0713: You who shine in the parallel world

Actually, when the results were announced, both directors, Chen Qiyuan and Chen Weilun, felt a little embarrassed to say it. It was only through their excellent professionalism that they managed to maintain a calm demeanor.

Having been in the industry for so long, they dare say they've seen all sorts of bizarre things, but nothing quite this bizarre. They have to thank the production team of "Brother Pi" for constantly keeping them encountering new and exciting things.

There was no other way; the orders from above had already come down, and the two of them had to find a reason to give Su Xiaoding a red card today.

If the red card assessment were conducted during the first public performance, this task would be simple.

At that time, Su Xiaoding was, after all, an actress and was performing in stage plays. Putting aside the nervousness of the unfamiliar stage, her stage presence was fine, but her singing had quite a few flaws. Chen Weilun could easily list at least three problems with her singing.

But the problem is that in the short two weeks between the first and second performances, under Yu Yu's guidance, his amateurish problems have long disappeared, and his performance is even quite impressive. How can he find fault with him?

From a musical point of view, Su Xiaoding had no problems and made zero mistakes during the live audition. Compared to him, there are many people who performed poorly on stage.

More importantly, heaven knows how hard he and Chen Qiyuan struggled to suppress their urge to cheer enthusiastically after watching the completely adapted version of "Under Investigation".

These five amazing brothers can perform such an impeccable stage performance in the practice room with only the accompaniment of their mobile phones. They can't even imagine how amazing the effect will be when the set is set up, professional sound equipment is connected, and all the stage costumes and makeup are used on the second public performance stage.

At least when Yu Yu plays the pipe organ, it's absolutely soul-stirring and breathtaking.

So, leaders, do you mean you want them to label such a stage as a "red card stage"?

The only "good thing" the production team did in this matter was to throw "Under Investigation" into the second round of mini-tests, allowing the two directors to watch both the video version and the live version. That's all. Everything else was unethical and would make the audience question their professionalism.

Torn between professional ethics and remaining pay, the two directors, after watching the live performance, exchanged a glance but did not immediately react.

They tried to find an excuse to give a red card by looking at each other's eyes and facial expressions. After searching for a while, they belatedly clapped and praised the five people's performance. Their sincere tone was tinged with embarrassment and a desire to fast-forward.

They said the final results would be announced after all the assessments were completed, and then asked Yu Yu and the other four to leave the small test room.

After closing the door, the two discussed for a long time but couldn't find a reason to give Su Xiaoding a red card, so they had to put it aside and continue with the assessments of other groups.

Chen Chusheng's team was incredibly stable, and Zhang Yuan's team, another "red card candidate," was equally impressive with their performance of "The Love You Left Behind." The production team originally planned to target Luo Jiefu from Zhang Yuan's team because he was popular, had a lot of buzz, and was one of the designated scapegoats for the fake emperor, but he did perform exceptionally well.

We can't just nitpick about someone's accent, can we? As a foreigner, Roger is different from Yu Yu. He didn't speak Chinese before, but he learned a Chinese anthem in a short time, which is already very impressive. If we criticize his accent, he will probably be attacked by netizens after the broadcast.

After watching the four mini-exams on stage, Chen Qiyuan and Chen Weilun felt overwhelmed. If they had to choose, they would immediately rule out Su Xiaoding and Luo Jiefu.

Wei Xun's unstable and cracking high notes, and Ma Boqian's accidental hoarseness due to illness, mean that based on this performance alone, they should both receive a red card.

Of course, at this point, they can only offer advice.

Guoguo walked in, seemingly indicating that the production team was preparing to discuss matters with the two directors, but her appearance actually meant that the production team had already reached a decision.

"Xiao Ma's illness this time is really bad luck." Guo Guo's first words upon entering were a sigh about how Ma Boqian's illness came at the worst possible time. "Judging from his behavior just now, anyone with ears knows what to choose. This kid is disappointing."

If he could control his voice a little, even if it was just for a few minutes to get through his part, as long as the flaws weren't too obvious, the production team would have a way to give Roger the red card.

Unfortunately, he was too obvious; the kid is such a disappointment.

"So, one red card for Ma Boqian?" Chen Qiyuan said, and seeing Guoguo nod, he immediately asked, "And the other one?"

"We should still give it to Su Xiaoding. We need to let him leave after the second performance. We don't have that much time to prepare a storyline for him. Besides, his popularity on stage is lukewarm. I don't think he'll improve after the show airs."

Chen Weilun frowned: "But Su Xiaoding's performance this time was very stable. As long as he performs normally in the second performance and his stage makeup and styling are up to par, his popularity might reverse."

“His performance can only be described as mediocre. He has indeed improved for himself, but compared to others?” Guoguo shook her head. “Being mediocre is the biggest mistake, and we don’t have that much time to wait for him to turn things around.”

“Our stage is very cruel. There are only so many opportunities in the pool. The majority will definitely be reserved for our pre-selected candidates, and the remaining twenty-odd artists will share the remaining opportunities. Everyone’s chance is fleeting.”

Guoguo knew that both art directors were aware of these harsh realities, so she only touched on them briefly, then sighed as if she were concerned for Su Xiaoding:

"He was busy with stage plays and participating in The Pike Place Contest, and he also broke his arm. He can't do strenuous exercise or make any big movements. The Pike Place Contest stage is actually no longer suitable for him. Let him go back to recover and focus on his main job and stage play career. At least the popularity of two performance stages plus the first stage is enough to help him get back on track."

