Chapter 66

After all the bands finished their performances, it was time to announce the voting results. The big screen displayed the online votes each band received one by one. Every time a band that advanced was announced, there would be a burst of applause and cheers from the audience below the stage.

Qin Qingzhuo looked at the big screen behind the stage. From eighth place to third place, he hadn’t heard the words “Asperatus” once.

Although judging from the live reactions, Asperatus probably ranked in the top two, he still felt somewhat uneasy. After all, in the matter of signing the contract, Jiang Ji did not heed Shi Yao’s intentions, and even offended Shi Yao. If Shi Yao continued to tamper with the voting system…

“The voting results for the last two bands will be announced simultaneously. They are,” the host raised his voice, “the second-place band, Urban Collapse, received a total of 4,986,241 online votes, and the winner of this PK match, the Asperatus band, received a total of 5,862,588 votes!”

The numbers flashed on the big screen, and the entire venue erupted into deafening cheers.

Before this, although there had been several bursts of cheers in the venue, none had been as loud as this one.

Seeing the nearly one million vote difference on the screen, Qin Qingzhuo breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed that Shi Yao hadn’t tampered with the voting numbers in this competition. Whether it was because Qiao Bo had intervened or because he didn’t dare to be too reckless after eliminating Asperatus in the previous round and being criticized by the audience, it didn’t matter. In any case, the result was good enough.

When he withdrew his gaze from the big screen, Qin Qingzhuo couldn’t help but glance in Jiang Ji’s direction again.

In the past, when the results were announced, almost everyone in the audience would turn to look at the screen, while only Jiang Ji seemed to have no interest in whether he advanced or not.

But this time, Jiang Ji was slightly turned, looking back at the numbers on the big screen.

Was it because he finally had the idea to move forward? Qin Qingzhuo wondered, it was time to move forward, and further.

He had a feeling that he was witnessing the grand opening of Jiang Ji’s life, just like watching himself standing on the stage of the Runcheng Music Festival when he was nineteen.

What would twenty-nine-year-old Jiang Ji be like ten years later?

He would probably be standing on an even bigger stage, receiving more applause and cheers.

And all the things about this variety show would probably blur into a memory with only a few fragments left.

What would his thirty-nine-year-old self be like? Would he still be making music? Would he still be able to make music?

Sensing that Jiang Ji was about to turn around, Qin Qingzhuo withdrew his gaze from him.

According to the script, after the voting results were announced, the host would say some closing words, then briefly interact with the mentors, and the recording of this show would be over.

But just as the cheers from the audience gradually subsided and the host was about to make closing remarks, a staff member hurriedly walked down the aisle in front of the mentor’s seat and handed him a cue card.

Taking the cue card, the host’s face displayed a hint of surprise, but quickly returned to normal. He picked up the microphone and engaged with the audience once again:

“How do you feel tonight? Igh or not high?”

“High!” came a unanimous response from the audience.

“Do you want to end it like this?”

“Don’t want to!”

“Just now, the production team brought us some good news. The simultaneous viewers for tonight’s live broadcast have exceeded 15 million. The program team has decided to add a new segment. We invite the top four bands in tonight’s PK to collaborate with their mentors. What do you think?”

“Good!” The response from the audience was even louder.

Qin Qingzhuo’s eyelids twitched.

The script did not mention a single word about this segment. Why add such a last-minute element…

“As a reward for the top four bands tonight,” the host read the rules for the next segment from the cue card, “please invite your mentors. Combine the song you just performed with your mentor’s favorite representative work into a one-minute adapted piece, performed by the band and sung by the mentor.”

“The final adapted works will be voted on by all viewers of the live broadcast. The two bands with the highest votes will each receive a starting advantage of 500,000 and 200,000 votes in the next round.”

After explaining the rules, the host began to ask each of the top four bands which song of their mentor they wanted to adapt, starting with the first-ranked Asperatus:

“As tonight’s champions, which song of your mentor do you want to adapt?”

