Chapter Sixteen: A Night in Summer Capital

"Now, let's invite the audience to vote!" Ville announced.

On the big screen, the vote counter began to rise rapidly.

"Five hundred votes!"

"Six hundred!"

"Seven hundred!"

"Seven hundred, everyone!"

Ville's commentary was even more exciting than the tally itself.

"Eight hundred!"

"Eight hundred and forty-three!"

In the end, the counter stopped at 843.

"Let's congratulate Zhang Yang for achieving an impressive 843 votes!" Li Meng said.

"Add the 300 votes from the judges, and that makes 1,143," Ville added.

On stage, Li Meng and Ville played off each other seamlessly. Meanwhile, in the backstage lounge, Jiang Yun watched the broadcast on the LCD television, feeling the pressure mount.

After all, Jiang Yun had also prepared a song blending pop music with traditional opera. Zhang Yang had a guest performer to assist, while Jiang Yun had to rely solely on himself. The pressure was palpable.

Jiang Yun steadied his nerves. After all, he’d once been a guest singer at Li Mengya’s concert. He could handle a stage—he wasn’t as nervous as during his first challenge.

On the screen, Ville had already begun to call his name. Dressed in the old Xiajing-style long robe, Jiang Yun stepped out of the lounge.

"System, redeem 'A Night in Xiajing'!"

"Congratulations, Host, redemption successful. 50,000 popularity points deducted. Current popularity: 2,653,086!"

Jiang Yun walked onto the stage. The spotlight shone on him as he handed his USB drive to the staff.

Li Meng teased, "Looks like our Prince of Love Songs is bringing us another original piece!"

Her words eased the tension in the audience.

Jiang Yun, in the traditional long robe and cloth shoes of old Xiajing, exuded the air of a storyteller from a hutong.

The audience was baffled by his attire. What was he planning—storytelling?

Everyone, including the three judges, was at a loss for what Jiang Yun was about to do.

The performance began. A rock prelude blared.

The moment the rhythm started, the audience grew even more perplexed, and the three judges furrowed their brows. Was this... rock music?

What was Jiang Yun doing—first the long robe, now a rock prelude. What on earth was his plan?

Was he really going to sing rock in a traditional robe? Everyone waited in confusion for the performance to unfold.

"I don't want to ask anymore—where are you now!" Jiang Yun’s sudden burst of operatic style startled the audience.

A collective gasp swept through the hall.

"This song is way ahead of its time!"

From the opening line, the audience reached a consensus: this song was truly avant-garde.

A rock prelude with operatic vocals—rock fused with the cadence of traditional Beijing opera—this was something entirely new.

"I don't want to ponder anymore—will you return?
I think of your heart, I think of your face.
I want to hold you close, and never let go if I can!"

Jiang Yun’s S-class vocals shone as he smoothly transitioned into a rock style.

"One night in Xiajing!
I left behind so much love!

Whether you love or not,
It's all dust in the history of time."

The atmosphere ignited. Jiang Yun’s seasoned, gravelly voice propelled the song to a new climax.

"One night in Xiajing!
I left behind so much love~
I don't dare ask for directions at midnight,
Afraid of wandering too deep among the blooming flowers."

Jiang Yun shifted back to the operatic style.

"They say, deep among the flowers,
An old lover lives,
Stitching embroidered shoes.
A serene-faced elder,
Still waiting for the one who went off to war to return~"

The audience erupted in applause. The stage lights flashed as Jiang Yun spun his wide sleeves, stirring everyone’s emotions.

Zhang Tie, a live streamer lucky enough to be in the audience for "You're the Most Talented," was broadcasting live.

"Folks, you probably don't know—I’m at the 'You're the Most Talented' show right now. I’ve discovered a new genre in the music scene—the fusion of rock and Beijing opera!"

Looking into his phone, Zhang Tie shouted, "Do you want to hear it? If you do, start sending those gifts! And just between us—it’s Jiang Yun’s own original song!"

These internet hosts had figured out a formula: if you brought Jiang Yun into your live stream, it was bound to go viral and bring in a flood of traffic.

Since everyone was jumping on the Jiang Yun bandwagon, Zhang Tie decided to do the same.

"Whoosh!" Someone named Northern Companion sent a rocket gift.

"Thank you, Northern Companion, for the rocket!"

Zhang Tie quickly pointed the camera at the stage—unlike some of his peers who kept their viewers in suspense and ended up driving them away, he wanted his fans to see the performance.

As Jiang Yun appeared on screen, Zhang Tie’s fans went wild.

Gifts and comments poured in.

"Whoosh!" "Peace All Life" sent ten rockets.

"Thank you, big bro, for the rockets! Bro, you’re my real brother!" Zhang Tie was overwhelmed with excitement.

A rocket was worth ten thousand yuan—ten rockets, a hundred thousand! Including smaller gifts, he’d earned two hundred thousand in one stream. Enough for a down payment on a house.

"Streamer, hold your phone steady, don’t shake!"

"Exactly, don’t get too excited from all the gifts!"

"As long as we can see Jiang Yun, the gifts will keep coming!"

The chat was flooded with calls for a steady hand, to the point that Jiang Yun’s image was blocked out and some people simply turned off the scrolling comments.

One night in Xiajing!
Don’t drink too much tonight,
Whether you love or not, it’s all dust in time!
One night in Xiajing!
I left behind so much love,
The men who sing with raised cups are the northern wolf clan!

The stage lights flickered as Jiang Yun danced, waving his wide sleeves, his voice shifting back to the operatic timbre.

They say the northern wolf clan,
When the cold winds rise,
Stand outside the city gates.
Clad in rusted iron armor,
They call for the gates to open,
Tears in their eyes.

"Ooo..." The backing track echoed with male voices.

I have waited a thousand years,
Why are the gates still closed?

"Ooo..." Now, female voices joined in.

I have waited a thousand years,
Why has my beloved not returned?

...

As the song ended, there was no applause—just a profound silence. The audience was still lost in the atmosphere of the music.

Two or three seconds of quiet passed.

Then, an explosion of applause. The ovation lasted a full minute.

"Encore! One more song!"

"Sing another one!"

"Jiang Yun, one more song!"

The audience’s cries were fervent.

Jiang Yun shook his head helplessly. "Let’s give the stage back to the hosts."

A collective sigh rose from the crowd.

As Jiang Yun finished, Li Meng and Ville finally made their way back on stage.

Ville struggled to compose himself, his voice trembling, "I believe everyone feels just as I do right now. If I had to sum it up in words, it would be just two:"

"Utterly stunned!"

"That’s right—stunned!" Li Meng echoed.

"I’ve never seen a style like this before! Contestant Jiang Yun is a man of great talent—he’s created an entirely new genre," Ville declared passionately.

"Absolutely! Jiang Yun is extraordinarily gifted!"

"Without further ado, let’s invite the judges to score!" Li Meng announced.

The three judges were unusually quiet. They, too, had been shaken by the song’s style—rock fused with opera, truly ahead of its time.

Jiang Yun, dressed in black, hadn’t received a single X from the judges during his performance.

"Before we score, I’d like to ask Jiang Yun a question," the female judge spoke.

"Please go ahead," Jiang Yun replied, microphone in hand, neither arrogant nor humble.

"Was this song truly your own original work?" she asked.

"It is indeed my own!" Jiang Yun answered confidently.

The female judge nodded. "I think everyone here feels the same as I do. Borrowing the words of our host—stunned! That’s exactly it—stunned!"