Volume One: Debut at the Pinnacle Chapter 40: Singing in Unison

"Have you ever heard 'Gentle Beauty, Red Melody'?"
"Of course! That's the main track from my goddess Xue Yue's album."
"Oh, since she's your goddess, you must have listened to every song on that album."
"Absolutely."
"Did you know that all the songs on that album were written by one person?"
"Haha! How could I not know? That news has been blowing up my social media lately."
Wen Wan smiled and turned to the audience: "Every song in that album was written by our contestant from Voice of China, Chen Jing."
Cai Lun praised with a smile: "Sometimes it's hard to imagine why there's such a difference between people. Now, let's welcome our musical prodigy, Chen Jing to the stage."
"And his partner, the rap genius Li Qingwei."
Chen Jing and Li Qingwei walked onto the stage.
Huang Wenhao laughed as he spoke to Chen Jing: "Let me guess, Chen Jing, you're performing another new song?"
Chen Jing nodded, "Yes."
Wei Guoqiang
"Li Qingwei, are you going to rap again?" Wei Guoqiang chimed in, looking at Li Qingwei.
Li Qingwei nodded, "This rap is also a song written by Boss Jing. I'm really grateful to him. I thought that since this round was our team’s internal showdown, Boss Jing wouldn't give me a new song, but the day after learning about the competition rules, he handed me this track. So I'm really thankful for everything he's done for me. Too bad I'm not a woman—if only I were, I’d definitely pledge myself to repay you, Boss Jing." The last sentence was a joke directed at Chen Jing.
"Get lost, even if you were a woman, I wouldn't want you." Chen Jing laughed.
"Hahaha!"
The camaraderie and joking between the two instantly set the whole venue roaring with laughter.
Huang Wenhao asked with interest, "Wait, Qingwei, why did you call Chen Jing 'Boss Jing' just now?"
Li Qingwei thought for a moment and replied, "Uh, because he's older than me, and he's always taught me so much, just like a big brother."
"If I could, I'd love to have someone like that as my boss," someone commented from the audience.
"That's easy, see Chen Jing? After his performance, just go backstage, grab his legs, and ask if he'll take you as his little brother."
"From now on, besides the title of musical prodigy, we can also call him Boss Jing..."
"Yeah, Boss Jing, Boss Jing. You know, it actually rolls off the tongue."
"Hahaha..."
Chen Jing, oblivious to the audience's chatter, was being questioned by Su Tingting.
"Chen Jing, why did you write another song for Li Qingwei in this round? Aren't you afraid his rap might eliminate you? Or do you believe he can't win with this song?"
Goodness, Su Tingting must be a master at double-talk, always spinning things to stir the pot for Chen Jing.
Chen Jing smiled unconcernedly: "When Qingwei and I learned we'd be competing against each other this round, he specifically asked me not to go easy on him. He wanted a fair and just contest. So I thought, let's have the fairest duel possible. That's why I wrote this song." Chen Jing said solemnly, "And this song will absolutely win the competition."
His words caused an uproar.
"What does that mean? Is Chen Jing planning to deliberately lose?"
"No way, didn't he say it’d be a fair contest?"
"So what does he mean by saying this song will definitely win?"
"No idea..."
The audience murmured, all wanting to ask Chen Jing what he meant.
Fortunately, Su Tingting voiced their question.