Jiang Ji looked at Qin Qingzhuo. Qin Qingzhuo didn’t look at the stage, and his face showed no expression, yet he inexplicably gave off an uneasy feeling.

“Can I ask for the mentor’s opinion?” Jiang Ji asked the host.

The host smiled, “Regarding the specific song for adaptation, you can discuss it backstage later. Right now, we just want to get an idea of your thoughts.”

The audience below shouted Qin Qingzhuo’s representative work, “Fall Into My Dream,” clearly taking the lead.

“Then let’s go with ‘Fall Into My Dream,'” Jiang Ji said.

Before the words even landed, screams erupted from the audience.

Each band had ten minutes to prepare, and the mentors and musicians would go backstage together to complete the adaptation process.

After hearing the news of the impromptu addition of the segment, the other three mentors initially showed confusion. However, due to the live broadcast and the explosive atmosphere in the venue, no one raised objections.

Yang Jingwen stood up from his seat, “Sure, let’s play along. Consider it an extra session. This kid, Shi Yao, owes me another meal.”

The mentors, accompanied by the staff, successively walked towards the backstage to join their respective bands.

As he stood up from his seat, Qin Qingzhuo noticed a slight ringing in his left ear. The cheers of the audience seemed to penetrate into his ears through a thick wall.

That uncomfortable feeling resurfaced, and he raised his hand to adjust the earpiece, furrowing his brows slightly.

Taking a few steps towards the backstage, Qin Qingzhuo asked the staff member accompanying him, “Where’s Xia Qi?”

As soon as he asked, he remembered Chen Jia mentioning Xia Qi being unwell before the competition.

“Director Xia isn’t here today,” the staff member replied.

“Then where’s Chen Jia?”

“Sister Jia should be backstage. Teacher Qin, do you need to find her for something?”

“Yes,” Qin Qingzhuo nodded and then stopped in his tracks. “Please call her over for me. I’ll wait here.”

The staff member acknowledged with a nod and quickly headed towards the backstage.

In a short while, Chen Jia hurried over, looking somewhat rushed. “What’s up, Brother Qingzhuo?”

“When was this segment added?” Qin Qingzhuo asked, getting straight to the point.

“Just now. Director Shi saw the explosive atmosphere on-site and the high viewership of the live broadcast, so he decided to add this segment on the spot to increase traffic. I’m about to explode. There was no preparation at all beforehand, and Xia Qi isn’t here either. It’s really driving me crazy…” Chen Jia explained, a slightly overwhelmed expression on her face. “Brother Qingzhuo, if you need something, please say it quickly. I still have to coordinate other things backstage.”

Feeling sorry for causing her trouble at this moment, Qin Qingzhuo spoke, “Chen Jia, I’m really sorry, but I can’t participate in this segment.”

“Ah?” Chen Jia couldn’t believe it. “Brother Qingzhuo, are you kidding me?!”

“I’m not kidding,” Qin Qingzhuo said, “I’m serious.”

Indeed, his tone didn’t sound like he was joking. Chen Jia had never dealt with such a situation before and suddenly felt at a loss. “No way, why…”

Qin Qingzhuo remained silent, seeming reluctant to explain.

Seeing that he wasn’t budging, Chen Jia forced herself to calm down after a few seconds. “Okay, here’s the deal. I can’t make the decision on this matter. You wait here for a moment, and I’ll go talk to Director Shi and see what he thinks.”

“Alright,” Qin Qingzhuo nodded.

Chen Jia hurriedly ran towards the control room, while Qin Qingzhuo stood still, waiting.

In fact, after the incident with the manipulated votes and the threat to sign Jiang Ji, Qin Qingzhuo wasn’t keen on confronting Shi Yao directly. However, with Xia Qi absent, Shi Yao was the only one who could handle this situation.

As adults, they understood the principle of discussing matters rationally. Shi Yao shouldn’t be too difficult to deal with regarding this matter. Qin Qingzhuo adjusted his earpiece again.

