Chapter 66

......

Crossing the hill~ Though my hair is already white~

Chattering incessantly~ The sorrow of time not waiting~

Not yet seeing the immortal~ I've already lost myself~

......

Crossing the hill~ Only to find no one waiting~

Chattering incessantly~ Can no longer call back the tenderness~

Why can't I remember the last embrace~ And when it happened~

......

As the first crescendo of the song appeared, Li Zongheng's mentor chair turned!

The song was already stirring hearts with its crescendo, and Li Zongheng's chair turn further ignited the audience's emotions!

Many people were whispering in amazement, their shock even more intense than when Guan Yaling instantly turned her chair!

No one would have thought that Master Li Zongheng would give Lin Zai Shan a second chair turn!

Li Zongheng's chair turned clockwise from the side where Zhou Qinghua was.

Turning his head in surprise, Zhou Qinghua looked through his dark glasses as Li Zongheng's chair slowly turned, and he asked with a stunned smile, "Brother, so impulsive?"

"I was moved by this piece," Li Zongheng did not hide his feelings, his face showing a refined yet subtly excited smile.

Zhou Qinghua was even more surprised, not understanding how Li Zongheng could be moved so quickly?

Zhou Qinghua had deep skills, and he heard very clearly that the small crescendo of "Hill" was sung with restraint, with the singer deliberately holding back the breath at the end of each phrase, not letting the emotions fully release.

The song would definitely have a more powerful climax later, like climbing a mountain, getting higher and higher, with the arrangement becoming grander.

Currently, it was just a single guitar accompaniment, but later, it would definitely be a multi-instrument ensemble, creating a vast atmosphere.

When the singer's breath and emotions burst forth later, that would be the true climax that could truly excite the audience.

So far, the singer behind the scenes had not used a very impactful singing style to conquer everyone's ears. It could be said that he was still in the stage of building momentum, his voice having just climbed a small hill. How could Master Li be moved so quickly?

Watching Li Zongheng turn his chair, the eyes behind Zhou Qinghua's sunglasses showed a hint of playful interest—Guan Yaling was a young girl, so being impulsive was understandable, but how could Master Li be so impulsive? Could it be that the singer behind the scenes was from Arrow Target?

The audience, including Bai Ge and her friends, cheered excitedly when they saw Li Zongheng turn his chair for Lin Zai Shan.

Bai Ge knew that the true climax of the song had not yet arrived. Lin Zai Shan had told her that he would use a high-performance method to interpret this song.

Currently, Lin Zai Shan had only climbed the first small hill, and there were still two larger hills to climb.

Climbing those two hills with his voice would truly ignite the entire audience.

Now, her father had only climbed a small hill, and already two mentors had turned their chairs for him, including a master-level figure like Li Zongheng. It seemed that her father would definitely make a big splash today!

Her previous worries about her father were unnecessary! When it came to the crucial moment, her father just needed to eat a few boxes of rice, and his state would instantly soar! This was truly amazing!

If the melody line in Lin Zai Shan's voice during the rehearsal yesterday was flat, today, the melody he sang was completely three-dimensional.

With her hands clasped in front of her chest as if in prayer, Bai Ge was moved to tears.

Especially when Lin Zai Shan stood on the first small hill and softly sang, "Crossing the hill~ Though my hair is already white~ Chattering incessantly~ The sorrow of time not waiting~ Not yet seeing the immortal~ I've already lost myself~"

These lyrics were like a soft knife, grinding at Bai Ge's heart, making her feel a deep sense of sorrow.

From this song, Bai Ge deeply felt the bitterness and loneliness in Lin Zai Shan's heart.

Perhaps every artist who creates with their life goes through such a spiritual journey.

Sun Yuzhen, standing at the entrance, had listened to Lin Zai Shan's "Song for Myself" and had repeatedly listened to it in her private music library, over a hundred times.

The sense of time conveyed in Lin Zai Shan's "Song for Myself" left Sun Yuzhen in awe, as if she was not just listening to a song but to the passage of time.

