Chapter 190: Semi-finals, Begin!

Luo Mo looked at the cat ears in his hand with surprise, then looked up at Xu Chujing.

After taking a deep breath, the Diva Xu said faintly, "I'm a little hungry."

"Alright then." Luo Mo put the cat ears back into the glass display case and took Xu Chujing to his home.

Since only the two of them were dining, he didn't cook too many dishes.

Aside from the saury, he only made one meat dish and one vegetable dish.

Xu Chujing mainly ate the saury, so Luo Mo simply didn't eat much.

One person and one cat, each with their own fish.

While dining, Luo Mo asked, "Jing, has the post-production work for *Cat Demon* been completed?"

Xu Chujing nodded and said, "It was sent to the Review Department a while ago. I don't know why, but the Review Department was very efficient this time; it passed the review in just a few days."

As she spoke, she glanced at Luo Mo intentionally or unintentionally.

On the day of the National Day Gala, Luo Mo was sitting next to He Ping'an.

Xu Chujing was originally from Beijing, and coupled with some special reasons, she was aware of He Ping'an's identity.

This even made her suspect: "Could it be that it was fast-tracked for approval because Luo Mo's name was in the 'Special Appearance' list?"

Once Luo Mo heard it had already passed the review, he asked curiously, "So, has the release date been set?"

Xu Chujing shook her head and said, "There were some delays during the filming process, and post-production also took up quite a bit of time. We originally intended to release it during the National Day slot, but now it's a bit hard to set a date on short notice."

Luo Mo nodded. This year's National Day slot and Mid-Autumn Festival slot were relatively close; it was now October, and there were no particularly good slots in the near future.

Xu Chujing poked at the saury lightly with her chopsticks and said, "We discussed it and thought about finding a suitable Friday to set the date. The competition for this year's Spring Festival slot is very fierce, so many films have been pushed to be released around New Year's Day."

Speaking of this, she felt a slight headache.

Although she was a Diva and a Best Actress, she was still a novice in the film industry.

The director of *Cat Demon* had also transitioned from directing television dramas to the big screen; it was his show that had earned Xu Chujing the honor of being named 【Best Actress】.

A new film actor plus a new film director trying to grab a release slot and screen time would be very difficult.

Since that was the case, it might be better to release it early while there were no hot films competing.

Luo Mo also expressed his agreement with this.

Transitioning to the big screen was still quite difficult; things like box office appeal needed to be accumulated slowly.

She picked up another piece of fish and put it into her mouth, her bare toes curling inward slightly; for some reason, her mood brightened a little.

Watching the Diva, who was focused on eating the fish and had basically not touched the meat or vegetable dishes, Luo Mo felt a sense of feeding a pet.

Not to mention, the feeling of feeding a Diva was actually quite marvelous.

He smiled and said, "Jing, if there's anything I can help with regarding the promotion when the time comes, just ask."

Xu Chujing nodded, poked the saury with her chopsticks again, and said, "Okay, I won't be polite."

……..

……..

Busy times always pass quickly.

During these past few days, Luo Mo went to Xinyu in the morning to be a producer for Sun Yi and the others, practiced singing with the Diva Xu Chujing in the afternoon, and had to feed her in the evening.

Yes, he already vaguely felt like the Diva Xu's personal chef.

Through the contact over these few days, he also gradually discovered that Xu Chujing was really quite a homebody.

This woman's focus in life seemed to always be on her career.

When not working, it seemed she could stay indoors for a week or even several weeks without stepping out.

—Suitable for keeping at home.

And after continuous contact, the two also became increasingly familiar, and the sense of distance gradually lessened.

The day of the *King of Love Songs* semi-finals arrived quickly.

On the eve of the semi-finals, Luo Mo even received a call from Run Jie.

"Hello, Dan, are you looking for me to drink?" He answered the phone with a smile.

He and Ning Dan were more like drinking buddies now; since the two lived on floors right above and below each other, they would occasionally arrange to have a small drink.

"What? Got a craving for alcohol? I'm not in Shanghai, I'm in Hangzhou right now," Ning Dan also said with a smile.

"Then what is it that Dan called me for?"

