Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Second place—

Teacher He flipped open the card, his gaze lingering on it for a moment.

"Zhang Yihan, 546 votes."

Zhang Yihan's smile faded slightly.

546.

She received more than seventy votes more than Chen Hao, but—she still came in second.

Teacher He closed the card.

"This week's winner is Shen Nian, with 548 votes!"

Applause broke out.

But everyone noticed the same thing—

Two votes.

Out of a thousand people, there were two votes short.

The sentiment expressed in the live stream chat was quite subtle.

"Two votes? That's too risky!"

"Zhang Yihan has improved so much?"

"Chen Hao only got 468, Zhang Yihan got 546? When did she become so much better than Chen Hao?"

Is there a possibility...? Never mind, I dare not say.

"Stop with the conspiracy theories, okay?"

Shen Nian stood on the stage and bowed to the camera.

Thank you everyone.

Zhang Yihan was also smiling, leading the applause with a graceful and poised demeanor.

Fifteen million people are watching the live stream; I can't afford to lose control of my facial expressions.

Teacher He quickly reviewed the rankings of the eight contestants and announced that two contestants would be eliminated this episode—Wang Mingxuan and Su Xiaoman.

Su Xiaoman's eyes reddened on stage as she hugged and said goodbye to each of the other singers.

Wang Mingxuan was quite easygoing. He took the microphone, said "See you next time," and waved goodbye.

Recording complete.

-

Side screen area.

Jiang Fan stared at the two lines of numbers on the big screen without moving.

548:546.

Zhang Yihan's song is indeed good, well-produced, and the explosive power of the chorus has reached a new level.

However, its impact on the scene was nowhere near as strong as that of "Invisible Wings".

He turned his attention to Chen Hao's vote count.

468.

Zhang Yihan 546.

There was a difference of 78 votes.

He could clearly see Chen Hao's skill level on set.

The depth of that bass register is still top-tier among the eight people tonight.

After the rock remix was finished, the applause in the audience was no less than that for Shen Nian.

How could he lose to Zhang Yihan by 78 votes?

As Shen Nian walked back from the stage, just as she reached the entrance to the side curtain, Zhou Yutong rushed up and hugged her tightly.

"Sister Nian! Two consecutive championships!"

Shen Nian patted her on the back.

"Keep your voice down."

Jiang Fan handed him a bottle of water.

"Let's go back to the dressing room."

The three of them walked back.

As I passed by Zhang Yihan's dressing room, I heard a loud "bang" as something crashed to the ground.

Zhou Yutong shrank her neck and automatically quickened her pace by two steps.

Once inside the dressing room, Jiang Fan took Shen Nian's coat off the hanger and draped it over her shoulders.

"Pack up, get ready to go."

The three of them packed their things, pushed open the door of the dressing room, and walked out.

I had only taken two steps when someone came towards me.

Tang Yingxue.

She had just come from the mentor's passageway; the neckline of her black dress was very low, revealing an unfathomable curve below her collarbone.

Upon seeing Jiang Fan, she didn't avoid him; instead, she walked straight over to him.

"Jiang Fan".

She reached out her hand.

"We've never really gotten to know each other properly. I'm Tang Yingxue."

Jiang Fan glanced at her and then took her hand.

The fingers are slightly cool, the frame is rounded, but it feels strong when you hold it.

The system panel popped up in the corner of my view.

[Charm unleashed...]

Jiang Fan loosened his grip.

Tang Yingxue did not take it back immediately.

Her fingers paused for a moment as they loosened their grip.

A tingling sensation spread through my body, and my legs even trembled slightly.

She glanced at Jiang Fan for two seconds.

Having achieved so much in her career, very few men can catch her eye, let alone arouse any physical attraction.

But when this young man stood before her, doing nothing, her heart skipped a beat.

"Shen Nian did a great job tonight." Tang Yingxue shifted her gaze from Jiang Fan to Shen Nian, nodded, and said, "Congratulations."

