Xu Xingmo's voice was distinctly different from Chu Xingjun's.
Or rather, the two of them represented completely opposite extremes.
Chu Xingjun's singing voice was clear and resonant, carrying a fiery passion.
Xu Xingmo, on the other hand, was just the opposite—gentle as water, giving people a sense of quiet and nourishing grace.
The song suited Xu Xingmo's voice to perfection, focusing entirely on gentleness and showing the audience another side of Dunhuang.
Next came Zhuang Rong, followed by Zhuo Tianrui.
These two brought yet another two different styles.
Zhuang Rong's choice of song was, as always, grand and majestic, and her rich vocal technique truly befitted a national-level singer.
The transitions between low and high notes were effortless, and combined with her looks that aligned perfectly with traditional aesthetic values, she cut the picture of peace and national prosperity.
Zhuo Tianrui's style was rock. When the drum kit kicked in, driven by the rhythm of the electric guitar, people couldn't help but sway along with the melody.
It wasn't heavy metal, but rather light rock, centered around lyrics deeply rooted in everyday life, earning unanimous praise.
Over on the internet.
In the Doushou CCTV livestream room, the screen was so packed with bullet comments that the live broadcast feed was entirely blocked out.
"Still gotta be my Sister Xingyun (Xingjun)! Little Xingyun will accompany you forever!!"
"Sister Xingyun is truly gorgeous. I am so green with envy seeing her hug the host at the opening!"
"Wow! My little Xingmo is as gentle as ever, I love you to death!"
"My apologies, my apologies, my humble wife is making a fool of herself (referring to Chu Xingjun as his wife)."
"It has to be Mother Zhuang. The moment she opens her mouth, it's all about national peace and prosperity; this kind of skill crushes everyone else."
"Mother Zhuang is indeed steady; I got goosebumps during the high notes. This CCTV competition is insanely good—it's practically a clash of the gods."
"Thank goodness they didn't use a competitive format. If they actually turned it into a contest, there's no way I could choose who's first and who's second."
"There should be one more person after Old Zhuo, right? That kid is quite handsome. Does anyone know his name? Why don't I remember him?"
"Where is my Du Hui? Didn't they say Du Hui was participating in this episode of Composing China's Rivers and Mountains? How come he's nowhere to be seen? Can they really swap people out at the last minute?"
"Yeah, where's Du Hui? Could that pretty boy just now have stolen Du Hui's spot? Damn, must be a connected insider!"
"Not gonna lie, regardless of fame, just looking at his face and figure, this kid is definitely better than Du Hui."
At this moment, the bullet comments erupted into an extremely heated discussion about why Du Hui didn't show up, but unfortunately, no one answered.
In the center of the Dunhuang stage.
As Zhuo Tianrui returned to his seat, the camera turned to focus on Xu An, who was still sitting on the sofa.
Right then, Xu An couldn't help but curse inwardly. If he had known it was going to be a clash of immortals like this, he wouldn't have taken this gig even for double the appearance fee!
Seeing that Xu An hadn't moved an inch, the floor director panicked completely and snapped in a low voice at the assistant director beside him: "What the hell are you playing at?!"
The assistant director looked like he was about to cry: "I don't know either! Everything was agreed upon fair and square."
The assistant director was dying inside—it had all been settled beforehand, so why did it look like the guy was about to back out?
Not to mention, Xu An really did want to run away right then and there.
In the center of the stage, Zhu Shi looked at Xu An, who still hadn't moved. Though puzzled, she spoke up: "First time on stage, a bit nervous?"
With a single sentence, Zhu Shi effectively put Xu An in check.
Now he couldn't step back, nor could he stay put. In the end, he could only take a deep breath and stand up from his seat.
The gazes of Chu Xingjun, Xu Xingmo, and the others all turned toward Xu An, completely baffled as to what he was playing at.
By this point, Xu An was kicking himself so hard he wanted to slap his own face a few times.
Clearly, they had let him go first, but he just had to go and play the gentleman with "ladies first."
