Chapter 161: Don’t Let Yu Wei Think You’re Strong
“Why is Sister Nan still singing this kind of song?”
When Su Xinnan was singing a sweet song on stage, Chen Jinyi subconsciously sat up straight, somewhat solemnly impressed…
Female stars’ blooming periods are very short, and once they get older, they tend to put on airs; she had deep experience with this.
Su Xinnan was just a few years younger than her, yet she could still sing and dance on stage, showing how great her mindset was; it felt like she was about to have a second spring.
“Sister Nan is pretty serious about it.”
Qi Luo An chimed in, not forgetting to say some nice words, “Mom, you’re in such good shape; your singing isn’t any worse than hers!”
Chen Jinyi gave her an annoyed glance without speaking; one called her mom, one called her sister—doesn’t that say it all?
This episode of the program was destined to go down in music variety show history, not just because of Yu Wei and Chen Ping’s battle of the century, but also because Su Xinnan and Meng Han’s performance was outstanding.
Even the side dishes were like this, so the main dish naturally went without saying; the audience, seeing this, could already imagine the grand occasion to follow.
Meng Han’s metal rock style changed abruptly; the first few clanging notes directly woke up Qi Yunming, who had been lying on the sofa spacing out.
To be fair, this song was even more explosive live; putting it in the program diminished its effect greatly, and Qi Luo An had authority on this.
After much anticipation, under everyone’s expectant gazes, Qi Yuan finally took the stage, and everyone knew what that meant.
The audience at the time had no idea what song he would sing, so their reaction was very flat, but in front of the screen, many of Chen Ping’s old fans were already starting to feel “youth returning.”
Although the song Even if Ordinary had a bit of an era feel, its standard was still high; Qi Yuan grabbed the audience’s ears firmly from the first note—it was that flavor.
Originally, many people thought Chen Ping lost because the singer didn’t perform well, but Qi Yuan’s performance was brilliant, even letting them see a bit of the appearance of an old friend.
That familiar feeling was like the gate of memory slowly opening; in front of the screen, many listeners over thirty-five had their gazes instantly lit up.
The better Qi Yuan performed, the more bewildered they were; he sang like this and still lost—what kind of monster was Yu Wei?
“Yuan Yuan has made such great progress.”
Even knowing her own son lost, it didn’t stop Chen Jinyi from feeling proud of him; people should compare themselves to their past selves, not others.
Qi Yuan closed his eyes; his breath control was extremely perfect, clearly practiced specifically for this song.
He handled every turn of sound very smoothly; the emotional explosion in the chorus part poured out like a mountain flood, yet was precisely controlled within the scope of perfect technique.
Seeing this, those who said Qi Yuan was holding things back couldn’t open their mouths to awkwardly criticize anymore.
Could it be that winning or losing really had nothing to do with the singing, just simply because the song’s quality wasn’t as good?
Impossible, absolutely impossible—that was Chen…
Just as their psychological comfort hadn’t ended, a clear suona sound rang out; the civilian guest’s assistance was perfectly timed, successfully adding a lot of color to this song.
This was an artistic completion that also made the performance more exciting; if Qi Yuan’s performance up front was not holding back, then this part made his performance a bonus item.
On the technical level, this performance was nearly flawless.
After watching Qi Yuan’s performance, everyone was completely messed up; they originally thought Chen Ping losing to Yu Wei was exaggerated, but now it clearly seemed like downplaying the facts.
What do you mean Chen Ping lost—this was two against one and still losing; losing even with a bonus item—how can you whitewash this…
Qi Yunming had already sat up from the sofa; he was very satisfied with his son’s performance and quite liked Old Chen’s song too.
If he were to score it, this performance was absolutely over ninety points; if Yu Wei could still turn the tables in this situation, it would indeed be undisputed and well-deserved.
He had to sit up for this.
“If the old master saw Yuan Yuan’s performance, he should be quite satisfied too.”
