Chapter 6: Everyone Curses Aloud, All Are Stunned

When Su Bai appeared on stage wearing a food delivery uniform, the audience erupted in astonishment.

“Damn, he delivered food all the way onto the stage—this guy’s incredible!”

“Is he going to grab the mic and shout: ‘Cuihua, your delivery is here!’”

“And then Cuihua would come up and eat a box of stinky tofu in front of thousands? Bro, your imagination is wild.”

Hearing the scattered voices below, Su Bai smiled. “Hello everyone, I’m not here to deliver food. I’m here to sing for you. The final song will be performed by me, and it’s called ‘Dragon Scales of Heaven and Earth!’”

The moment Su Bai finished speaking, the audience’s jaws dropped in disbelief.

A delivery guy singing at the All-Star event?

Was it the delivery guy who’d lost his mind, or the director?

A brief silence, then laughter and jeers exploded.

Accompanied by countless curses:

“What the hell is this? Is this a joke? Can I go up there and sing too?”

“Wasn’t Kun Kun supposed to be the final act? Why did this guy show up?”

“They let a delivery guy sing last? The director’s gone nuts!”

“Does he deserve to share the stage with Kun Kun?”

“Get off the stage!”

“Get off and give us Kun Kun!”

At first, the insults were directed at Su Bai alone, but soon they turned into outrage on behalf of Xu Mingkun.

The uproar was relentless, Xu Mingkun, at the heart of the controversy, looked uneasy.

He recalled how Sister Yan had promised him last night that he’d be the closing act, and he’d felt excited.

Now, a delivery guy suddenly appeared, and Xu Mingkun felt insulted.

Was anyone allowed to share the stage with him now?

Could it be someone dissatisfied with Sister Yan’s arrangements, deliberately stabbing him in the back?

In the director’s office, sponsor Liu Siyen called Song Liang directly.

“Director Song, what are you doing?”

“Didn’t I tell you Xu Mingkun is to be the closing act, the last performer?”

“Why is someone else up there now—and he’s a delivery guy?”

“Are you deliberately defying me to show me up?”

“Song Liang, I’m telling you: if that delivery guy isn’t off the stage within three minutes, you won’t get another cent of sponsorship. No, one minute! Get him off immediately!”

Click! Beep beep... beep beep...

Song Liang, holding the phone, looked grim.

He hadn’t managed to say a single word.

He’d listened to Liu Siyen’s tirade from start to finish.

Thinking of Su Bai’s song, Song Liang hesitated for a moment, but then steeled himself.

Even if Liu Siyen withdrew her sponsorship, even if he was blacklisted entirely, even if it meant selling his house to scrape together funds, Su Bai would sing his song in its entirety.

Because only in a public setting could the song possibly be officially acknowledged by the Palace Museum.

Otherwise, for an ordinary person to break through the barriers of capital with just his voice was nearly impossible.

If all he could say was that he’d heard Su Bai’s a cappella and claimed it was extraordinary, it would mean nothing.

The only way was to let Su Bai sing before everyone.

After hearing Su Bai’s ‘Dragon Scales of Heaven and Earth’ performed live, Song Liang was absolutely confident this song would be a hit.

Moreover, the song was perfectly tailored for the Forbidden City.

With this song, Song Liang would no longer be suppressed by the chief director in Yanjing.

This 600th anniversary tribute concert for the Palace Museum was split between two venues: Yanjing and Shanghai.

Although Song Liang was the chief director for Shanghai, he was constantly squeezed out by the director in Yanjing.

If he could win over Yanjing with the delivery guy’s song, his future resources would be entirely different.

Song Liang nodded to his assistant, then whispered, “Let the performance continue.”

He silently murmured to himself, “Su Bai, brother, my fate is in your hands!”

As the prelude began, the curses from the audience gradually subsided.

Though they disliked Su Bai personally, they still had a basic respect for music.

“This land I set in motion,
The bloodline of the nation stretches for thousands of miles,
Centuries, six hundred years,
Descendants of the dragon endure storms and rain.
This central axis of the capital,
Stands unyielding as a gentleman’s integrity,
Nine dragons glazed atop tiles,
History rises and falls from this place.
Yet these dragon scales
Clattered to earth like shattered ice,
Each scale, an inch of heart,
Stories wavering, I cannot bear to hear.”

When Su Bai’s rich voice rang out, silence swept over the audience.

Their eyes widened.

Unbelievable!

Stunned!

Dumbfounded!

That voice, that range—was this really a delivery guy?

The crowd seemed swept into the lyrics by Su Bai, a majestic tableau unfolding before them.

In Su Bai’s song, they glimpsed the heritage of a mighty civilization.

“People keep to ritual, hearts remain tranquil,
The ancient zither echoes a gentleman’s mind,
I awake, waiting for response,
Circling the vast civilization of a great dynasty.
Honoring the past, I set down my pen,
The boundless yellow land of the East,
Ink washes away mountains and rivers,
Only the resilient spirit of the dynasty remains.
Forbidden City’s Gate of Divine Might,
How much hardship forged the soul of China,
I inherit the culture, cultivate it deep,
Break through change, turn the world around.”

After the climax, the audience was utterly awed.

When the lyrics spoke of circling the vast civilization, chills ran down their spines.

The dynasty had known glory and hardship.

The line, “Honoring the past, I set down my pen,” revealed a broad-mindedness to all.

Everything that came before, washed away in ink—what remained was the unyielding spirit of the dynasty.

This resonated deeply with countless spectators.

“Damn, I’ve got chills.”

“Is he really a delivery guy?”

“Maybe he’s a singer who switched to delivery! That voice is unreal!”

“The lyrics are beautiful!”

“But I’ve never heard this song before—did the delivery guy write it himself?”

“Don’t you see? This song was written for today’s theme—the 600th anniversary of the Palace Museum. The delivery guy came prepared!”

“Maybe they didn’t tell us beforehand to surprise us!”

Director Song Liang watched the audience from the control room and nodded in satisfaction.

From relentless jeering to awestruck praise, it had taken less than two minutes!

That was the power of this song.

Xu Mingkun’s face, meanwhile, was ashen.

He never imagined the delivery guy, who looked so utterly ordinary, could sing so well.

His performance was already on par with Xu Mingkun’s own—at least in Xu Mingkun’s opinion.

Xu Mingkun knew his only remaining advantage was his handsome looks and exceptional dance moves!

But this was the Palace Museum’s tribute concert; dancing too flamboyantly would clash with the atmosphere.

An obscure online celebrity, Brother Feng, was also at the concert, streaming live.

He’d ended his stream after Xu Mingkun’s performance.

But seeing the delivery guy come up, he sensed a trending moment and restarted his stream.

Brother Feng knew that, regardless of whether the delivery guy sang well or poorly, it was a hot topic.

Because he was stealing Xu Mingkun’s spotlight.

These days, anything connected to Xu Mingkun was guaranteed to go viral!

Now, Brother Feng was completely dumbfounded.

Was this the strength a delivery guy should possess?

At first, he streamed quietly and discreetly.

But when Su Bai sang “Break through change, turn the world around,” he went wild, howling along with the crowd.

It was electrifying!

His live chat exploded instantly.

“What is this divine song?”

“Is this the true talent of the delivery guy?”

“Someone please tag his Douyin account!”

“Five thousand years of civilization—this is the finishing touch!”

“What was all that before? They even sang in English! I’m done…”

“Hey, just watch the stream and stop insulting others. If you don’t like it, leave!”

The viewer who mentioned English songs poked the hornet’s nest, and was immediately drowned by Xu Mingkun’s fans—filling the entire chat with curses.