16: Chapter 16 will have to wait; we'll unleash the big move later.

Following the order, the next up was Lin Yu, who had prepared a very spicy dance for everyone, twisting where she should twist and teasing where she should tease.

The performance, lasting a mere two minutes, instantly heated up the atmosphere at the scene.

Xu Hao watched from offstage with his eyes practically glued to the stage, clapping with all his might.

The live stream chat was also flooded with nothing but drooling screen-licking emojis.

Lu Li glanced over and then pulled back his gaze.

Heh, mere feminine charms could distract a sigma male like him? Was that possible? Not a chance!

Not long after, Lin Yu reaped unanimous praise, and Lu Li also offered some symbolic compliments.

Following Lin Yu, guest after guest took the stage to perform, offering singing, dancing, and even rap, all garnering a certain amount of praise.

However, what surprised everyone somewhat was that Lin Mo, an actor, could actually play the piano, and overall, the effect was unexpectedly good.

Although Lu Li wasn't particularly fond of him, he could still tell that Lin Mo indeed had some skills, though not many.

Lin Mo quickly finished his performance, bowed politely, and then sat back down on the sofa, starting to put on airs and act pretentious again.

The live stream chat unleashed another wave of praise, universally claiming that Lin Mo was talented.

Finally, it was Zhou Yichen's turn.

He stood up from the sofa, straightened his collar, and walked onto the stage with confident strides, triggering a massive wave of screams from the young female fans in the live stream.

"I've brought a song for everyone, which I wrote myself, called 《Stars》."

When he said this, his tone carried a hint of just-right modesty, but the smugness deep in his eyes couldn't be concealed no matter what.

Stars?

Lu Li almost laughed out loud on the spot. You and your Stars? Why not make the lyrics one, two, three, four stars?

Fortunately, he had undergone professional training and wouldn't break into laughter under normal circumstances, unless he couldn't help it.

Before long, Zhou Yichen cleared his throat, and the music started playing.

The intro was laid down with a piano, the melody was simple, and the arrangement leaned towards a pop-ballad style.

Zhou Yichen began to sing. His vocal conditions were indeed quite good; his pitch was steady, his breath support was ample, and the high notes were handled very cleanly.

Although the song wasn't terribly stunning, it was still considered solid and conventional.

The guests offstage began to applaud, and Su Qing even listened with slightly reddened eye rims, appearing deeply moved by the song.

The live stream chat went completely crazy.

[Ahhhhhh, original! Brother Yichen is so talented!]

[This song sounds so good! When will the full version be released?!]

[The lyrics wrote themselves right into my heart, I'm crying.]

[This is what we call strength, unlike certain people who only know how to cover songs.]

[Brother Yichen is the GOAT!]

[Ten thousand times better than that nobody-tier person earlier.]

[Hey upstairs, watch rationally, stop hyping one by tearing down the other, alright?]

Although some people maintained a neutral attitude, the comments tearing others down to elevate Zhou Yichen were noticeably more numerous. While praising Zhou Yichen, they always managed to step on Lu Li along the way.

After all, under Zhou Yichen's intentional or unintentional guidance, his fans more or less held a bit of hostility towards Lu Li.

Lu Li leaned back on the sofa. After listening to the entire song, his expression didn't change much; he could only say he had overestimated Zhou Yichen.

To be honest, Zhou Yichen's song was indeed all right. Placed in the Mandarin pop music scene of this world, it could be considered a medium level.

But if compared to Earth's Mandarin pop music scene... well, forget it, no comparison, it was meaningless.

Zhou Yichen sang the last line, and the music slowly faded out.

He stood on the stage, panting slightly, a thin layer of sweat oozing from his forehead, clearly having sung with great immersion.

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience. Su Qing was the first to stand up and take the lead in applauding, dragging others along to clap as well.

Zhou Yichen's gaze swept across the audience, paused on Shen Qingxue for a second, then pulled back, the corners of his mouth curling into a satisfied smile.

"Thank you, everyone."

After he finished speaking, he walked off the stage. When passing by Lu Li, his footsteps paused for a moment, as if asking casually.

"Lu Li, what do you think of this... original song of mine?"

Lu Li glanced at him and said indifferently, "It's all right, conventional and solid, worthy of praise."

In front of the live stream cameras, he still left Zhou Yichen a bit of face, not wanting things to get too awkward.

The smile plastered on Zhou Yichen's face froze.

"All right? Such a concise evaluation? I thought you would give some professional advice, since you're a singer too, after all."

This remark didn't sound very aggressive, but it was fully loaded with sarcasm and veiled mockery. Anyone present could hear it if they savored it carefully.

The live stream chat instantly exploded.

[Brother didn't need to give him face. A newcomer doesn't understand what respecting seniors means at all.]

[Lu Li, Brother evaluating you is for your own good, hoping you can make more progress. But look at you, you turn around and evaluate Brother instead. Do you even deserve to?]

[Hahahahaha Zhou Yichen is poking at him right here.]

[Zhou Yichen's move is smooth; open praise with secret digging, a master.]

[Lu Li's "all right" was indeed a bit perfunctory. The guy is an original artist after all, whereas he himself only covers other people's songs.]

[Exactly, he sings other people's cover songs like that, and still has the nerve to say someone else's original song is "all right"?]

Looking at Zhou Yichen's smiling face, Lu Li felt utterly displeased.

Was this guy ever going to quit? He had been picking bones since they first met, and now he was being sarcastic right in front of millions of viewers.

Did he really think he was easy to bully?

Originally, he wanted to hide his clumsiness, but since you are pushing step by step like this, don't blame him for directly unleashing his ultimate move.

Lu Li opened his mouth and was just about to say something, but before the words could leave his mouth, Director Zhou's voice came through the loudspeaker.

"Alright, alright, next up, Shen Qingxue!"

Zhou Yichen withdrew his gaze, turned around, and walked back to his seat to sit down, still wearing that smug smile on his face.

Lu Li took a deep breath and swallowed back the words that were at the tip of his tongue.

Whatever, playing it cool for now, give the director and Shen Qingxue some face first; after Shen Qingxue finished singing, he would mess with Zhou Yichen a bit later.

On stage, Shen Qingxue had already taken her stance.

She still had that aloof and cold look, holding no musical instruments in her hands, nor showing any intention of playing a backing track.

Everyone's gaze was concentrated on her.

Shen Qingxue gently took a breath and then began to speak.

Without any accompaniment, an a cappella.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it had an extremely strong penetrating power. It was a classic folk song of this world, with a simple melody and plain lyrics.

Sung out by her at this moment, it carried an indescribable flavor.

There were no fancy techniques, no deliberate emotional rendering; she simply sang it out plainly, yet it made people unable to help holding their breath.

The living room fell so quiet that only her singing voice remained.

The surrounding guests were instantly amazed by this voice, and could only sigh inwardly that this throat was simply born to make a living as a singer.

Even Zhou Yichen, who had been trying to look cool all along, put away his flippant expression at this moment and listened attentively.

Lu Li leaned against the sofa, and his inner thoughts were actually similar to everyone else's: this woman truly had some tricks up her sleeve.

Because a cappella was the ultimate test of singing skills; without the cover of accompaniment, any flaws would be magnified.

Yet Shen Qingxue's performance could find almost no faults—pitch, breath support, articulation, emotion—all handled just right.

This couldn't be explained by talent alone; it must also include bitter, hard work put into practicing it.