novelraw Chapter 5: This generation of netizens is too mean; I suggest singing nursery rhymes!
Chapter 5: This generation of netizens is too mean; I suggest singing nursery rhymes!
It was 10 p.m. in the rented room.
Lin Zhixing took a shower and lay on the bed scrolling through Weibo while drying his hair.
The comment section under that Weibo post titled "Listening to Advice Online" has exploded like a storm in northwestern Shanxi.
Although at least half of them are haters, being hated is still being famous, and traffic is traffic.
Lin Zhixing opened the comments section, and the familiar feeling greeted him.
"Hilarious! Still half asleep? Participating in 'The Voice of China'? Do you even deserve it?"
"I suggest you don't go, so you don't embarrass yourself. Leave the stage for those with dreams."
"How dare you participate in 'The Voice of China'? You should just retire from the entertainment industry! I feel perfectly comfortable if I don't see you for a day!"
"Get out of the entertainment industry! Seeing your face makes me want to vomit! I suggest you get plastic surgery!"
Amidst the uniform barrage of insults, Lin Zhixing rolled his eyes.
This generation of haters has a really poor vocabulary; they just keep using the same few phrases to hurl insults, without any originality whatsoever.
It seems these ordinary, vulgar comments are no longer able to trigger the mission.
The system needs "suggestions," and specifically suggestions that have gained some traction, not mindless trolls spouting nonsense.
Lin Zhixing was about to turn off his phone and go to sleep, since he had to report to "The Voice of China" tomorrow.
Suddenly, a comment popped up and was instantly pinned to the top.
[ID Kindergarten's Got-Beat] "I suggest singing nursery rhymes! Like 'Two Tigers' or 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,' simple and easy to learn, no need to breathe, just right for your intelligence and lung capacity! If you dare to sing nursery rhymes on the stage of 'The Voice of China,' I'll respect you as a true hero!"
A string of echoes followed:
"Hahaha! Yeah, singing nursery rhymes! Singing nursery rhymes on the stage of 'The Voice of China,' just thinking about it makes me laugh!"
"I recommend 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,' it's simple, easy to learn, and suits his intelligence!"
"Counting Ducks is not bad either, since you only have a few ducks as your fans anyway."
"Holy crap, that's a brilliant idea! I can practically picture the professors' faces turning black!"
"Support! I want to see if Lin Zhixing dares to sing it! If he dares, I'll be a fan!"
"To be honest, if he actually dares to sing children's songs on 'The Voice of China,' I'll do a handstand and have diarrhea live on air!"
"Screenshot taken! Waiting for him to mess up! If he actually does it, I'll send him rockets right away!"
Then, the familiar light blue panel popped up in front of me again.
[Ding! High-popularity suggestion detected: S-level music competition, sing nursery rhymes]
[Task Level]: C
[Task Requirements]: Sing a children's song on the official stage of "The Voice of China" and successfully advance to the next round.
[Completion Rewards]: 1 random blue skill blind box, 8000 RMB in cash, +1500 reputation points
[Failure Penalty]: Deduct 5000 reputation points and randomly reduce one basic attribute by 5 points.
Lin Zhixing's eyes lit up when he saw the 8000 yuan cash reward.
Money, always money.
With the four thousand or so he already has, if this move succeeds, he'll have thirteen thousand.
Although it's not a lot for an ordinary person, for him right now, this money is enough to last for three months and even buy him some decent clothes.
More importantly, there are also blue skill blind boxes.
Last time I opened a blind box, I got the Singing Mastery skill. What will I get this time?
However, the requirements for this mission are much stricter than the last one.
Not only do they have to sing nursery rhymes, but they also have to advance in the competition.
Singing children's songs on a professional stage like "The Voice of China" and still wanting to advance?
This is indeed quite difficult.
There are also penalties for failure.
Deducting 5000 reputation points is acceptable. We can always start over.
But randomly reducing a basic attribute by 5 points is a bit harsh.
If you lose weight to the point where your looks change from 66 to 61, then you'll really have to rely on your talent to make a living.
If I lose weight to the point where my body weight is reduced from 55 to 50, I'm afraid I'll be going to the hospital every day.
Lin Zhixing pondered for a few seconds.
Fortune favors the bold.
Moreover, he now possesses blue-level singing proficiency, so if he chooses the right song, he might still have a chance.
"Children's songs...who says children's songs have to be childish?"
"accept!"
Lin Zhixing replied directly to that pinned comment:
[Lin Zhixing V]: "Okay! Then let's sing a children's song! I mean what I say, see you on 'The Voice' tomorrow."
Then, he posted a new Weibo post:
[Lin Zhixing V]: "I've taken your advice. Tomorrow on 'The Voice of China,' I'll sing a children's song for everyone. I hope the judges like it. By the way, are there any music teachers who can give me some guidance on how to sing a children's song in a professional way? Waiting online, it's urgent. [doge emoji]"
The comments section exploded instantly.
Most netizens were just looking for fun and wanted to see Lin Zhixing make a fool of himself.
"???"
"Wait, buddy? You're serious?"
"He's being way too obedient! I'm starting to feel a little sorry for him (not really)."
"Hahaha, I burst out laughing! Is he really going to sing children's songs on 'The Voice of China'? The image is too much for me to bear!"
"Mentor: You're so high and mighty, you think you're so great, you're using my stage to sing children's songs!"
Lin Zhixing: Not only did I listen to advice, I actually did it! Brothers, this is a sure thing!
