Chapter 103: "Encounter"

Despite his round, panda-like face, the voice that emerged from his lips was as clear as that of a voice actor from a shonen anime. The song he performed was a traditional-style ballad, weaving a narrative that stretched from history a thousand years ago to the present day.

Hmm... the theme was a bit of a stretch. While it was beautiful to listen to, the task was specifically about "life." One couldn't exactly elevate the theme to the entire lifespan of a giant over the past millennium, could one?

Lin Ze sighed. He was the sixth performer, the next in line. He unscrewed a bottle of water to soothe his throat and smoothed out his clothes. As the "Panda" walked off the stage, Lin Ze stepped out of the lounge, greeting him as they passed.

"The next performer is truly formidable. Whether it’s last month’s new song chart or this month’s, he has dominated both with his compositions."

"Lin Ze! Lin Ze! Lin Ze!"

Even standing backstage, Lin Ze could hear the roar of the audience. His fans were incredible—how did they manage to get so many tickets to this show?

The host waited for the cheering to subside before turning to the side. "And now, please welcome the singer, Lin Ze!"

Lin Ze walked slowly onto the stage, and the cheering from below grew wave after wave. He caught sight of Su Zitan, who was looking right back at him. Their eyes met across the space.

The applause in the venue had yet to die down. Lin Ze pressed his hand downward, and the audience instinctively lowered their volume. Then, the musicians on either side began the accompaniment.

Perhaps in the long journey of life, the order of appearance matters, too. On the giant screen behind Lin Ze, two characters slowly emerged: "Encounter."

Lin Ze held the microphone, his voice gentle.

"I hear, winter, departing."
"I wake up in a certain month of a certain year."
"I think, I wait, I hope."
"But the future cannot be planned because of this."

It was a song of faint melancholy, yet under Lin Ze's voice, it held a hint of warmth. Some people sitting near Su Zitan looked curiously in the direction of Lin Ze's gaze. Only upon seeing Su Zitan did they suddenly understand. Ah, that explains it...

"Cloudy day, evening, outside the car window."
"In the future, someone is waiting."
"Left, right, looking forward."
"How many turns must love take before it arrives?"

An encounter... People often say that one always meets the person they want to protect most at an age when they are most helpless. Such an encounter—the person is right, but the timing is wrong. Then, what is the meaning of such an encounter itself?

"Who will I meet, what kind of dialogue will we have?"
"The person I wait for, in how distant a future is he?"
"I hear the wind, coming from the subway and the crowd."
"I stand in line, holding the number tag of love."

Yet, the encounter itself seemed to have no problem. Two people meeting are like two ends connected by a single red thread. Perhaps it was just a glance exchanged across a sea of people that made them push through the crowd, embracing in the very center of the throng. A dash across the sea of humanity?

In the audience, people were already beginning to embrace. Their spirits transcended reality; in this moment, no one cared whether they would have enough to eat tomorrow. They only wanted to embrace in this moment and feel the love.

"I fly forward, flying across a sea of time."
"We have also been hurt by love."
"I look at the road, the entrance to the dream is a bit narrow."
"Meeting you is the most beautiful accident."
"One day, the answer to my riddle will be revealed..."

Lin Ze’s voice gradually faded away. The stage fell into a profound silence. No applause erupted; Lin Ze did not disturb the audience, simply bowing and slowly walking off the stage.

The cameraman quickly cut the feed to the audience. Many were held tightly in each other's arms, while others held tissues to wipe the corners of their eyes, their tears carrying unknown flavors. In the grand lounge, the five groups who had already performed stood up, offering their applause to Lin Ze.

It wasn't until the host stepped back on stage and spoke into the microphone, "Everyone..." that the audience finally snapped out of it, erupting into thunderous applause. The volume was so great that the host could not continue, so he simply paused, leaving the space for the audience to cheer.

As Lin Ze went off-stage, he saw Li Xiyan walking toward him, her eyes filled with resentment. "How am I supposed to sing my song after you've performed like that!" she pouted. "When I drew the seventh spot, I was actually quite happy..."

"Hahaha, cheer up! Spread your invisible wings and fly over the despair."

Li Xiyan stuck out her tongue and ran toward the backstage area. Lin Ze pushed open the door to the lounge; the others were still standing.

"Incredible, truly incredible!" Everyone crowded around, pulling Lin Ze to the center seat of the U-shaped arrangement.

"Is it really that terrifying? You can write a song like this in a single day?" The speaker was a songwriter whose name Lin Ze didn't even know.

"No, no, I wrote it a while ago; it just happened to fit this time," Lin Ze said, scratching his head with a smile.

Only then did everyone feel a bit better; otherwise, the thought that Lin Ze could compose such a song in a single day would have been too heavy a blow to their confidence.

"A great song. I estimate this track will hit the top three on this month's new song chart again." A songwriter sighed. "With you being this talented, how are we supposed to survive?"

"It's not that bad, not that bad..." Lin Ze smiled. "You all think too highly of me."

"Teacher Lin, tell us the truth—how many unreleased works do you have stashed away?" the Panda asked.

How many, indeed? Lin Ze coughed twice. For a plagiarist like me, if I don't have a thousand, I certainly have eight hundred. That was a bit of an exaggeration, of course; the human brain isn't a machine, and he couldn't remember everything that clearly. Many songs had already begun to fade from his memory.

"Not many left, really not many left."

The next song was Li Xiyan's. As expected, songs created within such a melancholy context all tended to be sad love songs. Following Lin Ze's performance, her piece felt incomplete by comparison. The overall response was lukewarm, though still decent compared to the others.

"Now is the time for our audience voting. Please pick up your voting devices and cast a vote for your favorite contestant."

"Your votes account for seventy percent of the total, and the remaining thirty percent will be determined by online voting after the show airs."

Even while the host was still speaking, everyone had already picked up their devices to vote. The host counted down according to the teleprompter.

"Three! Two! One!"

The voting devices in the hands of the audience disconnected at that moment.

"Please look... at the big screen!"

First place!
"Encounter"!