Chapter 33

Chapter 33

At Lance's request, Su Xingyao ultimately decided to relay the message verbatim and directly transferred the money to Leon, with a note saying it was from Lance.

Leon, who had just come out of the laboratory, was initially happy to see a message from Su Xingyao.

However, upon quickly pulling off his gloves and seeing the money along with Lance's message, he immediately frowned and without a word, sent a coded message to Lance.

Three minutes later, Lance found his WeChat working like a bubble machine, popping out a full 250 "disdain" emojis in the chat interface.

After resolving the issue of Lance's copyright fee, Su Xingyao went back to training with his team.

When he returned, the other contestants in the team were already practicing with newly printed lyric sheets.

After all, Lance is not a native of the country, and not everyone is that familiar with him; some were even hearing the song for the very first time and needed to quickly memorize the melody.

"The song's style is so refreshing, but singing it is really tiring."

As Su Xingyao walked in, he heard the singer and dancer leaning against the wall, chuckling and griping.

"Gosh, it's really more tiring than singing and dancing simultaneously."

The singer and dancer isn't top-notch, but he's decent.

However, singing a song isn't just about nailing your part, so he had just sung along with the music through the entire song.

After singing through it, he felt like his throat was on the verge of giving out.

Luckily, he wasn't the only one singing the whole song.

When the singer and dancer mentioned this, the other contestants immediately agreed.

They had just tried singing the whole song themselves and found it absolutely grueling.

"No wonder all the comments I found say no one dares to cover this song yet."

The folk singer also laughed, "Anyone who can cover this is a god. But now, the five of us are practically demigods..."

While everyone joked, they all knew deep down that this song really suits their group's style, and everyone can find their perfect part.

Except for being a bit challenging to sing, everything else is spot on.

As they spoke, they saw Su Xingyao come back, and the singer and dancer quickly jogged over to him.

"Cat Cat, come sing it for us."

He added, pointing to a section of the lyrics he had marked, "This part has a lot of pitch changes. I almost passed out trying to sing it earlier."

Su Xingyao took the lyrics and checked the marked section, which was indeed higher pitched.

Hearing the singer and dancer ask Su Xingyao to sing it, the other contestants stopped practicing and started clapping and cheering.

"Cat Cat, sing!"

Su Xingyao is unanimously considered the strongest contestant, and they were eager to see how he'd perform this song.

Since they're all in the same group, they'd have to sing it eventually, so Su Xingyao didn't hesitate and nodded in agreement.

As everyone cheered, the background music started up again.

Standing still in his mascot suit, Su Xingyao looked down at the lyrics in his hand and began to sing along with the music.

Accompanied by the lively melody, a fresh and lively voice immediately filled the practice room.

The contestants then saw that the song they had all complained was difficult to sing was as easy as pie for Su Xingyao.

No matter how high the pitch shifted during the climax, he easily switched between falsetto and chest voice.

For more than three minutes, he sang the entire song standing still, hitting a series of high notes without breaking a sweat.

Although they had already recognized the cat's singing prowess, witnessing his strength firsthand for the first time left his teammates stunned and in awe once again.

If they hadn't sung it themselves, they might have believed that the song, which Su Xingyao performed with such ease, was as simple as he made it look.

Thinking back to how they had struggled to hit the high notes, the singer-dancer looked at Su Xingyao with admiration, "Cat, how do you pull off singing such a song so smoothly and effortlessly..."

Contestant 77 understood what the singer-dancer was saying and immediately picked up the microphone to speak to Su Xingyao.

"Cat, maybe you should move a bit during our performance? Like this."

After saying that, he raised the microphone and dramatically leaned forward, pretending to put in a lot of effort.

Then, Contestant 77 forcefully leaned his head back, looking like he was belting out high notes.

Su Xingyao looked at him puzzled, holding the microphone with his paw, and followed his movements, leaning forward and backward.

However, due to his mascot suit and the small range of motion, it looked like a kid awkwardly copying an adult.

After dutifully following Contestant 77's lead, Su Xingyao asked, "Why do we have to do this..."

Contestant 77 winked at him, "I'm worried folks might think you're faking it..."

