Start with push-ups to gain experience

Chapter 530 The Solar Mind Network's Mutation, Until the End of the World

The multi-functional studio of Dongdu TV station looks more like a chaotic vegetable market at this moment.

Fang Cheng protected Zhou Xiumei and Wen Xin as they squeezed through the crowded security gate.

As soon as you enter, a smell mixed with perfume, hairspray and boxed lunch hits you.

A dozen or so folding tables were pieced together to form a makeshift registration point, and crumpled pieces of waste paper and empty mineral water bottles were scattered all over the floor.

Fang Cheng took a registration form from the staff member, found a slightly empty corner of the table, and helped Zhou Xiumei fill in her identity information and competition song.

Then, they were given a round number sticker with "0527" written on it.

"Put it on the left side of your chest, don't put it crooked."

Fang Cheng tore off the adhesive backing and handed over the number plate.

With a guitar case slung over her shoulder, Zhou Xiumei carefully took the guitar from him with both hands, pressed it against her dress, and pressed it repeatedly.

The waiting area is on the other side of the hall.

There are no glamorous private dressing rooms here; there's just a circle marked with red warning tape and a few rows of chairs.

The room was filled with all sorts of contestants, and the sound of singing practice could be heard from time to time.

On the left, a girl wearing a studded leather jacket is wildly shaking her head like a rock star, emitting unintelligible screams.

On the right, an old man wearing sunglasses is practicing the moonwalk in front of the wall, his leather shoes making a screeching sound as they rub against the floor.

Not far away, a young man was gesturing and chanting, "Yo, yo, check it out!"

Add to that the people around them giving heartfelt monologues, practicing their lines, and touching up their makeup with small mirrors...

Such a chaotic scene made Zhou Xiumei, who was already introverted, turn even paler.

"Nervous?"

Fang Cheng looked at her gently and naturally reached out to pat her shoulder.

"No."

Zhou Xiumei shook her head in denial, stubbornly muttering under her breath:
"I...I just feel a little thirsty in my throat."

"Okay, I brought water."

Fang Cheng smiled but didn't expose her.

He then took out a bottle of mineral water that he had prepared beforehand from his bag, unscrewed the cap, and handed it directly to her lips.

Zhou Xiumei was slightly taken aback, her cheeks flushed red, but she still obediently leaned over and took a small sip from his hand.

The warm water flowed over my dry throat, and the slight panic in my heart was also washed away by the sweetness.

The surrounding noises and distractions no longer seemed so jarring.

Just then, a woman's scream suddenly came from the entrance of the hall, even drowning out the sound system.

"Look, Cheng Jiashu is here!"

"It really is Cheng Jiashu! Ahhh—my husband!"

The previously noisy hall instantly erupted into chaos, as if a pot had exploded.

Several bodyguards in black suits rushed in quickly, joined hands to form a human wall, and forcefully cut a path through the frantically pushing crowd.

At the end of that passage, a young man in a white custom-made casual suit strode in.

His hair was styled meticulously, and he wore a perfect smile that seemed to have been precisely measured.

Despite the ear-piercing screams and blinding flashes of light, she maintained her elegant demeanor throughout.

Every now and then, she would smile and wave to both sides, eliciting another round of heart-wrenching screams from those around her.

Cheng Jiashu.

The big star who only existed on television and in posters has now truly appeared in reality.

Fang Cheng stood on the periphery of the crowd, his hands in his pockets, coldly watching the scene unfold.

Even from dozens of meters away, one could still clearly see the fine eyeliner drawn on Cheng Jiashu's eyes, and even smell a faint, familiar scent of perfume.

"Quite the airs, but a bit too effeminate..."

Fang Cheng silently made a judgment in his heart.

But you have to admire this guy's acting skills.

No one would have guessed that this gentle and handsome idol star was actually a bloodthirsty killer who could go insane at any moment.

As Cheng Jiashu was walking on the red carpet, he seemed to sense something and suddenly paused.

