Chapter 181

Xu Mingyue said briefly, but her tone was extremely firm, as if she didn't know the meaning of humility or keeping a low profile.

Since she had chosen to appear under the masked identity of the Ruthless Empress, she naturally had to have the dominance of the Ruthless Empress.

An Empress whose talent stunned the ages, never inferior to anyone in her life.

How could she be timid here?

Only thinking about not being eliminated was too small-minded; if she was going to do it, she would be first.

This was the only thing that fit the Empress's style.

Just treat it as playing cosplay.

After the words fell.

Cao Dan's face lost its color.

First!

In previous seasons, many contestants had thought about this ranking, but no one had ever dared to say it so bluntly.

In the eyes of the audience, this wasn't low-key; it was extremely arrogant.

It didn't fit the Chinese style of doing things with humility and restraint.

Moreover.

Once this flag was planted, if she didn't achieve it in the end, it would be quite a slap in the face.

It would trigger mockery from the audience.

To put it heavily, she hadn't left herself a way out.

But these words, hearing them, inexplicably felt domineering!

"Ruthless is truly ruthless!" Cao Dan thought to herself.

Beside her.

The staff and camera crew also changed their expressions; they had already imagined how much controversy this contestant would trigger when this segment aired.

Unless she really had the strength to be first.

And backstage.

The chief director and deputy director were watching the footage of the Ruthless Empress.

They knew the true identity of the Ruthless Empress.

At this moment, they almost simultaneously blurted out:

"Awesome, as expected of her!"

"Domineering!"

The former came from the deputy director, and the latter from the chief director, Xu Xiangdong.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

At the same time, their hearts were filled with excitement and passion.

Indeed.

Once these words of the Ruthless Empress were broadcast, she would inevitably be criticized by the audience for being arrogant.

But who was she?

She was Xu Mingyue.

Since she burst onto the scene, she had swept through the music industry with no rivals, known as the Great Demon King of the music scene; people in the industry turned pale at the mention of her name, and many even suffered from "Moon-phobia."

She had the qualifications to say this.

Even if top-tier masters, kings, and queens came to participate in the show, she would still dare to say it.

Arrogance and dominance were only a thin line apart.

Without strength, it's called arrogance, it's called showing off.

But with this strength, it's called dominance! It's called awesome!

Clearly, Xu Mingyue had it!

In the blink of an eye.

Twenty minutes passed in a flash.

The audience had all entered, and the program's camera crew, lighting crew, sound crew, logistics team, and host were all ready.

"Five, four, three, two, one!"

Following Xu Xiangdong's countdown.

*Masked Singer 3* officially began!

……

On stage.

Explosive music started, and stage lights flashed.

The curtain slowly opened.

A handsome male host was announcing the show.

"Forget about focusing on faces, put aside biases about status, and focus on the beauty of music. Welcome everyone to *Masked Singer 3*!!"

"I am your old friend, Zhao Yong."

Then.

Zhao Yong read the names of the advertising sponsors.

At the same time.

The camera swept across the audience.

Five hundred audience members.

Forty judges.

All appeared.

The audience was very excited, cheering and screaming.

The judges were also applauding.

The scene was boiling.

Directly below the stage, there were four seats, empty.

Those were reserved for the celebrity guests of the night.

Backstage.

In every contestant's lounge, the contestants couldn't help but look up at the TV on the wall.

The young girl was no exception.

She could almost hear the massive sound waves from the stage.

The announcement ended, and Zhao Yong began to introduce the celebrity guests invited for this episode.

As he introduced them, the guests appeared one by one.

Well.

The young girl didn't recognize a single one.

Or rather, she had heard their names, but had never interacted with them in reality.

Immediately after.

The guests took their seats.

The first singer took the stage.

The first singer's code name was [Cute Purple Flower Rabbit], wearing a cute pink long dress, with the head of the rabbit from *That Rabbit* on their head.

It looked like it should be a female singer. (Suspected)

Anyway, the young girl couldn't be sure; ever since she saw Zhou Sen cross-dressing on the masked stage, she held a skeptical attitude toward the gender of these masked singers.

Purple Flower Rabbit sang a love song called "Bubble."

A very coincidental song.

Her vocal line was very gentle, sounding like a big sister, and the atmosphere of the whole performance was also very strong.

While Purple Flower Rabbit was singing, in other rooms, other singers were guessing her identity.

Only in the Ruthless Empress's room was it very quiet; she was neither curious about Purple Flower Rabbit's identity nor did she make any comments on the song.

Beside her, Cao Dan watched anxiously.

With the Ruthless Empress in this state, she couldn't get any screen time at all.

"Sounds good."

In desperation, as the atmosphere group, she had to liven up the room's atmosphere herself.

But...

The Ruthless Empress looked up at the TV, still unmoved.

