I Became an All-round Artist

When Tang Yue finished her song, the audience was convinced that this year’s champion was already decided.

But when Xia Fan finished her song, the audience was equally sure the champion was now clear again.

Well, okay then.

Even though the Chinese language is vast and profound, there really was no suspense left after the second performance, as the entire crowd began chanting the same name:

"Xia Fan!"
"Xia Fan!"

Most of the audience members were neutral. The great thing about neutral fans is that they support whoever performs the best. Earlier, they were cheering for Tang Yue, but now they were firmly rooting for Xia Fan, switching sides as if they were jumping back and forth.

The male host rushed onto the stage, his voice booming, "What a feast for the ears! I believe everyone here, and those watching from home, are equally excited right now. But let’s all try to calm down for a moment."

"Indeed," added the female host, joining him on stage. "Who would’ve thought that this year’s battle for the championship would give us not one, but two brand-new songs, both of which brought the house down? Let’s hear what our four judges have to say!"

The camera panned to the four judges, who were visibly excited, almost as if they’d eaten something spicy. It took them a while to regain their composure, which prompted some laughter from the crowd.

"I think I’ve finally calmed down," the first judge said with a smile. "But honestly, I don’t even know how to critique this song. All I can say is that whoever composed it is definitely no amateur. The composition is excellent, and the performance was incredible. If I had to give feedback, I’d say Xia Fan’s song is my favorite of the entire competition!"

"A flawless performance!"
The second judge also gave high praise and then turned to Xia Fan, asking, "Can you reveal the name of this song and who the composer behind it is?"

Shhhh!

All eyes were on Xia Fan. While the crowd marveled at how stunning the song was, they were also dying to know who had written it.

Xia Fan glanced toward the side of the stage.

Zhao Jue nodded at her gently.

There was no need for secrecy anymore since Xia Fan was already set to sign with Xingmang.

Taking a deep breath, Xia Fan smiled and said, "The song is called 'The First Dream,' and it was written and composed by..."

"Xian Yu."

The revelation hit the crowd like a wave, causing a massive uproar!

Seated in the distance, Xi Mei staggered and almost fell, saved only by Tang Yue’s quick reflexes.

Xian Yu! It really was Xian Yu!

Xi Mei wanted to disappear on the spot. She had earlier mocked Xia Fan and Zhao Jue, teasing them about asking "that fish" for help. And now? Was this what she had wished for? Oh, the irony!

Tang Yue gave a wry smile. "So it’s Xian Yu. I’ve always liked his songs. In fact, during the final four round, I specifically chose to sing 'The Big Fish.'"

"It’s fine," Xi Mei gritted her teeth, grumbling, "Our Shining Silver Light has plenty of talented composers too, just as good as Xian Yu!"

Tang Yue: "..."

But I like Xian Yu.

Tang Yue had once dreamed of joining the music industry and wondered if she might cross paths with Xian Yu one day. Well, she certainly crossed paths with him—just not in the way she had imagined. Being completely overshadowed by his work? Now that was unexpected.

Tang Yue couldn’t help but think, how great would it be if Xian Yu were one of Shining Silver Light’s composers?

Of course, that was a thought she wouldn’t dare voice aloud. After all, she was now an artist under Shining Silver Light, a company that was a known rival of Xingmang.

"I’m not even surprised," remarked the third judge, after a brief moment of shock. "Some audience members might not be too familiar with Xian Yu, or maybe they don’t know who he is. But surely you’ve all heard of 'Red Rose,' right? That hit single released in June? It was composed by none other than Xian Yu. He’s one of the top composers in the music industry."

As soon as these words left his mouth, the crowd went wild.

The judge was taken aback—had he said something wrong? Why was the audience reacting so strongly?

He looked at his fellow judges.

They shrugged in confusion.

The judges turned back to listen to the crowd’s chants, and soon the audience’s voices became clear:

"I know Xian Yu!"
"I’ve heard his music!"
"I’m a Xian Yu fan!"
"Sorry, but we know him very well!"

The judges smiled awkwardly, and the hosts couldn’t help but join in with a bit of schadenfreude. "It seems like our judges have underestimated the audience. Xian Yu’s popularity extends well beyond the music industry."

And that made sense. Anyone who had been following the music scene recently would be familiar with Xian Yu. His hit single "Red Rose" had just won the seasonal championship in June. Even though he didn’t release many songs, each one was a major success. "Isn’t that right?" the host asked.

"Yes!"
The audience roared in response.

