"'Lonely Warrior,' for all of you."
This song had always been widely sung. It was a true classic, and many outstanding veteran singers had covered it.
Almost every cover sparked heated discussion.
People compared them with the original singer, criticizing them from every angle. Even Shen Huaian had received nasty comments, saying that an idol was only ever an idol, that professional singers instantly blew him out of the water, and so on.
It was fair to say that choosing this song was a very risky decision for Wen Jiu.
Shen Huaian couldn't help sweating for him, while the fans in the bullet comments worked hard to lower everyone's expectations. They were practically worrying themselves sick.
The intro began, and Wen Jiu slowly closed his eyes.
The venue fell quiet again.
"All are brave
The wound on your forehead, your differences, the mistakes you've made..."
Wen Jiu sang in a very low register, and the moment he opened his mouth, it brought a sting to people's noses.
Gathered around the bonfire below the stage, people watched the young man sing the lyrics with his head lowered and his eyes closed. It felt as though a pair of large hands gripped their hearts, slowly tightening with his voice.
The plain backdrop and the pitch-black night sky in the distance made it all the more wrenching.
Wen Jiu opened his eyes and sang with a resolute gaze:
"I love how you walk dark alleys alone
I love how you refuse to kneel
I love how you've faced despair
And refused to shed a tear..."
The outlines of distant mountains lay submerged in the pitch-black night. Wen Jiu seemed to emerge from the darkness, walking toward the crowd one step at a time, as though singing with his very life:
"Will you go? Is this ragged cloak worthy?
Will you fight? Fight! With the humblest dream
To the sobs and roars within that dark night-"
The young man raised his hand. His powerfully penetrating growl tore forcefully through the darkness, crossed a battlefield thick with gunsmoke, and brought a dazzling shaft of holy light down from the sky.
Shen Huaian stood up in excitement, and more and more people rose too, turning on their phone flashlights as though they had witnessed an exhilarating battle.
The audience erupted into a full-blown frenzy.
"They say you must give up your wildness, like wiping away dirt
They say you must climb the steps, and the price is bowing your head"
Wen Jiu looked toward the only man in the crowd who had not stood up. Sitting beside the bonfire, he raised his eyes like a believer gazing up at his god.
Firelight shone on the man's handsome, sharply defined face, stripping away his usual cold indifference. His upturned lips held a bright, unrestrained smile.
His gaze was gentle and steadfast, as though silently telling him: With me here, you don't have to bow your head.
At last, a smile filled Wen Jiu's eyes as he sang:
"Then let me ride no wind
You take the same pride in that solitary courage
Who says those who battle the ordinary aren't heroes-"
He walked down from the stage, step by step, and the crowd parted for him of its own accord.
No one could tear their eyes away from that figure.
Feng Chi watched the young man approach him, bringing light and a heart full of solitary courage.
Their gazes met in the firelight.
"I love that you come from the wilderness
Never borrowing anyone's light your whole life
You will build your city upon the ruins
Will you go? Go! With the humblest dream
Will you fight? Fight! With the proudest, most solitary dream
To the sobs and roars within that dark night
Who says only those standing in the light are heroes..."
As the music drew to a close, everyone's hearts settled with it. The young man picked up the wine cup on the table and, smiling warmly, clinked it against the cup in the man's hand.
With a clear "clink," the performance came to an end.
A full half minute passed before the venue erupted into thunderous applause and cheers.
[Aaaaaah, I've lost it, I've completely lost it! I hereby declare Wen Jiu the king of the stage!!!]
[That final touch was incredible!!! Like a hero returning victorious from a bloody battle, even his smile carrying relaxed joy. The storytelling was so good! That last toast felt like he was saying: my story is over, the clash of blades has vanished like smoke, and my little boat has already passed ten thousand mountains.]
[The sis above is so right! It really hit, and I don't know why, but I felt like every line he sang was about himself [sobbing]]
[It really hasn't been easy. Seven years. Is he finally going to make it this time?]
[And even after a while without performing, he's improved so much! He feels like he's on a completely different level now!! (Though he was amazing before too]
[I think so too! The quality is completely different! Fuck, is this what it means to build up strength and finally unleash it? I'm so proud to stan a singer who keeps improving [sobbing]]
[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! Articulating lyrics on repeated C5s!!! His voice is so penetrating, so stunning! Wen Jiu is fucking awesome!!!]
[I have to say, the way he handled the details was fantastic. So carefully designed!]
[Aaaaaah, I love it, I love it! That final section was so satisfying!!!]
[Am I the only one going ship-crazy? That look they exchanged in the crowd was incredible. Wen Jiu really is the only tenderness in President Feng's thousand miles of ice.]
