finals
On the day of the final performance, Lin Ting dressed very formally. His makeup and styling were handled by the production team, and he had become quite familiar with the makeup artist during the recording of the show.
Lin Ting was chatting with the makeup artist while getting her makeup done.
"Your skin is really good, but you're prone to dark circles." The makeup artist gently lifted Lin Ting's chin, straightened his face, and carefully examined his eye makeup.
Lin Ting was a little embarrassed. "Am I causing you trouble? I do get dark circles under my eyes if I don't sleep well."
The makeup artist said nonchalantly, "It's okay, it just shows how skilled I am. I can cover up your dark circles no matter how heavy they are... But you still need to get some sleep. Regular sleep is the best skincare."
After Lin Ting finished her makeup, she thanked the makeup artist and walked towards the stage.
Lin Ting heard the rehearsal sounds from afar; they were very faint, but he still immediately recognized who the performers were.
He walked slowly over and saw staff carrying things along the way.
Although there were lights backstage, it was very dark. Occasionally, a few flashes of light appeared at the end of the corridor; these were probably laser effects from the stage.
He stepped out of the passage, his voice suddenly amplified, and a beam of light shone directly on the vicinity of the pavilion, making the dust in the air glitter.
In that instant, Lin Ting recalled a scene from many years ago... If Zhao Qinfeng had made it onto that stage at that music festival, he would have watched him from below, like a speck of dust illuminated by light, even his aimless drifting seemed pleasant.
Lin Ting stood to the side, watching quietly for a while. Zhao Qinfeng stopped singing halfway through and whispered to the staff member next to him.
He watched for a while, then left.
When Lin Ting sat down, he turned to look at the audience.
The audience seats were packed this time, unlike any previous recording.
As the situation improved, the production team was finally able to get the audience to the venue. Although everyone had to wear masks in accordance with epidemic prevention requirements, they were at least physically present there.
Lin Ting looked ahead and saw a familiar host.
"Dear audience members, mentors, guests, and students, good evening! I am Liu Pin, the host of this final stage. At this moment, I feel both honored and humbled. Perhaps two years ago, we would have taken such a scene for granted, but after experiencing the pandemic, I am very happy to see so many audience members here again. This shows that our country's epidemic prevention and control work has achieved remarkable results. It is precisely because of this that we are able to gather here together to watch this grand performance."
Applause erupted from both the stage and the audience.
According to the performance schedule, the revival competition was to be held first tonight. However, before the revival competition officially started, all the lights in the venue suddenly went out, leaving only the big screen still glowing.
A video was displayed on the big screen.
The video begins with a snow-white door. Lin Ting felt it looked familiar. He quickly recognized it as the door to the rehearsal room. During the few seconds the video paused, Lin Ting could even vaguely make out which rehearsal room it was from a scratch on the wall next to the door.
A pair of hands reached out from the side of the screen, grasped the doorknob, and then pressed down to open the door.
The singing flowed out from under the door. A trainee was practicing singing with the speakers in the rehearsal room. He noticed the camera, and instead of stopping, he raised his hand and waved, as if to greet everyone on the other side of the screen.
This was a contestant who was eliminated in the first performance; Lin Ting remembers he was in the singing category.
The camera then switched many times, showing one eliminated trainee after another appearing in the video, with the background mostly being practice rooms and rehearsal venues.
Even when they didn't have the chance to perform on stage, they continued to practice diligently, waiting for the next opportunity to be seen.
Finally, the big screen went dark, and a melodious tune filled the air.
The melody wasn't sad, but cheerful. Against this background music, the stage lights gradually came on, and the trainees who had just appeared in the video walked out one by one and stood in two rows.
Each person sang a short verse; the lyrics were simple, yet incredibly moving. They smiled, waved, and their eyes shone with the light from the stage, reflecting the gaze of the audience.
The first performance was not by the first contestant to perform, but by all the contestants who participated in the revival round.
Lin Ting was unaware of this arrangement beforehand. She sat there smiling and joined everyone in giving them the warmest applause.
When Lin Ting actually started scoring, her hands were trembling.
The production team had already divided the trainees into two groups. Their requirement was to give the trainees who would make it to the end a 0.5-point higher score and the other trainees a 0.5-point lower score.
The scoring mechanism for the final performance is slightly different from that of the previous performances. The mentors and commentators remain the same, but the scoring that was originally given to the students is now given to the live audience.
Lin Ting finally put down his pen. The score in his mind was "9", but after subtracting 0.5 points, the score was "8".
After watching all the programs, Lin Ting's initial emotions from the opening video and program had completely vanished.
