At 7:30 PM, as dusk settled, floodlights illuminated the sports field, and students from various colleges sat or stood in their designated formations.
After the instructors organized the students to sing military songs, the talent show officially began.
The first to perform was the instructor; after training everyone for so many days, with such a good opportunity, everyone certainly wouldn't let him off the hook.
The instructor feigned shyness for a moment, then stood in the open space in front and performed 'Wind and Rain Unhindered' for everyone.
He had led many batches of freshmen, so he sang this song with ease, even reminiscent of the original singer, Zhou Moujian.
"Next, I will randomly select people. The chosen student, please come to the front to perform your talent."
The instructor had no intention of letting anyone off.
He immediately blindfolded himself with a piece of cloth, pointed his finger to the sky, and began to spin.
Some students were very apprehensive, fearing they would be chosen, while those with talents were more eager to try.
This was an excellent opportunity to gain recognition; as long as the talent show went well, it would undoubtedly secure four years of priority in spouse selection.
"Please, don't pick me, otherwise, I'll only be able to go on stage and tell bad jokes."
Yang Jiajia buried her head behind the student in front of her, fearing it would be her turn.
Han Wenjing and Tian Yuan showed similar reactions.
"It's you!"
The instructor's raised finger fell, pointing at Wu Tong.
Everyone in Dorm 404 was stunned; to be chosen first, what kind of luck was that?
When the students of Industrial Management Class A saw that a girl from their class, one of the top in looks, had been chosen, the boys immediately started cheering, and the girls also began to clap in welcome.
Wu Tong gracefully stood up and walked to the open space at the front, taking the microphone from the instructor.
As a KTV 'mic queen,' she couldn't say she was completely at ease in such a situation, but she wouldn't be too nervous either.
"What program does this female student plan to perform? As the first contestant, I hope you'll show off your best skill to get us off to a good start."
"Then I'll sing JJ's 'Trading My Life For Yours.' I hope the students who come after won't try to fool everyone with bad jokes, okay?"
She made a playful remark, and many people began to agree.
Moreover, this song was very difficult to sing, and everyone couldn't help but start looking forward to it.
As the accompaniment began to play through the speakers, Wu Tong started to sing.
Her voice was still pleasant, and the chorus was in tune, but it was clearly KTV level, with unstable breath and high notes that relied on shouting.
However, for a freshman who hadn't studied professional singing, this was already quite good.
At least there was no cracking, and she sang the song completely, which undoubtedly got everyone off to a good start.
After the song ended, the students applauded enthusiastically, with some boys even boldly whistling and shouting, "Wu Tong, I love you!"
"The next contestant will be chosen by you."
The instructor blindfolded Wu Tong with the strip of cloth.
Wu Tong hesitated for a moment, ultimately deciding not to harm her roommates, and raised her hand to point towards the edge of the line.
The previously noisy sounds suddenly fell silent.
After she removed the blindfold, she looked at where she had pointed.
Tao Lin, Counselor Tao.
"How about picking someone else?"
Someone suggested quietly, but was quickly drowned out by a strong, resonant voice.
"Counselor Tao, come on!"
Everyone thought Lu Bu was already invincible, but they didn't expect there to be an even greater master.
Whose subordinate was this?
Oh, it was Yang Jiajia, that bigmouth. Then it's fine.
However, with her starting it, others also began to egg on, especially those active boys.
After all, Counselor Tao was also very beautiful, at most six or seven years older than them, so there was no generation gap in interacting with her.
As the counselor for Industrial Management Class A, Tao Lin certainly couldn't be outdone by the students, so she said nothing and went straight to the stage to sing 'Unfinished Tenderness.'
Compared to Wu Tong, her singing was relatively worse.
But with the added status of a counselor, minor flaws were clearly not a big problem, and everyone applauded with particular enthusiasm.
The students who came on stage next either sang or danced, and some with extreme social confidence even performed a 'Subject Three' dance on the spot.
Up until now, no one had told bad jokes or sung nursery rhymes to get by.
"Damn it, I'm so annoyed!"
While someone was performing on stage, the inconspicuous Tian Yuan in the crowd gritted her teeth while looking at her phone.
"What's wrong?"
Yao An looked over, puzzled.
"Sister An'an, after I posted that comment, many people cursed at me, asking what kind of strange creature I was, and some low-class men speculated that I was a 200-pound Tiger tank, which is why I react to beautiful women.