Now, Lin Zai Shan presented the best version of "Hill," and Sun Yuzhen was so moved that she felt as if the Lin Zai Shan on stage today was a completely different person from the one during the rehearsal yesterday!

The emotional depth of this version of "Hill" was so high that from the very first note, Sun Yuzhen felt like she wanted to kneel and listen.

If "Song for Myself" was the opening, then "Hill" was the climax!

In "Song for Myself," Lin Zai Shan sang about time, while in "Hill," he sang about life!

During the rehearsal, she did not have this feeling, but now, Sun Yuzhen felt that any line from "Hill" could make her think for a long time.

The depth and breadth of this thinking were even more profound than "Song for Myself"!

No matter how she listened, she felt that Lin Zai Shan was singing the truth of life.

He was truly powerful!

Sun Yuzhen's admiration for Lin Zai Shan grew even more.

Behind her, through the long entrance corridor, and around the corner, was the Holding Room where the remaining six contestants were waiting.

The room had high-fidelity monitoring speakers.

The six singer-songwriters in the room had put down their tasks and were paying attention to Lin Zai Shan's performance.

During the group meeting, these singer-songwriters had introduced themselves, and they all knew who Lin Zai Shan was, even if they initially did not realize that the white-haired uncle was the former genius rocker. Later, through gossip, they learned his true identity.

The appearance of such a controversial uncle in the program, and his participation in the same recording session as them, left these singer-songwriters feeling very helpless. The more experienced ones, like Wang Zhenlei, were even more annoyed.

This annoyance was not because Lin Zai Shan had offended them, but because his presence would definitely steal all the focus.

The uncle's controversial background was so significant that after the program aired, the public's comments would focus on him, leaving no room for the others, no matter how well they performed.

From their own interests, the other singer-songwriters hoped that Lin Zai Shan's appearance on the program would be a joke or a publicity stunt, and that he was not really there to compete.

However, after listening to the A section of Lin Zai Shan's "Hill," these skilled singer-songwriters were all somewhat shocked.

Regardless of how the song was written, just Lin Zai Shan's voice alone was too "exaggerated" to them!

Was someone giving him live sound effects?

Why was his voice so full of沧桑 (沧桑 means "沧桑" in Chinese, which can be translated as "weathered" or "aged")! It seemed like a certain frequency had been adjusted.

A simple, flat melody, when sung or even spoken by this uncle, had a piercing effect. Such a weathered voice added so much to his music!

When the mentors pressed their buttons, a "click" sound would be transmitted live to the Holding Room.

But they could not see the visuals.

Guan Yaling's quick turn for Lin Zai Shan made these singer-songwriters suspect that the sound was just some other noise, as no mentor should turn their chair so quickly.

But when Lin Zai Shan reached the first small climax and Li Zongheng turned his chair, these singer-songwriters clearly realized: a mentor had definitely turned for Lin Zai Shan! And it was very likely that two mentors had already turned for this uncle!

At this moment, a staff member entered to inform them of the situation—Guan Yaling and Li Zongheng had turned their chairs for Lin Zai Shan!

The waiting singer-songwriters let out a chorus of exclamations! It was Master Li who turned for Lin Zai Shan, how amazing!

A few of them mentally gave Lin Zai Shan a thumbs up in admiration.

Although they still had doubts about Lin Zai Shan's character, his performance of "Hill" was indeed impressive, and now with Master Li's approval, they could not help but be convinced.

After this episode aired, they would definitely be cannon fodder. It was very helpless, but they had to accept it. There are always people who are better than you, what can you do?

Wang Zhenlei, still harboring hostility, remained unconvinced. He did not think that Lin Zai Shan's "Hill" was particularly groundbreaking.

If it were not for the uncle's weathered voice, which brought out the flavor of the song, it would be a completely bland piece!

Why did two mentors turn for such a piece?

There must be some behind-the-scenes dealings!