After all the contestants who participated in the revival competition had finished their performances, there was a score tallying session, and all the contestants stood nervously on the stage waiting.
Lin Ting watched them quietly, still smiling, but her eyes were somewhat vacant.
Wang Qiong sat down next to him and patted his back imperceptibly. "It's alright, their trip wasn't in vain."
Lin Ting smiled gratefully at him, though he didn't seem comforted at all.
After the results were announced, the two contestants who received special treatment from the production team indeed secured the top two spots. The third-place contestant was only 0.2 points behind them, and the fourth-place contestant was 0.6 points behind. Both the third and fourth-place contestants received low scores, and without the production team's manipulation, they would have had a chance to be revived.
However, the results have already been announced, and the applause from the audience belongs to the two students who have been revived, while the rest of the students tried one last time but only earned the opportunity to be background figures.
Lin Ting didn't listen carefully to what the host Liu Pin said; he simply adjusted his demeanor silently, trying his best not to let others notice anything amiss.
Between the revival round and the subsequent competitions of the trainees, there were also programs featuring the mentors.
Zhao Qinfeng and another mentor went to wait in the waiting area and left the mentors' seat first.
As Liu Pin read the opening remarks, the staff quickly ran up and down, arranging the stage equipment. After a while, Lin Ting realized that the room had gone dark again. Because he was positioned relatively close to the stage, he could vaguely see Zhao Qinfeng and another mentor already in place, waiting for the performance to begin.
They sang a song about parting, which was completely different from the cheerful song the trainees sang at the beginning.
But the song ultimately rests on hope. Parting is for the next meeting; as long as we always hold onto hope, this parting will not be seen as a final farewell.
Lin Ting leaned back slightly, blinked, and held back her tears, preventing them from falling.
He was worried that his tears would ruin his makeup.
The next mentor's performance was much more exciting, featuring a "medley + rap" routine. The fast pace made the audience hold back their tears and start swaying along.
The crowd's emotions were tossed about, but eventually returned to calm. The final round of sixteen to eight finally arrived.
Lin Ting picked up the scoring sheet again with some difficulty and placed it on her lap.
The sixteen programs were divided into two rounds. The first or second round was determined by drawing lots, but the performance order within each round was decided by the trainees themselves.
Lin Ting found the program order quite interesting. Their arrangement was similar to the two programs from the mentors, both emphasizing a "contrast"—an upbeat song followed by a sad love song, and a sweet and beautiful song followed by a cool and explosive performance.
Although scoring was extremely painful for Lin Ting, with almost every stroke making him uncomfortable, the program's arrangement truly gave him the feeling of riding a roller coaster, causing his emotions to fluctuate wildly. This required him to maintain his scoring state with absolute focus, which somewhat alleviated the pain caused by scoring.
After the first round, the mentors still had to perform as part of the intermission. Lin Ting thought aimlessly, thankfully the director only asked the mentors to perform, and didn't ask the guest judges to perform. If they had been called up, they would probably only be able to perform a poetry recitation, with the three of them each reciting a line, over and over again. Lin Ting imagined that scene and couldn't help but laugh.
Zhao Qinfeng leaned closer and asked him, "What are you laughing at?"
Lin Ting raised her head and whispered a few words.
The various sounds at the scene were mixed together, almost noisy, so Zhao Qinfeng couldn't hear what Lin Ting said at all; he could only see his lips moving a few times.
Zhao Qinfeng asked again, "What did you say?"
Lin Ting whispered in his ear, "I won't tell you."
Perhaps Lin Ting was too close, because his lips brushed against Zhao Qinfeng's earlobe.
Zhao Qinfeng heard it clearly this time, but it made no difference whether he heard it clearly or not. Zhao Qinfeng turned his head away from Lin Ting and stared intently at the stage.
Before the show even started, Lin Ting noticed that Zhao Qinfeng was watching so intently, but he deliberately avoided looking at her. Finding this amusing, Lin Ting moved closer and told Zhao Qinfeng about her strange imaginings.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qinfeng said in a serious tone, "Then the song they're going to sing next might be quite suitable as background music for a poetry recitation."
Lin Ting hadn't paid much attention to what the programs were scheduled for the intermission. Just as she was about to look up the program schedule, a powerful shout suddenly resounded throughout the studio.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ting turned to look at Zhao Qinfeng, and they both laughed.
The song sung by the mentors on stage at this moment was righteous and awe-inspiring, with every word powerful and resounding. If it were a version without vocals, it would indeed be very suitable for their poetry recitation.
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