Chapter 33 - Top Ten singer (Translated by Xing and edited by Souhi)
Tang Xue's performance was uploaded onto the internet that very day.
The comments section was dominated by both infatuated idiots and people ridiculing the performance.
[Who's this? Where did she find the courage to go on stage from?]
[Curiosity made me click on this. Survival instinct made me exit.]
[A team of attractive people—provoke at your own risk.]
[Ladies and gentlemen, please help to vote for my Ice God at this link over here.]
[I…… want to drag the person singing off this video……]
[Don't be daft. After dragging her off, her voice is still there.]
[How about we team up to wipe her out!]
[What in the world was Li Yubing thinking? Wasn't he extremely busy, how did he find time to participate in this?]
[Bro above, have you seen Tang Xue's face and figure? Isn't the answer right in front of you? If a girl like that offers to be your wife[1], can you say no?]
[Heh, I'm a girl, thanks.]
[I'm also a girl and I want Tang Xue as a wife as well! I'm willing to sing for her! #blushes#]
[Anyone knows who's the guy dancing? Please PM me and have my eternal thanks, hehehehe~]
[Bunch of infatuated idiots who only recognize Li Yubing, come join me in fangirling over future figure skating champion—Yu Yan!]
[Damnit, I…… obviously felt that her singing was terrible but I still voted for her… why couldn't I control this wretched hand of mine!]
[Person above, you're not the only one! When I voted I had the sudden realization that I may be blind.]
[Please, you voted for them precisely because you're not blind. Look closely, can you say that these three faces aren't worth your vote?]
[Take it easy, take it easy……]
[I have one question: Do you all still want to see them or not?]
[Yes!]
[If yes, then vote!]
Tang Xue felt that life was really unpredictable. When she thought that she could definitely get into the official competition, she was kicked out by the judges' three crosses. When she had lost hope, she was fished out from the rubbish heap by the masses' votes.
In conclusion, the masses had great vision.
The official competition was split into three parts: the preliminary rounds, the semi-finals and the finals. Tang Xue's team was a bit busier and had no time to prepare another performance. Every time they went on stage, they performed "Wishing We Last Forever"; this was something almost never seen in any singing competition.
Despite so, the masses could not help being suckered by it. Every round, they would listen to the demonic recordings and sacrifice their votes with trembling hands. The guys voted for Tang Xue while the girls voted for Li Yubing and Yu Yan. Both genders perished through different means. This translation is meant to be published only on teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
And that was how the three of them were sent into the finals.
The Student Union panicked. "Campus Idol" was the most important event that they organized every year. For the finals, they had invited famous singers as guest judges and it was going to be broadcasted on television. They would die from embarrassment if they had to crown such an out-of-tune contestant as the best singer!
The Student Union could not be blamed for being nervous. The voting weightage of the "Campus Idol" finals was evenly split between the judges and students' votes. This was to gain better engagement from the audience. With this system, past years' events were always a success.
Rigging the students' votes would be difficult. This was because every RCU student had to use their student ID to vote. Each student only had one vote and it was impossible to suddenly skewer the votes in a particular direction.
The Student Union had never encountered something like this before. Logically, after numerous rounds of selection, shouldn't the resulting contestants be sufficiently passable even if they weren't the best? Who knew that this sort of freak situation could happen……
After numerous discussions by the committee, they decided not to take the risk and shamelessly increased the weightage of the judges' vote from 50 to 80 percent.
After stirring a storm for so long, Tang Xue was finally put in place by the rules.
Li Yubing examined the list of judges. Two were music teachers while two were school vice-principals. The remaining two were guests judges invited from outside.
He was acquainted with both vice-principals. He contacted the one he was more familiar with.
"Hello, Li Yubing." The vice-principal's smile was like a wily old fox. "I know why you're calling. Don't worry, I'll be generous with the marks."
"That's not what I meant," Li Yubing said.
"Oh?"
"After each performance, there is some time given for the judges to comment and quiz contestants on their performance. I know Tang Xue isn't too good at singing. But after all, she's still a girl and a little more sensitive. I'm hoping that perhaps it might be possible for you and the other judges to be a bit gentler when giving your criticisms."
Hearing his words, Principal Wang smiled. His voice warmed several notches as well. "Alright, don't you worry."
In the end, Tang Xue only obtained the title of "Top Ten singer". However, she received a lot of flowers on stage and also the judges' encouragement. Therefore, this outcome was still not too bad.
After the event, the three of them headed out for supper.