He turned his head slightly, his gaze passing over the countless throngs of people and light boards, landing precisely on Fang Cheng in the corner.

Their eyes met in mid-air for a fleeting moment.

Cheng Jiashu's smile remained unchanged, only his eyebrows twitched slightly.

He then turned around nonchalantly and walked towards the judges' table, surrounded by a group of staff.

That fleeting exchange of glances seemed like an illusion, completely unnoticed by anyone else.

Except for Zhou Xiumei, who was extremely nervous.

"Was he... looking at us just now?"

Zhou Xiumei pressed her hand to her chest, feeling as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

"They probably think there are a lot of beautiful women here."

Fang Cheng shrugged and made a casual joke to ease the tension.

After the commotion subsided, the auditions officially began.

Because it was a preliminary round competition, the judges basically didn't have the patience to listen to an entire song; their efficiency was almost ruthless.

"Stop! The pitch is too bad, next one."

"Stop! What are you singing? Please memorize the lyrics before you sing again."

"This contestant, this is a singing competition, not a shamanistic ritual. Please leave."

The girl dressed as a rock star had just gone up and shouted a couple of lines into the microphone when the judges ruthlessly rang the bell and kicked her off.

As she stepped off the stage, she angrily gave the middle finger, and was immediately dragged out by two security guards.

As she watched the contestants come down looking disheveled, Zhou Xiumei's breathing became more and more rapid, and her face grew increasingly pale.

"Brother Cheng...I...I feel like throwing up..."

Her lips were pressed tightly together, and her voice was muffled and trembling.

Seeing this, Fang Cheng pulled over a chair for Zhou Xiumei to sit down without saying a word.

Then I squatted down in front of her, so that my eyes were level with hers.

Those broad shoulders were like a thick wall, shutting out all the noise and chaos around them.

"It's okay, this is a normal physiological reaction, everyone gets nervous."

Fang Cheng offered a few words of comfort, and seeing that Zhou Xiumei's gaze was fixed on him, he continued:
"Do you remember the meditation breathing technique I taught you in the car earlier?"

Zhou Xiumei nodded.

"Okay, practice with me again."

Fang Cheng patiently guided her:
"Close your eyes and inhale, taking all the air into your stomach. Relax your shoulders and don't move."

"Keep holding it in, imagine a fire burning, silently count to three, three, two, one..."

"Then, exhale all the stale air from your body and clear out all the bad emotions..."

Zhou Xiumei obediently closed her eyes, took a deep breath in rhythm, and then slowly exhaled, her chest rising and falling slightly with her breathing.

After several sessions, my originally stiff body did indeed soften considerably.

Wen Xin then came over, extending her two warm little hands to tightly envelop Zhou Xiumei's palms, rubbing them together and breathing warm air on them.
"Sister Zhou, don't be afraid, I'm using my superpowers to give you energy!"

The warmth from her palm and the familiar voice in her ear calmed Zhou Xiumei's heart, which was about to leap out of her throat.

The preliminary selection process was quick, even somewhat brutal.

Most contestants are stopped by the judges after singing less than three lines.

Only a very small number of people can obtain the pending qualification, and those who are directly promoted are even rarer.

After more than two hours of agonizing ordeal.

"Next up, please welcome number 0527, Zhou Xiumei."

The host's slightly weary voice carried throughout the venue through the microphone.

Zhou Xiumei froze, opened her eyes, and stood up like a puppet on strings.

"Go."

Fang Cheng gently pushed her on the back and encouraged her softly:
"Wen Xin and I are watching you from the audience, don't be afraid."

"Go, Sister Zhou! We're supporting you from below!"

Wen Xin clenched her little fist to cheer her on.

Zhou Xiumei nodded stiffly and slung the somewhat worn secondhand guitar over her shoulder.

Then, with heavy steps, he walked step by step onto the stage, which was not very high but seemed very long.

It wasn't until she stood under the spotlight and in front of the camera that she realized how intense the pressure was.

