Chapter 67: Oh No, This is Bad!
Liu Ran let out a cold snort, glancing over at Shen Xi.
“That girl, Shen Xi, has bad intentions. She actually tried to use shady means to get me to give her special treatment. How can someone like that be a mystery guest?”
Hearing that, Director Chen almost burst out laughing. He patted Liu Ran on the shoulder.
“Teacher Liu, sometimes, we need to have a little self-awareness.”
With that, Director Chen turned away and went back to work, sighing to himself. That’s a death wish. +3.
He left behind a completely baffled Liu Ran.
………………………………
The [Masked Singer King] semifinals didn’t start until late in the evening. The show aired at the same time as [The Voice], and coincidentally, they were both being livestreamed online.
This wasn’t Director Chen’s idea, it was Zhejiang TV’s little scheme. After all, Su City TV had always been overshadowed by them.
If not for the masked format adding a layer of mystery, the gap between them would have been even bigger.
As the Masked Singer King host stepped onto the stage to announce the semifinal rules, including voting from the judges, live audience, and online viewers, the camera kept switching between the host, judges, and the guest panel brought in to stir up engagement.
Su City TV’s official livestream chat started rolling immediately:
"Ahhh! Feifei! The semifinals are finally live!"
"Feng Weiwei’s styling today is gorgeous!"
"Placing my bets, will Sister Na’s cursing get the stream shut down?"
"Hurry up, host! I’m using mobile data to watch from abroad!"
As the host finished speaking, the stage lights suddenly dimmed. Then, a single spotlight illuminated the contestant stepping onto the stage.
No matter who it was, the audience responded with thunderous applause and cheers. Well, that’s what happens when you pay a crowd 100 yuan a day to hype up the show.
One by one, the contestants took the stage in order, and the bullet chat in the livestream settled into a steady rhythm. The number of live viewers reached 40,000, but [The Voice] had five times that number.
“Next up, from the Original Song category, we have ‘White Lotus’ performing her own composition.”
After the host’s announcement, Lin Yueyue appeared on stage, wearing a pure white gown and a silver mask, looking as graceful as a blooming lotus flower.
Perhaps due to her protagonist halo, the bullet chat suddenly exploded with exaggerated praise. It felt suspiciously like paid comments.
As the music started and Lin Yueyue began singing, Shen Xi, who was waiting backstage, chuckled softly.
The original story never said Lin Yueyue could write songs. This is probably something Shi Jingyan bought for her.
And the over-the-top praise in the bullet chat? So fake it’s embarrassing.
Lin Yueyue’s appearance turned out to be a small highlight, pushing the livestream viewership up to 80,000. But aside from all the mindless praise, the real reason the comments and viewer count surged was...
"The plagiarism dog is up next, right?"
"Yep, brothers, get ready to spam when she gets on stage. Get out of the music industry!"
"Moon Goddess? More like, get out of the industry!"
"Don’t believe the rumors! The song is hers!"
Su Kexin was watching the livestream at home on her phone. When she saw the comments slandering her beloved Xixi, she couldn’t help but send a message to defend her. But instead of changing anyone’s mind, she was instantly bombarded with insults.
"Bro, how much are you getting paid per comment? Supporting her? Pfft."
……………………………….
"A huge thank you to 'White Lotus' for her song! Up next, let’s welcome our mystery guest, the highly anticipated ‘Moon Goddess’!"
Lin Yueyue’s singing was mediocre at best, and the judges' scores reflected that, she was at the bottom. But somehow, her online votes were ridiculously high, putting her in the top five for the semifinals.
No matter how well her competitors performed, Shen Xi only cared about giving her best.
Since she didn’t have an assistant, she adjusted her mask and outfit by herself before confidently walking onto the stage.
The moment she stood at the center, bathed in the spotlight, the whole world seemed to fall silent.
She looked just like a real Moon Goddess, pure and elegant.
But online, chaos erupted. The livestream viewership instantly shot past 200,000, and the comments exploded.
"The plagiarism dog is here! Spam the chat!"
"She actually dares to go on stage? Shameless!"
Shen Xi couldn’t see the comments, and honestly, she didn’t feel bad at all.
The one who was feeling bad, though, was the director of [The Voice]. Watching his viewership numbers plummet, he sighed, ‘Turns out, even bad publicity is still publicity.’
"Director, Su City TV really knows how to stir things up. First the plagiarism controversy, then the masked gimmick. It’s all buzzworthy."
"Hah, if they want gimmicks, we'll give them gimmicks. Spin the mentor's chair early, make it spin backwards, let's get creative.”
"Classic Director move."
……………………………………
Meanwhile, at the livestream platform's network monitoring center…
"Mr. Gu, the Blue Whale AI has been integrated into the platform. We’re ready for the first test."
The chief network engineer reported to Gu Hanling through his earpiece.
"Understood."
Hearing the man’s response, the engineer swiftly typed on the keyboard and pressed the start button.
The Blue Whale AI officially went live, immediately pulling all the comments from Su City TV’s livestream chat. In just seconds, the system detected and analyzed the data.
The comment section was moving at lightning speed, but the AI quickly traced the source, identifying accounts belonging to paid bot farms responsible for malicious attacks against Shen Xi.
……………………………………
Meanwhile, at the Su City TV broadcast hall, center stage.
Shen Xi slightly turned and nodded toward the band in signal.
As the familiar and beautiful intro began to play, nostalgic memories of her school days from her past life surfaced in her mind. Her lips curved into a sweet smile.
