Big Shot Ch.5

Chapter 5: Initial Stage Evaluation (5)

‘Why are they staring at me without blinking?’

Looking at the deathly quiet scene, Shen Xiu couldn’t help but tense up.

Shen Xiu, holding the microphone, standing awkwardly on stage, alternating between awkwardness and tension.

Was it… his singing? Did he mess up somehow?

The song had ended, but the audience, deeply absorbed in the mood and emotions Shen Xiu had evoked through his acapella performance, remained lost in the experience, unable to snap out of it.

No one dared to break the spell cast by the song, as everyone quietly remained in the aftermath of “Silence”’s emotional and auditory journey.

The four mentors looked at Shen Xiu with eyes full of admiration. “Silence” was a lyrical piece, far from an explosive number, yet Shen Xiu’s performance had somehow made their hearts race and blood pump. It was the excitement of discovering a hidden gem, a talent they couldn’t help but be thrilled by. The mentors had fallen into a different kind of “explosion.”

The audience, on the other hand, was immersed in the emotions and imagery conveyed by Shen Xiu’s voice, creating a deeply immersive experience that left them “exploding” with admiration.

In short, Shen Xiu’s acapella rendition of “Silence” was absolutely phenomenal!

Shen Xiu remained silent as he stood on stage, confused and unsure of what was happening. He thought to himself, ‘Great, I sang a song, and now everyone is just silent.’

The emotional weight of his performance seemed to have overwhelmed everyone, yet in his eyes, it looked like they were all too stunned by his poor singing to respond.

He felt like an idiot. The grandeur of the “big shot in the bathroom” moment wasn’t something you could just practice into existence. He had thought he could just get by, but instead, he was faced with an awkward, deafening silence.

Please, just say something, he prayed internally, desperately wanting the silence to end. This kind of social death was going to be brutal.

He barely managed to hold himself together and resist the urge to turn and flee from the stage in embarrassment.

Just as the silence began to crush him, Qin Xi suddenly coughed into the microphone, and the sound echoed throughout the venue.

“Cough… cough…”

The single cough broke the silence, and the audience’s gaze toward Shen Xiu shifted, now full of admiration and restrained excitement. During Shen Xiu’s performance of “Silence”, the barrage of comments had temporarily halted, leaving only a blank screen. But as the song ended, the comments came flooding back, quickly filling up the screen.

The comments were so densely packed they nearly caused the screen to freeze.

[Is this really free? Should I get concert tickets or something?]

[Reminder: The vocals are unreal! I just want to skip to the theme song!]

[Look what I found! Hidden treasure idol with a massive vocal range! Shen Xiu definitely needs a spot in the group!]

Hearing the cough, even though it was just a small sound, Shen Xiu couldn’t help but feel a rush of gratitude toward Qin Xi, who had unknowingly helped lift the weight of the silence.

Anyone who saves him from an awkward situation is a good person! Shen Xiu automatically made a mental note: Qin Xi = good person!

After Qin Xi coughed, he noticed Shen Xiu staring at him with a blank expression. It might have been the stage lights, but Qin Xi felt like there was something a little cold about Shen Xiu’s gaze.

Qin Xi: …Got it. He must be upset that I broke the lingering vibe of “Silence”.

That must be it!

If he had performed “Silence” like Shen Xiu did, he wouldn’t want anyone to break the immersive experience he had just created either.

He remembered how his friend, the original singer Xu Shaoming, after performing this song during his peak, left the entire audience silent for three full minutes.

Shen Xiu only had a minute of silence before his cough interrupted, so it was understandable that Shen Xiu looked displeased.

Qin Xi: …I’ve done a grave mistake!

Shen Xiu, just like his cool exterior, had a very cool personality. He was brave enough to express his dissatisfaction, even if his mentor was standing right there. Qin Xi admired that straightforward kind of cool.

He turned his attention back to the proceedings as He Ting raised the microphone to cue the next part.

“Trainee No.66 Shen Xiu’s performance has come to an end. I’m sure everyone—our mentors, the audience here, and the live stream viewers—can all agree that his performance was amazing. Now, let’s turn the camera to our mentors and see what kind of feedback they have for Shen Xiu!”

