Volume One: Debut at the Peak Chapter 57: Good Deeds Are Rewarded

"Ah! Mom, look, it's big brother!" Wang Youxuan exclaimed excitedly, shaking Wang Menglan's arm as she saw Chen Jing come out.

"I'm watching, I'm watching. Stop shaking me, you're going to make me dizzy," Wang Menglan replied with a laugh. She looked at the tall figure on stage and quietly let out a sigh of relief. As long as he's alright, she thought.

Wang Youxuan stared unblinkingly at Chen Jing on stage, grinning from ear to ear. "Hehe, big brother sounds so good when he sings in Cantonese."

"... Makes me feel that I've finally found happiness~"

Chen Jing emerged from backstage, his gaze meeting Ling Ruohan's as she walked towards him with a beaming smile. Ling Ruohan's smile grew even brighter.

She picked up the melody, her beautiful high notes soaring across the entire hall.

"You say loving me means having to capture me..."

"Wow!"

"Ling Ruohan! Ling Ruohan!"

"Ruohan, I love you!"

The audience went wild, waving their hands frantically.

Onstage, Chen Jing and Ling Ruohan joined together seamlessly. Chen Jing watched her sing with deep affection and picked up the mic. When Ling Ruohan finished her section, he immediately followed with his own powerful high notes.

"They say the most ideal love is always out of reach..."

Chen Jing's rich, magnetic voice deeply moved the listeners, and the audience responded with enthusiastic applause for his performance.

As the final chorus approached, Ling Ruohan and Chen Jing sang together, their duet bringing the song to its climax.

"... Once again, I find myself on a lonely road, wondering where happiness can be found—happiness~"

As the song ended, Ling Ruohan casually took Chen Jing's hand and led him to greet the audience. Chen Jing didn't resist, naturally holding Ling Ruohan's hand as they waved to the crowd.

"Ah!!!"

"They're holding hands! Chen Jing and Ruohan are holding hands!"

"A perfect pair—what a beautiful scene!"

Their gesture sent the already electrified audience into an even greater frenzy. Everyone jumped to their feet, shouting at the pair.

When Chen Jing held Ling Ruohan's hand in return, her cheeks flushed with a slight, uncontrollable blush. It was her first time holding hands with a man, and in her moment of wanting to enhance the stage effect, she'd impulsively grabbed his hand—only to realize what she'd done once she felt his touch. She was relieved he didn't let go, but instead held her hand firmly. Otherwise, it would have been terribly awkward.

Feeling the warmth and strength of Chen Jing's hand, Ling Ruohan was quietly delighted. Her first time holding a man's hand—and it felt quite nice! Ling Ruohan thought contentedly.

"Ah! Big brother and Ruohan are holding hands on stage. It's so sweet!" In the audience, Wang Youxuan had already transformed into a little fangirl, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at Chen Jing and Ling Ruohan on stage.

Wang Menglan shook her head helplessly at her daughter's infatuation. Still, she had to admit, in this moment, Chen Jing and Ling Ruohan were a striking pair on stage—a talented man and a beautiful woman! No, it should be said, a perfect match.

Chen Jing and Ling Ruohan continued their duet, singing with deep affection. Chen Jing's voice was bright and magnetic, while Ling Ruohan's was exquisite and elegant; together, their harmonies created an auditory feast for the audience.

"Once again, I find myself on a lonely road, wondering where happiness can be—happiness~"

At the song's end, Chen Jing and Ling Ruohan faced each other, gazing deeply into each other's eyes as the music faded. The entire audience screamed for the pair on stage.

When the music stopped, Ling Ruohan put down her mic and, taking advantage of a quiet moment, whispered to Chen Jing, "Good thing you made it back in time. Otherwise, I was ready to sing this song all by myself."

Chen Jing smiled and replied, "Of course I had to come back. There's no way I'd let you sing alone, Ruohan."

"Ha, Jing, you really do have a sweet tongue," Ling Ruohan replied with a laugh, feeling as though her heart were filled with honey.

The first round of the Voice of Huaxia finals was now complete, with all four contestants having finished their performances. Next came the audience voting segment.

The four contestants returned to the stage, while their duet partners took seats at the judges' table. In truth, they had simply added one more seat for Ling Ruohan, since the remaining three were already judges.

For this segment, there was no need for the judges to vote, so there was no judging round, but there was still an interactive session.

Host Cai Lun smiled and asked the four at the judges' table, "Teachers, which group do you think will receive the highest number of votes this round?"

Ling Ruohan simply smiled in response. Wei Guoqiang and Huang Wenhao both chuckled wryly, while Su Tingting remained silent.

Seeing no one else speaking, Wei Guoqiang decided to break the ice. He shook his head with a smile and said, "Isn't it obvious which group will get the most votes? Just look at how the audience reacted earlier."

