The Overlord has changedâ¦
He no longer belts out high notes, no longer uses elaborate vocal runs, no longer showcases countless bizarre techniques, he just uses the simplest voice to sing on this stage, but disappointingly, his song this round sounds better than any time before.
Everyone is clapping.
Lin Yuan is also clapping. He probably has guessed who the person on stage is â he thinks the judges and some people familiar with the singer have probably figured it out too. This is the best song that this person has ever sung on this stage.
âTeacher Prince of Lanling.â
An Hong looks at the Prince of Lanling.
All the eyes are on the Prince of Lanling.
Lin Yuan steps onto the stage, still not yet speaking a word, just nods lightly to the band. This would be his last song on this stage, and he doesnât want to just leave an impression of hysteria behind.
The sound of an electric piano rings out.
Lin Yuanâs voice is very pure:
âWandering
On the road
Are you preparing to leave
Fragile, in pride
Which has also once been my state.â
Lin Yuanâs voice is equally pure and simple, devoid of any technicality, just singing with the most essential voice. The expected scene of the final stage that many have imagined does not occur.
As if thereâs a huge contrast.
The stage has once been washed with high notes and techniques. However, in the last round of the final, the choice of the two singers somehow coincidentally had a similar flavor.
Butâ¦
Nobody is disappointed.
On the contrary, thereâs a faint sense of consolation.
âBoiling, uncertain
Where are you going
A mystery, in silence
Are you really listening to the storyâ¦â
Lin Yuanâs voice slightly elevates. This song, heâs also dedicating it to himself.
âI have once crossed mountains and seas
And ploughed through crowds of people
I once had everything
But in a blink, it all turned into smoke
I have once lost and despised, losing all direction
Until I saw, being ordinary, is the only answerâ¦.â
This is for my past life.
This is for my present life.
This is for every version of me.
Some audience members close their eyes slightly.
This song doesnât resonate like âExtravagance,â but it has a silent force. Many people thought it would be hard for the last song of Prince Lanling to surpass his previous one, but when this song played, everyone suddenly realized:
No comparisons needed.
This song.
Is equally good.
In fact, the chat in the screen was flooded with comments as the climax approached. At this moment, countless netizens were unable to restrain their emotions:
âMaybe this is what the final should look like.â
âThis is a singing stage, âExtravaganceâ is a slap to the face, a rebuttal, a release, but this song, itâs reconciliation. Not reconciling with the opponent, but opening up oneself to the audience.â
âI like this song.â
âThis is a crispy tune.â
âA must-add to the playlist.â
âI canât imagine how the second season can surpass this one, Prince Lanling is too strong, he didnât disappoint anyone in this final!â
ââ¦â
Lin Yuanâs voice returns to calm, and calmness is the truth of this song:
âWhile you are still fantasizingâ
âAbout your tomorrowâ
âWill it get better or worseâ
âTo me it is just another dayâ
âI once destroyed everything I hadâ
âJust wanted to leave foreverâ
âI was once stuck in endless darknessâ
âWhere struggling was uselessâ
âI was once like you, like him, like wild grass and flowersâ
âIn despair and longingâ
âCrying and laughing, being ordinaryâ¦â
He used to be insignificant, to stand out among others, angry and unwilling, blaming destiny. But all of those have become history, now everything is getting better. The tone of the music is uplifted, and Lin Yuan sings as if humming:
âKeep going forward just like that
Regardless of what youâve been given
Keep going forward just like that
Regardless of whatâs been taken from you
Keep going forward just like that
Regardless of what you might miss
Keep going forward just like that
Regardless of if you will
Iâve once traversed mountains and oceansâ¦â
When the chorus rings out again, it seems Overlord is singing along, and then Swan follows, eventually all the eliminated singers on the stage join in.
A simple melody.
After listening to it once, professional singers would have already memorized it. Not only were the eliminated singers from Prince of Lanlingâs team singing, but also those from Sun Yaohuo, Zhao Ying Ge, and Jiang Kui. The entire stage seemed to be turning into a grand choir.
Behind the mask.
Overlordâs tears fell again. Whether itâs because he knew his end, or a line in the song touched him, no one knew until he broke into, âIâve been like you, like him, like that wild grass, wild flowers, despairing, desiring, crying, laughing, being ordinaryâ. Everyone then understood his feelings.
âTime is silent,
Just like this
Tomorrow has been
Blown by the wind
The road is still long
How far have you told your story?â
The final line is like a question, yet it is also filled with boundless hope: Life is on the road, may you and I be both ordinary and extraordinary.
The song is called, âThe Ordinary Roadâ.
After the performance.
Lin Yuan bows.
The venue is once again flooded by applause. There are no gasps of âwowâ or âincredibleâ, but everyoneâs expressions say that there is no better final song than this.
In front of the screens:
The live comments flooded in like a waterfall:
âCompletely intoxicated.â
âMay you be both ordinary and extraordinary!â
âThis show may not need a champion.â
âThey are just a group of people who love to sing â apart from the Revenge Goddess.â
âOverlordâs last song made me like him. I even thought Overlord would win, but when this song came out, winning or losing no longer seemed important.â
âIn this song, I heard life.â
âThree years ago, I was the CEO of a listed company. Three years later, I own several small shops. But thereâs actually nothing to complain about. Thatâs my Ordinary Road.â
âOverlord sang until I wept, while Prince of Lanling sang until I forgot to cry.â
ââ¦â
Everybody had similar reactions to this song. Some even believed that Prince of Lanling insisted on performing this song in the final to compete with Overlord. It was a tribute to this stage.
They were both conveying the same message:
No need for high notes or flashy techniques, just singing sincerely. Those who are willing to listen to your songs can be found all over the world.
In this round.
Prince of Lanling won.
By a huge margin.
There were many viewers who abstained. It was the round with the most abstentions. Many people could hardly bear to decide who was the ultimate winner.
But Overlord accepted it gracefully.
When he took off his mask, he looked relieved.
Fei Yangâs face appeared before millions of viewers, surprisingly, there were few âsecond placeâ comments in the live chat.
Of course, there were a few.
But surprisingly fewer than expected.
Indeed, after the last song, some people had already guessed who Overlord was.
âI got second place again!â
Fei Yang looked at the audience, laughing. He looked a bit self-mocking but mostly relieved.
When the applause subsides.
An Hong says soulfully, âThank you, Teacher Fei Yang. And thank you to all the viewers. Now, our Prince of Lanling, as the King of Singing of this competition, it is time for your unmaskingâ¦â
Lin Yuan paused.
Finally, the time to unmask had come.
He must have prepared himself, right?
What Lin Yuan didnât know wasâ¦
As An Hongâs words echoed, Yuan Xi and all the fan-groups of the singers whom Prince of Lanling had previously challenged were going nearly mad!
ââââââ
PS: I know you all want to see the unmasking, and indeed, the pacing of the story calls for the unmasking. But I just couldnât help but write another round. Consider it as Polluted White being sentimental. The unmasking will really happen in the next chapter.