"This song will definitely win? What does that mean?" Su Tingting looked at Chen Jing. "Are you planning to forfeit this round?"
Chen Jing shook his head, "Of course not. Qingwei and I will have the fairest competition. I won't back down."
"Then..." Su Tingting tried to continue, but was interrupted by the male host, Cai Lun.
"Alright, let's witness the fairest contest together. Next, please welcome Li Qingwei to perform 'Climb'."
The stage lights dimmed, and preparations began. Despite their curiosity, the audience decided to watch the competition patiently.
Soon, the lights returned, leaving Li Qingwei alone on stage.
Li Qingwei picked up the mic and started:
"Sometimes I ask myself
..."
With the music rising, Li Qingwei began his rap:
"In these eighteen years,
I've been trapped countless times.
..."
As soon as Li Qingwei started rapping, cheers erupted from the audience. His rap style was clearly popular.
After finishing his verse, Li Qingwei sang the chorus, and after another round, the song slowly faded and the music stopped; the stage was plunged into darkness.
The audience called out, eager to hear the song again.
Just as they wished, the lights came back on, and now it was Chen Jing standing on stage.
"Sometimes I ask myself
What am I striving for
..."
The song carried a sense of confusion, making everyone shiver, lost in thought.
"What's happening? Why is the song continuing, but sung by Chen Jing now?" someone asked.
A sharp audience member shouted, "I get it! This is Chen Jing's idea of the fairest duel—they're singing the same song to decide who advances."
"Wow, that's brilliant!"
"Interesting, so interesting—the fairest contest. What could be fairer than singing the same song?"
At this point, Chen Jing had no energy left to notice the crowd. He was entirely absorbed in his performance.
"Listen!
In these eighteen years
I've been trapped countless times
..."
From the initial confusion in the melody to Chen Jing’s calm yet powerful rap, everyone felt a surge of life’s helplessness.
"...
Can you hear
my last breath?"
As he rapped this line, Chen Jing seamlessly delivered a deep, heavy exhale, then launched into the chorus.
That breath sent chills through the entire audience. From the depths of their hearts, the persistence that no one else could understand was awakened by that sound.

Huang Wenhao stared wide-eyed at Chen Jing's performance: "That was incredible, that breath was genius!"
Wei Guoqiang shook his head in admiration—Chen Jing existed to make the audience cheer.
Su Tingting’s face was expressionless, but she was screaming inside. What kind of person is this? How can the music world have someone like him? Writing songs is one thing, but singing them so well, too? How are people like her supposed to survive?
After striking a chord with everyone, Chen Jing sang with deep emotion.
"Have you ever asked yourself
...
Oh love! Oh love! Oh love~
...
Sometimes I ask myself
What am I striving for"
He sang the last two lines softly, but now there was no trace of confusion in his voice.
Asking oneself why they strive? Sometimes it's just a question, because deep down, we already know the answer.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
"Chen Jing! Chen Jing! Chen Jing!"
The whole venue chanted his name in unison. Seeing the synchronized shouts, Chen Jing smiled with satisfaction and bowed to the audience.
The hosts and Li Qingwei returned to the stage, and Cai Lun shouted, "Did everyone enjoy Chen Jing and Li Qingwei's performances?"
The audience answered as one, "Yes!"
"Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied!"
Wen Wan continued, "Are you all surprised? Why did Chen Jing and Li Qingwei sing the same song?" Then she explained, "Actually, it was a joint request from them. They applied to the show, hoping to compete by singing the same song, because that was the fairest way."
"That's right, and we agreed. After all, how could we refuse such an interesting contest?"
After the explanation, it was time for the judges. Huang Wenhao asked Chen Jing and Li Qingwei, "I want to know, who first suggested singing the same song?"
Chen Jing and Li Qingwei exchanged a look, and Li Qingwei replied, "Boss Jing came up with it."
Wei Guoqiang looked at Chen Jing, "Oh, so Chen Jing, how did you think of competing by singing the same song?"
Chen Jing laughed, "At first, I hadn't decided to sing the same song. I thought I’d just rap, but then realized I’d already given all my rap tracks to Qingwei. So, what would I sing? In the end, Qingwei and I discussed it and decided to sing the same song. That way, it’s fair for both of us." Actually, Chen Jing had considered using another song, but felt that would be unfair, almost bullying Li Qingwei. So he decided they should sing the same song.
"Hahaha!" The audience was amused and accepted Chen Jing’s reasoning.
"Alright. Next is the scoring. This round’s scoring is different from the previous three contestants, following the third round’s system—three judges and five hundred audience members will score Chen Jing and Li Qingwei together. Let the scoring begin."
During the scoring, Li Qingwei watched the big screen as Chen Jing's score leapt quickly, while his own rose slowly, yet he felt no disappointment.
From the moment Chen Jing began singing, Li Qingwei knew he had lost. But he accepted it wholeheartedly, with no resentment.
You ask for a song, Chen Jing turns around and writes one for you. You say you’re good at rap, so he raps with you, worries the song might overshadow you, and then agrees to sing the same song for fairness. With all this, what complaints could he have?
Li Qingwei looked at the final score: 243 to 557, and smiled in relief.
As expected, Boss Jing is incredible!
(Tribute: ersen0306 "Climb")
Author's note: The tribute isn't necessarily to the original singer, but to whichever version inspired this scene. If there’s any mistake, please forgive me.