The Queen's Rise to the Top

Chapter 324

Guan Liangzhe first warmed up the atmosphere, then began drawing lots.

The audience couldn't wait for the auditory feast to begin!

In the first round, Wu Sisi was drawn.

Her performance was neither hot nor cold, and she was a little unstable.

The theme was loneliness. Wu Sisi chose a ballad, but she got distracted and zoned out while singing, not conveying the proper emotion for the ballad.

After getting off stage, the second person drawn was Wei Sha.

Wei Sha had been performing very well in recent episodes. She also sang a ballad, but conveyed much more emotion than Wu Sisi.

The third person on stage was Yang Rongjun, followed by several other singers who went on stage in succession.

Sitting in the audience, Jie Chou was getting a little impatient: “Hasn’t Nan XiangWan gone on yet? Don’t tell me she’s going last.”

Gu Beihuai said: “There’s some manipulation going on.”

Jie Chou: “Hmm?”

Gu Beihuai sneered coldly: “Yan Qin is a veteran senior; it’s normal for her to make some demands of the show. Putting Nan Xiangwan last means the voting period will be shortest. Plus the theme this round is loneliness and everyone’s singing ballads, so the audience can easily get auditory fatigue. Look, some people have even fallen asleep.”

Jie Chou was a little worried: “What should we do then? That’s so unfair!”

Gu Beihuai said: “Don’t worry, Nan Xiangwan didn’t choose a ballad.”

Jie Chou: “The theme is loneliness. Not choosing a ballad? Isn’t the point to make people cry?”

Gu Beihuai smiled: “She pulled a little trick that happened to work out well.”

At this time, it was already the last round of performances.

Guan Liangzhe: “Our last performer, no need to draw lots, everyone knows who it is. Let’s welcome—Nan Xiangwan!”

The lights dimmed and on the screen to the side, the song title appeared.

“Loneliness” - Deng Ziqi

After a brief moment of stillness, Nan Xiangwan walked onto the stage from the passageway.

Grasping the mic with one hand, a spotlight shone down on her.

The moment her styling was revealed, exclamations erupted from the audience!

“Wow—”

Monica is an international stylist, adept at bold, eye-catching looks.

Nan Xiangwan wore a cropped outfit, with wide-leg pants on bottom and a long-sleeved top that even had a stand collar.

Her limbs were all wrapped up, with not even her neck exposed, just a glimpse of fair belly showing. Her hairstyle was unclear because she wore a stylish beret.

Her earrings were dazzling large diamonds.

Her makeup was highly pigmented, making her facial features stand out starkly, yet without large blocks of color.

Just her face makeup took Monica two hours!

So Nan Xiangwan standing there had a tremendous sense of dimension, seeming to leap out from the screen.

Bullet comments—

: I almost fell asleep listening to the first seven songs. Finally got to see my darling Nan Xiangwan!

: Coming out last is a bit disadvantageous.

: Luckily Nan Xiangwan isn’t singing a ballad. I really was getting sleepy!

...

At this moment, the stage lighting began to brighten and the accompaniment sounded.

The combination of piano and backing vocals gave an ethereal feeling.

But very quickly at the 22 second mark, this ethereal atmosphere drastically shifted as Nan Xiangwan’s rap sounded out against a driving beat.

[It’s another night with rain drifting]

[On a noisy street I gaze at the moon]

[Forgot if it’s rain or tears suddenly sliding down my face]

This song also depicted loneliness, but different from the loneliness in ballads, more like an outpouring after long-term repression.

As soon as this song came out, the 300 drowsy audience members in the venue woke up.

Not only did they wake up, they even started nodding along.

Nan Xiangwan’s rap had always been popular; it was her strongest suit.

With this singing voice, the atmosphere of the show finally livened up.

Sitting in the front row, Jie Chou kept shaking uncontrollably.

He wanted to dance!

After the rap was the chorus. Nan Xiangwan’s vocals were equally good, sang lightly and ethereally.

[Pure moonlight, please cleanse me]

[Wash away the ink spilled by time]

[Extinguish the sparks I’ve swallowed]

It was like standing alone under the rain on a noisy city street, surrounded by people rushing to and fro.

The audience below knitted their brows as they listened, subtly pulled into the scene.

Right after, the tempo gradually quickened!

At the same time, Nan Xiangwan suddenly reached out her arm...

Waving it horizontally, she fiercely flipped off her hat and threw it forcefully onto the stage!

An explosion of power in that instant!

Fireworks on the stage went off precisely at the 1 minute 30 second mark.

The rap sounds were bursting forth!

[hey!]

[From young I do everything to be the best]

[However tough, I grit my teeth; however tired, I won’t shed a tear]

Whoa—

Sounds of applause erupted!

The emotion of the music catalyzed the atmosphere in that moment.

The barrage of bullet comments finally exploded too, changing from the previous sleepy comments to a screen full.

Sitting backstage, Executive Producer Zhang Rui's expression was not very good.

He had been pressured but had no way to resist.

Yet Nan Xiangwan still brought about a miracle!

The show continued on stage.

After several parts, it moved into the final stretch.

Standing in the center of the stage, Nan Xiangwan looked up and sang out the last segment.

[Turns out loneliness is wanting to cry yet not wanting attention]

[...]

[At this moment feeling lonely with countless others like you]

As the last syllable fell, she turned back gazing at the audience below.

Whoa—

Thunderous applause!

She had awakened them all.

The loneliness conveyed in this song was different than the others’. The rest sang of sorrowful loneliness. Nan Xiangwan sang of loneliness after repression bursting out.

The understanding shown towards the emotion was much more multifaceted.

This was what a diverse stage should be!

Backstage, Executive Producer Zhang Rui kept nodding. This was precisely what he’d hoped for when he gave the loneliness theme, wanting the singers to convey different understandings of the emotion.

Yet of so many people, only Nan Xiangwan gave a different answer!

Bullet comments—

: Here it comes! [Throws hat].gif

: Hahaha! Expression packs are essential!

: She finally woke me up. Voted and now going out to eat something, getting ready for an all-nighter!

: Hehe! Same here!

...

After Nan Xiangwan finished singing, half the livestream audience abruptly left.

Then it immediately went into the voting segment.

Nan Xiangwan had wanted to leave the stage to wait, but the host timely called for her.

Guan Liangzhe: "Nan Xiangwan, don't go yet. Wait for everyone to return to the stage."

So Nan Xiangwan could only keep standing there, while picking up the hat from the ground.

Guan Liangzhe: “Let’s chat a bit. This hat looks so nice!”

Nan Xiangwan: “Yeah, my stylist lent it to me. Seems pretty expensive.”

Guan Liangzhe was originally going to try it on, but hearing how pricey it was, he quickly retracted his hand. Seeing the brand name on the hat’s rim—dang, high class stuff!

Too rich for him!

At this time, the other singers also returned to the stage, walking out from the passage.

Guan Liangzhe turned into a social butterfly, flitting between the eight singers, chatting and joking around.

The host's skills were on full display engaging each one!