Chapter Twenty-One: The Rest of Our Lives

Standing on stage, facing hundreds of eyes, sweat once again beaded in Liao Meiqi’s palms.

She wore a pale yellow sweater, her skin whiter than snow.

Beneath her black shorts, a pair of jade-like legs appeared long and smooth. Holding her guitar steadily in her arms, she walked onto the stage and, with a polite bow toward the mentors’ table, greeted, “Hello, teachers. My name is Liao Meiqi, and today I’ll be singing a song called ‘The Rest of My Life’.”

“‘The Rest of My Life’? Never heard of it,” remarked vocal mentor Chen Xiuyuan, scrutinizing Liao Meiqi. “Is this an original song of yours?”

“No, my brother wrote it,” Liao Meiqi replied, a bit nervously.

The mentors exchanged glances.

Songwriting mentor Zheng Yongxu’s eyes flashed with appreciation—a recognition of Liao Meiqi’s character. During the preliminary rounds, there had been no shortage of contestants performing so-called original songs—even ones of excellent quality by industry standards. Yet, after subsequent investigations, many were swiftly eliminated. Contestants who relied on company operations to pass off others’ work as their own, parading as “talented songstresses,” were regarded as villains by the program team, who despised such deception and would permanently blacklist them.

A contestant like Liao Meiqi, who laid her cards on the table from the very beginning, was infinitely more endearing.

However, dance mentor Jiang Lingsu shook her head. She remembered this girl—one who had only made it into the final 101 at the strong recommendation of Yu Lianzhou during auditions. To speak plainly, just the fact that she “couldn’t dance” was enough for Jiang Lingsu to pronounce a death sentence on her chances. No matter how well she sang, by her standards, a contestant like this could never make it to Class A! Not even to Class B, to be honest! In Jiang Lingsu’s view, the only place suited for this girl was Class F!

At this moment, another vocal mentor, Yu Lianzhou, smiled and said, “Alright, child, go ahead and sing.”

The contestants seated in the audience all put on serious expressions. For anyone who managed to stand out from among twenty thousand hopefuls, they deserved to be treated with respect.

Especially this young girl before them, whose features were delicate and beautiful, her figure tall and elegant. There was a lightness to her bearing, a graceful poise in her every movement, radiating the air of a refined and genteel young lady.

She was like a budding peony—beautiful without being seductive, striking without vulgarity—leaving a deep impression at first glance.

Liao Meiqi’s heartbeat quickened.

She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and walked to the microphone stand. Embracing her guitar, she began to play.

The gentle guitar notes failed to stir any immediate emotion in the room. Judging by the opening melody, this seemed an average song at best.

Disappointment flickered in the eyes of the audience, but mentor Yu Lianzhou’s face showed anticipation—more so than anyone present.

The moment Liao Meiqi mentioned this song was written by her brother, Yu Lianzhou’s eyes shone with a dazzling light, his lips trembling with excitement.

“In a windless place, I seek the sun
Wherever you are cold, I’ll be your warmth
The world so chaotic—

You’re always too innocent
For the rest of my life
All I want is you—”

Not bad!

That was the first impression shared by everyone present.

Though Liao Meiqi’s guitar technique was fluid and adept, her vocals stable and above average, perhaps the song choice was too ordinary, failing to resonate deeply with the audience. Moreover, in a girl group scene dominated by dance tracks, this folk-tinged song seemed somewhat out of place.

Liao Meiqi didn’t pay attention to the audience’s reaction; she was trembling with nerves. Her brother had only sent her the song yesterday. She loved it, but performing it for the first time, mistakes were inevitable. Even with her inherited musical talent, remembering an entire song in a single night was no small feat! Even now, if she didn’t focus with all her might, she wouldn’t be able to sing the whole piece through.

Her brother had sent her three songs in total.

Of them, “The Rest of My Life” was her favorite. The meaning embedded in its lyrics had moved her to tears the first time she heard him sing it over WeChat. The regret and world-weariness in his voice lingered in her mind even now.

And now it was her turn to interpret this song—

“For the rest of my life
Through the wind and snow, it’s you
In plainness, it’s you
In poverty, it’s you
In glory, it’s you
The gentleness in my heart is you
Wherever my gaze falls
It’s you—”

Stunning!

Absolutely stunning!

As soon as Zheng Yongxu heard the first line of the chorus, his mind buzzed—he was utterly dumbstruck.

The next moment, he sprang to his feet, nearly upsetting the table in his excitement!

He stared in disbelief. “This… this song! My God! These lyrics, this melody… Who is her brother? Who is he, really?”

As a singer-songwriter, Zheng Yongxu had penned over a hundred songs since debuting, and as a professional, his assessment of “The Rest of My Life” soared as high as the Oriental Pearl Tower!

Whoever could write such a song was certainly no nobody!

The other mentors were all at a loss for words.

Filming of the first episode was already halfway through, and in this round, they had already seen many solo singers.

But a contestant like Liao Meiqi—one who stunned every mentor into numb awe from the very start—was the first!

Even dance mentor Jiang Lingsu, who had always looked down on Liao Meiqi, fell silent.

[For the rest of my life, through the wind and snow, it’s you; in plainness, it’s you; in poverty, it’s you;
In glory, it’s you; the gentleness in my heart is you; wherever my gaze falls, it’s you.]

There was probably no woman in the world who could remain calm in the face of such exquisite poetry…

At this moment, Yu Lianzhou’s eyes were brimming with tears.

Listening to Liao Meiqi’s lingering, soulful voice, he couldn’t help but sigh, “Truly, a tiger’s father does not sire a dog of a son…”

This heartfelt exclamation instantly drew the attention of the other mentors beside him.

Yu Lianzhou shook his head, and the others seemed about to speak but held their tongues. Though curiosity burned in their hearts, Yu Lianzhou was a senior they all respected, so they restrained themselves.

Listen to the song!

First, just listen!

“I want to take you to see endless blue skies
I want to shout to the world how enchanted I am with you
The past rushes by
You’re always moved
For the rest of my life
All I want is you—”

“What a song, what lyrics!”

Songwriting mentor Zheng Yongxu cried out again in excitement, drawing sidelong glances from the contestants.

At the same time, a chorus of astonishment rose from the director’s team.

“This girl is incredible? We didn’t notice her in the auditions!”

“I almost missed out on a dark horse!”

“Where’s the talent manager? Quick, bring over contestant 73’s file for everyone to see!”

“This song is fantastic! The imagery is beautiful! I think with just this song, our first episode’s ratings are guaranteed!”

“The file says her ability is average! Damn, what were the audition folks doing? How could a seedling like this get an ‘average’ mark?”

As the assistants chattered about contestant 73, director Fu Yuntao fell into deep thought.

He couldn’t explain it, but he felt this girl looked a bit familiar…

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PS: Thanks to “Lonely Carefree” for the generous reward, and thank you to all the old book friends for your support! In light of lessons from my last book, I’ve created a playlist for this novel on NetEase Cloud. Search for user ID [Stargazing in the Desert] to find the “Empire Superstar” playlist and listen to all the songs from this book! Enjoy! And please vote for recommendations!