After taking advice, I became a top male idol.

"Please welcome the third group of contestants—"

"Wang Zihao from Han Xuening's team versus Song Zixuan from Ye Lan's team!"

Wang Zihao from Han Xuening's team sang first. He performed a fairly standard ancient-style song. Although it was accompanied by a folk music ensemble, it didn't really have any memorable moments.

It was Song Zixuan's turn.

Song Zixuan, carrying her somewhat worn guitar, quietly walked onto the stage.

The stage lights switched to a soft, warm yellow, as if draping the entire studio in a filter of bygone days.

She gently plucked the strings, and the clear sound of the guitar flowed through the studio.

"Back then, the sky was always so blue, and the days always seemed to pass too slowly..."

She sang a folk song in the ancient style called "Jiangnan in My Memories".

The lyrics don't contain elaborate language, only a gentle sense of nostalgia and memories.

There were no complicated arrangements, no flashy high notes, only her pure, mountain-spring-like voice, telling the story in a gentle, soothing way.

The lyrics describe the bluestone slabs of the Jiangnan water towns, the palm-leaf fan in Grandma's hand, and that childhood that can never be returned to.

This simple yet touching moment instantly resonated with the audience.

"It sounds so good..."

"This voice is so soothing, it feels like listening to a bedtime story."

"It's very simple, but it just feels comfortable."

Even the usually serious Old Jiang gently closed his eyes and tapped his fingers lightly on his knees.

The review session.

On the mentor's panel, Ye Lan smiled and nodded to Song Zixuan: "Very clean, keep up this original intention."

Shen Ming also commented: "Folk and traditional Chinese style, it's a great attempt. Your voice has a lot of storytelling potential."

During the voting process, numbers flashed on the big screen.

Mr. Jiang abstained from voting.

The final vote count.

Wang Zihao: 255 votes!

Song Zixuan: 305 votes!

We won! And it was a resounding victory!

A full 50 votes in favor!

"yeah!"

A cheer erupted in Ye Lan's team's preparation room.

"That's amazing, Zixuan!" Chen Xi excitedly hugged Song Zixuan, who had just returned. "You're incredible!"

This time, they not only made up for the 10 votes they lost, but also surpassed each other by 40 votes!

The total score became:

Ye Lan Team: 850

Han Xuening's team: 810

Leading by 40 votes!

Gu Qingzhou's expression finally improved, and she patted her chest. "Thank goodness, things are a bit more stable now. As long as Chen Xi performs normally and widens the gap a bit, even if Lin Zhixing loses to Li Ziming in the last match, we can still win on aggregate!"

After a short break, the host returned to the stage.

"The competition has entered a heated phase! Team Ye Lan is currently in the lead, but the match is not over yet!"

"Next, please welcome the fourth group of contestants—"

"Zhao Lu from Han Xuening's team VS Chen Xi from Ye Lan's team!"

Zhao Lu made her entrance first.

She chose a challenging ancient-style upbeat song called "The Dream of a Beauty," and her high notes were clear and powerful, her breath control was stable, and her stage presence was strong.

After the song ended, he received a lot of applause.

"This Zhao Lu is something else; her high notes are very stable."

"Yeah, but Chen Xi isn't bad either, right? I heard she's a singer-dancer, so her stage presence should be even better."

The audience below the stage were discussing it. Overall, although Zhao Lu's performance was good, it did not reach the level of overwhelming dominance, leaving Chen Xi with a lot of room to perform.

In the preparation room, Chen Xi's teammates were also cheering her on.

"Don't be nervous, just perform normally."

Gu Qingzhou said, "We're leading by 40 votes right now, so we still have an advantage."

"Yes!" Chen Xi nodded vigorously, took a deep breath, and walked onto the stage with the microphone.

Today she wore a blue and white traditional Chinese style long dress and held a silk fan in her hand, clearly indicating that she was going to take the singing and dancing route.

The intro begins with Shen Ming's classic Chinese-style song, "Blue and White Rain."

This song is extremely popular and has a beautiful melody, but precisely because it is so classic, it is difficult to sing it in a fresh way.

The camera pans to the mentors' seats.

Li Ge turned his head to look at Shen Ming and said with a smile, "Old Shen, sing your song."

Shen Ming nodded and smiled, a hint of anticipation in his eyes. "This song is not easy to sing, especially when you sing and dance at the same time. It requires a lot of breath control."

On stage, Chen Xi danced to the music.

Her dance skills are indeed quite good; she is flexible, her movements are graceful, and the way she moves with the fan is very charming, reminiscent of women from Jiangnan.

"A misty rain..."

She performed the initial verses fairly smoothly.

"Apricot blossoms..."

But as the song progresses into the chorus, the dance moves become increasingly exaggerated.

"Waiting... for whose return..."

