Chapter Sixty Opponents
Upon arriving at the song selection area, Meng Fanxi was surprised to see the setup that had sprung up from the ground. A fence had been erected outside, leaving only one entrance.
Standing not far from the entrance, you can see that there are uniformly sized small houses inside, all arranged in even numbers, some with four in a row, and some with two in a row.
Some teams may have already entered the song room, but from the outside, it's impossible to tell the difference.
Meng Fanxi saw Faith5 and Dream hesitating in front of the song hut, and they also planned to go in through the entrance and head straight for "Swimming Fish".
The staff at the entrance stopped them, holding up a sign with instructions: "Please be sure to read these instructions before entering. Once inside, the door opening means you have made your choice; there is no right to back out. You can only enter the room. Anyone who violates the rules will have their choice revoked."
Meng Fanxi understood. He looked at his teammates and said, "It seems there's no rule that a song can only be selected once per room. The production team allows repeated selections."
I'm afraid that the show's producers might be hoping that choosing the same song as another team is what they actually want, and there might be some additional rules waiting in the wings.
They had nothing to hesitate about; other teams were the ones who needed to consider how to avoid picking the same items as them.
With Faith5 and Dream watching, the six of them went directly into the small house with the words "Swimming Fish" written on it. There was no one inside. Before going in, Meng Fanxi took a special look at the name posted on the door next to him. Sure enough, it was "The Order of Freedom".
Qi Huaiyan, the former leader of Fancy who had joined the Dream group, frowned as he watched the six eternal stars enter the "Swimming Fish" room. "Are we going to give up on this song?"
Their group's first choice was "Swimming Fish," but after hearing the instructions before entering, they realized they might choose the same song as other teams, so they hesitated and didn't go in. After the current number one ranked group entered, they were only disappointed.
Seeing the unwillingness in Qi Huaiyan and his teammates' eyes, Mi Ming, the leader of the Dream group, comforted them, "It's okay, we still have backup options. Right now, we need to ensure our right to choose. If we choose the same song as a team with a higher ranking, and the ranking takes precedence in the end, then we will be at a great disadvantage."
They had no choice but to move to the other side of the alternative songs. Faith5 also went to another cabin, opened the door and went inside, but there was no movement, so there was probably no one there.
Just then, a voice called out to Mi Ming from behind.
It was Zhongli Fu; his team had just arrived and was jogging over.
Qi Huaiyan saw Zhong Chu in the middle of the group, a complex and unreadable light flashing in his eyes. The two did not exchange pleasantries, but nodded to each other in greeting.
Zhong Lifu put his arm around Mi Ming's shoulder with a friendly smile, "You guys arrived early, did you see which songs the other teams chose?"
Mi Ming asked, "Which team? Faith5? They chose 'How Not How'."
Zhong Lifu raised an eyebrow, a hint of delight appearing on his face, but he wasn't satisfied. "What about the six Eternal Stars? Did you see them? Which one did they choose?"
Before Mi Ming could think of an answer, Qi Huaiyan interrupted, "No."
He looked at Mi Ming and said, "Captain, Jiang Zhen and the others are here. Let's hurry up and choose a song."
Jiang Zhen is one place ahead of them, and his competitiveness in song selection is much higher than that of the WONE group. The only problem is that the two sides might choose the same song. They need to take the lead under Jiang Zhen's watchful eye. Given the unclear rules regarding repeated song selection, they need to gamble that Jiang Zhen will not dare to take the risk.
Mi Ming's desire to express himself vanished instantly. He told Zhong Lifu and led the team quickly to the room where the alternative songs were located. They found no one inside and went in without incident.
Zhong Lifu stared at their retreating figures, hesitant to speak, then looked helplessly at his teammates.
Jin Ziran said calmly, "Let's go choose a song."
Meng Fanxi was bored sitting in the room. There was a window on the wall, but it was just for decoration and you couldn't see outside at all. There was a vent on it to exchange fresh air.
Sitting in this small room, all sensory experiences were amplified. Footsteps and muffled conversations from outside kept coming in. Meng Fanxi couldn't sit still, so he stood up and wandered aimlessly around the room.
The walls look a bit strange.
He stared at the wall covered by plastic leaves, wanting to reach out and knock on it.
Just as I raised my hand, I heard footsteps coming from the doorway, growing clearer and clearer, indicating that a group of people were walking towards me.
The group looked at each other in pairs, all staring in the direction of the door. Meng Fanxi also lowered his raised hand and stood quietly.
Their breathing became lighter, and a sound came from the doorway.
"We've arrived." Meng Fanxi recognized Han Jia's voice.
The doorknob was slowly turned.
As the situation progressed, Meng Fanxi remained remarkably calm, as did the other five, who remained seated steadily, their fighting spirit growing stronger with each passing moment.
"You little rascal!" Zhongli Fu laughed and scolded, then put the doorknob back in place. "It's almost time, and you're still indulging your selfish desires here."
