149: Chapter 149 Go ahead and hit me, if you dare!

At two in the afternoon, Lu Li climbed out of bed on time, washed his face, changed into a fresh and dry set of clothes, and walked out of his room.

Shen Qingxue was already standing in the hallway.

She had changed into a light gray sportswear outfit, her hair tied up in a high ponytail, making her look a lot more capable and sharp.

"Let's go."

Lu Li nodded, and the two of them walked side by side out of the hotel, hailed a taxi, and gave the address of the competition venue.

The finals venue was set at the Hangzhou Grand Theatre.

After a twenty-minute drive, the taxi stopped in front of a heavily modern-styled building.

Lu Li got out of the car and looked up.

The outer walls of the theatre were large expanses of glass curtain walls, and red isolation tapes had already been pulled up at the entrance, with several staff members busy at work.

Shen Qingxue walked over to his side, glanced up, and then stepped inside.

The two of them had just walked to the entrance when they were stopped by a staff member.

"Hello, are you contestants? Please show your identification."

Shen Qingxue pulled out her ID card and contestant pass from her bag and handed them over.

The staff member checked them and almost cried out in excitement—he was the first one to meet Shen Qingxue!

But out of good professional ethics, he didn't scream or shout, instead stepping aside to let them pass.

"Teacher Shen, please go ahead. The waiting area is on the right side of the first floor."

Shen Qingxue nodded slightly and walked inside.

Lu Li followed behind her, but just as he took a step, he was stopped by the staff member again.

"Apologies, for Teacher Shen's safety, non-contestants are not allowed to enter the backstage area."

Lu Li was stunned for a moment and pointed at Shen Qingxue walking ahead.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I came together with her."

The staff member glanced at him and then at Shen Qingxue's back, wearing a somewhat troubled expression.

"Well... rules are rules, non-contestants really cannot enter the backstage."

Shen Qingxue stopped in her tracks, turned around, and walked back.

"He is my partner and also my producer. He needs to do the stage walk-through together with me."

The staff member hesitated for a moment, picked up the walkie-talkie to say a few words, and then nodded.

"Alright, then please register your information."

Before long, Lu Li registered his name and phone number, and followed Shen Qingxue inside.

As for whether the phone number was real or fake, go figure.

...

The waiting area was larger than expected; there were over a dozen makeup mirrors alone, neatly lined up along the wall.

Several contestants had already arrived, practicing, putting on makeup, each busy with their own tasks.

When they saw Shen Qingxue walk in, everyone's gazes snapped over simultaneously.

Among them, the gazes carrying hostility were the most numerous.

After all, the score of 9.8 in the previous match had made Shen Qingxue the biggest competitor in everyone's eyes.

Turning a blind eye, Shen Qingxue walked straight to a windowside spot and sat down.

Lu Li sat down beside her, swept his gaze around, and lowered his voice.

"Hoh, these people's looks aren't very friendly."

"Normal. That's how competitions are."

Shen Qingxue took out her lyric book from her bag again, opened it, and lowered her head to read.

Lu Li didn't speak anymore, leaning back against the chair, taking out his phone, and browsing it out of boredom.

Not long after, a middle-aged man wearing a work badge walked in and clapped his hands.

"Contestants, the competition has minor adjustments. A stage walkthrough exposure segment will be added before the match to increase everyone's exposure rate."

"In addition, the order for the stage walkthrough has now been arranged. Everyone will go on stage in reverse order of their semifinal scores. Please get ready."

Having said that, the middle-aged man didn't forget to add a reminder.

"Teacher Shen Qingxue, you will be the last one, around four o'clock."

Shen Qingxue nodded slightly.

"Alright, thank you."

After the middle-aged man left, a burst of whispered chatter immediately rang out in the waiting area.

"Reverse order... So she's the last one?"

"No help for it, her score is the highest."

"Tch, who knows how that score came to be..."

The voice wasn't loud, but Lu Li heard it crystal clear.

Almost in an instant, the expression on Lu Li's face turned cold.

To be honest, when people online said such things, he knew refuting them was useless because some people were stirring up public sentiment, and there was truly nothing to be done about those internet trolls.

But in reality, you actually dare to say such words right in front of him?

The next second, Lu Li stood up from his chair.

Sensing his movement, Shen Qingxue instinctively reached out to pull his wrist and shook her head.

"I'm fine, don't be impulsive."

Lu Li lowered his head to look at her.

Although Shen Qingxue said with her mouth that she was fine, Lu Li felt utterly aggrieved and upset inside.

Damn it, I can't take this anymore.

Afterward, he gently shook off Shen Qingxue's hand and strode in that direction.

Shen Qingxue instantly became worried and hurried to follow him.

The atmosphere in the waiting area instantly turned subtle.

Seeing Lu Li walk over, those few contestants who had been whispering just moments ago abruptly stopped talking, their expressions varying.

Some people's eyes darted away, some pretended to nonchalantly lower their heads to look at their phones, while others stuck their necks out with an unconvinced look on their faces.

Lu Li walked up in front of them and stopped.

His gaze swept across those few people, finally landing on the Flowered-Shirt Man right in the middle.

Just now, this jerk had the loudest voice.

"What do you mean?"

Lu Li's voice wasn't loud, but the waiting area was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard, and every single word was crystal clear.

"If you have the guts, repeat what you just said?"

Although Lu Li wasn't the muscle-bound type, he was much sturdier than the average person, and the meals he ate every day were substantial and solid.

Standing in front of these people right now, to exaggerate a bit, there was practically no difference from a wall.

The Flowered-Shirt Man was clearly stunned for a moment, then his face turned somewhat pale, but he refused to yield verbally.

"I... what did I say? Is there something wrong with your ears?"

"My ears are just fine."

Lu Li's tone remained calm, but his gaze was filled with coldness.

"You just said, who knows how that score came to be, right?"

The Flowered-Shirt Man's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he instinctively took half a step back.

A bespectacled girl next to him tugged at his sleeve and lowered her voice.

"Say less..."

The Flowered-Shirt Man had lost face in public and couldn't keep his composure, so he instead stuck his neck out.

"So what if I said it? 9.8 points, who believes that? Isn't it just because she's Shen Qingxue and the judges are giving her face?"

"And besides, who knows if there's any shady business going on here? Don't people online all say that Shen Qingxue relies on..."

Before the Flowered-Shirt Man could finish his sentence, Lu Li grabbed him by the collar with one hand and pulled him right in front of him.

"If you've got the guts, say that again?"

Feeling the force at his collar, the Flowered-Shirt Man felt a slight pain at the back of his neck, and his feet even felt like they were about to hang in mid-air, causing him to swallow a mouthful of saliva instantly.

But the more it was like this, the more he felt everyone around was watching, making him feel all the more awkward.

To cover up his discomfort, he stubbornly stuck his neck out, refusing to show any weakness at all.

"So what if I said it? Hit me if you dare. Isn't Shen Qingxue just..."