Chapter 107: Confirmation of the New Song

The piano music gradually faded away.

The lingering resonance of "Onion" still echoed throughout the music room.

That fiery, soul-refreshing emotion continued to ferment in the hearts of everyone present.

Within the song's rises and falls, Zhang Qiyang’s voice blossomed with deep, magnetic passion—flawless from every angle: professional, emotional, and gifted.

So much so that Li Xuan and the others felt this piece, born from Zhang Qiyang’s spontaneous inspiration while peeling onions, rivaled even his classic "I Don’t Love You."

Yet, to be honest, "Onion" as a whole was still slightly beneath "I Don’t Love You" in caliber; it lacked that explosive power and shock value.

As Zhang Qiyang himself put it, the song was somewhat clever in its approach.

It was precisely this cleverness that gave the song a charming, lingering allure.

Zhang Qiyang’s extraordinary vocal range was showcased to perfection here.

If any other musician attempted a piece spanning 29 pitches, they’d be crazy—not wanting their singer to survive.

But after hearing Zhang Qiyang’s rendition, Xiao Wa and the others understood: Zhang Qiyang’s compositions were well-justified; he truly had the talent to perform such wide-ranging vocals.

This kind of song, perhaps only Zhang Qiyang himself could sing it well; for other singers, achieving the same effect would be like climbing to heaven.

After Zhang Qiyang finished singing, Xiao Wa was the first to give him a thumbs-up, praising, "Yang Shao, this song you wrote is amazing!"

Li Lei chimed in, "Even better than that—shame we didn’t bring recording equipment. Just this self-accompanied performance by Yang Shao could be a live demo for the song."

Chen Ke added, "Not just a live demo—I think this performance could be fiercely competitive on the stage of 'I Sing!'"

Li Xuan sipped warm water and sighed softly, "I probably can’t sing this song; the vocal range is too wide."

Chen Ke suggested to Zhang Qiyang, "Why not consider singing ‘Onion’ for this week’s ‘I Sing!’? Your self-accompaniment would surely astonish many viewers."

Qin Xueyang, holding a seedless melon seed she hadn’t yet eaten, nodded enthusiastically like a rattle, dazzled by Zhang Qiyang’s self-accompanied performance.

"I won’t sing this song. It needs the audience to listen with a calm heart to truly feel it. But when they see me, they won’t be calm—they’ll likely listen with resentment, and won’t absorb a song like this. So, I’ll fight fire with fire—use the most aggressive work to bombard their ears, which are already restless because of me."

Zhang Qiyang’s words left Chen Ke and the others with no room to argue.

Upon reflection, it was true: the audience could never listen to Zhang Qiyang with the peaceful mindset they did. In this respect, Zhang Qiyang was at a huge disadvantage compared to other singers.

He couldn’t perform works that required quiet contemplation; he could only sing those with intense impact or even provocation, bombarding the audience’s ears like cannonballs, hoping to win in peril.

Li Xuan didn’t have such constraints.

She could sing any kind of song, as long as it touched the audience’s hearts—they would generously give her their support votes.

This highlighted the importance of an artist’s good image.

Xiao Wa, thoroughly impressed by Zhang Qiyang, flattered him, "Yang Shao, you’re truly talented—I’m almost in awe of you!"

"You can admire me, but just don’t fall in love with me," Zhang Qiyang joked, lightening the atmosphere in the music room.

Then, they turned to serious discussion, brainstorming ideas for Li Xuan’s competition piece.

Zhang Qiyang’s mind was filled with classic hits from another world—easily eight or nine hundred to choose from, perfect for Li Xuan.

He wanted to see if Li Xuan had any particular preferences, any favorite styles, then select songs accordingly.

Li Xuan had no special preference.

She just wanted a song that, upon first hearing, would leave a deep impression on the live audience and receive positive feedback.

She hoped Zhang Qiyang could pick a pair of dazzling new shoes from his vast, humble collection—shoes so beautiful they would instantly captivate the crowd.

This request was easy for Zhang Qiyang.

A song that could seize the audience’s ear from the first listen was no challenge.

Diving into the long history of pop music from another dimension—after so many years—there was no shortage of such gems.

Finally, based on his own taste, Zhang Qiyang selected a wildly popular golden hit from that other world for Li Xuan.

After choosing, Zhang Qiyang wrote out the lyrics and sheet music for Li Xuan and the others.

Li Xuan frowned slightly upon seeing it.

Her first impression was that the song felt overly tacky and mainstream—not the distinctive piece she had hoped for.

Xiao Wa also felt that while this song might have been very popular ten or twenty years ago, he doubted contemporary audiences would respond as well.

However, after Zhang Qiyang demonstrated the song with piano and vocals, their ears were enthralled—they no longer doubted it, unanimously praising it as a rare gem.

With Zhang Qiyang’s magnetic, enchanting voice, the song sounded sorrowful yet uplifting, tender and heartwarming.

Artistically, it didn’t stun like "I Don’t Love You," but it was concentrated in a narrower vocal range, mostly residing in Li Xuan’s most charming mid-register lyrical zone.

From start to finish, it held a subtle but persistent tension, like a constantly teasing pressure point—when it swelled, it stirred deep emotions and moved the listener profoundly.

The song’s expression of unwavering love particularly touched Li Xuan.

Later, accompanied by Zhang Qiyang’s piano, Li Xuan tried singing it and felt fantastic.

Just hearing this tiny, nascent demo, Chen Ke predicted Li Xuan would turn it into a shining golden hit in the Chinese music scene this year.

Xiao Wa and Li Lei also sensed that if Li Xuan performed this song on this week’s "I Sing!" stage, it would instantly become a viral sensation.

After singing it once, Li Xuan fell in love with this piece that so deeply stirred her heartstrings.

Zhang Qiyang’s ability to write such sincere songs about faithful love made Li Xuan increasingly admire the young tycoon.

Once Li Xuan’s competition song was confirmed, Zhang Qiyang and Xiao Wa collaborated on the arrangement, expanding the instrumentation and adding orchestral elements, striving to craft an emotional spectacle that would move the world.

This week, instead of competing with Zhao Ziqi’s vocal prowess, Li Xuan would use her most heartfelt work to touch every audience member, both live and at home.

She would wear the elegant, enchanting crystal shoes tailor-made by Zhang Qiyang to crush Zhao Ziqi’s arrogance beneath her feet.