Probably because she had received some rare encouragement from Qiao Yichen, Ding Meng felt braver than usual when she walked into the competition site. Even though this round didn’t require the audience to vote, the arena was still packed full with a thousand spectators.
After being baptized by the last competition, the present her had lost all qualms about facing an audience of this scale. The order of performances today would go according the results of yesterday’s lottery in the order red, yellow, green, and lastly blue.
Before the competition officially began, the program presenter once again kicked off with an introduction. Unlike last time, today there were two presenters. The female presenter represented the Popularity team and the male presenter represented the Merit team.
When the program started, the two presenters immediately began to shoot verbal bullets at each other.
“In this current day and age, people can’t rely on appearances for very long. Ultimately, people must still depend on their merits.” The male presenter aggressively pointed at each contestant in the Popularity team.
The female presenter was not one to swallow a loss and immediately struck back, “Those words coming from your mouth are truly quite convincing. After all, you are a man who has never, not even for a second, relied on his face.”
The audience roared with laughter. The male presenter gave the female presenter a side glance, “Let’s ban personal attacks.”
The female presenter laughed, “Fine, then let me talk about merit. Everyone knows our Popularity team has risen to prominence from a pool of ten thousand auditions to ultimately enter the top 20. Who dares say that our top 20 contestants lack merit? They just happen to fortunately also have good looks, that’s all. With that said, our Popularity team can be considered to have both merit and popularity.”
The male presenter indignantly retorted, “Why are you talking as if the contestants in our Merit team aren’t popular? Their merit is just so overwhelming that they haven’t had a chance yet to prove their popularity. If we let the audience vote right now, it’s not even clear who would win or lose.” He spoke up to here and then faced the audience to yell out, “Wouldn’t you all agree?”
“Yeah—!” The audience very agreeably replied.
The male presenter cockily looked at the female presenter. The female presenter displayed a smile, as if to say she wouldn’t stoop to his level. “That’s enough. Even if the two of us talk up a storm, it’ll be useless. In a moment, their performances will show us all the truth.”
The male presenter joined in speaking, “You’ve said that correctly. Then let’s invite the contestants in the red group to come on stage. On the Merit team’s side, our contestant is Tang Shiran!”
Tang Shiran walked on stage amidst the screaming cheers of the audience.
Though she was the first of all the contestants to go up, her performance was still extremely steady. She sang the entire song without any mistakes whatsoever. Backstage, Liao Qian pulled on Ding Meng’s arm. Her face was full of grief when she spoke, “Meng Meng, in a moment, if I am sacrificed, you need to take revenge for me.”
Ding Meng comfortingly pat her shoulder. “Don’t say such ominous words. What if they come true?”
Liao Qian, “…”
She sank into a deep despair.
After Tang Shiran’s performance ended, Liao Qian’s turn came. Ding Meng gave her some encouragements, but the view of her back as she departed was rather miserable and solemn looking.
Liao Qian’s performance was also very remarkable, but the only problem was that her opponent was Tang Shiran. The result was still hard to determine.
After both people had finished performing, the judges began to vote. Tang Shiran seemed very confident. When the judges voted for her, her expression wasn’t even particularly excited.
The three votes for Tang Shiran, who took the lead in entering the top 4 in the nation.
Even though Liao Qian had long predicted this result, she was still listless upon returning. Ding Meng had wanted to say some words of comfort, but the other party interrupted her the moment she opened her mouth. “Don’t comfort me. I’ll just feel even worse if you do.”
Ding Meng obediently closed her mouth. After a moment, Liao Qian faintly asked, “Do you think I still have a chance of meeting Gu Xin?”
Ding Meng responded very certainly, “Of course, I’ve already seen the list of his concerts for the next year.”
Liao Qian, “…”
She knew she shouldn’t have asked Ding Meng to comfort her.
After the next two performances, one of the contestants from the Popularity team advanced. After three duels, the Popularity team vs Merit team competition had resulted in one win and two losses.
Mu Shuang was now singing on stage, performing an original song as usual. Her uniquely deep female voice seemed to completely pull listeners into a deep dream, singing a never heard before story into their ears.
Seeing that the end of Mu Shuang’s performance was approaching, Liao Qian pat Ding Meng’s shoulder. Just like Ding Meng had previously done, she gave Ding Meng a fighting encouragement. “Meng Meng, the heavy burden of bringing honor to our Popularity team rests on you now!”
Ding Meng,, “…”
She felt the pressure was pretty intense.
After Mu Shuang’s performance concluded, the lights on the stage lit up again. The two presenters walked on stage. The male presenter who represented the Merit team announced proudly, “Did you see that? That’s our Merit team’s merit. Looks like we’re definitely going to win today.”
