Chapter 136: Plagiarized Song?
Chen Ping is the undisputed “dual-career emperor” of the Chinese entertainment industry, the national server’s number one with no controversy, and this position remains unshakable to this day…
He has 20 national-level classic songs, album total sales over 100 million, pioneered many music styles, won the Golden Melody Award for best male singer for five consecutive years, concerts sell out instantly every time, tickets hard to get.
He became the youngest three-gold grand slam movie emperor in Chinese cinema with the movie “Floating Light”.
The lead actor role in “Beacon Mountains and Rivers” broke domestic movie box office records, and the “silent spy” character he portrayed was selected for Beijing Film Academy textbooks.
He combines top-tier traffic with authoritative reputation, commercial value leading by a wide margin, pioneering contributions to the industry, mentors juniors, and is hailed as the “epoch-making benchmark of virtue and art”.
Even after being gone for over twenty years, his name still rings like thunder, even post-00s who never saw him won’t be unfamiliar.
In discussions about stars’ gold content, people always argue fiercely, but as soon as Chen Ping’s name appears, everyone says in unison, “Mentioning him makes it meaningless”.
An existence that instantly makes electronic cricket fights boring, his strength, honors, gold content, and influence are all beyond reproach.
Chen Ping’s only flaw is that his life wasn’t long…
Obviously, this flaw is quite fatal.
Yu Wei thought he was cheating the moment he first saw this resume—how could someone without hacks achieve this level?
Compared to Earth’s history, this person is like someone who suddenly appeared, born from humble beginnings, but in a few years turned the literary and art circles upside down.
Isn’t this cheating?
Yu Wei isn’t judging a gentleman with a petty heart—Chen Ping’s works clearly have some transcendent era qualities, that ethereal touch is very obvious.
Normally in a game, it’s like starting by popping full-level achievements…
But Yu Wei isn’t familiar with these works; if nothing unexpected, Old Senior Chen should be from another world who crossed over.
Sigh, the intersection of three fateful paths.
“It’s my turn.”
Meng Han’s metal tidal wave-like performance came to an end, Qi Yuan stood up with a serious expression, his backward glance carrying a bit of resolve.
In the next few minutes, he would not just be himself, but also the executor of Chen Ping’s will—win or lose, he could face it.
Qi Yuan thought the result of this competition would be his liberation, but the moment he stepped forward, he seemed to already understand.
Live in the moment…
He can’t let go of the past and fantasizes about the future, but Yu Wei is a daily-updating author who always lives in the moment.
Qi Yuan gradually emptied his mind; next, he didn’t need to think about anything, just enjoy the singing process.
The farmer uncle followed onto the stage, seeming to carry something in his hand; Yu Wei looked closely—it was the suona, known as the king of instruments.
The stage lights slowly dimmed, leaving only a soft white spotlight shining on Qi Yuan in the center of the stage, holding a wooden guitar.
He sat on a high stool, slightly adjusted the microphone height, the noisy crowd below gradually quieted, all gazes focused on the figure in that beam of light.
Qi Yuan participating in “Music Blind Box” isn’t some secret; fans who always follow his schedule definitely know, so quite a few came on-site.
He hadn’t started singing yet, but a few fans were already screaming; everyone frowned in unison—this untimely noise really ruined the atmosphere.
If Qi Yuan’s performance was affected by fans shouting chaotically, he would absolutely hold a grudge against them for life…
Under the staff’s reminder, the few instantly toned it down a lot; after all, this wasn’t their home turf, couldn’t be too unrestrained.
Qi Yuan took a deep breath, fingertips lightly strummed the strings.
A calm and slightly husky guitar intro flowed out like water, without flashy techniques, yet instantly captured everyone’s ears.
“You and I are both moss
Born in dark places
Nourished by rain and dew all day
Silently spreading ourselves.”
He closed his eyes, sang the first line, voice low and warm, as if whispering softly by an old friend’s ear.
The song title is “Even if Ordinary”, but Qi Yuan’s first line didn’t sing about people, instead focusing on an uncommon imagery: moss.
No sunshine reaches anywhere, youth comes on its own; moss flowers small as rice grains also learn to bloom like peonies. Ordinary people are never peonies, just moss.
Qi Yuan’s singing skill has improved greatly; even Qi Luo An in the audience who usually can’t stand him has to admit it.
A few months certainly aren’t enough for one person to transform, but Qi Yuan has been doing targeted practice; all his training was to master this song.
Singing other songs, his strength might be mediocre, but for this song’s proficiency, he has already entered the hall of mastery.
Compared to singing method, Shen Yutong is undoubtedly more focused on the lyrics; the opening lines are highly poetic, full of sense of imagery, carrying twilight-like poetry and tranquility.
This new song is clearly not simple; as for who wrote it, the music scene currently has no singers of this style.
Even the versatile Yu Wei hasn’t written songs in this format, but she can be sure this song absolutely won’t be inferior to Yu Wei’s works.
