A-List Actress: Paper Marriage but Pampering Billionaire-Chapter 187 Li Xinyue

On the judges’ panel, Liu Gaosong, Pan Weiran, Wutu Songya, Shen Donglin, and Zhou Lifen were already seated.

He Na looked at Liu Gaosong and said with a smile, "Mr. Liu, we’ve received many letters from the audience, hoping you won’t be too harsh and will give talented contestants more opportunities. What do you think about this?"

Liu Gaosong had a serious expression, "Real talent stands up to trials. If they are truly outstanding, I will definitely not be a roadblock for them."

He Na faced the audience, "Mr. Liu Gaosong’s words are true. The goal of our program is to select the best singers and the most delightful songs. Now, let’s welcome the first contestant, Li Xinyue."

The camera suddenly shifted backstage, as Li Xinyue stood up and walked out.

He Na, seeing Li Xinyue arrive, smiled and asked, "Xinyue, your score in the first round was quite good, with four approval votes and one dissenting vote. What are your expectations this time?"

Li Xinyue looked at Liu Gaosong and earnestly said, "I hope this time Mr. Liu Gaosong will give me an approval vote."

The moment these words were spoken, the judges were stunned. This was a challenge.

"Mr. Liu Gaosong, you better hold tight to your vote," Pan Weiran joked.

Liu Gaosong was calm, "If you want an approval vote, let your skills do the talking."

"Thank you, teacher." Li Xinyue bowed to him.

He Na exited the stage, and the lights dimmed instantly, bringing a quiet hush over the venue.

With a "snap," a spotlight shone on Li Xinyue as the music began. She moved to the rhythm of the music, her song emerging alongside, "Goodbye my love, I Wanna Say Goodbye, goodbye my past, I Want a New Life..."

The atmosphere seemed ablaze, with the judges listening intently.

In the lounge, Mu Yan was also absorbed, unable to deny Li Xinyue’s considerable talent.

As the song ended, Li Xinyue bowed to the audience and judges.

He Na took to the stage, smiling, "Xinyue, you’re in great shape today."

Li Xinyue earnestly replied, "I’ve been preparing this song for a long time, planning to sing it during the finals."

"Wow, Xinyue is really confident, already thinking about the finals," He Na asked, "So why did you choose to perform it today?"

"I felt my last performance wasn’t perfect," Li Xinyue sincerely said, "and I’m someone who has high standards for myself."

"This show is a platform for contestants to showcase their best selves. Xinyue put it well." He Na affirmed her and then turned to the judges’ panel.

"I wonder what opinions the judges have for Xinyue?"

From the moment Li Xinyue started her performance, live chat comments poured in.

"This girl is bold."

"This song is indeed much better than her last one, very exciting."

"But I don’t think she’ll get Liu Gaosong’s vote."

...

In the club’s private room, Ning Ze was scrolling through comments on his phone with a hint of disdain, "What kind of singing is this? Just wait until my goddess takes the stage; she’ll totally outshine her."

Lu Hao, Dong Le, and others gathered drinking, overhearing Ning Ze’s self-talk. Dong Le, a bit speechless, said, "Are you going to drink or not? We’ve had several rounds already."

"Drink, of course!" Ning Ze put his phone away and joined them.

Anyway, it’ll be a while before the goddess takes the stage.

Lu Hao inquired, "Isn’t Old Jiang coming?"

"He just called; Brother Jiang said he isn’t coming. It’s Friday, and Brother Jiang has to go home," Dong Le replied.

"Makes sense. Well, since he’s not coming, let’s drink by ourselves."

In the Jiang Family Mansion, Jiang Wenhao asked the servant who brought him ginseng tea, "Where’s the third young master?"

"The third young master just left not long ago. Do you need to contact him?"

Jiang Wenhao shook his head, "No need."

Going out so late, he must have arranged to meet with friends.

At the program venue, the focus was on Li Xinyue and Liu Gaosong.

Liu Gaosong, as usual, was the first to speak. He said, "The first half of this song was impeccable both in technique and momentum, but in the latter half, your voice didn’t hold, and you cracked during the climax. You should be aware of this. Also, I believe young people should have a balanced mindset."

Li Xinyue looked somewhat hurt but ultimately said, "Thank you, teacher."

The audience gave a round of applause.

Pan Weiran smiled and said, "I think Li Xinyue sang this song well. Although, as Mr. Liu mentioned, there are some flaws, it also shows you have room for improvement. Keep working hard."

Following that, Shen Donglin, Wutu Songya, and Zhou Lifen all expressed their thoughts.

He Na, looking at the judges, said, "Now is the crucial moment to decide Xinyue’s fate. Please cast your votes."

The judges made their choices decisively, and the final result was two approval votes, three dissenting votes.

The result caused a stir in the audience.

Li Xinyue also couldn’t accept it, looking as if she was about to cry.

In the end, Shen Donglin explained, "This is the semifinals, so we judges need to be more stringent than before. We have a set of standards for the first and second rounds."

With this being the case, the outcome was decided, and Li Xinyue could only exit the stage.

In the lounge, Mu Yan did not expect Li Xinyue to be demoted like this but felt it wasn’t the song that made her lose this round, but her mindset.

Li Xinyue didn’t return to the lounge, and Liu Xiao was already on stage.

He sang quite well; as per Liu Gaosong’s evaluation, it was fine—not stunning but without any faults. The final result was four approval votes and one dissenting vote.

Undoubtedly, the dissenting vote was from Liu Gaosong.

The audience felt relieved seeing Liu Xiao advance as it wasn’t as strict as they had imagined.

Next up was Mu Yan.

Her position was quite advantageous, neither too high nor too low.

She stepped onto the stage, colorful lights shining upon her as the music began.

She raised her hand to adjust her earpiece, listened to the rhythm, picked up the microphone, and began to sing along to the music.

"You were the first to discover me, the more expressionless I am, the more sadness I feel inside, so when I refuse to cry and tremble, you hold me tenderly in your chest..."

In the judges’ panel, Zhou Lifen looked at Mu Yan with malice in her eyes.

She had a feeling that if she didn’t stop her, this little witch would go further and climb higher.

Unfortunately, she had already lost leverage last time, so she had to be careful this time.

As for Shen Donglin and others, they listened to her singing attentively.

After the song ended, applause erupted from the audience as He Na came onto the stage.

Mu Yan finally spoke to the audience below, "Hello everyone, I’m Mu Yan."

"Mu Yan, Mu Yan..." suddenly, chants erupted from the back right section.

Mu Yan followed the sound and saw a group of people holding glow cards and cheering for her.

He Na smiled and said, "Oh, there are quite a lot of Mu Yan fans here today."

Mu Yan raised her hand to cover her mouth, fearing she might lose control of her emotions and do something unseemly.

Although it wasn’t her first time receiving fan support, she felt very excited.

She bowed to the fans, "Thank you all for your support."

The applause grew even more enthusiastic.

He Na said, "Don’t get too excited. You’re so outstanding, your fans will only grow."

Mu Yan thought for a moment and smiled, "I think my fans are more outstanding because they chose me."

This remark not only made the audience clap but also led the judges to applaud as well.

Once the applause subsided, He Na looked toward the judges, "I wonder how the judges would evaluate Mu Yan’s recent performance."