[No need to think about it, he’s gotta get an AAAAA]

[If he doesn’t get an A, I’ll wash my hair upside down!]

[The only other contestant who made us feel this explosive besides Trainee No.1 Shang Yu’s dance is now Shen Xiu. I can’t wait to see them collaborate.]

On the center circular stage, all eyes on him, Shen Xiu heard the host’s words and almost turned to give the host a grateful look.

Really, there are still good people in this world!

But… exciting?

Host, are you sure you’re not mocking me? He had witnessed the performance of the Trainee No.1, Shang Yu’s dance, and the entire venue had exploded in cheers. That was what true excitement looked like.

The reaction to his own performance just now was, to put it mildly, nowhere near the same. In fact, it didn’t even compare at all.

Anyway, never mind, Shen Xiu prayed, please just end this quickly so I can get off the stage. He couldn’t handle being stared at by so many eyes any longer.

At the mentor’s table.

The camera switched back and forth between the mentors and Shen Xiu on the circular stage.

No matter how the shots were cut, Shen Xiu had the same expression the entire time: completely neutral.

Ye Ning: “So, what do you think?”

Qin Xi: “I didn’t hear enough. I want to hear more.”

Zhao Jinning: “Same here.”

He Youna decisively concluded: “Let’s have an additional test.”

Shen Xiu couldn’t read lips, but from the mentors’ facial expressions, he could tell there wasn’t much of an argument.

When the disagreement isn’t intense, the final ranking tends to be D, E, or F.

He had just sung a song that left the entire crowd speechless. A song so powerful it rendered everyone mute, so—he was probably getting an F rank.

F rank, fine.

At least it would be easy to see his progress if he started there. It’s not the worst thing.

Shen Xiu braced himself, ready for the worst, when suddenly he heard the voice of the mentor group leader, He Youna: “Trainee No.66 Shen Xiu, additional test for 30 seconds.”

Shen Xiu: “???”

What went wrong?!

The decision from the mentor group was met with enthusiasm by everyone present, except for Shen Xiu himself. Both the live audience and online viewers were all for it.

[Ahhhh, the mentors totally get us! We didn’t hear enough, let him sing more!]

[What’s he going to sing for the additional test? I bet five cents of spicy strips that it’ll be another high-difficulty song just like Silence!]

[Trainee No.66, I’m picking you! So show us your skills!]

Shen Xiu: “……”

In this moment, Shen Xiu understood a vital lesson: if you don’t sing well enough, if you sing in a way that hurts the ears, you get an additional test!

He took a deep breath to steady himself, raised the microphone to his mouth, and said, “Alright.”

Thankfully, apart from the national anthem and the song he just sang, he still knew half of another song from the big shot in the bathroom next door! And it was really only half of the song.

This time, the mentors assumed Shen Xiu didn’t need accompaniment—after all, they saw him as someone who came to show off his skills, and a cappella would better showcase his vocal abilities.

Zhao Jinning looked at Shen Xiu on stage: “Well then, please begin your performance.”

Shen Xiu took another deep breath, slightly spread his legs, relaxed his shoulders, and leaned slightly forward, holding the microphone.

Since the second song by the bathroom big shot was a completely different pace from the first one—slow for the first, fast for the second—Shen Xiu had realized while practicing in the bathroom that to sing this song perfectly, his body had to move in sync with the rhythm at certain points.

As Shen Xiu prepared to sing for the additional test, he couldn’t help but think: ‘I hope no one thinks my posture is too weird.’

At this moment, Shen Xiu had no idea he was rapping. Rap is typically used to express intense emotions, heavily emphasizing the sense of rhythm and flow, often accompanied by hand gestures and body movements.

In simple terms, when rapping, the body language complements the lyrics, making it a more dynamic and engaging performance.

“You see that wild, roaring…”

The mentors immediately looked at each other in surprise when they heard the fast-paced rap, and then their eyes lit up with delight as they focused on Shen Xiu.

Although Shen Xiu’s movements were minimal while rapping, his enunciation was clear, the tone was perfect, and he had an excellent grasp of rhythm. His rap, aside from his smaller gestures, almost perfectly mirrored the style of the legendary Xu Shaoming.

Yes, this was still one of Xu Shaoming’s iconic songs, “Arrogance”.