The conversation had already moved beyond "Who is Xian Yu?" Even those who didn’t know him were now pretending they did, because no one wanted to seem out of touch. Meanwhile, the true fans were even more ecstatic:

"Xian Yu is amazing!"
"A true master composer!"
"The judges thought we didn’t know Xian Yu? Didn't Tang Yue sing his 'The Big Fish' earlier? I’ve been a die-hard Xian Yu fan for ages. No one here knows him better than I do!"
"Nonsense, I know him better!"
"As someone who’s been a fan since 'Life Like Summer Flowers,' I don’t need anyone to introduce Xian Yu to me. I was already praising him online when most of you didn’t even know who he was."

"..."

The audience was buzzing with excitement.

The judges couldn’t help but laugh. It was rare for a composer to be this well-known by the general public. Usually, only top-tier composers, the "song kings," could garner this level of recognition.

"A great sword for a great hero," the fourth judge finally spoke, giving a thumbs-up. "A brilliant song needs a brilliant singer to truly shine. I believe Xia Fan brought out the full potential of this song. Xian Yu made the right choice entrusting this song to you. You didn’t let it down."

"..."

After the judges had given their comments, the host announced, "Now it’s time for the voting round. We still need to choose today’s champion. Although Xia Fan gave an outstanding performance, Tang Yue also delivered a fantastic show for everyone."

But everyone knew.

Those were just formalities.

Here’s the translation with slight adjustments for natural English readability, while preserving the original meaning:

Tang Yue’s performance was indeed impressive, but compared to Xia Fan, it was clearly lacking in some way. There was no need for too much commentary; the reactions from both the audience and judges said it all. After all, this was still a fair competition.

But the formalities had to be followed.

As the public judges continued casting their votes, Xia Fan finally lifted the championship trophy amidst the replay of her song "The First Dream."

The lights were dazzling!

Tang Yue, as the runner-up, stepped on stage, standing beside Xia Fan, holding her runner-up trophy with a slightly bitter smile.

“Congratulations.”

When she politely hugged Xia Fan, Tang Yue suddenly leaned toward her ear and whispered, “You had a better hand than I did.”

There was a trace of envy, but also some unwillingness.

Xia Fan, of course, understood the implication behind Tang Yue’s words.

So, she leaned toward Tang Yue's ear as well and, with some confusion, whispered back, “But... you guys made the first move.”

Xia Fan was genuinely puzzled.

To prove her strength, she had even made a promise to herself.

Xia Fan promised herself:
As long as the opponent doesn’t use nuclear weapons, I won’t bring out Xianyu.
A loss is a loss. If I’m not as good, I have nothing to say.

But the other side still chose to bring out their “nuclear weapon.”
So, there was no need for her to hold back.

Besides, Xi Mei shouldn’t have tried to mess with her emotions, and certainly shouldn’t have joked about Lin Yuan. If it weren’t for that, Xia Fan wouldn’t have performed so well in her final song!

After all, Tang Yue’s performance was truly great.
At that moment, the stage was extremely difficult to follow.
It was Xi Mei who personally gave Xia Fan the reason she couldn’t afford to lose.

“...”

Tang Yue bit her lip, saying nothing more.

After the competition, Xi Mei quickly dragged Tang Yue away, barely answering a few questions from the reporters. She felt stifled here, and walking in those sky-high heels was exhausting. She really shouldn’t have worn them.

Time to slip away.

Zhao Jue, however, was in no rush to leave. She made sure to bring Xia Fan out in front of the reporters and even publicly announced some big news. As she made the announcement, she glanced at Xi Mei, who was walking away hurriedly:
“We at Star Light have officially signed with Xia Fan. Additionally, I’ve decided that Xia Fan will be competing in this season’s New Song Chart!”

Click, click, click!
The reporters went wild with photographs, bombarding the new champion with questions. Xia Fan answered them one by one.

She didn’t know why, but after that last performance, she felt as though she’d been reborn. The nervousness was gone.

In the past, surrounded by so many reporters, she would probably have been too busy worrying about where the restroom was!

...

Meanwhile, in Sucheng, at the Wutong Garden neighborhood.

As Xia Fan was crowned champion during the live broadcast of the finals, Lin Xuan leaped three feet into the air from excitement—especially when Xia Fan announced that her final song was composed by her younger brother. She was beyond thrilled.

“We won, we won! You’re amazing, little brother!”

Lin Yuan said, “Xia Fan’s the amazing one.”

Xia Fan had previously recorded “The First Dream,” but neither the assessment version nor the countless rehearsals could compare to tonight’s performance on stage.

This was the best version of “The First Dream.” It was so good that Lin Yuan was shocked—Xia Fan had even raised the key.

It wasn’t just the powerful high notes.
This was a flawless performance!

It made Lin Yuan realize even more clearly how limitless human potential can be.

“Long live the champion!”

In their small chat group, Jian Yi immediately sent a message. It was clear he had watched the entire finale of Bloom from home.

To show his excitement, Jian Yi ceremoniously sent a one-yuan red packet.

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