Now look at it—he missed out on a quick death to get it over with quickly, and instead ended up drawing the finale slot.
Forget about a newcomer like Xu An; even someone with as much stage experience as Chu Xingjun would feel a certain amount of psychological pressure when performing last.
Fortunately, he wasn't following Zhuang Rong; if he had to follow Zhuang Rong, he'd rather shove his head straight into the floor and play the ostrich.
Straightening his white shirt, Xu An walked to the center of the stage, right next to Zhu Shi.
"You can tell you're under a lot of pressure—look, even the tip of your nose is sweating," Zhu Shi said, pulling out a pack of facial tissues from somewhere and handing it to Xu An.
After muttering a thanks, Xu An actually took the tissue right in front of the cameras and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
This sight left the four guest judges offstage in a daze, and even Zhu Shi hadn't expected him to actually use it to wipe his sweat on the spot.
"So, are you ready now? It's your turn to sing." Zhu Shi figured that since the guy was so nervous, if she kept asking questions, he might bolt, so she hurried him along to sing.
"Uh... ready."
After wiping his sweat, Xu An stuffed both the used tissue and the entire pack straight into his trouser pocket.
"Then what song have you brought for us?"
"Watching the Murals."
"Then let's welcome Xu An with his song, Watching the Murals."
With that, Zhu Shi turned and hurried off the stage, terrified that if she were even a second too slow, he might run away before she could.
Xu An took a deep breath and looked straight ahead. It was a good thing this was formatted as a casual salon with no audience around; if there had been an audience, his singing probably would have been trembling.
*It's fine, it's fine, just pretend you're singing in a KTV. Good or bad, this is it; make a fool of yourself if you have to—let's do this!*
Xu An kept pumping himself up internally, and gradually, he really did stop feeling nervous.
The accompaniment music rang out from the speakers.
The sounds of a guitar and a bamboo flute intertwined, laced with backing vocals and a rich mix.
Hearing the familiar accompaniment, Xu An instantly stepped into the zone, took a deep breath, and began to sing softly.
Originally, the four guest judges and three professors present held no expectations for Xu An's performance.
But the moment the very first line left his lips, they realized they were wrong—and spectacularly so.
Even the Doushou livestream room went through a brief moment of quiet before erupting like a volcano into a screen full of question marks.
"The forgotten sands flow and twist around fingertips.
Fairies of the cloud towers, water-sleeves trailing and intertwined.
Guests arrive beneath the Kalan bodhi tree.
Dreams invite the dance of the Eight Legions.
..."
A mere four lines of lyrics were enough to show astonishment on the faces of the three literature and history professors.
*Fairies of the cloud towers, water-sleeves trailing and intertwined* depicted the scene of fairies dancing with flowing sleeves in the murals.
*Guests arrive beneath the Kalan bodhi tree* hinted at the Buddhist-related imagery within the murals.
*Dreams invite the dance of the Eight Legions* embodied the scenes of various deities dancing in the murals.
Just as the guests and professors were immersed in the song, the originally gentle melody suddenly shifted.
Dense drumbeats came down like a driving rain, and just as the guests and professors exchanged bewildered glances, Xu An burst out with a slight traditional opera vocal technique in his tone.
"In an instant, lifelike threads of shadow emerge, light reflecting off the palaces.
Mistakenly asking what year it is tonight.
A light Whirl, dancers and lamps,
Where does one sleep for eternity?
Accompanied by the stars reflecting across the heavens.
Soaked in snow, ten thousand rays of divine light converge, sounds molding the Buddha niches.
Leaving now to drink and feast amid the dust.
Faces change, how can the mural's former brilliance be nowhere in sight?
Only to wake up,
Watching the Murals."
As the chorus ended, Xu An's gentle voice, embellished with touches of opera technique, produced a stunning effect that even he himself hadn't anticipated.
......
*(Note: "Watching the Murals" is a song originally performed by Zhang Xiaohan [a member of the group One Bunch of Scallions], with lyrics by Xiaoliu and music by Zhou Mingcong.)*