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5.22% Versatile Superstar: Rise In Hollywood / Chapter 23: Chapter 023. Helplessness And The New Round

Kapitel 23: Chapter 023. Helplessness And The New Round

"Dude, she's still giving you that death look. If looks could kill, I feel like I would be standing in your funeral."

Jackson whispered to Aiden.

They were currently sitting in the lounge area, waiting for a staff member to call them for a short interview before the next round.

"I don't even know why she's so angry? I should be more offended by that edited clip. Everyone thinks I have a crush on her now."

Aiden sighed, glancing toward Rachel, who had a constant frown on her face. Since last night, they had not really talked with each other, and even if he wanted to talk to her about the last episode, he didn't know how to approach her.

"I think it's because it affected her image. Something like that. I mean, people are talking about her now, so she obviously won't feel good, especially when she was dragged in."

Jackson gave out his reasoning, and Aiden agreed with it. Though, if he was being honest, it wasn't his fault either, but Rachel was surely going to think of him as guilty.

"Uh, I will talk to her when I get the time. It's better to clear up any misunderstandings."

Aiden felt Rachel's reaction was natural. But his anger was directed towards Marlo and the program team, who had edited his interview in this way.

If they had not edited it, there would have been no issue.

'I feel like punching Marlo in the face.'

Even his uncle had called him to ask if there was something between him and Rachel, as social media had already started to consider something brewing between them. Thankfully, he had no girlfriend, or he would have been in way worse trouble.

"Aiden Silvereye, go in."

A staff member suddenly walked out of the door on the side and told him to go into the interview room. He stood up and followed him to the interview room.

Marlo was sitting alone in the room, reading a file that had a list of questions on it. A cameraman was shooting everything from the side.

As Aiden sat down on the seat in front of him, Marlo gave out a sheepish smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Very bad. Thanks to you." Aiden simply replied, trying to get straight to the point.

"What did I do now?"

"Don't play innocent. You know what's going on with social media. The clip was clearly edited, but people don't know that. They think I have a crush on Rachel for no reason. I obviously won't be good because of all that."

Marlo made an awkward smile. He knew Aiden was going to be angry about this. The program team had edited it to add some spice to the program, but it somehow got out of proportion.

Knowing that he can't just ignore it, Marlo answered.

"Look, I'm sorry. I understand what you are going through but trust me, this went worse than I thought. I agreed to add it, thinking it might come in handy to make people discuss a topic related to X-Star. After all, people love to gossip, but this went way out of proportion."

"How?"

"Because of many things. One of them is that you and Rachel have gotten a small following, so those fans talked a lot about this. Normally, it would have died down, but your second-round performance made you very popular. You should check the MeTube channel of X-Star if you have not."

Aiden knew that his group's video performing in the second round had already gotten 800k views on MeTube. It would soon cross 1 million from the way it was going.

"That performance made people talk more about the clip at the end, spreading it. I'm sorry, but we did it for the show, and you don't really have a say in it."

Aiden meekly nodded his head, hearing that. Marlo's words suddenly made him realise that he didn't really contain any power as a contestant.

The program team can edit him however they like, and he won't be able to do anything just because he was at the bottom of the bottom.

'For now, I can do nothing aside from being very careful in what I say.'

He thought in his mind, and although he felt all sorts of emotions, he knew the reality of life. His career was just starting, and it would be a while before he got any power to do stuff.

In the end, Marlo was at least answering his questions. He was sure that if it was someone else, they wouldn't even give him an answer.

"I, I understand. Let's get on with the interview."

Aiden said with a conflicted expression. Sighing, Marlo nodded, and another interview started.

**

"The topic for the next round is a battle between two contestants. You will be singing the same song and competing against each other. Only one contestant will go ahead while the other will be face elimination."

Alyssa announced the next round's theme with a grin on her face, and every contestant glanced around. They have already seen enough of the others that they know who would be a tough singer to beat.

Pairing with someone like Rachel or Cameron would be the endgame for most contestants.

"To know who's gonna be battling with who, we will let the contestants choose for themselves." The contestants' eyes shined, but she wasn't finished speaking. "By that, I mean every contestant would pick out the name of the one he or she would be battling."

A staff member came out with a glass jar as she said that. Aiden was able to see small pieces of paper in the jar. They have the contestants' names written on them.

"We will name a contestant, and he would come here and take out a chit."

Andrew said and looked around the room before his eyes locked onto one contestant.

"Jackson, you go first."

"Okay."

With hesitant steps, Jackson walked toward the glass jar. Everyone's eyes landed on his back as he put his hand inside the jar and took out a chit.

'Please, someone easy.'

He prayed in his mind and passed the chit to Alyssa, who opened it up with a big smile that looked a bit mocking.

"Jackson, the contestant you will be facing, would be… Archie Fox."

Alyssa looked at a guy with brown hair who was standing in the corner. Aiden checked his skill interface and found out that he was also in Basic Grade 7.

