Chapter Eighteen: Wide Noodles in a Large Bowl

"Go, Qianqian! Go, Qianqian!" Zhang Tie’s livestream was immediately flooded with cheers of "Go, Qianqian!"

"What song has Ziqian brought us today?" asked Weile.

"I’ve brought an original song as well," Zhou Ziqian replied, looking scholarly and refined.

"Wuhu! Another original!" Li Meng exclaimed. "What’s it called?"

Zhou Ziqian said, "The rap song 'Big Bowl Wide Noodles'!"

"Just the name sounds fantastic!" Li Meng chimed in.

"Alright then, let’s enjoy Ziqian’s rap performance, 'Big Bowl Wide Noodles'!" Weile announced with flair.

The musical accompaniment began, and suddenly a female voice sang out: "The bowl is large, wide as a shadow... The noodles are long, yet vanish. Like childhood memories..."

Wang Fei slowly stepped out from behind the curtain.

"Wow!"

The audience erupted.

"Is this for real? It’s Diva Wang Fei! But this song is terrible—doesn’t Wang Fei fear damaging her reputation?"

"Zhou Ziqian actually invited Diva Wang Fei as a guest performer!"

Zhang Tie’s livestream went silent for a few seconds. After a brief hush, viewers flooded the comment feed with messages.

"It’s a diva-level guest appearance, damn, Zhou Ziqian is awesome."

"Awesome, you can't help but respect him!"

"The only person I’d support is Zhou Ziqian!"

"Can I ask—who is Zhou Ziqian? I’ve never heard of him."

"Everyone, come here, we’ve got an honest person."

"Honest folks, we don’t know Zhou Ziqian either, but we just keep quiet. Hey! We don’t say it, we play along!"

"I know Zhou Ziqian—he’s a trainee, somewhat well-known."

"Everyone, another honest person here."

"Weren’t we discussing Wang Fei? How did the topic shift?"

With Wang Fei’s appearance, the livestream was bombarded with comments, and Zhang Tie received hundreds of thousands in tips.

At the live venue of "You’ve Got Talent," the rap segment fell to Zhou Ziqian.

"I never dared to believe
That a big bowl could bring you joy
But it’s truly my intention
Perhaps it’s fate
Test your martial arts, test yourself
Let the martial arts masters compete
A command summons thousands of troops
Meet at the noodle shop, a critical moment
Why must we be so confrontational?"

Wang Fei, holding the microphone, sang a beautiful harmony: "Look, this bowl is so big and round."

"Gathering calls for a toast!" Zhou Ziqian sang.

Wang Fei harmonized: "Look, these noodles are so long and wide."

Zhou Ziqian: "Wuxia novels make me cry."

The duet continued, their voices weaving together.

Never believe in devils
Sometimes life is especially exhausting
Don’t crave big bowl wide noodles, don’t shed tears!
"This bowl is big, big, big..."

The music stopped; Zhou Ziqian’s performance was over.

"Sigh—"

The audience let out sighs, unimpressed by the song.

"How could he sing such a terrible song?"

"Exactly, isn’t Wang Fei afraid of losing her reputation?"

Zhang Tie’s livestream sparked heated arguments.

"What a lousy song—how is this even rap?"

"Don’t insult our Qianqian, he works hard!"

"Works hard? Please. He got in because his dad is the director of 'You’ve Got Talent,' parachuted in halfway."

"Nonsense, our Qianqian earned his place through effort!"

Critics and die-hard fans clashed furiously in the comment section.

At the live venue, Weile held the microphone: "Now, let’s have our three judges score the performance!"

Wang Lan was the first to score: "Eight points!"

Huang Kang raised his paddle: "Nine points!"

Guo Fei directly held up a ten-point paddle.

"Wow!"

The audience buzzed in disbelief. What is Guo Fei’s taste? How could such a bad song get ten points? What kind of professionalism is this?

Wang Lan frowned, thinking Guo Fei was being far too reckless, lacking any professional judgment.

"Dear audience!" Li Meng said, "The judges’ scores are eight, nine, and ten, totaling 270 votes."

Weile picked up the thread: "270 votes! Now, let’s have the audience vote!"

Everyone stared at the LED screen, watching the vote tally rise.

Backstage in the lounge, the LCD TV showed the live broadcast. Jiang Yun and her companions watched the tally closely.

"Six hundred votes!"

"Seven hundred!"

"Eight hundred!"

"Nine hundred!"

"Stop! Nine hundred and one votes!" Weile’s voice was filled with excitement, sending emotions soaring and plunging like a roller coaster.

"Let’s welcome Liu Dongli, the grassroots dance king, onto the stage."

Liu Dongli stepped up, standing shoulder to shoulder with Zhou Ziqian.

"Liu Dongli received 1,082 votes, Zhou Ziqian’s total is 1,171 votes. Zhou Ziqian wins! Let’s congratulate..."

"Congratulations to Zhou Ziqian for advancing to the finals."

"Clatter, clatter!"

The audience applauded enthusiastically.

"Next is our championship showdown. Who will seize the crown? Who will win the million-dollar prize? Let’s wait and see! Don’t go away, the excitement continues after the break!"

Zhou Ziqian and Liu Dongli left the stage to rest. Since the program was pre-recorded, there were twenty minutes of downtime.

In twenty minutes, the championship battle would begin, followed by the competition for second and third place.

Taking advantage of the break, the production team carried their cameras backstage, aiming to record some behind-the-scenes footage.

They interviewed Jiang Yun: "The finals are about to start. Ms. Jiang Yun, are you nervous?"

"I’m alright," Jiang Yun replied succinctly.

"Ms. Jiang Yun, what song have you prepared for the finals? Is it original?"

"That’s confidential for now! I can only say it’s original."

"Wow! As expected, Ms. Jiang Yun is truly a powerhouse singer!"

"I wouldn’t dare claim that," Jiang Yun said modestly.

"But you don’t have a guest performer! Are you under pressure? Do you think you can win?"

"Well..." Jiang Yun hesitated, unsure how to reply—was she feeling pressure? There was indeed some pressure! After seeing Zhou Ziqian’s guest performer was Wang Fei, Jiang Yun felt the pressure mount.

"There’s definitely pressure," Jiang Yun admitted.

"Don’t feel pressured, Ms. Jiang Yun. Keep a good mindset, and you’ll surely achieve great results!"

"Thank you for your kind words!"

"Alright, interview over. Best of luck! I’ll go interview Zhou Ziqian now, won’t keep you."

The production team carried their camera over to Zhou Ziqian.

"Zhou Ziqian, how are you feeling? Are you feeling any pressure?"

"None at all!"

"Zhou Ziqian, are you confident in winning the championship?"

"I’m confident! The championship will definitely be mine!" Zhou Ziqian replied, brimming with self-assurance and arrogance.

Li Meng, holding the microphone, addressed the camera: "It seems Zhou Ziqian is full of confidence!"

Li Meng turned back to Zhou Ziqian: "Zhou Ziqian, could you give us a hint about your performance?"

"I can only say it’s a song; as for which song, you’ll find out soon!"

"Alright! Let’s wait and see!"