The female presenter spoke, “Don’t speak with so much satisfaction. We still have one contestant that hasn’t come on stage yet. She’s this competition’s dark horse.”
“Ah.” The male presenter spoke indifferently, “Whether she’s a donkey or a horse, we’ll know after she strolls around for a bit.”
“Then let’s invite the other contestant in the blue group. She is also our last contestant today. Come on stage Ding Meng!”
When the female presenter’s words spread, the loud cheers of the audience erupted. Ding Meng took a big breath. Holding the microphone, she walked out.
A red dress that fell past the knees and long black hair that reached the waist – the classic red and black pairing was timelessly eye catching. When Ding Meng walked out from backstage, she immediately became the center of everyone’s attention.
The cheering sounds of the audience rose to reach a new high. Ding Meng held the microphone and somehow gradually became more relaxed.
This time, she didn’t have a symphony orchestra or a youth choir. She stood by herself on the large stage. While the stage lights gradually transformed, the prelude of the song began to play.
Right before coming on stage, her head was still filled with Gu Xin’s words about the person and sword becoming one as well as Qiao Yichen’s words about intuition. But after walking on stage, those all gradually drifted far away. The only thought she was left with was that she wanted to sing.
The stage always seemed to have the power to calm her down.
The melodious tune of the saxophone entered her ear. What filled Ding Meng’s mind at that moment was a pair of young sweethearts, passing their childhood years carefree and without worries. It was the immense disaster and panic brought by the sudden descent of war. It was the newly wed husband who rushed to the battlefield without hesitation. It was the anguish of receiving news of victory, but not seeing the departed person return home.
“The memories I thought I had long forgotten,
Always resurface without warning,
The beautiful blooming spring flowers filling the branch,
The noisy summer song of cicadas.
You were always by my side,
Only separated by an eye’s length.”
However, time passed quickly. The years shifted. Even if I returned to the same location, the scenery would no longer be familiar. And the place beside me would forever be empty.
“Is this what yearning is?
It’s even more heartbreaking than the songs of poets.
If this yearning could condense into an ocean,
There would be a ship,
To bring me to your side.”
Even if everyone says you won’t return, I’ll stubbornly stay right here. For fear that after I leave, you won’t be able to find me when you return.
Ding Meng closed her eyes. Like a songbird, she sang the last verse, “Is this what yearning is? It is my undying, burning love for you.”
When the last syllable drifted out, one ice cold tear fell down from the corner of her eye without any warning.
The gentle sound of the saxophone gradually dissipated. The stage lights brightened once more. The audience below abruptly broke out into applause. Only then did Ding Meng seem to rouse from her dream. Subconsciously, she wiped away the tear by the corner of her eye.
She had unexpectedly sang herself to tears on stage. Had Qiao Yichen gained new material to tease her with? And just now, how did she handle the chorus? Was her voice passionate enough?
How did she finish singing the song without realizing it??
…..Had she already attained the state of mind Qiao Yichen and the others had spoken of?
The two presenters walked on stage and interrupted Ding Meng’s daydream. “You sang too incredibly. Really. You almost sang me to tears.”
The male presenter spoke, “I see that a good portion of the audience cried. Look over there, some people are even wiping away their tears! Surely enough, this song Yearning by Pan Ying is a godly song capable of moving people to tears.”
“That’s because our Ding Meng sang well. If you came and sang it, people would cry from how bad it sounds.”
The male presenter straightened his face. “Didn’t we come to an agreement against personal attacks?”
The female presenter laughed and turned to interview Ding Meng, “Just now, I saw that you seem to have even sang yourself to tears?”
Ding Meng responded with embarrassment, “Perhaps I’m just an emotional person. I’ve even been teased by others for crying after watching The Gift of the Magi.”
The audience below laughed out loud. The male presenter grabbed the chance to speak, “I also cried when I watched The Gift of the Magi in middle school!”
The female presenter sent him a skeptical glance, “Don’t pretend like you were born in the same decade as Ding Meng, okay? Your faces are a generation gap apart.”
The male presenter tilted his head and, not accepting her words, asked Ding Meng, “What generation gap is there between our faces?”
Ding Meng spoke, “I’m estimating that my official childhood pictures are colored and your official childhood pictures are black and white.”
The male presenter, “….”
The female presenter laughed along with the audience and faced the male presenter, “Bear with your internal injuries for the moment. Now can you tell us if Ding Meng is or isn’t a dark horse?”
The male presenter spoke, “It doesn’t matter what I say. It’s better to let the judges speak.”
