Chapter 91: Web of Emotions

  Karaoke originated in Japan in the 1960s, spread to Taiwan at the end of the 1970s, and then spread to coastal areas such as Shenzhen in the early 1980s. It began to spread to major cities in the late 1980s and swept across the mainland with the momentum of a raging fire by the mid-1990s, changing people's nightlife overnight.

  In the past, I often heard neighborhood committee directors talk about how, before the 1980s, those little hooligans all had long hair, wore flower-patterned shirts and bell-bottom pants, had flowing hair, wore sunglasses, carried boomboxes, and started dancing in the streets or courtyards at night. Men and women would hug each other, and decent people were afraid to see them.

  Now it's much better. At night, everyone goes into their rooms to sing karaoke, and even hooligans don't dare to cause trouble anymore.

  This was Wen Qing's first time entering the Karahashi Pavilion, and despite having seen many things in his life, he was still shocked by the decoration of the hall. Others were even more so, their mouths agape. Only by being there in person could one truly appreciate the hidden strength beneath the humble exterior of the dandelion. The dark tone, exquisite style, solemn yet luxurious, warm and majestic, the multi-holed wall lamps and crystal glass lamps emitted soft light, constructing a world that was radiant, dreamy, and full of fantasy.

  The circular leather sofa is wide and comfortable, with dozens of blooming plum blossoms embroidered on the handmade silk carpet, giving a realistic three-dimensional feel that makes people want to reach out and pick one off. A group of girls cheered and scattered in all directions, no longer divided into teams, some who often sang went to fiddle with the TV and karaoke machine, some bold and mischievous ones went to the wall cabinet to grab drinks and red wine, while several girls flew onto the sofa like moths to a flame, sat down hard a few times, and burst out laughing.

  It's understandable, a girl who has the leisure to chase stars and fight with others, how many good ones can there be?

  It was actually Tan Yu who had never experienced such a scene. Although not to the point of being timid, he still closely followed Wen Chen's side, looking at the luxurious atmosphere around him with a surprised expression. Bai Huan had just been ruthlessly trampled by Wen Chen in the great hall, and the anger that had accumulated in his heart was almost out of control, but he couldn't do anything to Wen Chen, so his sinister gaze stayed on Xie Yan's delicate face and slender figure.

  Bai Huan didn't know how many young girls he had already played with, but thinking that tonight he could take this pure girl's clothes off and heavily press her under his body to ravish her wildly, the intense stimulation still made his whole body slightly tremble. Xie Yan sat in a single-person sofa in the corner, both hands placed flat on his knees, head lowered, still not speaking a word.

  After a lot of noise and dispute, with a large marble tea table in the middle as the boundary, people from both classes sat on either side, clearly separated.

  At this point, the protagonist changed from Bai Huan and Wen Qian to Pei Min and Xu Yao. Although Pei Min was frightened by Wen Qian's stunning performance one after another, relying on Bai Huan being there, he still didn't speak politely: "Xu Yao, the location is what you guys decided, how to compete specifically should be up to us now, right?"

  "What else can we compare? Let's have each side send someone to sing a song, and whoever is stronger will win!"

  Pae Min sneered, "How can you tell who's stronger? Are you going to listen to me or him?"

  Wen Jian only then realized a serious problem, domestically there isn't a scoring system, this also isn't the Qingzhou Propaganda Department's song competition, judges' lips touched and the outcome was decided.

  Xu Yao smiled coldly: "Everyone has ears, who sings well or not, one listen can understand! I knew you would come up with this, say, what do you plan to do?"

  "Let me tell you, whoever gets the most votes wins!"

  Xu Yao hadn't spoken yet, when several girls from their class shouted out: "Are you taking us for fools? You guys outnumber us, and the vote is definitely going to go your way?"

  "Pei Min, you're just playing tricks on us, we won't fall for it!" Pei Min had expected them to disagree and asked, "Then what do you suggest?"

  A group of people looked at each other, unable to come up with a solution that both sides could accept. Pei Min stood up and walked in front of the TV, picking up the microphone, saying: "Since everyone doesn't have any good ideas, how about this, I propose..."

  Wen Qian suddenly said: "I have a plan, let's hear it out and see if it works."

  Xu Yao was overjoyed and said: "It's definitely going to happen, you say!"

  "Just then, Pu Gongying randomly selects ten waiters to come to the private room, with their backs to the TV, and scores are given to those who sing. The rest of you know what to do, eliminate one with the highest score."

  A group of girls burst out laughing: "Get rid of the one with the lowest score" The sound of birds chirping and flowers blooming, a crisp and pleasant sound that cannot be described.

  This is the best way to think of it now, Pei Min looked at Bai Huan with difficulty, and Bai Huan nodded in agreement with this plan. He was very confident in his own singing voice and didn't care about any method, he just wanted to show off his vocal skills in the competition, first to extinguish Wen Xiao's dominance, and secondly to perform well in front of Xie Yan.

  To avoid suspicion, Wen Ze specially let Pei Min go find people. Seeing that it was the request of the guests in Meihall, the manager of the main hall picked out ten people and sent them over within three minutes, five men and five women, perfectly balanced.

  After the rules of San Da Er Sheng were determined, in the first match, Xu Yao defeated Pei Min.

