After the performance ended last night, Mu Li called Fu Peiyao.
"How is it? Are you happy to be ranked first and advance?" Fu Peiyao's voice was still full of energy.
Mu Li, however, had a bitter expression and sighed, "Don't even mention it. I was reported for using a cheat."
"Ah? What happened?" Fu Peiyao asked, puzzled.
"It's those contestants. They all protested, saying that my stage effects affected the audience's scoring judgment too much, so they collectively decided that I should no longer use those Pokémon skills in the future," Mu Li said helplessly.
"How can they do that? If they're so capable, why don't they go find their own?" Fu Peiyao was a bit indignant.
"Mainly, there's a lot of discussion online too. The production team probably wants to reduce trouble." Although Mu Li said this, he still felt a bit resentful in his heart. The most important thing was that he remembered being restricted in competitions before.
"So what do you plan to do? Not use them?" Fu Peiyao asked.
"If I don't use them, I don't use them, but I have an even better idea." Mu Li smirked, "Since they won't let me use Pokémon, I'll just bring people. How about it, Miss Pei Pei? Will you be free to join me for the show in the finals?"
"Ah? You want me to go with you?" Fu Peiyao said, surprised.
"The finals have a guest singing segment, where you can invite partners freely, and you're the only one I know," Mu Li said with a mischievous smile.
"Sigh, I feel like after you finish this show, you'll probably be blacklisted by the production team." Fu Peiyao sighed, "I pity the psychological shadows of those contestants."
"The production team wishes I'd cause a ruckus. Otherwise, where would they get their popularity?" Mu Li said.
"Since you've put it that way, of course, I have no problem! But what song should we sing?" Fu Peiyao asked.
"I'll send you the song later."
After ending his call with Fu Peiyao, Mu Li was about to leave, but unexpectedly, Liu Zhengqing and Han Li actually waited for him specifically to have a meal together after the show's recording ended.
Han Li stated that what he said on the show wasn't for nothing, and he had also heard Mu Li's previous works, finding them all very good, which led to his decision to take him as a student.
For Mu Li, it couldn't have been better. He had been studying with Xu Yunyi before, but Xu Yunyi was also very busy, and recently, the two of them rarely had time for classes. Now with Han Li, Mu Li was naturally very happy.
"It's just that I used to study with Senior Xu Yunyi, and now suddenly I'm studying with you, so I need to tell Brother Yunyi first," Mu Li explained.
Han Li naturally understood Mu Li's concerns. He waved his hand and said, "Xu Yunyi, don't worry about him. If it's inconvenient for you to say, I'll speak for you."
This made Mu Li feel a bit flattered, considering it was only his first time meeting Han Li.
Han Li also shared his thoughts: "I've always wanted to make some breakthroughs in music, but after seeing your performance style today, I suddenly had an epiphany. It turns out my previous ideas were always a bit limited. I always thought only humans understood music, but I never expected the collaboration between Pokémon and humans could reach such a level! It truly opened my eyes!"
"This time I also got a lot of inspiration. I estimate that in the coming time, I will try to produce a song in collaboration with Pokémon. At that time, I'll need your help to evaluate it," Han Li said, appearing very humble.
Mu Li naturally understood Han Li's good intentions. Perhaps this was the purity in a musician's heart. No, perhaps this was a unique human emotion.
After experiencing rain themselves, they always want to hold an umbrella for those who come after.
It is because of this spirit that humanity has been passed down to this day.
The live broadcast of "Vocal Creation Chapter" also achieved very good results, but the subsequent competition process accelerated even more—contestants were required to produce a brand new work for performance every week.
After the first elimination round, there were 8 contestants left on stage. What surprised Mu Li was that Qiao Bo, who had also secured one of the initial 4 spots with him, was also among the 8.
For this competition, Mu Li had to take a leave from Wu Ha once to record the live broadcast of "Vocal Creation Chapter."
The theme for the second elimination round was completely opposite to that of the first. If the first theme, "First Love," was as cliché as it gets, then the theme for the second elimination round was—suspense.
"Suspense? Isn't this like writing a novel?" Mu Li couldn't help but complain after seeing the topic.
"Who says it isn't?" Qiao Bo, also a songwriter, complained.
After two joint performances on stage, the two had become somewhat acquainted. The reason was simple: Mu Li was ostracized by the other six.
Because of Mu Li's performance style, the other six contestants felt that Mu Li had merely taken advantage of the live performance and didn't have much actual strength. As a result, Qiao Bo, who had advanced with Mu Li, was also ostracized.
This, however, improved the relationship between Mu Li and Qiao Bo.
"Have you thought of any good ideas?" Qiao Bo asked.
Mu Li rolled his eyes impatiently and said, "Brother, we're in a competitive relationship, okay?"