"They also asked which college I was from, told me to report my dorm number, said they would confront me in person, and that they would beat me into a foldable screen, boo hoo hoo, I'm so scared."
Tian Yuan buried her head in Yao An's rather ample bosom, feigning tears and rubbing against her, enjoying the 'facial cleanser.'
Yao An felt a little like laughing, her chest tickled by Tian Yuan, but she still gently patted the other's back, saying "Good girl," cooperating with her act.
"But Sister An'an, I don't care if I get beaten or cursed at, I can endure it, but many people are asking what Yao An is, they say you're a village beauty, a self-confident woman, unworthy of being compared to the goddesses on the list, and I can't stand that."
"They obviously don't believe anyone is more beautiful than that Chen Tian!"
"So, you now need a photo to prove yourself, and it just so happens that I'm quite knowledgeable about photography techniques."
Yao An's forehead was covered in black lines.
"You've been waiting for me here, haven't you?"
"Take a picture."
"No."
"Then I'll take a candid shot, alright?"
"I think you're asking for another beating."
As the two girls bickered, the selection process had already ended.
Under the instructor's guidance, the next segment was for the most popular students to perform on stage.
Several boys in the class were excited; sure enough, the cigarettes they gave the instructor these past two days weren't for nothing, he understood them.
Just as they were about to shout Yao An's name, a girl had already called it out before them.
It was Ye Xuan.
Yao An stopped kneading Tian Yuan's soft fatty tissue, looking up blankly. She hadn't listened carefully to the rules of the game, but she knew that being called out was never a good thing.
The boys, their thoughts interrupted, hesitated for two seconds, then quickly joined in, shouting, "Yao An, Yao An!"
Other noisy sounds were quickly suppressed, and uninformed girls also began to join the chorus.
In fact, most people didn't know who Yao An was.
After all, she had been quite low-key since her enrollment.
"Sister An'an, they seem to be calling you to go up and sing."
Tian Yuan adjusted her bra strap, revealing a mischievous smile, feeling the satisfaction of getting revenge.
See? This is what happens when you bully me. You've incurred public wrath, haven't you?
Yao An hesitated a bit. Before transmigration, she often went to KTV, but mostly to show off fruit platters, rarely singing. After transmigration, it was even worse; she had only been to KTV once, for a high school reunion. She knew her own singing ability; she wasn't tone-deaf, but singing a song well was basically impossible. She couldn't possibly go up and sing 'Two Tigers,' could she? She did have a 'DDR Lead Dancer' skill that could quickly teach her various dance steps, but the problem was there was no time for her to watch videos and learn now. What about dancing square dances? No, no, dancing in front of grandpas and grandmas was fine, but dancing in front of peers would be too embarrassing. This would become her dark history for four years, and her persona would collapse. Damn it, what to do?!
"Yao An, don't keep everyone waiting, okay? No one who was chosen before was shy, I hope you can be a good sport too!"
Ye Xuan started to manipulate the rhythm again.
She was in a good mood now. If Yao An's performance pleased everyone, then there was nothing more to say. But if she didn't perform well, her consistently aloof and pure image would be stained. Judging by her reluctance to go on stage, it would most likely be the latter. Aren't you always acting like you don't care about anything? Well, I want to see if you care about making a fool of yourself.
"Come on, let's call this female student's name to cheer her on, Yao An, Yao An!"
The instructor began to stir up the atmosphere.
Others also chimed in, urging her to quickly go on stage.
"An'an, I'll go up for you."
Yang Jiajia still cared for her strategist and wanted to help her out of the predicament.
After all, she had no image to speak of in the class now, so even if she sang poorly, everyone would just laugh it off.
"I can sing another song too."
Wu Tong also realized that the other person probably didn't have any stage talent.
Han Wenjing looked at Yao An with some concern. She also had no talent, so she wouldn't say anything about helping the other person sing to avoid embarrassment; she would only make it more awkward.
"It's fine, I'll go up."
Yao An shook her head, indicating she didn't need help, and gave Ye Xuan a cold glance.
Then she stood up and walked towards the open space in front.
['Best New Artist in Music' skill successfully redeemed, unlocking series mission: 'Starlight Shines Bright'.]
['This system will rate the host's every stage performance, and based on the rating, rewards such as points and items can be obtained. Please conquer others with your beautiful singing. With the microphone in hand, you are the top star in the music industry!']