Gu Yueyue could tell at a glance that there was a problem with their team. After all, she usually spent the most time monitoring Villa No. 3, and it could be said that she participated in most of the training at Villa No. 3.
Zhao Sheng, who was standing next to Gu Yueyue, had his eyes light up when he saw the girl group contestants coming out, and his gaze was fixed on Xu Yi.
Xu Yi's fans in the live stream immediately focused their attention on her, and one of them, Liu Wenxin, who was very genuine, screamed out loud from the living room.
Her father was so angry that he came out of the kitchen with a rolling pin, but before he could hit her, he saw Xu Yi's figure on the screen.
He unplugged the headphones, and the live stream sound immediately came out, startling Liu Wenxin. "Dad, what are you doing!"
"Which one is your idol?" Liu Bai asked her. Liu Wenxin pointed to Xu Yi, "This one. Dad, let me tell you, her swordsmanship is amazing. She must have been practicing since she was a child. She's definitely not ordinary!"
Liu Bai recognized him; wasn't this the young actor who had scared him with sword energy?
"What swordsmanship?" Liu Bai had seen Xu Yi practice swordsmanship before, but when filming on set, Xu Yi restrained himself a lot, and in order to cooperate with the filming schedule, his swordsmanship was not continuous at all. Later, he found the video to analyze it and found that those moves were all intermittent.
Liu Bai thought about how his daughter wasn't studying properly for her final exams and instead went to learn some new swordsmanship, probably by following Xu Yi's videos.
Liu Wenxin found the culprit that caused her to fail every subject in her final exams. Liu Bai glanced at it, put down the rolling pin, picked up his sword, and went to the training room.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 19:40:15 on January 3, 2022 and 20:59:25 on January 4, 2022!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 40567416 (27 bottles); . (10 bottles); Jun Xiaopianzhi (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter Forty
The performance began, and the performers separated and took their places, while the stage lights dimmed.
As the music started and the stage lights instantly focused on those few people, Gu Yueyue saw their positions and suddenly understood.
Presumably, something must have happened to either Zheng Wan or Miao Lele.
Gu Yueyue shifted her gaze from Xu Yi and began to analyze the team's performance using her professional knowledge. It was undoubtedly a successful, near-perfect stage debut.
After the performance, Xu Yi looked at the three mentors from afar, as well as the man who had been staring at her ever since she appeared. Finally, Xu Yi looked away and calmly and blankly looked at the audience.
As agreed by the mentors, Yuan Beidu spoke first, followed by Gu Yueyue, and Xia Lan then praised Zheng Wan for her good singing skills.
But now Xia Lan looked at Gu Yueyue with a troubled expression. If the situation hadn't prevented it, she would have burst into tears.
Zheng Wan didn't sing a single word in the performance just now, so what's the point of her praising her later?
Gu Yueyue gave her a reassuring look, and after Yuan Beidu finished speaking, Gu Yueyue spoke up.
She first praised the team's teamwork and their hard work during training. She noted the team's strong cohesion and how tolerant the captain was of each member. Finally, she gave individual feedback, praising Miao Lele's singing skills and Zhang Ya's performance. Then, she gave Xia Lan a hint: Xia Lan could simply praise one of them instead of Zheng Wan.
Xia Lan breathed a sigh of relief and sincerely praised Zhang Ya.
Actually, compared to Zhang Ya's lyrical and melodious singing style, she personally prefers Miao Lele, whose style is similar to her own. However, in terms of professionalism, Zhang Ya is still superior.
None of the three highlighted Xu Yi's excellence, even though her performance was really good; they simply ignored it, all to pave the way for eliminating Xu Yi in the afternoon's individual performance.
Liu Dai came on stage and told some jokes, and finally wished the girls all the best, hoping that their future stages would become bigger and bigger.
They passed the morning performance without any major incidents.
During the lunch break, Zhang Ya still looked at Zheng Wan with a headache, unsure if Zheng Wan could perform in the individual competition that afternoon.