Shi Yao arrived promptly. As he approached, he greeted Qin Qingzhuo warmly, “Qingzhuo, you’ve worked hard.”

The tone was familiar, as if the awkwardness from that night had never happened.

Qin Qingzhuo smiled politely in return and addressed him as “Director Shi.”

“Chen Jia said you didn’t want to participate in this segment,” Shi Yao asked with concern. “Is there any difficulty?”

“I haven’t sung for a long time, and I haven’t been feeling well recently,” Qin Qingzhuo said straightforwardly, “So, I’d rather not participate.”

“Can you overcome it?” Shi Yao looked concerned. “The other three mentors have agreed, could you do me this favor? There were some frictions between us during our collaboration, but don’t take it to heart. I’ll treat you to a drink later and apologize properly.”

“It’s not about that,” Qin Qingzhuo shook his head. “I don’t intend to make things difficult for you. But I really can’t participate in this segment.”

His tone was gentle but firm, indicating that he wasn’t going to change his mind. Shi Yao fell silent for a moment before trying again, “Can you be more accommodating? It’s not easy for everyone to get this far in the program. Look at Xia Qi, she worked tirelessly for days for today’s live broadcast, and she collapsed on stage last night from exhaustion. It scared everyone, and she’s still lying in the hospital. And there’s Chen Jia…”

He played the emotional card, but Qin Qingzhuo furrowed his brows, interrupting him, “Director Shi, everyone has their own difficulties, I understand that. But once a commitment is made, it shouldn’t be easily changed. When you approached me initially, I made it clear that everything should be discussed beforehand, and I shouldn’t be forced to do things I don’t want to. You agreed to that. So, what’s the situation with this sudden addition of the segment?”

Shi Yao knew he was in the wrong, hesitated for a moment, then explained, “I admit I was wrong in this matter. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to add this segment, and I apologize to you. But Qingzhuo, aside from considering the program’s impact, you also need to think about the situation for Asperatus and Jiang Ji. If you withdraw from this segment now, do you think Asperatus will feel awkward? And how will the live audience speculate about your relationship with Jiang Ji?”

Qin Qingzhuo found Shi Yao’s previous words annoying and didn’t want to engage in meaningless arguing with him. However, at this point, he felt a slight wavering.

Previously, out of guilt, he hadn’t mentioned Jiang Ji in his comments. Now, if he withdrew from the collaborative segment, would it lead public opinion in a direction unfavorable to Jiang Ji? After all, Shi Yao had previously bought the “Jiang Ji assaults Urban Collapse musician” negative hot search, leaving some viewers with the impression that Jiang Ji was arrogant…

After calmly considering for a few seconds, Qin Qingzhuo proposed his own solution, “How about we compromise? I’ll still participate in this segment, but I’ll only assist the band in composing this song. I’ll be responsible for the guitar part on stage, and Jiang Ji can handle the singing part. How does that sound?”

“It would be better if you sang, after all, the rules have been announced,” Shi Yao still looked hesitant. After some thought, he proposed his own solution, “Or, if you really don’t want to sing on stage, you can pre-record the vocals backstage. I’ll have them play the recorded version on stage, and you can lip-sync. How about that?”

“I’d rather play the guitar than use a pre-recorded track,” Qin Qingzhuo didn’t change his mind, “Also, please inform the host in advance, and inform the audience about this matter.”

Shi Yao sighed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

“If that’s settled,” Qin Qingzhuo looked at him, “then I’ll head backstage.”

Only then did Shi Yao nod reluctantly, his tone sounding somewhat forced, “Well then, Qingzhuo, go ahead.”

As Qin Qingzhuo walked towards the backstage, he felt that the scene was somewhat familiar. It was similar to that night in his memory. Everywhere were staff members responsible for the live broadcast, while the audience below was filled with anticipation.

He recalled the scene before he went on stage that night. Cai Heng, who was always cautious, repeatedly confirmed his condition and asked very seriously if he wanted to play the pre-recorded version from the rehearsal.

