Chapter 204 – 158 “Late Marriage”!! Can it still be played like this live?
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Seeing the song title “Late Marriage” at that moment, Lin Wanzhou was caught off guard and was stunned.
At that time, Guan Fengchen was on stage, belting out with all his might, but Ji Chen’s condition seemed a bit off. The beginning was okay, but as the song progressed, his gaze became erratic, and he seemed a bit out of it.
Halfway through the song, Guan Fengchen had just roared out, “My heart is like a fierce bird!” and after waiting two seconds, Ji Chen failed to come in, mysteriously half a beat slow.
In that instant, Guan Fengchen’s pupils dilated, and he already had in mind which mountain top to bury Ji Chen under.
What the heck, give me back my money!
Being half a beat slow, to the average person it might have been imperceptible. After all, the impression is that rock is meant to be loud and live performances are just about having a blast.
But the eight hundred people in the audience were incredibly sensitive, not missing a single flaw with their keen ears.
Ji Chen’s half beat delay had a very jarring effect. It was like boiling water suddenly thrown into a frozen lake, instantly silencing the sound.
The audience hadn’t yet reacted, and the song had already moved to the next section. But now, pulled out from the immersive experience, there was a sense of auditory dissonance.
Like warming up and just getting into the groove, when suddenly, you’re doused with cold water.
This mistake obviously didn’t escape the ears of the guests waiting offstage; they exchanged glances. Hou Xueheng, being a senior, upheld his status and did not laugh out loud, just frowned.
The camera quickly captured this, taking a precise shot of Hou Xueheng’s facial expression.
Jiang Jingsheng’s brows raised, his head slightly bowed, as if enduring something. He couldn’t even manage a frown; staying silent, he dodged the camera.
Not stirring trouble is one of the professional qualities of an idol singer.
Secondly, the fans of West Liang band are crazier than ordinary people, picking fights with anyone, just like mad dogs. They talk about loving rock music while viciously slamming other bands.
They start with claims like “rock is dead,” “punk is chaos,” and their go-to gesture is the metal horn. “Live like West Liang, die like West Liang,” they say, representing niche and rebellion.
If you dare to say that West Liang isn’t a rock band, you’ll get viciously trolled.
Wen Shuanghua didn’t know what had happened. At the instant she heard the half-beat delay, a hint of a puzzled smile appeared on her face. Seeing the strange expressions of the others, she couldn’t help but wonder.
“It was a half beat slow, right?” she asked, poking her head out.
Now that the topic had been brought up, it was impossible not to respond.
Hou Xueheng coughed and then began his critique. He didn’t talk about the song itself but focused on Ji Chen’s mistake and did not forget to leave him some face in the end.
“It could be that Xiao Ji is fatigued from traveling, a bit out of sorts.”
Zhang Yuqi chimed in, “That should be the case. It’s very tiring for artists to commute, to the point where I often fall asleep on planes or in cars, and wake up with a headache.”
“Is that so?” Wen the young matron felt somewhat awkward, vaguely realizing that she might have said the wrong thing.
Although it wasn’t mentioned again, her heart was still pondering. The performance was half a beat slow, now even more so, that person’s performance was nearly off the rails.
In the guest lounge, Xu Qingyan and Pei Muchan exchanged a knowing smile.
“This…”
What the hell kind of a surprise is this, as they say, not afraid of god-like opponents, but rather pig-like teammates.
Getting involved with Ji Chen, Guan Fengchen’s life was pretty much ruined.
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The song ended.
On stage, Guan Fengchen shivered and slowly looked towards Ji Chen. The latter didn’t even glance at him, still sporting that same defiant attitude.
If the show hadn’t been recording, he truly wanted to kick him right then and there.
The lead singer of the near top-tier West Liang band, with experience from over a hundred concerts, you tell me you had an off performance? Damn it, other than being disrespectful to himself, Guan Fengchen could think of no other reason.
Thinking that today’s stage was just a task for Ji Chen, a commissioned performance, while for himself, it was the only chance, the next opportunity far off in the future.
Guan Fengchen was seething with rage, wishing he could travel through time to confront his father with an iron grip and plaster him to the wall, to prevent the likes of Ji Chen from ever being born to trouble him.
The voting began, and Ji Chen turned his head to reveal a brilliant smile to Guan Fengchen.
Guan Fengchen’s face changed faster than flipping a page, immediately putting on an encouraging smile. Once Ji Chen looked away, the smile vanished in a second, his thoughts cursing furiously.
The final score: 620.
Even Guan Fengchen himself was taken aback by this result, stunned for a while. It wasn’t until the host announced the score again that he came to his senses, his brows raising.
Unsurprisingly at the bottom, but… only four votes away from the third and fourth place?
He immediately cheered up again. These days, being popular is a good thing; even a poor performance can garner consolation votes. There seemed to be a chance for a turnaround, he thought, keeping Ji Chen’s mother in mind.
In the guest lounge.
“Let’s go, it’s time to go on stage.” Xu Qingyan took the lead, standing up. Turning to see Pei Muchan still seated, he was puzzled, “What’s wrong? Nervous?”
Pei Muchan didn’t speak, just shook her head.
After a moment, she lifted her head with a seriousness not seen before.
“Let’s go!”
“Oh…oh yeah!” Xu Qingyan looked bewildered, wondering why she was suddenly so intense.
But it was a good thing; a singer’s performance on stage is closely related to their emotional state. Like a few minutes ago when Ji Chen was clearly distracted, it was a good thing he was just a guest singer.
Otherwise, even with votes for him, it would have been embarrassing.
The walk from the lounge to the stage was not long. Pei Muchan walked ahead, and Xu Qingyan slowly followed. After a few steps, he hesitated.
She turned around, her profile soft, her gaze unusually serious.
“How many votes do you think I can get?”
“Seven hundred and forty votes,” Xu Qingyan replied, his eyes reflecting a bright light, with Pei Muchan standing before it, “If I were to vote, the only choice would be full marks.”
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