Chapter 61

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Chapter 61: Xie Qingxuan’s Obsession, the True Heart Flow

Virtual reality system.

The high-tech device that has helped many Top A players in the past, at the moment when the countdown reaches zero, it appears like a devil coming to collect debts, deceiving the retina and senses, projecting lifelike illusions that could lead to stage accidents.

The hundreds of audience members, some delighted, some enthusiastic, some with tears in their eyes, some incredibly excited, some holding homemade banners, some waving glow sticks in support colors, some shouting the names of the people on stage.

In a moment, it elevated the setup to a world-class stage.

If this moment occurred in some future instance, it would surely be a beautiful scene worth remembering for a lifetime.

Because it signifies that the players can now stand on a world-class stage, it is a moment worth celebrating and fulfilling dreams.

However, in the current situation, this action can no longer be simply described as abstract or a prank.

– Entertainment without a stage is never just a joke.

In the trainee program of Daxia Country, even talented dancers like Ji Shuzhu are only able to perform in some dance variety competitions on TV, with usually few audience members in the finals, nowhere near as popular as the current hit shows.

Remember, this is just a secondary rating show for a survival reality competition!

For those contestants who have never set foot on a real stage before, stepping onto the stage without knowing what to expect, it’s already an achievement if they can manage to stay composed, remember the choreography for "Candy" halfway through, and don’t forget to sing.

What’s worse, they might end up with a psychological shadow cast over them due to this defeat and may collapse completely.

In other words, the secondary rating of "Dazzling Stage" is a complete test, only those who can make it through this challenge will have the qualifications to continue competing in the next round.

At this moment, millions of viewers watching live are holding their breath.

In just a few brief seconds, even though they can instinctively grasp the seriousness of the situation, there isn’t time to ponder over what incredible event has happened on "Dazzling Stage"; all their attention is focused on the reactions of the contestants on stage.

Xie Qingxuan messed up the timing.

Or rather, in that moment when the music fills the air, the sudden surge of noise from the audience below, the countless gazes and calls, turn the spotlight on stage scorching hot, increasing the intense nervousness, gripping the heart, and bringing waves of suffocation.

All these negative things made her body stiff in an instant, almost stopping the muscles engraved throughout her body from reacting to the initial rhythm.

Xie Qingxuan had no time to think anymore. She gave up on "Earthly Fall" and the deep emotions filled in her dance, adopting a detached posture and entering meditation directly.

Then, her mind sank into a slow yet clear emptiness.

It was as if the world had become separated by a layer of filter, with sounds of waves and gazes, illusions of expectations and desires that did not exist, swallowing tension and unfamiliarity like a swamp…

All of this, in the moment of entering meditation, turned into unfamiliar illusions like bubbles in a dream.

Xie Qingxuan’s perception of the outside world became dull, replaced by near perfect control of her body.

The difficulty of "Candy" was already very low, and with no interference from the outside, both control of movements and singing became easily natural.

So, under the stunning gaze of the audience, she, with an incredible reaction, slightly sped up the rhythm with a smile, smoothly followed the music’s beat, grasped precise timing, transformed the melody, and using her sweet voice, began to sing.

Her stable performance, powerful momentum, were like a sharp blade out of its sheath, facing all difficulties and dangers head-on.

"Grass, grass, grass, truly deserving of being called the Great Devil. I wonder if she knows about this kind of flower activity in ‘Dazzling Stage’?"

"Xie Qingxuan seemed a bit stunned just now. She most likely didn’t know! She just reacted so quickly and fixed it so well that it looked almost as perfect as a rehearsal."

"Honestly, if it were me, I would definitely be at a loss for words, and maybe even cry on the spot instead of dancing."

"If this test is focusing on instant crisis handling ability, then the Great Devil would almost certainly score full marks, right?"

The bullet comments in the live broadcast were all praise, with no hint of criticism towards this performance.

The girl, amidst the enthusiastic atmosphere of the outside world, performed the song and dance meticulously like a precise machine.

As the background music neared its end, the stage lights slowly dimmed.

It was only then that Xie Qingxuan suddenly woke up, realizing that the performance had already ended.

Outside the stage, those lifelike projections shattered with a bang.

The loud shouting and booming sounds faded away, leaving only a cold darkness, as if mocking silently.

The girl’s whole body was soaked in sweat, feeling a tiredness that was hard to describe, making her feel like she was in a different world, with her thoughts shattered abruptly.

The deep abyss-like fear, intense shame and anger forcefully pulled her out of meditation, leading her into a sea of negative emotions, experiencing a shameful fall from grace.

Xie Qingxuan lowered her eyes, making it hard to discern her expression, she did not speak, silently walking away alone, entering a dark room, a bathroom without surveillance.