"Switch to Camera 2!"
"Close-up shot!"
Director Chen gave clear and rapid orders through his headset.
He was nervous, this was Boss Gu’s wife. If the shot wasn’t stunning, how could he have the nerve to ask their biggest sponsor for funding?
In the close-up shot, under the Moon Goddess mask, only her delicate chin and alluring lips were visible. Her smile was gentle yet captivating.
Seated in the audience, special guest An Yufei stared at the close-up on the big screen, his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed. Something about this situation made him uneasy, he had a bad feeling, an itch to take action sooner than planned.
Meanwhile, another guest panelist, Feng Weiwei, felt an unexplainable sense of dislike toward the woman on stage. She didn’t know why.
Shen Xi hadn’t even started singing yet, but the livestream chat had already exploded.
"OMG, guys, this smile is way too sweet!"
"Those lips are so tempting... She must be even prettier under the mask!"
"Wait… has anyone noticed? The haters and bots are gone??"
"Holy crap, you’re right! Just a second ago, the chat was full of hate!"
"This intro is amazing! Another original song, no doubt about her talent!"
"Whoever wiped out my 20,000 alt accounts in the chat, please stop! I’ll pay you, seriously!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
"2333333!"
…………………………………
As the intro melody faded, the woman parted her lips, and her clear, ethereal voice flowed through the airwaves, reaching every viewer watching Su City TV’s broadcast.
【Keep love by your side, there's a blue sky outside the window】
【When the leaves fall, remember to wear an extra layer】
The once chaotic livestream chat started to slow down, with fewer comments appearing. However, the viewer count kept climbing, it seemed like everyone was too absorbed to even type.
As the song continued, Shen Xi became more and more immersed in her performance.
Her voice was gentle as the wind at times, then deep and emotional like the sea, as if she were telling a heartfelt story about youth and love.
When the chorus hit, her voice soared, carrying a sense of letting go, as if she was saying goodbye to the past.
In the audience, people couldn’t help but sway along with the melody. The judges exchanged glances, their faces showing admiration, except for Liu Ran, who still looked unimpressed.
"Switch to Camera 3! Close-up on the judges!"
"Switch to Camera 5! Get the audience reactions! Yes—perfect!"
"Back to Camera 1, main stage shot!"
Director Chen gave rapid commands through his headset, his eyes glued to the monitor, not daring to look away for a second.
As the chorus repeated, the livestream chat exploded once again, filling the screen with:
"Ai ya ai ya!"
"Ai ya ai ya!"
The hype kept building, the number of live viewers soared past 400,000!
"This is amazing! Song of the year!"
"Starting today, I am officially a follower of the Moon Goddess!"
"Does anyone else feel like this song brings back memories of school days… yet it’s clearly brand new?"
"Yes! Exactly! I feel the same way!"
………………………………….
【You walked too far】
【Too far away】
【Your answer】
【I can’t hear it anymore】
As the final note faded, a moment of silence filled the venue.
Then, suddenly, a wave of thunderous applause erupted.
Even the judges couldn’t help but clap, their expressions full of appreciation.
Liu Ran still kept a cold expression, but even he had to admit, Shen Xi’s performance was flawless.
During the scoring round, Shen Xi won by a landslide against Lin Yueyue. According to the rules, the loser had to reveal their identity.
Maybe it was just the protagonist’s aura, but despite losing and delivering an average performance, Lin Yueyue’s pitiful, innocent "white lotus" image after revealing her face still earned her 2 million new followers on Weibo.
On social media, the topics "Moon Goddess sings 'Ai Ya Ai Ya'" and the plagiarism controversy surrounding the song "I Know" shot back up to trending topics.
There was also a lot of debate about the "false memory effect", many people felt like "Ai Ya Ai Ya" had always existed in their past memories, but in reality, it was a brand-new song.
That night, Shen Xi created a small Weibo account, posted a quick selfie in her stage mask, and then ignored it.
After the competition ended, she removed her makeup, returned her costume, and felt completely relaxed.
Just as she walked out of the backstage area, her phone vibrated.
It was a WeChat message from An Yufei.
"Congratulations to our Xixi for advancing! As someone who truly appreciates your music, I have a little surprise for you."
A location pin was attached to the message. It wasn't far, just a few minutes away.
Shen Xi frowned slightly, feeling a bit confused. But since he had helped her before, she didn’t feel right rejecting him.
Sigh, this is the trouble with owing favors.
She replied with a simple "Okay" and started walking toward the location.
The city lights shone brightly at night, and the gentle summer breeze carried a refreshing coolness.
Without thinking, Shen Xi hummed the song she had just performed on stage.
"Ai ya ai ya..."
After walking for a few minutes, she reached a corner near the location. Suddenly, her phone buzzed again.
Thinking An Yufei was getting impatient, she glanced at the screen.
But it wasn’t him. It was Gu Hanling.
[Where are you? I’m coming to pick you up.]
A short message, but his tone left no room for refusal. Shen Xi felt even more confused. Why does he suddenly want to pick me up from work today?
She replied with just a question mark:
[ ? ]
[Grandma is in the hospital.]
That kind and gentle grandma!?
Shen Xi’s heart clenched, and without hesitation, she forwarded An Yufei’s location to Gu Hanling.
Then, she hurried toward the meeting spot, thinking she should at least say a quick goodbye to An Yufei before leaving.
But the moment Shen Xi arrived, her heart skipped a beat, and she inwardly exclaimed, 'Oh no! Oh no!'