Chapter Fifty: These Legs Outlast Even My Life

After Chen Fang stepped off the stage, the pressure on the contestants who followed was immense.

Those who had already performed were visibly more relaxed.

After all, their results were already set in stone.

As expected, the contestants who took the stage afterward rarely scored above ninety, and one contestant, overcome by nerves, even performed poorly and ended up with a dismal 80.

The third round of auditions came to an end.

With an average score of 98, Chen Fang was far ahead of the rest.

Out of twelve contestants, only five remained in the end.

At the close of the show, the five finalists went up on stage, standing in a row.

The host first delivered a lengthy thank-you speech, peppered with numerous advertisements, before finally turning his attention to the five contestants, lingering a few seconds longer on Chen Fang.

“There are three rounds of auditions in ‘Path of Stardom’ in total.

“After a grueling and drawn-out elimination process, these five contestants have advanced to the official program.”

“Contestants Chen Fang, Duke, Wang Situ, Qiao Yuezhu, and Dong Fen.”

Three men and two women.

Wang Situ and Qiao Yuezhu were the two girls.

The former rarely smiled and was rather aloof, while the latter was shy with a hint of baby fat on her face, giving her a guileless, endearing look.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but Chen Fang felt Wang Situ glance at him.

Interestingly, the other four contestants all wore glasses.

Only Chen Fang was not a “four-eyes.”

It seemed even Huaguo was highly competitive—just look at what it had done to the children’s eyesight.

For a moment, the auditorium was filled with enthusiastic applause.

With the end of the three rounds of auditions, the official segment of “Path of Stardom” was about to begin. Unlike the auditions, the rules and format would change in the main program.

Chen Fang and the others gave a slight bow.

Below the stage, the four judges whispered quietly among themselves, all the while smiling and applauding.

“Next, I will announce the rules for the official program,” the host declared. “I hope the five contestants will prepare themselves mentally.”

He turned to look at the large screen.

In the next instant, the previously dark screen lit up, and neat, clear characters appeared for all to see.

“Rule 1: In the official program, all songs must be original. Contestants cannot select songs from Huaguo’s song library.”

The audience erupted in astonishment!

Previously, the show had never implemented such a rule.

Chen Fang, for his part, was unfazed, but the other four immediately furrowed their brows.

Original songs were mandatory!

This undeniably raised the difficulty by several notches.

The host, aware that this new rule might be too harsh, quickly added, “Don’t worry, in the official program, we will invite five celebrities from the entertainment industry to form teams with you.”

“Composing the songs will not be your responsibility alone—your celebrity partners will also participate in the creative process, reducing your burden considerably.”

Upon hearing this, the other four finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That was acceptable!

With industry veterans leading the way, all they had to do was follow along.

However, many eyes turned toward the remarkably composed Chen Fang.

It seemed as though this rule had been tailor-made for him, since from the auditions onward, he had been the only contestant insisting on original work, setting a precedent for the show.

Immediately afterward, another line appeared on the screen.

“Rule 2: Partnerships between contestants and celebrities are entirely voluntary.”

“Contestants may refuse to partner with a celebrity and choose to compete alone in the official program; likewise, celebrities may refuse a partnership invitation from a contestant.”

“If two or more celebrities wish to partner with the same contestant, or if multiple celebrities want to work with a single contestant, as long as both sides agree, it is permitted under the rules.”

Another brand new rule.

Clearly, this season’s “Path of Stardom” had made numerous changes to the competition format.

Suddenly, something occurred to Chen Fang, and he raised his right hand.

Seeing this, the host handed him the microphone and asked, “Chen Fang, do you have a question?”

“If I don’t wish to partner with a celebrity, but would like to team up with one of the other four contestants, is that allowed?” Chen Fang asked.

The host was taken aback.

This... was unexpected.

After all, the celebrities invited to “Path of Stardom” all had significant profiles; none were low-profile trainees like Cheng Jie, so the producers had naturally assumed the celebrities would hold the upper hand in partnerships.

Chen Fang’s question had hit a blind spot.

Soon, the host received a prompt via his earpiece from the staff backstage, and his professional smile returned. “Yes, that is allowed.”

Chen Fang nodded.

The host turned to the others. “If you have questions, feel free to ask.”

The other four were silent.

Just as the host thought there would be no more queries, the aloof Wang Situ spoke up, her voice carrying a magnetic timbre—she was likely one of the few female singers with a naturally smoky voice. “What if multiple contestants choose the same celebrity?”

This time, the host had anticipated the question and replied without hesitation, “That’s not allowed.”

At these words, the others’ expressions grew tense once more.

None of them were fools.

The program only allowed multiple celebrities to team up with one contestant, but not multiple contestants with one celebrity. What did this mean?

The implication was clear!

Among the five of them, it was entirely possible that some would end up without a partner.

If they had no partner, it meant they would still have to create an original song for the show entirely on their own, with no assistance.

In other words, the five of them essentially had no real choice.

Whether they could partner with a celebrity depended entirely on the celebrities’ decisions.

It was infuriating!

But that was reality.

Suddenly, Wang Situ looked at Chen Fang.

This time, Chen Fang was certain it wasn’t his imagination; the woman was indeed looking at him, her gaze thoughtful.

“Any more questions?”

The five shook their heads.

Seeing this, the host gestured to the screen, which continued to display more rules.

Several minutes later, the rules for the official program were finally announced in full.

There were more than a dozen rules in total, with over half of them being newly introduced for this season.

At last, the host offered a mysterious smile, keeping the audience in suspense. “After you leave the stage, we will send the contact information for the five invited celebrities to each contestant’s phone. Before the main program begins, you must get in touch with the celebrity you wish to partner with and successfully form a team.”

“At the same time, the five invited celebrities will also receive your contact information. If any of them reach out to you first, the partnership is established.”

“As for which five big-name celebrities will be joining us?”

“Viewers can go to the official ‘Path of Stardom’ social media page and join the pinned guessing game to predict which stars will be on the show.”

With the host’s final words, the third round of auditions officially concluded. Amid thunderous applause, Chen Fang and the other four left the stage.

Just as Chen Fang was about to leave, a voice called out to him.

He turned to see Wang Situ.

“Chen Fang, do you have a moment to talk?” she asked.

Standing before him, Chen Fang was surprised to realize just how tall she was. At over 180 centimeters himself, he found they were eye to eye.

He glanced down at her feet.

Wang Situ wasn’t wearing heels.

A woman over 180 centimeters tall.

Chen Fang’s gaze involuntarily drifted to her legs—those legs were longer than his life.