Qiao Bo also said impatiently, "Can't I even ask?"
"It's not that you can't." Mu Li didn't think Qiao Bo was asking to probe for information about him. "When I think of suspense, I first think of suspense novels and suspense films. It's actually a good direction to pay homage to a certain novel or film."
Qiao Bo nodded in agreement and said, "That's indeed good."
"What about you?" Mu Li asked curiously.
"It's a secret, hehe." Qiao Bo laughed, "You'll know when the time comes."
"Get lost!" Mu Li pointed to the door and said, "Riddlers don't get house."
Just as Mu Li was at home the next day, recalling which song would be suitable for this theme, Long Cheng called.
"Brother Long? How do you have time to look for me?" Mu Li asked curiously.
"It's just that I heard you entered the entertainment industry, and you didn't even come to see me," Long Cheng complained.
"I just debuted, how can I be famous enough to see you?" Mu Li said impatiently, "You're so busy, wouldn't meeting you require queuing for days?"
"You kid, still mocking me? My movie is almost finished, and I happen to have some time. How about we meet then?" Long Cheng proactively invited.
"Alright, does your movie need promotion? I'm currently a regular on "Wonderful Life." If you're interested, you can come and visit," Mu Li said.
"I've heard of that show. Is He Lin hosting it? I heard the ratings are pretty good. Aren't you a newcomer? How did you become a regular?" Long Cheng asked curiously.
"Don't you know my strength?" Mu Li said smugly.
"Oh, did you beat the director into submission? Impressive, they haven't called the police yet?" Long Cheng said sarcastically.
Mu Li said impatiently, "Just tell me if you're coming or not?"
"Coming, definitely coming. Since you've invited me, I'll make time to come," Long Cheng did not hesitate and directly accepted Mu Li's invitation.
"Alright then, it'll be perfect for a special ending episode for you," Mu Li said.
After the two discussed the details, Mu Li directly called Wang Xiang.
"Director Wang, I found you a guest. You might need to do a special episode."
Wang Xiang: "Who is it? And a special episode?"
"Long Cheng."
Wang Xiang, who was on the other end of the phone, immediately fell off his chair.
He struggled to get up, ignoring the pain in his body, grabbed the phone, and asked, "Who did you say?"
"Long Cheng! Don't tell me you don't know him?" Mu Li repeated.
Wang Xiang couldn't help but swallow, confirming, "Are you talking about Long Cheng, the world-class actor Long Cheng? The Long Cheng who makes movies?"
"Otherwise? Do you know anyone else named Long Cheng?" Mu Li asked, puzzled.
"No, this..." Wang Xiang was so shocked he couldn't even speak, "You suddenly tell me Long Cheng is coming to my show, this..."
"Isn't he an actor too? Doesn't he also need promotion?" Mu Li explained, "His movie just finished filming, isn't it time for marketing? So I asked him to come to our show. After all, it's better to keep the benefits within the family."
"No, how do you know him?" Wang Xiang still couldn't quite believe it.
"Director Wang, don't forget, although he's an actor, his main profession is China's number one Champion-level Pokémon trainer." Mu Li said impatiently, "Since he's a Champion, are there many I don't know?"
"That's true." After Mu Li's reminder, Wang Xiang finally remembered Long Cheng's other identity.
Actually, it wasn't Wang Xiang's fault. Long Cheng's actor identity was simply too successful, so much so that people often forgot that he was also China's publicly ranked number one Pokémon Champion trainer.
After the two confirmed the details of this matter, Wang Xiang brought up Mu Li's competition: "Why did you go and bully those kids?"
"What kids? I'm also a rookie who just debuted, okay?" Mu Li said impatiently.
"Oh come on, don't think I don't know. I've already asked around. They said you just went there to crush them," Wang Xiang complained, "So far, there are only two popular songs from this show, and both are yours. Everyone has teamed up to restrict you."
Wang Xiang sighed with emotion, "This instantly reminded me of when you used to compete and were also restricted in various ways, haha. I didn't expect that even on a different track, you'd still be restricted in various ways. I'm starting to doubt your constitution."
"What can I do?" Mu Li said helplessly, "But if they want to restrict me, let them. I'll still crush them with my strength."
"Have you already thought of a song for the next episode?" Wang Xiang asked, puzzled.
"You just wait and see the next show," Mu Li said with a smile, "I guarantee it'll be a surprise for everyone."
As soon as suspense novels were mentioned, what floated through Mu Li's mind was the classic "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," which was one of the few classic suspense detective works in his memory.
However, speaking of this work, one cannot help but mention the song Jay Chou wrote to pay tribute to Sherlock Holmes—"The Seventh Chapter of the Night."