The two presenters invited also Mu Shuang on stage. The two contestants stood together on the stage and prepared to accept the judge’s votes.
The first to speak was still Xiao Qi. She held the microphone silently for a long moment and finally spoke one sentence. “Don’t you guys know I’m a Libra?”
The audience laughed. Xiao Qi spoke indignantly at the presenters, “Really, next time the program organizers shouldn’t invite a Libra to be a judge. This is really music that forces a Libra to death.”
The female presenter spoke, “Even if you’re forced to your death today, you still need to choose one among the two of them.”
Xiao Qi paused for another moment before speaking, “This choice today is really too difficult. I’m a voice enthusiast. In this entire Heavenly Voice competition, my two favorite voices are from Ding Meng and Mu Shuang. Their voices are both very unique. One is high and the other is low. Originally, they had walked along two separate paths. Who knew they would encounter each other this quickly.” Xiao Qi’s expression was extremely tangled, “I really can’t bear to eliminate either one of these two, but since I am sitting here as a judge, I need to take responsibility for my role.”
She spoke up to here and paused, looking at Ding Meng and Mu Shuang. “Both of your performances were completely outstanding. However, if I really must pick one, I choose Ding Meng.”
The audience burst out in screams. Ding Meng gave Xiao Qi a bow to express her thanks.
“Congratulations to Ding Meng for obtaining one vote. Next, let’s invite judge Sun Rui make his decision.”
After the presenter spoke, Sun Rui spoke, “Even though I’m not a voice enthusiast, I still really understand Judge Xiao’s feelings. The two of you can be said to be on equal ground skill-wise. Not only that, both of your performances have a lot of personality. That is really seldom seen. However, I have a lot respect towards a singer who can write her own music and play her own instruments. So today, I must give my vote to Mu Shuang.”
“Mu Shuang gains a vote! Now the two contestants are tied. The critical vote is now in Great Producer Qiao’s hands. Who will he give his vote to!”
The male presenter continued, “Let us come back after a commercial break!”
The audience laughed and the nervous atmosphere on the stage decreased quite a bit. Ding Meng and Mu Shuang both looked at Qiao Yichen. When Ding Meng saw his solemn expression, she started to think that she had overestimated herself earlier by thinking she had attained that special state of mind.
Probably because she had received some rare encouragement from Qiao Yichen, Ding Meng felt braver than usual when she walked into the competition site. Even though this round didn’t require the audience to vote, the arena was still packed full with a thousand spectators.
After being baptized by the last competition, the present her had lost all qualms about facing an audience of this scale. The order of performances today would go according the results of yesterday’s lottery in the order red, yellow, green, and lastly blue.
Before the competition officially began, the program presenter once again kicked off with an introduction. Unlike last time, today there were two presenters. The female presenter represented the Popularity team and the male presenter represented the Merit team.
When the program started, the two presenters immediately began to shoot verbal bullets at each other.
“In this current day and age, people can’t rely on appearances for very long. Ultimately, people must still depend on their merits.” The male presenter aggressively pointed at each contestant in the Popularity team.
The female presenter was not one to swallow a loss and immediately struck back, “Those words coming from your mouth are truly quite convincing. After all, you are a man who has never, not even for a second, relied on his face.”
The audience roared with laughter. The male presenter gave the female presenter a side glance, “Let’s ban personal attacks.”
The female presenter laughed, “Fine, then let me talk about merit. Everyone knows our Popularity team has risen to prominence from a pool of ten thousand auditions to ultimately enter the top 20. Who dares say that our top 20 contestants lack merit? They just happen to fortunately also have good looks, that’s all. With that said, our Popularity team can be considered to have both merit and popularity.”
The male presenter indignantly retorted, “Why are you talking as if the contestants in our Merit team aren’t popular? Their merit is just so overwhelming that they haven’t had a chance yet to prove their popularity. If we let the audience vote right now, it’s not even clear who would win or lose.” He spoke up to here and then faced the audience to yell out, “Wouldn’t you all agree?”
“Yeah—!” The audience very agreeably replied.
The male presenter cockily looked at the female presenter. The female presenter displayed a smile, as if to say she wouldn’t stoop to his level. “That’s enough. Even if the two of us talk up a storm, it’ll be useless. In a moment, their performances will show us all the truth.”
The male presenter joined in speaking, “You’ve said that correctly. Then let’s invite the contestants in the red group to come on stage. On the Merit team’s side, our contestant is Tang Shiran!”
Tang Shiran walked on stage amidst the screaming cheers of the audience.
