Chapter 25: First Appearance in the Finals

“The thing I want the most?” Ji Chenxuan’s heart skipped a beat. His body instinctively leaned forward, and his narrowed eyes locked onto Xiao Chi. “You know what I want?”

“Of course.” Xiao Chi replied confidently.

“What is it?”

“I can’t tell you now.” Xiao Chi immediately shook his head, his expression serious. “It’s a surprise. If I say it, it won’t be a surprise anymore.”

“Heh, when did you learn to play this game?” Ji Chenxuan’s curiosity grew even stronger.

Did this guy notice something? Or… is he hinting at something?

Ji Chenxuan subconsciously shifted his posture, growing more eager with each passing moment. He couldn’t help but feel a slight nervousness rise.

Could he be about to confess to me?

…Wouldn’t that be a bit too soon? No, no, Xiao Chi is too simple-minded, maybe he just made something for me by hand or something.

Ji Chenxuan’s mind ran through a series of possibilities, only to discard them one by one.

Until Xiao Chi waved his hand in front of his eyes: “What are you thinking about? The food is getting cold. If you don’t start eating, I’ll finish it all myself.”

“…”

—

Friday evening, six o’clock, Starry Avenue Sports Arena.

The enormous elliptical stadium was covered in a milky-white hue, with its top made of fully enclosed transparent composite glass, and the ends were joined with irregular jagged edges.

From a distance at night, it looked like a chick hatching from an egg, about to spread its wings and soar.

Xiao Chi had no assistant for the time being, and all the arrangements and minor details were taken care of by Liu Bing.

At times like this, the venue would be swarming with various fan groups and entertainment reporters, all waiting for any first-hand news about the debuting artist.

In order to maintain his “mysterious” image and avoid revealing his true appearance before the competition, Liu Bing specifically instructed the makeup artist, Zhang Mengmeng, to use her exceptional skills to apply a very natural freckle makeup, concealing his original features.

He also wore a hood, glasses, and a mask, setting off in a very low-profile manner toward the competition venue.

In order to ensure the contestants could rest without being disturbed by each other, the organizers had arranged for each participant to have an independent makeup room and rest area.

Fang Zichang and his manager arrived very early. After greeting the staff, they didn’t immediately head to their makeup room but instead stayed in the public rest area along the contestant’s route, flipping through electronic magazines while secretly observing everyone passing by.

This one isn’t it… This one doesn’t seem like it either…

As other contestants began to arrive one after another, the “mysterious person” still hadn’t shown their true face.

“Why aren’t they here yet? Playing hard to get?” Fang Zichang muttered to himself, feeling a sense of disdain, when suddenly the door to the contestant’s passage opened and closed, and two men and one woman stepped onto the dark red velvet carpet.

The man in front was slightly shorter, with a mixed-race look, talking on the phone nonstop as he walked. The woman at the back was carrying a portable makeup case, while the man in the middle, who was the tallest, was fully covered from head to toe.

They’re here! Fang Zichang’s gaze sharpened slightly. He pretended to casually stand up and walked toward them. As he passed Xiao Chi, his foot seemed to slip, and the two shoulders collided.

Fang Zichang had planned to use this chance to closely observe what the other looked like, but unexpectedly, his whole shoulder felt like it had hit a steel plate, causing his entire arm to go numb!

The force of the impact made him stumble back two steps, and with a loud thud, he fell to the ground, landing on all fours, firmly sitting on his rear!

Fang Zichang sat there dumbfounded, until Xiao Chi walked up to him, squatted down, and reached out a hand with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I bumped into you. Are you okay?”

After this small mishap, the other staff in the public rest area kept glancing over. Fang Zichang, now the center of attention, suddenly turned red in the face. He jumped up from the ground, holding his breath and glaring at Xiao Chi—did this guy do this on purpose to embarrass him?!

“Are you alright?” Xiao Chi took off his sunglasses, confirming that Fang Zichang wasn’t hurt, and let out a light sigh of relief.

Fang Zichang immediately caught a glimpse of his half-freckled face, and strangely, half of his anger dissipated, replaced by a bit of schadenfreude—so this is how he looks, no wonder he hides his face!

In a live competition with such a large public audience, contestant appearance is very important.

“I’m fine. Your dressing room is down this way, the one at the very end.” Fang Zichang’s mood shifted from dark to bright, and he even kindly gave a few directions. “Good luck with the competition later, though… well… you can still aim for the top four.”

Xiao Chi inexplicably touched his nose, thinking, this guy is actually such a good person, even encouraging him after knocking him down.

