Chapter 137: Recording the Third Episode

The next day.

The popularity of "The Voice" continued to soar. Although the first episode had already finished airing on Xiangjiang Satellite TV, the viewership growth on Xiangguo Video remained staggering. Not all viewers could stay glued to their televisions at the scheduled time, so those who missed the broadcast chose to log into Xiangguo Video during their free time.

Furthermore, several trending topics—including "The Voice," Fang Xing, and Li Siqi—had climbed the search rankings, drawing in many casual viewers who had previously paid no attention to the show.

Beyond that, the legendary singer Liu Hongsheng was another major selling point for "The Voice." After a three-year hiatus, his return to the stage on "The Voice" also hit the trending lists. However, since Liu's fanbase consisted largely of people who had long since become parents, their overlap with typical Weibo users was not high. Consequently, the heat surrounding his trending topics could not compare to those of Fang Xing and Li Siqi. Moreover, many self-media outlets had published press releases about his appearance, meaning his presence on the trending charts was partially driven by operational efforts.

...

The day after the first episode aired was Saturday, which was also the recording day for the third episode of "The Voice."

Fang Xing had just gotten up that morning and was brushing his teeth in the bathroom when the doorbell rang. Opening the door, he found the show's camera crew. The director in charge of the follow-up footage greeted him: "Good morning, Teacher Fang. We’ve come to film some daily footage. Is that convenient?"

Fang Xing took out his toothbrush and asked, "Do you need to film me brushing my teeth?"

"If you don't mind, we can. But don't worry, Teacher Fang; if the shot doesn't look cool enough, we won't edit it into the main episode," the director replied. As the follow-up director, she wanted to capture as much footage as possible as long as the guest didn't object. The more material she gathered, the more successful her mission was. As for whether it would make the final cut, that was outside her scope of work.

Fang Xing let the crew into the room and returned to the bathroom to finish brushing. After washing his face, he poked his head out and asked, "What time does the rehearsal start?"

"Your rehearsal is scheduled for 10:00 AM, so you have two hours," the director replied.

Fang Xing finished washing his face and asked, "Who is the substitute singer today?"

"That’s confidential," the director said with a smile, shaking her head.

"Then tell me this: do I know them?" Fang Xing asked curiously.

During the first episode, the identities of all seven original singers had been kept secret. After that episode, their identities were revealed, so there was no need for further secrecy. However, starting from the third episode, a substitute singer would join every two episodes. Since the new arrival's identity hadn't been leaked, the production team kept it under wraps. This was a key element of the show's design, intended to make the audience obsess over guessing the identity of the new singer. Once the audience started guessing, they would be sure to watch the next episode, boosting viewership ratings.

The director thought for a moment and replied, "You should know the substitute singer, Teacher Fang. At the very least, you’ve seen them on television."

Fang Xing rolled his eyes. "How is that any different from saying nothing? There aren't many singers who could be invited to 'The Voice' that I’ve never seen before, right?"

The director pulled out a few boards and said, "I have some questions about the substitute singer's identity. Why don't you take a guess, Teacher Fang?" She flipped over the first board: "Question one: Is the substitute singer male or female?"

Fang Xing raised an eyebrow, quipping, "Isn't this Director Zheng's line? How did it end up here?"

The director didn't explain, simply saying, "These are the production team's questions. Just take a guess."

Fang Xing thought for a moment and immediately saw through the team's scheme. "Last time, you had us rank the original singers, and that ranking determined the performance order. So, these boards definitely aren't just for fun—they have to do with the performance order, don't they?"

The director stifled a laugh but didn't answer.

Fang Xing rubbed his chin. "Fine, silence means I'm right. Male or female? Last round, one female singer and one male singer were eliminated, and Shen Xiyin won the challenge to become a formal starter in the third episode. Following your pattern, you’ll want to maintain a relatively balanced ratio of male to female singers. In other words, there's a high probability that this mysterious substitute singer is male."

"Are you sticking with male? You're not changing your answer?" the director asked while writing 'Male' on the board. She then flipped to the second board: "Question two: What is the age group of the substitute singer? Four options: under 20, 21 to 30, 31 to 40, and 41 to 50."

Fang Xing raised an eyebrow. "I've gained a piece of useful information: this substitute singer is under 50. Well, that seems useless. Under 20 is unlikely, and anyone under 30 is considered a young singer; even if they joined the show, they'd likely be a challenger. The most probable range is 31 to 40."

The director wrote down his answer and flipped to the third board: "Final question: The substitute singer has a special privilege—they can choose the performance order. So, which position do you think they will choose for themselves?"

"The sixth spot, I suppose. There hasn't been an exception; as long as they can choose, they basically always pick sixth." After answering, Fang Xing asked, "How will the final performance order be determined? Based on the accuracy of these answers?"