"Ke Ming invited me to participate in the recording of *King of Love Songs* tomorrow as well, asking me to host the semi-finals. I specifically called to give you a heads-up," Ning Dan said.

"Director Ke invited even you? Is he intentionally trying to create a dream crossover between *King of Love Songs* and *Creating Idols*?" Luo Mo joked.

Run Jie said, "You're actually right; that's exactly what he means."

After all, Luo Mo's Guest Singer was Xu Chujing, and Chen Shanqi's Guest Singer was Jiang Ningxi.

Wei Ge's Guest Singer... is eighty percent likely to be his good buddy Li Ge!

Shen Yinuo was also clamoring to go to the scene to watch.

In this way, everyone was truly present.

*Creating Idols* had been a hit all summer, while *King of Love Songs* continued the myth in the autumn; such a crossover was actually quite interesting.

This made Luo Mo, the champion of *Creating Idols*, feel in his heart: "This is my home turf!"

Before hanging up, Ning Dan said, "How about this? Before you set off tomorrow, why don't you go to my wine room and take a bottle of red wine?"

"Hmm? The competition hasn't even started yet, and you're already planning the victory banquet?" Luo Mo laughed it off.

Ning Dan smiled and said, "Why not?"

Whoa, she basically didn't put the Heavenly King Zhao, Yuan Hewen, or Xu Lianying in her eyes at all.

Or rather, she had strong confidence in Xu Chujing and Luo Mo.

"Fine, since Dan has spoken, I'll bring two bottles from home," Luo Mo said. "I've gotten quite a lot of good wine from President Shen recently, so I won't go to Dan's place to pick any up, saving you from having to tell me the password for the digital lock."

"I set the passwords for both houses to be the same, didn't you know?" Ning Dan said.

"You really do trust me," Luo Mo was momentarily speechless.

This reminded him of a lyric: "Without a shred of precaution, and without a trace of concern..."

Respect your own allure, and also respect that I am a man, OK?

The next day, a group of people set off from Shanghai and began heading toward Hangzhou.

Xu Chujing went by her own car, while Luo Mo's van was packed with people.

The seven-seater van, driven by Liu Ge, was just enough to fit everyone.

Along the way, only Luo Mo and Shen Yinuo were in high spirits, their expressions relaxed.

The former was because he wasn't nervous at all and was even a bit excited, while the latter was because she didn't have to compete; she was just an audience member.

Shen Yinuo looked at Luo Mo and Tong Shu and said, "Luo Mo, Tong Shu, I see many people on the internet guessing that you two will sing together in the semi-finals, and they are all looking forward to your combination."

"You're talking about that group of 'mom fans,' right?" Luo Mo was speechless.

He treated Tong Shu like a little brother, Tong Shu treated him like a Boss, but the female netizens insisted on making them father and son.

Although brotherly love these days always seems to sour, with each side wanting to be the other's father, Luo Mo truly didn't have that kind of fetish.

Shen Yinuo nodded and said, "Yeah, yeah!"

Among this group of Tong Shu's mom fans, there were also Shen Yinuo and Luo Mo's CP fans mixed in, so they would even call Xiao Shen: "Sister Shen."

Wanting to ship the CP while also wanting to join this big family could be called ambitious.

When the car arrived in Hangzhou, everyone took turns for a simple rehearsal, and then returned to the lounge in pairs to rest.

Luo Mo looked at Xu Chujing in her red dress and found her so beautiful that he couldn't take his eyes off her.

She was born both charming and dignified, and wearing a red dress only made her look even more bewitching.

Her plump figure, mature temperament, and those exquisite facial features that perfectly matched Luo Mo's personal aesthetic gave him a feeling of being deeply attracted.

Her status as a top-tier Diva and Best Actress not only didn't make people shrink back, but instead ignited a desire for conquest.

As mentioned before, it was strange, but he inexplicably had a desire to explore and curiosity regarding Xu Chujing.

He wanted to see through her.

As the sky grew dark, the live broadcast of "King of Love Songs" began.

Amidst the applause and cheers of the live audience, a passageway opened.

Under the hazy lights, a woman's slender figure appeared, but it was not the host everyone was familiar with.

