Chapter Twelve: Li Mengya's Concert
As she entered the gymnasium, Li Mengya proceeded backstage to the dressing room to apply her makeup. Jiang Yun, having nothing to do, lounged in the lounge, resting.
“Ding! Host, congratulations on triggering a hidden mission.”
Jiang Yun was startled by the system’s sudden announcement. It had never issued a task before—why now? Something felt off about this. Jiang Yun was puzzled.
“System, what’s the mission?”
“Host, you are to perform a new song at Li Mengya’s concert and gain one hundred thousand fans.”
“One hundred thousand fans?” Jiang Yun exclaimed in disbelief. There might not even be a hundred thousand people attending the concert! And yet, here the system was, demanding he gain that many fans.
“Host, there’s a reward for completing the mission!” The system’s tempting voice echoed enticingly in Jiang Yun’s mind.
Meanwhile, Li Mengya had finished her preparations and was about to take the stage.
“Hello, dear fans! Welcome to Li Mengya’s concert. There’s a surprise in store for tonight’s show!”
Li Mengya appeared in a sparkling blue dress, tall and graceful, exuding elegance.
Hearing there would be a surprise, the audience stirred with excitement, their anticipation mounting.
“A surprise? What could it be?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It must be a new song! I’m the famous Prophet King, after all!”
“Yes, a new song! It has to be a new song.”
“New song! New song!” The fans erupted in unison, chanting for a new song.
Li Mengya raised her right hand, signaling the audience to quiet down.
“I’d like to dedicate ‘Love Too Hard to Rest’ to all of you.” Li Mengya began singing one of her classic hits.
As the gentle rhythm started, she sang softly, “If everything depends on fate, why love so devotedly?”
“Most afraid of lingering attachments that can’t be severed,
So many dawns and dusks have passed.
Even if tears no longer fall,
There are still long nights haunted by dreams,
Those who want to leave but stay, with such deep affection,
No longer know regret.”
“With hindsight, had I known love could hurt so much, that feelings could be so hard to rest,
Why did I take it all so seriously?” The chorus arrived, tender and soft.
The audience broke into a harmonious singalong: “Had I realized dreams can’t last, yearning is less than turning back, why blame the parting now?”
Li Mengya simply pointed her microphone toward the crowd: “Unless it’s all just a game, let the world be as desolate as it may, who can sever these ties?”
Retrieving the microphone, she sang gently, “Unless I set my true heart aside, let fate bring together or part us this life, how many remain with no regrets?”
“How many remain with no regrets?” the audience echoed.
As the song ended, the crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause.
The staff switched the music, and suddenly the atmosphere shifted. Li Mengya began singing a song with an entirely different style.
“If pride has never been dashed by the harsh waves of reality,” her ethereal voice rang out.
“How would one know how much effort it takes to reach distant shores?
If dreams had never hung by a thread over a cliff…”
The audience shook off the previous song’s lingering mood, greeting the new energy with applause. The live accompaniment burned with passion.
“How would the persistent ever know they have invisible wings?
Planting tears in the heart, they blossom into brave flowers,
Even in weary times, close your eyes and still sense a familiar fragrance.”
“… …”
“‘The First Dream’—a gift to everyone.”
When the song ended, the accompaniment faded.
“And now comes the surprise I promised you all!”
“Please enjoy the new song, ‘Crossing Oceans to See You.’”
Soft music began, reminiscent of an old friend reminiscing, drawing the audience into a gentle reverie.
“For you, I saved up for half a year, crossed oceans just to see you.” Li Mengya’s delicate voice immediately immersed the listeners in memories.
“I miss my ex-girlfriend,” murmured one man, live-streaming as he sighed sentimentally.
Abruptly, his demeanor changed as he shouted into his phone, “C’mon, folks, send me gifts!”
His stream happened to be watched by a young man just starting his working life…
Zhou Ze was a recent graduate who’d been in a long-distance relationship for three years. Now, having graduated, he and his girlfriend rarely saw each other. Both families were pressuring them to marry, but Zhou Ze didn’t even own a home.
Life was exhausting, and every rare reunion across great distances became Zhou Ze’s greatest comfort.
But now, their relationship was at a crossroads. Neither knew exactly what they were holding onto, or why.
After three years together, the initial passion had faded. When fervor wanes, only the ordinary remains.
“Isn’t this song telling my own story?” Zhou Ze reflected.
If Jiang Yun knew Zhou Ze’s thoughts, he would surely say it was perfectly normal. In his past life, this song had been considered the anthem for long-distance lovers.
“For this reunion, I even practiced my breathing for when we met.
Words could never express even a fraction of my feelings.
Because of this regret, I lay awake at night, unable to sleep.”
The drumbeat kicked in, the rhythm intensifying, as Li Mengya stepped in time with the drums: “Memories always pile up slowly, impossible to erase from my heart.”
“For your promise, even in my most desperate moments, I held back my tears…”
“… …”
“Wow!”
The audience burst into warm applause.
“New song! New song!” a fan shouted, prompting those around to join in the chant.
The cry spread like wildfire, electrifying the venue with waves of “New song! New song!”
“This new song is amazing!”
“Yes, it’s truly a masterpiece.”
“Who wrote and composed this song? Such a high standard!”
Li Mengya took the microphone. “Dear fans, it’s now time for a short intermission. Let’s welcome tonight’s special guest performer.”
“Let me give you a little hint—the guest performer is the very lyricist and composer of our new song!” Li Mengya teased.
She held her microphone, and the lighting technician coordinated smoothly, casting the spotlight on the entrance to the stage.
“Please welcome…”
“Jiang! Yun!”
Jiang Yun’s figure appeared in the spotlight, and he strode onto the stage, taking the microphone.
“Hello, everyone! I’m Jiang Yun!”
“Wow!”
“Whoo-hoo! It’s Jiang Yun himself!”
The audience cried out in excitement.
“I’d like to dedicate ‘Words Contradicting the Heart’ to you all!”
“The words you spoke so tenderly…” Jiang Yun began, and the audience instantly understood what it meant to be awestruck by a voice.
…
The flames of my passion once lit the brightest skies,
But your thunderous departure broke it all,
Leaving me in need of you the most.
When the song ended, he announced, “Next, please enjoy ‘Heartbreak Pacific.’”
“Is leaving really so cruel?” With his masterful vocals, Jiang Yun transported everyone into a world of chivalry and adventure.
“Jiang Yun, give us a new song!” someone called out.
“Seconded!”
“Jiang Yun, sing a new song!” another person shouted.
The crowd began to chant rhythmically.
“Jiang Yun!”
“A new song!”
“Jiang Yun!”
“A new song!”
Faced with the crowd’s eager requests, Jiang Yun felt a bit helpless. As the guest performer, he didn’t want to steal the spotlight.
Although the system had given him a mission, Jiang Yun didn’t want to jeopardize his relationship with Li Mengya just for the sake of a task.
“Should I sing or not?” He was torn.
If he sang, what if it created a rift between him and Li Mengya? Yet if he didn’t, not only would the system’s mission go unfulfilled, but the audience’s enthusiastic calls would be hard to refuse.
“Jiang Yun, if you have a new song, just sing it!”