Chapter 24, Episode 024: Music Variety Show "Heart's Secrets"

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sang Zi had never heard of the music variety show "I Sing, You Listen" before. After searching around, she found out that "I Sing, You Listen" had already aired its third episode.

However, the show generated very little discussion, barely making a ripple, making it a completely ineffective broadcast.

However, she vaguely remembered the name Tian Yi; he seemed to be a contestant on "Tomorrow's Star".

Although Sangzi was happy to see Lin Yuan on TV, she made a special trip to check and found that Tian Yi's situation on "I Sing, You Listen" seemed to be not good, and he was on the verge of elimination.

Music variety shows generally favor singers with powerful vocals, but Tian Yi happens to be not that type. In "I Sing, You Listen," the contestant votes consist of public votes and judge votes. In the last episode, Tian Yi chose a dance song and ranked second to last in total votes. The last-place contestant was eliminated.

Therefore, he started with the lowest number of votes in this episode. If he can't turn things around by having a guest performer sing, he can only wait to be eliminated.

Sang Zi searched hard, but there was very little information online about Lin Yuan participating in "I Sing, You Listen". The show "I Sing, You Listen" was really too obscure, and there were no rehearsals or behind-the-scenes photos, or even chance encounters with passersby.

Sang Zi had a sudden inspiration: Could this mean... she could buy a ticket to go to the event?

She acted immediately. A quick search revealed that the tickets were still available and reasonably priced, so she bought them right away.

Although Sang Zi spent her allowance on Lin Yuan again this month, she didn't regret it at all. She really wanted to hear Lin Yuan sing again.

That was her faith.

"Why is it so slow..."

The premiere date of the show is getting closer every day, but the only news about Lin Yuan is one or two rehearsal photos posted by the official Weibo of "I Sing, You Listen". Unfortunately, in the photos, Lin Yuan is wearing a fleece jacket, and his face is covered by a baseball cap, so it is not clear. The jacket is very fluffy, making him look like a polar bear.

Sangzi took the picture and searched for the same item, then reduced her allowance by several hundred yuan.

As a fan of Lin Yuan, Sang Zi's only regret is that there are too few like-minded people. Sang Zi became a fan because of "Tomorrow's Tomorrow", while most people's impression of Lin Yuan comes from "Tomorrow's Star", but fans from that period have basically stopped watching.

Sangzi is somewhat envious of celebrities who have a lot of material available when searched online.

Someone who appreciates Kobayashi, please!

Come on, give me a hundred!

Fortunately, after a few days, there was more online attention on Lin Yuan helping Tian Yi with his performance, and Sang Zi liked every comment expressing her anticipation for the performance.

Hehehe, she's looking forward to it too!

Of course, there were also some harsh words, mostly from Xie Yu's fans, who mocked Lin Yuan, a washed-up celebrity, for banding together, and were basically the same group of people who mocked Lin Yuan for acting in "Thousand Mountains".

They completely ignored their hometown.

However, they could only mock Lin Yuan for being a mediocre singer, but not for singing badly, because—no one in the world could sing worse than Xie Yu.

...

Sang Zi thought that "I Sing, You Listen" would remain unpopular, but the day before the show premiered, she opened Weibo and found that "I Sing, You Listen" was actually trending.

Sang Zi thought she had misread it, but when she clicked on it, it really was related to "I Sing, You Listen".

It turns out that Ji Xiaming, a former member of Wink, was doing a live stream, and fans asked him if he knew about Lin Yuan helping Tian Yi with his singing.

"I know, I saw it," Ji Xiaming confessed. "Actually, Tian Yi contacted me first, but I had other plans. Sorry."

If Ji Xiaming hadn't said anything, no one would have known; but once he did, the topic of conversation exploded.

Currently, the development of Wink members is not as good as before, but in the eyes of Ji Xiaming's fans, his debut group is still more noble than the non-debut group, so it is normal that he does not help Tian Yi sing.

"The show 'I Sing, You Listen' is such a flop, inviting my brother is just a way to ride its coattails."