A minority of voices are optimistic about Lin Zhixing.
"To be honest, if he can play the suona so well, I think he might actually have some talent when it comes to singing children's songs."
"Don't rush to mock us, what if we're the ones who mess up? This guy made everyone look bad with his suona last time."
"Although, I'm actually looking forward to it. What kind of creative twists and turns can be achieved with children's songs on a professional stage?"
In just half an hour, the Weibo post garnered over 30,000 comments and over 10,000 reposts.
The hashtag #LinZhixingWantsToSingChildrensSongs# immediately climbed to 43rd place on the trending topics list.
Reputation +10
Reputation +10
Reputation +10
......
Lin Zhixing looked at the rapidly increasing data and nodded in satisfaction.
This pre-launch hype is definitely going to be a hit.
He turned off his phone, got out of bed, and turned on his computer.
The most crucial question now is, what nursery rhymes should we sing?
"Two Tigers"? Too childish and lacking in technical sophistication.
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"? Although it's a classic, it's too short and lacks any exciting moments.
"Counting Ducks"? The scene is too cringeworthy; the mentor would probably turn pale on the spot.
Lin Zhixing tapped his fingers on the table, his mind rapidly searching for memories from his past life.
Suddenly, a melody started playing in my mind.
"Yes, that's it!"
He remembered a song from his past life.
That song was known as the primary school song and was the secret code among primary school students all over China!
Most importantly, it was a nationwide hit in its previous life and was even covered by countless musicians.
Lin Zhixing opened a search engine and entered a few keywords.
As expected, there were no relevant results; the song does not yet exist in this world.
He gradually figured out some patterns. This seemingly paradoxical world retained some classic cultural foundations, such as the Four Great Classical Novels, but many popular cultural works went down completely different paths.
"very good."
Lin Zhixing opened the system backend, looked at the more than 50,000 reputation points, and grinned.
"Alright, let's do a five-pull to liven things up!"
As a staunch materialist, he always advocated that one should smoke without hesitation.
Ten minutes later.
Lin Zhixing carefully dried his hands with a towel for a full ten minutes, took a deep breath, and with a sense of mysterious ritual, opened the [Reputation Gashapon Machine] interface.
He hovered his fingertips in mid-air, chanting, "Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, System Daddy, please show your power... Five consecutive draws, here we go!"
He carefully pressed the button.
The gashapon machine in the center of the screen suddenly shone brightly, with colorful lights spinning and flashing, accompanied by cheerful "ding-dong" sound effects.
With a "gurgling" sound, five virtual gashapon capsules with different luster popped out one after another and lined up on the screen.
Lin Zhixing opened them one by one.
[Bad Luck Sticker] x1 (Purple)
Energy Potion (Small) x2 (White)
Memory Capsule (Small) x2 (Blue)
"Oh, two white, two blue, and one purple... It's not thorough enough, it's not pure enough." Lin Zhixing stroked his chin and smacked his lips.
......
Half an hour later, thanks to the memory capsules and singing proficiency skills provided by the system, the melodies and lyrics became exceptionally clear in my mind.
Lin Zhixing looked at the complete lyrics on the screen and nodded in satisfaction.
He stood up, walked to the mirror, and cleared his throat.
Then, she began to hum softly.
The sound echoed in the cramped rented room.
......
Meanwhile, in a high-end apartment near Xinghuang Entertainment Company.
The agent, Sister Zhang, wearing a bathrobe and a face mask, saw the trending topic #LinZhixingWillSingChildren'sSongs# and chuckled.
"That idiot, he actually dared to answer."
Sitting opposite her was Zhang Xianyu.
Across from him, Zhang Xianyu swirled his wine glass, a smile playing on his lips. "If he really sings children's songs, wouldn't that be giving me a freebie?"
"Winning is a certainty, but I'm going to make him lose even more miserably, so he can never recover for the rest of his life. Don't worry, I've already bought the trending topics, all of them are articles smearing him." Sister Zhang sneered, "I've also contacted a few big V accounts to release another wave of dirt on him before the show airs."
Zhang Xianyu asked curiously, "What kind of dirt? Although he's usually useless at the company, he doesn't seem to have done anything outrageous, right?"
"Naive." Sister Zhang rolled her eyes at him. "In this industry, if you don't have any scandals, can't you at least make them up?"
She counted on her fingers, listing them off as if they were her most treasured possessions: "Acting like a diva, verbally abusing and bullying staff, having a chaotic private life, sleeping with fans... Whether these accusations are true or false doesn't matter, as long as someone believes them."
Zhang Xianyu laughed, raised his glass, and said, "Sister Zhang is truly amazing."
Sister Zhang picked up her phone and dialed a number.
"Hey, Director Wang? It's me, Xiao Zhang... Haha, you saw the trending topic too? Yeah, it's about Lin Zhixing, really singing a children's song... Do you think we could change his performance order? Yeah, as early as possible, preferably after Xianyu... Think about it, if the people in front sing children's songs, wouldn't that be perfect for setting up the contestants behind? We'll get the buzz, and the ratings will definitely explode!"
After hearing what was said on the other end of the phone, Sister Zhang laughed even more heartily.
"Okay, okay, it's settled then! Thank you, Director Wang! I'll treat you to dinner another day!"
After hanging up the phone, Sister Zhang leaned back in her chair and lit a cigarette.
"Lin Zhixing, Lin Zhixing, you really think you can turn things around? Keep dreaming."