'Jackson has a pretty big plot armour.'

He thought as the judges started calling out some other contestants. After Jackson, Cameron coincidentally got paired with Michelle's group Symphony.

Aiden didn't know how it would pan out as although they weren't a match for Cameron individually, the group had given some good performances.

Aside from that, Emily was paired against Elon Husk, a science student more interested in space travel, trying out his singing skills. He was not bad, but Aiden thought Emily would beat him.

"Aiden, go ahead."

Steven suddenly took his name, and he nodded his head.

"Uh, okay."

He walked to the glass jar and took out a chit. Looking it up, he sighed a bit.

He didn't know who he would pick out, but he sure hoped it wasn't someone he couldn't beat. Otherwise, he won't know what to do.

"Bring that chit to me."

"Yeah."

He passed it to Steven, who opened it up, and for a second, his eyes looked a bit surprised. Then, glancing at Aiden, he slowly read out the name that was written on the chit.

"Rachel Rose."

Aiden felt like Steven was an executioner announcing that he would be sentenced to death when he heard that name from his mouth. Then, glancing back, he saw that Rachel looked a bit shocked too.

Her face hardened when her eyes met his, and she glared at him.

'This is going to be very awkward.'

Aiden thought, trying hard not to frown. For a second, he thought that the chits were fabricated to get him and Rachel as a pair, but it didn't seem possible.

In the end, it was just his luck.

He could even imagine a deity in the skies with a beer bottle in his hand, watching all this and laughing at him.

'How exactly am I going to beat her…'

...

//DreamNote//

Don't forget to support me with your powerstones and golden tickets!

PS. Check creator's thought for mass release goals :)


AUTORENGEDANKEN
DreamThree DreamThree

Mass Release Target [Week1]

Based on weekly powerstone rankings!

Top20 = 3 Bonus Chapter

Top10 = 5 Bonus Chapter

Top5 = ???

...

Bonus Chapters will be released on sunday mid-night, based on preceding performance of the novel, or before that if you gift me more ;)

Current Rank: 23

next chapter

Kapitel 24: Chapter 024. The Battle Begins

"I hate it."

Rachel muttered as she stared at Aiden. The latter sighed with a wry expression. Although Rachel didn't like being in this situation with him after the last broadcast, his feelings were also mutual.

"I don't like it either."

"Then, ask the judges to change the pairing."

"I would have if I could, and if you want to, you can ask them yourself."

They both knew that even asking the judges or program team to change the pairing won't do anything. The program team might even be smiling, thinking of the ratings when this will air on the broadcast.

After all, the last episode broke records and Rachel and Aiden were discussed the most on social media.

'I can't keep bantering with her. We need to practice.'

The song they had received was a pop song titled 'Stay'. It was sung by a British duo and was very popular, with over 200 million views on MeTube.

The problem with popular songs was that most people would already know them, so they would compare the original to the one sung by the contestants, which meant that they needed to correctly use their skills to make a difference and make it memorable.

Moreover, in a battle round, both the contestants needed to sing the same song simultaneously, meaning there needed to be a bit of chemistry and connection between them to make the song better.

It was up to the judges to decide who would go ahead, but if they both kept bantering with each other, they would mess up their performance before it even began.

Aiden didn't want that, especially when he was already at a disadvantage with the massive disparity between their singing levels. Rachel was on another whole level.

'Uh, I need to talk it through and calm her down as we can go ahead with the practice.'

He thought and glanced at Rachel, who just had a frosty expression on her face. It was hard to know what she was thinking, but Aiden didn't care about that. He first has to clear the misunderstanding.

"Uh, I wanted to clarify something about the last episode."

"What?"

She glared at him, remembering the comments she had read on the internet. Recalling them only frustrated her more.

"I didn't say anything like what was shown in the episode. And it's a huge misunderstanding."

"What do you mean?"

Aiden wondered how to explain it but did not have enough patience so he decided just to talk straightforwardly.

"That clip of mine saying you are great. It's edited. I didn't say anything like that, nor did I think anything like that. It's all fabricated to spice up the show."

"But I saw the clip. Everyone di-"

"Have you ever heard of Devil's editing?"

Aiden interrupted her words, and, hearing that, Rachel fell into some thought. Then thinking of his behaviour towards her until now, it really didn't seem like Aiden had a crush on her.

She had heard about how reality shows used their contestants, but it was the first time she was experiencing it.

"Okay, I understand that. But people are still talking about me, assuming I'm dating you. What about it?"

She asked, and Aiden already had a reply prepared for that.

"Nothing about it. I am sorry, but I can't do anything about that. People are talking even more about me, and neither of us can do anything about it. It's a reality show, and as we are appearing on TV, people will talk about us. All this will automatically die down once the show ends."

He ranted out, and Rachel's body shook slightly as she took in those words. He was right, very right.

