Chapter 1045: Sing Any Song You Want
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Xia Ling heard it and turned around to glare at them.
She refused to go first and simply laid back in her seat, waiting. The other candidates went up one by one to perform, but she did not enjoy it at all. She even began wondering whether there was something wrong with her judgment—why was it that the items that everyone clapped for and admired not awe her at all? How boring…
A while later, she dozed off in her seat.
At the examiners’ panel, Feng Kun was observing her while watching the performances. From the very first time he saw her, he had sensed an aura exuding from all over her… it was a unique feeling, one that was hard to describe. But what he knew was that every single one of the people whom he saw possessed such a charm had turned out to be megastars.
He looked forward to her performance.
But even after half of the candidates had had their turn, she was still lying back in her seat and shaking her leg, evidently very bored by this. And this was the selection for Imperial Entertainment’s training camp! The selection for the cream of the crop! Every other candidate was getting nervous, and somehow she was acting so differently?
Those who did not know the situation would think she was waiting for a train.
Xia Ling had a pretty good sleep. She dreamt that she got selected for the training camp and that she made her debut as a celebrity. She was on stage to receive the Best Female Singer award, and it was Pei Ziheng who presented it to her…
“Xia Ling? Xia Ling!” Someone called her.
She jerked awake and rubbed her eyes before realizing that every candidate and examiner in the room was looking at her, speechless. “What’s wrong?” She asked groggily, looking all innocent.
They really had no words for this girl!
Feng Kun stifled his laughter and kindly said to her, “Every other candidate has had their turn. Only you and Li Bingman are left, which one of you wants to go first?”
“Ah, that’s fast,” Xia Ling murmured to herself. She was so upset. In her dream, Brother Pei was just about to hand her the trophy! She had not even received it, but someone had already woken her up.
How was this considered fast? Everyone else was getting tired from the long period of watching item after item presented by one another. The examiners couldn’t wait to be done with their jobs, while the candidates couldn’t wait for the results to be announced. Feng Kun asked again gently, “So, have you decided whether you are going first, or Li Bingman?”
“She first!” Both girls said at the exact same moment.
On that note, both of them looked at each other with the eye of an enemy.
Li Bingman wanted to be the final performer, the “grandest” of them all. She solemnly said to Xia Ling, “I’m letting you go first.”
Xia Ling asked, “Why do I need you to let me go first? You sing any song you want, then I will sing the same song as you right after. I’ll definitely do a better job.” This was the only reason she wanted Li Bingman to go first. Since everyone looked down on her, she was going to prove herself to them! When it came to singing, she had never lost to anyone.
The moment she said that everyone gasped—how arrogant!
They had witnessed confidence in others, but not in this way! Moreover, this was in front of the examiners! “Is she mad?” Everyone looked at one another. “It’s bad enough if she’s claiming to beat anyone else, but Li Bingman? Does this country b.u.mpkin know who Li Bingman is?”
“I think she must be too uptight,” a few of the candidates said.
Li Bingman’s expression was getting pretty interesting. Someone actually told her to “sing any song she wants”, and then intended to beat her with the same song! This was akin to having a weakling challenge a martial arts master, while saying, “I’ll give you three moves worth of headstart.” This was an utter insult to the master!
Li Bingman was about to explode from anger. She was smiling irrationally now. “You really don’t know what you’re made of.”
Xia Ling proudly raised her chin. “Who’s the one who doesn’t know what she’s made of? Just tell me whether you dare to take on the challenge or not.”
“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Li Bingman sneered. “But I don’t think you’re in the position to challenge me! Xia Ling, you go first!”
“I don’t wanna! I refuse!”
Both of them glared at each other without giving an inch.
The examiners rubbed their foreheads. This was the first time in all of Imperial’s training camp history that they were in such a situation. It was seriously… too strange. They continued exchanging glances, urging the other to go first.
At last, Feng Kun broke the silence. “Both of you want to sing last? How about this, whoever sings first gets to choose the song, and whoever goes after that will have to sing the same song. Xia Ling, are you okay with that?”
“I’m fine,” Xia Ling responded quickly. This was her plan, to begin with.
“Li Bingman, are you okay with that?” Feng Kun asked her this time.
“I…” Li Bingman hesitated. This was putting her in a fix! She didn’t have the confidence, and even if her sister Li Bingyu was here, she probably wouldn’t have it too. There were too many songs in this world, who knew what the other would pick? What if she didn’t know the song?”
“Examiner, Xia Ling is being unreasonable!” Li Bingman said, “She…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Feng Kun cut her off. “Very well, you’ll go first then.”
“I!” Li Bingman was anxious now. How could Feng Kun have made the decision so quickly?
“You may begin.” Feng Kun couldn’t care less about her explanation. He was the gem of Imperial Entertainment, the most sought after music composer, one whom even Li Bingyu dared not offend. The other examiners dared not go against him and naturally took his words as the final say.
Li Bingman felt aggrieved. Before coming for this selection, her sister had told her time and again that she had to perform last to leave the best impression. She’d finally waited it out and now, that feral child had stolen the limelight!
But she dared not go against Feng Kun in any way and had no choice but to slowly make her way to the stage.
“I’ll sing…” She thought for a while. “I’ll sing a Russian song, ‘Shooting Star and Fireworks’.”
“Russian song!” Everyone was shocked by that. So far, anyone who’d chosen to sing a song in a foreign language other than English hadn’t managed to go far. Firstly, the examiners were unable to judge their competency in singing Chinese songs. Secondly, they might not be able to understand what they were singing. Thirdly, singing songs in other languages did not help in developing one’s career locally. Lastly, it was difficult to p.r.o.nounce it accurately, with the right accents and intonations.
For these reasons, most of the people who chose to sing songs in foreign languages ended up pretty badly.
The fact that Li Bingman chose to sing a Russian song just proved how confident she was!
The examiners looked at each other. Teacher Chen said, “You’d better be sure of your choice. Russian songs are very challenging—if you sing it well, it’d be magnificent. But if you mess it up, you probably won’t get another chance.”
“Russian is my third language,” Li Bingman said confidently. “Don’t worry, Teacher Zhou. I’ll do just fine.” She had initially prepared a Chinese song for the selection, but because of Xia Ling’s challenge, she changed her mind at the last minute to teach that feral child a lesson!