Chapter One Hundred and Ten: You Are a Free Bird! A Soul-Stirring High Note!

No longer teasing Leng Yan, everyone shifted their full attention to Bai Ling.

They were eager to see what her new song would be like.

As the applause in the venue gradually rose, Bai Ling took the microphone from the host.

By rights, every singer was given a chance to speak a little about the emotional journey that had brought them here before performing. In a talent show, it was the classic tearful appeal. Even among established singers, it was nothing unusual.

Bai Ling’s predecessors had already said a few simple words in that vein.

Unfortunately, everyone had come for the music and simply ignored their remarks, so the final vote count was still miserably low.

Bai Ling had no intention of wasting words, either.

Taking the microphone, and as the host withdrew gracefully, she glanced at the accompanists nearby and gave an okay gesture. Then she said, “This song is called — Adiao!”

At that very moment, the accompaniment began.

Adiao?

Hearing the title, many people felt a trace of hesitation and confusion.

Had they heard wrong? The name was oddly elusive.

What, exactly, was this new song trying to say?

There were indeed quite a few singers in the industry who liked to use strange lyrics and unusual melodies to express themselves, hoping to achieve that kind of mysteriously impressive effect.

But clearly, not many of them succeeded.

So, before they understood what those two words meant, the listeners remained uncertain.

Yet that also meant those who were truly interested grew even more focused.

“Ah-yi-ya-yi-ah~ Ah-yi-ya-yi-ah~”

The first sound to emerge with the accompaniment was a child’s voice.

That style immediately called to mind the earlier A Young China Speaks.

It had to be said that adding a child’s voice to a song was a remarkably distinctive yet direct artistic choice.

In an instant, it fixed the song’s tone and helped the audience grasp it.

“Adiao, lives in some place in Tibet”

“Like a vulture”

“Roosting atop the mountains”

“Adiao”

“In front of Jokhang Temple”

“Bathed in sunlight”

“Boiling a pot of sweet tea”

“We speak of days gone by”

Then, all at once, the backing vocalist cut in with a powerful line, sweeping away Bai Ling’s gentle, sweet voice.

In that instant, it was as though everyone had been carried to the pastoral grasslands, to an endless world beneath a broad, blazing sky.

By then, many in the audience were already wearing delighted smiles.

When it came to Bai Ling’s work, Sea Floor had left a profoundly deep impression.

Invisible Wings, which came later, was even more popular and more immediately addictive in melody. But it was only because Sea Floor came first that people could better understand the mood Bai Ling had when she sang Invisible Wings.

As for A Young China Speaks, that had little to do with Bai Ling’s own experience; it was simply a very good song — and one written for Young Master Leng, at that.

But this time, even from this small opening section alone, they seemed to catch a scent of Bai Ling’s past.

The reason she had chosen this song as her new release was actually very simple.

The singer who had originally performed Invisible Wings and later covered Adiao, Zhang, had also lived through a deeply tragic life, with experiences that in some ways overlapped with Bai Ling’s present state.

When Zhang sang Adiao, her emotions were in fact highly compatible with Bai Ling’s current feelings.

So at the Dimensional KTV, Bai Ling had practiced this song, and several others including this one, with relentless intensity.

And now, the effect was obvious.

Her singing ability had improved, and her command of this song had reached a whole new level.

The audience was thoroughly absorbed.

“Adiao! You always dress yourself”

“Like a boy”

“But you’re tougher than the gesang flower”

“Adiao”

“You false people”

“Wear a thousand different smiles”

“When will you come down from the mountain”

“Remember to bring your Zoma knife”

“Under the brim of a gray hat”

“Sunken cheeks”

“You rarely speak”

“Only simple answers”

“Where is tomorrow”

...

“Slowly, the footsteps sway”

“Gradually, the tracks grow mottled”

...

“But even so, I still won’t”

“Give up hope because of pain”

“The wounds you’ve suffered grow into scars”

“And bloom into incomparably beautiful flowers”

“The wounds you’ve suffered grow into scars”

“And bloom into incomparably beautiful flowers”

As the emotion kept deepening, the lyrics gradually revealed their true shape.

Under that emotional pull, many people immediately thought of Bai Ling’s past.

Bai Ling was singing about herself again.

But this kind of old material, sung in a new way, did not feel tiresome at all.

From this song, they sensed a flavor unlike Sea Floor, even a feeling different from Invisible Wings.

A lean, steadfast figure named Adiao, walking over gravel and sharp stone, bloodied by pain, seemed to stand before them in the flesh.

Not to mention that Bai Ling’s voice was brimming with emotion.

Especially as the climax drew near, everyone could hear that Bai Ling had deliberately let go of technical control and instead poured her entire being into the song.

Such a performance was, without question, stunning.

“It’s a good song! Very good!”

“Exactly. For a newcomer, this kind of lyric and composition is very interesting and very striking.”

“Still, surpassing her earlier Invisible Wings may be somewhat difficult.”

“This song feels more like folk music, so its audience probably won’t be very large, unless Bai Ling can push the emotion even further...”

“But to reach this level already is quite good. How could anyone ask for more?”

Clearly, the singers held Bai Ling in very high regard, the kind of praise that opened the champagne before halftime.

“Adiao”

“Will tomorrow bring a full meal”

“You are already used to it”

“Loneliness is a kind of faith”

“Adiao”

“You will not be worn smooth by reality”

...

“Fate is full of trials!”

“Yet you remain serene!”

“You have bid farewell to youth”

“At station after station, too many to count”

“Content to be ordinary”

“Yet unwilling to be crushed in ordinary defeat”

“You are Adiao~”

The rhythm was the same, the melody the same.

Yet it kept rising, rising still, while the sharpness of the lyrics drove the emotion to its peak.

Even the professional singers had not expected it.

And then came that line, as though a thunderclap had split the earth.

“You are a free bird!!!!”

At that cry, the uniquely bright high note seemed to tear through the clouds.

Singers and listeners alike all felt their skin rise with gooseflesh.

The high note is the bluntest and simplest measure of a singer’s ability. It does not represent everything a singer can do, but if one can master high notes, it at least proves they are a good singer.

And Bai Ling had practiced this passage countless times in the Dimensional KTV; the greatest obstacle had been this very high note.

At last, she now delivered it with effortless grace. That clear, ringing voice shot straight into the sky, not only driving the volume to its limit, but also sinking Adiao herself deep into the hearts of every listener.