The stage was set for a showdown between Black Warrior and Balloon Queen.
When it came to drawing opponents, Black Warrior let out a sigh of relief.
His greatest fear was drawing Dark Rabbit. That person was too uncanny; just when you thought he had reached his limit, he’d reveal something more, as if he had none at all.
Unbeatable.
That’s right, Black Warrior felt he couldn't beat Dark Rabbit, for no reason other than it was his most genuine inner feeling.
Unless Dark Rabbit revealed all his trump cards and let everyone understand his capabilities, the more mysterious he was, the stronger the feeling of invincibility became.
Fortunately, this time he drew Balloon Queen.
In the eyes of everyone, Balloon Queen had stayed on stage for so many rounds purely on luck. But Black Warrior knew that Balloon Queen possessed strength; it was just that at every crucial moment, her opponents would make mistakes, allowing her to stay. This led everyone to overlook her abilities, believing she relied solely on luck.
Therefore, Black Warrior still felt considerable pressure.
“Next, let’s welcome the second group of singers, Black Warrior, to the stage to perform their song!”
Black Warrior’s song was again in Vietnamese. When he spoke, he had a slight accent, leading everyone to be mostly certain that he was a Vietnamese singer.
Moreover, his unique stage style led many industry insiders to guess his identity.
It was Zhu Xin Yu, the singing partner of ace producer Hu Yang.
The same Zhu Xin Yu who was almost shaved bald by Ting Yu and Zhang Wei during the city qualifiers.
This was just speculation, as few other Vietnamese singers could be so ostentatious.
“Let me hear your screams!”
“Friends on the left! Get hyped!”
“Come on, follow my rhythm and sing along!”
Black Warrior maintained his interactive stage style, which was undeniably well-suited for live performances. After all, the audience was an integral part of a live concert. While some performers moved the audience’s emotions with the song's sentiment, he relied on his interactive stage presence to liven up the crowd, who had become somewhat subdued after Dark Rabbit’s performance.
After Black Warrior finished.
It was Balloon Queen’s turn.
When she took the stage.
The atmosphere in the venue became a bit peculiar.
“Black Warrior didn’t make any mistakes this time; Balloon Queen will likely be entering the losers’ bracket.”
“It’s quite impressive that she managed to last this long, until the fourth episode, with such good luck.”
“Haven’t you noticed? Balloon Queen has been around since the first episode, just like Dark Rabbit and Faceless Knight.”
“Haha, sometimes luck is also a part of skill.”
“You can’t say that. If Balloon Queen is indeed Zhang Xiao Qi, her skill level is still decent.”
“If she really is Zhang Xiao Qi, I hope her luck continues to be this good. I feel so sorry for her.”
“Exactly, she deserves to be treated gently by the world.”
“Come on, do you really think there aren’t any hidden reasons behind Zhang Xiao Qi’s situation? Maybe she’s just creating a persona of being a tragic figure.”
Zhang Xiao Qi’s past was a long time ago. If she hadn’t participated in the show, she would have likely been forgotten by the public.
When the incident first erupted, many netizens supported her after learning she had been wronged by her parents, although some people believed she was seeking attention.
Later, due to that incident, her popularity steadily declined, which should have disproven the rumor of her creating a persona. Yet, many people on the internet still brought it up.
You can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep, nor can you ever truly understand the thought process of a troll.
However, Zhang Xiao Qi didn't want to dwell on these matters. She just wanted to return to the stage and sing, to let everyone know again that she, Zhang Xiao Qi, was a singer – a strong and persistent singer. Da Feng Novel Network.
“Later, I finally learned how to love,
But unfortunately, you had already gone, disappearing into the sea of people…”
When her voice rang out.
The audience gradually quieted down.
The song "A Diao" was her ultimate trump card, kept for the losers' bracket to ensure no mistakes.
Therefore, she chose another song by Ting Yu, "Later."
In fact, this was considered Ting Yu’s debut song, sung by Jiang Xiao E.
It was released as the theme song for a movie at the time.
It was also the first time many people got to know Ting Yu, with his songs evoking memories of youth.
Zhang Xiao Qi’s vocal prowess was naturally far superior to the then-newcomer Jiang Xiao E. Her rendition of "Later" was imbued with more life experience and a more profound emotional depth.
“How do you remember me,
With a smile or in silence.
In all these years, has anyone made you feel less lonely…”
Perhaps it was because her identity was guessed and her past experiences were known, this brand-new version of "Later" actually brought tears to the eyes of many viewers.
Although a minority believed Zhang Xiao Qi was exploiting her situation, the vast majority chose to believe her and empathize with her experiences.
Hearing the slightly tearful singing, and thinking of what she had been through, they instantly felt a sense of shared emotion.
As the entire song concluded.
The venue erupted in thunderous applause.
Some audience members wanted to cheer her on, but since her identity wasn’t revealed, they couldn’t be sure, so they held back.
After all, that was the nature of the show; as long as the mask wasn’t removed, anything was possible.
In previous seasons, similar incidents had occurred. A contestant singer appeared on stage, and everyone assumed it was a top-tier king of singers. Even his fan club had specially organized fans to cheer for their idol outside the show. When the reveal finally happened, everyone was stunned; they had cheered for the wrong person.
Such embarrassing situations had happened more than once in previous seasons of "Masked Singer King." Consequently, fans became very restrained. Even if they guessed an identity, they would wait until the reveal before expressing their support.
The voting had concluded.
Black Warrior won by a margin of over a hundred votes against Balloon Queen.
When the votes were announced, everyone felt that Balloon Queen was finished for this round.
After all, she had used up most of her trump cards. In the initial rounds, she sang her signature rock songs, and now she was singing Ting Yu’s songs. If she couldn’t present anything surprising in the losers’ bracket, her journey was essentially over.
“Go, Balloon Queen!”
“You’ve done wonderfully, no regrets!”
“Keep going, you’ve lasted longer than many singers; you’re already amazing!”
“I’m really looking forward to her reveal. If it’s really Zhang Xiao Qi, I might not be able to hold back my tears.”
“Who wouldn’t? If it’s her, her comeback must have required great determination!”
Looking at the people cheering her on below, Balloon Queen offered a relieved smile from beneath her mask.
Despite the slander and skepticism, there was also a lot of support.
There was no need to pay attention to the doubts; one couldn’t reason with them. What she needed to do was deliver a better show and more beautiful songs to those who supported her.
This was what a singer should and needed to focus on the most.
In the losers’ bracket, she would use Teacher Ting Yu’s song "A Diao" to let everyone get to know singer Zhang Xiao Qi anew!