Wang Zhenlei, judging others by his own standards, felt there was something fishy.

The four mentors in this "Singer-Songwriter" competition were not just casually invited by the Oriental TV Station.

These four mentors represented the four most prosperous record companies in the Chinese music industry in the past—Arrow Target (Li Zongheng), Era (Zhou Qinghua), International Entertainment (Guan Yaling), and BM (Luo Benxiong).

Although these four major record companies have lost much of their influence due to the shrinking music market, they are still the most influential record companies in the Chinese music industry.

The Oriental TV Station specially invited the top singers and producers from these four major record companies to guide the competition to increase its competitiveness and entertainment value.

Wang Zhenlei himself was a producer for BM, so he knew that Lin Zai Shan was definitely not from BM.

If Guan Yaling and Li Zongheng turned for him, could he be from International Entertainment or Arrow Target?

He did not think Lin Zai Shan was from International Entertainment.

From Wang Zhenlei's understanding, International Entertainment did not take this competition as seriously as the other three major record companies, and Guan Yaling turned too quickly. If Lin Zai Shan were really from International Entertainment, it would be too fake.

He guessed that Guan Yaling might have turned for Lin Zai Shan by mistake.

But Li Zongheng's timing was not wrong.

Lin Zai Shan was very likely a bombshell figure sent by Arrow Target.

Twenty years ago, Lin Zai Shan was a singer for Arrow Target.

Although he later had a falling out with Arrow Target, after so much time, they might have reconciled.

Currently, only Arrow Target, which has been the number one in the record industry for 30 years, and a figure like Li Zongheng, could possibly bring Lin Zai Shan back to the spotlight.

This old rocker must be a representative of Arrow Target!

The more Wang Zhenlei thought about it, the more he felt there was something fishy—

Damn, Arrow Target is really dirty!

To win this competition, they are using every means possible!

Even digging up the dirt, how ruthless!

Just sending out Li Zongheng was enough to dominate, but they still had to bring out Lin Zai Shan to steal the show. Do they really not want to give other record companies a chance to live?

Damn!

Wang Zhenlei was really angry!

He even suspected that "Hill" might be a work by Li Zongheng, and Lin Zai Shan was singing it to help him steal the show and improve his image!

Wang Zhenlei knew that all four major record companies had sent singers to participate in the competition.

These singers did not need to be particularly talented in songwriting, as the four major mentors would help them behind the scenes, and they had the support of the music teams from the four major record companies. They just needed to perform well.

This old rocker, Lin Zai Shan, getting support from Arrow Target was something Wang Zhenlei could not accept, and he was so angry that he gritted his teeth!

Like Wang Zhenlei, his friend Ma Xiaodong was also gritting his teeth.

In the accompaniment area, Ma Xiaodong had been waiting with his arms crossed, expecting to see Lin Zai Shan's downfall, but instead, he saw two mentors turn for him!

And one of them was Master Li Zongheng!

What a joke!

What about "Hill" attracted Master Li?

This song, so thin that it lacks even an arrangement, why did Master Li turn for it? What's going on?

Is there some inside deal?

Li Zongheng turning for Lin Zai Shan before the big climax was really puzzling and annoying for Ma Xiaodong.

In the original arrangement of "Hill," after the first small climax, the music team would join in, gradually building up with Lin Zai Shan's voice to create the height and breadth of the "hill."

Without the support of the arrangement, Ma Xiaodong wondered how Lin Zai Shan could build up the atmosphere for the later parts.

If he couldn't, the song's realm would not rise, and the height of the mountain would not be conveyed, making it seem very ordinary.

It might even become a self-pitying little tune, unable to show the grandeur of looking down on the world.

As a top producer, Ma Xiaodong knew how good Lin Zai Shan's "Hill" was, but he did not want Lin Zai Shan to be arrogant.

Hmph!

With his arms crossed, Ma Xiaodong hummed and decided to see how Lin Zai Shan would sing the B section.

Page break for AD start

Page break for AD end