A band, or a battleground?

The heavy drumbeats of the accompaniment signaled the start of the singing.

Long Heng raised the microphone, closed his eyes, and roared, "I'm still running—"

In the waiting area, Qi Yuan's brows furrowed suddenly.

Jiang Yi, who was sitting next to him, subconsciously grabbed the armrest of the sofa.

It didn't match!

If this were a recording studio, the producer would have stopped and started recording again long ago, but this is a stage.

The guitarist on stage's expression changed slightly, his fingers instinctively trying to follow Long Heng's beat on the strings. But Long Heng knew this song very well; he'd sung it countless times in karaoke, and it had become a habit. Now, following that habit, he simply belted it out based on feeling:

"Run until the end of time..."

This completely threw the rhythm into disarray.

The drummer tried to force the rhythm back with the snare drum, while the guitarist tried to change the strumming frequency to match Long Heng's. But in this unexpected struggle, the song's foundation crumbled.

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, the lead singer quickly rushed to the microphone, trying to use his loud voice to bring the band back on track:

"Don't ask me why I'm staying..."

However, the worst thing happened.

Long Heng has an astonishing lung capacity and a louder voice, even overpowering the lead singer. His unrestrained off-key singing style creates a terrifyingly infectious effect.

The lead singer tried to find Long Heng's key, but as he searched, he became increasingly nervous and even lost his rhythm.

What is a car accident scene?

This is the scene of the car accident.

The audience members looked at each other in disbelief. Even the fans holding up signs with Long Heng were dumbfounded.

On the mentor's seat, Chen Jiashu leaned back strategically and covered his mouth with his hand, but it was still clear that he was trying hard to suppress his laughter.

Liang Fei frowned, looking down at the script in her hand, trying to avoid the scene before her.

Zhou Taishan leaned back in his chair, expressionless.

On stage, the members of the Wildfire band also realized that there was no way to save them.

The rhythm was completely shattered.

The lead singer and guitarist exchanged a glance and reached a tragic consensus—since it's already this bad, let it be.

The guitarist abandoned the complex chord progressions altogether, simply stepping on the faz effect and blindly strumming and creating noise on stage. The lead singer also disregarded pitch and rhythm, joining Long Heng's screams, the two of them venting their frustrations into the microphone like they were arguing in a market.

"run!"

"Awooo—Run!"

In the last minute of the song, it turned into a performance art piece.

The song ended.

The scene fell into a near-dead silence for almost ten seconds before a sparse burst of applause erupted.

Long Heng initially seemed excited, wiping the sweat from his brow and bowing deeply to the audience. But when he glanced around, he saw that the members of the Wildfire Band all looked ashen-faced, like a bunch of wilted eggplants. Even with his lack of stage experience, he realized something was wrong.

The critique session is a test of the mentors' linguistic skills.

Chen Jiashu praised Long Heng for "possessing the indomitable spirit of an athlete across disciplines"; Liang Fei said she "felt a kind of primal vitality".

When it was Zhou Taishan's turn, he lowered his hands from his eyes and said only four words: "Well done."

He Dong quickly went up to follow the procedure and asked the group of contestants to leave the stage.

The atmosphere in the waiting area was terribly oppressive.

All the bands watched the live stream and became increasingly worried about repeating the same mistake. The opening act was explosive, and it was incredibly powerful.

The passageway door to the waiting area was pushed open.

"I'm going to the restroom..." Long Heng avoided everyone's gaze and made a hasty escape to urinate.

The four members of the Wildfire Band walked straight toward the Spring Shadow Band.

Qi Yuan stood up.

The heavily pregnant lead singer walked up to Qi Yuan, stretched out his thick hand, and patted Qi Yuan's shoulder, causing the shoulder pads of his suit to sag.

The burly man with a thick beard looked at the group of young men and women in front of him and said in a hoarse voice, "We've really been dealt with. Who would have thought that his aura was even stronger than during rehearsals?"