Chen Jinyi sighed, feeling an indescribable taste in her heart; this had nothing to do with so-called victory or defeat, but a sense of emotion across time.
Actually, those who truly like Chen Ping, hearing his song again after so many years, would only feel moved and comforted in their inner hearts.
Just like seeing a friend not seen for many years, they wouldn’t care about so-called winning or losing in competitions; after all, hearing the song was already great luck.
Those netizens who use Chen Ping every day to step on other singers—are they really Chen Ping fans?
Not necessarily; many people just treat Chen Ping as a counter card for internet scripture debates, with a high content of mindless hype and cloud fans.
Champion fans are like this.
The hardest part of this showdown wasn’t beating Chen Ping’s work, but beating that invincible ideology in everyone’s hearts…
Even though Chen Jinyi had ample reason to stand on Yu Wei’s opposing side, at this moment she was also wondering if Yu Wei could really do it.
For Chen Ping’s song, the audience reactions showed clear differences; the group over thirty-five was completely immersed, some concentrating intently, some closing their eyes to savor.
Young audience members also gave applause, but more out of respect for technique and admiration for the veteran artist, rather than emotional resonance.
When Yu Wei walked to the center of the stage, the entire performance space began to transform; the program team kept the stage change segment between performances for the first time, giving the two performances a clear interval.
This wasn’t them dragging out time or building expectation; it was just to let everyone feel viscerally that the era was about to hand over!
The moment the performance officially began, everyone unconsciously took a deep breath; contrary to their expectations, Yu Wei didn’t stun everyone with his opening voice, but handed the opening duty to Liu Wang.
The hoarse male voice carried a strange penetrating power, successfully opening the door to a new world for everyone.
This was exactly the effect Yu Wei wanted; under Liu Wang’s singing, every word was wrapped in the rough texture polished by years, like an old friend whispering those unbearable past events in your ear.
An ordinary song opened by a true ordinary person was far more infectious than his professionalism.
Yu Wei’s sudden whim before opening, after the program aired, produced an unexpected miraculous effect.
After knowing the competition results in advance, many people were curious about this song’s standard, so they inevitably listened with a scrutinizing mood.
Once music turns into “appreciation,” it’s hard to immerse, but Yu Wei having Liu Wang open first broke the audience’s expectations, letting them unconsciously immerse in the song.
When singing “Boiling, restless, where are you going,” Yu Wei’s singing technique began to show.
He handled every ending note with extreme elasticity, neither too hard nor hollow, perfectly supporting the gradually rising emotion.
The last line before the chorus, “Mysterious, silent, are you really listening to the story,” was sung extremely softly by him, almost turning into breathy voice, yet making everyone hold their breath involuntarily.
In this situation, the chorus arrived with the momentum of mountains roaring and seas boiling; Yu Wei suddenly stood up, sharply increasing his strumming force!
“I once crossed mountains and seas
Also through crowds of people
Everything I once possessed
Vanished into smoke in the blink of an eye!”
The singing exploded thunderously, like long-accumulated floodwaters breaking the dam; his technique was impeccable, and more importantly, Liu Wang’s rough voice line gave it an added layer of weight.
In front of the screen, many viewers were startled by this sudden shout, trembling all over.
Before they could react, the line “Ordinary is the only answer” successfully put a rest to the emotion.
“No wonder.”
Qi Yunming’s simple three words directly defined Yu Wei’s song; no wonder he won—even just these lines made it hard for him to lose.
At first listen, it’s the pain and resonance of shattered ideals; actually, it’s the disillusionment and reflection of idealism; this nearly plain emotional expression easily strikes the heart.
He had actually seen some online discussions about this competition; many brought up the era, saying both were good works, but Yu Wei’s song fit this era better.
But in Qi Yunming’s eyes, this had nothing to do with the era; Chen Ping’s song simply couldn’t compare to The Ordinary Road—this song would have won even back then.