The director answered directly this time: "Yes, the performance order is arranged based on the accuracy of your answers."

Fang Xing asked again, "Wait a minute, the one who answers most accurately won't be first, will they?" If it were that careless, Fang Xing felt he might have been hoodwinked by the production team again.

The director shook her head. "No, the order is decided by the substitute singer."

"How?"

"The production team has already asked the substitute singer to rank the performance slots from best to worst."

...

Fang Xing understood the rule immediately. It meant that whichever slot the substitute singer considered the best would be given to the original singer who answered the questions most accurately, and so on. If the substitute singer was an eccentric with a different way of thinking, the final order could be completely reversed.

Fang Xing stared at the director and said, "Why do I feel like there's a trap in this?"

The director stifled a laugh and said nothing.

...

At 10:00 AM, Fang Xing finished warming up his voice and headed to the recording studio for rehearsals. After an hour, he ran into Shen Xiyin on his way out.

"Hi! Did you just finish rehearsing?" Shen Xiyin waved.

"Yeah, is it your turn now?" Fang Xing asked.

Shen Xiyin nodded. "Yes. I heard your rehearsal from outside just now. Another new song, huh? It's a pity I couldn't hear it clearly."

Fang Xing joked, "You can hear it from outside? Maybe I should stay and listen to yours."

"No way! My song this time isn't very good, you shouldn't listen," Shen Xiyin quickly refused.

Fang Xing was only teasing; after rehearsals ended, the crew would clear the area to prevent contestants from hearing each other's work.

Shen Xiyin changed the subject. "The episode aired yesterday, and you're trending again. You really are a trending machine."

Fang Xing replied, "Didn't you trend, too?"

"I couldn't even crack the top ten. But that's not surprising—'The Brightest Star in the Night Sky' is truly good. Another hit song that's broken out of the bubble. It's terrifying. Don't you have any 'normal' songs?" Shen Xiyin looked at him with envy.

"Actually, I didn't intend to trend," Fang Xing said, spreading his hands.

"Hey! That's too much. You're being way too humble," Shen Xiyin feigned anger.

The production team urged Shen Xiyin to go in for her rehearsal. She waved and said, "I'm going to rehearse now. See you tonight."

Fang Xing waved back and was driven back to the hotel by the production team's shuttle. After a leisurely nap and a relaxed afternoon, at 4:00 PM, the director notified him that it was time to film the singers' entrance sequence.

When Fang Xing arrived at the waiting area, several singers were already sitting on the sofa chatting. Upon seeing him enter, most of the singers stood up to greet him, with the exception of Liu Hongsheng, whose expression remained cold. However, to maintain a facade of harmony, he raised his hand in a slight gesture of greeting.

With all six singers present, they began to speculate about the substitute.

"Do you know who the substitute is?" Xie Yuwen asked first. Everyone shook their heads.

"I ran into Chen Wenshan at the airport. I don't know if it's her. I greeted her, and she said she was just visiting. Who did you all run into at the airport? Maybe it's one of them," Xie Yuwen suggested.

"I ran into Wang Tingwei at the airport. Could it be him?" Shen Xiyin raised her hand.

They discussed back and forth, but reached no conclusion. Xie Yuwen pointed to the ceiling and said, "By the way, what about the challenger? Is the challenger watching us right now? And can the challenger see the substitute singer?"

According to the rules of the first two episodes, the challenger could see the original singers from the start and had to choose one as their target.

Once everyone was gathered, the head director, Zheng Tao, walked in and said, "Alright everyone, stop guessing. You won't be able to figure it out. Also, the challenger can indeed see the six of you. However, the challenger cannot see the substitute singer. In other words, even the challenger doesn't know the identity of the substitute singer today."

Shen Xiyin asked, "Why? Doesn't the challenger have to pick a target?"

Zheng Tao smiled. "Because the substitute singer will not be challenged during their first appearance."

Xie Yuwen quickly asked, "Wait, does 'won't be challenged' mean just tonight, or for two consecutive episodes?"

Zheng Tao replied, "Only tonight. By the next episode, the substitute's identity will be public, and the challenger can then choose them as a target."

Shen Xiyin started to get nervous. "I can be challenged, right? I have a feeling they're going to pick me tonight."

Following the standard logic, a challenger would surely pick the weakest of the original singers. With the substitute off-limits, only six remained. The others were seasoned veterans with many years in the industry, while Fang Xing and Shen Xiyin were relatively new. However, since Fang Xing had won twice in a row, no challenger in their right mind would pick him. Therefore, Shen Xiyin was in great danger.

...

"Next, we will announce the performance order..." Zheng Tao took out a card and announced, "Today's order was determined by the substitute singer. What do you all think the substitute chose for themselves?"

"Definitely sixth. That goes without saying," everyone replied in unison.

