Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

The stage lights suddenly dimmed.

The spotlight shone on the host, Teacher He.

"Thank you L'Oréal for your generous support of this program, and thank you Tencent Video..."

He delivered the one-minute speech smoothly.

The camera pans across the judges' panel.

Xu Qingya placed her hands on the table, her back ramrod straight.

Only she knew that her palms were already covered in cold sweat.

"The initial stage assessment has officially begun."

Host He Jiong raised his voice, "The stage rules are simple: each of the three star judges has 100 points, and each of the 500 audience judges has one point. The total score is 800 points. The top nine advance directly, and the bottom three are eliminated on the spot!"

"First up, let's welcome the 'Appearance' track!"

The stage lights flashed, and the beauty contest took the lead.

The order of appearance is based on the seating arrangement from lowest to highest.

Since Jiang Fan unceremoniously took the highest seat in the center, he naturally became the last contestant to perform.

The contestants in the appearance category took turns on stage.

The first few performances were mediocre, until Lu Ming made his grand entrance as the final act.

He chose a challenging K-pop dance song.

Use your waist to slide and land at the desired point.

Every glance was precisely captured by the camera.

This is a standard idol product, rigorously crafted through industrialized assembly lines.

The screams from the female audience members almost lifted the roof off the stage.

Hua Xingyu, holding the microphone, showered the audience with praise.

"Your stage presence is the best among all the contestants today. Your singing and dancing are excellent even by today's standards. I give you 96 points."

Xue Zhiheng and Xu Qingya gave scores of 90 and 91 respectively.

After the three celebrity judges finished scoring, host He Jiong walked onto the stage with his signature gentle smile on his face.

"Thank you to the three judges for their insightful comments. The total score from the star judges is 277 points. Next, please welcome the 500 audience members to press your scoring buttons for Lu Ming's performance!"

The numbers on the big screen began to jump wildly, eventually settling at 420 points.

"Okay, the final scores are in!"

Teacher He's voice was full of infectious energy, "Congratulations to Lu Ming for achieving a total score of 697 points! You are currently in first place!"

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause once again.

Lu Ming bowed in gratitude.

As he turned around, his provocative gaze swept across most of the studio, directly towards the highest point of the waiting area for the Duxiu track.

He wanted to see the ordinary person from the lower class who had taken his spot show an expression of inferiority and timidity after seeing this level of stage and score.

However, when the camera followed Lu Ming's gaze, an eerie silence fell over the entire room.

The highest point of the waiting area at the Duxiu track.

Jiang Fan's eyelids were tightly closed.

The physical strain of his terminal illness, coupled with days of travel, left him extremely exhausted.

Although the system granted him ten days of lifespan, his body was still weak.

He just glanced at the progress on the big screen.

At the current pace, it will take at least three more hours for the center position on the Duxiu track to be reached.

So Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair.

With arms wrapped around his waist.

I went straight to sleep.

Breathing is even, and the chest rises and falls smoothly.

Camera position three was originally facing him.

The cameraman saw this scene through the viewfinder, his hand trembled, and he quickly pushed the joystick to try to cut the shot.

Live broadcast mishap!

This was absolutely a live streaming mishap!

Suddenly, a furious shout came from the director, Liang Boyuan, through the earpiece.

"Don't move! Cut to him! Zoom in on him! Shoot right in his face!"

The lead director standing nearby was stunned: "Director Liang, wouldn't broadcasting this be too...?"

"What do you know?" Liang Boyuan stared at the monitor screen. "This is called conflict! This is called a hot topic! An ordinary person not only stole the spotlight but also slept through the entire live stream. Do you know what kind of people viewers love to criticize most right now? It's these arrogant, reckless trolls!"

This is definitely going to be a trending topic!

The camera instantly locked onto Jiang Fan's face.

Even in high-definition quality, you can see the fatigue in the corners of his eyes.

In the live stream on Tencent Video, the chat, which was discussing Lu Ming's performance, paused briefly.

Immediately afterwards, a barrage of comments filled the screen.

"Holy crap? He's sleeping?"

"Sitting in the most prestigious position, doing the most outrageous things?"

"Pure attention-seeking! Disgusting! How did someone like that even get in here?"

"Get out of the Rising Stars section! Don't you understand the importance of respecting the stage?!"

At the bottom of the steps, Zhao Tianyu glanced back, a mocking sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

Without lifting a finger, this kid has already nailed himself to the pillar of shame, the object of widespread online ridicule.

If he doesn't come up with something amazing when he goes on stage, the audience's spittle will drown him.

The long wait was spent amidst insults and abuse.

Finally, it's time for the solo track.

Zhao Tianyu was the eleventh to appear. He carried a custom-made Taylor guitar and walked to the center of the stage.

