Chapter 186 Throat

Sunday

The guests from each team of "Mountains and Seas" gathered in the dressing room backstage of the live studio at 10 a.m., racing against time to conduct the final rehearsal and put on makeup.

Outside the greenhouse, a drizzle had begun to fall without anyone noticing. The rain was like thousands of silver threads hanging from the sky, weaving into a dense net that enveloped the entire studio.

Hearing the movement at the dressing room door, Ren Limeng withdrew her gaze from the window and greeted Chen Xi who came in with a smile, "Sister Chen Xi, good morning."

"Um."

Chen Xi sat down in front of the dressing table next to Ren Limeng without looking at her the entire time. Regardless of the relationship between the guests, the program crew arranged a group of guests to share a dressing room. The relationship between Ren Limeng and Chen Xi was so cold that even the makeup artist next to them couldn't help but secretly exchange glances.

Chen Xi pursed her lips and looked at her haggard face in the mirror. Even after putting on her daily makeup, her complexion still looked very ugly.

The loss of her voice was like a time bomb hanging over her head. "Mountains and Seas" is a live broadcast program, and no one can predict what will happen on the scene.

Chen Xi is a singer, and losing her voice on stage is an intolerable stage accident for her. However, opera is more demanding on the voice than singing, and Chen Xi's heart was pounding, and she had no confidence at all.

"Sister Chen Xi, I've prepared a cup of throat protection tea. You can try it. I've encountered many emergencies when I was practicing before. This tea can save my life. It contains a lot of Chinese medicine. It's very effective as a stage first aid and has helped me survive many performances."

Ren Limeng bought some Chinese herbal medicine and throat-clearing powder last night, and this morning she specially prepared a throat-protecting tea for Chen Xi, put it in a mineral water bottle, and brought it to the recording site. The turbid throat-protecting tea may seem unattractive, but it is very effective. Even if Wu Murong and Yan Fangshu lose their voices on the spot, they will prepare a cup for emergency.

After Ren Limeng finished her brief explanation, she stretched out her right hand and handed the dark brown mineral water bottle on the table to Chen Xi.

Chen Xi raised his eyebrows and sneered, then turned his head to look at Ren Limeng quietly without taking the mineral water bottle from her hand.

It was not until their makeup artists and other staff in the dressing room could not help but steal a glance at them that Chen Xi's gaze finally shifted from Ren Limeng's calm smile to the mineral water bottle in her hand.

"Ren Limeng, I'm not recording right now. I don't need your hypocrisy."

There were only one or two scattered shots in the dressing room, and they hadn't put on the recording microphones yet. Chen Xi's sarcastic voice was full of anger, and Ren Limeng's hypocritical behavior was just adding fuel to the fire. She wouldn't believe Ren Limeng's kindness.

"Well, Sister Chen Xi, you're overthinking it. We're in the same team. I just don't want you to lose your voice in the middle of the performance and hold everyone back."

Facing Chen Xi's cold and arrogant attitude, Ren Limeng smiled without changing her expression. She had actually guessed Chen Xi's attitude at the moment before she decided to send the gift. In the end, Ren Limeng still chose to send the throat-protecting tea just to do her part.

After all, she has more experience than Chen Xi in maintaining and rescuing her voice while singing. Being in the same team, a smooth performance on stage is more important than many other things.

But if Chen Xiruo is unwilling to accept it, she naturally won't force it.

"This throat-protecting tea is a secret recipe I've been drinking since I was a child practicing. Sister Chen Xi, our only goal right now should be exactly the same. We all just want to finish the performance smoothly."

After staring at each other for who knows how long, Ren Limeng finally looked away. She smiled somewhat helplessly, spoke sincerely, and sighed softly.

Ren Limeng's gaze fell on her outstretched right hand. She shook her head slightly and was about to withdraw her hand. Chen Xi also withdrew his cold gaze, snorted coldly, and suddenly took the water bottle with a sneer.

She understood that Ren Limeng was only hypocritical and didn't dare to have any bad intentions about the so-called throat-protecting tea. The performance was imminent, so she had no choice but to give it a try.

After all, successfully completing the live performance is the most important thing now.

Neither of them spoke again, and silence returned to the room, leaving only the faint sound of raindrops hitting the window outside, accompanied by the makeup artist's quick movements.

Ren Limeng silently looked at Chen Xi, took a big sip of the mineral water bottle he put down, and slowly lowered his eyes.

She didn't explain much to Chen Xi. After thinking it over, she still decided to give him this bottle of throat-protecting tea as a token of her appreciation. Besides the fact that they were all in the same team now, it was also because Chen Xi's performance today included "Couple Watching Lanterns".

This Huangmei Opera performance was the climax of their team's second performance and also the key for Meishi Huangmei Opera to reach the audience.

Chen Xi is a first-line singer in the entertainment industry and is very well-known. Her successful performance of this interspersed Huangmei Opera on stage is in itself the best publicity for Huangmei Opera and Meishi.

If not for this, Ren Limeng would have definitely fought for it yesterday for the sake of a smooth performance.

Chen Xi is a smart man. Ren Limeng knows in her heart that Chen Xi's acceptance of the throat tea will not change their relationship at all. It is just a compromise they made for this live broadcast stage.

Ren Limeng felt a little emotional. Although she and Chen Xi had some quarrels, they both had a deep respect for the stage, which was above everything else.