Cat probably didn't know that nowadays, just singing effortlessly isn't enough; you also need to act, to show that you're putting in effort while singing.

After hearing Contestant 77's words, Su Xingyao finally understood.

He recalled a big shot who once complained in an interview.

Because he performed live so effortlessly, the audience suspected he was lip-syncing to a CD.

So later, during his performances, he would occasionally pass the mic to the crowd, say a few words here and there, and sometimes deliberately acted like he was straining to hit high notes to prove he was genuinely singing.

After that, no one ever doubted him again.

Thinking of this example, Su Xingyao remembered the moves Contestant 77 had shown him.

It was the same principle...

After Su Xingyao finished singing, the contestants, now comfortable with the song's melody, gathered in a circle to tackle the next challenge.

That was Chinese lyric writing.

This was something the entire team had agreed upon when selecting the song, as it involved live voting, and everyone felt that singing in their native language would better convey the song's message.

Of course, it was also to better connect with the audience and garner votes.

After reviewing the translation of Lance's lyrics, they found that the original lyrics' artistic conception was already great, so they decided to adapt his lyrics by translating them.

However, there are still some differences between foreign languages and Chinese, and not every translated word may fit the rhythm perfectly, requiring further refinement.

Initially, everyone divided the tasks and revised the lyrics for their respective parts.

Then, the folk singer happened to glance at Su Xingyao's notes and found that his translated and refined lyrics not only matched the song perfectly but were also incredibly beautiful.

After that, everyone gathered around Su Xingyao, asking him to help refine their lyrics as well.

So, Su Xingyao spent another half an hour revising the entire lyrics with everyone.

After revising the lyrics for several singers, the rapper, who had been struggling in the corner to add rap lyrics to the intro, finally finished.

He excitedly shared his work with everyone, but once his rap was added to the intro, it felt a bit off.

"It doesn't flow smoothly... Actually, I think your voice is quite captivating. Why not try rapping this part in a foreign language?"

The singer and dancer suggested a new idea to the rapper.

The rapper liked the idea but scratched his head in frustration, "I've never scored above 30 in foreign languages... I can handle 'come' and 'go,' but anything else..."

He shrugged helplessly.

However, after finishing those two lines, the rapper looked at Su Xingyao.

"Um... Tycoon Cat, can you write foreign rap lyrics?"

Suddenly addressed, Su Xingyao looked up, "I don't rap, but if you need lyrics, I can give it a shot..."

The rapper, who had been hoping for this, quickly handed him a pen.

Su Xingyao then picked up his notebook and quickly wrote a foreign-language rap right then and there.

He wrote quickly, but the quality was top-notch.

Once everyone agreed it was good, Su Xingyao carefully explained the meaning of each line to the rapper.

After patiently teaching the rapper to pronounce each word correctly, he offered some performance tips.

"You could try delivering it with a more laid-back tone."

Remembering the rapper's vocal tone, Su Xingyao tapped his pen between two words, "You could also try chuckling lightly here and there. It might add a nice touch."

The rapper humbly noted Su Xingyao's suggestions, quietly rehearsed the lyrics a few more times, and then performed it again with the music.

Three segments of low, relaxed rap mixed with a few casual chuckles.

After listening, the teammates all cheered, saying it was a perfect fit.

The rapper himself was a bit taken aback.

The new lyrics Su Xingyao had written for him matched his voice perfectly, both in mood and delivery.

And after adding those two playful chuckles as suggested, the whole performance became incredibly charming.

It caught everyone's attention from the very first line.

The singer and dancer couldn't help but rub his ears after listening, "Bro, with those chuckles, you could totally be an idol... It's really too charming."

The rapper laughed and quickly looked at Su Xingyao, "It's all thanks to Tycoon Cat... So, you really don't rap?"

Su Xingyao waved his hand, "I really don't know how."

The rapper shook his head regretfully, "But you're really skilled."

There's always a gap between people, and the rapper was well aware of this fact, not hiding that he was less talented in lyric writing compared to the cat tycoon.

He was actually quite glad that the cat tycoon helped him revise the lyrics.

