When giving feedback and scores, Ji Mingming still shifted the blame, saying she was very disappointed in the contestants; Wen Baihe was more tactful with the other mentor, but the low scores said it all.
Zhuo Cheng, a professional composer, bluntly stated, "Your group's arrangement isn't very good."
Ji Mingming's eyes darted around, but she didn't say anything in rebuttal.
After Qin Shuang finished giving the scores, having seen the practice room version, he knew what changes Ji Mingming's group had made tonight. He said, "You have tried your best in your own way, which is good. Don't give up."
When it was Xiao Shulang's turn, under the pressure of a failed performance and the mentors' comments, some contestants on stage already had tears in their eyes. Xiao Shulang and Qin Shuang could have just gone along with it, since they were just guest performers and whether the contestants on stage advanced or not really had little to do with them.
But since Qin Shuang had already started, Xiao Shulang continued his explanation, letting the audience know why Qin Shuang had said that.
“Compared to the version I saw in the practice room during the day, your dance tonight is clearly better,” Xiao Shulang said. “To achieve this level with last-minute changes shows your talent.”
"The shortcomings are still the same, as the teachers have already mentioned, so I won't go into detail again. However, I strongly agree with what Teacher Zhuo Cheng said: the arrangement is the starting point for the failure of the entire performance."
When Zhuo Cheng spoke, Ji Mingming remained silent, but when Xiao Shulang brought it up again, Ji Mingming stopped talking and suddenly retorted into the microphone: "Teacher Xiao, you may not know how difficult it is to arrange music. I am very hurt by your evaluation of my arrangement. If you are so knowledgeable, do you have any original compositions?"
Wow, the audience perked up immediately! Here it comes—the mentors' showdown! Isn't that more entertaining than a terrible performance?
Xiao Shulang noticed that Ji Mingming seemed angry, but there was a hint of smugness in his eyes. He suddenly guessed what kind of trap Ji Mingming was trying to dig for him, and the corner of his mouth curled up: "I have never released an original song."
"Then how dare you say my arrangement of the piece was a failure? Come on, why don't you compose one for us right now and convince everyone!"
After Ji Mingming finished speaking, he felt refreshed and couldn't contain his victory. He was so confident that he was completely won that he even imagined Xiao Shulang's furious appearance when he stood up, and he had already prepared a whole bunch of insults for him.
They were just waiting to shut Xiao Shulang up.
However, Xiao Shulang did something that surprised everyone. He casually said, "Okay."
Ji Mingming's confident expression hadn't even faded when she was instantly dumbfounded.
What does he mean?
Xiao Shulang got up and left the guest seats, went straight to the stage, and asked a staff member for a prop: "Can I have a guitar?"
This time, Ji Mingming almost jumped out of her seat!
Is he really going to perform?! Composing music live?!
Ji Mingming quickly raised her voice: "Teacher Xiao, did you hear me clearly? I said it's original!"
"Listen carefully." Xiao Shulang took the guitar. "There's not enough time, so I can't write a whole song. I'll just write a short part for everyone."
Everyone else was stunned, but Qin Shuang watched him quietly, her calm expression carrying a hint of tenderness that was hard to detect.
Xiao Shulang always brings him surprises.
Xiao Shulang strummed the guitar strings to test the sound. The tune was already there; he remembered the little melody that Qin Shuang had praised yesterday very clearly, and it wasn't something he had hummed and then forgotten.
The key is in the lyrics.
Every song has its own story, so which story should he sing?
Standing on stage, facing the audience, with the contestants all watching him from backstage, Xiao Shulang's mind gradually transformed the efforts of these young people offstage and their striving faces on stage into musical notes and lyrics—
The story is complete.
With a casual flick of his wrist, Xiao Shulang played a piece of music, and the sounds of music and singing flowed out slowly.
"If a dream loses its wings, please reach out your hand and don't let it wander in the dust..."
Xiao Shulang's voice was like a gurgling stream, gentle yet resilient, which made the whole audience quiet down. Not only were their bodies quiet, but more importantly, their hearts were calmed, and they stepped into the story along with the song.
"Who still remembers what the dream originally looked like? And who is wandering aimlessly now..."
