"Let’s all turn our attention to the main screen."
"The the for the second elimination round is:
New Life!"
"Next, the Mastermind System will match each composer with a partner singer."
...
The nas on the screen spun again. A few seconds later, a new list appeared.
This ti, Jiang Qin’s na was at the top.
Her singer for the next round was Cang Hong.
The na sounded vaguely familiar; she rembered seeing it on the list of contestants before the show began.
He was a newly-crowned Heavenly King from Federation Star Entertainnt, and a man who was rather unmorable.
In any case, Jiang Qin had no real impression of him, only his na.
"And that concludes the first episode. We’ll see you again in three days at 6 PM."
After the show ended, Qi Yu, Xiao Zheng, and three singers ca to et Jiang Qin.
As for Xini and the other composer, she didn’t see them. ’They probably left early,’ she figured.
’Makes sense. They were so busy mocking before, and this ti they didn’t even make it into the top ten. They must be too embarrassed to face .’
Qi Yu said, "Congratulations, Miss Jiang."
"Thank you."
Seeing that Jiang Qin didn’t seem particularly excited, everyone just offered a quick congratulations before changing the subject.
***
When she returned to her assigned room, she was greeted by a familiar scene, only the person waiting at her door had changed.
Cang Hong had choppy, ink-black hair with bangs parted off-center, partially obscuring his eyes and giving him a fashionably ssy look.
He looked very young, with a baby face that made him seem eighteen, though he was actually twenty-four.
When he looked up, Jiang Qin’s gaze flickered.
Cang Hong was, of course, handso.
But what stunned her were his eyes.
They seed to be overflowing with tenderness. As the saying goes, they were the kind of eyes that could look at a dog with deep affection...
Seeing Jiang Qin had returned, he said timidly, "Hello, I-I’m... Cang Hong."
After speaking, he seed annoyed at how nervous he was. He bit his lip and lowered his head, looking like a big, sad puppy...
Jiang Qin asked, "Is now a good ti for an audition?"
"I-It is... a good ti," Cang Hong quickly replied.
The corners of his eyes and the tips of his ears were flushed red. He looked like soone with social anxiety who was being forced to socialize.
After the audition, Cang Hong kept his head down, not daring to look Jiang Qin in the eye. He gave a flustered bow and hurried away.
Jiang Qin was speechless. ’This seems less like social anxiety and more like he’s just afraid of won.’
Although he had beautiful eyes, you could only get a clear look at them when your gazes t by chance.
Most of the ti, his head was down, or his eyes were darting all over the place.
Only when he sang, staring into the empty space before him, did the true quality of his eyes reveal itself.
The next morning, Jiang Qin knocked on the door of Room 121B with a music score in hand.
Cang Hong seed to have just woken up. His hair was a bit ssy, and he was wearing a simple t-shirt and casual pants.
"Did I co too early?" Jiang Qin asked with a slightly embarrassed smile.
It was mainly because Sak was so competitive, and to avoid holding her teammate back, she had beco a bit of a try-hard herself.
Cang Hong quickly shook his head. "N-No, I just went to bed too late, so I woke up late."
"That’s fine. If you’re not fully rested, you can get so more sleep.
I ca to ask if you’d be okay with singing a duet with for the new song.
If not, that’s fine too. I can just switch to another song."
"Can... can I take a look at it first?"
Jiang Qin nodded and handed him the score. "Of course."
A few minutes passed.
"Miss Jiang, I can do it!"
"Mm, you could sing this solo, but I think a male-female duet would be better.
We’re in a competition, after all, so I think it’s best to strive for perfection and add sothing special."
Cang Hong nodded frantically, showing he understood.
The show was called *Interstellar Composer*, so it was obviously composer-centric. Of course he would defer to her ideas.
As for the duet potentially making him less of a standout, Cang Hong felt that you first had to be stunning to be rembered.
He was well aware of his own voice.
He could sing this song beautifully on his own, but it would only be beautiful—nothing more.
It would be far from achieving that stunning effect. So, it was better to listen to the composer’s own ideas; perhaps it would produce a different result.
Mainly, he had faith in Jiang Qin.
As a Federation singer, most of his peers had heard of Jiang Qin. They had even discussed her amongst themselves in private.
Without a doubt, no matter how much controversy surrounded her, her talent was unquestionable.
Take Sak from the first episode, for example.
Before yesterday, he was only sowhat famous within a small circle among the Myriad Races.
But after yesterday, most people in the Federation, the Empire, and across the Myriad Races knew of him.
So when he learned he had been assigned to Jiang Qin, he couldn’t have been more thrilled.
It was just his personality that made him unable to control the timidity and fear in his heart.
He didn’t know why, but he could always act naturally around other males. The mont he was around a female, however, he would beco tongue-tied, even stuttering when nervous...
He desperately wanted to speak to her openly and confidently, but he couldn’t stop himself from cowering.
Rembering how females in the past had mocked him, calling him a spineless coward who couldn’t even stand up straight, made Cang Hong even more anxious.
’Stupid mouth, just say sothing!’
’Hurry up and complint Miss Jiang! Make a good impression, ahhh!!’
However, even as Jiang Qin turned to go back to her room, he still hadn’t managed to say a word. Dejected, he could only return to his own room to get himself together.
By the ti he had familiarized himself with the lody, it was already noon. He rushed to the recording studio to practice.
But when he pushed the door open, he found Jiang Qin was already inside, practicing.
She was singing the very song she had given him that morning.
Right then, she was singing her part, her soaring, piercing voice echoing from the recording booth:
"Every ti I have known sorrow,
And been drenched by the downpour,
A flower blooms from the mud,
Just let it grow..."
Her voice was filled with power, as if she had broken free from her shackles and was experiencing a new life.
Like a tender sprout breaking through the earth.
Just like her at this mont... shining brilliantly.
The overwhelming vitality washed over him like a tidal wave, drowning him. He had no desire to struggle; he only wanted to sink, to drown in a world filled with her essence.
Her voice filled his entire mind.
It was as if all the Genes in his body had awakened.
His blood was roaring, screaming that he was now filled with a fighting spirit!
"AWOOO—" A roar he could no longer suppress burst from his throat.
Day one of song practice: Reimbursed the show for one recording studio and two rooms.
Jiang Qin, along with Cang Hong, was exiled to another room—Room 100.
The composers and singers in the neighboring rooms all ca out to watch the drama unfold.
In the collapsed room, a dust-covered Jiang Qin was still holding a microphone, while Cang Hong, having shifted back from his beast form to his human form, was in a state of utter social annihilation.
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