He used to sing more intense and high-pitched songs and had never performed a song in this way before, but the result was surprisingly good.

Hearing the rapper's praise, Number 77 also nodded in agreement, "Our cat tycoon is the most versatile!"

The folk singer quickly took his lyrics to Su Xingyao, "Cat tycoon, my singing is the worst, could you coach me too?"

Everyone was not foolish; after hearing Su Xingyao sing and seeing him revise lyrics on the spot, they all knew who the key player in the team was.

So without further ado, they all quietly accepted Su Xingyao as the leader, and whenever they had problems during practice, they directly sought him out.

Before they knew it, Su Xingyao had become like a mentor to the group.

When the folk singer couldn't sing well, he patiently taught him line by line.

When the singer and dancer couldn't get the falsetto right, he repeatedly corrected the issues.

Even the rapper's pronunciation of every foreign word, he corrected one by one.

Su Xingyao was very patient and had a good temper. For better practice, he later played the piano during group practice, carefully refining every detail for everyone.

Su Xingyao was so busy helping everyone practice the song that he didn't even have time to glance at the sheet music...

However, the contestants who noticed this had already accepted that the cat tycoon was a musical genius.

So the contestants, who were already accustomed to it, weren't too surprised when they found out that he played the song without looking at the sheet music and without practicing it once.

After all, their cat tycoon is the best!

The program team gave them a very tight practice schedule, and they practiced together until nearly ten o'clock at night on the first day.

Before heading home, a staff member suddenly approached their group and told them that each group's members should prepare a talent show for filming tomorrow.

This talent show would be fully broadcast as a bonus after the program aired.

When the staff announced it, they kept emphasizing that they wanted something creative and unexpected for the audience.

After notifying them of this, the staff left.

Su Xingyao and his team, who were about to leave, gathered again for a quick meeting because of this notice.

"It has to be creative and unexpected..."

The folk singer stroked his chin and looked at Su Xingyao, suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Everyone... I have a bold idea, I wonder if it's possible..."

Under everyone's curious gaze, he gestured for them to look at Su Xingyao's mascot costume.

Su Xingyao, being looked at by everyone, pointed a paw at himself.

"Why are you looking at me..."

The folk singer laughed, "Cat, I've seen your previous video... Since you're so familiar with frog moms, how about... we all wear frog mom costumes to work tomorrow?"

The folk singer's suggestion was unanimously agreed upon by everyone except Su Xingyao.

Finally, with everyone watching, Su Xingyao reluctantly raised his hand.

After a pleasant discussion, they agreed that everyone would wear frog costumes for tomorrow's talent display.

Su Xingyao was tasked with buying the costumes, as he was the only one who knew where to get them directly.

However, it was already very late when they got off work, so Su Xingyao could only go to buy them the next morning.

The next day at nine o'clock, Su Xingyao estimated that the mall selling frog costumes should be open, so he grabbed a mask and hat and prepared to go out.

"Teacher Su."

Su Xingyao, who was about to leave, was called by Lu Jiuxu.

"Don’t you have a show to record today?"

Lu Jiuxu's gaze fell on Su Xingyao, noticing that he was dressed casually today.

Su Xingyao turned around and explained to Lu Jiuxu, "I need to go buy a few sets of costumes for my teammates first."

Lu Jiuxu casually replied, "I happen to be going to buy a toy for Coral, let's go together."

At Lu Jiuxu's suggestion, Su Xingyao went out with him.

He didn't have a driver's license and couldn't drive.

Once again catching a ride with Lu Jiuxu, Su Xingyao sat directly in the passenger seat, finding it much easier than hailing a cab.

They left early, and when they arrived at the mall, it had just opened.

But today was different. Su Xingyao noticed that the mall was very lively, with pink balloons and roses decorating the place.

As they walked in, someone handed them roses.

When Su Xingyao was handed a rose by a staff member, he suddenly realized that today was May 20th, known as "520," a day associated with love in Chinese culture.

He turned to look at Lu Jiuxu, who also had a rose in his hand, and then at the couples strolling hand in hand around them.

It felt a bit odd that the two of them were here together today.

"Which floor are the costumes on?"

