Boss, He Is Chasing Stars Again Chapter 7
byChapter 7 Hearing the host’s affirmative answer…
Hearing the host’s affirmative answer, Shi Xingze realized the host was genuinely referring to him. He immediately adjusted his demeanor and walked onto the stage, bowing to the judges and the audience.
The S-rank and A-rank contestants had already chosen their desired tracks. Unsurprisingly, almost all of them were dance tracks, especially the Hot Ice group, which was highly competitive, with most of the early selectors choosing that song.
“Next, we invite Shi Xingze, the first contestant from Group B, to make his selection. We wonder if he will also choose the popular track Hot Ice this time. Let’s look forward to his choice!”
After speaking, the host looked at Shi Xingze, signaling him to make his selection.
Shi Xingze looked at the voting results on the big screen, where his votes were significantly higher than the other B-rank contestants. While happy that he could choose the song he wanted, he felt certain he would be criticized by other contestants’ fans this time.
He didn’t know who had voted for him, causing him to suddenly jump from being an unknown to entering the audience’s view and becoming instantly noticeable.
Shi Xingze’s mind was a mess, but he still smiled at the camera and answered calmly, “Thank you to all my fans and friends for your support. The song I want to choose is Tonight, There Will Be Rain at Seven.”
After Shi Xingze spoke, not only the host and the live audience were confused, but also the viewers watching the live stream and his own fans.
“No way, he’s the first to choose, and he’s not picking a dance track?”
“Who is this Shi Xingze? Why haven’t I heard of him before? Does he have any works?”
“To the person above, I just searched on Baidu. He’s a civilian, only signed with a company at the beginning of this year. Where would he get works?”
“666, we’ve encountered royalty. Whose young master is parachuting in now?”
“Royalty who doesn’t even choose Hot Ice? Purely wasting fan votes.”
Jian Xingzhi, watching the screen, was also a little confused. Judging purely by the names of these songs, the one most likely to stand out was undoubtedly the one the netizens guessed. Why didn’t Shi Xingze choose that one? As long as he chose that song, regardless of his performance, getting recognized on the show would be guaranteed, and it would be easier to enter the audience’s view.
Could it be that he hadn’t cast enough votes?
Jian Xingzhi felt he had been very restrained in his voting. He could only comfort himself, thinking that perhaps Shi Xingze simply wanted to choose this song.
The host was very professional. After a brief moment of surprise, he quickly said, “Okay, contestant Shi Xingze has chosen the song Tonight, There Will Be Rain at Seven. Let’s look forward to contestant Shi Xingze’s performance later! Now, please welcome the next contestant!”
Shi Xingze returned to the waiting area in a daze, feeling that the way the other contestants looked at him had changed compared to before. Some were scrutinizing him, and others clearly disliked him.
But none of that mattered much to him; after all, he wasn’t aiming to debut in a group.
Bai Jiayan also chose Hot Ice. He leaned closer to Shi Xingze and whispered, “Why did you choose that song? I thought you would choose this one too.”
Shi Xingze also lowered his voice and said to Bai Jiayan, “My dancing is pretty average. I’m afraid of dragging others down during the group performance. This slow song is quite good, and it has a plot that allows for free interpretation. I think it suits me well.”
Bai Jiayan smiled and told him, “I feel similarly, but my dancing is decent, so I chose this one. However, I didn’t expect Huo Yan to choose the creation group. He can even rap.”
Huo Yan’s initial stage performance was flawless in both singing and dancing. Shi Xingze also thought he would definitely choose a dance track, but he unexpectedly went to the creation group, which no one else had chosen yet.
Just as Shi Xingze was about to say something, a sudden sneer came from nearby: “I knew why you had the leisure to meddle in other people’s business during the initial stage. Turns out you’re another young master.”
The speaker was Tian Mo. Shi Xingze felt that Tian Mo had been subtly targeting him, or perhaps looking down on him and the other contestants, since the initial stage. Shi Xingze’s fan votes clearly exceeded Tian Mo’s expectations, so he immediately assumed Shi Xingze was another member of the “royalty.”
The smile faded from Shi Xingze’s face. He turned to Tian Mo and said, “I am not some young master. Although I don’t understand my fans’ intentions, since the program decided to base the selection order on fan votes, my fans were just following the rules. If you are unconvinced, you can also perform better and strive for fan support.”
Tian Mo sprang up from his seat, momentarily forgetting to keep his voice down, and shouted at Shi Xingze, “Who says I don’t have fans!”
His voice was too loud, and everyone nearby immediately focused their attention on Tian Mo. Zhao Xian, who was sitting next to him, was afraid the production team would notice, so he also stood up, grabbed Tian Mo’s shoulder, and pressed him back into his seat, saying, “We’re still filming. Calm down.”
The commotion didn’t escape the staff’s eyes. Someone quickly came over and asked, “What’s wrong?” Zhao Xian smiled at the staff member: “Nothing, his shirt was wrinkled, and he stood up to straighten it.”
Tian Mo’s rationality returned, and he nodded repeatedly: “Yes, I was just straightening my clothes.”
