Chapter 13: Fake and Real Singers

Liang Jingsheng was a freshman at Wutong University in Beidu, and like many naive new students entering university, he was 18 or 19 years old—physically an adult but psychologically still in the midst of adolescence.

Having just escaped the harsh life of senior year in high school, he breathed in the fresh air of freedom in college and began to let loose.

His first priority, of course, was to find a girlfriend and say goodbye to the single life!

After comparing various club activities, Liang Jingsheng thought about it for a while. He had played the guitar for two years, written a few love poems, had a charming voice, and had studied vocal music. In high school, he had attracted many female fans with his music and versatile voice. So, he decided to join a music club, which was full of beautiful girls.

Soon, he set his sights on his target—the vice president of the music club, a senior with long hair down to her waist, stunningly beautiful, and the flower of the department.

After clumsily trying to strike up a conversation, he was immediately met with mockery from his single dorm mates. They laughed, asking if he, like a toad, thought he could eat swan meat?

Rather than backing down, Liang Jingsheng was even more fired up. ^[1]“swan meat” is a metaphor used to describe something or someone that is considered unattainable or out of one’s league, particularly in terms of romantic pursuits.Swan meat? He was determined to get it just to show these ^[2]“lemonade experts” is a colloquial expression often used to describe people who are overly critical or envious, especially in situations where others are succeeding or achieving something … Continue reading“lemonade experts”!

Once he made up his mind, Liang Jingsheng immediately took action. He set up heart-shaped candles downstairs in the dorm, sang love songs with his guitar in the classroom corridor, and slipped love notes into desks—never mind how cheesy it was!

After all his efforts failed, the senior, tired of being harassed, finally said, “Liang Jingsheng, if you can participate in the National Star Show and make it into the top 100, then I’ll give you a chance to pursue me. Otherwise, stop bothering me!”

Upon hearing this, Liang Jingsheng’s face flushed. For some unknown reason, it struck a nerve, and he impulsively swore that if he didn’t make the top 100, he would never appear in front of her again!

The onlookers burst into laughter, thinking that Liang Jingsheng would back off, but to their surprise, he stubbornly entered the competition!

No one believed he could make it to the second round, and they thought of him as just a topic for casual conversation—something to laugh about and quickly forget.

Strangely, Liang Jingsheng was full of confidence about it. Ever since the initial selection, he often found himself mysteriously smiling to himself, telling anyone who would listen that he was about to get a girlfriend, the flower in his department.

It seemed as though he was absolutely sure he would make it into the top 100.

That morning, once again in the dull advanced math class, Liang Jingsheng put on his wireless earphones, slumped over his desk, and fiddled aimlessly with his terminal.

It had been three days since the music platforms started releasing the competition songs for the Star Show, and he had been checking the website at regular intervals, refreshing the page to wait for the new songs to be posted.

In the top 30 rankings, there were not only capable grassroots newcomers but also several well-known internet celebrities with an existing fan base. In just three days, the invisible battle had spread across major music and social platforms.

Countless entertainment media outlets, gossip blogs, fervent fans, and curious onlookers were all watching this grand data competition with wide eyes.

Even the AI virtual idol, which had dominated the headlines a few days ago, was now pushed into the corner with no one paying attention.

Li Mingxin’s concern about “Farewell to the Past” ranking 39th and possibly not making it to the finals was not without reason.

The stage system for the competition gave no fair chance to candidates with low rankings. According to past experiences, those who made it to the third-round finals were mostly concentrated in the top 20, with a few dark horse candidates from the top 30 occasionally making it to the top 10, but the odds of that were as slim as winning the lottery.

As for those outside the top 30, it was nearly impossible to make up for the disadvantage in time. In all previous years, no dark horse had ever made it to the finals. The best record had been a contestant who climbed from 45th to 15th place.

Three days was enough time for the rankings to change dramatically.

More than three songs had already dropped out of the top 10, and the remaining contestants were fiercely competing. The data between them was still close, and with a slight slip, anyone could be overtaken.

Among the rising contestants, the most popular ones are the new singers firmly occupying the top three spots. They all have professional training and have participated in similar talent shows multiple times, already enjoying some fame.

There’s also a rock singer ranked 18th, whose distinctive voice and hysterical performance style have propelled him forward, pushing him up to 11th place. He’s now fiercely chasing after a spot in the top 10.

Currently in 10th place is Black and White Moonlight, a powerful-voiced female singer with over 9 million votes and around 4 million downloads. The gap between her and the 11th-place contestant is narrow, and her position is precarious.