The chorus is the most difficult part of the song, requiring the singer to perform challenging spinning movements while simultaneously executing a long, sustained vocal run.

"Expect--"

However, the moment she stood up, perhaps because the movement was too sudden, or perhaps because she was too nervous, her throat suddenly tightened.

The distorted sound was amplified infinitely through the microphone and spread throughout the entire studio.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

The music continued, but Chen Xi was completely stunned.

She stood frozen in the center of the stage, her mind completely blank.

It’s over.

The voice cracked.

Moreover, it broke so completely and sounded so awful at such a crucial turning point.

"oops!"

The audience below the stage let out a disappointed gasp.

"This mistake was huge!"

"What a pity, they jumped really well at the beginning."

On the mentor's panel, Shen Ming's smile froze on his face, and he shook his head helplessly.

Han Xuening also looked regretful.

Ye Lan's brows furrowed tightly.

On stage, Chen Xi's face turned deathly pale instantly.

The rhythm is out of control, and my mentality is collapsing.

The second half of the song was a complete train wreck.

Out of tune, breathless, stiff... she didn't even dare to look at the mentors and audience below the stage, and just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Finally, the song ended.

Chen Xi stood in the center of the stage, tears welling up in her eyes, her whole body trembling.

When it was all over, she stood on the stage and forgot to even take her bow.

Voting begins.

Mr. Jiang still did not vote.

Final result:

Zhao Lu: 310 votes

Chen Xi: 190 votes!

Failed!

An unprecedented and devastating defeat!

They lost by a full 120 votes!

Not only did she lose all of the 40 votes that Song Zixuan had painstakingly won back, but she also fell behind by 80 votes! Among Chen Xi's 190 votes, a considerable number were sympathy votes from the general public judges.

The total score became:

Ye Lan Team: 1040

Han Xuening's team: 1120

80 points behind!

There was a lot of discussion.

"This...this point difference is too big!"

"It's over, Ye Lan's team is really doomed this time."

"80 points! How can we catch up? Even if we win the last game, it'll be difficult!"

Chen Xi returned backstage and broke down in tears as soon as she entered the room.

"I'm so sorry... Waaah... I'm so sorry everyone... I messed up..."

She squatted on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

Looking at the score on the big screen, Gu Qingzhou was so angry that she threw her water bottle.

"Cry! What's the use of crying?!"

He pointed at Chen Xi, furious. "You were doing so well in practice! You choked at the crucial moment! Do you know what an 80 points means? We're finished! Utterly finished!"

Although Song Zixuan was also sad, she still went over and hugged Chen Xi, gently comforting her, "Don't cry, Xi Xi, it wasn't intentional..."

"Does losing mean you can't win if you don't do it on purpose?" Gu Qingzhou yelled. "We're supposed to eliminate two people! Your shout just sent two of our teammates out of the game!"

Li Bowen stood to the side with his head down, not daring to speak. He had also lost before, although not by this much, but he still bore some responsibility.

This time, it must be me and Chen Xi who were sent away.

A sense of despair was spreading.

The 80-point gap felt like a mountain weighing on everyone's hearts.

What's even more disheartening is that the last person to appear on the opposing team is none other than the ultimate master of traditional Chinese style – Li Ziming!

Li Ziming, who has millions of fans, leads a folk music ensemble, and possesses unfathomable talent!

Let alone catching up, even a draw would be incredibly difficult!

"There's no hope..."

Gu Qingzhou slumped onto the sofa, her eyes vacant. "We're doomed."

Just then, a hand gently patted Chen Xi's shoulder, who was still crying.

"fine."

A calm voice rang out.

Everyone looked up and saw Lin Zhixing.

He had stood up without anyone noticing.

He handed Chen Xi a tissue, "Don't cry, your makeup will be ruined and you won't look good. The competition isn't over yet."

Lin Zhixing said calmly.

Gu Qingzhou sneered as if she had heard a joke, her tone full of mockery, "Not over yet? Lin Zhixing, don't you understand the situation? Who do you think you are? A savior? Stop dreaming! We're down by 80 points! And the other side is Li Ziming! What do you have to win with? Your nursery rhymes? Stop bragging! We've already lost!"

Chen Xi also raised her teary eyes and looked at Lin Zhixing, thinking that he was just comforting her.

"Brother Lin... Waaah... Don't comfort me... It's all my fault..."

Lin Zhixing did not explain further, nor did he pay attention to Gu Qingzhou's sarcasm.

He simply turned around, picked up the folding fan on the table, opened it with a "whoosh," and then closed it again.

"I'm going to change my clothes."

After saying that, he took his costume and turned to walk towards the dressing room.

At this moment, the host's enthusiastic voice came from the front stage:

"The match is entering its final climax!"

"Although the score gap has widened, anything is possible!"

"Next, please welcome the final ace of Han Xuening's team—Li Ziming!"