I want the person I want
The quarterfinals are an internal battle within the team.
In this round, each of the four teams has two contestants remaining. The two contestants will switch from teammates to opponents and perform the same song on the same stage. After the song, the judges, media, and audience will vote to determine who stays and who goes.
Jiang Songyun and LEO are neck and neck at the top of the leaderboard. Before their performance, the host excitedly announced that the next stage would feature a showdown between two champions. All the viewers watching the competition must be just as curious as he is about how these two popular contestants will balance cooperation and competition, and what kind of chemistry they will bring...
This should be the piece that Jiang Songyun mentioned in a video call last month, the piece he and LEO were going to practice together for the assessment.
Jiang Songhe recalled the sinister look in LEO's eyes, and the fact that this round was similar to the two-on-one duels in the preliminary rounds, along with the fact that the contestant who competed against Jiang Songyun back then was unruly on stage and plotted to harm her off stage, made her heart jump.
He felt even more guilty for not being there to witness it once again.
This time it was even worse; he not only broke his promise to his lover, but also to his younger brother. After all his busy and aimless efforts, he missed out on everything that was most important and what he wanted most, ending up empty-handed and having grasped nothing properly.
With only two rounds left in the Star Show finals, Jiang Songhe finally dragged her suitcase into the crowd at the front, wanting to see and hear more clearly, ideally imprinted on her retina and eardrums.
The camera zooms in on a hand under the spotlight, which snaps its fingers in time with the intro music, then moves up the arm to show the upper body from behind.
“Warning!” He placed his other hand on the shoulder of the person in front of him and tapped his fingers together. He stopped, then pushed the person aside, revealing Jiang Songyun’s triumphant smile. “Ha!”
It was Jiang Songhe's clever use of the CALLBACK during the preliminary rounds that revealed the team mentor's pre-competition guidance.
Although Janus has not yet exercised his precious right to save others, Jiang Songhe has already secretly put aside the preconceived questions that have been causing him conflict. He smiled slightly, his bruises fading, and focused on using his senses to record his younger brother's moments of brilliance.
It's also a song and dance performance.
With the help of the styling team and the physique honed through intensive training, Jiang Songyun is handsome and refined, already possessing the look of a vibrant idol. His breath control is more stable, his aura is stronger, and he is in no way inferior to his opponent who had already won the competition in the semi-finals.
Jiang Songhe paid some attention to LEO. This kid might have really been generous enough to teach Jiang Songyun dance and music theory. Perhaps the friend her younger brother chose in Maner was actually quite good.
As the camera panned around, Jiang Songhe spotted a bunch of unidentified objects covered by an MGT embroidered cloth in a corner of the field. Judging from their size and outline, they appeared to be a drum set.
There was only one set, and both of them on stage were wearing high boots that could just hide the drumsticks. Jiang Songhe guessed that the two young men would later use the skills they had learned from each other to compete in a tit-for-tat manner.
Although Jiang Songhe had hoped that his younger brother could relax and take it easy, the atmosphere had reached this point, and he couldn't help but push his luck, still hoping that his brother could win and leave no regrets.
So he then focused his attention on observing the surrounding area of the arena on the screen, trying to find the points where the protective devices would rise and fall.
Not found.
Jiang Songhe looked at the square platforms on the stage, which were of varying heights and resembled plum blossom stakes, and his brows gradually furrowed.
Jiang Songyun's brain was working at high speed, assessing the risk factor of filming the scene of seeking a craft in "Yan Ge Xing" and recalling how parkour enthusiasts could complete those difficult moves without protective gear.
The sound of drums playing came from the screen's speakers. Jiang Songhe looked closely and saw the camera smoothly push up from the embroidered silk cloth covering the ground, lingering on the drum logo for a few seconds before continuing to push up, finally giving a close-up of the person sitting behind the drums.
The drummer is LEO.
Judging from his smooth and efficient movements, Jiang Songyun had been holding nothing back beforehand.
The director then switched the camera to the mentors' seats, where Tre and Kun Ji'en, who were dealing with musical instruments, exchanged a smile. Kun Ji'en spread his hands and pouted with an approving expression, while Tre put his hand on his forehead, leaned back, and then stood up, stuffing his earphones into one hand and waving towards the stage with the other.
Rosa covered her mouth, then placed her hands on her chest, outwardly displaying her overwhelming surprise.
Janus, however, lacked his usual enthusiastic response to the rhythm. The pen twirled a few times in his hand before falling onto the table. He didn't pick it up but instead stared intently at the stage with a serious expression...
The director seemed to intentionally follow Janus's gaze and quickly cut the camera back to the stage.
The music style suddenly changes during the Bridge section, with the iconic Chinese folk music melody spreading far and wide. A long, slender leg hangs down from the platform, swinging gently a few times before being pulled back up.
The camera pans up, and Jiang Songyun sits cross-legged, tilts his head back, and raises the small pottery jar in his hand. After every drop of the transparent liquid has flowed into his open mouth, Jiang Songyun squints one eye and chuckles twice. He casually tosses the pottery jar aside, and then, seemingly drunk, sways as he stands up from the square platform.