Various factions are eyeing her as a benchmark, like hungry wolves in the dead of winter, ready to pounce. The former group is trying desperately to hold on to their position, while the latter group is doing everything they can to pull her down.

Just the 4 million downloads alone means the singer could earn nearly a million in revenue, which is more than what a typical platform singer would make.

Rankings mean money!

Unlike the data-driven fans in the fan circles, Liang Jingsheng wasn’t concerned with this battle.

After all, he never expected to make it to the third round. As long as he could break into the top 100—even if he placed 99th—he could finally hold his head high in front of the girl he liked and all those who had looked down on him!

These past few days, Liang Jingsheng seemed calm and composed on the outside, but inside, he couldn’t stop the nervous beating of his heart. Although “that song” was indeed impressive, was it really possible to make it into the second round?

After all, the number of participants in this year’s competition had exceeded a million, and being in the top 100 was a rare achievement.

Could “Farewell to the Past,” the song that fell from the sky, really have such potential?

Liang Jingsheng wasn’t sure. But every day, he would go to the music platform to check, and even though he knew it was unlikely that his name would appear in the rankings for the first few days, as time passed, his anxiety grew. He couldn’t stop thinking about it.

As for the issue of whether people would find out about his “borrowed song” and accuse him of stealing—Liang Jingsheng hadn’t given it much thought. Besides, how could what he did be called “stealing”?

Obviously, the person hadn’t input their personal information and had left the song right there on the screen for anyone to see. Even if he didn’t use it, someone else would have taken it anyway!

Maybe that person had abandoned it? Was he not allowed to make use of it?

Anyway, there was no chance of making it into the third-round finals, so he didn’t need to worry about getting exposed when the time came.

If the original creator came after him, well… he could always just give them half of whatever he earned.

With this thought, Liang Jingsheng felt quite at ease.

At nine o’clock in the morning, while the advanced math teacher was droning on at the podium, Liang Jingsheng ignored him, lazily refreshing the platform page, guessing that it was probably time for the new updates.

His desk mate glanced at his distracted state, sneered, and said dismissively, “Stop refreshing. Do you really think you’ll make it to the second round? Don’t you know your own abilities?”

“Mind your own business. Just wait and see, my name is going to appear on the leaderboard. I’m not greedy—I’ll just make a few thousand bucks, get close to the senior, and live a good life! Don’t come crying to me later, jealous of my success.”

“Tch…” His desk mate rolled his eyes so hard it seemed they might hit the ceiling.

“The new songs are up, I don’t have time to argue with you.” Liang Jingsheng snorted, waving his hand as if swatting a fly.

Despite his confident words, he didn’t have much hope for being in the 30th to 40th range today. He habitually scrolled his thumb down the screen, not really expecting anything as he moved to the next page—

Rank 31: Let Go of Everything, performed by Luo Xiaoping, Rank 32… Rank 37… Sigh, as expected, no luck today. Liang Jingsheng felt a little disappointed but tried to comfort himself and continued scrolling.

Rank 38: Long Road Ahead, Rank 39: Farewell to the Past—Hmm?!

The performer’s name column clearly displayed Liang Jingsheng’s name!

He widened his eyes in shock, staring at the small text on the screen, holding his breath and not daring to exhale. He was afraid it was just a trick of the eyes. Three seconds passed, then five, and the song title and his name still hadn’t changed!

Liang Jingsheng trembled as he touched his phone screen, his mind exploding with colorful fireworks.

“Damn!!! I made it!”

His sudden outburst shocked the entire class, and countless pairs of eyes turned to look at him. The math teacher, startled, dropped the book in his hands, thinking something serious had happened. He hurriedly adjusted his thick glasses and walked over.

“Student, what happened? Are you feeling unwell?”

“Huh?” Liang Jingsheng’s face turned bright red as all eyes in the class focused on him. Nervously tugging at the back of his head, he stammered, “Uh, I… I have a headache, and my stomach hurts, everything hurts. I need to go to the infirmary!”

Without waiting for the teacher’s approval, he dashed out of the classroom in a hurry, nearly knocking over a few water cups on his classmates’ desks.

“What’s going on?” His desk mate frowned in confusion. Thinking about the unlikely possibility, he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself for being so suspicious. Still, he couldn’t resist secretly opening his terminal to check the latest updates on the music platform’s new songs for the talent competition.

“Damn!! I really made it!”