Yes, who doesn't dream when they're young? But dreams are clearly the most beautiful things, so why is the road to success always so difficult? Everyone who hears this feels a pang of sadness. Does pursuing dreams always have to be painful? Does it always mean giving up in the end?
No, no! A voice inside screamed, this shouldn't be happening!
Go chase, go seize, go realize your desires!
We shouldn't be filled with regret and confusion; we should take flight and break free from this suffocating cage!
The calm sea was finally stirred up by turbulent waves, and the struggling soul wanted to cry out. Xiao Shulang's fingers flew, and the guitar's resounding notes coincided with the heartbeat, tearing through the confusion with high notes!
Even if the future is uncertain, your true heart will always sing—
"Carry its melody to farther places!"
The waves recede, and the seawater, refreshed by the recent storms, carries new life and rushes back into the distance.
Xiao Shulang's clear and high-pitched voice slowly faded into the distance, as he softly sang the last line of the lyrics: "There will eventually be starlight falling beside you."
After the song ended and a moment of perfect silence followed, thunderous applause suddenly erupted from the audience!
Backstage, many contestants were already in tears, unable to hold back their sobs as they sang.
A note from the author:
The 10,000-word update is here, but not a single word has been written yet.
Chapter 24 Why do you look like the person I like?
Ji Mingming originally intended to confirm Xiao Shulang's incompetence, but unexpectedly, she single-handedly put him in the center position on the stage.
At this moment, all the applause in the audience belonged to Xiao Shulang.
After the thunderous applause subsided, Xiao Shulang looked at Ji Mingming on the stage and said, "Teacher Ji, my level may not be enough in front of you, but in my personal opinion, I still have to say that there are big problems with the arrangement this time."
Xiao Shulang repeated the shortcomings he had pointed out backstage, and this time Ji Mingming's face turned pale and then red, and she didn't say another word.
"The song I just sang is for the audience and for all the contestants," Xiao Shulang said in closing. "You have just embarked on the beginning of a journey. The road ahead is long, so please keep going and don't let your lives down."
When Xiao Shulang appeared on stage as a guest star, not many people genuinely welcomed him. But now, everyone applauded him again, without reservation.
Tonight, he has truly left a lasting impression on the audience. At least when these people mention Xiao Shulang again, they will no longer attach irrelevant labels to him.
Recognition is something you have to earn yourself. Xiao Shulang, by taking advantage of the trap set by Ji Mingming, actually won a brilliant victory.
After the show's recording ended, the director treated everyone to a late-night snack, and the other mentors' attitudes towards Xiao Shulang improved considerably.
To Xiao Shulang's amusement and exasperation, Zhuo Cheng became even more enthusiastic.
"Teacher Xiao, that piece of music you wrote was so beautiful!" Zhuo Cheng exclaimed excitedly, bombarding him with questions: "Have you considered finishing it? Can we collaborate? Should we release a single?"
Xiao Shulang was at a loss with this kind of enthusiasm, and hurriedly said, "There are no further plans for the time being."
Zhuo Cheng wasn't disappointed. He took out his phone and said, "Teacher Xiao, let's exchange contact information. Maybe we can even exchange experiences on composition!"
Whether or not we exchange experiences is another matter; contact information is the key point.
After exchanging contact information, Xiao Shulang finally asked, "Teacher Zhuo, if I may ask, have we met before? If I have forgotten, I apologize."
Zhuo Cheng scratched his head, thought it over and over, and finally said, "I have met you, but Teacher Xiao, you don't need to apologize. It's normal that you don't remember me."
It turns out that although Zhuo Cheng was very talented, he encountered setbacks everywhere and could only work various jobs to make a living while continuing to write songs.
On one occasion, he worked part-time as a logistics staff member at a TV station, with daily pay. That period happened to be a low point for him, when he was under tremendous mental and physical stress, and to be honest, he was already thinking about giving up.
He lowered his head and ate his boxed lunch in the corner. He started crying as he ate. It was at that moment that the original owner of the body, Xiao Shulang, appeared.
Luo Tian didn't want their relationship to be made public, so the original owner rarely went to his workplace to see him. That time, however, she happened to go there once. She only wanted to wait quietly in a corner, but she ran into Zhuo Cheng.
