Chapter 2 Love Letter: "Lyrics Submission Announcement"
At 5 p.m., the three of them took the school bus to the entrance of the music academy's auditorium.
The sun was still blazing at this hour. Zhou Yu opened his parasol, but his gaze was immediately drawn to the crowd outside the auditorium. He turned to look at An Kejia, who gasped in surprise.
She hid under Zhou Yu's umbrella, and when she looked up, her makeup was slightly smudged from sweat: "I think we're late."
Fan Xin said with certainty, "You should remove the word 'I think'."
A tall sign outside the auditorium displayed the program for tonight's gala, and several girls were taking photos there. Zhou Yu walked to the far side, skipped over the long list of text at the beginning, and focused his gaze on the last line. Sure enough, as rumored, Chen Jingchi's name was listed as the second to last performer.
The gala starts at six o'clock, so if we calculate the time, it will probably be close to eight o'clock when Chen Jingchi goes on stage.
Fan Xin tilted her head from the doorway into the auditorium. It was packed with people, and there wasn't a single empty seat in sight. Even the doorway was completely blocked, making it difficult to squeeze in.
"It's all full." She turned to the two of them and said, "The show will last almost two hours. Should we stand or come at the right time?"
"Since we're already here, let's go in and take a look." An Kejia didn't seem intimidated by the large crowd at all and was eager to try it out. "It's a good opportunity to meet people from the music academy and expand my network."
For E-people, their social circle is a self-imposed isolation circle. Fan Xin and Zhou Yu exchanged a glance, then smiled at An Kejia: "Jiajia, Zhou Zhou and I are going to buy milk tea. What do you want to drink?"
An Kejia knew exactly what they meant, and waved to them, "I won't drink anymore, you two go ahead."
As it turned out, Fan Xin's choice was absolutely correct. The two had barely sat down at an empty seat in the milk tea shop when An Kejia sent a message in the group chat:
Sisters, a senior student gave me his seat! Come find me!
Fan Xin read the message and, recalling the scene she had just witnessed at the door, shrugged helplessly: "I'm afraid neither of us will be able to get in."
She replied to An Kejia: "Let's sit in the bubble tea shop for a while. Could you remind us when we're almost there?"
The milk tea shop, which was usually packed with people, was empty, with only their table. The air conditioning even made Zhou Yu feel a little cold.
The shop assistant handed over the freshly made milk tea and asked curiously, "Aren't you going to see the show?"
"I want to go, but there are too many people," Fan Xin replied. "Let's wait until Chen Jingchi's performance at the end to see what happens."
“Oh, I know him.” The shop assistant smiled at her. “He came to buy milk tea once, and I’ve seen him in person.”
Fan Xin's eyes immediately lit up: "How about it? How about it?"
Zhou Yu inserted the straw and looked up.
"He's really handsome, I can't take my eyes off him," the shop assistant commented. "He's even more handsome than on TV."
Fan Xin's expression instantly brightened: "Now that you say that, I'm even more excited!"
"He seems pretty aloof in person," the shop assistant added. "He hasn't given his autograph to any girls who have asked him for it."
After the shop assistant returned to the front desk, Fan Xin leaned close to Zhou Yu and whispered to her, "We don't give him a chance to refuse in this kind of situation."
"Yes." Zhou Yu nodded slightly. "The initiative is in our hands."
As long as you don't ask, you won't be rejected, which is reasonable.
The two sat in the shop until it got dark, when An Kejia finally sent a message reminding them that there were only three shows left and urging them to hurry over.
Night falls, dotted with starlight. A gentle breeze blows through the early autumn night, feeling pleasant on the skin. Only at this time can one truly feel the distinct change of seasons.
Zhou Yu tied her hair up with a hair tie on her right wrist. She usually didn't wear makeup, which made An Kejia extremely envious. An Kejia said that not only did Zhou Yu have fair skin, but her skin was also flawless. She was practically a natural beauty, saving An Kejia a lot of money on skincare and makeup.
Zhou Yu felt that this was largely due to her long sleep duration, and that not wearing makeup was simply to save time and get up later.
As Fan Xin said, the closer to the final performance, the more students gathered at the auditorium entrance. Zhou Yu never liked crowded places, but this time she had no choice but to squeeze in with Fan Xin.
The seats on the steps ahead were spacious, but the entrance was packed with people like dumplings being dropped into a pot. The two of them finally managed to squeeze through the crowd and enter the auditorium. An Kejia called and asked if they wanted to come to her seat for a closer look.
The host's voice came from the speakers overhead, and the crowd around him was noisy with people talking all at once. Zhou Yu lost the courage to go forward and waved to Fan Xin: "Go ahead."
"At this density, we'd have to step over their heads to get through them," Fan Xin shouted into the phone. "Jiajia, we're not going over there, can you take some pictures?"
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the lights above his head dimmed. Zhou Yu subconsciously turned his gaze to the stage in the distance. With his good eyesight, he could see several staff members working together to carry a piano up.
"Oh my god, we're going to have to play the piano?"
"Look, there's a band!"
"It's his own band, isn't it?"
"A live performance? I'm so glad I came!"
The drummer, guitarist, and bassist came on stage one after another from the other side. With their faces completely obscured, Zhou Yu knew, thanks to the sudden, high-pitched screams from the surrounding crowd, that the VIP guests had arrived.
The large screens on both sides of the stage also focused their cameras on the last person to come on stage. He was wearing a basic white T-shirt and black pants, without any extra embellishment or dressing up, giving people a simple and refreshing first impression.