Zheng Tao nodded. "Correct. The substitute did choose sixth. However, they consider the most important position to be seventh, which is called the 'closing act.' The sixth position in traditional theater is known as the 'penultimate act.' The substitute felt they couldn't handle the very last slot, so they chose sixth. Therefore, the singer who made the most accurate guesses this morning will perform seventh."

Xie Yuwen raised his hand. "Wait, there were only three questions. What if we get them all right?"

Zheng Tao replied matter-of-factly, "Then we count the time taken. The faster you answer, the higher your ranking."

Xie Yuwen was speechless. "Fine."

Zheng Tao announced the order. As it happened, Liu Hongsheng was fourth, and Fang Xing was fifth. Xie Yuwen was seventh—a very good spot.

"What about the challenger? Who did they choose? Can we know now?" Xie Yuwen continued to ask.

"Yes. This time, the challenger's chosen targets are... Shen Xiyin and Xie Yuwen."

Xie Yuwen immediately raised his eyebrows, feigning anger. "What does that mean? Am I the soft target now? After Fang Xing won twice, you're all picking on me?" The other singers couldn't help but laugh at his banter. Xie Yuwen's variety show performance was excellent—funny and talkative.

Shen Xiyin sighed, "Teacher Xie, what about me? I just joined, and I'm about to be kicked off."

Xie Yuwen pointed at a camera. "Is the challenger watching? Challenge me today and let Shen Xiyin be. Let's see if I'm really a soft target." Everyone was stifling their laughter.

After the order was announced, Zheng Tao added, "Next, I need to announce something very important."

"What is it? Why do I feel like there's a trap?" Xie Yuwen glared.

Zheng Tao smiled. "Before you all arrived, the substitute singer had already entered. While you were discussing, they were staying in the lounge upstairs."

The group's eyes widened, and they quickly turned to look at the upstairs lounge. However, all the doors were closed, and there was no way to tell if anyone was inside.

Zheng Tao added, "Also, the substitute singer can see all of you."

Xie Yuwen grumbled, "Great! The whole world can see us, and we're the ones being toyed with."

Zheng Tao replied with a smug smile, "You'll get used to it."

...

After the entrance segment was filmed and a one-hour break, the competition recording officially began.

Shen Xiyin performed third and, as expected, was challenged by the challenger. The challenger was also from an idol group and had been the lead vocalist, but their vocal skills were inferior to Shen Xiyin's. However, Shen Xiyin's song choice for this round was mediocre, making the outcome a toss-up; they would have to wait for the final results.

After Shen Xiyin finished, it was Liu Hongsheng's turn. He had brought in a famous symphony orchestra to rearrange one of his old songs, "Past Events," which was perfect for a live competition. The orchestral accompaniment was magnificent, drawing inspiration from the arrangement style of the previous episode’s "Qilixiang."

Liu Hongsheng sang in his slightly raspy voice: "The past has drifted away like smoke, yet I cannot forget the words you left behind. What made it impossible for two people to go on? Leaving one person's loneliness, in the long night, singing this sleepless song..."

The arrangement was grand, but Fang Xing frowned after listening. The live audience would likely give a high score, but the original song was about "regret," and while the grand accompaniment sounded good live, it lost the song's intrinsic atmosphere. However, the outcome of "The Voice" was decided entirely by 500 audience members. So, whether the arrangement matched the story of the song didn't matter; as long as the audience thought it sounded good, it would win.

After Liu Hongsheng finished, the audience gave him enthusiastic applause.

Host He Hao returned to the stage. "Thanks to Liu Hongsheng for 'Past Events.' It really sang to my heart. The next singer has to follow a legendary star—are they nervous? I don't need them to answer; I know exactly what they'll say: 'It's alright.'"

At these words, the audience cheered, already guessing who it was.

"You've guessed it? Let's invite this singer out!" He Hao gestured to the back of the stage. Lights flashed, and the singer walked onto the stage backlit. As expected, it was Fang Xing.

He Hao continued to guide the conversation. "You've won first place twice in a row. Any thoughts?"

Fang Xing shrugged, his tone relaxed. "No particular thoughts. I'm just trying to sing well."

"Our show aired yesterday, and the audience saw your performance from the first episode—it was a new song. Some viewers are guessing if you'll sing new songs every time. In the previous two rounds, you sang new songs. Will it be a new song tonight?"

Fang Xing nodded. "Yes, it's a new song."

He Hao’s tone became excited. "Another new song! Dear audience, is this unexpected? Good, I know, you all guessed it. Because Fang Xing sings a new song every time; if he didn't, that would be the news, right?"

"Right!" the audience shouted.

He Hao asked, "Alright, I believe the audience is impatient. Tell us, what is the name of the song you're singing tonight?"

Fang Xing took the microphone and said in a plain voice, "This song is called 'Youthful Accomplishments.'"