Chapter 304: Will They Be the First Place?

It was their first time on stage, so it was inevitable that the children would be nervous, but fortunately, Mou Lili had rehearsed with them many times in the square, so there were no major mistakes.

After the performance, Mou Lili brought the children out.

Seeing this, Ling Feng hurried up to them: "How was it?"

Mou Lili said: "The judges said there will be news tonight. If there is a notification before 8 o'clock, we can participate in the finals tomorrow night; if there is no notification, we can go back."

Ling Feng said: "Don't worry, you are all so excellent, there will definitely be a notification."

Ling Feng checked the time again and said: "It's getting late, let's go eat first. How about Western food?"

None of the children had ever eaten Western food, so they appeared very expectant.

Over the past few days, they had visited large shopping malls, eaten KFC, and been to the science and technology museum, and they were very fascinated by the city. Mou Lili took the opportunity to tell them that as long as they studied hard in the future, they would definitely be able to go to even further places.

There was no need to worry about tuition fees; Ling Feng would cover them, as had been agreed upon before.

Ling Feng took them to the best Western restaurant in the provincial capital, taught them how to use knives and forks to eat steak, and taught them the order of eating Western food.

Many years later, the children still remembered this scene.

The quiet Western restaurant had melodious piano music inside, there were roses on the tables, and they used knives and forks to cut the beef, then used the forks to put the beef into their mouths.

And their two teachers were looking at them with sincere eyes, guiding them toward the distance.

……

Before they had even finished their Western meal, Mou Lili received a call from the organizers, saying they had entered the finals with a fourth-place result, and telling them to keep up the good work tomorrow night and strive for an even better result.

Mou Lili told the children this news, and the children were overjoyed.

Mou Lili said: "Look, this is a provincial ranking, you know. We actually ranked fourth, which means that as long as we work hard, we can also stand at the very front, right?"

The children's self-confidence immediately soared.

Mou Lili then gave guidance one by one; for example, when Qiqi went on stage, she forgot to smile, and one must smile when performing.

For example, Fenfen shook her legs a few times, which was also not allowed.

The villagers of Dabao Village are generous and enthusiastic; we must show our best side to the judges.

The children all said they understood.

……

Next was the official competition.

After the Preliminary Round, only 20 songs could enter the finals.

The audience could buy tickets to watch, and Ling Feng spent 3,000 yuan to buy VIP seats in the very front row.

The singers who could enter the finals were all evenly matched, and the viewing experience was extremely high.

Sitting in the front row were not only judges, but also some music critics and producers from record companies, who wanted to discover treasure singers.

Many of those singing before were singers who had graduated from professional academies and were indeed multi-talented; they didn't even use the official accompaniment, but brought their own bands, using everything from zithers and drums to sheng and xiao, employing all eighteen kinds of martial arts.

When it was Mou Lili's turn to appear, it seemed that their setup was small by comparison.

Ling Feng couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

He really should have planned it properly for her at the beginning and hired a band.

However, when the children's voices rang out, Ling Feng felt his thoughts were superfluous.

The children's voices were ethereal, as if coming from heaven, yet this was the singing style of folk mountain songs, as if this were not a competition hall, but the top of a terraced field.

Then Mou Lili's guitar rang out, and her smoky voice singing folk songs reached into people's hearts in a second.

It was as if it were Zhao Lei's "A Diao".

This song told the story of a local Miao girl who was positive and enterprising. Especially when it reached the climax, Mou Lili's high notes rose up, and although there was no varied accompaniment, it shocked everyone in the hall.

Ling Feng also had goosebumps all over his body while listening.

At that moment, he discovered that he liked this woman even more.

No, he had fallen for her.

After Mou Lili finished singing, Ling Feng couldn't listen to many of the songs that followed; he only felt that they were all decadent music, pursuing only technique without a shred of emotion, and were very noisy.

After they came down, Ling Feng sat in the seat next to them and complimented Mou Lili: "Really good, out of everyone here, you sang the best."

Mou Lili didn't care about the results; it was only because she was with the children that she wanted a good ranking. She asked: "Really? But I don't have much confidence in my heart. Look at the setups of those people; it feels like they all have teams, while I only have a few children here."

"Then you cannot underestimate these few children; their voices are pure, and they are the ones most capable of singing into people's hearts."

Mou Lili said: "Let's not worry about that for now; anyway, we did our best, and now it's up to the judges."

At 10 o'clock in the evening, the competition ended.

The host went up to announce the results.

They started announcing from tenth place, and every time one was announced, there was a thunderous round of applause at the scene.

It wasn't until fifth place that Mou Lili and the others still hadn't been announced.

Perhaps because she was too nervous, Mou Lili caught Ling Feng off guard by resting her hand on his thigh.

Seeing this, Ling Feng immediately held her hand: "Don't be nervous, maybe it's first place."

Only then did Mou Lili realize they were too intimate, so she pulled her hand back.

"Forget it, participation is what matters."

The host began the third place, and it wasn't them either.

Mou Lili was a little disappointed.

Sigh, no chance.

The children also became disappointed; they had originally thought they would get a ranking, so they could show off to their parents when they returned to the village.

The host announced second place; the second-place winner was a singer with a grand setup, who had even brought out a large drum.

Mou Lili leaned back against the chair.

So be it, this is truly participation is what matters.

After the competition, please take the children to have some KFC, or hot pot is fine too; this time there is no need to worry about their throats, eat whatever savory food they want, and drink whatever spicy drinks they want.

The host on stage began to announce the first-place winner.

The female host held a card in her hand and smiled, "This first place is a little bit special."

The male host asked, "In what way is it special?"

"Do you know why our program time was extended by half an hour? Because in the previous hour and a half, the judges had a small disagreement; they were discussing the professionalism of the singers. Very obviously, tonight's first-place winner is not particularly professional; their musical instruments only consist of guitars, a few tambourines, and a few lusheng pipes, but they sang their way into all of our hearts. Just a moment ago, I was even moved to tears by their singing."

The male host said, "Me too, this song is truly very pleasant to listen to."

Mou Lili's waist suddenly straightened up.

Her hand was placed back onto Ling Feng's thigh, and she pinched it hard.

Ling Feng felt the pain, but he did not shake her hand off; instead, he looked toward the stage.

Could the first place they are talking about be them?