Superstar Aspirations

Translator: Vian

Editor: Shem

There was the Director and five actors from "Vie for Supremacy" that came to the studio today.

Although there have always been the saying in the entertainment circle: "Excellent actors can also sing", but it just so happened that none of the five people presents have released a single. Needless to say for Rong Xu, he just joined the circle and had no time to try; Tang Menglan and co. have never sang in these years, not even the theme song for their own TV dramas.

Under such circumstances, for "Extremely Entertaining" staff to arrange for Tang Menglan to sing itself was a gimmick.

When Tang Menglan said she wanted to sing together with Rong Xu, her words was already broadcasted all across the country. Each audience member could hear her words on TV or they could see spoilers from other netizens online, therefore this matter was now unavoidable.

Although the program's Director was shocked for a moment, but he quickly recovered and casted a look to the hosts. In the next moment, the host Tian ge immediately smiled and said: "Since Menglan said it this way, then we also want to hear Rong Xu's beautiful singing. Our Rong Xu is refusing to come up stage, where's the applause~"

The audience immediately loudly clapped.

Rong Xu did not think that the situation would become like this. According to the script the staff gave him, after Tang menglan finished singing would be the final ending segment. The hosts would summed up the entire show, promote "Vie for Supremacy" to the audience, and then finally end.

However, Rong Xu wasn't too flustered when encountering this unexpected hiccup. He first bashfully rushed to hide behind Ye Qiao, then the host joined in to create an 'unrefusable' situation for him, and only then did he step up to the center of the stage.

When he walked up beside Tang Menglan, Rong Xu saw the other smiled till her eyes turned into crescents, with an eyebrow raised, and was looking at him provocatively. Her face seemed to be saying: "Xiao Xu ah, can you really sing? You can't immediately make a fool of yourself ah, or else your Tang jie will laugh at you forever yo~"

Rong Xu could not help but laugh.

Among the whole "Vie for Supremacy" crew, only Director Guo and Tang Menglan would dare to play around like this. Say if it was someone else; even if it was Dong Zheng, he would not dare to create these unexpected situations, Because no matter the results of the program later, "Extremely Entertaining" would mark him down. But if it was Director Guo and Tang Menglan, the program would not dare to treat them like that.

Rong Xu slightly curled his lip, and pretended to not see the deliberate provocation in Tang Menglan's eyes: "Tang jie, what do you want to sing?"

Tang Menglan saw that she didn't manage to provoke her little friend and was disappointed, then said: "A love song of course. The theme song of our "Vie for Supremacy" just happens to be a male and female duet. Let's just sing that, we're all familiar with it."

This time, Tang Menglan created a very good situation. You could promote the drama this way, so the Director immediately had the song's MV prepared.

The somber and desolate sound of the Qiang flute resounded through the studio, letting everyone recall the boundless yellow sand of the battlefield, and so they did not discover that the youth who from beginning to end stood calmly on stage slightly loosen his hand and signed in relief.

"Vie for Supremacy" theme song "Resonance of War" was one of these few song Rong Xu knew how to sing. He had only listened to a few song from this world. Fortunately Tang Menglan chose this one, otherwise, if she were to chose any other well-known song, it was really uncertain if Rong Xu would know how to sing it.

The wind in the opening of "Resonance of War" was something that the crew especially went to the desert to record; as it interweaved with the Qiang flute played by the barbarians, quickly, a scene of a bleak and cruel battlefield was portrayed. Swords clashed, producing a clanking sound; in the next moment when the ten thousand soldiers cried out, all the clamorous noise abruptly stopped, and all left was the movingly tragic and slow background music.

At this time, Tang Menglan's voice slowly flowed out with the music.

"Twenty years of dreams, flows steadily like a river."

"Making a wish to the brewed wine during Qingming, spilling into the earth in those years…"

Tang Menglan's singing was not as beautiful or as pleasant to the ears as professional singers, but there was a unique low huskiness to her voice. She sang the lyrics gently, and on the big screen behind her, the MV of "Vie for Supremacy" theme song was being played.

Twenty years ago, Chu State decided to unify the world and declared war against Liang Empire. This was raged on for eleven years, and Chu State was defeated. The dreams of the world and beyond had all became a wisp. In MV, the soldiers all held spears and swords, their honor not allowing them to glance back as they rush towards the enemy, all falling one by one in the battlefield. The camera then suddenly pulled, zoomed out, and filling the desolated scene was the corpses of soldiers of the two countries.