Caw, caw, caw, caw...

It was as if a flock of crows flew across the sky.

Cao Dan was in despair, her heart weeping.

For the atmosphere group to liven things up, the contestant had to cooperate, but the contestant she was responsible for... simply didn't cooperate.

Tired, no longer in love.

On stage.

Purple Flower Rabbit finished her song.

Everyone started voting; after the voting, the judges and celebrity guests started guessing the singer's identity, but one celebrity guest seemed to think of something, eyes widening, gasping: "Could it be... Xu Mingyue has come to this stage?"

The young girl: "..."

If you can't guess, don't guess.

Where does my vocal line sound like Purple Flower Rabbit's?

And.

That Purple Flower Rabbit isn't as big as me either.

What kind of eyes are those?

I suggest going to an eye hospital to get checked.

The young girl muttered to herself.

In reality.

She knew in her heart that this was the kind of "clout-chasing" operation this program loved to use.

They loved to guess the names of top-tier singers.

Anyway, it was just a guess, not like they were actually invited, so it wasn't a problem.

Sometimes, the identities guessed by the guests and judges were even considered fake by the audience, who felt those people would never come to this stage.

But this was the program effect the team wanted.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

When the celebrity guest finished guessing Purple Flower Rabbit's identity.

The audience at the scene was in an uproar.

"How could it be Xu Mingyue? This vocal line doesn't sound like her at all."

"Are you stupid? If Xu Mingyue came, she would definitely change her vocal line. Although Purple Flower Rabbit didn't sing as well as the original, it was still okay. Average singers don't have this level."

"But her chest isn't as big either; Xu Mingyue's scale... ahem, you know."

"There is a thing called a chest binder."

"That must be painful... my heart aches for her..."

"..."

"This is a car heading to court, no driving allowed."

"Purple Flower Rabbit's specific identity is hard to guess for now, but she must be a true fan of Xu Mingyue. 'Bubble' + the rabbit costume from *That Rabbit*, if this isn't true love, what is?"

"Purple Flower Rabbit, you thief, draw your sword! If you want to steal my wife, you have to step over my dead body."

"..."

The first masked singer, [Cute Purple Flower Rabbit], received a total of 761 votes.

Judging by the votes on the *Masked Singer* stage in previous seasons, this was already considered high.

Among them.

Many audience members voted because of the song "Bubble."

Of course, Purple Flower Rabbit did sing quite well.

Additionally.

The song choice was appropriate.

"Bubble" was a song very suitable for live performance; G.E.M. first became popular in the mainland because she sang "Bubble" on the *I Am a Singer* stage.

Immediately after.

The second masked singer took the stage.

The code name was [Rusty Robot], wearing a black suit, singing an old rock song; as soon as the voice came out, one could tell it was an old pro, don't know which era's antique, but the strength was there.

Their votes weren't as high as Purple Flower Rabbit's, only 692 votes.

But it wasn't without hope.

Subsequently.

The third masked singer took the stage.

Code name: [Queen of Hearts].

Inside, she wore a black tight-fitting suit with leather pants, and outside, a red leather trench coat.

This was a woman with a hot figure, extremely sexy and charming.

Many male audience members and professional judges in the studio swallowed their saliva uncontrollably.

Subsequently, [Queen of Hearts] opened her mouth, the song title "She Said."

First, it was a young girl's loli voice, making people's eyes light up.

Her voice and her outfit formed a strong contrast.

Then, it switched to a mature woman's voice.

At the chorus, the two voices connected, and one couldn't pick out a single flaw.

"This singing skill... at least a Queen of Music!"

The song ended.

The four celebrity guests reached a consensus.

The whole scene was shocked.

"It must be a Queen of Music, possibly even a Diva, although the possibility of a Diva is lower."

"Two voices, strong!"

"And both voices sound great! Effortless, handled perfectly!"

"Just based on the novelty, Queen of Hearts has already won half the battle this episode!"

"To be honest, she sang it better than the original."

"Perfect switching between two voices, very natural, truly a freak."

"Now, the other contestants have met their match."

"..."

The audience discussed.

Professional judges also discussed.

Even in the backstage lounge, some contestants discussed, and one contestant even covered his head, saying in a terrified, exaggerated way: "It's over, it's over, this is a king bullying a novice."

Only the young girl's lounge remained quiet as a grave.

Cao Dan indicated that she was already used to it.

If it's awkward, let it be awkward.

This situation couldn't be saved even if Jesus came, I said it.

"Teacher Ruthless, it's our turn."

"Let's go."

Xu Mingyue gave a hum, replying simply.

On stage.

Celebrity guests and professional judges were interacting with Queen of Hearts, guessing her identity.

In the end, Queen of Hearts received 803 votes, much higher than Purple Flower Rabbit.

And backstage.