The guitarist with a mohawk sighed, "Even if it's a top 12 to top 10, with this kind of performance, we're guaranteed to be eliminated. We're counting on you guys to save face for Teacher Zhou. At least don't let the other two groups laugh at us."

Qi Yuan felt the weight on his shoulders, met the other person's solemn gaze, and calmly nodded.

"Don't worry, leave it to us."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

087 In the Name of the Father

The torch-passing interlude made the atmosphere around the Kasuga Shadow Band even more somber.

Shen Yihan sat to the side and witnessed the whole process. Her originally calm face turned a little pale.

After the four members of the Wildfire Band had walked away, she suddenly spoke, her voice trembling slightly: "That stage just now... was terrifying."

Qi Yuan sat back on the sofa, turned to look at her, and asked, "Scared?"

Shen Yihan swallowed hard: "How can I not be afraid?"

Qi Yuan straightened his suit collar: "Long Heng ruined that stage because he tried to sing. You don't need that futile attempt. Remember what you learned before, and treat it like a play. Memorize your lines, convey the emotions, find the right pitch, and leave the rest to us."

"Next up are the Titans and their crossover guest, the queen of stand-up comedy, Lin Jianqi! They're bringing another original song, 'The Thugs Before Dawn'!"

Following the voice of the host, He Dong, the boys and girls looked at the screen on the wall.

The five men and one woman who took the stage were all dressed in leather jackets, some with sunglasses, others with buzz cuts or dreadlocks, all exuding a strong sense of individuality. The two in the center, lead singer Zhao Xukun and guest Lin Jianqi, had particularly cold and hard expressions.

The song opens with electric guitar and keyboards, followed closely by bass and drums. Compared to Wildfire's performance in the previous show, this song's intro is even more explosive.

Then Lin Jianqi began singing into the microphone: "The night wants to swallow us up, but we will live like a wildfire..."

The verses were all given to the female stand-up comedian, and Zhao Xukun only took over for the more challenging chorus:

"Three seconds to go, break free of this suffocating cage, and run towards the only exit..."

About three and a half minutes later, the entire song performance ended, the stage lights went out, and sparse applause rang out from the audience, which seemed even more dismal than the previous car crash scene.

However, the audience's lukewarm reaction was not due to any problems with the performance, but rather because of the controversy online.

Because of the editing treatment that Spring Film received, the Titans became the target of widespread criticism. People can't criticize the capital behind the show, but can't they criticize the people who were put on stage by that capital?

As a result, even the scandals involving Titans and their female fans in recent years were exposed. The more revelations there were, the worse their reputation became, creating a vicious cycle.

The audience members were inevitably affected by this, making it difficult for them to view the performance objectively. No matter how much the few fans applauded, they couldn't really get the crowd going.

In the waiting area, Qiu Mengxue commented quite objectively: "Their performance was good, and their approach was sound. Instead of picking songs based on what the guests choose, they should choose a song that maximizes their strengths and try to get the guests to keep up with their rhythm. This original song is perfect."

Ning Qianyu glanced at the guests from her band and smiled, "Is Sister Yihan a little nervous?"

Shen Yihan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Ning Qianyu: "Didn't Brother Monk just say that there's no need to be nervous? Just treat it as acting in front of a camera. As for the stage effects, leave that to us."

Qiu Mengxue asked, "Sister Yihan has been on stage before, right?"

Shen Yihan quickly replied, "Of course I have. Before my debut, I studied drama, and I had to perform on stage at school. There were quite a few audience members when we performed in plays."

Ning Qianyu patted her on the shoulder and said casually, "So there's nothing to worry about, keep it up!"

Shen Yihan looked at the faces of the four band members and felt only a sense of calm and warmth.

She nodded emphatically: "Yes, there's nothing to be afraid of. Even at its worst, it can't be worse than a wildfire!"

Just then, the lead singer of the Wildfire Band walked over, wanting to ask Qi Yuan when he would be on stage, what songs he was going to sing, and whether he would be performing original songs again... However, as soon as he got close, he heard Shen Yihan say this, and he retreated resentfully.

