184: Chapter 184 Departure from Suzhou

Over the next three days, life was peaceful and fulfilling.

They ate breakfast together in the morning, practiced singing or handled chores separately in the morning, recorded songs together in the afternoon, and started "yuanshen" at night!

Meanwhile, the popularity of "orchid pavilion preface" continued to soar, firmly securing a top spot on Douyin's trending search list.

The number of likes exceeded ten million!

As for the negative public opinion, under the bombardment of several consecutive high-quality songs, it was gradually drowned out by positive reviews.

Most netizens were still rational; they knew very well whether a song sounded good or not.

Starlight Entertainment had also quieted down temporarily and didn't make any new moves.

They probably realized that in the face of absolute quality, no amount of internet trolls and narrative-spinning would be useful.

After all, you could buy trolls, but you couldn't shut the mouths of the masses.

During these three days, Shen Qingxue also practiced "come on" to perfection.

Even Lu Li wouldn't dare say he could sing it better than her.

As for "blue and white porcelain", the song was already finished, but it hadn't been released yet.

The main reason it wasn't released was because the organizers of Douyin's Original Song Creator Competition had sent them a private message.

The organizers hoped that they could showcase their upcoming traditional Chinese style works in the competition.

As for how it would be showcased, the organizers would arrange it.

Because of this, the two of them also stopped the traditional Chinese style chain challenge.

The chain challenge had stopped, but its popularity hadn't decreased at all; in fact, new traffic was still pouring in in large batches.

Even the two parties involved hadn't expected this.

A topic casually written back then had ultimately evolved into a hot commodity of the moment.

On the day of the top 8 to top 4 knockout match, at seven in the morning.

Lu Li was woken up by a phone call from Shen Qingxue.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, get up, pack your luggage and leave at nine. If we miss the high-speed rail later, we're done for."

Shen Qingxue's urgent voice came through the earpiece.

Lu Li buried his face deeper into the pillow and replied in a muffled voice.

"...I know."

After hanging up, he lingered in bed for another half minute before reluctantly climbing up.

After washing up, Shen Qingxue was already in the living room, with a small suitcase placed next to her.

Lu Li glanced at it and asked casually.

"You're only bringing this little stuff?"

"Yeah, Suzhou is very close to Modu, and the high-speed rail takes about half an hour. There's no need to bring too much."

Lu Li nodded, turned around and walked into the bedroom, then came out with a backpack on his back.

His belongings were always so simple, consisting only of a charger and a set of clothes.

"Done, ready to go?"

"Wait."

Shen Qingxue suddenly remembered something and quickly took out a folder from under the coffee table.

She opened it to check the competition materials and documents inside, and after confirming everything was correct, she closed it and put it into her bag.

"Alright, let's go."

The two of them dragged their suitcases out the door, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the high-speed railway station.

Suzhou was indeed very close.

The high-speed rail got there in half an hour, which was faster than taking the subway across the city in Modu.

After coming out of the high-speed railway station, a humid breath rushed toward them.

Lu Li stood at the exit, looked up at the grayish-white sky above, and took a deep breath.

"Hmm... Suzhou feels really quite different from Modu."

"How is it different?"

Shen Qingxue stood beside him, also subconsciously looking up at the sky.

"The air in Modu smells like money, while the air in Suzhou... smells like misty rain."

Shen Qingxue tilted her head to look at him, her expression a bit subtle.

"You can even smell money?"

"Of course, my nose has been professionally trained."

Lu Li spouted nonsense with a straight face.

Shen Qingxue didn't reply, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly as she turned and walked toward the taxi waiting area.

Lu Li quickly followed. The two hailed a taxi and gave the address of the hotel.

The hotel was arranged by the official competition committee, a four-star one in the city center with a nice environment and convenient location.

When checking in, Lu Li noticed Shen Qingxue say something to the receptionist, and then the front desk clerk handed over two room cards.

Lu Li was stunned for a moment and subconsciously asked.

"Still two rooms?"

Shen Qingxue tilted her head to look at him, her expression possessing just the right amount of innocence.

"What else? One room?"

Lu Li was choked up by her words, opened his mouth, and then closed it.

Fine, he was thinking too much.

"...Forget it, two rooms it is."

Shen Qingxue withdrew her gaze, the corners of her mouth curving slightly without saying much more.

The two returned to their respective rooms, put away their luggage, and rested for a little while.

Lunch was casually solved at a noodle shop next to the hotel: Suzhou-style noodle soup with clear broth and chewy noodles, which was quite good.

Lu Li finished a bowl and it wasn't enough, so he added another bowl, prompting Shen Qingxue to take a few extra glances at him.

"You certainly have a good appetite."

"Of course, the competition is about to start, so I need to store up energy, otherwise how can I cheer you on?"

Lu Li righteously finished the second bowl of noodles as well, put down his chopsticks, and sighed with satisfaction.

"What's the schedule for the afternoon?"

"Same as before, we'll go to the venue at three in the afternoon for a stage walk to get familiar with the site."

Shen Qingxue put down her chopsticks and picked up a tissue to wipe the corners of her mouth.

"After the stage walk, there's nothing much left to do, and we can rest."

Rest?

Hearing this word, Lu Li suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Hey! I remember there are quite a few classical gardens in Suzhou. I've always wanted to visit them before, but I never had the chance."

Hearing this, Shen Qingxue nodded thoughtfully.

"If there's enough time, we can go take a stroll after the competition."

"Alright, it's a deal then. We'll go tour the gardens after the competition."

Speaking of which, Lu Li added an extra sentence.

"Your treat."

Shen Qingxue tilted her head slightly to look at him, the corners of her mouth curving slightly.

"Alright, my treat."

When they arrived at the competition venue, it was just a little past two o'clock.

The stage was still undergoing final tuning, and the staff were running around frantically.

Shen Qingxue chatted briefly with the coordinating director, confirmed the performance order for tonight, and then pulled Lu Li to sit in the backstage rest area and wait.

Lu Li crossed his legs, holding a cup of complimentary iced Americano in his hand, sipping it occasionally.

His gaze also swept back and forth over the people walking back and forth backstage from time to time.

The contestants in this match were half fewer than last time.

Those who could make it to the top 8 were no pushovers, and everyone had a serious look on their faces.

However, their gazes towards him were much friendlier than last time, and occasionally someone would even take the initiative to nod at him.

Just as Lu Li was wondering if he had become more handsome, his phone suddenly vibrated.

Looking down, it was a message sent by Shen Qingxue.

What's going on? She was clearly sitting right next to him, yet she insisted on sending a WeChat message.

"These two days you need to get ready to wear a suit. I'm worried there might be other extra activities these few days, and maybe even you will have to make an appearance together."

Lu Li glanced at Shen Qingxue beside him.

Then he typed a reply.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? I didn't bring one."

"It's fine, I brought one for you."

Lu Li was stunned for a second, then turned his head to look at her again.

Shen Qingxue was lowering her head and pretending to look at her phone, but the pale red tint on her earlobes had already betrayed her.

The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve up as he typed a reply.

"You even considered this?"

"Don't overthink it. I was just worried that there might be some interview segment later and feared you wouldn't have formal clothes to wear."

Seeing this message, the curve of Lu Li's mouth widened a bit more.

But on the surface, he calmly put down his phone and finished the last sip of the iced Americano.

"Alright then, when that time comes, I'll... reluctantly wear that suit."