অধ্যায় ১৬৬: সপ্তম পর্বের 'গুড ভয়েস' পিকে প্রতিযোগিতা

আস it turns out, it was Li Mengya's mother. Jiang Yun hatched a mischievous plan.

Jiang Yun walked over to Li Mengya and began tickling her ribs.

"Hehehe!" Li Mengya swatted Jiang Yun's hand away.

"Mengya, what's wrong?" a woman's voice came through the phone.

"It's nothing!" Li Mengya lied.

"Mengya, I haven't asked you yet. You're accompanying that boy to record a show—who is he?" Li Mengya's mother asked over the phone.

"Mom, I never expected you to be so well-informed!"

"Of course! Who do you think your mother is? I am a woman who keeps up with the trends!" The middle-aged woman on the phone sounded rather endearing.

Li Mengya rolled her eyes, finally understanding where her gene for self-deprecating humor came from!

Li Mengya said, "He's just a friend of mine, Mom. Don't overthink it!"

"Alright, alright. I'll hang up then!"

"Mom, are you playing mahjong again?" Li Mengya asked.

"No!"

"I can't be bothered with you!" Li Mengya hung up the phone.

As soon as the call ended, Li Mengya lunged playfully at Jiang Yun, claws out, because he had been tickling her ribs the entire time.

Jiang Yun folded his arms across his chest and said in a sarcastic tone, "He's just a friend of mine, don't overthink it!"

Li Mengya looked at Jiang Yun and said, "What? Are you jealous? Even if I called you my friend, I'd find it embarrassing!"

Jiang Yun couldn't be bothered to argue with her.

At noon, the two of them had a simple meal together.

In the afternoon, they sat in the office, each browsing their phones.

Around two o'clock, Jiang Yun picked up his jacket and said, "Let's go, time to record *The Voice*."

"Mmm!" Li Mengya murmured, following Jiang Yun out of the office.

*The Voice* had now shifted from live broadcasting to pre-recording. Because the subsequent rounds were knockout matches and the mentors needed to guide the contestants, live broadcasting was no longer feasible; the live time slots were simply too short for adequate mentorship.

Jiang Yun, Li Mengya, and Li Lulu walked downstairs. Li Lulu opened the car door, and the three of them got inside before the car drove off.

This episode featured internal knockout matches for Jiang Yun's team.

Jiang Yun and Li Mengya arrived at the backstage of the broadcasting studio. As soon as Cai Ming heard that Jiang Yun had arrived, he hurried over. "Oh my, Jiang Yun, you really brought Mengya!"

"Hehe!" Jiang Yun smiled.

After chatting with Jiang Yun for a little longer, Cai Ming said, "Let's have Mengya sit in the special guest seats later!"

Jiang Yun nodded.

Cai Ming left to take care of the subsequent arrangements.

A short while later, Zhou Lun, Tian Zhen, and Wang Feng also arrived at the lounge.

Jiang Yun checked the time and said, "It's almost time. Everyone, I'm going to go coach the contestants now!"

"Alright!"

Jiang Yun arrived at the contestants' lounge backstage and walked into the room. "Everyone, long time no see!"

"Hello, Mentor Jiang Yun!"

"Long time no see, Mentor Jiang Yun!"

Jiang Yun smiled and nodded. "Later on, Dai Quan will battle Zhang Ting, and Zhu Lu will battle Zhu Xiaooxiao!"

"Ah?" Zhu Xiaooxiao instantly put on a distressed expression. "Mentor Jiang Yun, does it have to be this way? Do one of us really have to be eliminated?"

Jiang Yun took a deep breath and said earnestly, "Xiaooxiao, knockouts are bound to happen sooner or later. Right now we're selecting the top four, and after the top four comes the battle for the finals, and then the national final four!"

Zhu Xiaooxiao sighed.

Zhu Lu comforted her, saying, "Xiaooxiao, it's fine! Besides, how do you know I'll be the one eliminated? Maybe it will be you!"

"Hmph!" Zhu Xiaooxiao feigned anger. "You're so heartless, maybe you'll be the one eliminated!"

Seeing this scene, Jiang Yun smiled faintly. "Alright, let's continue. Everyone listen carefully!"