Several high-powered spotlights shone directly at us, instantly turning everything into a white blur, making it impossible to see the situation or faces below the stage.

All I could feel were a few scrutinizing gazes upon me, and an almost suffocating silence.

Zhou Xiumei was frail and sickly from a young age, and had to drop out of school in her teens due to illness.

Her long-term seclusion left her with almost no friends, let alone the ability to speak in front of so many people. Low self-esteem, introversion, and social anxiety formed a thick cocoon, tightly encasing her in that safe yet cramped room.

Now, this cocoon has been brutally torn open, exposing her naked to hundreds of eyes.

She held the microphone, her palms so sweaty they felt slippery.

"Hello, teachers..."

His voice trembled noticeably as soon as it came out.

Amplified by the sound system, that lack of confidence and timidity sounded particularly jarring.

“I am... No. 0527, Zhou Xiumei.”

On the judges' panel, two veteran musicians frowned slightly and made a mark on the form.

He seemed to have lost interest, and even picked up the water glass next to him to moisten his throat.

Only Cheng Jiashu, sitting in the middle, rested his chin on his hands and watched with great interest the pretty girl on the stage who was almost curled up in a ball.

Zhou Xiumei felt her throat was dry and her mind went blank.

The self-introduction lines I had just memorized perfectly are now completely forgotten.

A murmur of whispers arose from the audience.

Although she couldn't hear the content clearly, to her extremely sensitive ears, it was clearly the audience mocking her clumsiness.

Just as her mental defenses were about to collapse and she wanted to turn around and escape from the stage.

"Xiu Mei—look here!"

A man's voice, not loud but exceptionally clear, pierced through the layers of noise and entered her ears.

Zhou Xiumei subconsciously followed the sound, squinted her eyes, and looked towards the shadows on the left side of the stage.

Even though it was against the light, even though it was separated by a crowd.

But she spotted that familiar, tall figure at a glance.

Fang Cheng didn't shout wildly like the other contestants' friends and family.

He simply stood there quietly, raising his right hand high and giving her a big thumbs-up.

Beside him, the petite Wen Xin was also tiptoeing, hopping and waving her hands:

"Go, sister! You're the best!"

Upon seeing this scene, Zhou Xiumei's pupils contracted slightly.

I wonder if I was hallucinating because of excessive tension.

In her vision, the chaotic and noisy world around her seemed to suddenly fade and blur.

Only Fang Cheng's location became crystal clear.

She saw that Fang Cheng's body seemed to be surrounded by a pale golden halo.

The halo wasn't dazzling, but it carried an astonishing heat, like a sun rising in the night.

It was so magnificent that it even suppressed all the harsh noises around it.

It's like Zhou Xiumei's anchor point in this world.

It is a lighthouse standing tall in this sea of ​​people.

Immediately afterwards, an indescribable warm current appeared out of nowhere in her body.

It was a feeling as hot as magma, flowing in from between her eyebrows and instantly spreading throughout her body.

The previously cold and stiff fingers regained feeling.

My heart, which had been pounding wildly, was calmed down by a warm, large hand.

Even the fear and distracting thoughts that lingered in his mind were forcibly dispelled by this domineering golden light.

At that moment, the hundreds of audience members and the stern judges seemed to have become lifeless background figures.

In the whole world, only she and that "sun" remained.

Zhou Xiumei's eyes flickered slightly.

I remembered that night when he rode his old tricycle, encouraging her to pursue her dreams in the evening breeze.

I recalled countless days and nights spent sweating it out in the cramped karaoke room.

I remembered the four-leaf clover necklace that clung to my neck, a symbol of good luck.

"call……"

Zhou Xiumei closed her eyes and took another deep breath.

The suffocating feeling of almost drowning vanished instantly.

When she reopened her eyes, those eyes, which had been evasive and timid, were now unusually bright, like two flames that had been ignited.

She straightened her previously curled-up body little by little and adjusted the position of the guitar strap.