It seemed like she had unnecessarily gotten angry seeing the reactions online. In addition, her mom had called her yesterday asking if it was true and was very suspicious, which had gotten her even more incensed.

But suddenly, she felt her anger cooling down.

Still, there were some doubts in her mind. She needed to clear them out.

"So, you don't have a crush on me?"

"I don't have a crush on anyone. And do you think I'm stupid enough to get a relationship on X-Star? It's a singing reality show, not a dating one. I'm here to win the competition, not get into a relationship. Moreover, even if I want to get into a relationship, I won't at this point in my life."

"Hmm, then our thoughts are mutual. I am also not here for any drama. While I have my reasons, do you mind sharing yours?" She asked, finding his words a bit strange.

"I have bigger things to do, and a relationship will drag me down at this point. Now, can we practice?"

He sighed, and although his words didn't entirely convince her, Rachel still nodded her head.

Currently, they need to focus on the next round. Everything else was just secondary.

**

'I'm very nervous.'

Aiden thought as he leaned back on the sofa. He was currently backstage as his performance was about to come. The round had already started with some contestants having even performed in front of the judges.

He thought that he had gotten better at controlling his nerves as the competition moved. But he realised that the fear of elimination was still gripping his heart very tightly.

After all, he was directly facing off against Rachel. It was hard to say if he had any chance, just depending on their skills.

But he knew that the system didn't show the whole reality.

'Rachel's singing level might be way better than mine, but it doesn't mean she would sing at that level every single time.'

Aiden had been thinking hard about this for a few days, and this was his verdict. After all, the system was just showing the skill level, but a performance contains effort, proficiency in the song, how one was singing it and many other important factors which would then determine how the person performs.

That's why he still had a chance, albeit a small one.

"Our performance is next."

As he was in his thoughts, Rachel suddenly walked right up to him and said. Nodding his head, he stood up and followed her on the stage.

Some members of the audience cheered when they saw both of them. Both Rachel and Aiden had gotten a few fans in their time on the X-Star.

"Hi, how are you two?" Andrew asked, smiling at them. He was the judge who would always try to portray a positive attitude towards the contestants.

"We are fine," Aiden replied, keeping the mic close to his mouth.

"Any nervousness? You two are some of the most popular contestants this year, and only one of you will go forward. Does that make you scared?"

"It does a bit. But in the end, the best one of us would go ahead."

"Yeah, it's not something we can do anything about."

They answered, and with that, the small talk ended. Andrew gestured to start the performance.

The lights on the stage dimmed as both of them took their positions. Soft electronic music started flowing in the background.

'I need to think about music rather than failing.'

Aiden repeatedly muttered in his mind like a mantra, and it seemed to have worked. As soon as he felt music, he forgot all about his worries.

Just focusing on giving out a good performance.

The first verse was his, and Aiden needed to sing it in a low tone while trying to focus on the diction. He had already practised it a lot, and he automatically started singing after ten seconds into the song.

🎼🎸🎤🎶

"All I ever wanted was a peaceful life."

"Days passing, with you by my side."

"I know it was my fault, not becoming what you want."

"But I hope you are happier now. I hope you are sunnier now."

🎼🎸🎤🎶

It was a type of song with a very flashy beginning. With fast but meaningful lyrics, catchy music in the background and the singer's skills, the song tried to literally force itself in one's head.

Strangely it worked very well.

Rachel, who was moving her legs with the music, started the second verse.

🎼🎸🎤🎶

"Without you, I know I'm a mess."

"I don't even know how to explain, but I know I was the one to make you stressed."

"Still, I can't forget about you every time you are away."

"I feel like asking you to stay."

🎼🎸🎤🎶

As the second verse ended, the lights on the stage started shining with neon lights as a spotlight illuminated them. The electronic music coming out of a keyboard joined hands with a bass and a guitar.

It was then that both Rachel and Aiden prepared for the chorus.

🎼🎸🎤🎶

"Ohhh, baby, I really want you to stay."

"Hold you under the shining ray(s)."

"But I know I need to hold my feelings because I don't have a say."

"Still, I know it would be best if you could stay."

🎼🎸🎤🎶

Both of them stretched the last part, and as they tried the note higher and higher, Aiden struggled with it, but he still pushed through as he was able to see white light coming out from them.

The true performance was just starting.

...

...

//DreamNote//

Current PS ranking: 23!

Push beyond 20 and get the bonus chapters!

Don't forget to support me with your powerstones and golden tickets!

Ps. new cover :)

(bonus chapter today? maybe)


AUTORENGEDANKEN
DreamThree DreamThree

Mass Release Target [Week1]

Based on weekly powerstone rankings!

Top20 = 3 Bonus Chapter

Top10 = 5 Bonus Chapter

Top5 = ???

...

Bonus Chapters will be released on sunday mid-night, based on preceding performance of the novel, or before that if you gift me more ;)

Current Rank: 23

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