After hearing the first line, Yu Wei felt the pressure; ordinary like moss—he really hadn’t heard this phrasing in songs…
Moss is just the lead-in; Qi Yuan soon linked moss to life with one lyric—life is all ordinary.
The lyrics like a delicate sketch, outlining the trajectory and dilemmas of everyday life; moss is humble and weak, in damp places neglected, no chance to enjoy the sun’s favor.
His singing has no roars, yet carries a power that reaches straight to the heart; a few knowing deep breaths came from below, but soon returned to silence.
Many people saw their own struggling shadows in this language.
The song entered the chorus, the guitar strumming slightly strengthened, Qi Yuan’s voice infused with deeper emotion, yet still restrained and sincere.
Though moss flowers are tiny as rice, without captivating fragrance or brilliant colors, like peonies they are composed and steady, blooming naturally.
Only now does it reveal the song’s main theme: even if ordinary, one can achieve a gorgeous transformation from ordinary to extraordinary.
This is also Qi Yuan’s mental journey; he admits his own ordinariness, but even so, he wants to leave his own mark.
The song is no longer just listening; people below start nodding lightly to the melody—this song feels very comfortable.
Not preachy praise of the ordinary, but from small to big, emotional progression very natural.
At the start of the second verse, Qi Yuan’s singing became more invested; grandfather born from humble beginnings, yet step by step became a leader in the literary and art world—his rise matches this “Even if Ordinary”.
This song is the epitome of his life.
As a child, every time he heard grandfather’s stories, he clamored to become someone as amazing as him.
But reality told him he’s far off; Qi Yuan actually understood long ago he doesn’t have that ability, but he still won’t give up the pursuit.
Moss flowers though inconspicuous, don’t decay, still harbor upward ideals, with the drive to learn from peonies, blooming with enterprising spirit.
Qi Yuan wants to become such an ordinary person.
His voice gained a choke of facing reality, this genuine emotional reveal made the on-site air somewhat frozen.
Singing infused with emotion easily moves people; the audience unconsciously immersed in this resonance.
“You and I are both mortals
Born in the human world
Endure daily toil and hardship
Never a moment of rest.”
Everyone else immersed in the song’s atmosphere, only Yu Wei was stunned—this isn’t the lyrics of “Mortal Song”? How could it appear here?
The two verses match in format, no issue in others’ eyes, but Yu Wei has heard the original.
Didn’t Old Senior Chen come from elsewhere? How could his song have this line…
The first half of this song has zero relation to “Mortal Song”, melody completely different, naturally not plagiarism.
But what about this sudden repeated line?
Could be coincidence; after all, Yu Wei doesn’t know what Old Senior Chen Ping’s world is like—artistic creation having similarities is normal.
But he still felt something off; perhaps things about Senior Chen Ping aren’t as simple as he imagined…
No time for Yu Wei to think deeply; Qi Yuan’s singing gradually reached the end, in the final chorus he fully let go, no longer solo murmuring, but declaring and encouraging the whole audience.
Even if ordinary, cannot settle for ordinary.
Suddenly, the guitar stopped abruptly, the stage fell into brief silence, only a beam of cold light enveloping the uncle raising the suona.
“Music Blind Box”—how could it lack a civilian’s voice?
The suona started high-pitched and passionate, like phoenix cries; everyone felt invigorated, directly experiencing the king of instruments’ strength.
The suona’s bell gleamed like flames under the lights; first half imitates birds chirping, second half turns majestic and tragic, like resistance and shouts against destiny.
Even if ordinary, yet unwilling to stay ordinary.
Chen Ping’s songs definitely wouldn’t have this—clearly Qi Yuan’s own idea…
This fusion is quite ingenious, melody blending seamlessly with the song’s theme, adding a final footnote to the plain song, performance effect elevated further.
Listening to the suona’s passionate melody, Yu Wei first felt what “caught off guard” means; Qi Yuan has his own thing—this is terrifying.
Originally he thought Chen Ping’s song though good lacks corresponding performance; every song has weaknesses, this song’s is being too plain.
Moreover, songs of this style are rare now.
Thought this was his breakthrough, who knew Qi Yuan didn’t rigidly replicate but added his own creativity.
For a song clearly not fitting today’s music scene, introducing suona is like a divine move; while shocking the stage, it also enhanced the song’s national style.
“Even if Ordinary”‘s song quality was already high, plus the gorgeous performance, the entire stage was stunning, even giving a six-dimensional warrior feel.
This is different from Meng Han’s niche rock; Qi Yuan’s singing is very moving—even on the resonance route, it’s hard to surpass.
Yu Wei realized he underestimated Qi Yuan…
All along, his mind was full of challenging the senior, yet overlooked this singer; what he faces has always been two people.
Life isn’t a novel; he too has his limitations.
Looking at sweat-drenched Qi Yuan on stage, Yu Wei must admit this time the pressure he gave is huge.
Not that so-called senior, just him.
Qi Yuan proved the meaning of this “Even if Ordinary” with his actions—even if ordinary, he too can change something.
In a cheating scenario, Yu Wei might match Chen Ping, but Qi Yuan’s intervention hard shifted the scales of victory.
