Chapter 57

Xia Xi bowed to the audience and, holding the microphone, slowly made her way to the competition’s rest area. At this moment, her heart was undoubtedly filled with joy as she basked in the flowers and applause.
Listening to the audience behind her still shouting her name, she felt as though she had finally released all the frustration and helplessness she had carried over this time. This was the first time since arriving in this world that she had heard such praise, the recognition she had always longed for in the realm of singing.
This was her honor, and the inevitable result of her hard work! Xia Xi’s joy was palpable.
"Ms. Xia Xi, your singing was incredible!" As Xia Xi approached the door of the lounge, the staff member who had been assigned to her immediately rushed forward, her face beaming with excitement. "The song you just sang, 'Calming the Storm,' is originally by my favorite male singer. But after hearing your rendition, you’ve become my favorite female singer!"
Hearing the young woman’s words, Xia Xi was momentarily taken aback before letting out a soft laugh and waving her hand dismissively. "Thank you for your kind words, but I don’t deserve the title of a female singer. I’m just an amateur who happens to know how to sing."
"Ms. Xia Xi, you’re being too modest," the staff member replied, brushing off Xia Xi’s humility. She believed Xia Xi was secretly proud but merely speaking humbly. With a light laugh, she continued, "Ms. Xia Xi, let’s head into the lounge to rest for a bit. We can watch the competition while waiting for the results. The program team has set up a projector in the lounge so we can see how the others perform on stage."
"Mm," Xia Xi nodded and followed the staff member into the lounge. This lounge was different from the one she had been in earlier. Though slightly smaller, it was equipped with high-end facilities. A large LCD screen hung on the wall, surrounded by several audio devices, and a few small televisions were placed on the table.
Xia Xi thought this place was perfect for monitoring, no, for resting. From here, she could clearly observe the performances of others in the studio. Each television displayed different content, capturing every expression and action of the artists in vivid detail.
As Xia Xi settled in, the television screen showed Ye Wei’s performance. She narrowed her eyes slightly, thinking the timing was perfect, she could now watch Lin Wei’s debut performance on the Cross-Border Singing Joy program.
Lin Wei was dressed in a blue gown, her hair styled into loose golden waves cascading over her shoulders. Her dress was adorned with meticulously designed blue sequins that shimmered brilliantly under the stage lights.
Lin Wei’s outfit was undoubtedly beautiful, but since she performed after Xia Xi, her appearance paled in comparison to Xia Xi’s stunning looks. The audience’s lukewarm applause said it all.
Some say that when God closes a door, He opens a window. But for Lin Wei, this didn’t seem to apply. Her experience of performing right after Xia Xi was nothing short of disastrous, it couldn’t have been worse.
If her attire was barely passable and not particularly impressive, then her singing was even less satisfactory.
Perhaps because Lin Wei had just witnessed Xia Xi's outstanding performance, she seemed a bit nervous and flustered. Her singing today was particularly dreadful, only slightly better than those who are completely tone-deaf, yet still torturing the audience's ears. The spectators below the stage grew visibly impatient.
Even online, the criticism was rampant.
[Listening to Lin Wei sing is nothing short of a disaster. How can her voice be so grating?]
[Can the program team have Xia Xi sing another song? I need some heavenly music to cleanse my ears. I think you should seriously consider this suggestion.]
[Our standards have been raised by Xia Xi's voice, and now you're giving us this? Program team, aren't you being a bit inhumane?]
[After feasting on abalone, suddenly being served a bowl of plain noodle soup is truly unpleasant.]
Of course, the online ridicule of Lin Wei's singing performance was endless, with a wide variety of sarcastic remarks.
After this incident, although netizens still liked to compare Xia Xi and Lin Wei, their attitudes had completely changed, undergoing a dramatic reversal. The previous situation where Xia Xi was criticized while Lin Wei was praised, a one-sided affair, had vanished from that day onward. Moreover, if Xia Xi could continue to sing so beautifully in the future, the number of casual fans with a favorable impression of her would likely keep growing.
After all, the entertainment industry is a place that values both looks and talent, with appearance often taking precedence.
Lin Wei continued performing on stage, her grip on the microphone turning pale, the smile on her lips barely holding up. Though she kept singing, it felt as if she were detached from the experience, never having imagined she would be humiliated to this extent. The audience below gave her no attention at all, they may have been sitting there listening, but their minds had long wandered elsewhere. Lin Wei felt utterly embarrassed in that moment, wishing only for this suffocating scene to end quickly. She deeply engraved this painful experience into her memory, along with the one she blamed for it, Xia Xi. When someone in the audience called out that name, Lin Wei felt a surge of deep hatred well up inside her.
After finishing her song, she retreated in disgrace like a defeated rooster, nearly forgetting to maintain her image.
How ridiculous, she struts like a victorious general, while I am left in such a pathetic state.
Listening to the sparse, scattered applause behind her, Lin Wei's hatred grew even more pronounced. She had originally intended to laugh at Xia Xi's expense, never expecting to end up in such an awkward predicament herself. Even the faint smile on her lips became difficult to sustain.
And when Lin Wei returned to the dressing room and laid eyes on Xia Xi, that hatred reached its peak.
She felt she had never despised someone so much, never wished for someone to vanish so intensely, and now she did. Standing outside the door, watching Xia Xi sitting calmly on the sofa with a faint smile, she was suddenly seized by an impulse, a desire to tear that composed mask right off her face. She thought it shouldn’t be like this. Xia Xi should only have what she herself had discarded; she should always be inferior, she should envy her, not… not this scene unfolding today.
Had something gone wrong somewhere?
It was also at this moment that Lin Wei suddenly realized Xia Xi was an independent person in her own right. Her existence wasn’t meant to serve as a foil to highlight Lin Wei’s excellence. And it was in this moment that Xia Xi’s name truly imprinted itself in Lin Wei’s heart, unforgettable for a lifetime.
Unlike Lin Wei’s complex feelings toward Xia Xi, Xia Xi didn’t harbor much emotion upon seeing Lin Wei. To Xia Xi, Lin Wei was merely an insignificant stranger, and a rather bothersome one at that. Her usual approach to such people was to ignore them, pretending not to see them even if they were in plain sight. So when she noticed Lin Wei entering the lounge, she didn’t even bother to stand up and greet her.
Initially, Xia Xi assumed Lin Wei would avoid her and sit far away, but to her surprise, Lin Wei did something utterly baffling.