122: Riding a White Horse

When Wang Tong stepped off the stage, he bumped into Zhang Xinyu. The moment their eyes met, neither of them spoke, but the emotions in their eyes were self-evident.

When Zhang Xinyu stepped onto the stage, the crowd looked at him with a hint of pity.

Zhang Xinyu stood with his back straight. His fans felt inexplicably like crying when they saw him; their idol had not had an easy journey, and it had been so difficult for him to sign with a company and get a chance to appear on a show, only to be met with doubt and suspicion.

"Believe in our idol; we only compare ourselves to ourselves."

"Zhang Xinyu, you will always be the best in my heart."

"Just enjoy the stage; winning or losing doesn't matter."

"Is it that it doesn't matter, or is it that you can't win!"

"The gap in ability is right there; even if you want to win, you can't."

"Zhang Xinyu's fans are so funny. Wang Tong's ability crushes Zhang Xinyu's. Your struggles are useless; you will definitely be eliminated today."

"Wang Tong's fans, don't go too far. Our idol hasn't offended anyone."

"If it weren't for Qingcheng Entertainment being the show's sponsor, would Zhang Xinyu have the qualifications to participate in this show? Would he have the qualifications to compete on the same stage as Wang Tong?"

"Looking down on our financial backer? If Qingcheng Entertainment hadn't invested, do you think this show could have aired smoothly? Would Wang Tong have the opportunity to show his face and the opportunity to make money to support himself?"

Neither side's fans would yield to the other, and they were fighting fiercely in the live stream chat, but at this moment, Zhang Xinyu only had that one song in his heart.

The stage lights slowly softened into a tranquil blue. Zhang Xinyu secretly encouraged himself: he had to stay steady; he must not let this song down.

The music began to play, and the song title, "Riding a White Horse," slowly appeared on the screen behind Zhang Xinyu.

The judges listened to the unfamiliar melody and whispered to each other.

"'Riding a White Horse,' have you heard this song before? Who is the original singer?"

"Never heard it before."

One judge speculated: "Perhaps this is his last performance on stage; knowing he can't win, he's taking the opportunity to promote his own song."

Zhou Nan was a fan who had been by Zhang Xinyu's side since he debuted. She had witnessed Zhang Xinyu grow from a streamer whose singing in the live room was only listened to by single-digit numbers of people, to the minor celebrity with 800,000 to 900,000 fans that he was now.

At this moment, she was in the live stream chat fighting with Wang Tong and Qi Mingze's fans.

She would not allow anyone to slander her idol.

The music in the video started, and Zhou Nan was stunned.

She had listened to all of Zhang Xinyu's own songs and all the songs that Zhang Xinyu's favorite singers liked to cover. However, the song on stage today had a melody she had never heard before. Could it be a new song written by Zhang Xinyu himself?

Thinking of this, Zhou Nan put down her keyboard and enlarged the small video on her screen, wanting to focus on listening to Zhang Xinyu sing.

However, when she saw the small text below the song title clearly, Zhou Nan's breath hitched.

Because it was written: Lyrics by Lu Qingyu, Composed by Lu Qingyu.

Oh my god, this song was actually written by Lu Qingyu.

They had all heard Lu Qingyu's songs; every single one was written and composed by him, and they were truly popular and pleasant to listen to.

If this song was written and composed by him, did that mean they could look forward to Zhang Xinyu's performance today!

Zhou Nan couldn't wait to take a screenshot of the video page and send it to the fan group, and then the fan group exploded.

The audience, judges, and Wang Tong, who had also seen the information on stage, were all extremely surprised.

Wang Tong frowned: "How is this song written by Lu Qingyu? When did he write it?"

Before he had time to think, Zhang Xinyu on stage slowly began to sing:

"Who do I love? I can't cross over, yet I never felt it was wrong"

"Thinking that by holding onto the pain, I could hide in my memories"

"Stubbornly believing in the cursed crystal ball"

"Blocking the reasons for a possible heartbeat"

This time, Zhang Xinyu's performance was completely different from the last one. If they had previously thought that Lu Qingyu saying Zhang Xinyu was a person with potential was just protecting his own people, then now they completely believed it.

Zhang Xinyu's voice was bright and magnetic. Every line of the lyrics was infused with emotion. He didn't need too much technique; just the integration of emotion alone made people feel their hearts trembling.

Previously, when singing this song, Zhang Xinyu always wanted to use the best techniques on it, but later, Lu Qingyu corrected him.

If it came to comparing techniques, Zhang Xinyu couldn't beat Wang Tong; that was a fact. So, Lu Qingyu told Zhang Xinyu to discard all techniques and focus on the artistic conception of the song.

And when Zhang Xinyu sang according to Lu Qingyu's guidance, he discovered an unexpected harmony between himself and the song.

The judges nodded as they listened to the song; in just a few short lines, they felt Zhang Xinyu's rapid progress.

"Yet you approached, forcing our gazes to meet"

"Stay in place, or move forward"

"Suddenly caring about this minute"

"The desert sand before my eyes fills the wait"

"A weak cry for help reaches my ears"

"Chasing me to love without reservation"

The audience below the stage was also listening to the song in pleasant surprise, and Zhang Xinyu's fans were struggling to suppress the excitement in their hearts.

It was so good, it was truly so good.

It was the first time they had heard a song with such a high degree of compatibility with Zhang Xinyu.

And the next part made them unable to suppress the surge of emotion in their hearts even more.

"I ride a white horse, crossing the three passes"

"I change into plain clothes, returning to the Central Plains"

"Leaving Xiliang behind, no one to care"

"My heart only desires Wang Baochuan"

This part of the lyrics, sung in Minnan dialect, carried a unique charm, drilling into the ears with a delicate, itching sensation.

The collision between ethnic characteristics and pop music seemed to open a door to a new world, so novel that it made people unforgettable.

Even the judges were stunned by this Minnan dialect section.

The most important thing for a song is to have its own unique characteristics. If the first half of this song was very excellent, but it was still a bit of a stretch for Zhang Xinyu to beat Wang Tong with it, then when that line "Riding a White Horse" came out, it instantly elevated the entire song by ten levels of class; Zhang Xinyu was definitely going to win.

A song that possesses both uniqueness and pleasantness is already a very excellent song; this song of Zhang Xinyu's could completely become his signature work.

The audience below was already screaming. Lu Qingyu sat calmly below the stage. Teacher Song Yan, who was closest to him, couldn't help but steal a couple of glances at this handsome young man.

If he remembered correctly, Lu Qingyu was only 18, right? He wasn't even as old as his own son. His own son had started coming into contact with music at the age of three and was now 23, but if you wanted him to write a song like this, it would also be very difficult.

Looking at the young man in front of him, he carried a maturity that transcended his age.

And on him, one sentence could truly be verified: effort is worthless in the face of talent.