It wasn't until Shen Xingzhi and Guan He finished collecting it that the atmosphere in the dressing room finally changed.

"Sister Chen Xi, Li Meng, your makeup looks really good today, and the colors of your clothes really suit you. With our performance costumes, we must achieve good results today!"

Guan He stood between Chen Xi and Ren Limeng with a smile on his face, his eyes full of admiration and praise. His smiling eyebrows seemed to be completely unaware of the silent atmosphere between Chen Xi and Ren Limeng.

"Xingzhi, is what I told you really not possible?"

Chen Xi glanced sideways at Guan He, and curled the corners of her mouth perfunctorily. Her gaze suddenly turned to Shen Xingzhi who was about to sit down behind Guan He, and her tone was particularly persistent.

"Chen Xi, we are professional singers."

“…”

Chen Xi stared at Shen Xingzhi, whose eyes were firm and clear, for a long time. She suddenly said, "You all should go out first. We have a meeting in the team."

"Teacher Chen Xi..."

The makeup artist who was about to apply eyeshadow was stunned for a moment. She wanted to say something, but suddenly met Chen Xi's sharp and silent eyes. Chen Xi looked at the makeup artist who was still styling Ren Limeng and repeated, "Get out!"

"Sister Chen Xi..."

Guan He looked at Shen Xingzhi and Ren Limeng with confusion, with silent questions in his eyes, but neither of them said anything. Guan He finally looked at Chen Xi again, watching her stand up and negotiate quickly with the program crew without question, then turned around and unplugged the data cable of the indoor camera, and finally sat back in his seat.

Only Shen Xingzhi and the other four were left in the dressing room.

“Chen Xingzhi, none of us can afford the consequences of a live broadcast accident.”

Chen Xi looked at Shen Xingzhi seriously, with a flicker of earnestness in her eyes. She took a deep breath, pursed her lips and looked at Guan He and Ren Limeng, "Everyone knows about my throat problem. I also discussed it with the production team this morning. The production team agreed to record the voice in advance and live broadcast the lip syncing, so that no one needs to worry."

Ren Limeng's gaze fell on Chen Xi, whose back was straight, with some disappointment in her eyes. She had never thought that the idea of ​​"lip syncing" would be spoken so lightly from the mouth of a professional singer like Chen Xi. She was wrong to think that Chen Xi respected the stage!

"Sister Chen Xi, this isn't good."

Chen Xi looked at Ren Limeng, whose face was filled with disapproval. "Not good? Ren Limeng, you're not the one who lost your voice. You don't understand how much pressure I'm under right now. Shut up and stop standing there talking nonsense! Don't worry, my agency hired the best recording team in the country last night to ensure that the live broadcast will be seamless."

"Can......"

Chen Xi waved his hand, abruptly interrupting Ren Limeng's continued persuasion, "Guan He, are you going to use the recording for your first public performance?"

Ren Limeng's pupils shrank slightly, her expression was startled, and she suddenly turned her head to look at Guan He, who had a wry smile on his face. Guan He sighed lightly, without looking at anyone in the room. He lowered his head and admitted in a low voice.

"Sister Chen Xi, the production team promised to keep it a secret, and you actually found out. Our First Princess is focusing on the group dance, and we don't have any professional singers, so she can't handle the high notes during the climax."

"you......"

Ren Limeng was stunned for a moment, feeling that some of her values ​​were challenged. She had always admired Guan He team's performance in the first public performance, but now she was told that the climax was a recording, not a live recording?

How unfair this is to other teams!

So...does anyone know about this?

Or, how many people know about this?

Ren Limeng's head suddenly felt dizzy. She really couldn't imagine that live broadcasts could have so many tricks. No wonder Guan He's team won first place in the first public performance...

What on earth... is true!

"I've consulted, and if we only cut a section during the live broadcast, the technology is very mature now, and we can use the live performance of the "Time and Space" part, that is, "Couple Watching Lanterns". I really can't guarantee the state of my voice now."

"Chen Xi, I told you, we are professional singers."

Shen Xingzhi's eyes were cold, and the unquestionable tone in his voice completely angered Chen Xi, who was extremely anxious.

"Professional singer... Xingzhi, your high note on New Year's Eve two years ago was just a half-second of your voice cracking, yet netizens made it into memes and mocked it, turning it into a black mark on your career. Can't you understand my choice? We professional singers can't afford to lose! Netizens will use a magnifying glass to endlessly nitpick our performances. Huangmei Opera is not my specialty. If I make a mistake during the live broadcast, even the production team won't be able to bear the consequences of this public opinion crisis! Even Yao Xin doesn't dare to take this responsibility, so why are you asking for trouble?"

Chen Xi became more and more excited as she spoke. She had put a lot of thought into convincing the program crew and finding a good recording team. Everything was ready except for the east wind. What was Shen Xingzhi still insisting on?

What she wanted to lip-sync was not "Time and Space", but "Couple Watching Lanterns". She was just a beginner in Huangmei Opera. Even if she was a professional singer, she would be powerless to sing with her current voice!

"We're a team, all on the same page. Behind closed doors, we're all your teammates. If anything goes wrong with me, you, as the captain and a professional singer, won't be immune to the controversy. Do you still want to get caught up in a storm? This is a crucial time for you and Hanxing to renew your contract. Can you afford to take the risk?"