Even her big belly has shrunk quite a bit.

Qi Yuan noticed this scene and wanted to remind her, but after thinking about it, he kept his mouth shut.

Forget it, everyone online says that Ms. Shen has a powerful background, why should I say anything?

At this moment, Jiang Yi suddenly said, "Why do I feel like their relationship is really bad? Look, when they were leaving the stage, Lin Jianqi was still keeping his distance from them..."

The commentary segment on the screen had just ended, and the footage of the Titans and the guests leaving the stage was playing. Those few seconds were enough for the perceptive Jiang Yi to sense something amiss.

Ning Qianyu shrugged: "If I were Lin Jianqi, I wouldn't be happy either. Your Titans' mess has dragged me into this. I put so much effort into rehearsals, but I can't even get normal applause. Who would be happy about that?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Did you enjoy the first ten songs? Who knew that many celebrities who never sing in public could be so adept on a band's stage..."

When host He Dong returned to the stage, he appeared quite natural. The embarrassment from the opening car accident had been overshadowed by the subsequent performance and was long forgotten.

The next contestant to take the stage is highly anticipated.

"Next, let's welcome the Spring Shadow Band and guest Shen Yihan to perform their original work, 'In the Name of the Father'!"

As He Dong stepped down from the stage, cheers erupted from the audience.

"Haruhi Kage! Haruhi Kage!"

"It's finally their turn..."

What style is "In the Name of the Father"?

Shen Yihan subconsciously tried to decipher the comments until a snap of fingers rang out in front of her. She looked up and met Qi Yuan's smiling gaze.

“Ave Maria grazia ricevuta per la mia famiglia…”

As Jiang Yi prayed, the curtain slowly opened.

The stage lights came on. Unlike the previous bands, this time the lighting was exceptionally simple, without any particular color, like moonlight.

Crimes committed in the darkness are only witnessed by the moonlight.

As the curtain rose, five people appeared on stage. Although they were all wearing black suits, the styles were slightly different, and they were all very well-fitting and exquisite, like costumes prepared for a movie.

Shen Yihan gripped the microphone tightly, as if it were a gun.

She got into the zone.

The nervousness she felt before going on stage vanished as soon as the intro started. She was already very familiar with the song, having rehearsed it countless times over the past few days.

Then, the very first rap was started by Qi Yuan:

"The cool morning dew dampened the black tuxedo."

"The stone path is shrouded in mist, and the father is softly murmuring."

Qi Yuan strummed chords and rapped while holding his guitar. When he got to this part of the song, he tapped the guitar with his knuckles.

Shen Yihan immediately continued:

"A helpless realization can only lead to greater cruelty."

"Everything is for the road to the sanctuary..."

Almost everyone was stunned.

Liang Fei asked in surprise, "Is this rap?"

She glanced at Zhou Taishan subconsciously, only to see that his mentor's face showed not surprise, but intense excitement.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

088 was all thanks to Qi Yuan's excellent leadership.

Lin Yan felt that today must be the craziest day of her life.

Since posting the thread titled "[On the Spring Shadow Band's Experience on the Tomorrow's Band]", Lin Yan's online fan count has been increasing daily, with new replies appearing every day. Especially the subsequent events involving the Spring Shadow Band have made this post seem like a prophetic revelation.

Of course, it's even more surreal that a student band that was once only followed by me in a small street square has now caused such a stir online.

The most surreal thing was that yesterday, a follower of hers suddenly sent her a private message: "[I managed to snag two tickets to the crossover competition, but my friend can't always attend. Are you interested?]"

Lin Yan laughed when she saw the private message:

"The Tomorrow Band is recording in Beijing, but I'm not in Beijing. I can't possibly buy a plane ticket and fly there, can I? Yes, tomorrow is Sunday, no work, but I have to work on Monday. Flying to Beijing in the morning and flying back in the evening? Am I crazy?"