The boy's figure was like a slender willow branch swaying in the wind, strong yet flexible, with a very steady footing.
Jiang Songhe could guess that this was another clever callback, and she could also guess that Jiang Songyun wouldn't put liquor in that pottery jar, but watching her younger brother tumble from one high platform to another like a martial arts master, she suddenly stopped breathing and didn't dare to make a sound.
LEO's drum kit and accompaniment complemented each other surprisingly well, and Kang Song-yoon followed the increasingly loud and fast drumbeats, his movements becoming more and more frequent.
Jiang Songhe gripped the handle of her suitcase tightly outside the screen, her gaze darting back and forth between the two figures on the screen, afraid that LEO's skills were not up to par and that he might hit the wrong beat too hard or mess it up, disturbing Jiang Songyun on the high platform.
Thankfully, no.
After a series of drum-like strikes, LEO tossed the drumsticks up and caught them, and the accompaniment melody returned to a calmer tone.
He gently placed the drumsticks on the drumhead, then took the microphone from the microphone stand in front of the drum, stood up and continued singing the chorus, turning to look at Jiang Songyun, who had not yet come down from the height.
Jiang Songyun straightened his limbs, took a half step to the side, and then swept his leg high. He leaped forward two more times, and by the third leap, half of his body had already extended beyond the edge of the platform. With his other foot pushing off the edge, he lost all his willow-like grace and, like a swallow or the wind, gracefully descended from the air...
Gasps and gasps of surprise rose and fell simultaneously both on and off the screen.
The camera pans around the perimeter of the stage at a steady speed before returning to the stage and moving to the center. Jiang Songyun has landed steadily, kneeling on one leg with his hand on his knee, his shoulders and back rising and falling as if he is adjusting his breathing.
The gasps turned into cheers, and the atmosphere instantly became lively and exciting.
Jiang Songhe, however, was frowning as she stared at the beads of sweat on Jiang Songyun's forehead, the temperature of which was unreadable. Just as Jiang Songyun landed his somersault, something was thrown off his body at the same time.
Jiang Songyun maintained his pose on screen for far too long; it's unclear whether this situation affected him. His prolonged motion raises questions: was he injured, or was the object he flung out precisely what he needed for the upcoming performance?
No matter how amazing a killer move is, the cheers and jubilation will eventually subside.
Seeing that Jiang Songyun hadn't moved yet, the director switched from a close-up to a wide shot. LEO was seen singing as he took a few steps toward Jiang Songyun, then turned back behind the drum kit, used the interlude to put the microphone back on the stand, picked up the drumsticks again, and raised his hand.
As soon as a loud gong sounded, Jiang Songyun suddenly looked up as if waking from a dream, a look of shock flashing across his face. He immediately got up and got into character, pretending to dance by brushing his hair aside to straighten his earpiece. After striking another beat of the snare drum, he began to sing his part.
The camera focused on Kang Song-yoon again, but never showed his lower body.
Jiang Songhe noticed a bulging vein under Jiang Songyun's ear, glistening with sweat, and was startled. Judging from the pattern of each person performing a section at a time, Jiang Songyun would most likely miss his turn to perform on the drums.
Whether LEO was saving the day or picking up a bargain, or whether the thing that just threw at Jiang Songyun was a drumstick or something else, Jiang Songhe didn't have time to think about it. All he wanted to know was whether his brother had been injured or how seriously he had been hit when he landed.
With no room for anything else in her eyes, Jiang Songhe dared not miss any of Jiang Songyun's remaining shots until the song ended. Then, guided by the host, Jiang Songyun and LEO stood side by side in the center of the stage.
Although Jiang Songyun tried to smile, the initial light in her eyes had disappeared.
The four mentors had different expressions. Tre, who had extended an olive branch to Jiang Songyun in the preliminary round, was the first to comment. He first praised the overall stage performance and the tacit cooperation between the two contestants, and then generously praised LEO's breakthrough performance, whose strength was beyond doubt.
When it was Jiang Songyun's turn, Tre's face was full of regret. His comments were tactful yet realistic: if it weren't for the mistakes that followed, he could almost foresee the scene of his chosen seed player winning the trophy. He felt very sorry for this unexpected event.
Kun Ji'en's commentary style remained sharp and incisive, bluntly stating that Jiang Songyun was too eager for quick success and greedy for more than he could handle, therefore he probably wouldn't live to see the moment Jiang Songyun spoke of proving himself in his music theory class.
After the first two people finished their comments, Jiang Songyun's head was already hanging very low.
Rosa didn't dwell on the mistake. Instead, she gently inquired whether Kang Song-yoon was injured. She then praised his spirit of daring to take on challenges and highly commended his solo performance, excluding the mistake. She also stated that a brief mishap shouldn't negate the overall excellent presentation.
At the end of her sentence, she glanced at the silver-haired judge beside her, seeking his support, and asked, "So what do you think, Janus?"
"I think..."
Jiang Songhe pursed her lips and took a breath, waiting for the silver-haired judge to remain solemnly silent for a long time. Then, she saw him slowly pick up a dazzling card from the table with two fingers and stare at the live broadcast camera.
"I want who I want."
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