"Dear teachers."

Zhou Xiumei's voice, now steady and firm, no longer trembled as she spoke into the microphone:
"Next, I will be singing an original song called 'Until the End of the World,' thank you everyone."

At this moment, Fang Cheng, standing below the stage, felt a slight stirring in his heart.

In his spiritual perception, a faint golden thread extended from the great sun in his mind and connected to Zhou Xiumei.

But he didn't think much of it at the moment, because the sound of a guitar had already started on stage.

"Zheng——"

A crisp strumming note rang out, followed by a smooth arpeggio.

Zhou Xiumei's eyes sparkled, and she tilted her head slightly, not rushing to get closer to the microphone.

Instead, they wait for the last note of the prelude to fall before gently opening their lips and steadily uttering the first phrase:
They say the seasons are becoming increasingly unpredictable.
Even the rainwater got hurt.

The whole world is like dust in the wind.
No one dares to loudly ask anyone, "Do you love me?"

As soon as the first verse was sung, the entire audience fell silent.

The judges, who had been somewhat nonchalant, suddenly stopped moving in unison, as if a pause button had been pressed.

The female judge, who was about to drink water, even left her water glass hanging in mid-air, forgetting to put it down.

This song is a copy of Qi Qin's classic work, which Fang Cheng copied based on his memories from his previous life.

The melody carries a desolate, end-of-the-century rock feel, and was originally meant to be performed by a weathered male voice.

But Zhou Xiumei's clear, ethereal voice, with a hint of stubbornness, gave it a completely different soul.

Like a wildflower stubbornly blooming in the cold wind on the ruins.

It is poignant and delicate, yet brimming with a moving vitality.

"Don't ask me if 'forever' is enough."

Zhou Xiumei's eyes became glazed over, as if she had become completely absorbed in the music, and her left hand skillfully changed positions on the neck of the instrument.

"If the Earth were to leave the universe..."

The eternal earth began to melt.
Let us embrace each other tightly and turn into sand.
If there really is a judgment in the end of the world
"There are only two of us left of all humanity..."

As the lyrics and emotions progressed, the force of her right-hand strumming gradually increased, and her voice resonated from her chest, becoming increasingly clear and bright.

Every lyric was like a bullet, striking the heart of everyone present with pinpoint accuracy.

The audience members who were originally prepared to see a joke were now gaping, forgetting to even raise their light sticks.

On the judges' panel, Cheng Jiashu's eyes shone brightly, and his smile deepened, as if he had seen some rare treasure.

"The storm gradually intensified, and the earth began to shake."
I'm calling your name in the wind, can you hear me?

Don't do it before the end of the world.

The words still lingered in his mouth: "Do you love me...?"

Once the chorus began, Zhou Xiumei seemed to completely let loose.

She pressed her fingertips firmly against the strings, producing a vibrato.

That fiery energy surged within my chest, as if transforming into a breathtakingly beautiful song at that moment.

She forgot about technique, forgot about the stage, and even forgot about herself.

She was simply singing according to her instincts, using her voice to vent all the emotions that had been suppressed in the dark corners of her heart for many years.

"Don't be afraid, la... la... la..."

In her final chant, she restrained her explosive power, turning it into a gentle whisper, her eyes filled with tenderness.

It was as if whispering to the person closest to you in the world.

The singing echoed in the dome of the studio, like a pair of gentle hands smoothing out the wrinkles in everyone's hearts.

Many emotional female viewers covered their mouths, tears welling up in their eyes.

Many people are completely immersed in this tragic and poignant apocalyptic atmosphere, unable to extricate themselves.

The song is over.

The lingering notes of the guitar solo resonated in the air, lingering for a long time.

Zhou Xiumei pressed down on the strings, her chest heaving violently.

A fine layer of sweat beaded on his forehead, but his eyes shone like stars, incredibly bright.

The scene was silent for a full three seconds.

Then, a thunderous round of applause erupted.

(End of this chapter)