1. Hello everyone, I come from a strange place.

"Respected judges and teachers, hello everyone, I am a science expedition member from the M55 Star Cluster, and my name on Earth is Gu Tao. I've been here for six years, and today I'm going to bring you a song."

"Hold on, what do you mean by 'from the M55 Star Cluster'? Are young people so casual these days?"

"Oh, let me explain. The M55 Star Cluster is located at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy and is a part of a Second-tier Civilization, which should be called Sagittarius on Earth, approximately twenty thousand light-years from Earth. I arrived here six years ago to conduct a scientific mission, but due to communication and positioning equipment malfunctions, I was left here forever. However, I really like Earth, so I've continued my scientific career and hope to use music to closely integrate Earth's Fifth-tier Civilization with our Second-tier Civilization. Now, I will present a song called 'Through Fire and Blades of Knives.'

All four judges had an expression like they wanted to laugh but couldn't. One of the older judges waved his hand: "You can go back now. We'll call you if there's any news."

"But, teacher, I haven't sung yet."

"Out!"

"Could you listen to me sing first...hey, don't get physical." Gu Tao struggled free from the clutches of the security, heaved a sigh, and bowed respectfully to the judges: "I still hope you could listen to the whole thing..."

"Get out!"

Sitting on the curb after being kicked out of the audition venue, Gu Tao felt the chill of the deep autumn air, but even the low temperature couldn't compare to the icy coldness in his heart.

"Kind of hungry now." He tilted his head to look at a persimmon peeking out over the wall and opened his mouth wide.

About a half-hour later, the persimmon still hadn't fallen into his mouth, and he was so hungry he couldn't take it anymore. He reluctantly stood up, picked up his worn guitar, and headed back the way he had come.

For now, he was staying at a friend's place, and it had been half a year. Strictly speaking, he had been moving from place to place, today here for a while, tomorrow somewhere else, and his current dwelling was the home of a homebound heavyset guy he had met in an underpass, who was the only person in the world who firmly believed that Gu Tao came from the M55 Star Cluster.

"I'm back." Gu Tao opened the door and slumped on the sofa: "Failed again today."

But as soon as he had said it, he noticed that the atmosphere wasn't quite right today, as many things were scattered on the floor, his fat friend's favorite collectible had its head separated from the body all over the place, and the game console that they had been playing with just last night was in pieces on the living room floor. The whole room was a complete mess.

Just when he thought the place had been attacked by thugs, a sharp voice came from the innermost room: "If you don't get that nutcase friend of yours who says he's from the 'Man-Horse Face Star' out of here today, then we're breaking up."

"How could you say that? What's he done to bother you?"

"What's he done to bother me? He's a liar! And you get mad at me when I'm trying to look out for you?"

Gu Tao then realized that it was his fat friend's girlfriend having a tantrum, and the root of her anger seemed to be him...

After thinking for a moment, he tiptoed into the inner room and happened to see the standoff between his chunky friend and his girlfriend. He couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw that the heavyset guy was only wearing a pair of shorts, his pale, flabby flesh looking oddly textured.

"Ah, Tingting. It's not 'Man-Horse Face Star', it's Sagittarius M55 Star Cluster."

"You're back? The chunky guy gave his girlfriend a sidelong glance, then walked out with a forced smile: "How did it go today? Did you succeed?"

Gu Tao glanced at the heavyset guy with scratch marks on his face and his unsmiling girlfriend standing behind him, then nodded vigorously, exclaiming excitedly, "Dude, I'm about to be famous!"

"Really?" The fat guy clearly didn't believe it; he knew just how terrible Gu Tao's singing was: "Are the judges deaf or blind?"

"You don't have confidence in me? No time to chat, I need to pack up and move to the training center, one of the judges sees potential in me, and they're planning to sign me straight away." Gu Tao declared, patting his chest: "Once I make it big, all the crawfish you can eat, move, move, I need to grab some things."

After pushing the heavyset guy aside, he went inside, flashed a smile at the frowning girl, and packed his scant belongings into a backpack with efficient movements. Shouldering his pack, he headed out.

"Don't bother to see me off. Grab me some buns from the fridge." Gu Tao pointed towards the fridge: "Got a long bus ride to the provincial city, no time to prepare."

The chunky friend hurriedly moved everything out of the fridge and handed the packed bag to Gu Tao. Standing at the door, he patted Gu Tao's shoulder and said softly, "Buddy... I'm sorry."

Gu Tao didn't reply, just pinched his friend's belly: "Dude, I'm about to be a star."

After that, he turned and left, walking down the stairs with a bundle of clothes and a battered guitar, leaving the place where he had lived for half a year.

When he got to the street, he looked back and saw the heavyset friend standing at the window watching him. He didn't mind; he just blew a kiss and then strided away confidently.

Of course, some things are obvious, the chunky friend was only heavyset, but when it came to intelligence, he was second to none. He knew well Gu Tao's level of singing. The only way Gu Tao could have been picked was if the judge was interested in his body.

Returning to the persimmon tree, Gu Tao looked at the fully ripe persimmon and stood there with his mouth open again. But the fruit still didn't fall, leaving him feeling very disappointed.