MAIR – Chapter 134 – Third Shift

Soon it was the STAR group’s turn. The four of them went backstage and waited. As a group came out, Tian Sisi grabbed Yao Xuetong’s hand. “Captain, what should I do? I’m so nervous!”

In fact, Yao Xuetong was a bit nervous herself, but she still clasped Tian Sisi’s hand. “It doesn’t matter, don’t be afraid, just do as usual at practice.”

Even Lena, who had always been fearless, looked a little unnatural. She glanced at Xia Shiyu and asked anxiously, “You.. Are you not nervous?”

Xia Shiyu didn’t know that there were cameras backstage, so she replied naturally, “In fact, you can just treat the audience as food.”

“Food?” Tian Sisi asked in a low voice. “Like pumpkin or cabbage?”

“Of course not,” Xia Shiyu replied seriously. “How can you have appetite for pumpkin or cabbage?”

“Appetite??”

Xia Shiyu counted on her fingers, “Sour and spicy fat intestines, braised hooves, sweet and sour ribs, braised pork with plum vegetables, chicken baked with salt…”

At the end, she almost couldn’t resist slurping her saliva, and then earnestly taught them, “Only this way can you look at the audience with a gaze full of affection…”

The three girls: “…”

When they got on stage, the three of them looked at the audience, and plates of dishes immediately appeared in their minds.

They were all people who had been losing weight. They didn’t even know how long it had been since they last smelled meat. Thinking about it, they miraculously relaxed.

They had practiced this dance many times, and they were already very familiar with it. In addition, they were not nervous and performed even better than when they were in the practice room.

Anna, the dance instructor was very satisfied. “You are the best group I have seen so far. Not only is  your dancing neat, but your expression is also very good.”

Except for Xia Shiyu, the tree of them all showed a trace of embarrassment.

Anna asked them to introduce themselves.

When it was Lena’s turn, she looked at Tang Ruoyi, with a touch of worship in her eyes. “I like Miss Tang’s songs very much. I didn’t expect that one day I would really be able to see Miss Tang and perform before her. I think I’m already very happy…”

Tang Ruoyi was looking down at her materials. Hearing her say this, she raised her head and smiled gently. “Thank you for your love.”

However, she didn’t ask any questions, nor did  she let Lena show her personal talent.

Lena lowered her eyes in disappointment.

Qiu Jie took a look at Tang Ruoyi. Currently Huayue and Morningstar were tearing each other’s faces. As a person of Huayue, Tang Ruoyi still had shares in Huayue. Naturally, her relationship with Morningstar couldn’t be good. Although she was good enough not to deal with these trainees, she would not deliberately help them either.

However, he did not have such constraints. He took a look at the four girls on the stage and turned his head to ask Ye Cang, “I heard that one of them is your junior sister?”

When Ye Cang heard Qiu Jie, he looked up and saw the smile on Xia Shiyu’s face on the stage. His expression suddenly became serious and he coughed. “Although we are under the same agent, you can’t really call her my junior sister. She is my senior.”

Everyone in the audience was stunned, and then they realized that Ye Cang had started his career only last year, while Xia Shiyu had debuted three years ago, so she was really his senior.

Qiu Jie: “…”

Tang Ruoyi couldn’t help laughing, and some of the originally dense atmosphere also dissipated and became more relaxed.

Captain Yao Xuetong did a segment of rap, Lena and Tian Sisi also performed their own personal SL program, leaving only Xia Shiyu.

Qiu Jie asked, “I heard Junior Xia used to be a singer. Have you written any new songs recently?”

Xia Shiyu blinked. “Not recently. How about an old song?”

Qiu Jie froze for a moment. “Old songs are fine too.”

However, it was not until Xia Shiyu started singing that they realized how old this so-called old song was.

Qiu Jie looked blankly at Tang Ruoyi. “Sister Ruoyi, doesn’t this sound like a song from the past century?”

Tang Ruoyi nodded. “It’s Tang Wanjun’s ‘Attachment’. It really is a very old song.”

Qiu Jie wanted to continue complaining, but when Xia Shiyu opened her mouth to sing, he suddenly froze.

“Attachment” was not a song that required very complex singing skills. One could say that it was exactly because it was easy to learn, that it managed to become popular on the streets in the past century. However, simple songs were not necessarily easy to sing. In fact, the most difficult songs to sing were such simple songs.

Just like the dishes tha tested a chef’s abilities best were often the simplest home cooked dishes.

“Attachment” was a slightly sad love song. In the past Tang Wanjun sang this song very often, which touched the hearts of several generations. But now when she sang this song through  Xia Shiyu’s mouth, her voice was like a bond, pulling people back to the past century.

Qiu Jie rubbed his arm, which was covered in goosebumps.

By the time Xia Shiyu finished singing, Qiu Jie and Tang Ruoyi were speechless. They were professionals, so they knew better than anyone else how difficult it was to sing this song well.

Before that, they would give technical advice to the previous contestants in front of them, but Xia Shiyu’s song had nothing to do with skill. The overflowing emotion in the song had been able to captivate the whole audience.

Skill could be learned, but how to sing a song in order to move people’s hearts was the most important thing.

Tang Wanjun’s voice quality had not been the best and her appearance not the most beautiful one in the era of superstars. However, every single love song of Tang Wanjun’s had been sung directly to people’s hearts, which was the reason why her popularity could last forever.

