Lu AnLing was on a high. She was feeling very very good about herself and so, she twirled a bit in her dress backstage.
Manager Hong was with Lu AnLing and Mo Sheng at first but when the judging was beginning, Manager Hong decided to go in the crowd around the judges to be the first to know the news.
Seeing Manager Hong leave, Mo Sheng lifted a hand in the air and said, "We're so going to win this!"
He, like she, felt light as a feather. It was like he could conquer the world, but Lu AnLing brought those dreams crashing down.
"I doubt we will win." Lu AnLing said calmly.
Mo Sheng: "How come?"
"Because of the current state of the music industry. This isn't an indie competition like we're used to. It's more mainstreams..." Lu AnLing said before she continued to explain a bit more.
Truly, she hoped the judges were more cultured and opened minded enough to vote for her song but she doubted it.
The songs she had created were beautiful but they had a depressing undertone, and most people in the industry did not know how to market such a song...
"Either way,It's better if Tang Yiling wins though," Lu AnLing said simply as she ran her hands through her hair.
Frowning, Mo Sheng said, "Why?"
Pinching the boy's cheeks, as if he was a child, Lu AnLing smiled and spoke.
"Newtons law!" Lu AnLing exclaimed. Hearing this Mo Sheng removed her hand from his cheeks forcefully and then he grimaced. Understanding that the boy didn't understand what she meant, Lu AnLing put her hands on her hips, "You know? Newton's law. What goes up must come down? I'm sure we learned this in school!"
Lu AnLing was slightly disappointed but instead of complaining more she just sighed and said, "The higher Tang Yiling's ego skyrockets the more painful it'll be when I blow it up, and it comes crashing down!"
Hearing this, Mo Sheng, who had frowned the whole time laughed heartily, "Wait, so you're pretty much saying that you're so good it's a weakness, but you're gooing to use this weakness against Tang Yiling?"
Lu AnLing shook her head. "I'm saying WE're so good that people don't know how to market our perfection!"
Hearing this, both Lu AnLing and Mo Sheng laughed.
Funny enough Lu AnLing was right, by the judges had made their decisions, Tang Yiling had won based on the fact that the second panel had voted for her, but this was not unanimous...
Actually, the initial panel of judges, which contained her father, had shockingly given the win to Lu AnLing and Mo Sheng! Looking at those results, Lu AnLing couldn't quite believe it. This made Lu AnLing hope that her father would remember her much easier and earlier than anticipated.
Truly singing the song was step one in the 'making her father remember her' plan. The true plan would come into action at dinner. It was better like that, either way. It would be a more enclosed space and if her father did remember everything, he would be surrounded by people who were, mostly, trustworthy and so, no rumours that could affect both Lu AnLing and the Tang family would spread.
Thinking about this, Lu AnLing smiled but her smile quickly turned into a frown when Tang Yiling showed up.
"I see you lost and I won. The world truly is fair." Tang Yiling said with a vicious smile on her face as she stopped in front of Lu AnLing.
Hearing this, Lu AnLing laughed.
"Oh yeah? How so? Didn't you win by a technicality? I heard your father's group voted for us, and not you. Doesn't that just mean you're not that good and that we're still tied?" Lu AnLing said simply, yet tauntingly. By now, she knew Tang Yiling's personality, so she knew that Tang Yiling, would at least believe her father was outnumbered 2 to 1 by the other judges.
Hearing this, Tang Yiling clenched her jaw tightly but she didn't say anything just yet. Before she did as such, she smiled with fake sincerity and said, "They did that for perception. If the people thought the contest was rigged it wouldn't be good for Tang Corp. Do you really think you're good enough to beat or even come close, to me? In your dreams."
Lu AnLing rolled her eyes but she didn't frown. Tang Yiling was an amusing adversary because she didn't have any future-sight. She couldn't see that Lu AnLing was not feeling attacked by her pettiness.
Tang Yiling was truly not an observant person. It was always about herself and so, this made it very easy for Lu AnLing to taunt her and yet, also, allow her to become more and more confident in her position.
Smiling slightly, Lu AnLing shrugged, "Well congratulations then,"
Hearing this, Tang Yiling frowned. This was not the reaction she wanted from the girl.
Why couldn't Lu AnLing show her the face of true defeat?! The sight of such a calm and smug Lu AnLing made Tang Yiling want to rip her face off but right then, Ning Jie pulled Tang Yiling away.
"Don't concern yourself with losers. Let's go have some fun." Ning Jie said as the two left.
Watching the two leave, Lu AnLing and Mo Sheng, who stood beside her, rolled their eyes. The two were going to go find their friends but then one of the judges who had been with her father had quickly pulled Lu AnLing and Mo Sheng aside and then she said,
"Forgive me if I'm mistaken but are you Alina the V?"
Hearing the judge say that name, both Lu AnLing and Mo Sheng gave each other a look and then, Lu AnLing said,
"Well, technically, WE are Alina the V." Lu AnLing said as she gestured between her and Mo Sheng. "I'm the Alina part and he's The V."
From the corner of her eye, Lu AnLing saw Rong Xin watching her.
Saying the name Alina, Lu AnLing felt her heart palpitate slightly. Due to the fact that Anna used to call her Alina, Lu AnLing had adopted it as a stage name. She would have used her French name, but Rose didn't quite sound right when it came to using it for music. Alina had a musical sound to it that Lu AnLing liked it and so, when she left the institution she took it upon herself.
However, now, it was slightly different. Alina meant much more. This was the name of Rong Xin's mother and so, Lu AnLing felt a bit bad for having used the name...
Tying up one of the loose ends mentioned in the first or second volume. So yes, Lu AnLing and Mo Sheng had been creating music for a while and they have been popular, mostly overseas.