Once everyone saw who it was, the screen was flooded with surprised comments.

"Ning Dao! Director Ning Dan!"

"Wow! It's been so long since I've seen Ning Dao!"

"Hahaha, compared to that dog of a man Ke Ming, Ning Dao is much more pleasant to look at!"

"So beautiful, so full of flavor."

Ning Dan, wearing a long black dress, stood in the center of the stage, read a bit of the sponsor's copy, and then smiled while holding a cue card: "Hello everyone, I am Ning Dan. At the request of Director Ke, I am serving as the substitute host for this semi-final of 'King of Love Songs'!"

As soon as these words were spoken, warm applause erupted at the scene.

It is hard to imagine that a variety show director could have more popularity than an average female celebrity.

This Godmother of Talent Shows still had quite a few young fans; although she rarely appeared in public, every time she appeared on camera, she often outshone some female celebrities.

In the past, when the female host of "King of Love Songs" appeared, the screen would be filled with: "Licking the screen."

Because she always dressed very sexily and would always wear a pair of red-bottomed high heels that could "increase attack speed."

Her appearance at this moment made everyone forget all about that.

How could external allure compare to internal allure?

Some people are just born with a charming bone; even when wrapped up tightly, her every smile and frown still gives people a feeling of being charming and sexy.

Compared to that, external allure can only be called tawdry.

For a true Godmother of Talent Shows like Ning Dan, who could handle the recording of large-scale variety shows with ease, being a live host was just a small scene.

She delivered the opening remarks with poise, and after running an ad for the sponsor, she smiled and said: "Why don't we cut the camera to the six Singers in the lounge now, and then announce everyone's performance order on the spot?"

The audience became excited as soon as they heard this.

Doesn't this mean telling us the identities of the Guest Singers in advance?

But when the images of the six Singers appeared on the big screen, everyone immediately understood—how could that dog of a director Ke Ming be so kind?

The Guest Singers were completely outside the camera frame and couldn't be seen at all.

Ning Dan's eyes fell directly on Luo Mo on the big screen, and after greeting everyone, she didn't bother with anyone else first, but started interacting with Luo Mo.

"Luo Mo, long time no see," she said with a smile.

As soon as these words were spoken, the loyal viewers of "Creating Idols" immediately boiled over.

"Dreaming back to this summer!"

"Ah, I'm dead!"

"Why am I inexplicably wearing an 'auntie smile'?"

Listening to Ning Dan's words, Luo Mo always felt that her subtext was accusing him of not having come to drink with her for too long.

He smiled and said: "Sister Dan, long time no see."

As soon as he finished speaking, the comments began to flood in again.

"Eh! He doesn't call her Ning Dao, he calls her Sister Dan?"

"Knowledge point, circle it, it's going to be on the test!"

"It seems your personal relationship is very good; you must still be in frequent contact after the show ends."

Ning Dan looked at Luo Mo and said, "I don't know why, but looking at you, I want to temporarily add a 'Motto' segment to this show."

Back then, that line of Luo Mo's, "Do not worry about having no bosom friends on the road ahead, for who under heaven does not know you," had made people's blood boil for a long time.

This man stepped off the stage with that motto; clearly the champion, clearly deserving of glory, yet he turned away abruptly amidst the sky full of gold dust.

Now, he has returned to the stage—in the capacity of a Singer.

His National Popularity is getting higher and higher, and more and more people have come to know him.

He is not just a Top Traffic, not just a genius songwriter, he has now also proven himself to be a powerful vocalist.

He is realizing what he said step by step.

The audience at the scene began to clamor: "Add the segment! Add the segment!"

The bullet comments also began to flood the screen frantically.

All of this was actually intentionally designed by Ning Dan and Ke Ming; since they wanted a dream collaboration, they might as well make the collaboration more thorough.

Ning Dan held the microphone, looked at the six Singers on the big screen, and said with a smile, "Then why don't we ask the six Singers to each give us one line?"

(PS: Second update. There is an event this month in the book review section, with a total of 100,000 Qidian coins and 20 fan titles; those interested can participate.)

(End of this chapter)