Now, watching Xia Shiyu while singing, they could vaguely sense the shadow of Tang Wanjun.

The judges looked at each other, and finally Tang Ruoyi said, “Your singing makes people understand what it means to be a professional singer. If you are on the team, it’s like the existence of Poseidon’s trident.”

Qiu Jie also nodded. “You let me feel the charm of this old song once again. I think, such a level qualifies her to the upper circle, there shouldn’t be any objections?”

The upper circle were the ten chairs, and now there were only two chairs left.

After Yao Xuetong and Xia Shiyu sat down, the ten chairs were already full, but about a third of the contestants had not yet appeared on stage, including some newcomers who were well-known before entering the program, as well as some trainees from big companies.

While everyone was whispering, Qiu Jie announced a new rule with a smile.

“All the players coming out next can challenge any player in the upper circle if they are unanimously recognized by us. If they win, they can replace her in that seat. Strength is the only way to keep your position!”

As soon as his words came out, the discussions at the scene became even louder.

“It’s too exciting!”

“Real battle!”

“That means that even if you are sitting in the upper circle now, you are not safe?”

The contestants in the upper circle showed an expression of surprise and panic on their faces. They all thought that since they sat in the upper circle they could have a peace of mind. How could they have guessed that the program group would have such an arrangement?!

However, Xia Shiyu looked very calm, as if she had already guessed it.

At this moment, Wang Can, who had a dispute with Xia Shiyu in the hall previously, was on the stage with other contestants from Ying Yuan Company. Although Wang Can could speak ill of others, she still had her own strengths. Her dance directly conquered Anna, and she was also selected into the upper circle.

Qiu Jie patted the table, showing an expression of eagerness. “Here we come!”

Tang Ruoyi looked at her with a smile. “Which contestant do you want to challenge?”

Wang Can’s eyes swept over a few people, showing an inevitable smile. “Then I will challenge Senior Xia Shiyu.”

After her words the camera turned to Xia Shiyu’s face, and Anna asked Xia Shiyu, “Shiyu, are you willing to accept Wang Can’s challenge?”

Xia Shiyu looked down at Wang Can, and sure enough, she saw the provocation in her eyes. She showed a professional smile. “I accept it.”

There are three challenges, the first one was singing, the second one was dancing, and the third one was their preferred talent.

Wang Can lost the first challenge without any doubt. In the second stage, Wang performed a very hot dance, which was well received by the judges.

When it was Xia Shiyu’s turn, she held the microphone and thought about it for moment before saying, “Please play ‘I stay tonight’.  

Qiu Jie looked at Tang Ruoyi with a bewildered face, but this time even Tang Ruoyi frowned and thought for a long time. Ye Cang was stunned for a moment and then covered his forehead. Not to mention the girls at the scene. Finally it was Anna, who solved their doubts.

“This is a very famous disco song from the past century.”

Qiu Jie: “Di-di…. Disco??”

Xia Shiyu, isn’t it too early for jokes?!

At this time, the director had already started playing the song, and the familiar melody immediately filled the whole studio hall. It was one of a kind. Although you couldn’t remember its name, you would recognize it when you heard the melody.

Although it was the dance music of the past century and the dance was not so fashionable from a modern perspective, Xia Shiyu was dancing very seriously. But this kind of serious action in combination with this kind of retro dance was very funny. After all, in people’s minds, the old disco track had become a stereotype. With a young girl like Xia Shiyu dancing to it, one could imagine how funny it was.

Not to mention the contestants at the scene, even the judges were laughing so hard that they burst in tears. Qiu Jie slapped the table and almost fell under it from laughter.

It was not easy to wait for Xia Shiyu to finish. The whole scene was already in a mess.

Anna wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and commented with a smile, “Although… Although it’s very funny, your strength and movements are very standard. If you consider the dance alone, you and Wang Can are on the same level. However, for the sake of your creativity, ha ha ha ha….. I decided to vote for you. Ha ha ha ha… “

Xia Shiyu wanted to explain that this wasn’t creativity but she really only knew disco. Modern people probably didn’t know how popular disco was in the past century. It was a famous national dance.

But she wisely gave up the explanation and smiled. “Thank you!”

Tang Ruoyi laughed until she was breathless and coughed for a while before saying, “You have won two games, you can return to the upper circle.”

Xia Shiyu bowed to the judges seriously, then turned around and hugged Wang Can. Wang Can showed a reluctant smile. “Congratulations.”

“Give up.” Xia Shiyu’s smile did not reveal anything of it. “After all, I’m your senior.”

Wang Can: “…”

 

 


Edited by : LuLu

Proofreader: Taalia

Support translation:

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This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Cheshire

    Yeah, I’d definitely laugh if I saw someone do that live.
    Thanks for the chapter!

  2. Aeli

    Many thanks for the update! : D

  3. Thanks for the chapter! Disco always was a lot of fun even back when it was in vogue. I would actually enjoy watching someone reviving older stuff & bringing it into this century more than quite a lot of the newer overly polished & fake sounding new stuff I can’t just freely enjoy.

  4. nanairohana

    I am remembering retro disco move and blasted disco old song on the shiny idol talent show 😂.

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