  In the early years, Karaoke was relatively primitive. Each room had a thick song directory, and customers would write down their song requests on an order form, which would then be given to the service staff, who would deliver it to the professional singer. A group of people would take turns holding the microphone

  The new model has made significant improvements, although it still doesn't have the function of deleting songs with one button. At least it's much more advanced than before. With a remote control, you can manually select songs and choose music accompaniment or original vocals. The music is also synchronized with the subtitles on the screen, and will change color in real-time to prompt the singer's lyrics.

  Xu Yao first chose a classic song by Jacky Cheung, "Kiss Goodbye". To be honest, when Jacky Cheung first debuted, his voice was a bit soft and had a lot of vibrato when singing, and the technique was also relatively rough. It wasn't until he sang "Kiss Goodbye" that he made great progress, with pure tone color, bright high notes, and a strong sense of texture. That's why although many people can sing this song loudly, not many can truly bring out the feeling. Of course, compared to his earlier works like "The Legend of the Hungry Wolf" and "Snowy Lake", the difficulty of performing "Kiss Goodbye" is undoubtedly much lower.

  Xu Yao's voice was clear and abundant, but lacked a bit of boldness, her youthfulness and inexperience made it hard for her to convey that heart-wrenching pain, but compared to Pei Min singing "Endless Love", she was slightly better in terms of emotions and technique. The ten waiters stood up in unison, holding out the white papers in their hands, Xu Yao won against Pei Min with a total score of 9.8. The whole class of girls applauded warmly, cheering and jumping up and down, welcoming Xu Yao like a queen, hugging her tightly and bouncing around.

  The girls in Class 2 were angry, but they couldn't do anything about it. No one could say a word against such evaluation standards. In the second round, Pei Min had originally designated a tall girl to perform, but Bai Huan suddenly said: "Xie Yan, you come and sing, I've heard you sing before, absolutely superstar level."

  Xie Yan raised his head, wanting to refuse, but Bai Huan smiled and said: "Consider it a favor I'm asking of you. If we lose, I might not be in the mood to deal with other trivial matters." This sentence had an implied meaning, Xie Yan fell silent for a moment before standing up and walking over to the TV.

  This girl has the appearance of a noble lady, but also carries the temperament of a next-door little sister. Wherever she stands, her whole person is like a secluded valley orchid, with a unique flavor. What's even more astonishing is that she chose a Cantonese fast song "Pure Legend", which was a comeback work by Eason Chan, with high pitch and full of dynamics, the wild and bold singing voice matched with her gentle appearance, has a kind of peculiar charm.

  The whole song was sung with a smooth and natural flow, perfectly expressing the reluctance to part with the pure years. Bai Huan's eyes sparkled with desire as he led the applause, while Hou Qiang and others cheered loudly. The girls from Class 2 even forgot their initial resistance to outsiders, looking at the gloomy faces of the students from Class 1 with a sense of triumph.

  Xu Yao looked at her comrades, who were shaking their heads in unison and waving their fists in the Lincoln car. They all retreated. Helpless, she turned her gaze to Wen Chen, and after a difficult decision, said softly: "How about you go?"

  Wen Qian shrugged, indicating that it didn't matter, anyway he would lose. He cleared his throat and casually sang a song "One Way or Another", the tune was okay, the emotions were in place, but compared to Xie Yan's performance earlier, it was like heaven and earth. When he walked back, all the other girls looked disappointed, only Xu Yao smiled happily, she knew that Wen Qian didn't put his heart into it, no matter what, his singing voice still belonged to her alone.

  Wen Cheng looked at Xu Yao, remembering the words Ning Xiao Ning said that day: "Xu Yao likes you." It was also at that moment that he suddenly understood why Xu Yao didn't want him to sing for others - it was a little girl's hidden secret: liking him meant owning everything about him!

  Such a small wish, Wen Liang would certainly not refuse.

  The scores were announced, and Wen Qian scored the highest with 98 points. The second team was overjoyed after catching up in one round. Bai Huan smiled and said, "Alright, let me tell you something in the third round - it's not important whose song is being sung, what matters most is the person singing!"

  He picked up the microphone, his eyes fixed on Xie Yan, and sang a classic song by Guo Fu Cheng "Should I Quietly Walk Away" with deep emotion. Bai Huan's tone was excellent, his voice deep and powerful, and his performance almost flawless. Not to mention the second-rate students, even the first-rate girls were listening with their chins in their hands, mesmerized. In terms of singing skills alone, he was among the best amateur singers, but he had a fatal flaw - the object of his song was Xie Yan, a girl who was about to be taken advantage of by him using despicable means. How could he evoke genuine emotions? So, while he sang beautifully, his performance lacked vitality.

  Even so, ordinary people may still be inferior to him, but Tan Yu is an exception.

  Tan Yu chose "Love Net", he held the microphone, raised his head, and his eyes pierced through the thick soundproof wall, slid over the night sky of Qingzhou, and quietly fell in the direction of that girl's home.

  "Please light another candle for me because I have already lost my way."

  Your figure is swaying, my eyes are all panic-stricken

  "And you are a boundless net, easily trapping me in its center"

  How can I lock your gaze?

  "Willingly standing by your side, willingly forgetting for a lifetime"

  Bei Mi, can you bear to hurt my heart?

  I won't mention when I started writing, if I calculated it would be a tea table. Finally struggled to 3 o'clock and finished writing, Maruko shed tears all over her face, give me some votes, if you want to know what happened next...