciously, he felt like he had forgotten something, but compared to the lottery, those things didn’t matter.

The man in the baseball cap, who had been waiting behind him, had to wait for nearly half an hour before he could enter. As Xiao Chi left, he rolled his eyes and muttered, “What was he doing in there, laying eggs? Sitting in the booth for so long… really…”

The man in the baseball cap closed the recording booth door, ready to upload his accompaniment. But suddenly, he noticed something was wrong—on the recording screen, a sheet of music was glaringly displayed, with lyrics written on it.

The song title: “Farewell to the Past.”

He pressed the replay button with a subtle expression, and Xiao Chi’s recently recorded song immediately played through the headphones.

His eyes narrowed, then gradually widened, until they were fully open. The man in the baseball cap was so stunned by Xiao Chi’s singing that his mouth stayed agape for a long time.

As the climax of the music arrived, the man was filled with excitement, his scalp tingling. He was completely immersed in Xiao Chi’s emotions. When the final long note ended, he licked his dry lips, eager to hear it again.

Suddenly, he remembered an astonishing possibility.

With trembling hands, he tapped the touch screen of the recording booth. In the lower-right corner, several large prompt buttons appeared—Please scan your name, ID number, and mobile terminal.

As a person with no official identification, Xiao Chi obviously didn’t have any personal information.

It was as if he had been hit by a sudden windfall. The man in the baseball cap felt a sweat in his palms, and his heart started pounding wildly…

Xiao Chi, however, had no awareness that he had made a serious mistake. Even if he had known, he probably wouldn’t have cared. After all, he had only come for the lottery in the Star Show Competition.

At this moment, he was standing in line for the lottery.

For the sake of added fun, the organizers had designed the lottery as a giant spinning wheel, requiring participants to spin it themselves, rather than simply randomly selecting a number.

This manual approach was exactly what Xiao Chi wanted.

Finally, it was his turn. Xiao Chi rubbed his hands together, confidently walking up to the spinning wheel.

The prizes on the wheel were varied, including cash, concert tickets, diamond VIP packages, free trips for two to ten countries, and more.

Aside from cash, Xiao Chi had no interest in any other prizes. His eyes were fixated on the 20,000 yuan cash prize, as if it were calling to him.

He placed one hand on the wheel, feeling the speed and friction of the spin, and aimed carefully at the small slot for the cash prize. It was barely a fist’s width, almost the same width as the wheel’s pointer.

With a swift flick of his wrist, the wheel spun wildly, and amidst the crowd’s gasps, the pointer gradually slowed, precisely landing on the cash prize slot, as if it had been measured with a device.

“Congratulations to this gentleman for winning the 20,000 yuan cash prize!”

The host, excitedly handing him the microphone, asked, “Do you have anything you’d like to say?”

Xiao Chi, his mind still on the last remaining figurine, urged impatiently, “Can you hurry it up? I’m in a rush.”

“Uh, sure…”

Once Xiao Chi received the anonymous cash card, he quickly rushed back to the toy store across the street. The owner was already packing up, and most of the remaining figurines were still on the shelves, except for the one on the topmost shelf, which was empty.

“My figurine?” Xiao Chi asked.

The owner, remembering Xiao Chi’s face, smiled and said, “You’re a bit late, young man. The Xiao Chi figurine was just bought.”

The light in Xiao Chi’s eyes instantly faded, and he lowered his gaze in disappointment. “I won the prize for nothing.”

“Whoa, you really went to the Star Show Competition?” The owner’s appearance had been so misleading that even he felt guilty. He patted Xiao Chi’s shoulder sympathetically, “I’ll ask the supplier later. Come by tomorrow to try your luck again. Maybe we’ll have new stock.”

Although the words were a polite gesture, Xiao Chi took them seriously. He nodded immediately. “I’ll come back next time. By the way, do you know how to get to Huanyi Company?”