All-rounder Artist

Chapter 284: Chapter 266 Being Human is Interesting_1

In the days that followed.

Lin Yuan could feel the storm of December brewing even on the film set. Surprisingly, many people in the crew were discussing the grand event of the music world in December. When Lin Yuan was having lunch, he even heard someone mentioning that they had bought tickets to someone’s concert…

Gambler dogs were everywhere.

However, no matter how people placed their bets and spoke assertively about the sure winners, they could not change the course of the future. As the discussions heated up, the end of November was inevitably approaching.

November 30th.

This night was a rare sleepless one for all in the music industry following the merger of Qin and Qi, with many sitting in front of their computers well in advance, waiting for the midnight chimes, especially the participants involved in the December competition.

For example, the King of Singing, Fei Yang!

As the frontrunner for the crown, Fei Yang was looking forward to this moment more than anyone. His eyes kept glancing at the time in the bottom right corner of his computer screen, which was ticking close to 11:59pm.

“It’s about to start.”

Fei Yang’s spirit lifted.

As his alarm set for midnight rang, Fei Yang quickly opened his usual music player – amongst the best when it came to sound source and quality. The main page of the player did not simply recommend a single song but showcased a special feature:

“Battle of the Gods!”

Although the name might seem overly fantastic, one cannot deny it resonates with the anticipation for the new songs released in December. Anyone could click onto the banner to see the newly released songs from the Kings and Queens of Singing. The first to pop up was the collaboration between Fei Yang and Yin Dong, “New World”.

New World!

The theme of this song, set against the future of the Blue Star merger, was truly grand. Married with Fei Yang’s voice, the whole song was beyond reproach, be it the melody or momentum.

This was the order of songs on the player.

Notably, even the player itself showed utmost confidence in the collaboration between Fei Yang and Yin Dong, placing their song at the forefront within the special feature. In a sense, the order in this feature was a true reflection of the public betting phenomenon.

Click play.

Fei Yang put on his headphones and listened to his own song first, like a sacred ritual. After listening, he nodded in satisfaction and then clicked on the second song in the line-up, which was a collaboration between Haitang and Ye Zhiqiu.

Song title: “Blossom”.

The title seemed pretty inspirational.

In Fei Yang’s mind, this was a tough competitor in the Battle of the Gods this season. Afterall, they also had the backing of Maestro. While the gap between different Maestros did exist, it wasn’t significant. Hence, while listening to this song, Fei Yang wore a grave expression.

“The melody is standard…”

“A combination of strings and violin…”

“The processing of the percussion section is stunning with a strong bounce and graininess. As expected of Haitang, the handling of the high notes seemed effortless, and even elements of bel canto were integrated. Despite the minimal soundtracks, it didn’t lose the essence of grandeur…”

Ordinary people listen to the melody when they listen to a song.

Normally, Fei Yang does the same, but this time he couldn’t resist analyzing as he listened. After all, Teacher Ye Zhiqiu was a Maestro, and music composition by artists at this level should never be belittled. Fei Yang didn’t relax a bit during his analysis until he finished listening.

“Seems like mine is better.”

Fei Yang was slightly uncertain.

Songs can’t be judged completely subjectively. Otherwise, many singers wouldn’t remain obscure. Choosing the right song is as important for a singer as selecting a script is for an actor. It is a crucial part of determining the accomplishment of a singer. When there isn’t a stark difference between two songs, Fei Yang could only form a rough judgment.

But there were things he could be sure about.

Fei Yang opened the comment sections of the two songs to see how the public felt about them. No one could complain that the songs were only released minutes ago. For an ordinary season, songs released a few minutes prior might not receive many comments. However, this was December!

There were so many people online listening to music!

The comment section under Fei Yang’s song had easily surpassed five thousand comments. At the same time, “Blossom” had received over four thousand comments. After observing for ten minutes, Fei Yang finally broke into a relatively relaxed smile.

It seemed like “New World” had a better response!

This conclusion was deduced based on the comment data and specific feedback from netizens. Although it’s still not entirely certain, it was hardly inaccurate. At this point, Fei Yang could finally lean back in his chair and take a deep breath.

“Let’s listen to the rest of them.”

The third and fourth tracks were pieces by Lonely and Momo. Although Fei Yang felt that the chances of him messing up were slim, he still needed to confirm it. After listening to these two songs, Fei Yang’s expression became even more relaxed.

“I’m going to win!”

Fei Yang slightly danced his body, then leaned back fully into the chair, lifted his right foot onto his left thigh, and casually played the fifth track. This song, “The Red Sun,” was released by the King of Singing, Lan Yan, this season.

“Ahhh~”

From the headphones, a string of singing accompanied by bass interwoven with guitar and a not-so-intense drumbeat came out, making Fei Yang, who was completely relaxed, startled inexplicably. Before he could react, the preamble was over.

Then,

Lan Yan’s singing resonated with exceptional stability and a clear underlying tone: “If fate makes you wander, if fate plays extraordinary tricks, if fate frightens you and makes life boring, don’t shed tears in sadness and don’t ever give up, I’m willing to accompany you forever!”

Fei Yang subconsciously straightened his back.

But because his right leg was on top of his left, or rather, because he was sitting in a cross-legged position, he failed to stand up at the first attempt. By this time, the song had already entered the second section of the chorus, with the same lyrics, the same vehemence, the same fullness.

His eyebrows itched a bit.

Fei Yang’s little finger touched his eyebrow, his hand trembling slightly. It was a barely noticeable tremor, but a certain emotion within him was suddenly amplified countless times—

He finally uncrossed his legs.

His body also left the chair.

At this time, “The Red Sun” had moved to the main part. The drumbeat sounded like a bullet being loaded. For some bizarre reason, Fei Yang associated it with the feeling of a handgun being placed against his forehead, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Countless “♪” surrounded him.

Lan Yan’s voice, aided by these musical notes, kept penetrating Fei Yang’s mind. For a moment, Fei Yang looked somewhat dazed, as if he had lost focus all at once.

Meanwhile,

Fei Yang also faintly felt that as the song played, it seemed as if he was gradually losing something, something that was moving further and further away from him. His expression changed from relaxed to serious, and then gradually turned into astonishment.

If fate makes you wander…

If fate plays extraordinary tricks…

If fate frightens you…

During the chorus that repeated countless times, Fei Yang unexpectedly felt a sense of empathy towards the lyrics. This sense of empathy came from the ending of the first section of the chorus in the Qi language singing style, a simple phrase of five words:

“Living ain’t fun.”

Fei Yang found this very reasonable, feeling the so-called Battle of Gods to be dull. Even though the subsequent lyrics sang “Don’t shed tears in sadness, and don’t ever give up,” it still couldn’t comfort the abrupt wound in Fei Yang’s heart.

“I’m…screwed.”

Fei Yang’s face began to falter, his eyes glued to the two words behind the creation of the lyrics and music of “The Red Sun”:

Xian Yu.

Meanwhile, as Fei Yang’s mentality slightly collapsed,

Inside a room of a certain community, Chen Zhiyu casually took off his headphones, whistling while feeding his pet fish in the fish tank.

He was feeding it live food.

Several unidentified insects dropped into the fish tank. Chen Zhiyu’s fish swiftly ate the nearest mealworm, as though it had tasted something delicious. Watching the tiny insect attempting to escape upstream in the tank, he flashed a smile, seemingly satisfied with his fish’s appetite for the day:

“Eat.”

“Eat everything.”

Chen Zhiyu quietly cheered on his gluttonous fish: “They’re all doomed!”

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