"Dai Quan and Zhang Ting, Zhu Lu and Zhu Xiaooxiao, Xu Wei and Liang Su, Li Ge and Wang Meng, Zhou Shen and Zheng Yuan, Hu Wen and Li Jian, Zhang Yang and Zhou Kai!"

"Did everyone hear clearly?"

"Clear!" everyone answered in unison.

"Good!" Jiang Yun nodded and began coaching the contestants.

Pointing at Li Ge and Wang Meng, Jiang Yun said, "You two, sing it through once first!"

With that, the two began to sing Jiang Yun's song, *Sad Pacific*.

Jiang Yun rested his chin in his hand, nodding continuously.

The cameras recorded their every move.

"Wang Meng, just maintain your state during the battle later! Keep it up, I believe in you!" Jiang Yun said.

"Thank you, Mentor Jiang Yun!"

Wang Meng hadn't joined Jiang Yun's team during the blind auditions; she had been selected through the sixth-episode resurrection round.

Liang Su, Li Jian, Zhou Kai, Wang Meng, and Zheng Yuan had all been selected during the resurrection round.

After coaching the others for a little longer, Jiang Yun left the lounge.

Jiang Yun, Tian Zhen, and the other three mentors took their seats in the red chairs. Li Mengya sat alone in the guest area, accompanied by Mao Yi, who had once again been invited as a special guest.

The four mentors were ready.

"Okay! Begin!" a voice echoed through the broadcast system.

"Clap, clap, clap!" Thunderous applause erupted from the live audience.

Jiang Yun and the other three sat at the mentors' table, facing the stage.

The stage lights flashed, and Yang Yang walked onto the stage. "Friends in the live audience, and friends watching at home, welcome to the seventh episode of *The Voice of China*, brought to you by Shenbao Pills!"

"Next, let us welcome the first pair of contestants from Team Jiang Yun for their battle!"

Wang Meng and Li Ge walked onto the stage.

"Which of you is going first?" Yang Yang asked, holding the microphone.

"Ladies first, I suppose!" Li Ge said.

"Hehehe!" Yang Yang said, "That's not how 'ladies first' is used!"

Li Ge looked a bit awkward. "Then let me go first!"

"Alright! Let's welcome Li Ge as he sings *Sad Pacific*!"

"Clap, clap, clap!" The audience broke into warm applause.

Yang Yang and Wang Meng stepped off the stage.

"Do-do-do-do-do!"

The intense musical rhythm began.

Li Ge sang with deep emotion, "Is leaving really that cruel? Or is gentleness actually disgraceful?"

"Clap!" The audience applauded warmly.

"Whoa! He's singing quite well!"

Jiang Yun nodded.

"He didn't make too many changes to the original arrangement, but he altered his vocal delivery!" Wang Feng commented later.

"One wave has not yet receded, another comes to attack!"

"Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh!"

The musical accompaniment blended into beautiful harmonies.

When Li Ge finished singing, he bowed deeply.

Jiang Yun picked up the microphone. "What was your thought process behind the arrangement of this song?"

Li Ge replied, "The original accompaniment of this song is far too classic, so I didn't make any major changes to the original tune; I only altered the vocal style!"

Jiang Yun nodded. "Well sung! The adaptation is also wonderful!"

Yang Yang stepped back onto the stage. "Now, please let contestant Li Ge take a brief rest, and let's welcome contestant Wang Meng to the stage!"

"Clap!" The audience burst into enthusiastic applause.

At the mentors' desk, Jiang Yun and the others watched, while Li Mengya and Mao Yi were deep in discussion about something.

Wang Meng took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage.

The musical rhythm struck up! The music carried a desolate, stark feeling, instantly transporting the listener into a world of martial arts chivalry.

"Is leaving really that cruel?
Or is gentleness actually disgraceful?"

"Whoa!" Tian Zhen exclaimed, "She sings really well! It has much more flavor than the previous guy!"

"It feels a bit like a triad gang vendetta," Wang Feng commented.

"Right?!" Tian Zhen expressed total agreement. "It feels like watching *Young and Dangerous*!"

"Mm-hmm!" Wang Feng nodded.