As if in response to the cheers from the audience, he glanced at the crane camera and then nodded in greeting.
"Wow, he's even more handsome than on TV!" Fan Xin's excited voice rang in my ears.
When Chen Jingchi first appeared on the variety show "I Hear Your Voice," he gained a large number of fans due to his outstanding appearance. Among his superior and three-dimensional features, his long and narrow eyes are clearly the kind of eyes that are considered charming in the conventional sense, but when he looks at people, his gaze is sharp and seems to be able to see through everything, showing a maturity beyond his age.
The stark contrast between his appearance and his personality gave him an air of mystery that was difficult to decipher. His sudden withdrawal from the competition later on further complicated matters, making it even harder for many to understand the young man's thoughts.
After that brief glance, two voices emerged from the surrounding area.
What is he pulling at?
"Where is he being arrogant? Wasn't he just nodding and greeting us?"
The band took their positions, and Chen Jingchi sat relaxed at the piano, the lights focusing on him.
Fan Xin was recording a video with her phone. She was a little shorter than Zhou Yu, and even on tiptoe, it was difficult to capture the entire bottom of the screen. She couldn't help but pat Zhou Yu on the shoulder and said, "Zhou Zhou, why don't you take the video for me? You're taller."
Zhou Yu turned his head to look at the large screen and said, "My angle here isn't as good as yours."
"Okay." Fan Xin had no choice but to hold her phone up high, but she was afraid of affecting the people behind her, so she kept adjusting the angle back and forth, running around in circles.
As the first piano note rang out, the intro to the song became much more soothing compared to the studio version. The new arrangement was probably designed to suit the relaxed atmosphere of the evening, with the first few lines of the verses being piano solos.
A clean, textured male voice rang out from the speakers above his head. This song had been played countless times in the dormitory, but Zhou Yu could still hear subtle changes in emotion in the familiar voice, different from the studio version.
The lyrics were displayed on the large screen.
From Oneself
Lyrics/Composition/Arrangement/Vocal Performance: Chen Jingchi
The dazzling and magnificent spectacle fades away.
Amplified echoes, empty silence.
Virtual light and shadow fill the screen
An absurd comedy unfolds
The beauty of the skin remains
After it was uncovered, only emptiness remained.
It's not too late to say anything
Why can't I wake up?
Struggling words
The road ahead is rugged
The inaudible hissing and desperate efforts
The Endless Story
I hate your eccentricities that make you look like a nobody.
I insist on having my own way.
The chorus, which builds to a climax after the drumbeats begin, finally recaptures the passionate and expressive feel of the original song. Chen Jingchi's powerful high notes are evident in the last two lines of the lyrics. Whether it's the original or the live version, this song wasn't created to showcase technical skills or for competitive performances, and it doesn't feature frequent high-note bombardments.
Therefore, in such a noisy environment, it is difficult to bring the audience a shocking and impactful sensory experience, at least from Zhou Yu's perspective.
Because the male singer's pitch is lower and the audience is mostly female, even though they know the song so well that they can recite the lyrics by heart, not many people sing along.
Like everyone else, this was Zhou Yu's first time hearing Chen Jingchi perform live. His more skillful singing, effortless use of technique, and calm and steady stage presence all proved that Chen Jingchi had already acquired the qualities a singer should have.
The song was only a little over three minutes long, and the performance quickly came to an end.
As the last note faded, Fan Xin finally lowered her arm, which had been aching from holding it up for so long, and complained to Zhou Yu, "When is Chen Jingchi going to have a solo concert? This is too tiring."
A girl nearby overheard this and laughed, "If he holds a concert, will we be able to get tickets?"
Just as Zhou Yu was about to reply, the lights in the auditorium suddenly came on. The band on the stage did not leave in time, and Chen Jingchi's voice came from the speakers.
"Thank you all for listening tonight." He spoke at a measured pace. "Actually, I have a favor to ask of you all."
Fan Xin didn't expect it to be over yet, and immediately raised her phone to continue taking pictures.
"After the party, please check the school's bulletin board. Thank you."
He bowed slightly to the audience, then went offstage with the band members.
"What's all the mystery about?"
"How can we help him? Can we record a 10,000-person sing-along?"
"Why did you only perform one song? We haven't had enough."
After Chen Jingchi left, the students blocking the doorway immediately dispersed, and in less than two minutes, only a few people remained around Zhou Yu.
Fan Xin pulled her along: "Send a message to Jiajia and tell her to come out. There are a lot of people now, we need to hurry and squeeze onto the school bus."
After sending the message, An Kejia quickly ran out of her seat. When the three of them arrived at the school bus stop, it was indeed packed with people. The bus was packed with people like sardines in a can. Zhou Yu was standing by the door and could barely breathe.
The school bus started moving, swaying along with a full load of students. The air conditioning was ineffective with so many people, and the tightly closed doors and windows made the enclosed space hot and stuffy. Fortunately, the journey within the school was short; it would only take a few minutes to get there.
A voice came from the rear of the car: "Damn it, look at the school wall!"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately thought of the last thing Chen Jingchi said on stage not long ago, and they all took out their phones to check.
Zhou Yu couldn't free her hands to hold her phone, so she turned her head to look at Fan Xin's phone screen next to her. She saw that Fan Xin had entered the official account space of the university campus wall, and the latest post was published two minutes ago.
As Zhou Yu's gaze slid down the finger, someone read the title aloud before he could even read it clearly.
"Call for Lyrics for Chen Jingchi's New Album?"
"Ten thousand yuan a song?!?"
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