After singing the two words "those years", Tang Menglan softly sighed. The lamentable lyrics along with the cruel and bleak battlefield cause the hearts of countless audiences sink, feeling melancholy and at unease.

It was at this time that Rong Xu's voice was conveyed to the audience’s ears.

"Ten of thousands of calculations are all wrong, hopeless to overturn the country."

"Hongyan sends the letters without looking back; the armored war horses charged cross the frozen river, defeated on the Central Plains…"

The TV screen still showed the MV so the audience did not see Rong Xu, but only heard a clear and gentle voice flowing out from the audio. The voice was as clear as the trickling stream between the mountains, he gently sang each word, but towards the last line, it suddenly turned cold and firm, fierce like the glint of cold steel. The tenderness no longer could be seen, what was left was only a cold-blooded and ruthless Imperial Crown Prince.

As the words "Central Plains" resoundingly fell, it instantly let people be shocked from head to toe, their ears inexplicably becoming numb.

At this moment, the TV screen suddenly changed from the MV to the stage.

Two stage lights shone down on the middle of the stage. Tang Menglan turned to look to her side, and that youth who was been stared at was also gently gazing towards her. These two people's gaze met in the middle of the stage, as if it was a brief tender moment between the two, but in the next moment, Tang Menglan turned back without hesitation and sang the next lyrics.

In most cases for any duets, one party would be biased as the lead vocalist and the other as the sub vocalist.

In "Vie for Supremacy", the true main protagonist was still the female general Xiao Xiang played by Tang Menglan. She led a large and powerful army to capture the enemy country; she herself charged into the ten thousand strong enemy army, valiant and formidable. Her ability and bravery were not losing to men. As for the male lead Xie Jingxian, he was represented more for their country's overall situation and strategy planning.

Therefore in this "Resonance of War", there were more of Tang Menglan's lines and less of Rong Xu's lines.

When Tang Menglan sang "Sending you letters over eight hundred li", Rong Xu softly sang "Waiting thirteen years for you to win and return", in a low voice.

The two had a tacit understanding, Tang Menglan's singing could not be considered as polished and melodious, but paired with the powerful and moving MV, it let people felt that it was very heartbreaking. And every time she sang a line, a clear and elegant male voice would closely follow, leading into a duet. His soft whispered seems to be a lover's most intimate words, ringing in every audience member's ears.

The audience in the studio was silent, the audience in front of the TV also held their breath.

That was from that time when Xiao Xiang unfortunately suffered a serious injury due to falling off her horse in a surprise attack; Xie Jingxian was entangled by Liang Empire's envoy and was unable to leave for the battlefield to see her. When Tang Menglan sang the question "But have you ever missed me?", the music stopped. Everyone quietly waited for Xie Jingxian's answer.

It seemed to be only a moment, and it seemed to be a hundred years; amidst the soft sigh, the man's voice sang——

"Weather in life or death, I will never do you wrong!"

The hoarse voice told of a great affection, the sound of every word was etched into everyone's hearts, thumping loudly. It was like a long river stretching over thousands of li, full of one person's affection and longing of their beloved. He was burdened with work, but he did his utmost to think of a way to go get even a glance of his beloved woman. And in the end, he stood there in front of the tightly closed city gate.

Watching, waiting, turning around, then leaving.

And at this moment, the TV screen cutting from the MV again. Everyone saw a handsome and beautiful youth furrowing his brows, his eyes slightly lowering, quietly gaze into the camera. His eyes were clear and bright, like the most brilliant of gems shining under the light as glistens. He was clearly just looking at the camera but at this moment, no matter who it was, they all felt that this person was looking at them.

That pair of phoenix eyes were filled endlessly with concern and desperation. Do not know if it was a psychological effect, but you would suddenly think that his face was a bit pale, as if he was being forced to his limit by everyone else. The country and the beauty, the beauty and the country. Why was there such a choice in the world, but he still must choose!

At this moment, the young man slightly raised his lips, lightly laughing once, and asked: "But have you ever loved me?"

Boom!

Countless fans' ears flushed red, going numb from this gentle and low sigh, to where even their heart turned soft!

Qin Cheng who was far away in America was gripping his phone at the moment as he watched the fans on the forums and Weibo constantly screaming out their feelings.