“Lip-syncing?” Qin Qingzhuo had laughed then. “What if I get caught, will I be kicked out of the music industry?”

After the laughter, he patted Cai Heng’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

In fact, when he said “Don’t worry,” he wasn’t confident himself. But seeing the expectant eyes of the audience below, he felt that he had to give it a try, no matter what.

With his back to Shi Yao, Qin Qingzhuo closed his eyes and let out a sigh, his expression finally showing a hint of relaxed hesitation.

Since that hastily ended concert four years ago, he hadn’t sung much.

Should he sing this time… or should he not?

Without proper preparation, he shouldn’t take this step. The joke he made in public four years ago should not be repeated.

When he reached the backstage, the three members of Asperatus were already there.

“Sorry for the wait,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled at them. “There was a slight delay due to something. So, shall we? Is it ‘Fall Into My Dream’?”

“Brother Qingzhuo, this is our first collaboration!” Zhong Yang was excited. “I never thought I’d hear Qin Qingzhuo singing to us across from us. Do you know how excited I am?”

“No, I don’t plan to sing,” Qin Qingzhuo deliberately sounded casual. “I’m feeling a bit unwell. Let Jiang Ji handle the singing task, and I’ll play the guitar.”

“What??” Zhong Yang was not satisfied. “Look how much I’m looking forward to it! And it’s been so long since you sang. Your fans must be super excited. Just sing!”

“Maybe next time,” Qin Qingzhuo’s tone was indifferent.

Zhong Yang persisted, wanting to continue persuading, but Jiang Ji interrupted him, “Why make such a fuss? It doesn’t matter who sings.”

“How can it be the same…” Zhong Yang protested.

“That’s enough,” Peng Keshi glanced at him. “If you keep arguing, we won’t finish composing the song. Listen to Brother Qingzhuo.”

With both teammates saying so, Zhong Yang had to give up.

Jiang Ji handed the guitar to Qin Qingzhuo. “Here, the guitar.”

That night, Jiang Ji used this guitar as the beginning of his heartfelt confession. Now, seeing it again, scenes from that night uncontrollably flashed through Qin Qingzhuo’s mind.

But he didn’t show it on his face and simply took it.

Zhong Yang clicked his tongue beside him and murmured softly, “Such a precious guitar. I can’t even touch it usually.”

Jiang Ji ignored him, and Qin Qingzhuo remained silent.

Several camera positions were facing them. In the lens, they looked like the most ordinary relationship between a mentor and a musician.

“We don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point. If you have any objections, feel free to raise them,” Qin Qingzhuo held the guitar. “The two songs have similar keys, so it’s easy to blend them together. We just need to adjust the interlude slightly, and the main song can directly use the first four lines of ‘Fall into My Dream’ in a lower octave. For the interlude, let’s make a modulation here.”

As he spoke, he played a few notes on the guitar. The interlude part was a complete fusion of the melodies of the two songs. Zhong Yang exclaimed in surprise, “F*ck, amazing! You merged the two melodies so seamlessly! It sounds great!”

Qin Qingzhuo smiled and continued, “For the chorus part, we’ll use your song from earlier. We don’t need to make any changes, but personally, I think adding a half-tone modulation at the end would make it more eye-catching.”

He played the chorus part, leaving Zhong Yang even more astonished. “Brother Qingzhuo, you actually played it after just one listen! Actually, ‘Light Peck’ is a song you ghost wrote for Jiang Ji, right?”

Qin Qingzhuo chuckled, “Zhong Yang, this joke can’t be made.”

“Brother Qingzhuo,” Peng Keshi also became interested, “do you have perfect pitch?”

“Kind of,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled, “but it’s more about practice makes perfect. Come on, let’s arrange the drums and bass for the interlude…”

Jiang Ji didn’t say much throughout. Usually, he would take the lead in such situations, but with Qin Qingzhuo present, he could relax a bit and even indulge in his own thoughts.