Even though it was a cappella with no accompaniment, Shen Xiu’s performance was so impressive that the audience couldn’t help but get swept up in the energy. They began to move with the beat, some tapping their feet, others swaying their heads or hands to the rhythm.

[Rap! Trainee No.66, how many more surprises do you have that I don’t know about?!]

[The previous song made me feel like I was the only person in the world, in total solitude, and now we have this passionate rap! The emotional shift between the two songs is on another level—this is how a pro shows off, I love it!]

In the flood of “Ahhh, the big shot showing off!” comments and the crowd’s excitement, the 30-second additional test time came to an end.

As the countdown timer on the big screen hit zero, Shen Xiu immediately stopped, nailing the timing perfectly at exactly 30 seconds.

Because, after that, he had no idea what the lyrics were!

After the additional test, Shen Xiu stood up straight, his breath steady, not even panting. However, his heart was racing a little.

Shen Xiu thought: He’s sung the last of his backup songs. If they ask for more, he has nothing left—aside from the national anthem, of course!

The audience hadn’t had enough and was still hyped up when the performance abruptly ended.

The crowd buzzed with excitement, talking among themselves.

“Ahhh, I wanted to hear more! They stopped so suddenly, so cruel! Wuwuwu…”

“Holy crap, this is amazing! Whether it’s a slow ballad or rap, he does it so well! I’m dying to know which entertainment company trained this future top idol. They’ve kept him hidden so well!”

“How did he manage to rap with such minimal movement, yet still pronounce every word so clearly? Isn’t he afraid of messing up?”

“Conspiracy theory: I honestly think this entire show was made just for Shen Xiu.”

“Now we just need to see him dance. Damn it, why is there only one chance for an additional test? If there were a second one, we could see his dance skills too!”

The mentors were also left wanting more, but the additional test had already ended. They’d have to wait until the next time to uncover more about the hidden talents of trainee number 66. They were eager to find out just how many more surprises Shen Xiu had in store.

After two impressive performances, all four mentors finally understood why Shen Xiu had insisted on singing a cappella in the beginning.

They now saw that Shen Xiu’s second additional test song, the intense rap Arrogance, wasn’t just to show off his ability to be arrogant. It was a declaration of war—both to the mentors and to the 99 other trainees in the competition.

Shen Xiu was truly strong, and the mentors were fully convinced.

Mentor Ye Ning leaned closer to the fixed microphone on the table and said, “Trainee No.66, Shen Xiu, well done. You’re arrogant, and I like it. Keep it up!”

Mentor Qin Xi continued, “The song choice for the additional test was really good. The four of us discussed it, and we truly have to admit, we’re convinced. I believe the other 99 trainees also received the challenge you’ve thrown down.”

Mentor Zhao Jinning looked toward the 99 trainees in the trainee area and shouted, “Did you all see that? Take on the challenge! Be like Trainee No.66, Shen Xiu—dare to challenge yourself and declare war on others. Youth is without regrets, and young men are invincible!”

After hearing the intense rap Arrogance, the trainees were all fired up. Upon hearing Zhao Jinning’s words, they shouted in unison, “Young men are invincible!”

Shen Xiu: “……”

W-what’s going on?!

When did he become arrogant, and when did he declare war on the other 99 trainees? He didn’t even know about it himself!

What are they talking about? He understands every word, but why can’t he understand the meaning when they’re put together?

As someone who gets more expressionless the more nervous they get, Shen Xiu stood on stage, frozen, feeling like he was shattering into pieces.

Shen Xiu: Who am I? Where am I? What’s happening?

The live stream was just as hyped.

[Ahhh, they’re going to fight, I love watching this!]

[As expected from a big shot, challenging all 99 trainees at once.]

The leader of the mentors, He Youna, struggled to hold back a laugh before announcing loudly, “Based on the comprehensive scores from the initial stage individual performance and the first evaluation, congratulations to Trainee No.66, Shen Xiu—A class, well-deserved!”

“Looking forward to your future performances!”

Shen Xiu: ……?

Upon hearing the result, Shen Xiu was stunned. His frozen state was blown away by the wind, leaving him utterly speechless. He couldn’t focus on anything the mentors said afterward.

His mind was consumed by one thought.

‘Class A? Do I… deserve that?’

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