"+1, it's perfect that Lin Yuan is going. He won't be used to gain popularity, and he can even increase his own popularity."

"It's absolutely right that Xiao Ji didn't go on 'I Sing, You Listen.' Who doesn't know that he accepted the invitation from 'The Sound of Music'? In terms of viewership, 'I Sing, You Listen' doesn't even have half the viewership of 'The Sound of Music,' does it?"

"The Sound of Music" is a music variety show launched by Xingyao Video. The format is similar to "I Sing, You Listen", but its popularity far surpasses that of "I Sing, You Listen".

Ji Xiaming was the vocal powerhouse of Wink, but his looks were somewhat inferior to the other members. After Wink disbanded, he couldn't pursue acting, so he could only take the music route.

During Wink's heyday, Ji Xiaming had every music variety show he could choose from, but now that Wink has disbanded, "The Sound of Music" is a pretty good resource for Ji Xiaming.

He doesn't want to end up doing something like "I Sing, You Listen".

In the trending searches, Ji Xiaming's fans subtly belittled "I Sing, You Listen". Coincidentally, the episode of "The Sound of Music" that Ji Xiaming participated in and "I Sing, You Listen" that Lin Yuan sang with premiered on the same day.

Ji Xiaming's fans don't think that Lin Yuantianyi's combination poses any threat to Ji Xiaming; they're just habitually belittling him.

After all, even though Ji Xiaming joined Wink as a vocalist, some people still think his singing skills are inferior to Lin Yuan's.

How can Ji Xiaming's fans be satisfied with this?

However, it was precisely because Ji Xiaming mentioned it during the live broadcast that Lin Yuan's popularity as a guest singer for Tian Yi actually increased. When Sang Zi searched for Lin Yuan's name again, there were many more discussions in real time, and the number of people who wanted to watch "I Sing, You Listen" also increased.

...

After saying goodbye to the "Thousand Mountains" crew, Lin Yuan and Tian Yi began a long rehearsal period—singing every day, and doing it countless times.

Lin Yuan originally didn't know how to sing the song "Heart's Desire," but after hearing Tian Yi's plan, he learned it urgently. Even during his flight, Lin Yuan would memorize the lyrics and melody at the same time.

Tian Yi explained his situation to Lin Yuan: he needed a guest performer, but he didn't ask the guest performer to help him stay.

He just wanted to create a stage performance with Lin Yuan.

When the two were assigned to the same group on "Tomorrow's Star," the program did not focus on their collaboration, but Tian Yi always felt that his voice and Lin Yuan's voice were a good match.

This is probably the last chance.

He wanted the audience to see the ambition of their undebuted group.

I want to bring out the best in both of their personalities.

Tian Yi didn't tell Lin Yuan these thoughts, but Lin Yuan sensed them.

When the two were rehearsing "Heart's Desire", Tian Yi was very dedicated.

"Heart's Desire" is an old song from twenty years ago, which tells the story of shy love during adolescence. Unfortunately, this love did not have a happy ending. No matter when it is sung, it always has a bitter taste.

This is also not a song about hitting high notes.

In music variety shows, such song selection is somewhat disadvantageous. Lin Yuan wondered if Tian Yi himself had a similar experience.

Tian Yi shook his head and looked at Lin Yuan: "You would sing this song even better."

This is why he chose "Heart's Desire".

To some extent, Tian Yi was right.

Lin Yuan and his partner hadn't collaborated for three years, but the moment the accompaniment melody started, they both tacitly chose a singing style that better matched each other's voices.

Tian Yi's voice is a bit higher than Lin Yuan's, but gentler. When he sings "Heart's Desire," it's like he's telling a story, not singing, but recounting a secret.

As soon as Tian Yi started singing, Lin Yuan naturally knew where he should place his voice.

He started singing very casually, without thinking about how to coordinate or how to make his voice more rounded; he was just carried along.

Lin Yuan felt that Tian Yi was very dedicated because he put his fullest emotions into every performance, seemingly without worrying that he would exhaust himself during rehearsals and perform poorly in the actual show.

For singers, constantly using emotions can be exhausting.

