"The first group: contestant number one, [Double Iron Armored King], and contestant number two, [Highland Antelope]."
"The second group: contestant number three, [Mysterious Wanderer], and contestant number four, [Singing Dad]."
"The third group: contestant number five, [One More Bite Won’t Make You Fat], and contestant number six, [Jasmine Flower]."
When this result was announced, the audience beneath the stage erupted into laughter once more. Even many of the on-site staff couldn’t help themselves. The well-trained host paused for a mont, turned his back to the audience, closed his eyes, and struggled to suppress his laughter while desperately trying to maintain his composure.
They couldn’t be blad for cracking up; it was simply too funny. As the host spoke, text was supposed to appear on the large screen, such as "So-and-So VS So-and-So." The previous pairings were displayed quite well, formally and neatly, with all text centered.
However, for the last group, because Xu Qingqiu’s chosen na, [One More Bite Won’t Make You Fat], was so incredibly long, it pushed the following na, [Jasmine Flower], to the very edge of the screen. If the screen had been any smaller, it wouldn’t have fit at all. Were it not for the "VS" separating them, the audience might have missed [Jasmine Flower]’s three-character na entirely.
How could anyone not laugh at such a situation? An uninford observer might think the long string of characters had swallowed the na that followed. The contest hadn’t even begun, yet [Jasmine Flower]’s nickna was already visually squeezed against the wall, inherently diminishing her imposing presence considerably.
Others might not have known, but Qin Xiao, sitting in her dressing room, was furious. How could she not be? The audience, at least, was watching the large screen where everything was fully displayed. In her dressing room, however, there was only a single monitor hanging on the wall, an old 4:3 ratio model that cropped the display on both sides. As a result, she could only see the first character of her opponent’s ridiculously long nickna.
Anyone would be upset! For so reason, she suddenly pictured the person with that lengthy stage na as Xu Qingqiu and felt an urge to slap her.
In the director’s room, Chu Tian was also montarily stunned when he saw this. It wasn’t because of the nas themselves, but purely because of this specific pairing. Chu Tian could swear to the heavens that he hadn’t manipulated anything; the draw was genuinely, absolutely random. Besides, only he and Wei Liangxiao knew the guests’ true identities. Xu Qingqiu being pitted against Qin Xiao was definitely not a deliberate arrangent.
Was it really just a coincidence, or was so higher power lending a hand?
A slight smile played on Chu Tian’s lips as a thought occurred to him.
Now there’s going to be a good show. Weren’t so people clamoring to compete based on Singing Skills? The opportunity has arrived. Chu Tian couldn’t help but feel a touch of schadenfreude. Even before, Xu Qingqiu’s Singing Skills were already a notch above Qin Xiao’s. Add to that my recent intensive training and comprehensive coaching, where I’ve imparted knowledge gleaned from nurous masters... Compete on Singing Skills? There’s probably nothing more interesting in the world! Just imagining Qin Xiao’s reaction when Xu Qingqiu unmasks... Her face will probably swell with humiliation, won’t it?
"Alright, the draw has concluded! Now, let’s invite the first group of singers to the stage. First up, please welco our contestant number one, [Double Iron Armored King]!"
Under the expectant gaze of the crowd, a man wearing an iron-armored mask and a black leather trench coat slowly walked onto the stage.
"Hello, Double Iron Armored King," the host greeted.
"Hello, Host," the contestant replied.
The mont the guest spoke, the audience was taken aback. They had been wondering how the show would manage to conceal identities, given that everyone’s vocal timbre was distinct. They figured that anyone familiar with the singers would guess instantly and that the masking was probably just a gimmick. But when the first guest opened his mouth, everyone was stunned.
"Is that a voice changer?"
"Holy crap, they’re using a voice changer on stage? No wonder they want us to guess who the guests are. How are we supposed to guess like this?"
"But wait, if they’re using a voice changer, what about the singing? They can’t possibly sing in that voice, can they?"
The very thought of that scenario made those who heard it shudder. A bunch of Minions in a singing competition—the image was too comically overwhelming, and definitely enough to give one goosebumps.
anwhile, the show proceeded on stage.
"Mr. Double Iron Armored King, may I ask how you ca up with such a na?"
"Hahaha, because I’m a fan of the ’Single-Arm Iron Armored King’ cartoon. I used to sneak around to watch it as a kid, and my biggest dream was to beco a great hero just like him. But since I have two arms, I chose the na Double Iron Armored King."
Hearing this explanation, many people chuckled, but so had a flash of insight.
"’Single-Arm Iron Armored King’ is a cartoon from the ’70s. It seems this singer isn’t young."
"We have the body shape, gender, and an age range. Isn’t it easy to guess now?"
"What are you thinking? Don’t forget what era that was! That was when titans clashed. Do you know how many great talents were hidden back then?"
"Guess? How can we guess? How many people online these days even know singers from that age group? If you were talking about young idols, maybe. But these seniors? Not necessarily."
The audience buzzed with discussion. Actually, all these clues were deliberately provided by the production team. You can’t just give the audience no leads at all, right? Of course, these clues might not all be true; so could be deliberately misleading. After all, the production team had a rule: if online votes for a contestant’s identity exceeded seventy percent and the guess was correct, the masked singer would be unmasked and eliminated.
Anyone with a keen eye could see this show had the potential to beco a massive hit. Since they were all here, who would want to be eliminated?
"Okay, then let’s now enjoy the wonderful performance of [Double Iron Armored King]!"
A show plan is just a show plan, much like a script; different directors will undoubtedly produce different films.
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