[Count me in, sis above. They've barely known each other, so how did that look feel like they'd been entwined for three lifetimes and weathered everything together?! I'm crying myself to death.]
[Hahahaha, look at the livestream. What the hell is that jumping around on camera?]
[Hahaha, how is Shen Huaian losing it harder than I am?]
Shen Huaian really had lost it. Wen Jiu had completely won him over, and now he was tugging at the director, gesticulating wildly and unleashing a frantic stream of aaaaahs.
"Chief director! You invited an immortal onto this episode!!" Shen Huaian hauled the dizzy Zhang Guozhong to his feet and kept shaking him. "The runs, the high notes, the vocal power, the articulation! Which one wasn't incredible? Tell me, director, which one wasn't amazing?!"
"How could it have so many layers? That technique, that vocal texture-calling it top-tier wouldn't be an exaggeration, would it?"
"How am I only getting to know him now?! How did I never notice before!"
"And he was fucking using a handheld mic! Even the backing track was playing through an ordinary speaker connected to a phone over Bluetooth!"
"Who could watch that and not say he's fucking awesome?!" Shen Huaian was prouder than if his own performance had won a major award. "Who says idols can't compare with professional singers? Who says idols can't compare with professional singers?!"
"Tell me, director, wasn't that performance way better than some singers out there now?!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Right, right, right!"
"Mhm, mhm, mhm!"
"You're right, everything you say is right... for the love of God! Fucking let go of me!"
Zhang Guozhong was almost shaken unconscious by the brat. The assistant director barely managed to rescue him from Shen Huaian's clutches, but the excitement still hadn't faded from his face.
He looked at Wen Jiu as though he were looking at a gold mine.
Wen Jiu handed the microphone to someone else and poured himself several drinks, but his heart was still pounding like mad. He had actually been nervous too. He hadn't felt it while immersed in the performance, but the aftereffects hit him as soon as he finished.
Fuck! I've performed on nearly two thousand stages. How am I still like some green kid after transmigrating into a book? Wen Jiu cursed himself inwardly, then couldn't help laughing.
This feeling, this feeling of being onstage, was so damn good!
Unbelievably good!
Wen Jiu's hands were still trembling with excitement. He picked up the newly opened wine jar beside him and gulped straight from it.
Feng Chi tilted his head up slightly to watch his bobbing Adam's apple. Wen Jiu drank so quickly that clear liquid spilled from the corner of his mouth, soon soaking his collar.
The man's gaze gradually darkened, and when he spoke, his voice had already grown husky. "Stop drinking. You'll get drunk."
This was the local peach blossom wine. Though its alcohol content wasn't high, it packed a delayed punch.
Feng Chi knew Wen Jiu could hold his liquor, but no matter how good his tolerance was, he couldn't withstand drinking like this.
"Ha!" Wen Jiu wiped his mouth with abandon and sat down, hugging the wine jar. A local young man had already taken the stage. Perhaps inspired by Wen Jiu's performance, he was somehow singing a sentimental ballad with all the passion of "March of the Volunteers."
Wen Jiu tipped his head back, not noticing that someone had already drawn him into his arms. "Feng Chi."
The man lowered his head at the sound of his name. The young man's eyes were clear, the light in them as dazzling as the sun.
"Being able to sing onstage really is the happiest thing in the world."
"I want to stay onstage and sing until I'm seventy or eighty, until I can't sing anymore!"
As though infected by the light in the young man's eyes, Feng Chi smiled beautifully, his eyes curving. "Then keep singing. I told you, with me here, you can pursue your dreams as freely as you like."
"Whether it's a stage or a script, you'll have it."
Thinking of the grand scenes of the past, Feng Chi finally couldn't help saying softly, "Wen Jiu, you were born for the stage."
Wen Jiu, you were born for the stage.
Deep in his memories, a voice seemed to sound, somewhat muffled. The speaker seemed very nervous.
But that person stood in the crowd, enunciating every word clearly.
"I'm... your fan. I love your performances. I love how you shine when you stand onstage."
"Whatever you choose to do in the future, please don't give up singing. Because..."
Because what?
The voice deep in his memories overlapped with reality, and Wen Jiu remembered. That person had said, "Wen Jiu, you were born for the stage."
What a wonderful twist of fate. Smiling, Wen Jiu casually teased, "Have I... met you somewhere before?"
Note:
The inspiration for the final toast came from Zhang Jie's performance of "Lonely Warrior." Nothing else was modeled on anyone. The author doesn't follow celebrities much either, so please don't make excessive, out-of-place comparisons or dig too deeply.