Chapter One Hundred and Five: The Beauty of Xi Shi
Ma Yi finished his song.
Zhou Lun picked up the microphone. “Ma Yi, can you tell us what happened?”
“It was arranged by the production team. If you have any questions, ask them!”
Zhou Lun froze for a moment. “Wow, Ma Yi’s answer is so official!”
At that moment, on the streaming platforms, people were all talking about it.
“Ma Yi’s version of Turning Wealthy has a very special flavor!”
“I think Ma Yi’s Turning Wealthy sounds better than Jiang Yun’s.”
“Even though Jiang Yun is the original singer, I still think this song suits Ma Yi better!”
“Plus one”
“Plus one hundred thousand and eighty-six”
In the studio.
Tian Zhen picked up the microphone. “Ma Yi, your version of Turning Wealthy is completely different in style from Jiang Yun’s. This song really suits you!”
Ma Yi smiled.
Host Yang Yang stepped onto the stage. “Teacher Ma Yi is a special guest we specially invited. In the next rounds of the competition, Teacher Ma Yi will remain onstage as a guest.”
“Wuhu, Jiang Yun, now the master and disciple are on stage together!” Wang Feng teased.
Jiang Yun smiled.
When Zhou Lun saw Jiang Yun smile, he rolled his eyes. “Do the two of you share the same smile?”
“Hahaha!”
“Eh-heh-heh!”
The audience burst out laughing at Zhou Lun’s words.
“Please have the four mentors turn around!”
The four of them pressed their buttons, and their chairs slowly rotated, so that they once again faced the audience, with their backs to the stage.
“Mr. Ma Yi, please take your seat in the guest area!”
Ma Yi nodded in thanks and went to sit in a chair off to the side.
The show went on. Half of the one hour and forty minutes of recording had already passed.
In between, several more contestants advanced, and several were eliminated.
Backstage, Ding Li was pacing back and forth, nerves nearly driving her mad.
“Contestant Ding Li!”
“Huh? What is it?”
“It’s your turn!”
“Okay, okay!”
On the spacious stage.
At the mentors’ table, the four were whispering to one another.
“That young man just now was pretty good.”
“Yes, he really was!” Jiang Yun nodded.
“Let us welcome the next contestant!”
The four stopped talking, straightened in their seats, and listened intently.
Soft music began to play, and a girl’s voice rose.
“In the distant night sky,
there is a crescent moon.
Below the crescent moon
is a little arched bridge.”
“Wow, this girl’s voice is so beautiful, and her song choice is very tasteful!” Tian Zhen remarked.
Zhou Lun took up the thread. “It sounds so lyrical! So nostalgic!”
In the vast studio, the music was gentle, the lights dim, and the audience waved neon sticks in their hands; some even began whistling.
Online, the livestream chat filled with comments.
“This girl looks so beautiful, so natural!”
“Her plain, unadorned look utterly crushes all those overdone faces on the market!”
“The commenter above, could you not drag this girl down?”
“I love her, I love her. From now on, this girl is my first love!”
“Plus one”
“Plus one hundred thousand and eighty-six”
The audience waved their neon sticks in unison, like a rising tide.
When the chorus came, the girl sang softly.
“My heart is filled with sorrow,
not for that crescent moon,
but for the village of today,
still singing the songs of old.”
The audience suddenly broke into a mass singalong: “My heart is filled with sorrow, not for that crescent moon…”
The auditorium lights were not fully turned on, so only the flicker of neon sticks could be seen. The audience began singing along with the girl.
“My heart is filled with sorrow,
not for that crescent moon,
but for the village of today,
still singing the songs of old.”
With a snap, Jiang Yun turned first.
With another snap, Tian Zhen turned next.
With two snaps at once, Wang Feng and Zhou Lun turned simultaneously.
When Jiang Yun saw the figure onstage, he was stunned. “Isn’t that Little Li?”
Zhou Lun asked, “Jiang Yun, do you know this contestant?”
Jiang Yun nodded. “Yes, I do.”
Tian Zhen said, “Then it looks like the three of us are out of luck!”
Jiang Yun smiled. “Not necessarily.”
Zhou Lun laughed. “This little girl does look pretty plain and honest!”
After finishing her song, Ding Li stood onstage, nervous and stiff.
Zhou Lun lifted the microphone. “Little girl, don’t be nervous. You’ve already won a turn from all four of us. You’re through. Now you only need to choose a team!”
Tian Zhen smiled gently. “Little sister, please introduce yourself.”
“Hello, everyone. Hello, four mentors. My name is Ding Li. I’m twenty-three this year, and I work as a restaurant server.”
Wang Feng asked, “Why did you come to Voice of China?”
“I came because I was encouraged by Mentor Jiang Yun!”
Bang! Zhou Lun kicked the table.
“Hahaha!”
“Eh-heh-heh!”
The audience burst into laughter at Zhou Lun’s reaction.
Zhou Lun said with a dark face, “She’s definitely going to join Jiang Yun’s team. No question!”
“Not necessarily.” Jiang Yun wore a mysterious smile.
Tian Zhen said, “Little sister, please choose your team now.”
Ding Li’s hand, holding the microphone, was trembling. “I choose...”
“I choose Mentor Zhou Lun’s team!”
The audience erupted in applause.
“Xi Shi Girl!”
Someone shouted from somewhere.
The crowd immediately took up the cry.
“Xi Shi Girl!”
“Xi Shi Girl!”
Ding Li instantly gained the nickname Xi Shi Girl.
Zhou Lun looked utterly bewildered. “What? Join my team? Did I hear wrong?”
“See? I told you it wasn’t certain.”
“Bang!” Zhou Lun kicked the table again, thrilled beyond measure.
Wang Feng said, “Can you tell us why you chose Zhou Lun instead of Jiang Yun?”
Holding the microphone, Ding Li said in a trembling voice, “Mentor Zhou Lun is my idol. Of course, I also really like Mentor Jiang Yun, and Mentor Jiang Yun even helped me before!”
Wang Feng nodded and lowered his microphone. “I have no more questions.”
“I don’t either,” Tian Zhen said.
“Neither do I,” Jiang Yun said.
Zhou Lun walked onto the stage. “Thank you for joining my team. I will definitely lead you to the championship.”
Tian Zhen said, “Zhou Lun, don’t be so full of yourself. The three of us are not to be trifled with!”
Zhou Lun hugged Ding Li, then stepped down from the stage.
Playfully, he raised his middle finger at the three of them.
Tian Zhen raised her fist and shook it at him.
Ding Li left the stage.
Host Yang Yang stepped back onto the stage. “Our Xi Shi Girl earned turns from all four mentors. I wonder whether the next contestant can achieve such a fine result!”
Ding Li’s performance was over.
But both on-site and online, people were still discussing her.
“This Xi Shi Girl gives me the feeling of rice congee and tofu: plain, unremarkable, yet deeply moving.”
“Damn, the commenter above—you’re being so literary I’m almost embarrassed for you!”
“Xi Shi Girl goes straight to the heart.”
“To think that in my lifetime I could still see such a plain and gentle girl; my heart is truly comforted.”
“Plus one”
“Plus one hundred thousand and eighty-six”
By now, the fourth episode of Voice of China was nearing its end.
“Let us welcome the next contestant to the stage!”
The audience applauded fervently, and someone even whistled.
The applause roared like thunder and went on for a full minute.
A young man of about twenty-five, dressed in a theatrical robe, walked onto the stage.
Yang Yang handed the stage over to this contestant and stepped down.