The Overlord has changed…
He no longer belts out high notes, no longer uses elaborate vocal runs, no longer showcases countless bizarre techniques, he just uses the simplest voice to sing on this stage, but disappointingly, his song this round sounds better than any time before.
Everyone is clapping.
Lin Yuan is also clapping. He probably has guessed who the person on stage is — he thinks the judges and some people familiar with the singer have probably figured it out too. This is the best song that this person has ever sung on this stage.
“Teacher Prince of Lanling.”
An Hong looks at the Prince of Lanling.
All the eyes are on the Prince of Lanling.
Lin Yuan steps onto the stage, still not yet speaking a word, just nods lightly to the band. This would be his last song on this stage, and he doesn’t want to just leave an impression of hysteria behind.
The sound of an electric piano rings out.
Lin Yuan’s voice is very pure:“Wandering
On the road
Are you preparing to leave
Fragile, in pride
Which has also once been my state.”
Lin Yuan’s voice is equally pure and simple, devoid of any technicality, just singing with the most essential voice. The expected scene of the final stage that many have imagined does not occur.
As if there’s a huge contrast.
The stage has once been washed with high notes and techniques. However, in the last round of the final, the choice of the two singers somehow coincidentally had a similar flavor.
But…
Nobody is disappointed.
On the contrary, there’s a faint sense of consolation.
“Boiling, uncertain
Where are you going
A mystery, in silence
Are you really listening to the story…”
Lin Yuan’s voice slightly elevates. This song, he’s also dedicating it to himself.
“I have once crossed mountains and seas
And ploughed through crowds of people
I once had everything
But in a blink, it all turned into smoke
I have once lost and despised, losing all direction
Until I saw, being ordinary, is the only answer….”
This is for my past life.
This is for my present life.
This is for every version of me.
Some audience members close their eyes slightly.
This song doesn’t resonate like “Extravagance,” but it has a silent force. Many people thought it would be hard for the last song of Prince Lanling to surpass his previous one, but when this song played, everyone suddenly realized:
No comparisons needed.
This song.
Is equally good.
In fact, the chat in the screen was flooded with comments as the climax approached. At this moment, countless netizens were unable to restrain their emotions:
“Maybe this is what the final should look like.”
“This is a singing stage, ‘Extravagance’ is a slap to the face, a rebuttal, a release, but this song, it’s reconciliation. Not reconciling with the opponent, but opening up oneself to the audience.”
“I like this song.”
“This is a crispy tune.”
“A must-add to the playlist.”
“I can’t imagine how the second season can surpass this one, Prince Lanling is too strong, he didn’t disappoint anyone in this final!”
“…”
Lin Yuan’s voice returns to calm, and calmness is the truth of this song:
“While you are still fantasizing”
“About your tomorrow”
“Will it get better or worse”
“To me it is just another day”
“I once destroyed everything I had”
“Just wanted to leave forever”
“I was once stuck in endless darkness”
“Where struggling was useless”
“I was once like you, like him, like wild grass and flowers”
“In despair and longing”
“Crying and laughing, being ordinary…”
He used to be insignificant, to stand out among others, angry and unwilling, blaming destiny. But all of those have become history, now everything is getting better. The tone of the music is uplifted, and Lin Yuan sings as if humming:
“Keep going forward just like that
Regardless of what you’ve been given
Keep going forward just like that
Regardless of what’s been taken from you
Keep going forward just like that
Regardless of what you might miss
Keep going forward just like that
Regardless of if you will
I’ve once traversed mountains and oceans…”
When the chorus rings out again, it seems Overlord is singing along, and then Swan follows, eventually all the eliminated singers on the stage join in.
A simple melody.
After listening to it once, professional singers would have already memorized it. Not only were the eliminated singers from Prince of Lanling’s team singing, but also those from Sun Yaohuo, Zhao Ying Ge, and Jiang Kui. The entire stage seemed to be turning into a grand choir.
Behind the mask.
Overlord’s tears fell again. Whether it’s because he knew his end, or a line in the song touched him, no one knew until he broke into, “I’ve been like you, like him, like that wild grass, wild flowers, despairing, desiring, crying, laughing, being ordinary”. Everyone then understood his feelings.
“Time is silent,
Just like this
Tomorrow has been
Blown by the wind
The road is still long
How far have you told your story?”
The final line is like a question, yet it is also filled with boundless hope: Life is on the road, may you and I be both ordinary and extraordinary.
The song is called, “The Ordinary Road”.
After the performance.
Lin Yuan bows.
The venue is once again flooded by applause. There are no gasps of “wow” or “incredible”, but everyone’s expressions say that there is no better final song than this.
In front of the screens:
The live comments flooded in like a waterfall:
“Completely intoxicated.”
“May you be both ordinary and extraordinary!”
“This show may not need a champion.”
“They are just a group of people who love to sing – apart from the Revenge Goddess.”
“Overlord’s last song made me like him. I even thought Overlord would win, but when this song came out, winning or losing no longer seemed important.”
“In this song, I heard life.”
“Three years ago, I was the CEO of a listed company. Three years later, I own several small shops. But there’s actually nothing to complain about. That’s my Ordinary Road.”
“Overlord sang until I wept, while Prince of Lanling sang until I forgot to cry.”
“…”
Everybody had similar reactions to this song. Some even believed that Prince of Lanling insisted on performing this song in the final to compete with Overlord. It was a tribute to this stage.
They were both conveying the same message:
No need for high notes or flashy techniques, just singing sincerely. Those who are willing to listen to your songs can be found all over the world.
In this round.
Prince of Lanling won.
By a huge margin.
There were many viewers who abstained. It was the round with the most abstentions. Many people could hardly bear to decide who was the ultimate winner.
But Overlord accepted it gracefully.
When he took off his mask, he looked relieved.
Fei Yang’s face appeared before millions of viewers, surprisingly, there were few “second place” comments in the live chat.
Of course, there were a few.
But surprisingly fewer than expected.
Indeed, after the last song, some people had already guessed who Overlord was.
“I got second place again!”
Fei Yang looked at the audience, laughing. He looked a bit self-mocking but mostly relieved.
When the applause subsides.
An Hong says soulfully, “Thank you, Teacher Fei Yang. And thank you to all the viewers. Now, our Prince of Lanling, as the King of Singing of this competition, it is time for your unmasking…”
Lin Yuan paused.
Finally, the time to unmask had come.
He must have prepared himself, right?
What Lin Yuan didn’t know was…
As An Hong’s words echoed, Yuan Xi and all the fan-groups of the singers whom Prince of Lanling had previously challenged were going nearly mad!
——————
PS: I know you all want to see the unmasking, and indeed, the pacing of the story calls for the unmasking. But I just couldn’t help but write another round. Consider it as Polluted White being sentimental. The unmasking will really happen in the next chapter.
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