He's so beautiful and handsome, oh my God

The Livehouse was livelier than usual.

Some fans had pulled strings to get in, just to hear Nan Zhou's song up close at the earliest opportunity.

Of course, more importantly, they wanted to see Nan Zhou and Huo Xingye interact.

Huo Xingye's cocktail bar had also been temporarily rearranged. Where he stood was a meter away from anyone ordering at the counter, and security was present. No one could approach the bar easily; everyone had to have their identity checked first.

As everyone waited eagerly, the stage lights finally came on, and the SIXGO band appeared onstage with Nan Zhou.

Joining them was Yue Yang, the bassist at the heart of the Breaking Dawn Band.

But to everyone's astonishment, Yue Yang was holding not a bass, but an acoustic guitar.

[Holy shit, what's going on? Yue Yang, on guitar?!!!]

[Fun fact: Yue Yang plays guitar just as well as your average guitarist.]

[Look at Nan Zhou! What's he holding? I'm losing it. Is there anything he can't do?]

[Is this for real? Even a script wouldn't go this far, right?]

[I suddenly feel like Nan Zhou wasn't kidding about landing a heavy punch on Lu Zhou. Is he about to unleash his ultimate?]

Nan Zhou stood on the right side of the stage, wearing exactly the same waiter's uniform as the day before yesterday. Only today, instead of having a guitar slung over his back, he held a violin.

When he rested the violin on his shoulder, the white shirt tucked into his dress pants made his waist look even slimmer and his legs longer.

Probably to make playing easier, Nan Zhou had also undone his shirt cuffs and rolled up his sleeves, exposing a stretch of fair forearm.

Jia Jia stood in the center in a sailor uniform, her hair in a ponytail and black leather shoes on her feet, looking like a Japanese high school student.

"Welcome, everyone, to our performance tonight. Here's 'Summer Flame' for you this winter." Jia Jia even struck a very Japanese-anime-style pose.

Cheers rose from the crowd, before she shushed them with a gesture.

The noise in the Livehouse gradually receded like the tide. At its quietest, a violin and piano-like keyboard notes rang out.

The lilting melody seemed to transport everyone straight to a beach brushed by summer sea breezes.

Onstage, Nan Zhou drew his bow across the violin, his body swaying slightly. His expression remained mild, yet in that moment, he was utterly alluring.

His fair forearms under the lights, in particular, and the long, slender, clearly jointed fingers playing the violin looked incredibly sexy.

The lilting violin and melody brushed against everyone's eardrums like a summer night's sea breeze.

As the classical guitar and drums joined in, it suddenly felt as though fireworks were blooming one after another in the night sky above the sea.

Jia Jia began to sing, and her voice took over the lead melody.

Her voice was naturally sweet and clear, perfectly complementing the atmosphere created by the song's melody.

Originally, Nan Zhou had written this song as a single for a female singer with the same vocal tone, with piano as its main instrument.

But for this version, he had rearranged it for a band, emphasizing certain elements to make the whole song better suited to the SIXGO band.

[The lyrics are so beautiful.]

[I get why Nan Zhou looked down on Tang Yang now. These lyrics are like poetry.]

[I'm uncultured, so all I can say is, holy shit, this sounds amazing!]

The song gradually reached its middle section and entered the instrumental break.

The keyboard's simulated piano provided the foundation, with occasional drumbeats accompanying the violin's plaintive solo, like a magnificent display of fireworks blooming brilliantly high in the sky.

After that burst, the piano drew nearer, and the female voice rang out again, taking over the lead melody to tell of a tender young romance that ended at its most beautiful because of reasons that could not be overcome.

After Jia Jia sang the final note, a short piano passage followed.

Tang Yang was highly skilled on the keyboard, weaving all the girl's regret into the music. When the song ended, everyone remained caught in it for a time.

After a brief silence, someone in one of the booths shouted, "Bravo!" Thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue, followed immediately by cheers from the crowd.

Nan Zhou stood onstage and curled his lips at the camera, his beautiful fox-like eyes full of provocation.

"Lu Zhou," he said.

The venue fell quiet.

Then, before the camera, under the gazes of millions, Nan Zhou raised his middle finger at the lens in the standard international gesture.

The camera operator following him and the production crew were stunned, and the camera quickly swung away.

After all, that sort of gesture was not allowed to appear onscreen.

[Holy shit!!!!!!!! He's so handsome, aaaaaah!!!!]

[🖕! Lu Zhou! Take a punch from my Brother Nan.]

[Girls, he's got me swooning. He's so beautiful and handsome, oh my God. He has this really lively quality, you know what I mean?]

[I've somehow ended up watching a music show instead of a dating show. Zhou Bao's song sounds so good, aaaaah!]

[Who's heard that rat's song? Can it compare to this? I don't believe it.]

[This is the kind of song that makes me want to add it to my playlist and put it on repeat the moment I hear it. It's so, so, so good. It feels so beautiful.]

Lin Zhi stood near the front of the Livehouse, gazing at the man onstage who seemed to shine, her heart pounding like a drum.

The cheering crowd around her seemed to have nothing to do with her. That beautiful, sorrowful melody still seemed to linger in her ears.

As Nan Zhou lowered his hand, he glanced at the crowd below the stage.

Though she knew he was not looking at her, Lin Zhi held her breath and blushed in that instant.

Behind the bar, Huo Xingye gazed at the person onstage from afar, his eyes brimming with burning affection.

The performance was soon edited and posted on Weibo, causing an uproar.

Lu Zhou's single was compared with "Summer Flame," and both sides' fans tore into each other under the trending topic.

Casual users clicked in, listened to "Summer Flame" first, then opened Lu Zhou's new single, "Watching Fireworks Together," only to close it within thirty seconds.

"If there really was plagiarism, I'd be more inclined to think 'Watching Fireworks Together' copied 'Summer Flame.'"

"Certain fans need to stop posing as casual listeners and muddying the waters here. My Brother Zhou released his single first, and only then did that bitch Nan Zhou perform this song. It's obvious who copied whom."

"Lu Zhou's fans, stop being ridiculous. Nan Zhou clearly played the melody publicly on the show first, okay?"

"Hahahahaha, I say there's nothing scary about songs sounding alike. Whoever sounds worse gets embarrassed."

No matter how hard Lu Zhou's fans worked, or how many paid commenters his company bought for him, they could not silence the genuine listeners.

Just then, a well-known music blogger with over a million followers on both Weibo and his video channel published a post.

This blogger had always been picky, especially about idols' songs, which he criticized without mercy. He had once called W-ixe's biggest group hit a disposable pop song and said listening to it was a waste of life.

But this time, he gave "Summer Flame" exceptionally high praise, calling it simple yet sophisticated.

This further offended Lu Zhou's hysterical fans, who flocked to the blogger's Weibo post to curse him out for taking money.

Just as discussion of the two songs looked set to dominate Weibo's trending searches, a topic called "Copulate" trampled over the fan war with astonishing momentum and shot to number one, with a red "explosive" label tacked onto it.

"Copulate" was the title of the single released that day by Xu Xi, an idol who had gone quiet for three years after his group disbanded.

The blunt title immediately caught people's attention.

Those who clicked in out of curiosity only needed to hear a short snippet before the song's steamy lyrics and dreamy, captivating melody held them captive for at least ten minutes.