But... from the perspective of a collaborator, Lin Yuan could feel Tian Yi's emotions and efforts while he was singing, and if he didn't respond properly, it would definitely ruin the atmosphere of the song.

In the past few days, Tian Yi has maintained a very high spirit.

He sang very well. Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, Lin Yuan felt as if he could see the boy's thoughts.

And so, "I Sing, You Listen" premiered.

...

"I Sing, You Listen" is a live broadcast, and the order of contestants' appearances is determined by drawing lots. The show has a total of nine episodes, with one contestant eliminated each episode. Currently, there are still six contestants competing on the same stage.

Tian Yi drew number five today.

Among the six contestants, Tian Yi had the lowest initial votes.

Before coming, Lin Yuan did his homework and learned about the style of each contestant on the show. Among the contestants who have stayed, two are high-pitched singers and one is a super strong talent who can handle any style of song. Only Tian Yi is an idol.

This puts him at a disadvantage when it comes to getting votes, as judges usually prefer singers with professional backgrounds.

One contestant after another came on stage. Even backstage, Lin Yuan could hear the audience's applause, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous, even though this wasn't his competition.

But perhaps that's why Lin Yuan didn't want Tian Yi to lose.

He didn't want to lose.

"Don't be nervous." Tian Yi gently patted Lin Yuan on the back. "We just need to be the same as during rehearsals."

Lin Yuan always says he sings well, but Tian Yi feels that he can only sing well because of Lin Yuan's cooperation.

Better than the previous games.

"The fifth group is ready," a staff member reminded them.

"It's time to make my appearance."

Tian Yi extended his fist and lightly touched it with Lin Yuan's: "Keep it up."

"Let everyone see your strength."

“And yours too,” Lin Yuan added.

The two laughed: "Ours."

Before going on stage, the two walked through a long corridor with only a sliver of light shining through the curtain.

The moment the curtain was drawn back, light streamed in, and the two stood together in the center of the stage, enveloped in a halo of light.

"Handsome knight! So cool!!!"

Sangzi covered her mouth, stifling the scream that had escaped her lips.

Lin Yuan and Tian Yi were both dressed in pure white. White turtleneck sweaters covered their long necks, and the combination with white suits did not look redundant. Instead, it gave them a sense of purity. The beads on their chests shone brightly under the lights, and they wore silver clip-on earrings with a cross pattern.

On the stage of "Tomorrow's Tomorrow", Lin Yuan's makeup was heavy, but his clothes were very simple. At that time, he was Ji Feng, who was suffering from a serious illness, not the shining star he is now.

Lin Yuan didn't smile, which made him look somewhat aloof.

But... in contrast to the stage design, the sound that resounded on the stage.

Many people can sing "Heart's Desire".

It's not a difficult song to master, but it's also widely recognized as one that requires emotional engagement to perform well.

It has been released for twenty years, and even today, the original singer may not be able to capture the essence of this song—because it represents the feelings of youth.

The moment Tian Yi's voice rang out, Sang Zi's eyes widened. She hid her astonishment in her heart, wanting only to listen attentively.

"I have something on my mind."

"Something I can't tell you."

"I can only pluck a single leaf and pray that it will drift away."

This sentence instantly brought back memories of her youth.

Gentle and clear, like the sound of dewdrops falling from leaves onto the water's surface, creating ripples that echoed with a "thump."

Then came Lin Yuan's voice.

"I have something on my mind."

"It's a very funny thing."

"I recall the image of your smile, and I've captured it to write a poem."

Lin Yuan's voice was even lower, following Tian Yi's, giving her the feeling that he was enveloping Tian Yi's voice.

It's not jarring at all; on the contrary, it's incredibly harmonious.

One is a tender sentiment, the other a wistful sentiment tinged with regret, yet both are as light and gentle as feathers, making one's nose tingle with emotion.

I want to cry.

Sangzi wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that when the two started singing, the world below the stage suddenly became quiet.

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Author's Note: [Lop-eared rabbit head][Lop-eared rabbit head][Lop-eared rabbit head] Beautiful girl update! Hahahaha!