Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

"How come Xia Fan is so popular?"

Shibata Makoto, who had just come out from the backstage and had not yet taken his seat, had no idea what was going on and stared blankly at the scene of the whole audience shouting "Xia Fan".

He had been concentrating on preparing for his final performance recently and had no idea that Xia Fan had also taken the opportunity to film a web drama.

"I see... these popularity... must be due to the popularity of the video..."

"Originally... all of this... should have been mine..."

It was as if he was isolated by the audience, yet he was extremely envious of the enthusiastic support. The two emotions intertwined and gathered into a crazy force.

"Hey... the more people there are, the better the effect of your mess will be..."

Gazing at the two people in the center of the stage with resentment, Shibata Makoto pretended to be casual and took out something that looked like a remote control from his trouser pocket.

……

On the stage, facing the thunderous cheers, Xia Fan, who was caught off guard, was "forced to remain silent" for a while.

"Ahem... Thank you very much, everyone, for cheering for us here..."

Seeing Horie Tsubasa giving him a fierce look, Xia Fan seized the opportunity when the voice was weaker and took back the right to speak.

As soon as Xia Fan opened his mouth, the women in the audience immediately stopped screaming and looked at him with excitement.

"Today, we bring you an original song called 'Song'."

"The composer of this song is named Mitsushima Kana, and she is a senior student in the music department of Tokyo University of the Arts in the fourth year of the Heisei era."

Facing the dense gazes from all directions, Xia Fan controlled his speaking speed and introduced himself slowly and unhurriedly.

"Original song? What a unique name!"

"Wait, Heisei 4, that's decades ago..."

As soon as he said this, there was an uproar in the audience.

"I also got to know this song by accident after getting the composition notes of this senior."

"This senior, decades ago, was just like us now, living a serious, optimistic and positive life on this campus, looking forward to the future..."

"Even though she was seriously ill, she still insisted on composing music, hoping to perform this song for everyone at the campus singing competition before she passed away."

"It's a pity that she didn't have the chance to stand on this stage in the end."

As he spoke softly, Xia Fan's nervousness disappeared.

"After so many years, I am honored to have the opportunity to be on this stage and pass this song to everyone..."

"I also hope that everyone can know that there was once such a girl who loved music and loved playing the electronic keyboard, and who once worked hard to live in this world."

"Next, please enjoy the song by Manshima Kana."

His slender fingers touched the piano keys, and the piano sound like the gurgling spring and the lively drum beats blended into a cheerful melody.

"When I die, darling."

"Don't sing sad songs for me."

"No need to place roses on my grave."

"Neither do we need the shade of cypress trees."

Standing at the center of the stage, Horie Tsubasa tapped the ground with her toes as the prelude played, and sang the verse softly...

"Optimistic...elegant...and sad...so beautiful..."

"What kind of mood did that senior have when he wrote this song decades ago?"

On the campus stage, a quiet girl in school uniform, with pigtails swaying behind her, sang softly and purely...

This youthful scene, coupled with the beautiful and sad song, made the audience look intoxicated.

"Humph, some sensational gimmick... This is a singing competition, what matters is singing skills..."

"You've come here clinging to Horie Tsubasa's thigh. Once she can't sing anymore, your true colors as a gigolo will be exposed..."

Outside the audience, Makoto Shibata stared at the two people on the stage with jealousy and pressed the "remote control" in his hand viciously.

"Sizzsssssssssss..."

On the stage, the performance came to an end. Horie Tsubasa, who was waiting for the interlude, found that there was a faint sound of electricity coming from the wireless microphone in his hand.

"There's signal interference... Is it near the stage?"

With rich stage experience, she secretly touched the surface of the microphone with her finger and found that the sound of electricity became more obvious.

Horie Tsubasa confirmed that his microphone was interfered by some abnormal signal at close range.

"Oh no... it has to be at this time... if I sing now..."

At the same time, the interlude melody has passed, and it is almost time for her to sing the next chorus...

The faint sound of electric current could still be covered up by Xia Fan's music, but as soon as he started singing, more ear-piercing noises would burst out.

Chapter 178 There is no skill, it’s all about emotion

2024-07-13

"Do you want to apply for a fresh start? But, it's rare that the atmosphere is so good..."

Horie Tsubasa was extremely conflicted and subconsciously wanted to signal a pause, but he was unable to face the countless immersed and expectant eyes in the audience.

Just when Horie Tsubasa was extremely entangled, a pure man's voice suddenly sounded behind her...

"Let me cover myself with my light grass."

"Getting wet with rain and getting wet with dew."

Xia Fan realized that there was something wrong with her microphone, and without hesitation, she took over the lyrics through the microphone next to her.

The timing of this "relay" was so natural and accurate that the audience thought it was a pre-arranged word segmentation.

Even after several lessons of training with Keizo Horie, Xia Fan's pitch is still mediocre, his timbre can only be described as clean and pure, and there is no special technique in his singing.

Compared with Horie Tsubasa's rich tone and gorgeous and varied singing skills, there is a world of difference.

