"Thank you all three teachers for your unique insights and descriptions regarding the Dunhuang Grottoes."
The camera angle shifted to the center of the stage.
With a smile, Zhu Shi turned back to the camera and continued, "Just now, the three teachers said they couldn't wait to hear the guests perform. I imagine not only the three teachers are looking forward to it, but I am too, and I'm sure all the viewers at home are just as eager. So I won't waste any more time. Let me ask our five guest mentors: who would like to kick things off for us?"
As Zhu Shi finished speaking, the camera cut again, showing a wide shot of the five guests. The show hadn't arranged any particular order at all, leaving the guests to decide among themselves.
Xu An was originally sitting quietly on the sofa with a faint smile, thinking to himself that whoever wanted to go first could go ahead, but he certainly wasn't going to. Just as he was leisurely preparing to enjoy the first guest's performance, a staff member suddenly hurried over, hunching forward until they stood right in front of him.
Under Xu An's bewildered gaze, the staff member handed a microphone straight into his hands.
Xu An: "???"
His smile froze instantly on his face. What was going on here?
Before he could react, all four guests and even the three mentors turned to look at Xu An. The cameras locked onto him, practically hovering inches from his face.
The brief stiffness melted away in a flash. Wearing a bright smile, Xu An stood up from the sofa, held the microphone toward the camera, and said, "While I'd love to claim this honor, I still think it's best to let ladies first."
With that, Xu An walked straight toward the two female pop divas sitting across from him. Who knows what was going on in his head—perhaps he was drawn to one of them wearing twin ponytails, or maybe their outfits happened to match his own. In any case, Xu An walked right up to Chu Xingjun and held the microphone out to her. "Such a big deal has to be handled by a professional. I won't fight you for it."
In front of the cameras, Chu Xingjun didn't care at all about whether she went first; to her, it made no difference. "Thank you for choosing me among the three ladies."
Hearing this, Xu An shrugged, smiled slightly at the camera, and walked back to his sofa to sit down.
Taking the microphone, Chu Xingjun stood up from the sofa and strode to the center of the stage. The camera followed her every step, capturing her proud and elegant posture entirely within the frame.
Zhu Shi looked at Chu Xingjun standing beside her. "Little Diva of the Mandopop scene, Chu Xingjun—I finally get to meet my idol. Come on, let's have a hug first."
With that, the two of them shared an enthusiastic embrace.
Pulling apart, Zhu Shi couldn't help sighing, "I wonder how many of your male fans are gnashing their teeth at me right now over this hug."
Chu Xingjun smiled faintly. "It's fine, your male fans probably wouldn't let me off the hook either."
They shared an amused glance.
"Let's skip the small talk. I imagine the viewers at home are getting impatient. What song have you brought for us today?" Zhu Shi asked, looking at Chu Xingjun with curious eyes.
"The song I brought today is called 'Dunhuang'." Chu Xingjun replied.
"Shall we get started right now, then?" Zhu Shi asked.
Chu Xingjun blinked. "What, are you going to squeeze in a commercial break?"
At that, the guests burst out laughing, and even Zhu Shi chuckled.
"There won't be any commercials. Since you're ready, let's begin." With that, Zhu Shi yielded the stage to Chu Xingjun.
Since it was nighttime and they were shooting outdoors, there was no elaborate stage production to speak of. As Zhu Shi stepped away, the sound system set up on either side of the stage began playing the accompaniment.
The guzheng blended with the violin, leaning toward a classical style, yet the addition of the violin gave the accompaniment extra layers of depth.
"In that distant northwest, there lies a mysterious place.
The grottoes beside Singing Sand Mountain shine with a millennium of light.
A thousand grottoes of Mogao line the singing sands, cliff walls draped in five-colored clouds.
Poplars cast green shade beyond the pavilion paths, nine stories high connecting to the brilliance of the sun.
Wind and sand cannot blow away the history in our memories, and time cannot wash away the splendor of art.
Every mural tells a story, and every Buddha statue speaks of the past."
Chu Xingjun's voice was remarkably clear. The key of the song was somewhat high, but she handled it with effortless ease. Even Xu An, sitting down below, wore an expression of intense concentration. By his standards, the song Chu Xingjun was singing easily scored above eighty points. The arrangement and lyrics, combined with Chu Xingjun's exceptionally stable vocal foundation, didn't just elevate the song—they pushed it to an entirely new height.
As the dense guzheng and string instruments swelled, the chorus arrived.
"Dunhuang, oh Dunhuang, you are the glorious chapter of history.
Dunhuang, oh Dunhuang, you are the ocean of art.
Your beauty makes the heart intoxicated, leaving one lingering without thought of return.
Your story will be sung forever through the passage of time."
During the high notes of the chorus, Chu Xingjun's clear voice, combined with the fragile beauty of her high register, elevated the entire song once more. Even Xu An had to marvel at how rock-solid her vocal technique was; she was simply blessed by the heavens.
Then came the repeated verse and chorus, and Chu Xingjun delivered every single note with flawless stability. If Xu An remembered correctly, they hadn't even rehearsed this beforehand. Thinking of that, he admired Chu Xingjun even more—her live performance ability was something he could never hope to catch up to, not even if he chased her on horseback.
***
As the song ended, warm applause erupted across the set. Since the show adopted a salon format, there was no live studio audience.
When the applause faded, Chu Xingjun bowed deeply toward the guests from the center of the stage, and the host walked back onto the stage.
"Wow, that song just now was simply breathtaking, especially when the guzheng kicked in—it felt as though I'd crossed through time and space to witness the ancient Silk Road with my own eyes. And your high notes were just gorgeous!"
Standing beside Chu Xingjun, Zhu Shi lavished praise without holding back, yet no one could accuse her of exaggerating. Based purely on the performance Chu Xingjun had just delivered, she earned every bit of it.
"Thank you, you're making me blush with all this praise." Chu Xingjun feigned shyness, her expression sending a wave of howling through the pack of wolves watching behind their televisions. Even Xu An was briefly dazed—it wasn't that he had never seen beautiful women, but he had rarely seen one quite like this.
"Well, due to time constraints, please take a short rest. Next up, let's welcome Xu Xingmo."
Acting on instructions from the floor director, Zhu Shi picked up the pace; after all, this program didn't feature mid-show commercial breaks. Perhaps the production team tacitly approved of Xu An's "ladies first" suggestion, deciding it was easiest to simply proceed in order.
Xu Xingmo sat to Chu Xingjun's right, ready to take her turn.
***
*Author's Note: The lyrics are original, with a portion adapted from "Song of the Dunhuang Grottoes" by Qiu Dengcheng.*