Zhuo Cheng kept his head down the whole time, no wonder the original owner didn't remember his face at all.
Now, Zhuo Cheng was full of vigor. Standing in front of Xiao Shulang, he smiled shyly: "You listened to my incoherent complaints and gave me encouragement. It may not mean much to you, but for someone who almost gave up on everything, I will never forget the little bit of charcoal that Xueli gave me."
Zhuo Cheng grabbed the spider silk and got up again. He did not give up on music, which is why he is now a well-known composer.
Xiao Shulang dredged up this story from his memories. The original owner didn't actually do much; it was Zhuo Cheng who drew strength from it and gave himself motivation.
Moreover, the original owner of the body that Zhuo Cheng wanted to thank was no longer there; Xiao Shulang was not him.
Xiao Shulang: "It's mainly because you've pulled yourself together again."
"I'll remember it anyway," Zhuo Cheng said. "Before, I was just grateful to you, but I never expected Teacher Xiao to be so talented. After tonight, I'm your fan!"
Xiao Shulang was both amused and exasperated: It's definitely because the filter is too thick!
Just then, the elevator arrived. The people in front went up first, and it looked like there was still room for one more person to squeeze in. Xiao Shulang said, "You go ahead, I'll wait for the next one."
Zhuo Cheng was about to suggest that he wait as well when Qin Shuang, who had been quietly standing behind the two for a long time, walked up to Xiao Shulang at just the right moment and said, "I'll go with you."
Inside the elevator, the director was still calling out, "We can still go up, let's do one more!"
When Zhuo Cheng came to his senses, he had already boarded the elevator in a daze: Strange, the feeling that he was superfluous came back again, and his feet moved on their own for no reason, really!
After the elevator left, Qin Shuang said, "I never expected you two would meet like that."
He had been standing behind them and heard their conversation clearly.
Xiao Shulang himself was surprised: "Yes, it seems that Teacher Zhuo values loyalty, but the credit really doesn't belong to me."
It's related to the original owner, but not to him; there's nothing wrong with saying that.
The elevator next to them quickly arrived at their floor, and Qin Shuang and Xiao Shulang got on.
The hotel the director chose offered good privacy, so the artists didn't need to pretend once inside. Xiao Shulang and Qin Shuang sat down together in the private room.
It was already late. Although it was called a late-night snack, the focus wasn't on the food itself, but rather on the social occasion. Ji Mingming, holding a glass, actually toasted Xiao Shulang.
"Teacher Xiao, I lost control of my emotions on the show today and said some hurtful things. I should apologize and offer you a toast."
The director tried to smooth things over: "Hey, that's right, that's right. Young people should talk things out and communicate; they can still be friends!"
Xiao Shulang raised an eyebrow slightly, it was impossible to tell whether he believed Ji Mingming's nonsense or not, but he still drank the glass of wine.
After finishing one glass of wine, Ji Mingming turned around and refilled it, her target still Xiao Shulang: "Your piece today was really good, I admire you. We're both musicians, let's have another one!"
Xiao Shulang gave him a half-smile, which made Ji Mingming feel a little guilty, but he braced himself and held up his wine glass. This time, Xiao Shulang didn't even touch his glass with his own, but just raised his hand in the air and drank another glass.
Ji Mingming also downed her drink in one gulp, and finally revealed her true intention: "Teacher Xiao seems to have a good alcohol tolerance, so we must drink to our hearts' content tonight!"
What, you want to outdrink him?
It's all too common for people to say nice things at drinking parties in order to prank others by forcing them to drink. When Ji Mingming said this, the others vaguely realized his intention.
The reconciliation is a pretense; their real intention is to take advantage of the situation and swindle people again.
But whether he can get Xiao Shulang drunk depends on whether he has the ability.
This time, Xiao Shulang poured a glass and raised it to him: "My alcohol tolerance is so-so, but I should be able to have a drink with you, Teacher Ji, cheers?"
Seeing that he wasn't intimidated at all, Ji Mingming felt a little uneasy, but he was confident in his drinking capacity, so he drank it!