Feeling touched, he patted Fang Zichang’s shoulder. “Thanks, and I hope you make it into the top four as well.”

“…” Fang Zichang’s smile froze instantly. Before he could find a sarcastic comeback, Xiao Chi had already been urged by Liu Bing to walk away.

Damn it! This guy actually dares to look down on him! The top four? The championship is his for the taking!

—

Contestant Lounge.

Liu Bing was like a well-wound spinning top, running around making sure everything was in order, communicating every detail with the stage manager from the organizers, even checking the threads on each piece of clothing personally before feeling satisfied.

Xiao Chi sat obediently in the makeup chair, allowing Zhang Mengmeng to work her magic. His slightly darker, freckled face was transformed back into a stunning beauty under her skilled hands.

“You’ve seen the competition rules, right?” Liu Bing, holding a thin tablet, frowned as he swiped through it. “The finals are a brutal elimination format, no revival rounds. In the first round, the ten contestants will compete head-to-head, and half of them will be eliminated immediately.”

“Yeah, I know.” Xiao Chi tilted his head back gracefully as Zhang Mengmeng drew eyeliner, his neck forming a beautiful, proud curve.

“Your draw result…” Liu Bing lifted his head from the tablet, about to say something, but then, seeing him in the mirror, forgot what he was going to say. “Don’t make the eyeliner too dark, it should be a bit more innocent. Yeah… this style suits you.”

Liu Bing slowly walked forward, placed his hands on Xiao Chi’s shoulders from behind the chair, and leaned down to look at him in the mirror.

Xiao Chi’s eyes, black and white as crystal-clear black jewels, shimmered under the mirror light.

After observing for a while, Liu Bing revealed an indescribable expression and clicked his tongue, saying, “You really have a face that could deceive the world. No wonder even he would…”

Xiao Chi immediately refuted seriously, “I don’t deceive people.”

Liu Bing placed a hand on his forehead, helplessly saying, “Right, right, you’re the perfect successor to socialism with four virtues and five beauties. Should I get you a certificate of merit, how about that?”

“A certificate? A gift?” Xiao Chi blinked shyly, extending his hand. “Thank you. But I don’t have a return gift for you at the moment.”

“…I think you need a good socialist slap!” Liu Bing gritted his teeth, frustrated. Talking to this guy was like playing a lute to a cow!

“…Why would you hit me?” Xiao Chi felt wronged.

Zhang Mengmeng suddenly grabbed his chin and turned his face towards her. “Stop moving!”

Liu Bing was pushed aside by Zhang Mengmeng and reluctantly picked up his tablet again. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, remembering he had meant to remind Xiao Chi about his opponent for the draw!

“The first round is a duet. Your draw opponent is the second-place contestant, Fang Hao, the lively rap expert with a raspy voice. His hard skills are very strong, and his vocal trait is quite distinctive. The judges will tend to favor this rare type of voice, but such a trait comes with a weakness. If the audience likes it, they’ll love it, if they don’t, they’ll hate it, thinking his voice sounds like noise. Your opportunity lies here.”

Liu Bing paced back and forth behind Xiao Chi’s chair, arms folded, analyzing and planning every detail like a screenwriter peeling back the layers, preparing for each scenario.

“Just like I told you earlier, don’t compete with him on loudness. Never let him pull you into his domain. Don’t cooperate with him. Focus on your own strengths, create a sharp contrast with his style. The more beautiful you are, the better. We’ll win by gaining the favor of the neutral audience who doesn’t care for him.”

“Got it.” Xiao Chi nodded, although he wasn’t entirely sure he understood.

Humans are really interesting. Who knew that besides singing requiring technique, there were even more complex techniques outside of singing?

“The duet song was randomly drawn from the songs we submitted, and it’s already been chosen. Get ready, you’ll be singing the second part, and Fang Hao will start with the first line. This puts us at a disadvantage because it’ll make it easier for him to establish his presence with the audience first.”

The clock’s hands slowly moved to 8:00. Staff from the organizers went to each contestant’s dressing room for a final check before they went on stage.

One by one, the ten contestants entered the main stage waiting area through their respective designated passages.

As the clock hit exactly 8:00, dazzling spotlights shot up into the night sky, and fireworks exploded, signaling that the finals had officially begun!

Over a dozen major global live-streaming platforms broadcasted the event in real-time, and the stadium was buzzing with excitement. The audience’s enthusiasm was so overwhelming that it almost shattered the glass ceiling.

The host stood on a hovering platform, enthusiastically introducing each contestant to the audience.

