15: Chapter 15: No rush, let's test the waters first.

"The first one is Lu Li." Director Zhou confirmed.

Lu Li stood up from the sofa and took a deep breath.

Forget it, since he was already here.

"The presentation area is over there." Director Zhou pointed to an area next to the living room.

A small stage had already been set up there, covered with a dark gray carpet and backed by a white curtain projected with the LOGO of "Heartbeat 72 Hours".

Several musical instruments were placed on one side of the stage: a guitar, an electronic keyboard, and a small drum set.

Lu Li walked over, glanced at the instruments, then withdrew his gaze and walked to the center of the stage to stand still.

Everyone's eyes fell on him, some curious, some examining, and some just watching the show.

The live broadcast room's bullet comments had already started flooding in.

[Here they come! Slacker Brother's talent show!]

[What can he do? Sing? Or dance?]

[Looking at his outfit, I think he might perform falling asleep the moment his head hits the pillow.]

[Lmao, can you guys have a little confidence in him?]

[I bet fifty cents that he sings mediocrely.]

[Plus one, what talents can a bottom-tier transparent celebrity have? If he had talent, he would have taken off long ago.]

Standing on the stage, Lu Li's playlist spun rapidly in his mind: What on earth should he sing?

Nocturne? Jiangnan? actor? Or an even more awesome song?

Lu Li withdrew his gaze and sighed helplessly. Forget it, he would just sing a random song to test the waters first.

He turned to Director Zhou and asked, "Is there a guitar?"

Director Zhou was stunned for a moment, then nodded, signaling the staff to pass the guitar up.

Lu Li took the guitar, adjusted his sitting posture, rested the guitar on his lap, and casually plucked the strings to test the sound.

The tone quality was average, but it would do.

Off stage, Zhou Yichen leaned against the sofa, watching Lu Li holding the guitar, the corners of his mouth twitching downward slightly.

He could play the guitar? That was unexpected.

However, what kind of tricks could a bottom-tier transparent celebrity play?

On stage.

Lu Li took a deep breath, and his fingers landed on the strings.

He chose a song from this world. It wasn't that he didn't want to sing from Earth's song library, but rather that he decided to test the waters first.

Otherwise, if he performed a high-gold-content, suave song like "Nocturne" right upon joining the show, even a fool would sense that something was wrong.

As for those golden hits, there was no rush; there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Before long, the prelude sounded, and a simple, smooth melody flowed from his fingertips.

The song Lu Li was covering was a pop song that became quite popular on the internet in this world last year. He wasn't very familiar with it, but the melody was simple and the lyrics weren't complicated; he remembered it after listening to it a few times.

Before long, Lu Li began to sing. His voice wasn't very loud, but it was very steady, carrying a hint of a lazy vibe.

The melody of this song was relatively simple, and the lyrics were straightforward. It couldn't be considered stunning, but its strength lay in its cleanliness.

The reaction of the bullet comments in the live broadcast room was better than expected.

[Wait, it feels... not bad?]

[Indeed, much better than I imagined.]

[The song choice is mediocre, too ordinary.]

[No feeling, honestly trash.]

[Indeed, there's a reason why he can only be a bottom-tier transparent celebrity; this strength is honestly mediocre.]

Off stage, the reactions of several guests varied.

Clearly, the disgust in the depths of their eyes was almost overflowing, yet on the surface they still had to pretend to be listening very attentively and looking like they loved it.

Chen Wenwen listened very attentively, as for Shen Qingxue, she still maintained that aloof and cold look; Lu Li was already used to this.

Soon, Lu Li finished singing the last sentence, his fingers left the strings, and the lingering sound of the guitar echoed in the living room for a few seconds before returning to silence.

He stood up, handed the guitar back to the staff, and then looked at Director Zhou.

"All done."

Director Zhou nodded and picked up the megaphone.

"Alright, thank you Lu Li for the presentation! Next, let's invite the other guests to give some comments."

The living room fell silent for a second.

Zhou Yichen spoke first, his tone gentle.

"Quite good, very steady singing, and the voice is also very recognizable. Lu Li, right? Not bad, not bad."

After he finished speaking, he deliberately clapped twice.

The bullet comments in the live broadcast room instantly captured this point.

[Zhou Yichen's review is so official it looks like it was written by an AI.]

[Lmao, who is he just going through the motions for?]

[What did my brother Yichen do to you? He never did anything, yet he's being cyberbullied by you guys like this!]

Lin Mo spoke second, leaning against the sofa with a faint tone.

"Not bad, basic skills are good."

After saying these five words, he shut his mouth, as if saying one more word would be a waste of time.

Lu Li glanced at him and silently slapped a label on him in his heart: pretentious, he's just too pretentious.

Soon, Su Qing spoke with a smile, her voice soft.

"I think it's pretty good. Lu Li's voice is very nice and infectious. Looking forward to you singing an even more explosive song next time."

When she said this, her gaze was sincere and her tone gentle. At first glance, it really looked like a sincere compliment.

But Lu Li was no fool. Although the song he just sang was okay, in front of professional singers, it was truly not worth mentioning.

Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't seen the disgust in their eyes earlier; he could only say these people were too good at putting on airs.

The other guests all gave their comments. They seemed very pertinent, but if you listened carefully, you could completely hear that perfunctory flavor.

Fortunately, Chen Wenwen was the only one who seemed to be praising him sincerely, which could be considered a little comfort to Lu Li.

Of course, not much.

Finally, everyone's eyes fell on Shen Qingxue.

Shen Qingxue sat on the sofa with no change in expression, uttering only a faint two words.

"Not bad."

Two words, and that was it.

When Lu Li heard these two words, his facial expression didn't change at all.

After all, Shen Qingxue had this icy look toward everyone. He certainly wouldn't think that because Shen Qingxue chose him, she would grant him special treatment that others didn't have.

Afterwards, after handing the guitar back to the staff, Lu Li walked straight back to his corner and collapsed onto the sofa.

Whatever happens, happens.

Besides, anyway, he was just here to make up the numbers; whether he sang well or not, what did it have to do with them?

The bullet comments in the live broadcast room were quite lively.

[The goddess's review is too concise, just two words like "not bad"?]

[Lmao, the goddess has this attitude toward everyone, aren't you guys used to it yet?]

[To be honest though, Lu Li's singing is indeed mediocre, with no memorable points.]

[This covered song itself is no good, and being able to sing like this is already not bad; after all, he's also a bottom-tier transparent celebrity.]

[To be honest, I feel that Zhou Yichen's review is also quite perfunctory; it feels like he didn't listen seriously at all.]

[To the person upstairs, my brother's that is called high emotional intelligence, okay? He couldn't just directly say it's no good, right?]

Lu Li leaned back on the sofa, straightened his legs, and found a comfortable posture.

The staff on stage were rearranging the equipment, preparing for the next guest's presentation.