Lu Jiuxu didn't seem to notice this, confidently holding the rose and stepping into the elevator.

Su Xingyao, who was spacing out, was brought back to reality by his voice and quickly hit the button for the fourth floor.

The elevator soon arrived at the fourth floor, and Su Xingyao headed straight to the store selling the frog mom costumes.

The store clerk handed him five tickets with a smile and made sure to remind him, "This way, you can go downstairs and draw five times."

Excited to find out there was a raffle, Su Xingyao was very happy.

After a quick discussion, they decided to split up.

Lu Jiuxu and the store clerk were in charge of loading the costumes into the car, while Su Xingyao went to the customer service desk on the first floor.

Today, I must participate in this lottery; it doesn’t matter what the prize is, but the lottery tickets must be used.

After all, with the lottery tickets in hand, Su Xingyao knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he didn’t use them.

So Su Xingyao took the receipts to the service counter and swapped them all for lottery tickets.

While he was exchanging them, the staff in charge of the lottery was enthusiastically telling passersby that the biggest prize of the day was a bouquet of 999 roses, and the second prize was an oversized plush toy...

After the exchange, Su Xingyao handed his lottery tickets to the staff, "Is this where I draw the lottery?"

"Yes, right here."

The staff collected his lottery tickets and pointed to the lottery box beside them, "Right here, sir."

Su Xingyao quickly approached the lottery box, closed his eyes, rubbed his hands together, and said a quick prayer.

He usually has bad luck with lotteries, so he hoped this time would be different.

After praying, Su Xingyao reached out and quickly drew the first ticket.

Holding the ticket in his hand, Su Xingyao took a nervous breath and opened it after a few seconds.

It simply said—a pack of tissues...

Su Xingyao looked up and checked it against the prize list.

Wow, the consolation prize...

Just his luck!

Seeing that he had drawn the consolation prize, the staff quickly encouraged him, "It's okay, you still have four more chances."

Su Xingyao tried to stay positive and drew again.

The ticket was the same as before—still a pack of tissues...

...

Su Xingyao silently placed the two packs of tissues on the table in front of him, took a deep breath, and wondered if his lottery-drawing technique was off.

The third time, he didn’t rush; instead, he took his time feeling around inside the lottery box.

He picked one up, was about to pull it out, but changed his mind and grabbed another one instead.

After some back-and-forth and hesitation, he finally settled on one.

Su Xingyao opened the ticket with high hopes for the third time.

Looking down, he saw the same four words—a pack of tissues.

...

Su Xingyao was speechless.

Three consolation prizes in a row.

Today just isn’t my day for lotteries.

"What did you draw?"

Just as Su Xingyao was hesitating if he should wash his hands to get rid of the bad luck, Lu Jiuxu, who had just put down the mascot costume, walked up behind him.

As if seeing a savior, Su Xingyao quickly turned to Lu Jiuxu.

"Mr. Lu, there are two chances left; you can draw them."

After saying that, he picked up a pack of tissues and waved it at Lu Jiuxu, with a pout, "I have such bad luck."

With the mask on, Su Xingyao's eyes stood out as especially lively.

Lu Jiuxu noticed his slightly furrowed brows, thinking that he looked exceptionally cute in this state.

Without saying anything, Lu Jiuxu did as Su Xingyao suggested and reached out to pick two cards.

Su Xingyao, who had been staring at Lu Jiuxu, noticed that he had drawn two cards at once and thought his approach was so bold!

Unlike himself, he had been hesitating for so long.

And still, the last prize!

Seeing Su Xingyao staring at his hands, Lu Jiuxu handed the cards to him.

"Go ahead and open them."

Drawing prizes always gets people excited to know the result.

Su Xingyao was no exception.

Although he was a bit worried that his bad luck might still persist even when he touched them.

But thinking that since it was Lu Jiuxu who drew them, it should be different. He immediately took the cards from him and carefully tore open the first one.

Su Xingyao first tore a corner and saw a small character appear.

Excited, he quickly tore it open.

"It's a small doll!"

Seeing the five characters, Su Xingyao's eyes instantly sparkled.