"Thank you, Teacher Tang."

Tang Yingxue didn't stay any longer. Chong Jiangfan smiled and turned to leave.

The high heels clicked on the corridor floor with a steady rhythm until they disappeared around the corner.

After she had walked away, Zhou Yutong leaned close to Jiang Fan's ear and asked, "Why did she suddenly come up and shake your hand?"

"Maybe they think I'm handsome."

Zhou Yutong rolled her eyes.

-

The production crew's van took the three of them back to their hotel.

At 11 p.m., it was drizzling in Xingcheng. The roads were wet, and car headlights swept across them in streaks of light.

We arrived at the hotel and went upstairs.

After entering Shen Nian's room, Zhou Yutong closed the door tightly and turned around.

"Brother Fan, don't you find Zhang Yihan's vote count strange?"

"Um."

"Did you figure something out?"

Jiang Fan leaned against the windowsill, watching the rain outside.

"Chen Hao got 468, Zhang Yihan got 546. Do you think that's normal?"

Zhou Yutong shook her head vigorously.

"Chen Hao's rock arrangement this episode received just as much audience response as Zhang Yihan's. His fan base and industry reputation are both superior to Zhang Yihan's."

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Zhou Yutong swallowed.

"You mean...buying tickets?"

"Without evidence, nothing we say matters." Jiang Fan drew the curtains. "But Shen Nian won, that's a fact."

Ticket purchases are done via cash or private bank transfers, and chat logs are deleted after being viewed. The middlemen are all seasoned veterans who have been in the business for many years.

You say someone bought a ticket, they say you're spreading rumors, and a lawyer's letter arrives the next day.

Accusations without evidence are dumber than silence.

Shen Nian sat on the edge of the bed, her chin resting on her knees.

"Jiang Fan".

"Um."

"If they actually bought tickets, I still won by two votes...what does that mean?"

Jiang Fan looked at her.

"That means they spent a lot of money, but still couldn't sway you."

Shen Nian was stunned for a moment, then the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

"That's true. But your songs aren't bad either."

Zhou Yutong chuckled beside her, "Sister Nian has learned Versailles now."

Go take a shower.

"yes!"

-

One o'clock in the morning.

Jiang Fan returned to his room, lay on the bed, and took out his phone.

Shen Nian has already appeared on the trending search list three times.

Article 1: #Shen Nian Wins Two Consecutive Championships in The Voice of China#

Second: #InvisibleWings#

Article 3: #Shen Nian wins by two narrow votes#

He clicked on the second item.

The number of views has exceeded three million and is still rising.

Weibo is flooded with clips of Shen Nian singing "Invisible Wings" from her live stream.

The comments section is in an uproar.

"I'm a 35-year-old man, and I cried listening to this. Am I ashamed?"

"This song is probably written for all those who are wandering far from home."

"When I heard the line 'I know I've always had a pair of invisible wings,' I inexplicably called my mom. She asked me what was wrong, and I said nothing, I just wanted to talk to her."

"After listening to this song, I found the direction to my dream."

Lyrics and music by Jiang Fan. It's him again. How many more songs does he have?

Jiang Fan scrolled down.

A long review written by a music critic blogger was pushed to the top of the hot comments:

"The arrangement of 'Invisible Wings' is extremely restrained—the verses only feature acoustic guitar and piano. Choosing this arrangement on a stage like 'The Voice of China' is incredibly confident. The 'wings' in this song represent the breath hidden within everyone. When life grinds you down, this invisible strength becomes the driving force that keeps you going."

Jiang Fan placed his phone face down next to his pillow and closed his eyes.

The rain was still falling outside the window, pattering softly against the glass.

"Invisible Wings" is currently being forwarded, played, and looped again and again.

From Changsha to Shanghai, and from Shanghai to Beijing, the message traveled to every rented room where the lights were still on.

Some songs are just like that.

It doesn't need fancy production or explosive high notes.

It only tells you when you're about to give up—

You still have wings.