Chapter 6.5
This was an English song called "Stronger", starting off with an enthusiastic electric guitar solo, then drums, bass and other musical instruments slowly came in, making the tempo move faster and faster, and more and more intense.
Zhou Yun Sheng kept his eyes closed, moving as if dancing to the beat, when he opened his eyes, flames of anger ignited in his smoky and particularly deep eyes. His deliberately lowered voice carrying a metallic texture was full of disgust and contempt.
Even the people who didn't understand English could feel his outburst of sharpness and ridicule, their blood boiled, their whole body trembled. For those who could understand, they were stunned.
You know the bed feels warmer
Sleeping here alone
You know I dream in color
And do the things I want
You think you got the best of me
Think you had the last laugh
Bet you think that everything good is gone
Think you left me broken down
Think that I'd come running back
Baby you don't know me, 'cause you're dead wrong!
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter
Doesn't mean I'm over 'cause you're gone
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
...
...
The handsome youth used his voice full of penetrative power and eyes bright like raging fire to tell the audience off stage that, even without Lin Si Qing, he would become more powerful, stronger, until no one could beat him.
This song was a declaration of war against Lin Si Qing, bluntly telling him – Compared to me, you're nothing.
Most of the audience members were Lin Si Qing's fans, but no one could say a word to defend their idol. They were music enthusiasts, so they could naturally hear that this song had what it took to be a global hit, with unparalleled ear-worm potential, and Ou Zi Nan's captivating voice provided the best interpretation of the song.
They wanted to block their ears, cover their eyes, wanted to resist the youth's omnipresent charm, but realized that they couldn't do anything, except for staring at him with wide eyes, they could do nothing.
The song was reaching the climax, the young man's metallic cold voice showed a hint of hoarseness and gasping, like a drop of water falling into hot oil, making the ball of flame that was already intense to the limit let out even more volatile heat.
The audience members closest to the stage were almost burned to ashes by the youth's charm. They were drenched in sweat, their hair sticking to their foreheads and cheeks, looking woefully awkward. Their faces showed clear resistance, but their eyes were flooded with waves of excitement.
They wanted to follow the youth's moves, shout, scream, 'stronger and stronger', one more high-spirited than the other. But they couldn't betray their real idol, so they reminded themselves over and over again to endure.
Their souls were pierced by the youth's voice, battered, stabbed, ripped apart... eventually being crushed into fine powder....
Some people endured with clenched teeth, some endured until tears, some endured until they were trembling, nearly fainting.
One wanted to do something to calm themselves down, but accidentally clenched the light stick in their hand. The previously dark audience platform emitted a weak light, then it started spreading out little by little, until they were all linked together.
The young man's voice and stage presence were like the most potent drug, making them addicted, engrossed, then following him into the madness.
When the song was over, he was sweating profusely and panting, but the audience was even worse off than him, pairs of defiant and eager eyes staring at the focus of all the stage lights.
"The next song is called 'Rolling in the Deep', dedicated to you guys."
He said without pause.
Wtf, what's to be done when just hearing the name makes your blood boil? When your butt can't help but wiggle? When your head can't help but bob?
Everyone looked around, feeling embarrassed, but soon, they couldn't make the effort to think about anything else. The young man's captivating voice dragged them into the endless pain of love and hate.
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark
Finally, I can see you crystal clear
Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare
See how I'll leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark
...
But I've heard one on you and I'm gonna make your head burn
Think of me in the depths of your despair
...
This was a song of revenge, the young man casually sang while revealing a fierce and contemptuous smile, as if this was an announcement to the world, he will not easily let go of those who betrayed and sold him out, as the song says, he will let them burn, ruin them, and from the depths of despair, they'll have no choice but to look up at his glory.
In the face of such clear maliciousness, Lin Si Qing's fans were completely unable to feel outraged for their idol.
They were already crazy, swaying to the rhythm of the music, screaming, shouting, unable to restrain their dizziness as their souls were invaded by the hate-filled song.
After the song was over, everyone felt a burst of fatigue, they thought the young man would take a break to change clothes and rest, or sing a slow song to adjust the mood.
