Chapter 22

Unlike the previous two performances, this time it was Zhong Yang’s drums that started first. After a dense and powerful section of drum beats, the guitar sound followed, with a few metallic strums, and then the bass joined in, supporting the guitar and drum sounds like a steady heartbeat.

The prelude was highly rhythmic, very catchy, as if brewing a force within the melody, stirring and stimulating the audience’s hearts. Even though he was facing away from the audience, Qin Qingzhuo could feel the emotions in the audience seating behind him being swiftly stirred up, creating a high-energy atmosphere like burning flames spreading rapidly from the stage to the entire venue.

The powerful and rhythmic prelude continued for several tens of seconds, accompanied by a sudden pause, and then the vocals came in—

“Night invades the daylight, dreams battle reality

Warnings and good intentions intertwine into conspiracy

Who says struggling desperately can only end up like a trapped wild dog

Scars and wounds forge an indestructible fortress

Roaring against the hypocrisy of tenderness

Even in death, refusing to bow down

You see the thoughts confined

You see the ideals stooped

You want to climb the skyscraper, roar loudly like a beast

Don’t retreat, pierce through the thick fog

Clutch your fists, shatter the curses of fate

Move forward, tread through the wilderness of the universe

Do you see the end?

That’s called freedom—”

Just as Jiang Ji opened his mouth, Qin Qingzhuo was truly stunned.

In fact, a few days ago when Peng Keshi showed him the musical score, he could foresee that the live effect of this song would not be bad, but to be interpreted by the band to this extent was completely beyond his expectations.

And Jiang Ji… Jiang Ji’s voice was truly malleable.

In the previous two competitions, Jiang Ji sang slow-paced, somewhat melancholic songs, but this time he clearly adjusted his previous singing style according to the genre, with his vocal cords more relaxed, enunciation more laid-back, and singing style more casual, blending with the melody of the instruments to create a slightly psychedelic atmosphere.

And the further it went, the more the sense of power hidden in his voice could be heard.

It wasn’t a thin and pale scream, but a steady, explosive sense of power.

Qin Qingzhuo had written songs himself and sung many songs written by others for him, and because of this, he knew how difficult it was for a singer to evoke empathy from the audience.

One couldn’t be superficial, otherwise it would seem too flighty; nor could one exert too much force, otherwise it would seem too contrived.

And Jiang Ji seemed just right, a bit more would be affected, a bit less would be too ethereal.

The coda lasted for almost a minute, ultimately ending with a distorted electric guitar solo in a changed key.

In the instant the performance ended, screams and applause suddenly erupted from the audience below, and the fiery atmosphere of the audience spread to every corner of the studio.

Qin Qingzhuo looked at the three musicians on stage, his gaze met Jiang Ji’s—perhaps by coincidence, Jiang Ji also looked in his direction.

And just as Qin Qingzhuo was about to nod in affirmation towards him, the next second, Jiang Ji looked away.

The host walked onto the stage, patiently waiting for the applause and screams to gradually die down, then loudly addressed the audience below: “Everyone, do you feel it’s explosive or not?”

“Explosive!” The audience almost unanimously shouted.

“Is Asperatus strong or not?”

“Strong!”

“Is Jiang Ji handsome or not?”

“Handsome!”

“Once again, applause for Asperatus!”

The applause thundered throughout the venue.

After lasting for a while, the applause gradually subsided, and the host invited Midnight Temperature to the stage.

For this performance, Midnight Temperature chose a slow song, which was quite different from their usual energetic style, leaning towards a more lyrical rock style.

In the previous two rounds, Asperatus usually followed other fast-paced songs with slow rhythms. However, this time, both bands happened to change their styles, with Asperatus unexpectedly becoming the energetic one.

Although the song choice of Midnight Temperature was not as dynamic and powerful as Asperatus’, its style was novel and unique. In Qin Qingzhuo’s view, it was even better than their previous two performances.

After both bands finished their performances, the musicians stood on stage awaiting feedback from the mentors. According to the rules, the feedback for this round would be given by mentors from other PK groups, namely Yang Jingwen and Shen Cha.

Yang Jingwen first commented on Midnight Temperature, saying he loved the old-school bluesy flavor in the song, making him want to sit by the window on a quiet night, sipping a Martini, feeling deeply engaged.

Then, he commented on Asperatus: “Of course, I also liked Asperatus’ performance in this round. Although it seemed like psychedelic rock at first glance, there was also a kind of explosive power, and the use of effects was very clever. What surprised me was the drummer’s performance in this round, which was excellent. If I remember correctly, you made mistakes before, right?”

It was the first time that Zhong Yang received praise. He scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and said, “Everyone makes mistakes, even horses sometimes stumble, I just had a bit of a mishap before…”

“But you did great in this round,” Yang Jingwen said. “When the intro started, I was quickly drawn in by the crisp and powerful rhythm. I was a bit amazed.”

“Thank you, Teacher Yang,” Zhong Yang grinned, showing his white teeth.

After Yang Jingwen’s feedback, it was Shen Cha’s turn.

Shen Cha flipped through the sheet music in her hand. “I just noticed that this song’s lyrics were written by the lead singer, and the music was composed by the bassist. Let’s talk about Jiang Ji first.” Shen Cha put the sheet music aside. “I have to say, the way you sing earnestly really lives up to the crazy screams from the audience.”

As soon as she finished speaking, there was another round of screams from the audience below, and Shen Cha smiled.

“Qingzhuo mentioned before that you have talent, and I always leaned towards it being related to your tone and range. Because your voice is indeed very textured. But after listening to this performance, I have to say, maybe it’s not just about the tone, but also about your vocal control. It’s very rare. Generally speaking, vocal control is related to one’s life experience and age. So for a nineteen-year-old lead singer to sing to such an empathetic level, it can probably only be explained by talent and insight.”

