Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

The sounds of other teams moving around could be heard in the corridor outside. Someone was shouting into the walkie-talkie, "Is the lighting team in position yet?" and someone else was asking what time the lunch boxes would be delivered.

At 10:00 AM sharp, the broadcast system in the studio came on.

"Dear teachers, the rehearsal is now beginning. Please go on stage in order of your dressing room number."

Jiang Fan led Shen Nian from the backstage passage to the side curtain area.

A slit was pulled open in the side curtain, revealing the entire stage.

The lights in the spacious venue were all on, illuminating the stage brightly.

The five hundred seats of the jury were arranged in a fan shape, empty, but the arc itself made one's legs clench just by looking at it.

The first singer to go up was a male singer in his early twenties. He was a bit reserved, and the director had to call his name three times before he found the microphone.

The second one is Chen Hao.

The atmosphere on the entire stage changed when he walked out from behind the right side curtain.

Standing at 1.9 meters tall in the center of the stage, without doing anything, his imposing presence was already palpable.

When he tested the microphone, he casually hummed a couple of lines, the richness of his mid-to-low range resonating in the empty venue.

Group 5, Zhang Yihan.

She came on stage with a smile on her face, moved with practiced ease, and waved towards the mixing console after taking her position—clearly, this wasn't her first time on a stage of this scale.

When I tested the microphone, I sang two lines of an English song. My voice was sweet and my technique was excellent.

She smiled at the director below the stage, waved, and walked down.

The whole process took less than four minutes, and was quick and efficient.

sixth.

Shen Nian.

When her name was called over the loudspeaker, she was standing behind the side of the stage, clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands.

Jiang Fan patted her on the shoulder.

"Go."

Shen Nian released her grip and took two steps forward.

She paused for a moment as she walked out from the side of the stage.

The stage was much bigger than I had imagined.

The curved LED screen stretched from overhead to toe, its blue, cool light covering the entire floor.

Shen Nian walked to the center of the stage and stopped.

She looked down at the landmark stickers on her feet, then looked up at the dense array of light fixtures overhead.

The sound engineer's voice came through the in-ear monitor: "Ms. Shen Nian, test the microphone."

She grasped the microphone and opened her mouth.

"We traveled this route, stopping and starting along the way—"

She paused for a moment when the sound came out.

The sound system amplified her voice, making it resonate throughout the empty venue.

Clean, clear, with a natural tremolo at the end.

The sound circled the dome and fell back down, causing even the workers moving equipment to stop what they were doing.

The sound engineer said something to his colleague next to him from below the stage, and the two of them nodded at the same time.

On the side of the screen, Jiang Fan's lips curled up slightly.

no problem.

When she walked back from the stage to the side of the stage after testing the microphone, the tension on her face had not completely disappeared.

"How is it?" She walked up to Jiang Fan, her voice very low.

"Didn't you see the sound engineer nod just now?"

Shen Nian blinked. She said "Oh," and then twisted her skirt again with her fingers.

"Stop wringing it." Jiang Fan glanced at the piece of fabric under her hand. "If you wrinkle the skirt, you won't be able to wear it tonight."

Shen Nian lowered her hand, her ear tips turning red.

-

Afternoon rehearsal.

With the coordination of lighting and camera work, each group of singers went through the entire performance process.

Outsiders were cleared out, leaving only the program crew and core members of their respective teams.

When it was Shen Nian's turn, Jiang Fan stood at the very front of the side curtain.

She sang the chorus of "The Wind Rises," but didn't give it her all.

Fang Yiming emerged from the mentor's passage at some point, holding a cup of coffee, and stood behind the first row of seats on the jury.

He just stood there, staring at the stage, without drinking a single drop of coffee.

Until Shen Nian sang the entire chorus.

Fang Yiming lowered his head and took a sip of coffee, his expression unchanged.

Shen Nian stepped down from the stage and walked up to Jiang Fan.

"How is it?"

Before Jiang Fan could speak, Zhou Yutong rushed out from the side and grabbed Shen Nian's arm.

"Sister Nian, when you were singing just now, I saw even Director Fang come out and peek up!"

"Don't exaggerate." Shen Nian patted her on the shoulder.

-

The rehearsal ended at 3 o'clock.

The production crew's car took them back to the hotel.

