Chapter 132: Leveraging Momentum

At the conclusion of the entire song, Liu Qingshan deliberately added a brief passage resembling an operatic aria—a sudden flash of inspiration tearing open a rift amidst the vast dark clouds in the sky, allowing beams of Buddha’s light to cascade down.

It was an ethereal chant of utmost purity and simplicity, soaring with resonant throat tones that rose and swelled without any trace of artificial falsetto. Although Jin Xishan only hummed softly alongside, her presence deepened the mood of yearning and bittersweet farewell.

Their voices harmonized in distant echo, like a lingering melody that clung to the air for days, intoxicating the audience while simultaneously evoking an exquisitely subtle and profound sense of comfort.

The beauty of the tune unfolded naturally, conjuring a stunning, dreamlike, and elusive vision.

In that moment, Jin Xishan’s expression was one of complete enchantment, as if she had transformed into a cascade of falling syllables, utterly lost within Liu Qingshan’s mesmerizing chant.

With her heart and soul fully immersed, even her accompanying vocals trembled with the same throat vibrato, carried forth by Liu Qingshan’s pervasive emotion—something she had never known she could produce.

Their harmonies were so striking that they created an irresistibly captivating and lingering charm.

This was an intangible realm of artistic conception—a supreme fusion of scene and sentiment, reality and illusion—a transcendent unity of feeling and reason, form and spirit beyond subjective or objective bounds.

The audience, spellbound, could not help but marvel, “Such a voice surely belongs only to the heavens; how rare it is to hear it on earth.”

Only when applause suddenly erupted did most people awaken from their daze.

“My goodness, what did they just perform? Such a dreamlike, enchanting song truly exists in this world! The composition is excellent, and their collaboration interweaves perfectly!” one judge exclaimed, shouting toward the others as if forgetting the two performers standing hand in hand on stage.

Another elder judge smiled and stopped him gently, “Calm down. Didn’t you see they’re waiting for our evaluation?”

Only then did the man realize and quickly apologize to the pair.

The special guests were meant only to assist with the performance, with little judging time allotted. Liu Qingshan and company had expected to leave once introduced by the judges.

Yet the judges clearly had no intention of dismissing them hastily.

Unnoticed, Gu Yun in the center subtly winked and slightly tilted her headset, signaling to Liu Qingshan that the director had just sent instructions: additional interactive time would be granted.

Sure enough, Gu Yun then spoke, “I heard this song was composed by Liu Qingshan and has never been released before. What inspired you to create such a melodious, finely crafted piece rooted in ancient style?”

Liu Qingshan brightened and answered, “It came to me while writing a television script. The lyrics are highly narrative, influenced by a poem from Mr. Li Qingzhao.”

“I could tell—that must be Li Qingzhao’s ‘Like a Dream,’ right?”

Before he nodded, another judge suddenly asked, “You write scripts too? Of course, the one who wrote the script for ‘Kung Fu’ must have that talent!”

The first judge feigned ire, “This is the ‘Qingge Competition,’ please keep the discussion relevant!”

Unexpectedly, he then shifted the topic with a joke that sparked uproarious laughter: “‘Kung Fu’ is directed and acted by Zhou Xingchi, isn’t it? I’m looking forward to that!”

Laughter roared through the venue.

Gu Yun clasped her head in mock exasperation, “Alright, that’s enough about that. Shall we continue with the formal competition?”

The elder judge smiled and turned to Jin Xishan, “Before, at National Television, you and Chen Long performed ‘Beautiful Myth.’ Miss Jin, your performance today was even more outstanding—I noticed the difference.”

Jin Xishan bowed slightly with a smile, “I’m still learning. Shanzi told me my understanding of music theory isn’t very profound, so I need professional guidance.”

“The verses were melodious, the chorus vast and ethereal, and your textbook-perfect performance has set a fine tone for this year’s ‘Qingge Competition’,” the judge praised.

“Not at all. I actually watched all the contestants rehearse this afternoon. Their level is so high, it even shakes my confidence about switching careers to become a singer!”

Her humility easily won goodwill, especially since she was a foreigner. A thunderous applause followed.

Simply speaking Mandarin so fluently was enough to draw cheers, a strength she had over Liu Qingshan.

Gu Yun knew it was best to steer the topic back swiftly to keep the assistant performance’s purpose intact.

Taking advantage of Jin Xishan’s remarks, she smoothly guided the program back on track.

“Thanks to Liu Qingshan and Jin Xishan for bringing our contestants such a spectacular start. It seems the brave innovations of the tenth ‘Qingge Competition’ will once again offer the audience a feast for eyes and ears!”

With Gu Yun’s words, the two bowed and left the stage, the audience’s applause carrying a hint of farewell.

Zhang Peinian, who had not appeared before, was waiting in the lounge, surprising Liu Qingshan who had been about to leave.

They had met at last night’s banquet. Zhang’s presence now was clearly purposeful, not coincidental.

Upon meeting, Zhang first congratulated them, “I heard from the monitoring room that your performance caused a large spike in viewership during that time slot. Mr. Gu’s recommendation was indeed clever.”

Liu Qingshan caught a subtle nuance in the word “clever” and glanced at him inquisitively.

Zhang Peinian scanned around before quietly raising a thumb, “You know, many big names fiercely vied to be invited as special guests for this ‘Qingge Competition.’”

He left the matter there, as further questioning would be impolite.

Jin Xishan smiled knowingly, “I call Teacher Gu ‘Mom.’ It seems having connections really helps!”

Knowing Zhang had some personal rapport with her partner, she spoke casually and humbly.

“Qingshan, he’s waiting for you here about something urgent. Would you be able to meet Mr. Kram tomorrow? Oh, it’s not a National Television matter—just a personal one of mine.”

Only after Zhang’s explanation did Liu Qingshan understand: a university roommate of Zhang’s had some relation to the Indian Holm.

This friend was a Cambridge student who shared a slight acquaintance with Holm.

Recently, Kram had been so angered that he cursed repeatedly. Holm, fearing for his position, had desperately investigated and discovered that the person he had provoked was none other than Liu Qingshan, a favorite of the big boss.

But Holm dared not blame Liu Qingshan directly, so he turned to Zhang’s friend from Cambridge instead.