An original rock song called "South Wind".

The chorus is full of emotion, with intricate and gorgeous guitar fingering, showcasing extremely high arrangement skills.

When the song ended, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

Xue Zhiheng nodded repeatedly and gave it a high score of 93.

"The lyrics and music are very well integrated, and the chord progressions are very sophisticated. You are a mature singer-songwriter. In the solo talent show category, you are currently the strongest."

Hua Xingyu commented: "The attitude towards rock is good, but the singing skills need to be improved."

He gave it a score of 90.

Xu Qingya gave it a fair score of 88.

Host He Jiong returned to the stage: "Thank you, Zhao Tianyu! The total score from the star judges is 271 points! Now, please let the audience begin scoring!"

The audience was equally enthusiastic, and the score quickly climbed to 390 points.

Final score – 661 ​​points!

Teacher He announced, "Excellent results! Congratulations to Zhao Tianyu!"

Zhao Tianyu clenched his fists excitedly and bowed deeply.

With 661 points, although he didn't surpass Lu Ming, it was enough to crush all the previous contestants and secure his second place.

Zhao Tianyu clenched his fists excitedly and bowed deeply.

He walked quickly back to the waiting area.

She had already planned out what she would say to Jiang Fan in a little while.

He wanted to use the posture of a victor to tell that ordinary person from a superior position that not just anyone can sit in the center position.

He strode up the steps.

Then he stopped.

Jiang Fan was sleeping soundly with his head tilted to the side.

They even changed to a more comfortable position.

Zhao Tianyu's prepared barrage of sarcastic remarks landed like a punch on cotton.

"Keep pretending! Just keep pretending!" Zhao Tianyu gritted his teeth, sneered, and sat down beside him. "Let's see how you die when you get on stage!"

On stage, the host glanced at his cue cards.

"Please welcome the last contestant on the Duxiu track, number 12, Jiang Fan."

The announcement was made three times.

The person in the center position didn't react at all.

The entire place was eerily quiet.

Five hundred audience members, three celebrity judges, and more than a dozen cameras were all focused on the man who was sleeping soundly.

The stagehand, sweating profusely, rushed up the steps and gave Jiang Fan a hard shove on the shoulder: "Wake up! It's your turn!"

Jiang Fan opened his eyes.

He glanced at the name on the big screen with a blank look in his eyes.

He stood up, casually wiped his mouth with his thumb, and picked up the guitar case that was placed at his feet.

There were no unnecessary movements, and he didn't feel the slightest bit awkward despite being watched by everyone.

He walked down the steps one by one.

Black shirt, black trousers, and an upright posture.

But the moment he stepped down, the audience who were expecting a laugh suddenly felt a tightness in their throats.

This person has such a cold aura.

Jiang Fan walked to the center of the stage.

The light shone on him.

He took the guitar out of its case and began tuning the strings one by one.

"Jiang Fan, right?" Hua Xingyu spoke first, her tone filled with undisguised hostility. "Do you even know where you are?"

After Jiang Fan finished tuning the last string, he looked up and glanced at him.

no answer.

A sparse chorus of boos immediately rose from the audience.

The higher-ups at Sheng Hai Entertainment had already given him instructions, telling him to find an opportunity to shut down this troublemaker who had taken Lu Ming's place.

Now, the other party has handed him the knife.

"I'm asking you a question." Hua Xingyu's face darkened.

"This is a stage to showcase your talent, not a place for you to sleep. If you don't have the most basic respect for this stage, you can leave now."

In the live stream, Hua Xingyu's fans instantly flooded the screen.

"Huahua is right! Let's give this rude amateur a piece of our minds!"

"Get off! Get off!"

Despite Hua Xingyu's difficult behavior, Jiang Fan remained unmoved.

He adjusted the microphone, his voice deep and slightly hoarse: "Respect is earned through strength."

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

Zhao Tianyu sneered from below the stage.

This kid's gone mad, daring to talk back to the star mentor to his face.

Hua Xingyu laughed in anger: "Fine, very well. Then I'll see just how strong you really are."

Xue Zhiheng frowned. Although he also disliked Jiang Fan's attitude, he still tried to smooth things over.

"Alright, since you're up here, let your work speak for itself. What song did you bring?"

Jiang Fan's slender fingers rested on the strings.

His gaze passed over Hua Xingyu and Xue Zhiheng, finally landing on Xu Qingya, who was sitting in the very center.

Xu Qingya went to meet her, then immediately tried to move away, but couldn't.

Xu Qingya's heart suddenly clenched.

In those eyes, she saw no reverence for the Empress, only something she couldn't quite put her finger on, as if she were examining an object placed there.

Jiang Fan withdrew his gaze, spoke four words calmly into the microphone.

"An original song."

"The Ordinary Road"