“And the low notes at the beginning were really textured. I regret not choosing you in the first round!” Shen Cha joked, looking at Jiang Ji, “Jiang Ji, how about you ditch Teacher Qin and join my team?”

There was another round of laughter from the audience.

Qin Qingzhuo also smiled and took over the conversation. “You can’t just ask him; you also have to ask whether I, as his mentor, am willing to let him go, right?”

“Are you willing?”

“Nope.”

He didn’t hesitate for a second, causing even more laughter from the audience.

“Ah, I knew it,” Shen Cha pretended to sigh, paused for a moment, then continued, “Speaking of which, Qingzhuo’s voice has always been praised for its texture, but the two of you have quite a difference in tone and range, so I’m quite looking forward to you collaborating on a song.”

At this point, the host naturally picked up on the conversation. “Oh? How about a live collaboration?”

Some audience members started chanting “Give us a song.”

Qin Qingzhuo turned his head to Shen Cha, steering the conversation away. “The lead singer who writes lyrics has finished commenting. It’s your turn, bassist who composed the music.”

“Oh…right,” realizing Qin Qingzhuo was intentionally changing the subject, Shen Cha looked towards the stage. “Miss Bass, you looked stunning in this performance too!”

“Thank you, Teacher Shen,” Peng Keshi took the microphone handed to her by Jiang Ji and said to Shen Cha, “You’ve always been especially beautiful.”

She usually appeared aloof, but now she was visibly blushing.

“Still blushing, how cute,” Shen Cha chuckled. “You looked particularly cool on stage, but composing in this style, I like this contrast.”

“Do you know which school she’s from?” Qin Qingzhuo interjected.

Shen Cha paused. “Huh?”

“She’s your fellow alumnus.”

“You’re from Yanda too?” Shen Cha looked surprisedly at Peng Keshi on the stage. “I didn’t expect to meet my junior here.”

The aura of being a ‘Yanda study god’ is so dazzling. Qin Qingzhuo only briefly touched on the topic before immediately capturing the interest of the entire audience. All eyes were now on Peng Keshi.

“Are you from the Art Academy?” Shen Cha asked with interest.

“I’m studying chemical engineering,” Peng Keshi said.

“Chemical engineering?” Shen Cha was even more surprised. “A true study god…Miss Bass, you have so many contrasts about you.”

“Why didn’t you put Yanda on your resume before?” Qin Qingzhuo intentionally shifted the topic again.

“Because my major has nothing to do with music, so I didn’t think it was necessary to include it,” Peng Keshi replied similarly to last time.

“Is this the Palace of Versailles?” Ren Yu joked.

Yang Jingwen then flipped through the band’s resume. “So the other two members of your band dropped out of high school, and you’re from Yanda. If I may ask, why are you hanging out with these two delinquents?”

Another wave of laughter erupted from the audience.

“Education is just an experience after all. In terms of music, I may not necessarily be better than them,” Peng Keshi said. “And, I actively approached them to join Asperatus. At the time, there was a bar where Jiang Ji was singing and they were recruiting band members. He selected me as the bassist from the applicants.”

“So why did Jiang Ji choose Keshi?” Yang Jingwen looked at Jiang Ji. “It wasn’t because of her Yanda background caught your attention, was it?”

“It’s because she was the only one who applied at the time,” Jiang Ji said.

The audience burst into laughter, and Peng Keshi chuckled as well.

“But she’s also the best bassist I’ve ever met,” Jiang Ji added in a calm tone.

Perhaps because of the program’s instructions, there was noticeably more interaction with Asperatus this time than before.

The audience also seemed very interested in Asperatus. When the host asked the audience to pick up their voting devices, many seemed reluctant to stop.

In this PK, the mentors did not participate in the voting, and the result was entirely driven by the audience. The real-time voting results were displayed on the large screen behind the stage.

After the host announced “Voting begins,” the two bars on the screen almost rose simultaneously.

Qin Qingzhuo realized he was feeling a bit nervous, both because of the unknown outcome and because of the list handed to him by Shi Yao.

His gaze fixed on the rapidly changing numbers above the bars of light. The votes for both teams were tied, and as the numbers and bars paused, he felt his heartbeat skip a beat.

After a brief pause, the bar on the right continued to rise—it was Asperatus!

In the audience, many supporters of Asperatus began to cheer, while supporters of Midnight Temperature looked disappointed.

Watching the bar continue to rise by more than forty votes and then settle at a rather handsome difference in score, Zhong Yang jumped for joy in place, pumping his fist into the air. Qin Qingzhuo breathed a sigh of relief, a slight smile creeping onto his face.

Then he felt the gaze from the right side of the stage, fixed on his face. He looked over and saw that while Peng Keshi and Zhong Yang were both looking back at the scoreboard, Jiang Ji seemed to be staring in his direction, as if observing him.

Without paying much attention to what Jiang Ji might be thinking at the moment, Qin Qingzhuo smiled slightly at him and gestured towards the backstage screen, indicating for him to look at the vote results.

Jiang Ji then turned his head to glance at the screen, his expression unchanged.

Was he not surprised by the result, or did he simply not care about winning or losing? Qin Qingzhuo couldn’t help but speculate about his thoughts.

Regardless, this outcome gave him a good mood.

Even Qin Qingzhuo himself was somewhat surprised that Asperatus winning this event would actually make him feel a long-lost, heartfelt happiness.

TN:

I know what I said about awkward songs in novels, but damn these lyrics are good! I want to hear them as a song and not my mind manifested poetry-rap hybrid😭