【Ah ah ah ah ah ah Why is Rongrong's singing so nice to listen too! His voice is so clear, so nice!】

【Have loved, have loved! We all definitely loved! Ao ao ao ao!】

【QAQ He's so handsome, and is also good at singing, he looks even more brilliant when illuminated by the spotlight, I suddenly feel like I'm not worthy of my husband wu wu wu wu…… 】

【How can my family's child be so outstanding! Requesting for the MP3 of Rongrong's and Tang Menglan's version! This version of "Resonance of War" is so good! Especially when my family's child asked 'have you ever loved me', I immediately wanted to rush into the TV to hug him and give him a kiss kiss kiss kiss~! The look in his eyes was absolutely perfect! Wu wu wu wu, my child sings so well, I want to listen to my child's singing for another hundred years!!!】

Surname fan Qin: "……"

I also want to hear!!!

Qin Cheng had never heard Rong Xu sing before, or rather, it should be said that he seldom would deliberately listen to someone sing. He did not really like to listen to songs or sing, that was why when Xu Jin suggested that he should also be an 'excellent actor who could also sing' ten years ago, he decisively refused: "I have no such talent for singing."

No doubt that with Qin Cheng's popularity, even if he was tone deaf and sings out of tune, as long as he released an album, there would unquestionably be a huge hoard of fans rushing to buy it to where it would let him get a sales score that most singers would not be able to achieve. But he did not do it.

No talent was one reason, but more importantly he was… lazy.

On this side, surname fan Qin had on a cold face as he looked at the computer screen with a blank expression, watching the webcast. Here, he had only just reached the third game, but over there, a popular hashtag had already landed in the 30th place on Weibo's trending list.

Qin Cheng clicked on the hashtag only to see a bunch of fans excitedly cheering and screaming, but there wasn't any audio videos.

These fans were almost all Rong Xu's and Tang Menglan's fans.

Tang Menglan's fans cried that their Goddess' singing was so nice that they were being bent. Rong Xu's fans were even more excited! Because in honesty, Rong Xu's performance was indeed much better than Tang Menglan's in the song. It could even be said that his singing was no less than a professional singer!

For example the two original singers of "Resonance of War", in order to cooperate with the crew's publicization, the male singer posted this on his Weibo: 【Very good! Tang Menglan handled the place when she was suppose to transition her voice pretty good. Rong Xu's feeling were expressed extremely well, his technique was excellent! Vocalization, directing his voice, resonance… all were no less of a professional singer. I feel that Guo Long would want to kick me out soon haha.】

As more and more professional reviews and fan praises came in, it let #TangMenglanRongXuResonanceofWar land in 15th place on the trending list!

Maybe because Tang Menglan was in it, many netizens who did not know Rong Xu also clicked to see. They couldn't help but curiously open "Extremely Entertaining" webcast, and coincidentally the webcast was about to reach the two's duet.

Many netizens found that it was very interesting at first: 【It doesn't seem like Tang Menglan ever sang before, right? I reckon it wouldn't be that good. As for Rong Xu, I never heard of him ah. Can he be that good, you sure it's not just his fans exaggerating?】

Later when the webcast reached the part where the two sang, that person immediately came back with another post: 【Ah ah ah ah How can he be so good, his voice is so clear ah!!! I'm wrong, his singing is really really good! Tang Menglan could already be consider at an okay level for actors, but he's actually better than Tang Menglan! Is this really live?! You sure this wasn't recorded in advance?!!! It sounds amazing!!!】

At this time in America, on the other side of the ocean, an indifferent and handsome man slowly took off his earphones and watched the scroll bar continue to go up on the computer screen as the comments came in.

"Extremely Entertaining" webcast finally ended an hour after the live TV broadcast finished.

The average audience would only think that these two actors' singing were pretty good, especially Rong Xu. His singing was very nice, ten thousand times better than many idol singers. But for Qin Cheng, he found that the boy' skills were really good.

Even though his voice sounded somewhat young, probably from not yet being fully developed, but his ample skills allowed him to cover up this weakness; not letting the flaws obscure the jade's splendor. Thus, when you heard his voice, you could not help but feel your heart go soft. Because what he wanted to sing of was a man's love for his sweetheart and his ambition for the world.

He sang very well, so you would have felt it. Felt that his extremely crisp clear voice would soften your bones.

But have you ever loved me?

——Loved! And not just have loved, but always loved!

