Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

Before the quiz officially began, they barely interacted, and Jiang Zhiyu's group stood quietly.

Guan Liu looked up at the group, nodded slightly, and said solemnly, "Once you're ready, we can begin."

Because the second public performance required all original works, everyone's works were hastily polished within half a month, resulting in inconsistent completion and song quality. Compared with the first public performance, it was more unstable, which made the mentors even more serious.

The group stopped, exchanged glances, and then bowed slightly to the four mentors.

Jiang Zhiyu looked up, gestured to the staff waiting to the side, and said softly, "You can play the accompaniment now."

As the melody began to play softly, all six people simultaneously raised their hands, palms lightly covering their eyes, as if preparing to hold their masks. The next second, they swiftly shifted positions in time with the beat, their movements perfectly synchronized.

On the official stage, a specially made mask will be used as their performance prop.

This mask will be designed to change colors. According to Jiang Zhiyu's concept, the design will incorporate the face-changing techniques of traditional Sichuan opera, and there will be a visually striking style change during the climax of the performance.

Throughout the performance of the song, whether it's the mask of daytime or the reality of night, they blend the collision and friction of two completely different emotions into the song, immersing the audience in the performers' emotional ups and downs, almost making them forget to breathe.

As the song ended, the members of Jiang Zhiyu's group stood still, maintaining their closing poses, their breathing slightly rapid.

A brief silence fell over the small examination room, followed by enthusiastic applause. Not only the four instructors, but also the staff members around them who had been infected by the applause couldn't help but applaud.

Tang Zhuo spoke first: "Very good, excellent! The whole song, from its concept and lyrics to the choreography, is very complete and mature. It doesn't seem like a piece that could be polished in less than half a month. That's impressive!"

His face was full of approval, and he nodded repeatedly. Then he turned and looked around: "Do any other teachers have any suggestions? I think it's OK here."

Yu Qizhen, Guan Liu, and Wu Xiangyang all shook their heads. Wu Xiangyang glanced down at the song information in his hand, then looked up at everyone and asked, "The stage performances are all pretty good, but there's one thing I want to ask. It seems like your song doesn't have a name yet? The materials we have show that your song still has the default filename."

They had several discussions about the song's title, but each time the discussion ended without resolution because they felt "there could be something better."

Someone once suggested, "Why not just call it 'Day and Night'?"

But they felt something was missing, something that lacked the true soul that their song was trying to express.

It wasn't until last night, after practice, that a short conversation between Jiang Zhiyu and Yu Jin finally ended this tug-of-war over naming the child.

Last night, the moon was bright and the stars were few, with thin clouds that lightly covered the dark night sky.

Yu Jin called Jiang Zhiyu to a corner outdoors where there were no live broadcast cameras. Only then did Jiang Zhiyu completely relax, as if all his strength had been drained, and he collapsed to the ground.

He lowered his eyes wearily, took several deep breaths, but the negative emotions that had been building up inside him still surged outwards.

His emotions were particularly evident, a mixture of frustration and resentment, which even Jiang Zhiyu, who was earnestly admiring the night view, could clearly sense that something was wrong with him.

Jiang Zhiyu saw this but didn't ask any questions. He simply sat down on the stone steps beside him, closed his eyes, felt the night breeze, and quietly kept him company.

After what seemed like an eternity, Yu Jin's muffled voice broke the silence: "Aren't you going to ask me what's wrong?"

Jiang Zhiyu didn't open his eyes: "You'll speak when you're ready."

Yu Jin laughed, finally releasing all the pent-up sorrow that had been weighing on his heart for so long.

"Actually, this song has always been a thorn in my side; it's too blunt."

"It was so blunt that it laid bare everything I least wanted to face in front of me. Every day I hypnotize myself, telling myself it's okay, I'll just keep going like this."

"But, Zhiyu..."

"I'm finding it increasingly difficult to deceive myself. I'm a person with a lot of negative energy. I have a lot of dark thoughts every day. I feel resentful, wronged, and envious of everything around me."

"For example, I've worked so hard, so why am I still so ordinary? Why can those who do nothing easily have everything?"

"For example, why is it that even though I'm better, the audience just can't see me?"

"Zhiyu, I am very grateful that you chose me during the interview preparation and accepted me when selecting a team. This allowed more people to see me and gave me more opportunities to showcase myself."

Yu Jin raised his hand to cover his eyes, his voice hoarse: "But I'm getting more and more greedy. I want more. I'm not content to just stay where I am now, so every day I put on a gentle, open-minded, and unambitious act in front of the camera, forcing a smile while letting the dark emotions in my heart run rampant..."

Jiang Zhiyu listened quietly without interrupting until silence fell again beside him, then he slowly spoke: "This is not dark. Hardworking people should have ambition, and outstanding people are naturally unwilling to be mediocre."

The person next to him was clearly stunned; his whole body stiffened, and his body trembled slightly uncontrollably.

Jiang Zhiyu didn't wait for the other person to respond and continued:

"You can be ordinary, you can be selfish, you can be less generous, you can be greedy for more stage and more attention. You can also pretend, you can live in armor, you can hide your true emotions in front of the camera. There is no right or wrong in these things; they all make you who you are."

"You are you whether you are imperfect or perfect. Accept yourself and you will find that there are not so many things that are impossible in this world."

As he spoke, he slowly opened his eyes and met Yu Jin's gaze.

A fleeting glint of tears crossed the other man's eyes, but it quickly vanished. He sniffed, forced a relaxed smile, and deliberately tried to lighten the mood from before. He teased, "Qi Sixian asked me to come and talk to you. He said you're good at therapy. I didn't believe it at first, but now I do."

"Huh?" Jiang Zhiyu looked at him, his face gradually showing confusion, not understanding what Yu Jin meant.

Yu Jin stood up with a smile, brushing the dust off his clothes: "Let's go, it's time to go back."

Jiang Zhiyu never liked to pry, so he obediently got up and was about to take a step when he suddenly stopped. His eyes lit up, and he turned to Yu Jin and said, "I suddenly thought of a song title—'I am both inside and out.' What do you think?"

Yu Jin turned around and looked at Jiang Zhiyu's eyes, which were exceptionally clear and bright under the moonlight, and couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly: "I think it's okay!"