Chapter 74: Before the Second Round of Auditions
There were too many people in the first round of the Top Ten Singers auditions, so it was held in the dance room of the school’s main building. Each person just sang a short part, about 10 to 20 seconds.
But this afternoon’s second round was different, it was held at the school’s main platform.
There was no real stage built. The student council just moved some tables and chairs to the front of the platform and set up a basic sound system with microphones. That was all the preparation.
There were still more than 30 people left in the second round. Like before, it was still a cappella singing, but this time each person had up to 5 minutes.
That meant the whole round would take almost three hours.
Unless something unexpected happened, there wouldn’t be a third audition. After today’s round, the top ten singers would be chosen. Then, the few music teachers at school would train those ten students for two months, so they wouldn’t mess up during the New Year’s Day performance.
Because of the New Year’s event, the top ten singers also had to attend rehearsals and other activities. In the end, even the person who came in last would still get a 100 yuan reward for their effort.
The school was never stingy when it came to giving out money. They often held different competitions. It was said that Yu Fan had already made hundreds of yuan just from the school's painting competitions, video competitions, and sports meets.
As for Li Mu… he had never seen a single coin in return.
It was only the third class of the afternoon, and Li Mu was already feeling very nervous.
Last time, because of an accident, he went out in a girl’s outfit, which sort of counted as a trial run.
But this time, he would be dressed as a girl, singing on stage, in front of hundreds, maybe even more students watching...
Even though someone else would be controlling his body during the singing, the feeling was still exactly the same as usual.
“Yu Fan’s audition is at what time this afternoon?” Wang Chen whispered to Li Mu from behind.
“I’m not going, how would I know?” Li Mu replied, voice shaking with nervousness. “And didn’t you say you never even listen to music?”
“I want to see your sister. Photos might be edited. I want to see her in real life.”
Li Mu swallowed nervously. “There’s nothing to see. You might as well go to the internet café for two hours and come back in time for evening study.”
But Wang Chen watched Li Mu closely and started to get suspicious. “Why do you seem to be talking more than usual today?”
“……”
Just then, the class bell rang.
The math teacher on the platform looked at the blackboard and said without hesitation, “We’ll finish this problem before class ends.”
Groans came from the students below. But a few of the less serious students had already rushed out of the classroom the moment the bell rang.
Li Mu wasn’t in the mood to listen to class. He turned around, worried, and looked toward Yu Fan.
But Yu Fan was calmly looking at the blackboard and correcting mistakes on his paper. He didn’t notice Li Mu staring at him at all.
He’s about to go on stage and sing, yet he’s still this relaxed?
Yeah, easy for you, you’re not the one crossdressing!
Li Mu reached into his desk drawer and grabbed a mirror. He could faintly feel a small, slender hand reaching out from inside the mirror and gently holding his hand.
It was Xiao Jing’s hand.
She was probably trying to comfort him, but all he felt was a cold chill spreading through the drawer, as if it had suddenly turned into a fridge.
If anyone else experienced this, they’d probably be scared out of their mind.
After the class went over time by more than ten minutes, the math teacher finally announced the end of class. For the first time, Li Mu walked over to Yu Fan’s desk on his own.
Li Mu just stood there stiffly, staring at Yu Fan, who was packing up his books.
Yu Fan was a bit confused. He looked up, puzzled, and asked, “What’s up?”
Li Mu didn’t answer. He just kept staring.
“…Alright, alright,” Yu Fan stood up and stretched, saying, “Let’s go pick up your ‘sister.’”
He stopped what he was doing and got up, looking helpless.
Li Mu quietly followed behind him.
“We’re supposed to go on stage a little after six o'clock. We need to be there about thirty minutes early to wait,” Yu Fan said slowly, hands in his pockets. “I’ll go to your dorm and get the girl’s clothes and makeup stuff. You go find a bathroom to change.”
“……”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Yu Fan looked back and saw that Li Mu’s lips were a bit pale. His head was down, and he was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, his movements delicate and anxious.
To be honest, the way Li Mu was acting looked very much like a girl. For a second, Yu Fan almost thought he really was one.
“Don’t worry too much. Everyone in our class already knows it’s your ‘sister’ going on stage. Even if they think you and your sister look a lot alike, they won’t say anything,” Yu Fan stopped and smiled brightly to comfort him. “And even if someone figures it out, we’ll all be saying goodbye after the spring exams in a few months anyway. It’s no big deal.”
“…Then,” Li Mu asked, “will you wear girl’s clothes with me too?”
Yu Fan quickly changed the subject. “I’ll go get your outfit from the dorm. Wait for me nearby.”
And with that, he walked off in a hurry.
Li Mu watched him go farther and farther away. Finally, he sat cross-legged on the field’s grass with a helpless look.
Yu Fan’s silly jokes and sunny smile helped ease some of his nervousness.
Once he was on stage, his body would be completely taken over by Xiao Jing.
He looked down and took out the mirror from his pocket.
“You seem really nervous,” Xiao Jing’s figure appeared inside the mirror. Her big eyes looked at him curiously as she asked, “What are you worried about?”
“I’ve never been on stage before…” Li Mu muttered. “And I’ll be wearing girl’s clothes.”
From the direction of the main stage, he could already hear the audition host speaking. Li Mu lifted his head and saw that a student was already on stage, getting ready to sing.
But down below, it didn’t look like many students had gathered to watch. Even though the first audition had already removed most of the tone-deaf singers and the ones left were at least KTV-level, still this was different from KTV.
It was a cappella singing, and the microphone and speakers weren’t very good. The first student on stage… well, the sound could only be described as howling.
Li Mu could tell that the student had some basic vocal training, but after the sound was amplified through the cheap equipment, it just turned into noise.
It didn’t sound good at all. But since it was the fourth class of the day, students weren’t allowed to leave school or return to their dorms, so many of them were just hanging out on the artificial grass, chatting and occasionally glancing at the stage.
All in all, there were probably several hundred students on the field, but only a few were actually paying attention to the auditions.
That made Li Mu feel a little better.
“Hey, here’s your outfit,” Yu Fan showed up next to Li Mu, holding a clothing bag. Before Li Mu could react, Yu Fan rolled his eyes and said, “Since you’re already wearing girl’s clothes, why not go for a short skirt or maid costume or something? What’s the point of a denim hoodie?”
“……”
You’re just enjoying my suffering!
Since it wasn’t happening to Yu Fan, he kept thinking of ways to mess with Li Mu and make him wear girl’s clothes.
Li Mu started thinking… maybe one day, he could trick Yu Fan into cross-dressing too.