She chose the strategy with the most bullet comments.

"Uh…"

Countless images of Su Mu flashed through Bai Wei's mind, but none of them could be captured.

"She's very talented, and... she's also very beautiful..."

Although she didn't want to admit it, Bai Wei realized that even if looks weren't the main factor, they were still a plus.

"That's right. I was attracted to Teacher Zhao's looks and that's why I turned him gay," Wang Yuling said nostalgically.

Bai Wei said softly, "She is ahead of me in every way. I really like the way she works hard for her ideals. I think that's what attracts me the most."

"Aren't you going to confess your feelings?"

"That won't be possible for now..."

"Does he not accept girls?"

"Well, she has no dating history, but I can't tell she likes girls. I'm afraid that if I tell her, even..."

A look of sadness welled up in Bai Wei's eyes, her pupils trembled slightly, and she murmured quietly, "If I were to say it, she, being so understanding, would probably only feel pressure..."

"It's better to maintain the status quo than to ruin our current relationship... As her best friend, she said she needs me on her journey to achieve her dreams, so I'm content just being able to stay by her side like this..."

"Teacher, am I being despicable by choosing to hide my feelings in order to stay by her side?"

Wang Yuling's lips curved into a smile, her eyebrows arched, "That's not right, you're a good child."

"Good child?" Bai Wei asked, puzzled.

"You stopped at being friends because you sacrificed your ideals for her. Compared to your own feelings, you chose to focus on her and put her priority over yourself, so you are a good kid."

Bai Wei pursed her lips, gazing at her reflection in the tea cup. "I'm just... afraid I won't be able to stay by her side, aren't I?"

Even so, it must be very difficult to bury your true feelings, right?

Wang Yuling rested her chin on her hands, tilted her head, and looked out the window, as if recalling some happy memories, and couldn't help but smile softly.

"So you don't need to think about yourself or anything, just follow your heart."

"..."

Bai Wei raised her head, smiled a moment later, and brought the tea in her hand to her lips.

"I see…"

155. Preliminary Selection

Time flew by, and the auditions for The Sound of Music began.

Due to the sheer number of participants in the preliminary rounds, there will be no offline stage, nor will there be simultaneous online live streaming or television broadcasts.

The preliminary selection locations are actually recording studios where contestants need to record their entries on-site. The entries will then be uploaded to various media platforms by the official competition organizers, and voting will begin simultaneously.

The contestant with the most votes will advance from the preliminary rounds.

In other words, to advance at this stage, the first step is to win over the ears of the masses.

It's not just young people who frequent the internet; many middle-aged people and even some elderly people are online, and works that appeal to a generational gap can't possibly be liked by everyone. — Lin

However, there is a preliminary internal screening process before uploading to official media accounts.

It's impossible to upload unprofessional or even unremarkable works. Even if there are only one hundred entries, it's impossible for the audience to listen to them all. Internal screening is necessary.

After discussing it with Bai Wei, Su Mu decided to use the song "Nameless Hero" to participate in the audition.

Of course, the organizers do not mandate that participants in the preliminary rounds must go to a designated offline recording studio. They can also bring their pre-made entries and submit them through official channels.

There are no restrictions, including post-production adjustments such as sound mixing, and no restrictions on recording equipment.

After all, contestants who go to the offline recording studio will have their work made simple adjustments by the post-production staff.

As for whether well-made works by individuals might have their flaws masked by heavy post-production work, not many people seem to care. (Shan)

After the preliminary rounds, there will be an offline elimination round, followed by the final round.

This is a real, live broadcast; there will be no post-production editing. If we mess up, we'll lose face in front of the entire nation.

The organizers of The Sound of Music adhere to a very simple principle: if you are defeated by someone who came later in the audition, it means that even if you get the spot that was originally yours, you won't go far.

The truly talented can conquer countless people even with an a cappella performance, how could they possibly be defeated by demons and monsters using post-production techniques?

……

Su Mu and his companion arrived at a recording studio in the province, carrying nothing but a USB drive containing accompaniment tracks.

The accompaniment can also be recorded live, but that would be too time-consuming and unnecessary.

Before long, all the facilities were ready. Su Mu and Bai Wei exchanged a glance and quickly put on professional monitoring headphones.

Under the astonished gaze of the staff, they sang the entire song in one go without making any mistakes.

When asked later if there were any segments that needed to be re-recorded, both of them answered no, which stunned the five staff members in the recording studio.

Wow, that skilled?

And it's an original work!

It's important to know that the vast majority of contestants, unless they have rearranged the song themselves, will not bring their own accompaniment.

Of course, it's difficult for such people to go very far.

After all, a cover song is still a cover song. Not everyone can perfectly adapt the melody and key of the original. To make it sound acceptable, you need to find a key that suits you and make some changes.

Unlike Su Mu and Bai Wei, none of the staff present had ever heard of their songs.

Nameless Artist (Part 3) - A Zero-Spiritual Person?

There are a few songs with the same title in the Chinese music scene, but the content is completely different from what Su Mu and Su Mu sang.

What surprised the staff even more was that when the vocals and melody were initially integrated, no minor post-production adjustments were needed, and the sound was excellent.

This kind of ability is usually only possessed by those talented singers who are hailed as "walking CDs".

Although voting hasn't started yet, the staff have a feeling that these two young women might be dark horses that shouldn't be ignored.

Three days after the preliminary selection ended, all entries that passed the initial screening were released simultaneously, totaling exactly 130.

Of these 130, only 20 can advance to the knockout stage, which is quite brutal.