When the webcast also finally finished, "Extremely Entertaining" crew released a video of the entire show on their TV station's official website. They also followed with the trending list and deliberately posted a video clip of Rong Xu's and Tang Menglan's duet on their official Weibo, immediately getting a bunch of forwards and likes.

At the same time, #TangMenglanRongXuResonanceofWar had already climb up to 4th place in the leaderboard!

Right now, Rong Xu was no longer a small newcomer. One "Ambush" let be popular for a period. The nickname Marshal was spread everywhere, and captured many fans. In two weeks, it would be "Ambush" finale and then two days later, "Vie for Supremacy" would be aired!

Numerous fans were eagerly looking forward to it and crazily forwarded and commented on "Resonance of War", letting Rong Xu's popularity continuously rising.

Rong Xu was currently having dinner with the crew members, everyone was happily laughing and playing around. They all haven't seen Rong Xu for a long time, so one after another they laughed and teased him.

Among them, Tang Menglan took liberties the most. She would extend a salty pig hand to grope his dainty hands and pinch the delicate little face, her mouth saying: "The internet recently has been saying that you are a cruel and scary Marshal, but I see that you're still the same Xiao Xu ah."

Rong Xu couldn't help but laugh: "…Tang jie, is this the reason why you are openly eating my tofu?"

Tang Menglan laughed and brightly grinned: "I am a girl, it's you who's eating my tofu yo~"

Rong Xu: "……"

Everyone was cheerfully and harmoniously getting along aside from the third male lead Song Mingfei, probably because this was his first time meeting Rong Xu and wasn't so familiar with him, so he hardly conversed with Rong Xu. When Rong Xu took the initiative to talk to him, he just smiled and quickly turned around to chat with Ye Qiao.

Seeing the other party's indifferent appearance, Rong Xu smiled calmly and didn't pay it any more attention.

Tang Menglan was drinking red wine as she grinned and said: "The program team already posted our duet. Xiao Xu, I'll forward it, you also go forward it. Who knows, maybe aside from Dong Zheng, I can also get a CP with you. By then, we could borrow the heat and help promote our drama."

Dong Zheng said helplessly: "I was switched to being a backup just like that?"

Tang Menglan replied with a bright smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness Crown Prince."

Everyone burst out laughing, only Song Mingfei's face didn't look very good.

After Tang Menglan forwarded on Weibo, Rong Xu also forwarded. Dong Zheng and Ye Qiao both also helped forwarded it. Tang Menglan subconsciously told Song Mingfei: "You also help forward it, Mingfei." But when these words came out, Song Mingfei's face was still stiff and had not yet forward it when they suddenly heard a shocked voice.

"Ah? Qin Cheng also forwarded?! What did he forward for?!"

【Qin Cheng: Very nice. // "Extremely Entertaining": Have you ever missed me? Have you ever loved me? Shout it out for us: Loved!Loved!Loved! Tang Menglan's and Rong Xu's first time ever singing on stage~ You guys deserve [Flowers][Flowers][Flowers][Video link]】

Excellent actors can also sing – Comes for the fact that it's not hard to find that many actors have turned into singers nowadays.

Qiang flute – A vertical flute that is made up of two 15-20cm-long bamboo pipes with holes of the same size wound together with silk threads. The Qiang flute sounds enchanting and soul-stirring, and is quite unique in terms of its tones, sounds and playing skills, it'sa rare treasure of China’s folk music instruments. The Qiang ethnic people often use it to express their happiness, sorrow and all other feelings.

Video of what it sounds like: here

Video of a longer brief history of the flute: here

Qingming – The Qingming festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English is a traditional Chinese festival. It falls on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. This makes it the 15th day after the Spring Equinox, either 4 or 5 April in a given year. During Qingming, Chinese families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites, pray to their ancestors, and make ritual offerings. Offerings would typically include traditional food dishes, and the burning of joss sticks and joss paper. – Wiki-sama

Salty pig hand – A pervert

Eating my tofu – Sexual harassment; One of the most credible story for this was that in the Han Dynasty, husband and wife opened a tofu shop on Chang'an Avenue. The wife was extremely beautiful and was called 'Tofu Xi Shi' (Xi Shi was one of the four legendary Chinese beauties) in order to attract customers. Inevitably, it led to men coming to flirt with the wife in the name of 'eating tofu' such as groping the wife's hand when paying. Later on, 'eating tofu' became an idiom for when a man is touching/teasing/flirting/etc. with a woman.

Ι Ι