Su Yu stood alone in the center of the stage, his head tilted slightly under the spotlight as he gazed into the distance.
Through the haze, a faint light flickered in the darkness; the program team’s pianist was playing the prelude.
In the audience, a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap, beneath which lay a handsome yet weathered face.
Beside him were two girls with similar looks but entirely different dispositions.
"Mr. Zhang hasn't paid much attention to music programs like this since he retired from the industry. It's quite surprising to me that he's here in person," Morita Yui said with a playful smile.
"Ting Yu is the best producer in Hua Guo, and he is also my idol," Zhang Shengchu, though much older than Su Yu, still felt Su Yu deserved to be his idol.
With their musical philosophies clashing, he felt he was incomparable to Su Yu. He had gone abroad for his own musical path, but Su Yu was different; he was already fighting for the Chinese music scene.
One fought for himself, the other for national culture.
Su Yu was too noble.
This was the difference between him and Su Yu.
"Does Mr. Zhang think so highly of him?" Morita Yui asked softly.
"Of course. If he weren't outstanding, how could he attract both of you to be here? Am I right?" Zhang Shengchu could naturally see that the sisters had special feelings for Su Yu.
"I came to support Miyamoto," Morita Yumi said stubbornly, her face blushing.
"I'm different from my sister; I came to support Ting Yu," Morita Yui admitted more openly.
"When it comes to emotions, who can really say?" Zhang Shengchu shook his head with a wry smile. He himself couldn't see through emotions, or he wouldn't have quit the entertainment industry over a relationship.
"It's starting, let's listen!" Morita Yui said hurriedly as the prelude neared its end.
The three stopped talking and sat properly, listening intently.
…
"The rain blocking my path is like snowflakes, are you cold from weeping,
This windbreaker, I’ve worn it until it has a lapel flower,
I don’t fear being transferred, why do you always worry,
Taking great pains to choose today to drive you home…"
On stage.
Su Yu stood quietly in the spotlight, holding the microphone, singing with effortless ease.
His voice, his singing style, his enunciation, all had changed significantly from before.
That gentle, deeply emotional rasp firmly set the song’s melancholic tone!
The moment his song began.
Not only were overseas viewers bewildered.
Even domestic viewers were stunned!
Because they realized that Ting Yu was singing in Cantonese this time!
He was singing a Cantonese song again!
And judging by the style and lyrics, this was a melancholic Cantonese love song!
After the first verse, Zhang Shengchu in the audience trembled.
From the melody of the song, coupled with the Cantonese lyrics, he suddenly had an epiphany. Had Su Yu come to find him before because of this…
His unusual reaction was noticed by the Morita sisters beside him. In response to their puzzled gazes, he shook his head with a wry smile, took a deep breath, and continued listening.
"Forgive me for not sending flowers anymore, wounds should scar over,
Flower petals filling the graveyard in my heart is what frightens me,
If you were determined to marry no one but me, we would eventually turn to ash,
A lifetime, a day, requires a price…"
The stage lights flickered like rain.
Su Yu stood in the rain, maintaining his initial pose, one hand in his pocket, his head slightly tilted as he sang with deep emotion.
As the camera zoomed in, a hint of tears welled in his deep eyes. Just like the protagonist in the song, he was gently bidding farewell to that girl.
Valentine's Day, Mount Fuji, a breakup scene in the rain – under his heartfelt performance, the imagery washed over the audience.
"Everyone only has these two hands, and embracing cannot make you possess them,
To possess, one must first accept the pain of losing,
We once wandered on snowy paths, why shed tears for good things,
Who can claim Mount Fuji as their own through love alone…"
By the time the song reached the chorus, most of the audience was already immersed in the story painted by Su Yu's voice.
Even for overseas viewers who didn't understand the lyrics, they could still feel a strong sense of immersion simply through the emotion in his voice, combined with the translated lyrics displayed on the big screen.
In the producer's area, Miyamoto Ze’s smile froze.
He realized that as Su Yu sang, his top-tier vocal skills and emotional control were gradually drawing him into the story.
"No!" He took a deep breath, forcing himself to break free from the almost tearful emotion.
Now he finally understood that Ting Yu’s performance in this competition was also a love song, but it took a completely different approach from his own.
Miyamoto Ze had written a song based on a folk legend of love.
Ting Yu, on the other hand, used a love story related to Mount Fuji to express it directly.
This time, Miyamoto Ze had used Su Yu's previous ideas, and Su Yu had used the previous ideas of Miyamoto Ze and his colleagues.
A role reversal?
A crushing victory?
However, at the backstage, Morita Sho had a somber expression, looking at the captivated audience.
"The audience is already lost in emotion. If this continues, Miyamoto will surely lose. It's time!" With that thought, he took out his phone and sent a message.
In competitions of this caliber, the gap in song arrangements is not significant; it relies more on the singer's live performance. Ting Yu's live performance already felt like it was overpowering other singers. The emotional rendering and immersion had reached a masterful level, and his vocal prowess alone was elevating the song's appeal to the audience, creating resonance.
"Why not assume the feeling of sadness comes from your imagination,
It cannot be found in a test tube to stain your eyes,
The past hardened like stone, cast away by fate and escape…"
As he sang the last line, the music suddenly stopped, and the venue fell silent.
The lingering sadness swept through the hearts of the audience, deepening their emotions!
Just then, a considerable number of people in the audience began to cheer and shout!
Because someone had taken the lead, other uninformed audience members joined in!
"Shhh…"
Su Yu's slightly narrowed eyes opened, his brow furrowed as he tried to quiet the audience.
However, his action had no effect; the cheers from below grew even louder!
"What's going on? I was about to cry, and the audience is cheering?"
"Are you kidding me? This just completely ruined the atmosphere that was built up earlier!"
"What kind of idiotic audience is this, shouting during the emotional climax of a love song!"
"It's over. The groundwork laid in the first half of the song is gone. The sense of immersion for the latter half will definitely be insufficient!"
When a singer performs a deeply emotional song live, there's a melancholic atmosphere. At such moments, silence is needed.
But the cheers from the audience instantly shattered that atmosphere.
This also caused the groundwork laid by Su Yu in the first half of the song to be completely in vain, making it incredibly difficult for the audience to get back into the mood!