But instead, they watched as he wiped the sweat off his forehead and panted,
"Here's 'Rock' for you, please follow me and dance with abandon."
Wtf? How can a body that was that exhausted instantly become excited, like being injected with chicken blood?
Brother, there's smoke coming out of your head!
Quickly bring me a bottle of water, my throat is already scraped raw, it'll be bad if I can't scream later!
The staff over there, don't you have any more advanced cheer items than glow sticks? This one isn't bright anymore, and it looks very shabby! Don't you guys have any flexible light signs? No cardboard standees?
No banners? Even without those, you should have longer light rods and star sticks, right? Are you or are you not Zi Nan-sama's staff? So unprofessional!
The audience were drinking water, taking pictures, and when they saw staff passing by, they rushed to intercept them and asked for more support items. The previously dark audience platform was now brightly lit.
Zhou Yun Sheng inserted the microphone on the stand and asked for an electric guitar. His fingers strummed out some random notes, and the noisy audience immediately quieted down until a needle drop could be heard. He seemed satisfied with the audience's reaction and smiled at the nearest camera.
His beautiful face appeared on the big screen, that compelling smile was intoxicating. Before the audience could calm their frenzied hearts, he put away his casual mood, and his fingers plucked on the strings at a speed indiscernible to the naked eye.
One after another, notes collided in the air, exploding, converging, resulting in a hallucinogenic like, fantastic chemical reaction.
Their cheeks burned, eyes blurred, and they involuntarily swayed to the rhythm. Star stick after star stick was raised and waved in unison; flexible light sign after flexible light sign was lit up and rocked from side to side.
The youth on the stage was blasting a high note, shouting himself hoarse. Behind him was a waterfall of fireworks, opposite him was an undulating wave of lights, onstage and offstage was a dazzling sight.
As he'd promised before, he could light up the whole stage, even the distant starry sky, by his own power, he was the most dazzling existence on earth.
The audience had already forgotten their original intentions, they were wholeheartedly crazy for him, completely immersed. His every song was so passionate, rhythmical, not providing a chance to breathe.
Carrying you up into the clouds, then ruthlessly dropping you into the abyss, leaving you repeatedly tormented between exhaustion and heartbreak, unable to escape yet not wanting to escape.
Time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, the young man walked up to the slowly emerging piano and panted out,
"The last song, 'Because of You', I hope everyone can listen quietly."
H-how can it be the last song?! Didn't the concert just start? The audience was shocked, they looked down at their watches and found that it was eleven o'clock.
Someone howled, "Nooo don't stop, keep singing! We support you!"
"Encore, keep singing!"
"Ou Zi Nan, you're the best! We support you!"
"Sing until morning, sing until the end of time, we'll always listen to you!"
The shouts of support rose and fell, gradually converging into a thunderous applause. They had been completely conquered by the youth's talent.
"Thank you, but unfortunately, we have a contract with Star Pavilion. If we overstay our welcome, we'll face a huge fine."
Zhou Yun Sheng smiled slightly at the camera across from him and continued,
"This song is the original 'Because of You', hush, please be quiet."
He pressed his slender finger against his pink lips, his handsome appearance was dazzling. A pink wave surged through the audience, but they eventually quieted down.
This was the song that pushed Ou Zi Nan into hell and Ge Meng Shu into heaven. Who was right and who was wrong, they all wanted to know.
The piano tune slowly flowed from his fingers like a stream, Ou Zi Nan's hall of fame level performance was amazing, his heavenly voice was mesmerizing, and the equally remarkable lyrics brought out an increasingly heavy and profound feeling.
I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself
Cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did,
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way
To never let it get that far
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid
I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake
A smile, a laugh every day of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid
I watched you die
I heard you cry every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For the same damn thing
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid
Because of you
Because of you....
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T/N:
injected with chicken blood – Hmm...Wikipedia "Chicken-blood therapy (鸡血疗法) was a form of pseudo-medical therapy popular in China during the Cultural Revolution.... Claimed benefits included making the patient highly aggressive and strong."
It was really hard imagining those popular songs in a different voice. I keep hearing Adelle and Kelly Clarkson in my head. Also, Kelly freakin' Clarkson. (psst it was even worse re-translating)