87: Big Fish

Song Ke also breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the elephant. He knew there was a very popular song about elephants and realized he could choose that one.

The last one was Chen Ting. Chen Ting went up to the stage, picked a ball from the box, and everyone stared at him curiously, waiting for him to open the plastic ball.

Chen Ting was also very excited. He hoped to draw a good animal for Lu Qingyu, preferably one with an existing song.

Anything like a tiger, lion, cat, or dog would do.

Under everyone's anticipation, Chen Ting opened the plastic ball, and a fish fell out. Chen Ting was stunned, instinctively feeling that it was over.

Fish? There's braised, steamed, and sweet and sour, but there are no songs.

"It's over, it's over. Chen Ting drew a fish."

"As far as I know, there's only one song related to fish, and it's called 'Catching Loaches'."

"In the pond at the edge of the sky, loaches are everywhere~"

"Does little brother like Catching Loaches?"

Chen Ting looked at Lu Qingyu with guilt in his eyes. With his luck, he was usually quite good at drawing the winning tile in Mahjong; how could it fail him now?

Chen Ting came down from the stage, looking a bit aggrieved. "Qingyu, it's over. I drew a fish."

Lu Qingyu had many songs about fish in his mind, but looking at the expressions of Chen Ting and the others, it seemed there weren't many in this world.

Lu Qingyu teased Chen Ting on purpose, "Boss, since that's the case, we can only braise it."

Although Chen Ting was disappointed, he still laughed after hearing Lu Qingyu say that.

"You're still joking? I'm afraid you'll have to write one yourself again this time."

Lu Qingyu: "Boss, don't you believe me? Don't worry."

Hearing Lu Qingyu say this, Chen Ting felt a little better.

The four groups of guests each headed to their arrangement rooms to prepare their works, with cameras following them for the live broadcast.

Speaking of fish, the first song that popped into Lu Qingyu's mind was "Big Fish." The song's mood was profound, the melody beautiful, and the lyrics were superb.

The song "Big Fish" was originally created to promote the animated movie "Big Fish & Begonia." In the end, the song's popularity surpassed the movie and even remained timeless, which was enough to show how excellent it was.

After making his choice, Lu Qingyu began to write. The other three groups of guests were all racing against time to practice or rearrange their songs.

Song Ke was the first to finish, taking one hour and twenty minutes.

When he came out of the arrangement room, he happened to pass by Lu Qingyu's room. Looking inside, Lu Qingyu seemed to be working on the melody.

The room's soundproofing was too good; Song Ke couldn't observe anything.

Because of the cameras, Song Ke couldn't show his schadenfreude too obviously, but he was indeed happy when he saw Chen Ting draw the fish.

How could one write about a fish? Anyway, if it were Song Ke himself, he certainly wouldn't be able to think of anything in such a short time.

At the moment Song Ke paused, Zhang Xiaoxiao and Lou Qingran came out. The three of them glanced at each other and then walked toward the stage.

Two hours later, the guests in front of the stage were all seated.

The performance order was still decided by drawing lots. Chen Ting and the other three drew on their behalf. This time, Zhang Xiaoxiao was first, Song Ke was second, Lou Qingran was third, and Lu Qingyu was fourth.

The song Zhang Xiaoxiao sang was called "Flying Bird Fly," an old song from four years ago. The singer was now a first-line star, and many people liked the song back then.

When Zhang Xiaoxiao sang the first line of the melody, many people in the audience and watching the live broadcast felt it was familiar.

"So familiar. Have I heard this song somewhere before?"

"I feel like I've heard it, but I can't say what it's called."

"Ahhh, I know which song it is."

It wasn't until the chorus of "Flying Bird Fly" appeared that everyone suddenly realized. Who hadn't heard this song? Hadn't they heard it frequently on social media before?

Four minutes later, Zhang Xiaoxiao's performance ended. The audience applauded her sincerely, and she received 2.33 million votes.

The second was Song Ke. He had drawn the elephant, and his choice of song was as expected—it was called "The Freedom Elephant." It was a song that had been widely popular before, and many foreigners had even covered it.

As the music started, everyone began listening to Song Ke sing. Song Ke himself had strong explosive power, but to Lu Qingyu's surprise, Song Ke's singing technique had improved again. Setting himself aside, Song Ke's progress was indeed very fast.

"The Freedom Elephant" didn't have many high notes, but it was difficult.

Because he had been stimulated by Lu Qingyu in the previous two rounds, Song Ke had studied desperately after going back.

This song, "The Freedom Elephant," was also meant to showcase himself.

Throughout the performance, Song Ke appeared at ease. With a beautiful melody and a mature performance, Song Ke directly obtained 2.69 million votes.

Seeing this data, Song Ke felt secure. This was his best score so far.

The third to take the stage was Lou Qingran. She had made extensive adaptations to the song and even sped up the tempo.

Lou Qingran's final vote count was 2.55 million. She didn't surpass Song Ke, which instead made Song Ke breathe a sigh of relief.

To be honest, Song Ke felt she was quite a threat while she was singing.

Three performances had ended, and only one was left—Lu Qingyu's turn.

Bullet chat: "My curious heart has been jumping thousands of times; little brother is finally here."

"Little brother is really so handsome."

"I've been thinking back and forth about what could be written for the theme of Big Fish, and after two hours, I realized it's not something I should even be worrying about."

"Fish, fish, fish. Is it braised or steamed?"

Lu Qingyu had already stood on the stage. Against the uniform background behind him, everyone saw a expanse of shimmering blue light.

"In the Northern Darkness, there is a fish; its name is Kun." As the music gradually rose, Lu Qingyu wanted everyone to hear just how big this Big Fish was.

The beautiful and ethereal accompaniment carried a hint of sadness as Lu Qingyu slowly began to sing.

"The waves silently submerge the night deeply."

"Overflowing the corners at the end of the sky."

"A Big Fish swims through the cracks of dreams."

"Gazing at your sleeping silhouette."

The moment Lu Qingyu started singing, expressions of amazement appeared on everyone's faces.

If one were to use a single word to describe the song Big Fish that Lu Qingyu just sang, it would be "ethereal."

The lighting technician had received Lu Qingyu's song earlier than anyone else. After listening to it, he created a quiet and ethereal stage lighting for Lu Qingyu.

Using sapphire blue as the base tone, he created a feeling as if one were wandering in the sea.

And when Lu Qingyu began to sing, the depth of the ocean was fully visible behind him.

"Watch the sea and sky become one color, listen to the wind rise and the rain fall."

"Holding your hand, blowing away the vast misty waves."

"The Big Fish's wings are already too vast."

"I release the ropes of time."

The lyrics were filled with deep emotion. Whether it was the scene of the sea and sky becoming one color or the scene of holding hands, it made everyone long for it.