Huang Wenhao laughed as well, "We can't compete; I admit defeat."

Ling Ruohan added with a gentle smile, "I think all four performances had their strengths. In the end, it's all a matter of perspective."

They all knew that Chen Jing's group would surely win the most votes, but none of them would say it outright. All three were seasoned veterans, their polite platitudes smooth and diplomatic.

They hadn't expected Su Tingting to speak up. But she did, her expression shifting to a smile. "I believe the group with the most votes will definitely be Chen Jing's. His performance with his guest singer was flawless, and his original song 'Who Understands the Heart of a Wanderer' once again proved his musical talent. Such a song, with the potential to become a hit, could never lose here. So the outcome is beyond doubt." Su Tingting's lavish praise caught everyone off guard.

"Who said Su Tingting and Chen Jing don't get along? Look at her praising him!"

"Exactly, the rumors were just slander against the diva."

"Diva Su really does take care of newcomers!"

The audience whispered among themselves, and Su Tingting's fans took the chance to defend her reputation.

Ling Ruohan kept her smile, but inside, she was disgusted. She was truly sickened by Su Tingting's move. After realizing she couldn't hold Chen Jing down, she switched to praising him in front of everyone—what happened to all her little tricks before? Ling Ruohan wanted to say, "What an act!"

Chen Jing, hearing Su Tingting's praise, showed no reaction other than a polite nod in her direction. However, Xie Weiyu, standing beside him, looked distinctly unhappy. From the moment Su Tingting started complimenting Chen Jing, Xie Weiyu knew she had lost—completely.

Finally, Wen Wan steered the conversation back. "Alright! Now let's move on to the audience voting and see how many votes each contestant receives."

Five hundred audience members began voting, and Chen Jing's tally soared ahead of the others. Xie Weiyu followed, with Guo Feng in third, and Yang Xingli last.

When the results came in, the vote counts were: Guo Feng 42, Yang Xingli 36, Xie Weiyu 103, and Chen Jing 319.

Unsurprisingly, Chen Jing took a commanding lead. Guo Feng and Yang Xingli exchanged rueful smiles—they'd long expected this outcome. After all, they could see for themselves who performed best and how the audience reacted. Still, they hadn't expected the gap between themselves and Chen Jing to be so vast.

Xie Weiyu stared blankly at the final numbers, her face bleak. Even with the director's camera on her, she couldn't even bother to fake a smile.

"Well, the results for the first round are in. Currently, Chen Jing leads by a huge margin. But the final outcome is still undecided—anyone could be the dark horse. Who can say for sure who will win in the end? Next, let's move to the second round, the individual showdown, to decide the ultimate champion of the Voice of Huaxia!" Although Cai Lun delivered his lines with passion, everyone knew that unless Chen Jing did something catastrophically wrong in the final round, the championship was already his. The gap was simply too great.

Could Chen Jing, known as a musical prodigy, possibly suffer an upset? No one in the audience believed it.

"Yes! Mom, big brother is amazing. With this score, the championship is definitely his," Wang Youxuan had already started planning the celebration.

Wang Menglan smiled happily too. In her mind, even without this competition, it was clear that Chen Jing was destined to win. Anyone with eyes could see that Chen Jing was already in a league of his own, far above the other three contestants.

Even though everyone knew the likely outcome, the show had to go on. The four contestants left the stage to prepare, with Guo Feng set to perform first.

Backstage, Chen Jing and Ling Ruohan returned to Lin Xi's side. Lin Zitan gave them both a thumbs-up. "Jing, Ruohan, your performance was fantastic!"

"Right? I thought so too," Ling Ruohan replied proudly, giving Lin Zitan a high-five.

Lin Xi shook her head with a smile and said to Chen Jing, "Good thing you made it back in time, or I'd have had to figure out how to explain your mess."

Chen Jing replied with a wry smile, "I actually could have made it back earlier, but on the way I ran into a pregnant woman about to give birth and had to take her to the hospital. Luckily, I still made it in time for the competition."

This was no excuse; it was the truth. He could have returned more than an hour earlier, but after dropping Zhang Jingzhi off at her apartment, he encountered a pregnant woman about to give birth as he was leaving. Without a second thought, he took her to the hospital, never considering whether he'd still make it to the competition. To him, saving someone came first.

"Huh? Was the woman okay?" The others were surprised by the twist in his return.

Chen Jing nodded. "Yes, she arrived safely and gave birth without any problems."

"That's good," Lin Zitan said, patting her chest in relief, then laughed, "See? Good things happen to good people. Heaven could never treat someone like you unfairly, Jing."

The others took Lin Zitan's words as a joke, but Chen Jing was taken aback. Thinking it over, he really did feel blessed by the heavens—both in this life and the last.

(In tribute to Wang Jie and Zhao Xue'er—'Who Understands the Heart of a Wanderer')