Chapter 28: Crushing Strength

When Ji Chenxuan returned to the VIP room, the final championship battle had already officially begun.

The music played loudly, with rapid drumbeats filling the air, creating a surging atmosphere. The various fan groups were ready to cheer, and the shouts echoed one after another.

The five contestants had drawn their numbers, with Fang Zichang having the honor of being the first to perform, while Xiao Chi was the last to take the stage.

The number of viewers across all major live-streaming platforms had already surpassed the historical high, and as the competition entered its peak phase, the numbers continued to climb.

In the broadcast studio, Li Mingxin and Wan Baoluo, who were closely watching the progress of the competition, heard this news and were nearly moved to tears, overwhelmed with joy—this year’s show had truly exploded!

Fang Zichang appeared on the main stage in a cool black-and-white athletic outfit, his signature “cool guy” image intact. Two diamond-shaped earrings sparkled in his left ear, reflecting the cold metallic shine under the dazzling stage lights.

In terms of live audience numbers, excluding Xiao Chi’s newly acquired fans, Fang Zichang undoubtedly had the largest fan base among the five contestants.

As soon as he stepped onto the stage with his commanding presence, the crowd erupted with thunderous screams, waves of excitement crashing through the audience.

Fang Zichang raised both hands, greeting the cheers with confidence, and clenched his fists—this year’s championship would definitely belong to him!

The giant screen displayed the song drawn for him by the judges: “To My Dearest You.”

This was a heartfelt song that Fang Zichang had spent the most time preparing. While the difficulty level was medium in popular singing styles, it allowed him to showcase his vocal skills, especially in the intricate details of the transitions and his ability to stir deep emotions. It played to his strengths in tone and technique.

The beautiful melody filled the venue as his powerful and fluid voice reverberated throughout the space. During the chorus, his intense emotions soared to the high notes, causing many sensitive viewers in the audience to tear up as they were moved by the performance.

This was a sure win!

Fang Zichang smiled contentedly, fully satisfied with his performance. He had truly exceeded expectations tonight.

When the song ended, the enthusiastic applause echoed for a long time. The judges who had high hopes for him gave glowing reviews, especially Shang Quan, who had been introduced by Wen Anran, and praised him endlessly.

Fang Zichang sneered inwardly—when the money is right, even the notorious music critics will sing praises.

His manager was already waiting backstage to greet him. “You were amazing tonight. Looks like I should start preparing for the celebration banquet?”

Fang Zichang took the bottle of water from his manager, drinking several big gulps as they quickly made their way toward the makeup and rest room. He couldn’t help but glance frequently toward the end of the hallway, though his expression wasn’t exactly relaxed.

“That guy, Xiao… there’s no problem, right?”

The manager looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry. When it’s discovered, the audience will just think it’s an error by the staff. No one will notice. By then, it will be too late. No matter what he does, he’ll end up making a fool of himself, and his momentum will be severely weakened. To be honest, in terms of strength, you don’t necessarily lose to him, so there’s no need to worry so much about him.”

The manager was about to add the word “fear” but swallowed it, replacing it with a more neutral phrase.

“What do you mean ‘don’t necessarily lose’? In terms of strength, I definitely won’t lose to him! I’m just… preparing for the worst!” Fang Zichang growled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his pride on full display. His every nerve was screaming in defiance.

He shot his manager a fierce glare, kicked open the door to the restroom, and strode in.

The manager followed silently, shaking his head with a bitter smile. He thought to himself, if Fang Zichang were really that confident, why would he treat Xiao Chi as a serious rival and resort to these underhanded tactics behind the scenes?

“Sigh, this kid Fang Zichang is too full of himself. Now that he’s seen how powerful his opponent is, even though he pretends to look down on him, deep down he must be afraid of that Xiao… This kind of mentality, it’s difficult, difficult!”

Although Fang Zichang despised his competition, he still set up all his senses like a radar, vigilantly staring at the live broadcast screen in the room. Meanwhile, it was finally Xiao Chi’s turn to take the stage as the last performer.

On the main stage of the Star Avenue, the dazzling, psychedelic lights cut through the mist, creating an atmosphere that felt like a dream.

Whether it was Wen Anran, Bai Qingzhi, and others who viewed Xiao Chi as a thorn in their side, or Ji Chenxuan and Liu Bing, who hoped for his smooth debut under the spotlight, or even the fans and haters following his every move both inside and outside the venue, all eyes were now on him.

With the stage steps slowly rising, Xiao Chi entered the stage with a light and rhythmic stride, matching the beat of the music.

The large screen displayed a series of randomly changing song titles made up of colored blocks, finally settling on the four large characters: “Overlooking China.”

A sudden scream rang out from somewhere in the crowd, and the entire venue erupted in thunderous applause.

“Overlooking China”—One of the ten most difficult singing and dancing classic songs in Chinese pop music, alongside Xiao Chi’s most popular singing and dancing hit “Stunned” as the “Double Gods” of virtual idols.

Like the latter, due to the high difficulty, nearly all live performances and covers were adapted and slowed down versions.

The song “Overlooking China” that Liu Bing had chosen for Xiao Chi was no exception. During his closed training, the top lyricists and composers were invited to specially adapt the song for Xiao Chi’s vocal range. Later, Lian Xin re-choreographed the dance for him.