A huge, towering, cone-shaped holographic screen in the center of the venue, resembling a massive black pyramid, displayed each contestant’s information and video clips in a continuous loop, streaming out in all directions.

After all the other contestants had been introduced, it was finally time for the “dark horse mystery man” who had been trending before the competition, with the highest attention. The host deliberately paused before revealing the contestant:

“Because this contestant didn’t provide a video clip, aside from some basic information, like everyone else, I know nothing about him…”

As if to confirm what the host had said, the central projection screen only showed Xiao Chi’s stage name, age, and the song he would perform, but the rest of the screen was completely black, showing nothing.

The audience at the venue craned their necks in curiosity, almost ready to shout out loud. The bullet comments on the live-streaming platforms flooded the screen, with debates about Xiao Chi and the other contestants almost split in half.

The contestants who already had their fan clubs were working hard, trying to control the public opinion as usual and grab the topic’s attention. However, they couldn’t keep up, and they helplessly watched Xiao Chi’s popularity soar once again…

—

At the headquarters building of Huanyi Entertainment Group, in the high-level conference room,

Ji Chenxuan and several executives were also watching the live holographic broadcast of the finals.

As the most important event of the year, this competition came at a time when the AI company was struggling to recover from the controversy of an idol mysteriously disappearing, and it capitalized on the drama surrounding the national host and fake singers to stir up some attention. The timing could not have been better.

According to the report from Li Mingxin, as soon as the finals started, the live viewership skyrocketed, with an increase far surpassing that of the previous year’s broadcast.

The management, who had been worried that the program might be canceled due to declining ratings, were now all smiles.

“Does anyone know who this mysterious person is?”

“It seems like it’s our new artist.”

“Oh? So it’s just a newbie? What’s the big deal? Why are they hiding him so much?”

“Shh—I’ve heard it’s someone brought back by Liu Sanshui.”

“Then what about Xie Ting? Isn’t he one of the judges this time?”

“Doesn’t this guy become Xie Ting’s junior brother?”

Ji Chenxuan gently tapped the edge of the table three times with his fingers. The whispers in the meeting room quickly faded away, and everyone straightened up, observing the boss’s expression.

As a sudden burst of cheers erupted from the audience, the first round of the finals kicked off with the first group of competitors taking the stage.

At the Starry Avenue Sports Arena, the giant screen in the center flashed the stark contrast of two names:

Fang Hao VS Xiao Chen!

The mysterious dark horse was drawn into the first round, and his opponent turned out to be Fang Hao, the second-place finisher in the voting battle and a favorite for the championship?!

The entire arena and all live streaming platforms exploded at once!

The official website’s player prediction activity had already become intensely competitive, with the first group of contestants diving into a fierce battle. Would the powerful and popular Fang Hao have the upper hand, or would the highly anticipated mystery contestant continue his dark horse journey?

The progress bars of their predictions were in a fierce tug-of-war, with Fang Hao maintaining an advantage due to his stable performance and strong fan base.

On the main stage of the arena,

The dazzling stage lights illuminated the entire space, making the stage shine brilliantly and bright as daylight.

On the left side of the contestant pool, as the misty white fog dispersed, Fang Hao, who led the rankings in the second round, took the stage first.

Among all the contestants, the man was slightly older, with a strong and muscular physique. His facial features were masculine and defined, and his eyes were deep like the sea.

He was clearly a man with a story. While his looks might not be as striking as Fang Zichang’s, he had a rugged charm that other younger singers lacked.

Fang Hao waved to the audience with his distinctive raspy voice and then stood firmly at the center of the stage.

In response, the audience erupted into waves of enthusiastic applause.

All eyes turned to the contestant pool on the right side of the main stage. Amid the swirling white mist, a tall figure slowly ascended the stage steps. Under the brilliant lights, his true appearance gradually became visible.

Xiao Chi, who had arrived fashionably late, appeared on the central giant screen: a white T-shirt, white casual pants, and a light pink hoodie.

The entire image gave off a fresh, clean vibe, like a neighborly big boy. His youthful appearance contrasted sharply with Fang Hao’s weathered style, creating a stark contrast in their presence on stage.

Countless high-definition cameras focused on his face. Xiao Chi calmly pulled down his hoodie, revealing soft chestnut-colored short hair. Beneath his tousled bangs was a radiant and gentle smile.

In that instant, it was as if an angel had descended onto the earth.

In the bustling arena, there was a brief moment of astonishing silence, a rare stillness.

Even the live streaming platforms seemed to mute, with a vast empty space suddenly appearing amid the densely packed barrage of comments.

This eerie calm lasted for only three breaths—then the audience erupted!