When it got to the chorus, watching the shrieking Lilia, Jiang Qin honestly wanted to stuff her ears with cotton.
It wasn't that she didn't respect her opponent, but she felt she might have overestimated the Federation's music scene.
She had originally thought some of the songs on the charts had only gotten there by pulling some strings, but after hearing this song, she felt that the chart-toppers might have actually been the cream of the crop.
After forcing herself to endure it for over three minutes, Lilia finally finished singing.
Jiang Qin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
'If I have to listen to any more of that,' she thought, 'my Riot Value is going to shoot through the roof.'
"Judge, give me my score," Lilia said, panting heavily, her face full of confidence.
She felt she had just sung perfectly. Her performance was powerful, unlike Jiang Qin, who couldn't even belt a high note and only sang those sleepy, hypnotic songs.
[Song has high repetition rate with music library. Vocal performance has multiple flaws. Theme is off-topic. Score: 55 points.]
[???]
[Hahaha...]
Lilia wasn't the only one who was dumbfounded; the bullet comments were flooded with question marks and laughter.
[LMAO, I don't even want to say it, but if Lilia had sung first, I might have thought it was okay. The problem is she sang after Jiang Qin. The comparison is just brutal.]
[I actually left the stream just now. I just came back.]
Quite a few people had the same idea. The livestream's viewership had dropped by two or three million, only recovering just now.
However, there were also people who blindly supported Lilia.
[The judge is unfair! Lilia sang so well, how could she not even get a passing score?]
[What does an AI know about music? Letting it score? It doesn't know a thing!]
[?? That's not what you guys were saying earlier.]
[Anyway, I just think the master brain judge's score is wrong. Lilia is a top student from Duolun University. How could she be worse than some uneducated female?]
[I may not know anything about music, but I think the score is perfectly fine. I don't understand the technicalities, but I know which one sounds better.]
[Let's not even talk about their vocal skills. Just look at the composition. Lilia's song is mostly a repeat of other songs in the music library. Are you guys blind?]
[Speaking of which, Jiang Qin's song, just like her previous three, has a library repetition rate of basically zero.]
...
There were still plenty of sensible people out there.
Jiang Qin felt she had almost cleared her name, but it wasn't enough. She had to completely win over the people who were still on the fence.
University dorms don't have surveillance cameras. She had indeed spent a few minutes in there by herself.
So there was no hard evidence to prove her innocence. She could only rely on her skill to prove it.
The style of Interstellar songs was vastly different from those on Earth.
The Federation's songs were like a bizarre mishmash, just a jumble of pleasant-sounding notes thrown together in a random order.
That's why most songs had a very high repetition rate.
The Empire's songs were a bit better, at least their themes were clear and they had some substance. But just like the Federation, the metallic, mechanical style was too heavy.
Therefore, to the Interstellar People, the songs from Earth were like a whole new genre.
The difference was easy to hear.
As long as Lilia couldn't produce a song in this style, she would definitely be met with suspicion.
"Miss Lilia, do you also believe the master brain judge is unfair?"
Lilia's face was dark, but no matter how humiliated she felt, she didn't dare agree with that statement.
If she agreed, it would no longer be about accusing Jiang Qin of cheating; it would be questioning the master brain, questioning the Federation Government.
So she could only reply with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Of course not. The judge's score is naturally trustworthy."
However, her hands were busy making furtive movements.
She was currently on her Light Computer, interrogating the person who had sent her the song. 'How am I supposed to win with this garbage?'
Lilia even threatened the person: if she lost and was left with nothing, she would drag them down with her even if it killed her.
"Since Miss Lilia accepts the score, let's begin the second round."
Although she wanted to stall for time, Lilia knew that if she said anything else, those idiots below would probably attack her even more.
So she could only suppress her anger and nod in agreement.
But compared to her smile at the beginning, anyone could see she was unhappy.
But no one said anything. After all, most Interstellar Beastman females were known for having bad tempers.
Abusing their partners was even a commonplace occurrence.
Eighty percent of the people in the livestream were male.
Although they understood that females generally had bad tempers, the split screen provided a stark contrast!
Besides, they had already learned from the bullet comments that Lilia was a D-level female, while Jiang Qin was a C-level female.
One looked like she wanted to eat someone alive, her face dark with anger. The other was pale and looked very frail.
The scales in everyone's hearts began to tip.
[Second Round Theme: Love.]
Seeing this theme, not only did Lilia smile, but Jiang Qin wanted to laugh as well.
'When it comes to love songs, Earth's music library is practically endless!'
Of course, Interstellar People loved love songs too. After all, their love lives were incredibly... rich.
That's why Lilia smiled. She thought that with this theme, the person helping her from behind the scenes could surely get her a song from a Golden Level composer at the very least, right?
Once again, both pressed the "Ready" button within five minutes.
This time, Lilia sang first.
The moment she opened her mouth, a sweet voice flowed out.
To be fair, this song was indeed a step up from the last one. Mainly, her voice was a good fit, and she was also putting on a cutesy, affected tone.
After listening to the whole song, quite a few people were indeed charmed by its sweetness.
The lyrics were simple and blunt.
I Love You, and I love him, and him, and him, and him~
It was catchy, similar to those bubblegum pop songs that were once all the rage on Earth. With a bit of marketing and some video clips, it could probably become a minor hit for a while.
This was not what Jiang Qin wanted to see.
'I'm going to defeat her with a song of the same type, seizing this wave of popularity for myself and leaving my rival no chance at all!'
So, she quickly recalled a song that had once been a massive hit. Back then, you could hear it on every street and in every alley.
It was even in video games.
To be honest, while it was a really good song, she couldn't stand hearing it from morning till night. It had been played so much that Jiang Qin had grown sick of it.
But after some time had passed, if she heard it again, she still couldn't help but hum along.
The song had remained popular on and off for many years, experiencing a small revival every few years.
***
Soon, the sweet song performed in that cutesy, affected voice was over. The judge gave it a score of 86!
"Miss Jiang, it's your turn." Although the score wasn't as high as Jiang Qin's first song, Lilia was still beaming.
She had realized the song's selling point. Even if she lost, it was fine. Getting a song that suited her so well was a win in itself.
With today's hype and this song, graduating should be much easier for her.
As for the crime of framing Jiang Qin, as long as she stubbornly denied it and the other party had no evidence, there was nothing they could do to her.
In the end, the matter could only become an unsolved mystery!
And she would use Jiang Qin as a stepping stone to rise, pocketing all the popularity for herself.