The last time Shi Xingze spoke up for a contestant who was criticized by a mentor, Tian Mo subconsciously thought he was a pushover. He didn’t expect Shi Xingze to retort so directly, and for a moment, he couldn’t control his temper.
Seeing Tian Mo calm down, Zhao Xian patted his back, then turned to Shi Xingze and said, “He was a bit impulsive just now. I apologize on his behalf, and congratulations on getting first place in the B-rank voting this time.”
Shi Xingze glanced at Tian Mo, who was distracted and worried about his angry expression being filmed, and just smiled at Zhao Xian’s words: “I was just speaking the truth.”
Shi Xingze didn’t have much affection for Zhao Xian either. He and Tian Mo were only nodding acquaintances, yet Zhao Xian suddenly apologized for Tian Mo, making Zhao Xian appear humble and generous in contrast to Tian Mo.
Zhao Xian didn’t say much more. He changed seats and sat next to Shi Xingze, pointing at the sparsely populated Tonight, There Will Be Rain at Seven on the screen and asking Shi Xingze, “I watched that drama too. This ending song is quite famous, so the audience’s expectations will probably be high. What are your thoughts on this song?”
Shi Xingze was a little confused, but then heard Zhao Xian say, “I’m not very confident in my votes, so I also want to choose this song. Maybe I can gain a few more fans.”
Zhao Xian wanted to say more, but the host’s voice sounded again. It was Zhao Xian’s turn to choose a song.
After Zhao Xian left, Shi Xingze didn’t talk much with anyone else. He just sat quietly, watching the subsequent contestants choose their songs, and guessing who he would be grouped with later.
After all the contestants had finished selecting their tracks, the production team divided them into groups according to the selection order. Sure enough, Zhao Xian also chose the same song as Shi Xingze.
Shi Xingze secretly looked at the expressions of his group members. Except for two who were clearly unhappy, the others were expressionless, or even gave Shi Xingze a friendly smile.
After the grouping, it was time for the contestants to practice. Excluding the time spent filming, they only had five days to practice. If other contestants had other work in between, that time would shrink even further.
After filming ended, Shi Xingze and his group members gathered in the practice room, preparing to discuss their initial thoughts on the song.
Tonight, There Will Be Rain at Seven is the ending theme song for the recently popular idol drama Rainy Love Song. The male and female leads gained many fans through their acting and the tear-jerking ending song. One of the most famous lines related to the song is: Tonight, there will be rain at seven. May I hold an umbrella for you?
Shi Xingze’s idea for the song leaned toward performance, adding a bit of plot to make it closer to a stage play format. However, before that, he had to hear the other contestants’ ideas. The song is a little over four minutes long, and their group has eight people, so they needed to discuss how to allocate the time.
Seeing that no one spoke first, Zhao Xian took the initiative: “Since that’s the case, I’ll share my thoughts first. The song is four minutes long, and we have eight people. My suggestion is to choose one center, and the rest of us divide the remaining time equally. What do you think?”
One of the contestants immediately disagreed: “Why? Except for Yue Lin, who is A-rank, everyone else here is B-rank. If you want to be the center, just say so. Why beat around the bush?”
Zhao Xian good-naturedly waved his hand: “I didn’t say we should decide based on rank. My point is, everyone performs a segment, and we choose the center based on individual performance. Otherwise, we can only decide the center based on fan votes.”
Shi Xingze hadn’t spoken, but hearing Zhao Xian seemingly trying to draw attention to him, he immediately interjected: “Fan votes are temporary. I am more in favor of dividing the time equally. I have an idea: even if we divide the time equally, everyone will have a chance to shine. Why don’t you hear it first?”
The smile on Zhao Xian’s face faded slightly, and he didn’t immediately respond. Instead, Yue Lin, who had been silent, said, “I’d like to hear your idea first.”
The contestant who had just refuted Zhao Xian glanced at Zhao Xian and said sarcastically, as if trying to oppose him, “I agree with Yue Lin.”
Shi Xingze smiled at Yue Lin, knowing he was helping him out. He then pointed to the song and said to the other contestants, “As the ending song for Rainy Love Song, this song is actually best suited to be paired with various sad scenes from the drama. Since the song is so closely linked to the drama, I think we can perform it in a format leaning toward a stage play.”
The other contestants showed thoughtful expressions. Zhao Xian nodded and said to Shi Xingze, “That’s a good idea, but how do we determine which part everyone wants to perform, and who performs the highlight part?”
The storyline of Rainy Love Song is full of twists and turns, and even if adapted into a stage play, there will be highlight moments. Shi Xingze had considered this and proposed two ideas: “I have two ideas. The first is drawing lots. Whatever part you draw, you perform that part.”
That sounded fair, but those who didn’t draw the highlight part might not be convinced, so the others asked Shi Xingze, “What about the second one?”
Shi Xingze thought for a moment and said, “The second is that everyone first chooses the part they want to perform. If two people choose the same part, then we hold a solo vote within the group. Whoever gets the most votes performs that part. How does that sound?”