As their dormitory buildings were too far away, they did not went back to change. Tang Xue wore her gown and heels while Yu Yan wore the Tai Chi clothing and Li Yubing wore his suit. The three of them looked slightly mismatched as they walked along the streets. What’s more, Yu Yan was carrying a large, coarse canvas bag similar to what aunties would carry while grocery shopping. His sword was slotted into it at a slant, and the sword tassel dangled out and swayed with every step he took.
The night breeze was quite chilly. Tang Xue couldn't help rubbing her arms. Li Yubing saw this out of the corner of his eyes. He wanted to take off his jacket for her but felt that it was a little weird to do so.
While he hesitated, Yu Yan had already pulled out a sports jacket from his bag. He passed it to Tang Xue. "Wear this, it's cold."
Tang Xue brightened as she took the jacket. "Why did you bring extra clothes? Smart."
Yu Yan pursed his lips. "I was afraid you'll get cold."
Tang Xue looked down as she fiddled with the zip. Li Yubing lowered his head to look at her. From his angle, he could only see part of her peach-like face and the slightly quirked corners of her lips. This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com.
Tang Xue did not managed to pull up the zip even after struggling with it for some time. She remarked, "Is the zip spoilt?" She proceeded to wrap herself in the jacket by tightly tugging one end over another.
"Let me see."
She released the two sides of the jacket when Yu Yan walked in front of her. Yu Yan bent over and pinched the zip. He carefully matched up the two sides and ziiiiippppp——
The zip smoothly slid all the way up.
As it passed by Tang Xue's chest, his face somewhat reddened.
Li Yubing watched them with crossed arms. When he saw Yu Yan's face reddened, he gave a cold "humph". Heh, just what was his motive in picking out and passing this faulty jacket to her?
Tang Xue burrowed her hands into the jacket pockets. She said with a giggling smile, "Your jacket indeed. It only obeys you."
Yu Yan smiled with pursed lips and seemed a little embarrassed.
With her heels, Tang Xue was roughly the same height as Yu Yan. After he zipped the jacket, the two of them could stare directly into each other's eyes.
Yu Yan's fingers were still on the zip, seeming unwilling to let go.
Li Yubing could not bear this sight anymore. He abruptly shrugged off his jacket and draped it over Tang Xue's head.
Tang Xue's vision was cut off by darkness. Her nose filled with an unfamiliar male scent that lingered on the jacket along with residual warmth. She tugged the jacket off her head and glared at Li Yubing. "Li Yubing, you lunatic."
"Can't I also be afraid that you're cold?" Li Yubing gave an innocent look.
"Well, then, I'm still wearing heels. Aren't you afraid that I'm tired?"
Li Yubing raised a brow and looked at her. "I'll carry you. If you want."
Tang Xue felt that Li Yubing was getting more and more shameless. She was about to teach him a lesson when she suddenly saw a person walking towards them. Tang Xue instantly hooked her hand onto Li Yubing's arm and assumed a sweet smile on her face.
Both Li Yubing and Yu Yan were momentarily stunned by her actions.
Li Yubing followed Tang Xue's line of sight to see Zhou Ran approaching.
"Hey." Tang Xue waved to Zhou Ran and even gave her a coquettish look.
Looking at how close Tang Xue and Li Yubing were, it was impossible for Zhou Ran to not be envious. Nevertheless, she did not let the envy show. She smiled softly and looked at Tang Xue. "Tang Xue, I saw your performance in 'Campus Idol'. Our whole dorm laughed till our tummies hurt."
"Well, that's still better than getting eliminated in the semi-finals."
Zhou Ran's expression shifted. However, she regained her composure at lightning speed and said abruptly, "Oh right, Bian Cheng is coming to RCU."
Li Yubing took in how Tang Xue's eyes glazed over for a moment at hearing the name "Bian Cheng". Then, she let out a faint "oh".
Zhou Ran asked again, "Didn't he tell you?"
Tang Xue did not speak.
Li Yubing grabbed Tang Xue's hand. He told Zhou Ran, "I forbade her from contacting that person."
This is an original work of 酒小七 (Jiu Xiaoqi) translated by Tea Fragrance. If you are not reading this at teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation has been reposted without the translator's consent. Head there for extra content or to leave feedback and comments on the novel translation.Translator's Notes:
[1] 媳妇 (xí fù) means wife but it's also a casual slang used to refer to one's girlfriend. It's a cultural thing like how Li Yubing's teammates called Tang Xue "sis-in-law" previously.
Li Yubing, you really need to up your game if you don't want to get KS (kill steal) by Yu Yan.