Though she was the first of all the contestants to go up, her performance was still extremely steady. She sang the entire song without any mistakes whatsoever. Backstage, Liao Qian pulled on Ding Meng’s arm. Her face was full of grief when she spoke, “Meng Meng, in a moment, if I am sacrificed, you need to take revenge for me.”
Ding Meng comfortingly pat her shoulder. “Don’t say such ominous words. What if they come true?”
Liao Qian, “…”
She sank into a deep despair.
After Tang Shiran’s performance ended, Liao Qian’s turn came. Ding Meng gave her some encouragements, but the view of her back as she departed was rather miserable and solemn looking.
Liao Qian’s performance was also very remarkable, but the only problem was that her opponent was Tang Shiran. The result was still hard to determine.
After both people had finished performing, the judges began to vote. Tang Shiran seemed very confident. When the judges voted for her, her expression wasn’t even particularly excited.
The three votes for Tang Shiran, who took the lead in entering the top 4 in the nation.
Even though Liao Qian had long predicted this result, she was still listless upon returning. Ding Meng had wanted to say some words of comfort, but the other party interrupted her the moment she opened her mouth. “Don’t comfort me. I’ll just feel even worse if you do.”
Ding Meng obediently closed her mouth. After a moment, Liao Qian faintly asked, “Do you think I still have a chance of meeting Gu Xin?”
Ding Meng responded very certainly, “Of course, I’ve already seen the list of his concerts for the next year.”
Liao Qian, “…”
She knew she shouldn’t have asked Ding Meng to comfort her.
After the next two performances, one of the contestants from the Popularity team advanced. After three duels, the Popularity team vs Merit team competition had resulted in one win and two losses.
Mu Shuang was now singing on stage, performing an original song as usual. Her uniquely deep female voice seemed to completely pull listeners into a deep dream, singing a never heard before story into their ears.
Seeing that the end of Mu Shuang’s performance was approaching, Liao Qian pat Ding Meng’s shoulder. Just like Ding Meng had previously done, she gave Ding Meng a fighting encouragement. “Meng Meng, the heavy burden of bringing honor to our Popularity team rests on you now!”
Ding Meng,, “…”
She felt the pressure was pretty intense.
After Mu Shuang’s performance concluded, the lights on the stage lit up again. The two presenters walked on stage. The male presenter who represented the Merit team announced proudly, “Did you see that? That’s our Merit team’s merit. Looks like we’re definitely going to win today.”
The female presenter spoke, “Don’t speak with so much satisfaction. We still have one contestant that hasn’t come on stage yet. She’s this competition’s dark horse.”
“Ah.” The male presenter spoke indifferently, “Whether she’s a donkey or a horse, we’ll know after she strolls around for a bit.”
“Then let’s invite the other contestant in the blue group. She is also our last contestant today. Come on stage Ding Meng!”
When the female presenter’s words spread, the loud cheers of the audience erupted. Ding Meng took a big breath. Holding the microphone, she walked out.
A red dress that fell past the knees and long black hair that reached the waist – the classic red and black pairing was timelessly eye catching. When Ding Meng walked out from backstage, she immediately became the center of everyone’s attention.
The cheering sounds of the audience rose to reach a new high. Ding Meng held the microphone and somehow gradually became more relaxed.
This time, she didn’t have a symphony orchestra or a youth choir. She stood by herself on the large stage. While the stage lights gradually transformed, the prelude of the song began to play.
Right before coming on stage, her head was still filled with Gu Xin’s words about the person and sword becoming one as well as Qiao Yichen’s words about intuition. But after walking on stage, those all gradually drifted far away. The only thought she was left with was that she wanted to sing.
The stage always seemed to have the power to calm her down.
The melodious tune of the saxophone entered her ear. What filled Ding Meng’s mind at that moment was a pair of young sweethearts, passing their childhood years carefree and without worries. It was the immense disaster and panic brought by the sudden descent of war. It was the newly wed husband who rushed to the battlefield without hesitation. It was the anguish of receiving news of victory, but not seeing the departed person return home.
“The memories I thought I had long forgotten,
Always resurface without warning,
The beautiful blooming spring flowers filling the branch,
The noisy summer song of cicadas.
You were always by my side,
Only separated by an eye’s length.”
However, time passed quickly. The years shifted. Even if I returned to the same location, the scenery would no longer be familiar. And the place beside me would forever be empty.
“Is this what yearning is?
It’s even more heartbreaking than the songs of poets.
If this yearning could condense into an ocean,
There would be a ship,
To bring me to your side.”
Even if everyone says you won’t return, I’ll stubbornly stay right here. For fear that after I leave, you won’t be able to find me when you return.
