Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Night Serenade

When the camera focused on Jiang Qin, the Imperial people became incredibly critical.

[So this is the female from the Federation who’s supposedly going to knock our Empire’s music scene off its pedestal? She looks so soft and weak, nothing special.]

[A little female like her… I’m afraid if I curse her out a bit, she’ll just cry and report me.]

[She’s so young. Could she really have come up with so many songs? It couldn’t be that she…]

[Anyway, I don’t believe a female this young is better than Mr. Karl and Mr. Jones. I’d say she probably just got lucky with the theme, or someone well-prepared fed it to her.]

The fans at the venue had no time to look at their Light Computers, so only the Jiang Fans in the livestream chat were firing back.

[LMAO, are people still questioning whether Jiang Qin buys her songs?]

[Of course, it’s because they’re sore losers~]

[Right. To them, losing to the Empire is what’s supposed to happen, but winning against them is cheating.]

[We get it, your Empire is number one in the universe. Now back off.]

…

Some people found the bullet comments annoying and simply cleared the screen by spamming gifts.

The composer from the Elf Clan, Ize, drew the second slot.

His partner quickly took the stage.

The intro was a melodious harmonica sound. It was synthesized, though, not quite authentic—the kind that had been digitally refined and tuned.

Chanting was the Elf Clan’s comfort zone.

They went straight into a rap consisting of a prayer incantation in the Elven language…

Although it was different from traditional rap, you couldn’t say it was off-topic.

It was… well, Jiang Qin didn’t understand it anyway.

A lot of people probably didn’t understand it, but the score given by the AI judge was still quite good.

Some of the judges might not have understood the lyrics either, but they could understand the melody, so they gave a respectable, middle-of-the-road score.

Those who didn’t know how to score it just followed the others and gave a similar number.

Finally, it was Jiang Qin’s turn.

The audience immediately sat up straight, waiting with great anticipation for the singer to appear.

***

Fu Jie was also wearing a suit today, the collar of his white shirt underneath left open in the same artfully messy way.

The backup dancers filed onto the stage. Jiang Qin sat at the piano, bathed in a soft white light from above that was as hazy as moonlight.

A melodious prelude began to play across the stage…

Jiang Qin’s eyes were downcast, her hands elegantly pressing the piano keys.

“A swarm of bloodthirsty ants drawn to rotting flesh

I watch the lonely scenery, my face expressionless

Without you, love and hate begin to crystallize…”

The lyrics were unique, the melody pleasing. It was a rap that felt like storytelling.

There was no fierce posturing or cynical rage.

Rap wasn’t just about diss tracks; it could also be elegant and beautiful.

“When doves no longer symbolize peace

I am finally reminded

That what’s being fed in the square are vultures

I use beautiful rhymes

To describe a love plundered and left barren…”

Rap wasn’t Jiang Qin’s specialty, but she had idols she admired.

She didn’t like the kind of rap that seemed to curse out whatever came to mind impulsively. She only liked rap like Jay Chou’s—rap that was like a work of art.

The melody was so beautiful that the intro alone was enough to be considered god-tier.

Especially this song, “Night Serenade.”

For a long time, a saying circulated in the Huaxia music scene: When “Night Serenade” plays, you go up to claim your award!

That was enough to show just how incredible this piece was.

“Playing Chopin’s nocturne for you

To commemorate my dead love…”

The only regret was that she hadn’t uploaded Chopin’s nocturnes yet, so the Interstellar People would probably have a hard time making the connection to that piano piece.

Pure instrumental piano music had a kind of Magic Power that could cleanse the soul.

She liked it a lot, too.

’Indeed, the treasures of Earth’s culture and entertainment are so vast, I’m afraid I couldn’t finish replicating them all in a lifetime.’

…

In the judges’ seats, quite a few judges closed their eyes and began listening, completely mesmerized.

There wasn’t the slightest noise from the audience, only countless glow sticks and fan signs swaying gently.

Only the viewers in the livestream chat couldn’t stop themselves from sharing their emotional reactions:

[Who said Jiang Qin isn’t good at this? This piece is more than just rap; it’s clearly a work of art.]

[Uh… but is Fu Jie failing to keep up with the tempo? Why is his enunciation a little unclear?]

[Could be. His enunciation is clear during the singing parts, but I can’t hear the spoken parts clearly.]

[Is it possible that’s just how the song is supposed to be sung?]

[True, with such a beautiful melody, the slurred enunciation actually enhances it.

If his delivery were too clear, it might have overshadowed the music, and the lyrics are phenomenal on their own.]

[With a rap this good, no one would give it a low score, right?]

[Hard to say. This is pretty different from mainstream rap. It probably won’t get a low score, though. After all, wasn’t Ize’s song even more ridiculous?!]

[Hah, a song that’s like a lullaby dares to call itself rap? Why don’t you have your little female go write books instead.]

[It’s not good. I don’t recognize this as rap. There’s no passion, it’s too refined. Rap is supposed to be for saying the things you don’t normally dare to say!]

[Like “that bastard, I’ll kill him sooner or later”? Hard to say…]

Whether the netizens acknowledged it or not didn’t matter, as long as the AI judge did.

Not only did it acknowledge it, but it also gave a high score.

Even the human judges couldn’t help but comment. “This piece is, without a doubt, the most beautiful rap I have heard in all my years.”

“Before today, I didn’t even recognize rap as a form of music because the few I’d heard before were rather grating.”

“So I’ve never had a good impression of rap.”

“But today, you’ve changed my mind!”

Judge No. 58 went even further, directly asking Jiang Qin, who was still on stage, “Miss Jiang, are the rights to this piece for sale?”

Jiang Qin thought for a few seconds before shaking her head. “I’m sorry. For this piece, I need to prioritize my company’s arrangements.”

The real reason was that this judge was from the Mechanical Clan.

She felt she was being a bit narrow-minded, but she didn’t want these works to fall into the hands of other clans, so she wouldn’t consider it at all.

’The Federation is so big,’ she thought, ’can’t I find someone there to buy the rights?’

’Maybe after I get back, Tianwen Entertainment will approach me, wanting to buy the rights for Fu Jie to perform.’

However, Judge No. 58 didn’t know what she was thinking and instead felt her response was perfectly reasonable.

After all, Jiang Qin was representing Tianwen Entertainment at the event. As a composer affiliated with a company, it was only natural that she had to be considerate of them in her actions.

He just felt it was a shame, because he truly loved the song.

What a pity.

Despite being rejected, Judge No. 58 still gave a high score: 95.

The next singer to take the stage performed a piece by Jones.

In contrast to Jiang Qin’s elegance, he went for a wild style of rap.

The melody was rousing, and the lyrics were bloody and bold—or to be more precise, cruel.

But it was obvious he had captured the public’s preference. At the very least, the male audience members in the venue were all fired up.

Howls of wolves, roars of tigers, and the cries of various other beasts echoed endlessly.

However, most people were frowning, especially the females, their faces filled with discomfort and disgust.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep