I'm Really a Superstar

In the King of Masked Singers recording studio.

The audience was already seated; the recording was about to begin.

Presently, the first judge walked onto the stage and took a seat, followed by the second one, then the third.

"Wow, it's Chen Guang!"

"It's Chen Guang!"

"Grandma Zhang Xia is here too!"

"Hahaha, Old Yao!"

"Why did Old Yao style his hair into a pompadour 1 ? Did he grow out his hair?"

"Amy!"

"Amy! I love you!"

"I've finally seen her in person!"

The recording did not begin yet. Yao Jiancai and Chen Guang were both smiling and waving at the audience.

Amy was chatting with Zhang Xia. The two other judges, Chen Yidong and Wang Zhuishu, were also sharing a laugh, discussing the competition that would be taking place soon. It was not just the audience who was looking forward to the start of this show; even the judges were greatly anticipating it as they did not know who the participating masked singers were. Would any of their old friends be competing on the show?

At this moment, Dong Shanshan, who was dressed in a women's suit, stepped onto the stage. Her fashion today was different from before. She not in her usual sexy short skirt or long dress. Instead, she was dressed in a more gender-neutral, more conventional petite suit today, with her hair up, and even wore a pair of golden-rimmed glasses. This style had completely changed her air, and was in consideration of the show having only one host, so it would be unsuitable if Dong Shanshan dressed in the way she used to. That wouldn't help her solidify her stage presence, as the clothes of a host had to befit the stage. All such details were carefully observed in their production.

Quite a few of the male audience members started screaming.

"Shanshan! She's so beautiful!"

"She looks really pretty in those clothes!"

"Yeah, it really suits her nicely!"

"She's got class!"

The atmosphere in the studio was heating up!

The staff were doing their final preparation work in the recording studio.

Hu Fei made last checks with his team. "Lights?

A lighting technician replied, "OK!"

Hu Fei asked, "Cameras?"

"Camera 1 OK!"

"Camera 2 ready!"

"All cameras on standby."

Hu Fei said, "Shanshan, do a mic test."

Dong Shanshan blew into the microphone. "Hello, hello, OK!"

The Miracle Wheels also went onstage. They had done their sound checks earlier and only needed a final confirmation check.

Everything was ready.

Hu Fei nodded and said, "Alright then. All departments, take note. The one-minute countdown begins now!"

30 seconds…

20 seconds…

10 seconds…

It was time!

The recording began!

A camera jib crane captured the panoramic view of the studio!

The stage lights twinkled as countless spotlights suddenly focused simultaneously on a door. The door opened up and a woman in a suit, wearing a red mask, slowly walked out. Her high heels clicked with every step she took. In no time at all, she elegantly stood at center stage.

The woman raised her microphone and spoke into it, and a very shrill voice came out. It was obvious that this was being resynthesized through a voice transformer. "Welcome to Beijing Television's Mystery Music Show, brought to you exclusively by Bright Fruit Cocoa—King of Masked Singers!"

The audience instantly rose from their seats with cheers and applause!

After the advertising messages consisting of a few hundred words were read, the woman turned around all of a sudden and hooked her hand behind her head. By the time she turned around again, the mask she had been wearing was off. She gently put on a pair of golden-rimmed glasses and exposed her beautiful face to everyone.

"I am your host, Dong Shanshan!"

Her voice was now back to normal!

With this opener, the audience was instantly stoked!

A mask.

A synthesized voice.

The reveal.

This is what King of Masked Singers is about!

At the guessing panel.

Zhang Xia smiled. "Interesting."

Amy clapped. "This is fun!"

Chen Guang's heart was beating very fast. "I'm anticipating this more and more."

Wang Zhuishu laughed. "Old Chen, do you think we'll bump into any old friends here?"

"Definitely," Chen Guang said, "but we may not recognize them."

...

Backstage.

Zhang Ye was hooked up to an IV drip in the waiting room.

Han Qi stayed right beside him and helped him keep the bag aloft.

The recording had already started. In the waiting room was a TV he could use to watch the entire recording.

"You can go back, Little Han."

"No thanks."

"I'm fine, really. Can't you tell?"

"Please stop talking."

"That's why I'm saying you can go back. Come back and call me when it's almost my turn. I would like to rest for a while by myself, that OK? Don't make me talk anymore."

"…Alright."

Han Qi had no choice but to leave for now. She went out and closed the door behind her.

Only Zhang Ye was left in the waiting room. Now, he finally clutched his chest. He could feel a pain in his chest as he took several deep breaths and coughed. He couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself at his current situation. He knew that this was not pain from pneumonia but the acting up of his old injuries. He did not know if it was because of the cortisone shots, or if he had caught a cold this time because of a lowered immunity stemming from his old injuries, or if it was due to the inflammation of his wound, which in turn aggravated his old injuries, but he was feeling extremely uncomfortable right now. His lungs hurt even just breathing!

In the end, he still could not escape from the injuries he'd received during the National Martial Arts Conference two months ago. Initially, he was quite alright. But as those injuries were internal and were received from Grandmaster Chen Xi's concealed power attacks on him, followed by the concealed power injuries that he suffered when he went on a consecutive rampage against the dozen over large sects, the injuries were there all the while. Injuries like these required time to heal, and they might even kill him if they were serious. Rao Aimin's younger sister and brother-in-law had died a year after suffering internal injuries caused by Zhou Tianpeng's concealed power attacks on them. And it wasn't just him who was affected. Rao Aimin herself carried some internal injuries, while the Huashan Sect leader, Chen Xi, was even worse off. It was rumored that he hadn't been seen in public for over two months. A lot of people had suffered rather serious injuries during that intense battle!

Old injuries.

A cold.

A fever.

This was Zhang Ye at his weakest. It was also the time when he was in the worst shape, yet he was immediately about to take part in the first competition round of King of Masked Singers. Having been thrown into such circumstances, Zhang Ye was forced bite the bullet. Because he was the type of person who never believed in fate!

He wanted to sing.

So today, he wasn't going to let anyone stop him!

...

In the studio.

A smile hung from Dong Shanshan's face, and she said in a steady rhythm, "This singer, the first to make an appearance, has a very clean voice and wide vocal range. Let us welcome—King of Oddity!"

King of Oddity?

What kind of name was that?

Everyone stared at the door curiously.

At the guessing panel, the judges had already started to make guesses.

Chen Guang smiled and said, "King? Of Oddity?"

Yao Jiancai blinked and said, "Could this be Zhang Ye?"

Zhang Xia was tickled pink.

Amy nearly burst out laughing!

Zhang Ye?

Just because there was the word "oddity" in the name, it has to be Zhang Ye?

These two people were indeed long-time partners. All they did was mock each other!

That remark was also picked up by the cameras, but everyone knew that Old Yao was just kidding.

"Wow!"

"He's coming out!"

"That costume is so cool!"

"Oh!"

Dong Shanshan walked away from center stage and stood in a corner of the wings.

The first masked singer came out onto the stage. His mask was quite peculiar, with nearly every color of the rainbow, while the mesh he wore covered his entire head and even hid his neck! He took a few steps forward and stood in the middle of the stage.

The famous variety host, Chen Yidong, said in shock, "How are we supposed to guess like this! We can't even see their hands since they're wearing gloves!"

Yao Jiancai said, "We can see their socks though."

Wang Zhuishu laughed and said, "Are you going to identify them from their socks?"

Amy was already curiously leaning forward just to get a tad bit closer. "Who could this be? There's not a single clue as to who it is!"

Zhang Xia was also analyzing the singer. "Are they tall?"

The lights abruptly dimmed.

The entire studio quieted as everyone stared at the singer in anticipation.

The music played. A very playful melody rang out!

King of Oddity closed his eyes and started swaying his head. He wasn't nodding to the beat of the music, instead thrashing his head from left to right!

Then, his legs started moving too!

He was dancing to the music, except that this dance looked quite funny!

His voice immediately came out the moment he opened his mouth to sing!

"Ya ain't doing good.

"But ya ain't sayin' so.

"I think you're,

"Truly an idiot.

"Ya say, ya say.

"I say, I say."

When everyone heard the short rap intro at the beginning of the song, they immediately knew what song this was. It was a relatively popular song in recent years, titled "Idiot," and was originally performed by a female Taiwanese singer. However, King of Oddity's performance of this song differed from the original. The tempo was clearly faster, and there was more portamento 2 to it!

The first verse of the song finished.

The audience immediately started applauding!

Zhang Xia concluded, "It's a young man!"

Chen Guang said, "Right, he's definitely not above 40!"

Amy solemnly stated, "It's a man."

Wang Zhuishu laughed and looked at her. "I can make that out too, y'know!"

As King of Oddity sang faster, the studio's atmosphere became increasingly lively!

The rhythm was great!

It made everyone tempted to sing along!

Chen Guang evaluated, "This guy is great at performing live. He's probably a professional singer!"

Zhang Xia shook her head. "Not necessarily."

Wang Zhuishu sighed and said, "He sings really well, but who could it be?"

Amy suddenly said with a start, "Aiyo! Could it be that, um, that, what's his name again?! Qiqi? The Taiwan Music Awards winner?"

Wang Zhuishu denied her. "No. I've written songs for Qiqi before, and this singer's figure does not look like his."

"I think, I think!

"I think, I think!

"Ya are, ya are!

"Truly an idiot!"

The song ended!

Everyone was applauding in the studio!

Amy was also clapping in excitement. "Great! That was great!"

Zhang Xia's evaluation was very high too. "Are there any singers in the industry whose portamento and sense of rhythm are so good?"

Wang Zhuishu said anxiously, "Who could this person be!"

The audience was guessing as well.

"I like him so much!"

"That was really nice to listen to!"

"Is this guy a singer? Or an actor?"

"Are there any actors who can sing this well?"

"I don't know anyone who can!"

"He does sound a little familiar, but I can't remember who it is!"

"Aiyo, I'm so anxious. Please just reveal his face. When does the identity reveal happen? I really really want to know who this guy is!"

"He has to lose before he reveals his face!"

"Ah, then I guess I'd better forget about it."

"The first singer's this good?"

"This is so exciting!"

"This show's better than I'd imagined!"

"Yeah, I initially thought that I could guess their identities as soon as I heard them. Cuz they're all famous, y'know? Shouldn't this be super easy? It was only after I heard them that I realized it was completely fucking impossible to guess who it was!"

"Who's the next singer?"

"Who's next?"

King of Oddity smiled and bowed before leaving the stage.

Dong Shanshan returned to the stage and said, "The next contestant has a very beautiful sounding name and a very beautiful mask. Let us welcome—Petal Shower."

...

Backstage.

There was a knock on the door.

Zhang Ye took a deep breath. "Come in."

Han Qi came in. "Teacher, you can start prepping now. We're on the second contestant, while you're the fifth to go on. We have at most 15 minutes."

Zhang Ye nodded. "OK."

Then he stood up and pulled out the intravenous needle from his arm.

Let's do this!