The girl looked at herself in the mirror, seeing a reflection filled with disappointment and resistance, her eyes becoming emptier, softly whispering as if making a vow:

"I must find a way to immerse myself in the stage."

Difficulty is not an excuse.

She only understood one thing.

That is, she couldn’t express the expected emotions in her dance and song, instead finding herself forced into a meditative state, barely managing the sudden challenge through almost cheating.

If it’s her sister, she wouldn’t even feel nervous on a stage like this, right?

But what about herself?

Just thinking about it fills her heart and bones with strong feelings of anxiety, restlessness, anger, unwillingness to accept, and competitiveness, blending into a burning sensation like wanting to burn the whole person up.

The warm water in the bathroom gushed out with a sound.

"There won’t be another chance."

As the words fell, the bathtub overflowed.

Xie Qingxuan took off her clothes, revealing her well-developed smooth body. She was like a fish diving into the deep sea, or a patient controlling her emotions, slowly lying in it, tilting her head back slowly, letting the water cover her mouth and nose.

The platinum blonde hair of the young girl spread slowly in the water like a blurred light. Her pupils were lifeless, peacefully open, reflecting the orange lights on the domed ceiling through the thick medium.

Time passed by second by second.

She forced herself to experience a terrifying suffocating feeling for 5 minutes.

As the air in her lungs decreased, the outside sounds became fainter, and her brain seemed to replay a carousel of images.

Xie Qingxuan used this technique to repeatedly remember the feelings of confusion, fear, helplessness, stiffness, and suffocation when she stood on the stage, surrounded by countless gazes and drowned out by numerous voices.

Almost on the brink of passing out from lack of oxygen, she resolutely entered a seated meditation, using her slender arms to prop her body up from the water.

"There won’t be… another time."

Xie Qingxuan whispered again, as if savoring the lingering fear and suffocation, and seemed simply obsessed, even punishing herself just because of a failure. Without resting for long, she lay back into the gradually chilling water once more…

…

…

At the same time.

The chat room exploded with excitement.

Xie Qingxuan’s performance is worthy of praise and surprise.

But the incredible performance of "Dazzling Stage" is even more worthy of attention and exploration.

As the head mentor Dream Weaver Rabbit, it seems like he doesn’t plan to give any explanation for this design.

On the Tutor Group’s side, they are starting to evaluate Xie Qingxuan’s performance.

Luo Siling expressed great admiration:

"Xie Qingxuan’s stage presence is as strong as ever. Even with the test of the virtual reality system, she didn’t give up. She is very steady and has the aura of a great competitor."

After careful thought, Zhao Dapan said:

"If we ignore external factors and just focus on the stage performance, I would give Xie Qingxuan’s singing a score of eight out of ten."

"She started off a bit out of breath, but quickly regained her composure, performed the technique in ‘Candy’ flawlessly and professionally, although lacking a bit of sweetness and immersive atmosphere."

"As for the dance, aside from a few initial mistakes, it was remarkably flawless."

"There’s nothing to criticize in terms of strength, posture, hand movements, but it’s almost too perfect and formulaic, deviating slightly from her personal style. I would rate it a nine out of ten."

Chen Baijiu pondered for a moment and then said:

"My opinion aligns with Teacher Zhao’s. Xie Qingxuan’s performance was flawless but had some noticeable imperfections."

"Her singing and dancing abilities are excellent, with almost no mistakes throughout the entire performance. Compared to previous talent shows, she’s on a different level. Even members of established groups might not achieve the same."

"However, she failed to showcase a personal style shift and failed to integrate, adapt, and tame the theme song."

"The keywords for ‘Candy’ are girlish, cute, sweet, and youthful."

"Regarding Xie Qingxuan’s dance, singing, and facial expressions, I can only give a maximum of 6 points for interpretation and stage presence."

The mentors didn’t discuss for too long before they all saw Xie Qingxuan’s talent.

In fact, after Dream Weaver Rabbit mentioned this stage design, they set their expectations for the trainees’ stage performance very low.

Xie Qingxuan’s performance at the beginning of the show was beyond what the Tutor Group expected, so her secondary rating was not a surprise and remained as Grade A.

The audience in the live broadcast was not surprised and continued to criticize "Dazzling Stage":

"Dream Weaver Rabbit is a repeat offender. It did something similar when Chu Yuanqing made her debut, and it has elevated the mind games once again."

"So what exactly is this virtual reality system? The ambiance and realism, for those few minutes, I felt like I was living in a dream."

As expected by the audience, the following Top A contestants who entered the stage one after another, all had a series of failures.