It was evident that when Qin Qingzhuo started talking about music, the unease from earlier completely disappeared, as if everything was under his control, more competent and decisive than ever before.

Jiang Ji looked at Qin Qingzhuo, who was focused on playing the guitar, and remembered that night ten years ago.

That night, while Qin Qingzhuo taught him to play the guitar, he hummed the tune softly. After so many years, he couldn’t remember the exact sound from back then, but the thought of “this person sings so beautifully” remained clear—so why did he stop singing? Just because of the so-called “car accident scene” four years ago?

“Let’s rehearse together. Jiang Ji, can you remember the lyrics to ‘Entrapped in My Dream’?” Qin Qingzhuo looked at Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji snapped back to reality and replied, “Yes.”

The short preparation time was filled to the brim. When the staff reminded them to go to the waiting area, the band had just finished rehearsing.

They stood up and headed to the waiting area next to the stage.

The waiting area was dimly lit, with a narrow passage, the only area without cameras.

The sound of other bands playing on stage drifted over, the drumbeats shaking the walls as if they were trembling. The echo was too loud, making it difficult to hear the voices clearly.

Jiang Ji’s gaze fell on Qin Qingzhuo’s face opposite him. Qin Qingzhuo seemed a little uneasy again at this moment. What was he thinking? Was it related to that song “Light Peck”?

Shen Cha asked him if he had thought about how people would interpret the title “Light Peck.” In fact, he hadn’t thought about it before. Over the years, he hadn’t paid much attention to other people’s opinions, so naturally, he didn’t care how others would interpret the title.

But standing on the stage and seeing Qin Qingzhuo deliberately distancing himself from this song, he realized that perhaps his approach was a bit reckless.

But since he had already done it, there was nothing to regret. He still had the same idea: what’s the point of hiding when you like someone?

Even if the whole world knew, liking Qin Qingzhuo was his own business.

At this moment, Qin Qingzhuo was a little distracted. Actually, he wasn’t thinking about the song “Light Peck” at all. He just felt… nervous.

After sensing his own emotions, he even found it a bit ridiculous. He had been a singer for so many years, experienced countless concerts, performances, and tours, but now he was nervous about a one-minute performance.

What was there to be nervous about, he told himself. He was just going to play the guitar on stage, no different from the last time at the music festival.

Thinking about all this, Jiang Ji suddenly spoke up, his voice soft, “Did you like that song ‘Light Peck’ we just played?”

Qin Qingzhuo was slightly startled and looked up at Jiang Ji.

This question momentarily pulled him out of his fluctuating thoughts.

Jiang Ji looked at him with dark eyes, with that serious expression again.

Zhong Yang, who had been stretching his neck and looking towards the stage, turned his head, his gaze lingering on Jiang Ji and Qin Qingzhuo’s faces for a moment, showing a look of “I knew it.”

Peng Keshi’s eyes glanced lightly over the two faces, pretending not to hear.

“Very…” Qin Qingzhuo was about to say “liked,” but at the last moment, he changed course and said, “very pleasant to hear.”

“Do you like it?” Jiang Ji asked again.

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t speak.

The affection of young people is always open and unreserved, but had Jiang Ji considered that the production team might have installed recording devices here? Had he considered what impact this might have on his life if it were exposed, and what kind of abuse he might suffer?

Suddenly, he thought of Ji Chi, who was always extremely cautious and cautious in such matters, fearing that the exposure of his love affair would affect the hard-won path of his transformation.

“Is it so hard to say?” Jiang Ji suddenly chuckled, “I was asking if you liked the song,”

The voice of the latter part lowered, and Qin Qingzhuo read his lips—it was “I wasn’t asking if you liked me.”

Suddenly feeling flustered, Qin Qingzhuo composed himself and said, “Jiang Ji, don’t talk nonsense.”

Jiang Ji turned his face away, his lips slightly raised, as if he had gained satisfaction from seeing his confusion.

Author’s Note:

I blindly made up the vote count for the online poll, anyway, the numbers for other shows are usually exaggerated (:з」∠)