Entertainment: A song that brought his deceased wife back to life.

"When it got dark, when I was little, and I was noisy and willful, my grandma would always sing to soothe me..."

The voice was very soft, with a slight tremor—not a skillful vibrato, but something that flowed directly from the chest.

"On a summer afternoon, an old song comforts me. The song goes something like this—"

"The sky is dark, it looks like it's going to rain. The sky is dark, so dark."

Xu Qing's organ and her voice overlapped, echoing through the dilapidated courtyard.

"Leaving behind childhood, I have my own life now. New songs, new ideas, times when I can't control my willfulness and impulses—"

Luo Qianyu's voice rose, not loud, but heavy.

"I forgot there was such a song."

"I fell in love with someone I was willing to give my all for, and I thought this was the world I was looking for. But after charging headlong into it, I was misunderstood and deceived. Is there always something flawed behind the adult world?"

The chorus is coming.

"I walk on the crossroads I face every day, and I miss the simple, beautiful happiness of the past. Love always makes people cry and feel unsatisfied. The sky is vast, but I can't see it clearly. I feel so lonely."

When she sang the words "so lonely," her voice didn't rise; instead, it sank to the very bottom and then gently rose.

Xu Qing's fingers paused on the piano keys for a moment. Luo Qianyu didn't stop.

"When it got dark, I remembered that song again, and suddenly I longed for a quiet rain. It turns out that my grandmother's wisdom had already been sung to me long ago—"

Her voice paused for a fleeting half-second before the last line. Then she sang it.

"Even when it rains, keep moving forward bravely."

"I believe everything will calm down."

"I really want to go home right now."

The last note faded into the courtyard, and the organ stopped.

The orphanage was quiet, with the sound of children calling for meals coming from inside the building in the distance.

Xu Qing sat in front of the organ, looking at Luo Qianyu. His face didn't show any particular expression, but the fingertips of the hand resting on the organ lid were trembling slightly.

Luo Qianyu wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"How is it?"

"Walk."

"Where to?"

"Go back to the shed."

"Now?"

"While we still have breath in our bodies."

It was completely dark when the car returned to Penguin Music headquarters. The studio lights were still on, and the sound engineer quickly sat up straight when he saw them return. Luo Qianyu walked into the studio and put on her headphones. Xu Qing sat down at the recording console and pressed the record button.

"start."

It was recorded only once. From beginning to end, without a single interruption.

When Luo Qianyu finished singing the last line, "It's dark, it's dark," no one spoke in the control room. The recording engineer took off his headphones and stood up, as did the mixing assistant next to him. Neither of them said anything; they just stood there.

Xu Qing leaned back in his chair, staring at the fluctuating audio waveform on the mixing console. He picked up the intercom and pressed the button.

"Passed."

Luo Qianyu smiled in the shed. Tears still clung to her face, but she smiled nonetheless.

Xu Qing looked at her through that huge glass window.

Then he laughed too.

......

The night of the finals.

There were no standing tickets left in the studio, the aisles were packed with people, and the fire exits were almost blocked.

The director was frantic backstage, yelling into the walkie-talkie, "Who let this in? We're overcrowded, you know?! If something happens, who's responsible, you or me?"

No one cares about him.

Because of tonight's lineup, it's worth the risk.

Su Man and Zhou Yaoyang. The grand finale.

When the host announced the name, the cheers from the entire audience nearly lifted the roof off.

The moment Zhou Yaoyang walked out from the side of the stage, Luo Qianyu saw the reaction of the entire audience in front of the monitor in the waiting area—the first three rows all stood up, and the people in the back were holding up light boards like crazy.

A king is a king.

After three years of absence, he stepped onto the stage and his aura completely overwhelmed everything else.

The intro begins.

Luo Qianyu stared at the monitor, her brows twitching suddenly.

She turned to look at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets, his face expressionless.

"Xu Qing."

"Um."

"The song he sang—"

"The Person I Love".

"...Lyrics and music, bright moon and gentle breeze."

Luo Qianyu's voice was a little dry.

The caption in the lower left corner of the screen reads in black and white: Lyrics and music composition by Mingyue Qingfeng.

Xu Qing didn't say anything.

Luo Qianyu opened her mouth: "They used your song to attack you?"

"I sold it three years ago." Xu Qing said in a calm tone, "The copyright belongs to Star Emperor, and they can let whoever they want sing it."

Luo Qianyu clenched her fists.

On the monitor, Zhou Yaoyang began to speak.

The moment the first sentence was uttered, Luo Qianyu felt a chill run down her spine.

This person's voice cannot be simply described as "pleasant to listen to". It is the kind of resonance that runs through the entire chest cavity to the head cavity, like an entire wall pressing down on you, making it hard to breathe, but not actually crushing you.

He was even singing in a restrained manner.

The high register was clearly left unreserved, giving the brightest part of the vocal range to Su Man.

But even this restrained demeanor made everyone in the room's hair stand on end.

Suman's performance tonight was also her peak.

The two singers' voices, one strong and the other gentle, blended perfectly in the chorus. The arrangement featured a full orchestra, and the stage lighting was coordinated like a Hollywood blockbuster.

Luo Qianyu stared intently at the screen.

She heard Xu Qing's shadow in that melody—the chord progressions, the modulation, and the iconic suspended note before the chorus.

It belongs to Xu Qing.

It was used by someone else to throw at him.

The song has ended.

The audience erupted in the loudest applause in history.

On the judges' panel, Fang Hong led the applause, his expression complex. Zhou Zhengping and Yang Fan gave him 98 points.

The host was so excited he was almost incoherent: "This is the most spectacular finals stage I've ever seen! Without a doubt!"

In the VIP room, Wang Jianguo raised his wine glass.

The agent from Deepsea Capital sat next to him, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Xu Qing's song is a slap in the face to Xu Qing," the agent said softly. "This script is brilliant, isn't it?"

Waiting area.

Luo Qianyu's hands were trembling.

It's not fear.

It's anger.

"They used your song."

"I know."

"Aren't you angry?"

"What's the use of getting angry?" Xu Qing straightened up from the wall, took the old guitar out of its case, and put it back.

No guitar tonight.

He walked to the old piano in the corner of the waiting area, opened the lid, and ran his fingers across the keys.

"Just go up there and wipe them all out."

Luo Qianyu looked at him.

Xu Qing turned his head and looked into her eyes.

"Ready?"

Luo Qianyu wiped the sweat from her palms and took a deep breath.

"Walk."