Chapter Ninety-Two: Changing the Song

The performance was over, and the recording had officially wrapped as well. As for Tian Le’s suggestion that they all go out for a late-night snack, no one really echoed it. The main reason was that Gu Yuhan had not agreed, and the others had lost the mood as well, so in the end they all went their separate ways.

As usual, Lin Qihua went to the audience area to meet the fans who had come for him and thanked them for their support.

This, too, had been He Yanlin’s suggestion. She advised him that after every event with fan participation, he should set aside a little time to meet the fans on site, chat with them for a while, and sign autographs. It would help strengthen the cohesion of his fan base. News would spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred; it would not take much time, yet it would lay a solid foundation for his support.

The idea came from fan culture in football and basketball, and Lin Qihua naturally followed it gladly. He genuinely enjoyed being with his fans, talking about the song he had just performed, discussing his future plans, or even simply rambling on aimlessly. Even if he had been in a foul mood, he would brighten almost at once.

On the way back to the hotel, Lin Qihua noticed that Ma Xiaoqian had been silent the whole time, and he could not help finding it odd.

"She, huh," Shen Manni said with a sympathetic glance at Ma Xiaoqian. "Maybe she was shaken up?"

"Shaken up?" Lin Qihua was baffled. "Xiaoqian, what’s wrong? Are you all right?"

"I’m fine." Ma Xiaoqian shook her head and smiled sweetly. "I’m just a little tired. I’ll be fine after some rest."

"Oh, that’s good then." Lin Qihua did not think much more of it. He looked at her with concern, then fell silent.

Shen Manni let out a soft sigh. How could she not understand? Ma Xiaoqian had clearly had something on her mind all along. Tonight, after seeing what had happened at the interview stage, especially the interaction between Gu Yuhan and Lin Qihua, her face had not looked right once; even her eyes had gone a little red. Shen Manni had assumed she was jealous and even teased her for being petty. Celebrities dealt with this sort of thing all the time; if she got jealous every time, how could she manage?

Ma Xiaoqian only shook her head and stared blankly at the stage, as if she wanted to etch Lin Qihua’s figure deep into her heart.

"Girls are impossible to read," Shen Manni thought, unable to guess what she was thinking, and so she gave up on probing further.

Back at the hotel, everyone drifted off to sleep with their own thoughts.

Because of what had happened that day, Lin Qihua found it hard to calm his mind. Reuniting with Zhao Wanting here, at this moment, had shaken him profoundly. Memories he had once believed he would never think of again surged back uncontrollably.

Even though love was gone, Lin Qihua was not foolish enough to believe that everything could return to the way it had been. But that did not change the fact that she had once been one of the most important people in his life, the girl for whom he had once been willing to give everything. As time passed and nothing remained as before, fate had yet unexpectedly brought the two of them face to face again. All the sweet memories of the past rose once more, scene after scene.

Unfortunately, the past was like the wind; it could not be reclaimed. So memory could only remain memory. A broken mirror could not be made whole again, nor did anyone think to try. After tonight, she had formally become a passerby in his life. Even if they met again, he would only offer a quiet greeting: so you are here too. Nothing more would be stirred in him.

Another surprise was Gu Yuhan’s appearance. At his most awkward and disgraced, she had appeared before him like a celestial maiden, a peerless immortal beauty who captivated everyone. Lin Qihua was no exception.

And when they worked together as part of the same group, he felt even more keenly the irresistible charm born of Gu Yuhan’s union of beauty and intellect.

"Such a woman should exist only in heaven; how often can one find her in this mortal world? She was never meant for the earth. It is not something ordinary people like us should dare to hope for." With a trace of regret, Lin Qihua finally fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Lian Yuling arrived from the capital with a team, there to help Lin Qihua prepare the song for the second round.

"What? You want to change songs?" The moment they met, Lian Yuling heard the last thing she had wanted to hear.

"Yes." Lin Qihua smiled brightly. "There’s a song I suddenly want to sing. Sorry to trouble everyone."

Changing songs at the last minute was never a good thing. In a top-tier competition like Singers’ Arena, the one thing most taboo was switching songs. During the preparation period, everyone had already selected four or five songs and arranged them carefully; with a little communication with the production team, they could have gone straight on stage. If they changed songs, it meant everything had to be redone. Whether the production team would object was still unknown, and the workload on their side would increase considerably.

Most important of all, would a sudden song change affect the singer’s condition? Would it affect the result of the competition? One misstep, and it could become a major blow both to the company and to the singer himself.

"I’m thinking about that too," Lin Qihua said sincerely. "I know it’s a little selfish, but right now my mood, or rather my state of mind, makes me desperately want to sing this song. Please forgive my willfulness."

Lian Yuling raised a hand to stop the others from speaking. After a moment of thought, she said, "I understand. You’re the singer, and you’ve made the decision. We should support you unconditionally, because you’re the one standing on that stage, and only you know what you need. No need to apologize. That is your right."

"Thank you."

"Don’t mention it. There’s still plenty of time," Lian Yuling said coolly. "Bring the new song to everyone. We’ll discuss it right away, get everyone on the same page, work out the arrangement, and aim for a result that satisfies us. Then we’ll hand it over to the production team for discussion. That’s not a big problem. It’s not as if you’re changing songs on the spot. As long as the effect is good, they won’t interfere with us too much."

"All right." Seeing how swiftly Lian Yuling organized the work, Lin Qihua admired her formidable ability as well, and distributed the prepared sheet music to everyone.

"Hm?" Lian Yuling frowned the moment she saw it. "A love song?"

"Yes."

"People don’t really have a deeply fixed impression of your style. Your first competition song, In the Past You, was pop, but far removed from a love song. Your earlier Little Fortune and Love Is a Bullet of Happiness were also in the love-song style, but is it appropriate to sing a love song on this stage?"

"If a singer fixes himself into one style, it may help in the early stages, but later it becomes a huge shackle. Most importantly, I want to sing it. I believe I can sing it well, and I believe I can sing it into the hearts of the audience. This isn’t about the competition. It’s about singing with my heart. Even if I lose, my earlier ranking is enough to keep my place, so I want to be willful just once."

"All right then, we’ll indulge your willfulness once, as long as you like it." Lian Yuling rarely smiled. "If a singer is never willful, he can’t make truly good music. I understand that. And this song leaves room for imagination; it may not be impossible to achieve a good result."

"Yes. I have one more small request."

"Go ahead."

"I need your little cooperation," Lin Qihua said cautiously. "That is, I need you to help me with something."

"What kind of help?" Lian Yuling looked at his ingratiating smile and felt a bad premonition.

Lin Qihua gently explained his idea. Then he saw the color drain from Lian Yuling’s face in an instant. He had never seen such a rich expression on her before. In his eyes, Lian Yuling always wore a cold mask in front of others, never like this.