Chapter 160: The Whale Transforming into a Lonely Island

Li Xiyan choosing a singing and dancing performance this time was truly hitting the mark.

Her figure was already exceptionally striking, and in past performances, she had always worn long dresses and formal gowns.

This time, the sudden and sultry attire instantly sent all the audience members into a frenzy.

[Amazing! Absolutely amazing! I'm frantically taking screenshots right now; every single frame is wallpaper material!]

[Li Xiyan, I love you!]

Li Xiyan took a deep breath, suddenly raised her hand, and the music burst forth with a resounding boom.

Accompanied by cheers from the crowd, Li Xiyan began her song and dance routine.

Although they had practiced beforehand, she was, after all, breaking through her own boundaries just now.

While singing and dancing simultaneously, a few tiny flaws still appeared.

Lin Ze, who was scheduled to perform next, had already gone to change his clothes.

For this round, Lin Ze had chosen the theme that everyone considered the most difficult to write about: "Long-Awaited Rain After a Severe Drought."

Arriving backstage, Lin Ze put on a deep blue outfit. When illuminated by the lights, it resembled the color of the deep sea—tranquil and mysterious.

On stage, Li Xiyan finished her song and dance. When the music stopped, she stood in place, her chest heaving.

Sweat had dampened a wisp of bangs on her forehead, causing the strand to stick to her cheek.

Far from looking greasy, it made her look exceptionally charming.

The cheers from the crowd erupted once more, lingering for a long time without fading.

Li Xiyan had chosen to pull out this song now for another reason as well.

Naturally, she wanted to use this track to avoid Liang Xiang's best song. In the previous round, when Liang Xiang chose the song for that prompt, she had purposely chosen a different one.

Only by doing so could she use her absolute best song to secure more votes.

It could hardly be called scheming; it was merely a bit of game theory applied within a competition.

Li Xiyan walked off the stage and flashed a mischievous smile at Lin Ze.

"Brother Lin! Surprised or not? Following this stage is going to be tough!"

"Impressive. As expected, your true strength only comes out right at the end!"

Lin Ze nodded.

Li Xiyan smiled mischievously. "Good luck, Brother Lin! I'm heading off first!"

Li Xiyan skipped away happily. On stage, Lin Ze's name had just been announced. Lin Ze stretched his body slightly and then walked toward the stage.

When the audience saw Lin Ze coming up, their screams became even more intense.

Waves of sound rolled higher and higher.

"Lin Ze! I love you!"

"Lin Ze! Ahhhhh! Lin Ze!"

Following the example of major pop stars, Lin Ze pressed his hand downward. Seeing Lin Ze's gesture, the crowd quieted down within a matter of seconds.

"I'm sorry to disappoint everyone, but I didn't prepare a song to be sung in a short skirt this time."

[???]

[Prepare one! Prepare one for next time!]

[Say no more! If your Weibo followers break ten million, you have to sing in a short skirt!]

"Lin Ze! Short skirt! Lin Ze in a short skirt!"

Lin Ze rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright, we're still in the middle of a competition. Are you guys going to listen to the singing or not?"

"Shh."

Like a person soothing a baby, Lin Ze placed a finger in front of his lips and gave a gentle shh.

The audience members below the stage gradually calmed down from their state of high excitement.

"Wow, his stage presence is so steady," Rong Zhengyu remarked with a click of his tongue. "With just a couple of joking sentences, he pulled everyone right back from that hyper-excited state left by Li Xiyan's performance."

"Does this kid have a lot of performance experience? Why didn't I see any particularly prominent performance history when I looked him up on the encyclopedia before?" Elder Shi finally spoke up to ask.

Everyone shook their heads one after another.

Who could possibly know about such things?

"I don't know if you guys read novels, but it's like someone suddenly had their soul possessed, and inside Lin Ze's body right now is actually a completely different person."

Chen Nan suddenly chimed in with an eerie tone.

Everyone raised their heads and cast a pitiful gaze at him.

"Just listen to the song," Elder Shi said in a deep voice.

As the music began to play, both the stage and the audience were enveloped in blue lighting, interspersed with tiny specks of white light, making it feel as though one were immersed in the ocean.

Amidst the background music, the sudden sound of a whale's song echoed through the air.

"I am a blue whale transformed into an isolated island,"

"Possessing the most massive silhouette."

"Fish and shrimp swim past my sides, and seabirds rest upon my back."

"I have passed by too many excessively beautiful wondrous sights,"

"Like an Eden-like fairyland."

"Yet the sea is too calm and too still, with countless stories left unheard by anyone..."

Lin Ze's clear voice seemed to sketch out a fairyland.

In the minds of the listeners, they seemed to see a deep blue ocean, above which seabirds circled in the sky.

Schools of sea fish leaped out of the water, tracing graceful arcs before plunging back beneath the surface.

"I am pouring my heart out in overwhelming affection, until that day..."

Lin Ze modulated his voice, producing a standard male-god timbre.

"That day, you came."

The tone shifted in an instant, reverting to a voice as clear as the ocean.

"Your garments were tattered, yet your singing was gentle,"

"Accompanying me to drift aimlessly everywhere."

"My spine is like a barren hill, yet you smiled and shook your head,"

"Treating it as the entire universe."

[Ahhhhh! My ears! I spent five hundred bucks on ear-cleaning, and it wasn't even this comfortable!]

[I get it now. I was wondering just now why this song corresponded to "Long-Awaited Rain After a Severe Drought," and it turns out...]

[Why are the lyrics so beautiful? What kind of fairy lyricist is this?]

"You wave to the sun, and greet the gulls,"

"Accompanying me to roam wildly, loving the heavens and the earth."

"Only regretting that in the end, you could never lie against my chest,"

"To admire the most boundless eternity of the night sky,"

"Placing the stars into your pupils..."

On the screen behind him, a lonely whale swam past the brilliantly lit shallow sea, pressing onward toward the deep ocean.

Until one time, as it leaped out of the surface, it happened to cross paths with a young girl riding a solitary boat upon the sea.

At that very moment, the lonely whale also encountered love and beauty.

In the lounge, Panda stared fixedly at the screen, his eyes shining brightly.

To be honest, lyrics of such ultimate beauty were rarely seen even within the ancient-style music circle.

The sheer beauty of this song's lyrics struck a deep chord with him.

He really wanted to ask him to write a song...

But.

Panda rubbed his chubby cheeks.

He couldn't afford it!

...

A phone ring suddenly shattered the air!

Tian Shensheng picked up her phone and glanced at the screen, only to see that the call was indeed coming from Zhou Tiesheng.

"Wait, wait a moment..."

Tian Shensheng pushed Huang Ting away.

"I need to take this call!"

Huang Ting blinked.

"Hello?" Tian Shensheng answered the call. "What is it?"

"I've come to find you! I've already reached the production crew's set, but the director said you've left. Where are you?" Zhou Tiesheng asked, pouting and acting spoiled.

Tian Shensheng panicked instantly. "Ah... I finished work and went to rest."

"Huh? Why are you sounding all out of breath?" Zhou Tiesheng asked with a hint of suspicion.

"I'm working out! I just ran a few kilometers. Wait for me at the set, I'll be right over..."