It seemed that Zhongli Fu had pulled Han Jia away. The sounds at the door gradually faded, and the door next to it opened.
“It’s ‘The Order of Freedom’.” Meng Fanxi’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a hint of the excitement of starting a game. “We didn’t choose a song, but we still have to compete.” If their guess was correct.
“It’s destined, Will and Baihe, the Eternal Six Stars and WONE.” Xu You’s eyes shone brightly, concealing an endless competitive spirit.
...
After a while, people kept passing by their house and lingering outside, but no one came in.
For Eternal Six Stars, they have a lot of options, but for other teams, they also need to consider avoiding popular songs and popular teams.
At that moment, a noisy sound came from the nearby hut on the other side.
"It's over!"
"How did you get in there! We thought about this for so long, why!"
"Why did you come in...?"
Zuo Anping's loud voice was so prominent that everyone immediately realized that Jiangzhen boy and the other team had chosen the same song, and the other team seemed to be "Five Grains in Abundance".
Regardless, they all entered the same room, the door shutting out the noise.
At 10:00 sharp, the loudspeaker in the room announced: "All teams have entered the song selection room. Congratulations to the ten teams that have directly confirmed their performance songs. In addition, two teams from each team have selected the same song and are now in the pending state."
Gu Huailang was unusually surprised: "Undetermined status?" Although it had nothing to do with them, their empathy gave them a bad feeling.
"Five Grains Abundant Harvest and Jiangzhen Boys chose 'Between the Old and the New,' while SEVEN and Zhiqiao Boys chose 'Dance.'" The voice on the radio seemed somewhat disappointed, as the teams that chose the same song were not in the top ranks, making it less interesting.
"Now, according to the rules, the groups that have entered the pending state will be disbanded and reorganized, and they will only have the opportunity to return to their original teams after the first performance."
As expected, Meng Fanxi shook his head slightly; the production team still loved to break up groups.
He couldn't see the expressions on those teams' faces, but they must have been upset. Who would have thought that choosing a song would lead to splitting up the teams?
Then the production team introduced a long list of group splitting rules, mainly based on the individual rankings of the initial stage. The top-ranked individuals formed one group, and the rest formed another. The top-ranked groups stayed in the room with the selected songs. Among the remaining groups, the two groups were ranked according to the sum of the individual rankings, and the group with the higher ranking could choose from the last two songs.
In short, the rules are in the hands of the production team, and the four teams are rearranged in pairs.
The door next door opened and closed, and Zuo Anping's loud voice was no longer heard.
The announcement came over the loudspeaker again: "Now, all teams have chosen their performance pieces for the first performance."
"Is there something you've forgotten?" the production team began, keeping everyone in suspense.
Many teams looked bewildered in their respective song rooms.
Meng Fanxi leaned back in his chair, staring speechlessly at the ceiling. Sometimes he really felt that the production team took pleasure in teasing them.
"This performance is a themed competition with a total of 7 themes. The songs you have chosen represent specific themes, and also represent..."
"A predetermined opponent".
As expected.
Meng Fanxi took a deep breath, stood up, stretched his body, and straightened his shoulders. He walked to the wall that he found strange. Lin Ruo and the others also came over. Although they didn't know what he wanted to do, they all stood around him.
The voices coming from the broadcast couldn't hide their excitement, as if they could already see the shocked reactions of many teams from the other end of the broadcast.
"Now, please welcome your competitors into the room."
As soon as he finished speaking, the "wall" vibrated. It turned out to be a sliding door with a mechanism set up. The door slowly opened, and plastic leaves fell down.
Meng Fanxi calmly watched the door move, and the person hidden on the other side also revealed their figure, their appearance gradually becoming clear. Standing at the front was Jin Ziran.
He and Jin Ziran were standing two meters apart at the front of the line. Jin Ziran was clearly surprised, and his expression cracked slightly, but he regained his composure when he saw the cameraman in the corner.
Jin Ziran was the first to show a surprised yet perfectly timed smile: "It's you? It's an honor to be your opponent."
The word "opponent" was used with great emphasis. Meng Fanxi suddenly remembered that Zhang Yang had once said to Jin Ziran that he would not consider him an opponent.
Jin Ziran is such a show-off.
Meng Fanxi maintained a good expression throughout, with a gentle smile always on his lips: "We are not rivals, but just happen to be on opposite sides. I hope we can work together to bring a wonderful performance to the audience."
Anyone can be disgusting.
He wouldn't let Jin Ziran flatter him. What opponent? Others might be worthy, but he wasn't.
The audience won't know the inside story; they'll just think that the eternal six stars are unwilling to make enemies, thus gaining some goodwill.
Jin Ziran was clearly taken aback, his brows furrowing in a dark expression, but they paid no attention.
After the recording ended, the six of them practiced together in the practice room until evening.
Back in the dorm, before I even turned on the lights, I saw the TV screen was already lit.
They walked away silently and tacitly, wondering why they were bothering people so late at night.
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