Ding Meng closed her eyes. Like a songbird, she sang the last verse, “Is this what yearning is? It is my undying, burning love for you.”
When the last syllable drifted out, one ice cold tear fell down from the corner of her eye without any warning.
The gentle sound of the saxophone gradually dissipated. The stage lights brightened once more. The audience below abruptly broke out into applause. Only then did Ding Meng seem to rouse from her dream. Subconsciously, she wiped away the tear by the corner of her eye.
She had unexpectedly sang herself to tears on stage. Had Qiao Yichen gained new material to tease her with? And just now, how did she handle the chorus? Was her voice passionate enough?
How did she finish singing the song without realizing it??
…..Had she already attained the state of mind Qiao Yichen and the others had spoken of?
The two presenters walked on stage and interrupted Ding Meng’s daydream. “You sang too incredibly. Really. You almost sang me to tears.”
The male presenter spoke, “I see that a good portion of the audience cried. Look over there, some people are even wiping away their tears! Surely enough, this song Yearning by Pan Ying is a godly song capable of moving people to tears.”
“That’s because our Ding Meng sang well. If you came and sang it, people would cry from how bad it sounds.”
The male presenter straightened his face. “Didn’t we come to an agreement against personal attacks?”
The female presenter laughed and turned to interview Ding Meng, “Just now, I saw that you seem to have even sang yourself to tears?”
Ding Meng responded with embarrassment, “Perhaps I’m just an emotional person. I’ve even been teased by others for crying after watching The Gift of the Magi.”
The audience below laughed out loud. The male presenter grabbed the chance to speak, “I also cried when I watched The Gift of the Magi in middle school!”
The female presenter sent him a skeptical glance, “Don’t pretend like you were born in the same decade as Ding Meng, okay? Your faces are a generation gap apart.”
The male presenter tilted his head and, not accepting her words, asked Ding Meng, “What generation gap is there between our faces?”
Ding Meng spoke, “I’m estimating that my official childhood pictures are colored and your official childhood pictures are black and white.”
The male presenter, “….”
The female presenter laughed along with the audience and faced the male presenter, “Bear with your internal injuries for the moment. Now can you tell us if Ding Meng is or isn’t a dark horse?”
The male presenter spoke, “It doesn’t matter what I say. It’s better to let the judges speak.”
The two presenters invited also Mu Shuang on stage. The two contestants stood together on the stage and prepared to accept the judge’s votes.
The first to speak was still Xiao Qi. She held the microphone silently for a long moment and finally spoke one sentence. “Don’t you guys know I’m a Libra?”
The audience laughed. Xiao Qi spoke indignantly at the presenters, “Really, next time the program organizers shouldn’t invite a Libra to be a judge. This is really music that forces a Libra to death.”
The female presenter spoke, “Even if you’re forced to your death today, you still need to choose one among the two of them.”
Xiao Qi paused for another moment before speaking, “This choice today is really too difficult. I’m a voice enthusiast. In this entire Heavenly Voice competition, my two favorite voices are from Ding Meng and Mu Shuang. Their voices are both very unique. One is high and the other is low. Originally, they had walked along two separate paths. Who knew they would encounter each other this quickly.” Xiao Qi’s expression was extremely tangled, “I really can’t bear to eliminate either one of these two, but since I am sitting here as a judge, I need to take responsibility for my role.”
She spoke up to here and paused, looking at Ding Meng and Mu Shuang. “Both of your performances were completely outstanding. However, if I really must pick one, I choose Ding Meng.”
The audience burst out in screams. Ding Meng gave Xiao Qi a bow to express her thanks.
“Congratulations to Ding Meng for obtaining one vote. Next, let’s invite judge Sun Rui make his decision.”
After the presenter spoke, Sun Rui spoke, “Even though I’m not a voice enthusiast, I still really understand Judge Xiao’s feelings. The two of you can be said to be on equal ground skill-wise. Not only that, both of your performances have a lot of personality. That is really seldom seen. However, I have a lot respect towards a singer who can write her own music and play her own instruments. So today, I must give my vote to Mu Shuang.”
“Mu Shuang gains a vote! Now the two contestants are tied. The critical vote is now in Great Producer Qiao’s hands. Who will he give his vote to!”
The male presenter continued, “Let us come back after a commercial break!”
The audience laughed and the nervous atmosphere on the stage decreased quite a bit. Ding Meng and Mu Shuang both looked at Qiao Yichen. When Ding Meng saw his solemn expression, she started to think that she had overestimated herself earlier by thinking she had attained that special state of mind.
