224: Chapter 224 What a "heavyweight" judge! They're all old acquaintances.

The two of them sat in the audience for a while longer, confirming that their coordination had basically no issues, before standing up and leaving.

When they came out of the theatre, Lu Li stood on the steps and stretched lazily, his bones cracking in a rapid succession.

"Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"Then let's find a place to eat, and after eating, head back to rest early. Tomorrow, the two of us just need to prepare to become an overnight sensation."

"Okay."

Soon after, the two of them found a private restaurant that looked reasonably clean and ordered a few home-style dishes.

While waiting for the food, Lu Li's phone vibrated.

He lowered his head to look, and it was a message sent by Xu Ran, attached with a voice note.

Lu Li tapped it open, and Xu Ran's voice came out from the earpiece, carrying a hint of hesitation.

"Brother Lu, what you said yesterday... I thought about it, if we write it in Cantonese, I'm still a bit worried that we won't pass the test."

After listening, Lu Li replied immediately.

"Rest assured, the Cantonese song I wrote for you is actually very simple. You'll learn it after practicing a bit. Worst case scenario, I'm still here, what is there to be afraid of?"

After the message was sent, seeing how confident Lu Li sounded, Xu Ran's hanging heart relaxed just a tiny bit.

Of course, just a tiny bit.

After all, nowadays, Cantonese songs are not the mainstream, and brilliant ones are few and far between.

After turning off the phone, Shen Qingxue's gaze quickly fell on his face.

"You plan to write a Cantonese song for them?"

"Mhm."

Lu Li put down his phone, unhurriedly picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

"Originally I didn't plan to write one either, but their band is actually quite good. If they sing in Cantonese, I feel it will have more of the right vibe."

Shen Qingxue nodded and didn't press further.

After all, she was already accustomed to Lu Li's capricious style of "acting on a whim."

But no matter how erratic his thinking was, every final result had never disappointed anyone.

...

After finishing dinner and returning to the hotel, Lu Li didn't rush back to his own room, but instead paused in the corridor and turned his head to look at Shen Qingxue.

"What are your plans after the competition ends tomorrow night?"

Shen Qingxue thought for a moment.

"There shouldn't be anything, why?"

"It's nothing, just asking."

Lu Li smiled, said no more, turned around, and swiped open his room door.

Shen Qingxue stood at the doorway, watching his back disappear behind the door, tilting her head slightly, feeling that his words had a hidden meaning.

But she didn't press for answers and returned to her own room as well.

...

The next evening.

Outside the Sucheng Grand Theatre, a long line formed once again, and the audience entered one after another.

The scene was even more grand than before, and there was even a large-scale situation where "a single ticket is hard to find."

As for the backstage atmosphere, it was correspondingly much more tense, with staff members coming and going.

Yet the objects they served were only two people.

Lu Li sat in the corner of the lounge area, holding his phone, the screen displaying tonight's schedule.

Shen Qingxue sat beside him, unusually not looking at her phone, just quietly leaning against the back of the chair with her eyes closed.

"Are you nervous? Do you want me to give you a massage?"

Lu Li tilted his head to look at her and chuckled with a grin.

"Not bad, nothing to be nervous about. However, I reckon your real purpose is wanting to use those big trotter hands of yours to take advantage, right?"

Shen Qingxue didn't open her eyes, yet she saw right through Lu Li's thoughts.

Lu Li, whose purpose had been exposed, wasn't embarrassed either. He calmly chuckled and didn't pick up the topic.

If she wouldn't let him, then she wouldn't. Anyway, when they got back home later, wouldn't she still be at his mercy?

As time passed by.

On the television screen in the lounge area, the host had already walked onto the stage, and the hype squad in the audience quickly burst into thunderous applause.

Meanwhile, the bullet comments in the livestream room were flashing by extremely fast, and the number of online viewers also reached a new peak at this moment.

When the time was about right, Shen Qingxue stood up.

"I'll go get ready first."

Lu Li nodded, watching her walk in the direction of the dressing room, and then shifted his gaze back to the television screen.

Compared to the previous few matches, the scale of the Grand Finals was obviously a notch higher.

After finishing the opening remarks, the host didn't directly enter the competition segment, but instead played a promotional video first.

The promotional video edited together the exciting clips of the entire season's competition, matched with magnificent background music, and played on a rolling loop on the big screen.

For a moment, the bullet comments in the livestream room scrolled by extremely fast.

[Damn, finally waited for the Grand Finals! The goddess must take the championship tonight! I said it!]

[Xu Hang is not bad either, I've listened to his song from the last match dozens of times, feels like tonight will be a tough battle]

[Dozens of times is called listening to music? Are you doing health preservation, bro?]

[Lmao, tough battle? Are you serious? Although I feel nothing towards Shen Qingxue, her encounter is still hanging on the hot search list]

[Stop arguing, stop arguing, watch the competition properly, anyway whoever wins I'll be happy]

[Lmao, happy my ass, you're clearly here to see the goddess]

[By the way, before the Grand Finals, the officials said there would be judge Q&A this time, who is it?]

[Not sure, but judging by the official's implication, the judges this time are all heavyweight existences]

[Heavyweight? Could it be some old acquaintance?]

Lu Li leaned against the back of the chair, his gaze falling on the television screen with a relaxed expression, but his mind was thinking about other things.

According to tonight's arrangement, Shen Qingxue was still the second performer to take the stage, and also the last one.

Xu Hang would go up first, and Shen Qingxue would anchor the finale.

This order wasn't a bad thing for Shen Qingxue; after all, performing as the finale meant the audience's expectations had already been maximized.

Of course, the premise was that she had to live up to this expectation.

However, Lu Li wasn't worried about this; he was clear about the caliber of the song bubble.

As long as Shen Qingxue performed normally, tonight's result would have no suspense.

To put it another way, even if she underperformed, it wasn't something a small-fry like Xu Hang could compare to.

Before long, after the promotional video finished playing, the host returned to the center of the stage, read out a long list of sponsors, and finally got down to business.

Of course, this so-called business was merely finishing the commercials and beginning to introduce the judge lineup for this Grand Finals.

On the stage.

The host wore a smile, their voice passionate.

"Audience members here at the venue, friends watching the livestream, now we are about to introduce the four heavyweight judges of this Grand Finals..."

"The first judge... let us welcome, Pan Zhoudan!"

As soon as these words were spoken, an uproar immediately swept through the venue.

This judge was a big-shot figure in the music field, and moreover a national-level singer.

Although rarely active in the entertainment industry, his strength was right there, absolutely not to be underestimated.

Quite a few people muttered that since the first one was already this awesome, the ones following must be out of this world.

Soon, the host continued to announce.

The second, the third...

One was an indie musician with some renown in the music field, possessing six million followers on Douyin!

And the identity of the other judge was not to be outdone, having debuted in the music field since childhood and subsequently studying at Berklee College of Music.

As each identity was revealed, it truly shocked everyone.

At this moment, only the identity of the final judge had yet to be revealed...

Holding a small card in the center of the stage, the host's voice became even more passionate and grand than before.

"As a top-tier star in the entertainment industry, through his own efforts, he has reaped great success, blossoming in both film/television and music, with immense influence..."

"Let us welcome our final judge..."

"Teacher Zhou Yichen!"