Once again, the entire class’s attention was drawn to him. The math teacher slowly turned around, coldly laughing as he slapped the desk, “What did you two do last night? Do you want to hurt together?”

“…”

Liang Jingsheng ran out of the classroom and hurried toward the music club. He knew that the senior he liked had no classes in the morning and would be practicing the violin there.

“Senior!” Liang Jingsheng rushed into the music club’s practice room. From the door, he could already hear the long, melodious sound of the violin, as beautiful as a girl’s hair fluttering in the wind, every strand carrying a fragrance that stirred the heart.

Upon hearing his shout, the music stopped, and she didn’t turn around, merely tilting her body halfway with a helpless tone, “Didn’t I tell you, if you don’t make it into the second round of the Star Show, don’t come again?”

Liang Jingsheng chuckled and quickly ran to stand in front of her. He held up his smart device, still catching his breath, “Look, my name is already on the list—39th place! What do you think, I kept my word, right? Surprised? Amazed?”

The senior turned in surprise, glanced at the screen quickly, but didn’t examine it closely. She frowned, scanning him up and down, “Could it be someone with the same name?”

Liang Jingsheng panicked and quickly explained, “It’s not someone with the same name, that’s my ID number and phone number. It’s definitely me!”

Now, the senior was truly shocked. She repeatedly checked the song and performer displayed on the screen.

Her mouth dropped open as she muttered, “No way, you really made it into the top 100 of the second round?”

She skeptically pulled out her own phone, opened a music platform, and navigated to the newly released songs for the talent competition. Sure enough, in 39th place was Farewell to the Past, performed by Liang Jingsheng.

“Is this really you?” The senior looked at him in disbelief, then clicked to listen.

The sound of the song filled the spacious room, its infectious melody echoing in the air.

The unease in Liang Jingsheng’s heart was soon replaced by a vanity that was about to be satisfied. His face was full of anticipation as he watched the senior’s expression change from suspicion to surprise, and finally to amazement. A wave of indescribable comfort washed over his chest.

“How is it?”

The senior finally snapped out of her daze, but her gaze grew even more doubtful. “Is this really you singing? I feel like the voice doesn’t sound like the same person.”

Liang Jingsheng’s heart skipped a beat, but he had already prepared an excuse. He cleared his throat dramatically and said, “That’s because during the recording in the vocal booth, the sound was edited in post-production, and listening through playback equipment always causes some distortion, which is unavoidable. Plus, I’ve had a cold these past few days, so my throat’s been a bit off…”

Seeing that she still didn’t believe him, Liang Jingsheng hurriedly pulled out a stack of densely written papers and proudly shook them in front of her. “Look, this is the proof.”

“This… Is this the sheet music?” The senior took the hand-written sheet music from him, examining it carefully. Her brows relaxed for a moment, then furrowed. “The song is good, but I still feel like something’s off…”

Liang Jingsheng was getting frustrated. “Senior, how can you say that? Are you going back on your word? I’ve already kept my promise and made it into the second round of the Star Show! You promised in front of everyone that if I did, I’d get to be your boyfriend!”

The senior’s face flushed bright red. She shoved the sheet music back into his arms, holding her violin and stepping back a few paces to avoid his burning gaze. “What I said was that I’d give you a chance to pursue me. I never promised to become your girlfriend right away.”

Liang Jingsheng was stunned. “How can you back out like this?”

“I’m not backing out. You misunderstood. And besides, whether this song is really yours isn’t certain yet. Unless you sing the exact same song right now.”

“I told you, I have a cold, my throat’s not good…”

“Excuses! There’s definitely something fishy going on!”

“You’re the one making excuses!”

The two of them almost started arguing.

Suddenly, the phone rang, interrupting their heated exchange. Liang Jingsheng glanced at the caller ID—it was his desk mate.

“Hello, what’s up? I’m kind of busy,” he answered impatiently, secretly pleased yet also disdainful. Was he coming to try to latch onto him now? Where was he before?

“Quick, check the top rising song on the Fengyun Music Chart! You’re famous! You’re really famous!”

The top rising song of the day on the Fengyun Music Chart: Farewell to the Past.

Before he could even feel happy, Liang Jingsheng’s mind went blank. All he had wanted was to trick the class beauty into being his girlfriend and regain some face in front of his friends—now, had things gotten out of hand?!

If this keeps going… he’s in big trouble!

—

Author’s note: This guy is about to be finished =_,=

Xiao: If I’m not on stage, don’t even think about it.

Ji: …