Chapter Ninety-Six: A Stage of Beauty

The first to take the stage was Cai Yuting. This time, she dared not be careless. Though she was opening the show, she went all out, unleashing a song of extraordinary difficulty, "Particulars," and driving herself into soaring, technically demanding high notes. With her excellent sense of rhythm, she ignited the atmosphere in the venue from the very first moment.

"It feels like she's in even better shape than in the first episode," many in the audience remarked.

"Of course. Apart from the top few, none of the other spots are secure," someone beside them replied. "Don't be fooled by Wen Weizhe and Zhang Yuqin being at the bottom of the rankings. Those two are anything but simple. Tonight they're definitely going to pull out all the stops. Nobody wants to leave. Pride won't let them. No one can accept being eliminated without giving it their all. And if they do give it their all and still lose, the fans will forgive them."

"I think there's another reason. It feels like the production team let loose a monster and put enormous pressure on people who had been feeling safe. Yes, I'm talking about Lin Qihua. You know the saying about the catfish effect? He's the catfish. He doesn't look famous, but look at the media over the past week. Every headline is about him. How could the others not feel like the wolf is coming? Offstage they're friends, but onstage they're rivals. In literature, no one is number one; in martial arts, no one is number two. No one wants to back down."

"Who cares? The more it’s like this, the better it looks. Going all out is what makes it exciting. Director Wei is amazing. He found one Lin Qihua, and suddenly everyone’s brought their game up. It feels like the final battle has started early."

"Exactly. So I'm really looking forward to what song Lin Qihua will bring us tonight. Last time, so many people cried. No one even knew why they were crying; they just felt like crying. Especially the middle-aged men, all of them looking so wistful. Everyone’s really looking forward to his performance tonight."

After Cai Yuting finished, she bowed amid a round of applause and stepped off the stage. She was quite satisfied with her performance tonight. Although being the first to appear had its disadvantages, compared with Guan Shengjie, who was third, she felt much better psychologically, because the second singer was Lin Qihua.

Thinking of Wen Weizhe's misfortune in the first episode, she suddenly felt grateful that she had drawn the first slot. If she had ended up third, she might very well have suffered the same fate as Wen Weizhe.

"That Lin Qihua is really uncanny," Cai Yuting muttered, hurrying back to the waiting area to await the second singer.

Guan Shengjie returned to the stage to host once more. "Thank you, Cai Yuting, for bringing us such a beautiful song. The next singer, in the first episode, stunned the entire entertainment industry with the rise of a dark horse no one saw coming. Every morning when I wake up and look at the news, it’s basically all about him. He’s practically leaving no room for the rest of us veterans to survive."

The audience below erupted, shouting Lin Qihua's name. Viewers in front of their televisions quickly set aside their smart devices and focused intently on the screen.

"Look at you all already. I can’t imagine how excited you’ll be in a moment," Guan Shengjie said with a laugh, though his smile carried a trace of bitterness. "Today he’s brought a mysterious guest to collaborate with him. What kind of version of 'Back to the Past' will he bring us? Let’s welcome the next contestant."

The spotlight fixed on the entrance tunnel, illuminating Lin Qihua and Lian Yuling as they stepped out hand in hand. Lin Qihua was wearing a silver suit today, strikingly handsome. Lian Yuling wore a long pink gown, her long hair gathered into a bun at the back with a hairpin, smooth and silky, simple yet dazzling.

The two smiled and bowed, then walked to their respective positions. Lin Qihua went up to a raised platform and sat down in front of a pink piano, while Lian Yuling moved to the diagonal opposite side, also on a raised circular dais, where a microphone stand had been set up and a flute hung ready.

"Wow, are they going to play piano and flute together?" Cai Yuting exclaimed.

A stir also ran through the audience.

"He's playing the piano. I’m so looking forward to this."

"That woman is so beautiful. She even seems prettier than Cai Yuting. Who is she?"

"Yeah, she doesn't look like a regular accompanist."

"Come on. If she were just a regular accompanist and that pretty, someone would have already dug her up online and turned her into an internet celebrity, and she’d have debuted on her own," someone analyzed. "She seems more like an entertainer, but that doesn't make sense either. There's no way someone this beautiful could have no reputation at all."

Compared with the audience, the others were even more stunned.

Lu Zhixuan had been drinking water. The moment he saw Lian Yuling appear, he swallowed hard and choked on it, bursting into violent coughing. "It really is her?"

"Her?" Wang Yalin also stopped tidying her clothes and stared blankly at the screen. "Why has she suddenly appeared here?"

"It is her," Wei Hongzhang said with certainty, his face lit with surprise. Lian Yuling's appearance had brought him more than enough astonishment.

"It is her."

"It really is her."

...

Inside and outside the venue alike, at that instant, countless industry veterans who had been following the program were shocked. The once legendary beauty of the infernal stage had appeared so abruptly on this platform?

"What kind of luck does Lin Qihua have to actually get her to collaborate with him?" In the hearts of countless people, it felt as though a herd of wild horses had just thundered past. For Lian Yuling, who had already shone brilliantly more than a decade ago, everyone had a strange feeling: though she was no longer in the public eye, her legend still lived on. Long-faded memories suddenly became vivid again.

"Could she be making a comeback? Surely not. Her ability is unquestionable, but would anyone agree to it?"

"Is something big about to happen?"

"I really can't wait to see her performance."

While the outside world buzzed with discussion, the two on stage were unaffected in the slightest. Lin Qihua and Lian Yuling exchanged a smile and nodded toward the staff below. Then, with a soft snap, all the lights in the hall went out, leaving only two blue beams shining down on them. Countless spots of light began to swirl, lending the dark venue an almost fantastical air.

Lin Qihua's fingers moved across the keys, and beautiful notes flowed out. The piano sounded clear and pure, like a stream running from deep valleys and hidden mountains. It flowed quietly, over the wrinkles of a life, over the upheavals of the years, over the blind eyes of an old artist who had seen through the mortal world. It flowed silently into the hearts of the audience.

"An old yellow lamp, dim and worn,
While time stands nearby, saying nothing.
Loneliness strikes without any measure,
Unable to tell what is light, what is heavy."

Lin Qihua opened his mouth gently. His voice was low, as though he were a boy sitting alone beneath a lonely yellow lamp, recalling those sweet days he longed so dearly to return to, yet could never return to again. His tone carried a melancholy that seemed to come from the heart itself.

Lian Yuling smiled faintly, lifted the flute, and began to play. The melody was graceful and mournful, winding around Lin Qihua's piano line, the two voices rising and falling together in perfect harmony.

Lin Qihua continued singing:

"Silence supports me as I leap beyond the unfamiliar,
Quietly watching the dawn and dusk.
Your figure
Losing balance,
Slowly sinking down."