In order to ensure that both the dance team and Xiao Chi could perform stably, the difficulty had been reduced, while highlighting Xiao Chi’s unique vocal traits, giving the song new life.

Xiao Chi glanced at the big screen, puzzled by the sudden outburst of excitement from the audience. To him, whether it was “Qinghai-Tibet Plateau” or “Happy Sheep,” it didn’t seem to make much difference.

But whether it was the live audience or viewers on streaming platforms, everyone was excited beyond belief when they learned that Xiao Chi’s song was the high-difficulty “Overlooking China.”

Fans were eagerly awaiting an extraordinary performance, while a few haters sarcastically doubted Xiao Chi’s ability to pull it off, secretly hoping for a “trainwreck” performance.

“He actually drew this song,” Liu Bing wasn’t disappointed. After all, with their team’s strength, performing this song was more than enough.

As Liu Bing and Lian Xin arranged for the backup dancers to prepare, they remained highly alert, meticulously checking every detail of the stage, like paranoia setting in, worried that someone might sabotage the performance.

However, no matter how much Liu Bing prepared, he never expected the issue to come from the backstage!

As the music’s intro played, the powerful synthesizer set the atmosphere for the entire performance. The audience was oblivious to the problem, but Xiao Chi’s team, from Liu Bing down to the choreographers, were struck like lightning!

This song was wrong!

The starting note was a whole step higher, it wasn’t the slowed-down, adapted version they had sent for approval—it was the original version of “Overlooking China!”

“What’s going on?” Liu Bing, controlling his anger, grabbed a backstage staff member’s arm, nearly digging his fingers into their skin. “The song we submitted isn’t like this!”

The staff member was also confused: “No, this is Overlooking China, right?”

Someone had tampered with it! They’d been caught off guard!

Liu Bing nearly lost his temper, knowing it was useless to blame this staff member. His face darkened, veins bulging on his forehead, and he quickly ordered, “This isn’t the adapted version we sent! Go find the broadcast room, stop the music, and start over!”

The staff member looked helpless, pointing at Xiao Chi: “It’s too late, he’s already started—”

Liu Bing suddenly turned his head and looked at the stage. The thirty-second intro had just finished, and Xiao Chi seemed completely unfazed by the unexpected change in music. He had already fully entered his performance mode.

The song began with a rapid, fast-paced rap. Xiao Chi maintained perfect pitch and enunciation while hitting every beat with precision. Like a 3D copier, he flawlessly replicated the original version’s almost frenzied solo dance, without missing a single detail!

The staff member gaped with his mouth wide open and cautiously tugged at Liu Bing’s sleeve. “Uh… should we still go to the broadcast room?”

“Go to hell! You guys messed up, and you won’t escape responsibility! We’re not done with this!” Liu Bing snapped out of his shock, shot the staff member a glare, and quickly directed the confused backup dancers to return backstage.

The entire team stood backstage, watching Xiao Chi struggle alone on stage. They were boiling with anger, yet also stunned by Xiao Chi’s unexpectedly impressive dancing.

At this point, even if Liu Bing had heaven-defying abilities, there was nothing more he could do. He could only let Xiao Chi perform as he wished.

It seemed the broadcast room had finally realized the mistake. However, all other attempts at recovery were now pointless. The only solution was to use the large screen to project the original virtual backup dancers as the background, trying to cover up the awkwardness of missing backup dancers.

This clever move was quickly noticed by the sharp-eyed audience on the live streaming platform. They were stunned to see Xiao Chi seamlessly blending in with the holographic virtual backup dancers, without a hint of discord!

His movements were precise, his rhythm impeccable, and the high notes in the climax were delivered flawlessly—he was a perfect virtual idol come to life, as if he had stepped out of the holographic screen!

His waist twisting, hips swaying, one-handed spins… The massive stage seemed to shrink to just Xiao Chi, and yet he sang with the force of an entire army, capturing the audience’s breath and rhythm. They were so captivated, they held their breath in unison, not daring to even gasp!

“Ahhh! Chenchen is so handsome! Look at me, look at me!”

“Oh my god! Don’t try to deceive me with the original version!”

“Can I still get tickets for the live show? I only need one kneeling ticket!”

“Hey, kneeling tickets are gone! Didn’t you see how everyone is kneeling down? Just kneel on the stage!”

“Mom! I’ve seen a god descending to earth!”

“This isn’t a rookie talent show, it’s clearly a national team beating up the kids!”

The audience at the scene was almost going wild, their screams nearly shaking the glass dome above them!

The live streaming platform’s bullet comments were even more terrifying, with layers upon layers of dense comments completely covering the screen. You couldn’t even make out the words, let alone see the people.

Liu Bing stared wide-eyed at Xiao Chi, his heart racing so fast it felt like it was about to leap out of his throat!

My god! How did he do that?! He’s never even practiced the original “Overlooking China!”

Is this guy even human?

When he finally snapped out of his shock, he realized that Lian Xin, the master choreographer, was missing. After searching for a while, he found her on the side of the stage, vigorously waving a flag with Xiao Chi’s stage name written on it, shouting excitedly at the stage:

“Chenchen, look at me! Mommy loves you!!”

Liu Bing: “……”