None of them could perform as skillfully as Xie Qingxuan, who utilized a meditation technique similar to "Heart Flow" to compensate for her lack of experience.

As a result, because of such extraordinary skills, they couldn’t even bring out half of their potential, and their rendition of "Candy" was not of high quality, leading to almost breaking down emotionally on stage.

The Tutor Group here did not dare to question the program’s setup, they just quietly completed their duties and then gave a second evaluation one by one.

Among them, four students barely managed to stay at Grade B level relying on their solid foundation.

Another girl with very poor ability to handle pressure had a performance on stage that is hard to put into words. She forgot her lines, sang off-key, and missed the beat. Her expressions and movements throughout the performance were very stiff, resulting in a Grade D evaluation, as if falling from heaven to the depths with no chance of redemption.

This contestant seemed to have anticipated her own performance, as she ended her act, her eyes turned red and she sadly left the stage.

Even though her stage performance was constantly underwhelming.

The audience rarely criticized the contestants, mostly agreeing that the difficulty level of "Dazzling Stage" was too abstract.

At this moment, the contestants who were continuously downgraded from Grade A were the most popular group on the show, leading to their fan base becoming very angry, causing public opinion to be one-sided.

The comments in the live stream were all full of criticism:

"Stupid program group, isn’t this kind of setup just hindering growth?"

"There’s no need for it. The first large-scale performance, along with the subsequent group performances, is already the best practice for the younger sisters. Forcing their growth curve to rise will only make the whole show collapse."

"I don’t understand what the rush is for? What we want to see is a development system, not an immediate formation of a group."

"Haha, even Grade A is like this, what about the sisters of other levels? Are they just being set up for failure? It’s really causing them to fear the stage, causing psychological trauma, who will take responsibility?"

"Oh no, I just read the detailed rules of ‘Dazzling Stage’. Dream Weaver Rabbit initially said that they would compensate for injuries caused by program group equipment, and this injury also includes the mental aspect. The compensation ranges from five million to sixty million."

Regardless of how public opinion is fermenting, the secondary ratings are still slowly unfolding.

There are still eight Top A players, but most of them have once again fallen after a bitter struggle.

One that made the audience somewhat amazed was Ji Shuzhu, who has stage experience and is naturally resilient due to hypermnesia.

Her performance can be described as seamless throughout. Apart from a somewhat lacking singing part, the dance routine almost purely relied on years of muscle memory, naturally reproduced on stage, unquestionably securing the Grade A rating.

What’s even more surprising is the young lady from Yunlan Entertainment.

The audience’s first impression of her was somewhat talented but not much. Half of her Grade A rating was due to using some trainees from the same company as stepping stones, shining brightly at the Carry Center.

But reality hit them hard.

Chen Yining’s performance was much better than expected by the audience. Despite some mistakes, she successfully maintained her Grade A status.

Some audience members couldn’t help but suspect that she probably had experience on large stages.

And indeed she did.

Chen Yining often networked with people from Yunlan Entertainment, sneaking into a superstar singer’s concert and becoming a backup dancer, which was basic training.

Though not a real stage, facing the crowd’s scrutiny and the atmosphere was something she had gotten used to.

Time passed.

The final appearance of Grade A was in the theme song competition, winning the exclusive ticket in first place, leading by one million votes ahead of Kirimi Miyuki.

Because Chu Yuanqing and Kirimi Miyuki’s pairing was very popular, when the sakura girl appeared on stage, everyone was excited and many people started discussing it.

Although there was chaos in the live chat room, with underwear flying around, it felt like a disaster was about to happen.

Little Sakura, at the center of attention, stood on the huge stage with a heart full of emotion, feeling touched by the moment.

She often dreamt of such a spacious stage.

Now, after facing challenges and hardships, she was actually standing here, feeling like she was dreaming.

Even though it was a stage with lower ratings.

Even though the seats around were empty and it felt lonely.

The strong sense of joy and emotion filled her body and soul uncontrollably, giving her the courage to embrace the beauty of the stage.

So…

When the stage lights system officially starts.

When the prelude of "Candy" truly begins.

When the virtual reality system, like a nightmare, covers the dark lonely world, suddenly turning into a galaxy of stars, expanding the small circular seating area ten times in the virtual projection, creating a truly giant stage.

Kirimi Miyuki’s heart was not filled with horror and fear, but with joy and inspiration exploding like thunder.

How could this happiness be described?

How could this soulful happiness be conveyed?

At this moment, repeatedly guiding her towards the Perfect Interpretation Method that surpasses limits, as if immersing in endless clear blue, embracing the vast sky, surrounded by fan-like cheers and unreal prosperity, stepping into…

The true "Heart Flow"!!!