Since Guoguo had already said so much, Chen Qiyuan couldn't say anything more. After all, the show hadn't aired yet, and everything still depended on the producer and director's opinions.

“If we’re going to give Su Xiaoding a red card, we need to find a plausible reason,” he said.

"Well, it's actually quite simple if you're a little thick-skinned, but it will require your cooperation." Guoguo was prepared for this. "If there's nothing wrong with the music stage, then let's start with acting. Acting is largely a matter of subjective judgment by the audience."

“We have prepared direct shots of Su Xiaoding, including close-up shots. If you look closely, you can always find some flaws. Singing and acting are always related to acting. You can just insist that his performance cannot move you. Do you have any other questions?”

"..." Chen Weilun was silent for a moment, as if he was speechless at the idea of ​​turning one's back on the other. Then he said helplessly, "If that's the case, then there's only one question left: the reaction of his teammates and his captain."

When Su Xiaoding's teammates and captain were mentioned, Guoguo frowned. She pondered for a moment, then tapped the table to make a decision.

"It's alright. We'll adjust the way the results are announced. The team leader will go to the room to collect the results alone. I'll lay the groundwork with Chen Chusheng. As for Yu Yu... tsk, he's not the team leader anymore, and Su Xiaoding isn't one of his brothers. As long as Chen Chusheng keeps things stable, he won't go too far."

After the director and the two supervisors finished their small meeting, the red-card personnel had been selected, and filming continued. The two supervisors announced through the camera to the four tribes waiting in the training room that the final results would be collected by the team leaders in turn from the Flame Chamber.

Then came the scene where Yu Yu couldn't help but laugh. Chen Chusheng didn't know why he stayed in the secret room for a little longer, but when he came back, he looked normal and there was nothing wrong with him. He was also holding an envelope that represented the final result.

He didn't hide anything and directly announced the red card result to his teammates, and comforted Su Xiaoding, saying that no matter what the production team thought, in his eyes, Su Xiaoding had already done very well.

The moment Su Xiaoding saw this reason, he understood the show's true intention. This was no longer a hint; it was a clear message for him to leave immediately.

But how could he, who had just begun to get into the game, be willing to be passively eliminated with a red card, especially when he was performing so well?

The cameras in the training room were still rolling. Su Xiaoding's smile was a little forced, but he still managed to control his emotions and comforted the others: "It's okay, brothers. Actually, I did have some issues with my facial expressions just now. I'm just a little embarrassed to have dragged you down and gotten a red card, even though your performance was absolutely perfect."

"No, don't say that, it's terrible." Uncle couldn't possibly not see that the production team had deliberately targeted Su Xiaoding, but precisely because he knew, he had no other recourse but to comfort her.

Li Jiuzhe didn't know what to say, mainly because he couldn't speak the fluent Ciguo dialect clearly, and with his complicated feelings, he didn't know what to say. He could only hug Su Xiaoding together with his uncle.

“What do you mean by flawed acting skills…” Wang Yuexin complained, but before she could finish, Yu Haoming nudged her arm.

If this had happened to the old Wang Xiaohu who would have simply abstained from voting, he might have stormed out and refused to continue recording. But the mature Wang Xiaohu has learned to control himself... perhaps.

"What kind of nonsense is this?" he muttered.

As the oldest member of the team, Huang Pinguan comforted Su Xiaoding and then asked Chen Chusheng, the team leader, what his thoughts and plans were. He inquired about what would happen if Su Xiaoding received a red card and their team became the "Red Card Tribe," and what arrangements the production team had made, as Chen Chusheng had not yet announced these to his teammates.

"After becoming a Red Card tribe, we need to have a 1v1 Red Card battle with another Red Card tribe during the second round. The other Red Card tribe is Yao Qing's tribe, and Xiao Ma got the Red Card." Chen Chusheng explained, but Yu Yu always felt that there was something else hidden under his calm and composed appearance.

"In the one-on-one duel before the start, the winner will escape danger, while the loser will have a very high chance of being eliminated if the second clan leader fails to get the MVP."

Hearing this, Yu Yu raised an eyebrow. The phrase "extremely high probability" was probably not something Chen Chusheng hadn't explicitly said, but rather something the production team had actually said. After all, the phrase does sound dangerous at first glance, but it's actually quite vague. The production team probably said it just in case, so that if there really was a one in ten thousand chance that Ma Boqian would fail, they could still find other ways to salvage the situation.

"Should I have a PK with Xiao Ma?" Su Xiaoding's mind went blank. Who would win in a solo stage PK between him and Ma Boqian? This wasn't even a question; this was the end of his Pi Ge journey.

Actually, this was also the production team's plan, but they couldn't just let the red-card team members go up and compete on their own. Doing so would be too obvious and no different from directly announcing Su Xiaoding's elimination. Since they wanted to have both, they had to find a different way to phrase it and then hint to the team leaders to let the red-card team members compete on their own.

But Chen Chusheng simply said, "Red-card players can fight on their own or delegate the task to the tribal captain. So, Xiaoding, I'm always here if you need me."

Su Xiaoding reached out her hand without hesitation: "I need you, Sheng-ge, really. Although I know I should be the one to compete, I don't want to hold the team back in this kind of music stage showdown."

“Okay, no problem, no problem.” Chen Chusheng took on all the pressure and burden behind him with just five words.

Yu Yu smiled, as if he had already realized what had happened after Chen Chusheng went out alone. He patted Su Xiaoding on the shoulder: "Don't worry, Xiaoding, you didn't hold us back, and our tribe can't possibly become the worst."