“Individual scores are very important. This time, the last 22 contestants will be eliminated. Each person can add 10 points according to the team ranking, and so on. Our team will definitely be in first place, so adding 100 points is no problem. But since your voice is so hoarse that you can't speak, Xia Lan definitely won't give you any points.”
After Zhang Ya finished speaking, Han Shixue picked up the conversation, saying worriedly, "Not only will Xia Lan not give you any points, but Teacher Gu is always fair. If you don't sing, you simply won't pass the girl group selection. Even if your dancing is outstanding, she can only give you a friendly passing grade."
As they talked to Zheng Wan, she ignored her heavy makeup and burst into tears.
"Don't cry, you won't be eliminated this afternoon," Xu Yi said, drawing everyone's attention.
Zheng Wan cried so hard that she hiccuped. Her voice was already hoarse, and when she cried, it sounded like a little child trying to play the erhu. It was so awful to listen to.
Zheng Wan asked her, "Why?"
"There's no reason why. Just do your best this afternoon. Perform your solo dance well. The first round of eliminations won't be as brutal as the selection process."
Today, on stage, Xu Yi finally understood what Miss Gu meant by what she said last night.
She will likely be the one eliminated this afternoon.
Miss Gu is quite amusing; she actually came to ask me if I had earned enough for tuition. What would Miss Gu have done if I had answered last night that I hadn't?
Xu Yi regretted not having figured this out in time last night, missing the best opportunity to tease Miss Gu.
After a quick lunch, Xu Yi went back to her dorm to pack her luggage. She hadn't brought much with her, and Zhang Ya had helped her prepare these things.
She only realized that Xiaoxiao had disappeared again after she finished packing her luggage.
Xu Yi tried to contact her using his divine sense, but Xiao Xiao gave him a few perfunctory replies and then cut off the connection.
As Xu Yi packed her things, she muttered, "You're getting more and more outrageous. I'll spank you when you get back."
In the afternoon's individual competition, Zheng Wan performed with trepidation, and when she was waiting for the mentors' comments, she didn't dare to look them in the eye.
Xia Lan gave her a passing grade and said she looked forward to hearing her singing again, asking her not to favor dance but to also give this poor singer some credit.
Zheng Wan wished she could rush over and give her a hug and a big kiss!
Yuan Beidu also gave it a high score, and Gu Yueyue was no exception.
Zheng Wan was so excited that she couldn't speak. She was originally speechless, but she thanked the audience and her mentors in a hoarse voice.
It was only then that everyone realized her voice was damaged, but apart from her fans feeling sorry for her, no one else was really affected.
After Zheng Wan stepped down, Xu Yi was next.
On her way back, she happened to brush past Xu Yi. "Thank you! Keep it up!" she said, her voice almost hoarse.
Xu Yi looked at her with some surprise. Zheng Wan had always treated her as a rival, and this was something she hadn't expected.
"Hmm. Thank you." Xu Yi never refused the kindness and goodwill shown by others, and responded to Zheng Wan in a flat tone. She felt that she had done what she should do, but she did not expect to be met with a heavy snort from Zheng Wan.
Xu Yi continued on, still confused, and stepped onto the stage, where a flawed performance began.
Just as Xu Yi had expected, all three mentors gave her the lowest score. Xia Lan gave her a low score while encouraging her not to give up.
However, the audience at the scene found it hard to understand why Xu Yi was eliminated.
When the results came out, Xu Yi herself didn't react much, which was something she had already expected.
Just as Xu Yi was leaving the stage with the blessings of her mentors, Zheng Wan, backstage, was furious and tried to rush up, but was stopped by Zhang Ya and the backstage staff.
Zhang Ya hugged her tightly, "What do you want to do?"
"Let me go!" Her voice was so hoarse that it was almost impossible to hear her, but she was still shouting, "It's not fair! Why was Xu Yi eliminated!"
"Then you can't act impulsively. You need to be more level-headed." Zhang Ya's mindset has undergone a huge change in just a few days, and she has much more to think about regarding this elimination round.
Zheng Wan was still the same naive and innocent girl; she wanted to rush up and demand an explanation.