Su Mu used Ctrl+F to see that the nameless person was also on the list. He exchanged a glance with Bai Wei and nodded slightly.

Next, they just have to wait for the one-week voting period to end, and they are confident that they will stand out.

……

Wuhan, WLD training base.

Liu Xuan had just finished inspecting the team's development and was leisurely scrolling through his phone in Liu Keke's office chair, occasionally glancing at Liu Keke on the sofa.

"You made a solemn promise to me to make a name for yourself, but the team hasn't even fully joined yet and started getting used to each other. How are we supposed to succeed like this?"

“What’s the rush? My neighbor Qi Si Ba isn’t in a hurry.”

"Tsk, talking to your older sister like that, you only do so because I spoil you."

"This siscon is offering himself up for blackmail. How can I not take it?" Liu Keke flipped through the documents in her hand without even looking up.

Liu Xuan: "..."

Although she knew her younger sister was just being sarcastic and didn't mean it, she still felt a little helpless listening to her sister's words.

Sigh... I've owed her something since I was a child.

She originally had lofty ambitions to soar through the skies, but now she has been forced to give them up because of herself... Fortunately, her parents' actions back then prevented any rift between the two sisters.

Out of guilt and remorse, Liu Xuan granted almost every request Liu Keke made, spoiling her rotten.

Six months ago, she said she wanted to become a professional esports team manager, and I went along with it without hesitation.

"Don't you still have a few big clients to meet? Are you sure you're not wasting your time making big money by staying here with me?" Liu Keke asked casually.

"It's not like I'm begging them. It's better to let them see their own position clearly for a while, so that AC doesn't have any shortcomings and keeps arguing when it comes to business."

Liu Xuan pouted and listlessly clicked on the audition entries for Music Channel.

As one of the sponsors of this semi-variety show, it's necessary to see if there are any contestants worth discovering. However, after listening to several of their songs for less than ten seconds, I lost interest.

It's all just unoriginal covers; the original song rate this year is ridiculously low.

After flipping to number 57, Liu Xuan finally became interested.

The title of the song "The Nameless" is in red, which represents an original work, while the normal black color represents a cover version.

She clicked the play button.

The opening melody lasts less than ten seconds, with a deep, slightly hoarse female voice emanating from it.

"The lights of the city at dawn always have their halos falling, and imitators come one after another."

"If no one cares about a character, who do you choose to admire, and who do you choose to resent?"

"Pretending to be warmly indifferent, pretending to be free but bound by shackles, what have you ultimately become?"

"A magnificent firework display, once is enough, what more could one ask for..."

Before she knew it, Liu Xuan had become quite engrossed in the song. When she noticed the melody changing at this point, she began to feel a sense of anticipation.

Good start, but what happens next?

The melody gradually sinks for a few seconds, then suddenly rises, with another distinctly different female voice taking over as the lead singer.

"An unknown person, who am I? It doesn't matter who I forget. Who isn't I? I'll fight to the very end..."

156. Digging is not very effective.

"Perhaps I'll be exhausted and disheveled, perhaps I'll live a humble and unproductive life, perhaps I'll never become your glory..."

"An unknown nobody, who am I? It doesn't matter who I forget. Keep chasing, whose glory isn't accompanied by tears..."

Before she knew it, Liu Xuan was completely captivated by the soprano voice, which was tinged with a sense of defiance. The progressive melody, combined with the singing, conveyed a feeling that even if one falls to the bottom and becomes an unknown person, one should still strive and even struggle to live the life one wants.

She recalled the past, the hardships she had overcome to get started, the trials and tribulations she had endured, and the thorns and obstacles she had traversed.

Liu Xuan wasn't wearing headphones, and the music playing on speaker attracted Liu Keke's attention from the documents in her hands.

As if wanting to hear more clearly, Liu Xuan turned up the volume, and the two sisters were immersed in the singing.

However, Liu Keke felt that the singer's voice sounded somewhat familiar...

Four minutes or so passed, and the song was over.

Liu Xuan stared blankly at the tall buildings outside the window for a long time before she came to her senses and looked at the singer of the song.

Su Mu, Bai Wei, these are nice names, they seem to be the names of two Chinese medicinal herbs. Are they stage names?

Wait a moment--

She seemed to remember something, her eyes widened, she glanced left and right before stopping at her left hand, picking up the documents on the table.

His gaze fell directly on two of them, and his mouth instantly formed an "O" shape.

what?

"Hey sis, sis, did you hear that song just now?"

"I heard that, it's pretty good, why?"

Do you know who the singer is?

"I don't know."

"Those two so-called genius Nakanos you signed, they have the exact same name!" Liu Xuan's tone was full of shock.

Liu Keke paused for a moment, but her expression didn't show much surprise; instead, she seemed to understand.

It turns out they passed the initial screening, and they even sang an original song. No wonder their voices sounded familiar.

"You don't seem surprised at all?" Liu Xuan asked, puzzled.

"There is a bit of that, but when I think about how they are both top students in the music department, I feel okay."

"No, I meant that they went to participate in The Sound of Music, but didn't immediately join the team to practice together!"

"What, you have a problem with that?" Liu Keke raised her head unhappily, wanting to see how her older sister would reprimand her.

“…I wouldn’t dare…I feel like I’m wasting their talents. How about we terminate their contracts? I’ll cover the costs. If they come with me, I can train them into a top-tier pop group in just six months.”

At this point, Liu Xuan said with a hint of disappointment, "Why are you playing esports and becoming a professional player? What a waste of such great talent!"