Zhou Yutong fell asleep by the window in the car, her mouth slightly open, still clutching the Nokia phone in her hand.

Shen Nian sat next to Jiang Fan without saying a word, staring out the window.

She spoke when they were almost at the hotel.

"Jiang Fan".

"Um."

"Will Tang Yingxue target me when she gives her comments?"

Shen Nian turned to look at him.

"She's a professional singer. She wouldn't be that stupid as to openly target a victim who just won a copyright lawsuit in front of an audience."

Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair.

"The only thing you need to do tonight is sing 'The Wind Rises' well. Everything else is none of your business."

Shen Nian didn't say anything more.

The car stopped.

Zhou Yutong was jolted awake by a speed bump, rubbing her eyes groggily, "Are we here?"

Upon entering the hotel lobby, I ran into Zhang Yihan and two assistants coming out of the elevator.

Zhang Yihan nodded politely when she saw Shen Nian.

Her short-haired assistant lingered on Shen Nian's face for a second longer before whispering something to Zhang Yihan.

Zhang Yihan didn't turn around and left with her people.

When they arrived at the floor, Jiang Fan escorted Shen Nian to her room.

Shen Nian swiped the door open, but stood at the door without going in.

Zhou Yutong, with her keen sense of observation, rushed in first, shouting, "I'm going to take a shower now!" and the bathroom door slammed shut.

The corridor fell silent, with only the two of them remaining.

Shen Nian lowered her head and rubbed her toes on the carpet twice.

"You'll be watching me from the audience tonight, right?"

"I was in the side screen area the whole time."

Shen Nian raised her head and pursed her lips.

"That's fine then."

She retreated into the room, and before closing the door, her eyes met Jiang Fan's.

-

7:30 p.m.

The live preview has begun.

Inside the venue, the 500 members of the audience took their seats, while the other 500 members outside the venue voted in real time via live stream.

The number of viewers in the live stream has exceeded six million, and the chat is scrolling by at lightning speed.

"Here they come! How's the lineup this year?"

"Chen Hao must be number one, no arguments allowed."

"Zhang Yihan! Zhang Yihan! Zhang Yihan!!!"

"Wait, Shen Nian? The Shen Nian who's embroiled in the copyright lawsuit? She's here too?"

"Hua Xingyu, the one who plagiarized her song? This show dares to invite her?"

Discussions about Shen Nian in the comments section became increasingly frequent. Some people dug up the details of the copyright case, some posted screenshots of Hua Xingyu's apology video, and others asked "how good is her singing ability?"

The eight groups of singers were making their final preparations in their respective dressing rooms.

The three mentors entered through a dedicated entrance.

Tang Yingxue walked at the front, wearing a black bodycon skirt and pearl earrings.

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

"Sister Xue is so fair-skinned and beautiful!"

The eight groups of singers were making their final preparations in their respective dressing rooms.

The three mentors entered through a dedicated entrance.

Tang Yingxue walked at the front, wearing a black suit dress and pearl earrings.

Following behind was a man in his early fifties—Jay Chou, a veteran of the mainland music scene, who has won the Golden Melody Award four times.

Finally, there's the renowned producer Peter Chan, who has produced over a dozen platinum records.

Three mentor chairs were placed directly in front of the stage, facing the stage.

The host, Teacher He, stood in the center of the stage, waiting for the applause to subside.

"Dear audience members and members of the judging panel, welcome to '2014 Heavenly Voices'!"

The cheers lifted half of the roof off.

The number of viewers in the live stream jumped to 8.8 million and is still rising.

Teacher He waited a few seconds.

"Our rules for the first episode are very simple—a ranking competition. Eight singers will each sing one song, and a 1,000-member audience will vote in real time. Each person has three votes and can only vote for different singers. This episode will only rank the singers; there will be no eliminations."

He paused for a moment.

"But—the second round, the challenge."

"The two singers who were eliminated last season will launch a challenge. If the challenge is successful, the two singers who ranked last in the two competitions will be eliminated."

There was a two-second silence in the room, then murmurs broke out.

Eliminations began in the second round.

This competition format is much more brutal than expected.

In other words, tonight's rankings will directly determine who is in the most danger next round.

The person who ranks last will be the target in the next round.

Teacher He clapped his hands.

"Next—we will draw lots to determine the order of appearance!"