"If you wish, please remember me."

"If you wish, forget me."

Playing the electronic keyboard freely and singing sincerely, in Xia Fan's mind, the back of Manshima Kana in a white dress flashed by...

In the music classroom decades ago, the thin figure of the girl played the piano with all her might in her last moments...

It seemed as if at this moment, he overlapped with Xia Fan on the stage.

"I will no longer see the green shadows on earth."

"I can't feel the sweetness of rain and dew."

"The nightingale's voice will no longer be heard."

"Pouring out sorrow in the darkness."

As the emotions grew stronger, Xia Fan's voice seemed to be infused with a unique magic...

The understated grief, along with the song, penetrates into the hearts of the audience like a straight ball.

"How is it possible... Xia Fan's singing skills... are obviously mediocre... Why am I so moved?"

Makoto Shibata, who was out there, had a look on his face as if he had seen a ghost, but his eyes couldn't stop getting wet.

"Such a pure singing voice, the emotions are so rich and touching..."

"There's no technique, it's all emotion. Is there really such a sincere way to sing?"

In this age where entertainment is paramount, even ordinary people have been brainwashed countless times by a variety of singing techniques such as "breath", "real voice", "false voice", "vibe", "resonance", "closed singing", and "dolphin sound".

But when Xia Fan played and sang by himself, there was no sense of frills.

He simply stood there, using his emotions and sincerely wanting to sing this song to you.

"Xia Jun's singing style is so simple, but the emotions he conveys are so strong..."

This pure "clear stream" singing style stunned even her stage partner Horie Tsubasa for a moment.

After Xia Fan finished singing this part, he played the interlude with one hand and waved to her quietly with the other hand.

"what……"

Horie Tsubasa was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and smiled faintly.

She put her hands behind her back and walked gracefully to Xia Fan...

Taking off her thin-framed glasses and tucking her hair behind her ears, Horie Tsubasa's face exudes a heart-warming charm.

"Lost in the long twilight."

"The sun neither rises nor sets."

The two smiled at each other, gathered in front of the same microphone, and sang together in tacit understanding...

"Hey, I thought there was no dog food today, but I ate it again without realizing it..."

"Damn it! How can this female student be qualified to sing with Master Xia Fan... I'm so envious, so jealous, and so hateful!"

This unexpected and ambiguous action instantly made the audience's eyes become complicated.

"Maybe, maybe I remember you."

"I might, I might forget."

The low, magnetic voice of "Kurokawa Tsubasa" blends perfectly with the clear tone of Xia Fan, like a trickle of water flowing through the soul.

In this quiet song, the audience gradually forgot all the distracting thoughts in their hearts.

Looking at the two people singing in school uniforms on the stage, their thoughts seemed to have crossed decades of time and space and saw a girl in white.

Her optimism towards life, her love for music, and her hard work are so dazzling...

Just like gorgeous fireworks, burning and blooming until the last moment of life.

"..."

After the song was finished, the last note slowly dissipated in the air, and the audience was silent with tears in their eyes.

The optimism, positivity and reluctance left in Kana Manshima's songs are elegant and moving, deeply touching, soothing and cleansing everyone's heart.

"Clap clap clap..."

After a while, someone came to his senses and started applauding.

Immediately, more applause broke out in the gymnasium, turning from drizzle into a violent storm.

Xia Fan and Horie Tsubasa on the stage looked at each other, bowed, and left quietly.

But the audience just continued to applaud, and no one shouted their names.

Because everyone knows that this applause at this moment belongs to Kana Manshima.

……

Following "Honest Band" and "Broken Wings", the last band also finished their performance quickly.

"Next, it's time for the judges to give their scores. Please wait patiently..."

"During this period, we are fortunate to have contestants from the previous two rounds come back to perform for us!"

When the host announced the eliminated contestants' comeback performances, the judges began to score them intensively.

"Sorry for the long wait, everyone. Next, I am honored to invite Mr. Hibino, the current chairman of Tokyo University of the Arts, to announce the rankings of the team competition and present awards to the players..."

After the encore, a middle-aged bearded man wearing a zebra-print shirt, flip-flops, and long flowing hair walked onto the stage, respectfully accompanied by the host.

"Oh, it's Hibino..."

"Did he take the opportunity to go out and bask in the sun?"

As soon as this man who had no "leadership" demeanor appeared on the stage, many students in the audience did not keep quiet, but instead made even more agitated noises.

Hibino, a graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts, had held many titles including artist, professor of advanced art expression, fine artist, graphic designer, etc. in the decades before he became the chairman of Tokyo University of the Arts last year. He has won many international art awards and owns several art laboratories and art galleries. He is an influential master figure in the 11th District Art Festival and is also known as the "pride of Tokyo University of the Arts."

After becoming the chairman of the Tokyo University of the Arts, he became more casual about campus management and even often performed "performance art" on campus himself, for which he won great support from students.

"What do you mean by sunbathing? Being the chairman of the board is very busy, okay? You little brats who only know how to play the piano and talk about love!"