Although it was only a third prize, after three packs of tissues in a row, he was already quite satisfied with this sudden little doll.

"Mr. Lu, look! A small doll!"

Su Xingyao happily waved the card around and then handed it to the staff.

Buoyed by the small doll, Su Xingyao's next action was much quicker.

After tearing open the card, he discovered another small doll.

The staff also saw the prize and smiled, congratulating them, "Congratulations, two third prizes."

After saying that, he couldn't help but praise Lu Jiuxu to Su Xingyao, "Your guy..."

Realizing that his usual slip of the tongue today was not quite right, he quickly corrected himself, "Your friend has good luck."

Su Xingyao, who was still happy, didn't catch the slip and instead looked curiously at the prize.

The staff quickly turned around to grab two dolls.

They were two identical little bears, the kind that can be attached to a keychain.

Lu Jiuxu took the bears and lined them up in his palm to show Su Xingyao.

The adorable little bears were tiny, smiling towards the two of them.

Lu Jiuxu picked up one of them and placed the other in the bag where Su Xingyao kept his tissues.

"Let's each take one."

*

After claiming the prizes, Su Xingyao and Lu Jiuxu went to the second floor to buy toys for Coral.

As they were leaving, they passed an arcade and were approached by a young woman.

"Hey, you guys want to come in and play? We have a lot of free events going on in our store today."

Su Xingyao followed her gaze inside and saw many people playing, laughter erupting now and then.

Su Xingyao felt a little tempted.

In fact, he had never really been to an arcade before.

In the past, he didn't have the money, and later, he didn't have the time.

As Su Xingyao hesitated, Lu Jiuxu gently grasped his wrist through his thin jacket and made the decision for him.

"Come on, let's check it out."

Following Lu Jiuxu, Su Xingyao was led to the busiest area.

As Lu Jiuxu released his hand, the staff made an announcement.

"Hey everyone, the third round of the claw machine contest is starting soon. Get ready!"

After hearing this, Su Xingyao realized that Lu Jiuxu had brought him to the claw machines.

Behind them stood a staff member, enthusiastically introducing the game to a couple.

"For every doll you grab within a minute, you get to keep it. The person who grabs the most dolls also gets a free surprise gift!"

Hearing this, Su Xingyao glanced up at Lu Jiuxu, his eyes silently asking if they should give it a try.

People are always drawn to things that are challenging but just out of reach.

Su Xingyao rarely played claw machines and wasn't very good at them.

But every time he saw one, he couldn't resist the urge to try.

Especially today, with the special event...

Su Xingyao was already feeling a thrill of excitement.

Lu Jiuxu saw the hope in his eyes and, catching his gaze, nodded. He then turned to the staff and asked for two baskets, each filled with ten tokens.

Su Xingyao took one basket and stood in the corner, while Lu Jiuxu stood next to him, each at their own machine.

Soon, thanks to the staff's encouragement, all four rows of claw machines were packed with people.

However, all the participants were couples, sharing one machine, some even hugging each other.

In front of the many claw machines surrounded by couples, Su Xingyao realized that he and Lu Jiuxu, both single, stood out quite noticeably.

But Su Xingyao didn’t let it bother him. He held two coins in his hand, his eyes fixed on the plushies inside, scrutinizing them.

Once everyone was set, the staff gave the signal to start.

Without wasting a second, Su Xingyao quickly inserted two coins and began maneuvering the machine, preparing to grab.

He watched intently, his mind racing through the strategies he had seen others share online.

After finding a tricky angle, he pressed the button just as the strategy suggested.

And then... Nothing. Not even a single touch on the plushie’s fur...

Su Xingyao didn’t get discouraged and immediately went for a second try.

Su Xingyao was good at many things, but when it came to claw machines, he had zero talent.

No surprise, he missed again on the second try.

Because his movements were too frantic and he took too long to adjust, by the time he had only made two attempts, the staff announced that forty seconds were already up.

Hearing the time, Su Xingyao instinctively glanced over at Lu Jiuxu.

To his surprise, he saw that Lu Jiuxu had already grabbed four...

And in the claw machine, the claw was dangling another one in mid-air.

