Chapter 110: Openly Flattering His Wife

"Darling, you and Lily go in first. I'll slip in on my own later, so nobody gets suspicious."

After Yu Zhile finished speaking, Qin Haiyu nodded and said, "All right, then we'll go in first. When the show is over, I'll send you a message, and you can just wait for me in the car!"

"Mm-hm. Go, darling!"

Yu Zhile cheered her on. After his wife entered the television station, he quickly sent a message to Yang Bing, then had him bring him inside. Finally, he found a hidden spot and changed into a Starmate plush costume.

After putting on the headpiece, Yu Zhile asked, "How is it? You can't tell who I am like this, right?"

Yang Bing laughed. "Even your own mother wouldn't recognize you!"

"Perfect!"

Yu Zhile waved a hand. "Let's go!"

...

Backstage in the studio.

The director asked, "Are all the singers here?"

A staff member replied, "Mr. Starmate hasn't arrived yet."

The director asked, "Where's Director Yang?"

The staff member answered, "He seems to have gone to the restroom."

The director felt a headache coming on. Why had that brat Yang Bing insisted that everyone else wear those masks too? Now every staff member on the production team was wearing the same iron-block mask, and even he, who had never had trouble telling people apart, was starting to lose the ability to distinguish faces. He could only identify them by their clothes and their badges.

At that moment, another staff member reported, "Director Zhang, Mr. Starmate has arrived too. All the singers are here now!"

"Mm."

The director responded. Since Yang Bing had emphasized that the singers' identities must be kept secret, they didn't even need makeup artists to come over for the recording. Once they were ready, they could begin filming at once.

Unlike the previous Singing Star program, where each singer had to spend a great deal of time being made up and preparing for two or three hours before filming could even begin.

This time, however, with the production already fully prepared, the moment the singers arrived they could start recording immediately.

Backstage, Yu Zhile, dressed in the Starmate plush suit, walked in. The other five singers all turned to look at him at once, each staring with curiosity.

"The main character always makes a grand entrance last! Mr. Starmate must be some huge star!"

A man's voice, distorted to sound a little like a robot, suddenly rang out. Then a loli voice followed: "Mr. Starmate, you couldn't come to rehearsal yesterday. Was it because you were recording another variety show?"

"Take a guess."

Yu Zhile had assumed the loli voice was his wife's voice on this show, but it turned out to belong to the female singer called Swan.

The wolf said, "Let's not try to guess each other's identities for now! When you get on stage and sing, the sharp-eyed judges and audience will figure out who you are!"

"Impossible!"

The Scarlet Rose spoke. Yu Zhile followed the sound and looked over, only to realize that this was his wife's voice on the show.

He hadn't expected it to be such a mature, alluring tone, but it suited the rock style she wanted to challenge herself with quite well.

Yu Zhile joined in. "I think so too. Whether it's the judges or the audience, I don't think anyone will guess who I am."

As soon as he said that, the others grew even more curious.

Who exactly was this Starmate?

The six singers all fought wits, trying to pry one another's identities out in backstage chatter.

Soon, with the director's reminder, the show was about to begin recording.

By then, the audience had already taken their seats.

The judges were also seated, and the host, Ni Qiqin, under Yang Bing's instructions and guidance, kept nodding to indicate she understood everything.

Then, at the director's command, The Masked Singer King officially began recording!

Backstage.

The six masked singers were drawing lots to determine the performance order.

When Yu Zhile saw his wife draw the number-one lot with his own eyes, he felt a pang of anxiety for her.

He had never expected her luck to be so poor. On the very first episode, she had drawn first to go on stage, while his own luck was rather good—he had drawn the last slot.

"Good luck."

Yu Zhile offered her a timely word of encouragement. With him leading the way, the other singers chimed in with a sentence or two as well. After all, they still didn't know one another's identities, so being polite and cordial was only proper.

Onstage, Ni Qiqin finished thanking the sponsors as usual, then began explaining the rules of the show.

In simple terms, each episode would feature six masked singers taking the stage. After the first round of competition, the top three by vote count would advance to a second round.

At that point, any singer who had failed to make the second round across three accumulated episodes would be eliminated.

Any singer who advanced to the second round across three accumulated episodes would move on to the semifinals.

Thus, before the semifinals, fully half the singers would be eliminated, and there would be no comeback round at all.

The eliminated singers could choose to unmask and leave, or they could choose to keep their identities secret.

As for the eventual champion, that person would have to unmask in glorious triumph.

Listening to Ni Qiqin's introduction, the judges and audience alike began eagerly anticipating the singers' performances.

After finishing her explanation, Ni Qiqin did not drag things out. Instead, she directly announced the first masked singer to take the stage.

Qin Haiyu let out a long breath, then walked out onto the stage with elegant, unhurried steps.

From the judges' panel, Teacher Wu stared at the Scarlet Rose as she emerged, utterly stunned. "The production team is ruthless! There's no way to guess a singer's identity from appearance alone. We can only try to judge from the voice!"

Another female judge said, "With legs this sensual and straight, and a figure this graceful, there can't be many female singers in the music world who fit that description, right?"

"It might not even be a singer," one judge said. "The production team definitely won't make it that easy for everyone to guess their identities!"

Teacher Wu agreed. "These days, show producers never play by the rules. Someone who takes part in a music program isn't necessarily a singer—it could also be an actor who just happens to sing beautifully!"

Qin Haiyu nodded toward the accompaniment band. When that thrilling, swaying melody began, the four judges all revealed looks of surprise in unison.

"They actually turned it into a rock song?"

"My God, opening with such fire? A woman with such a great figure who likes singing rock? This is killing me. I really can't think of any female singer who fits!"

"My perfectionism is acting up! I want to rush onto the stage and rip off her mask!"

...

Onstage, Qin Haiyu danced to the rhythm, following the dance her husband had taught her—steps that matched the song's beat especially well—while singing the love song that the two of them had arranged together into a rock version.

Backstage, Yu Zhile nodded in satisfaction. His wife's live performance state was even better than when she practiced at home, which meant she had not only held up under the pressure of being first on stage, but had actually surpassed herself.

"She sings so well!"

Yu Zhile shamelessly flattered his wife in full view of everyone backstage, playing up the drama as he said, "Who exactly is this Scarlet Rose? She's got such a great figure, sings so beautifully, and even likes rock—why can't I think of a female singer in the industry who fits her at all?"

Beside him, the female singer called Swan felt a stab to the heart, but when she looked at the Scarlet Rose singing and dancing onstage, those long legs and that figure truly did make her feel both envy and jealousy.

Thinking of her own short legs and bow legs, she suddenly regretted coming on this show.

Onstage, Qin Haiyu kept singing and dancing with complete focus, utterly unaware that everyone was discussing her figure behind her back and thus overlooking the fact that the rock song she was performing was, in fact, very pleasant to hear.

...

P.S. Sorry for the late update. Use your recommendation votes to punish me hard!