This song’s biggest feature is actually not being pretentious; stripping away sentimental embellishments, its nearly monologic delivery makes listeners feel like hearing their own midnight sighs.
This de-performed authenticity is exactly what Chen Ping’s song lacks.
Simply put, when you adorn the ordinary with rhetoric, it’s still not ordinary enough; true ordinary can leap off the page…
Although Qi Yunming slacks off, his evaluations of works are always meticulous; good is good, bad is bad.
Even if the old master jumped out of the grave to find him at night, he’d still say it straight.
You lost, old man; saying it doesn’t fit the era is just saving face for you!
Ordinary viewers don’t understand this, but they do feel The Ordinary Road is more touching; if they blind voted without knowing the singer…
They seem to somewhat understand the on-site audience’s choice.
This song’s unadorned sincerity is the reason more people like it, not some so-called era.
Yu Wei didn’t win due to timing or location; he simply won on the person; this is truly well-deserved.
Once they figured this out, this competition’s victory or defeat had no suspense; Qi Yunming believed everyone would make a heartfelt choice.
On stage, Yu Wei’s singing continued; this time his performance perfectly matched realist aesthetics, with technique fully serving emotion.
Some evaluated this song as “no technique, all emotion,” but were quickly refuted; Yu Wei’s song should be “using advanced technique to support ultimate emotion.”
“Keep walking forward just like this, even if given something
Keep walking forward just like this, even if taken something
Keep walking forward just like this, even if missing something.”
This seemingly simple repeated line was performed by Yu Wei with layered progressive philosophical meaning; every “keep walking forward,” his pitch rose half a step, like steadily climbing a life journey.
Until the whole song ended, everyone hadn’t recovered; too late to evaluate who was better, they now just wanted to hear it again.
During program recording, Qi Yuan crying actually played a decisive role, because it simply gave everyone a judgment standard.
On-site audience couldn’t exchange listening feelings, so didn’t know if their personal ideas were right; at that time, they needed a reference to reach a conclusion.
But after the main episode aired, everyone had space to discuss the song, so this segment became just an emotional outlet, unrelated to the competition result.
Once they chatted, everyone knew the vast majority preferred The Ordinary Road, because it wasn’t pretentious at all.
Even if they were on site, they would make the same choice.
“Comrade Xiao Chen, are you convinced?”
Seeing her mom a bit lost after listening, Qi Luo An comforted her in a joking tone.
“If you ask me, I’m the biggest filial son of Chen in the world.”
Can’t trash this one; this is really a filial son.
“Maybe…” Chen Jinyi let out a long breath, seeming still to struggle psychologically around her own ideas, “you’re right.”
Hearing this, Qi Luo An didn’t show joy, just hugged her mom’s neck and acted coquettish; she knew how much rationality it took to say that.
Some busybody netizen posted an online poll on Weibo, similar to likes for Yu Wei’s Top Streamer; though participation wasn’t huge, the result represented some public opinion.
Soon, the competition result came out fresh: twenty thousand participants, support rate 68% to 32%; Yu Wei’s The Ordinary Road won with absolute lead.
This was way more convincing than the program’s three hundred votes; thus, under netizens’ witness, Yu Wei truly won in every sense.
“Has anyone noticed, Yu Wei always goes all out in one against two?”
An interesting comment quickly drew crowds to watch; indeed, whenever Yu Wei fought in the arena with others, it was as intense as possible, and though he won in the end, it always felt evenly matched.
But in one against two, it was different; singing, playing piano—which time didn’t he go all out?
What tactic, special attack in one against two?
“Maybe in one against two he’s under pressure, tends to go too hard.”
This kid, in single fights he even goes fifty-fifty with people, but in one against two, he doesn’t even pretend…
Netizens pondered and reached an amusing conclusion.
Never let Yu Wei think you’re strong; if you pretend weak, he’ll let you; if he feels you’re strong, he really beats you to death.