The next second, it fell straight down.

Su Xingyao’s hand froze, and he turned his head in shock to ask Lu Jiuxu, “You’ve already got five?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the girl from the couple next to them frantically called out to her boyfriend, “Honey, help me... I haven’t caught any.”

Her shout instantly threw Su Xingyao off. Realizing time was almost up, he quickly inserted coins to get ready for the next grab.

“Do you need help?”

As the two coins clinked into the machine, Lu Jiuxu stepped over to Su Xingyao’s side.

Once the coins were in, the machine started up, and the countdown appeared on the screen.

Su Xingyao nervously eyed the remaining fifteen seconds and quickly nodded at Lu Jiuxu.

“Yeah, yeah, where should I aim this?”

“A little further back.”

Su Xingyao followed Lu Jiuxu’s instructions to adjust the position, but he didn’t get the force right, and the position was a bit off.

“A little to the left.”

At that moment, a couple somewhere snagged a plushie, and Su Xingyao only heard a burst of screams, completely missing what Lu Jiuxu said.

He turned to look at Lu Jiuxu, “Which side?”

In the final moments, everyone became tense, and people started shouting.

Suddenly, the area erupted with waves of screams, and the staff began the countdown.

The noise drowned out Su Xingyao's voice.

"Ten seconds countdown, nine... eight..."

The rapid countdown made it hard for Su Xingyao to hear, so he turned to Lu Jiuxu for help.

"Six... five..."

When the countdown reached five, Su Xingyao felt a warm touch cover his right hand, which was controlling the direction.

Lu Jiuxu stood close behind Su Xingyao, his right hand over Su Xingyao's, guiding him to adjust the angle with precision.

A faint woody scent filled the air, and Su Xingyao, momentarily distracted, finally heard Lu Jiuxu's deep voice.

"You can press it now."

Lu Jiuxu's warm breath brushed against his ear, sending a feather-like tickle that made Su Xingyao's ear heat up.

His heart seemed to skip a beat.

He didn't see what had just happened inside the claw crane machine...

At the last second, he finally pressed the button.

Immediately, a StellaLou plush toy was steadily picked up.

Su Xingyao quickly crouched to pick up the toy, his right hand still warm from Lu Jiuxu's touch.

The staff soon started resetting the machine.

Together, Su Xingyao and Lu Jiuxu had won six toys, and the staff generously let them keep all of them.

Lu Jiuxu was the first to finish and had the most toys, easily securing first place.

The theme of the day was 520, and the first-place prize was tied to the theme.

The staff offered them a free pair of couple phone cases.

When asked about his phone model, Lu Jiuxu revealed that Su Xingyao's phone was the same as his.

Su Xingyao glanced at the phone cases for their model and spotted a cat-and-dog themed couple set.

A black dog and a white cat stared lovingly at each other.

The set seemed to suit both of them, and Lu Jiuxu immediately chose it.

As they got into the car, Lu Jiuxu put on his phone case and handed the white cat one to Su Xingyao.

Su Xingyao stared at the phone case in his hand, puzzled. "Mr. Lu, is this really for me?"

"But isn't this a couple phone case?"

Lu Jiuxu rested his hand on the window, his voice teasing but firm. "Yes, we won this as a team, didn't we?"

"Of course, you deserve one too."

*

After returning from the mall, Su Xingyao brought the five frog mom costumes he had bought to the set.

After rehearsing the harmonies in the afternoon, the production team summoned them to the spot for filming the B-roll in the evening.

Before the recording, the producer inquired with a warm smile.

"What’s your group’s talent act?"

Number 77 politely raised his hand and swiftly pulled out the frog costumes from the bag at his feet, waving them toward the producer.

"‘Little Jumping Frogs.’"

The director stared at the five frogs that had magically appeared: ...

"You all really know how to put on a show."

Once everyone suited up, Su Xingyao’s team started filming their performance.

It was exactly 8 PM.

The third episode of *The Voice of Heaven* aired right on time, as always.

But this time was different.

Less than an hour after the video dropped, Shen Huaixi, who had enjoyed a spotless reputation since his debut, found himself in hot water for the first time.