As a result, by the time Zheng Wan was brought under control, Xu Yi had already left the stage, and the camera even gave her a lonely silhouette.
Xu Yi herself was secretly delighted, finally able to rest for a while, and perhaps even take some time to go to Cangshan to send Bao Xiaoxiao to the secret realm, so that she wouldn't have to stay by her side, since she could never take good care of Xiaoxiao.
Xu Yi left the dormitory quickly without saying goodbye to anyone, and didn't even run into her teammates who came back to see her off.
Xu Yi stood at the intersection not far from the entrance of the Starry Idol Base. She had already booked a car via her mobile phone, and next to her was Bao Xiaoxiao, whom she had urgently retrieved using her divine sense.
Xiao Xiao was panting heavily from running so fast, and wished she could just lie down on the ground to rest.
"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Aren't you going to chase after Little Gu's mother?" Bao Xiaoxiao couldn't understand.
The ride-hailing car was already parked on the side of the road. Xu Yi, carrying her luggage, secretly called for Bao Xiaoxiao to follow her. The two of them, one big and one small, got into the car.
The driver didn't pay much attention at first, but after glancing at her in the rearview mirror a couple more times, he exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, are you Xu Yi?"
"I am."
"My sister loves you the most; she watches your live streams every day at home. Is your live stream over?"
"Um."
Even the most enthusiastic driver couldn't withstand Xu Yi's cold demeanor. After a few casual words, the conversation stalled, and the driver stopped trying to find topics to talk about, silently driving her to her destination.
When Xu Yi got out of the car, the driver stopped her and asked for an autograph before happily letting her leave.
"What should we do next? Should we abandon Little Gu's mother?" This was Bao Xiaoxiao's biggest worry, as it concerned whether she could ascend to the Upper Realm.
Xu Yi didn't answer her directly, only saying, "Let's take it one step at a time." Then he dragged her suitcase back to the apartment.
It was rare for He Xiaojing to be home today, but when Xu Yi opened the door and came in, He Xiaojing was no exception, even holding a pack of tissues that had just been opened.
He Xiaojing looked at her, somewhat at a loss, and handed her a tissue to comfort her, "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, and ups and downs in life are also normal. No one has a smooth journey. Don't be too sad."
"Thank you." Xu Yi looked at the tissue she was offered and thought for a moment before she understood what it meant.
Seeing that her roommate looked unwell and moved sluggishly, He Xiaojing put the tissues on the table and quietly returned to her room, leaving her roommate some space to heal herself.
The next morning, He Xiaojing came out of her room, only to find that Xu Yi was no longer home.
At this very moment, Xu Yi was leading the invisible Bao Xiaoxiao through every children's clothing store in the mall.
She didn't spend the money on tuition; instead, she bought clothes and shoes for Bao Xiaoxiao.
In the shopping mall, Xu Yi had a great figure and outstanding looks, and many people suspected that she was the 'Xu Yi' from the idol show "Star Idol". However, because her aura was too cold at the moment, not a single person dared to come up and talk to her.
Xu Yi looked at the bag in her hand and couldn't help but mutter, "This little thing is more expensive than my clothes. What's so expensive about it?"
Bao Xiaoxiao followed behind her, curiously looking at everything around her. When she heard Xu Yi's words, she silently looked down at her bare feet.
"Actually, you don't need to buy it for me. I'm not a real child."
Hearing her say this, Xu Yi felt a pang of sadness for no reason. "It's not that I'm unwilling to spend money on you, I just don't understand why children's clothes are more expensive than adults' clothes."
"Is it very expensive?" Bao Xiaoxiao asked, confused. "Don't you love me anymore?"
Um?
Before Xu Yi could react, Bao Xiaoxiao said in a tearful voice, "You've changed. You weren't like this before."
"Back then, you were willing to auction off a spiritual vein mine without batting an eye just to jewel my sword sheath. Now you won't even buy me a pair of shoes."
"..." Xu Yi felt the bag in her hand was extremely heavy.
Things are different now. Xu Yi didn't know how to explain to Bao Xiaoxiao that they were very, very poor now and didn't have any extra money at all.