Chapter 23: This Song Is Beautiful!

The University City of Chang’an bustled with promotional events and roadshows nearly every day, especially during holidays when company after company would take the stage, sometimes with multiple events in a single day.

Although today was neither a weekend nor a special holiday, the booth for Allgood Cola was still surrounded by a large crowd of students. The girls, in particular, chattered excitedly among themselves.

“Wow! The singer on stage is so handsome!”

“Yeah, I heard he’s Chinese-American, and he just released his first album a few days ago.”

“Didn’t the poster say Yao Xiaotong would be coming today? Why isn’t she here yet?”

“Who knows? But I heard she’s promoting her new drama at the Provincial Exhibition Center on West Fifth Road today. Not sure if she’ll make it here.”

“I hope she does! I want her autograph!”

Garen moved aimlessly through the crowd. Although last night’s premiere had given him a touch of fame, here in the university district of Chang’an, even walking with Aiya, no one recognized him. On the contrary, Aiya’s popularity from her recent competition drew plenty of fans asking for autographs and photos.

The performance schedule for the singers was already set, and as Garen was the last to arrive, he was slated to close the show—the so-called grand finale. With about an hour until his turn, he found a spot to sit and rest.

No sooner had he sat down than a luxurious RV approached, instantly drawing the attention of all the students.

“Wow! It’s Yao Xiaotong!”

As the door opened and her assistant helped her out, a wave of students erupted in wild cheers. Even the two boys taking photos with Aiya quickly pocketed their phones and sprinted toward Yao Xiaotong, leaving Aiya and Garen behind with baffled expressions and a hint of bitterness.

“Crazy,” Garen said with a wry smile.

Aiya sighed with envy, “People like her get all the attention. When will we ever be as popular as that?”

Garen offered a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, that day will come.”

Escorted by a throng of students, Yao Xiaotong made her way to the stage. Although she wore a professional smile the entire way, she didn’t grant a single autograph, nor did she agree to any photo requests. Yet, this only seemed to excite the students even more.

“Yao Xiaotong, I love you!”

“Yao Xiaotong, give me your autograph! My whole family loves you!”

Some boys even tossed pre-prepared bouquets onto the stage, hailing her as their goddess.

Standing center stage, Yao Xiaotong waved gracefully, her smile perfect and dazzling, a row of pearly teeth on full display—a product of professional training, no doubt.

“Hello everyone, I’m Yao Xiaotong!”

At the first sound of their idol’s voice, the audience erupted with cheers and applause.

Garen couldn’t help but ask, “Is she really this popular?”

Aiya nodded, “You didn’t know? She’s quite famous among students. She’s done a lot of historical dramas in the past few years. In that recent one, ‘Eternal Love,’ she was only the second lead, but she won a huge student following. Now, every company doing campus events wants to invite her.”

“Oh,” Garen mused, “so acting brings fame quickly. Ever thought about going in that direction?”

Aiya chuckled, “Of course I have! But with no acting training or connections, it’s tough. Even the singing gigs I get are mostly ones I find myself. But you—film and TV are Yida’s specialty. If you wanted a bit part, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Garen smiled. “For now, I’m still more interested in singing.”

But as he spoke, his mind flashed through several films from the other world he’d watched in recent days.

Each world’s films had their strengths. Here, the industry was technically mature, but the stories felt stale and overly sentimental—artistic, yes, but lacking in creativity. This had led to a stagnation in the film market, while television dramas surged ahead. If only the two could be combined—what kind of impact would that have?

Thus, Garen’s ambitions lay not in acting, but in filmmaking.

Yao Xiaotong came and went in a whirlwind, singing two songs before departing in haste. Once she’d left, more than half the audience dispersed as well.

Seeing the dwindling crowd, Garen couldn’t help but laugh at himself. “Looks like I won’t need to be nervous when it’s my turn.”

Aiya grinned, “That’s how these events go. Just treat it like karaoke practice.”

Garen nodded. As noon approached, Maile hurried over. “Garen, it’s your turn.”

Glancing at the blazing sun, Garen picked up his guitar, asked the sound engineer for a pickup, and attached it to his guitar. As soon as the previous singer left the stage, he went up. There was no grand introduction from the host; as the final act, his role was to close out the show—a curtain call, as it were.

On stage, Garen glanced down—sure enough, hardly anyone seemed to be paying attention. Most of the students had already left, and the few remaining were just buying a cola at the booth, indifferent to what was happening on stage.

Compared to Yao Xiaotong’s performance, it was night and day.

Garen exhaled slowly, strummed his guitar, and began to sing softly.

“I once dreamed of roaming the world with sword in hand,
To witness its splendor and grandeur,
A youthful heart, always a little reckless,
Now you call the world your home…”

Now, when Garen sang this song, it felt completely different from the first time he’d performed it in a bar. After all this time, his mastery had grown immensely. Since signing with Yida, the company had arranged for him to study with a vocal coach, so his technique was now on a different level. More importantly, spending so much time in the recording studio had given him a new understanding of his own voice and of singing itself.

Especially while recording “Once, It Was You,” he’d done several takes, each one painstakingly refined under the strict guidance of Li Ronghao. Every note was polished to perfection.

In the audience, Aiya was stunned the moment Garen sang his first line. The transformation in his voice was astonishing. Previously, Garen had sung well enough, but now he was every bit a professional. His earlier style was a blend of barroom habits—many live performers collapse in the studio, exposed by subtle flaws that go unnoticed on stage: pitch slips, tonal inconsistencies from resonance, habitual diction problems, volume issues, breath control, vocal texture, and more.

Garen spent hours in the studio doing nothing but familiarizing himself with and adjusting his voice. He refused any post-production tuning; if something was off, he’d redo the take immediately. In the end, even Li Ronghao couldn’t believe how much Garen had improved.

As his singing carried further, passersby began to stop and listen. The crowd that had previously scattered soon gathered again.

“This song sounds so familiar—where have I heard it before?”

“I feel the same, but I can’t place it…”

“Who’s the singer on stage?”

“He looks young—maybe from one of the local universities?”

“Which school around here has someone who sings this well? If there were, we’d all know already.”

“Is he lip-syncing to the original track?”

“I’ve heard this! I heard it on Chili Live—it’s by a bar singer named Garen! But this guy on stage… he’s clearly better than Garen.”

“Really? I don’t know about the singing, but the lyrics are amazing…”

More and more students gathered, and even the staff selling cola looked on in surprise at the sudden influx of people.

A professor driving by heard the song, stopped his car at the curb, rolled down his window, and closed his eyes to listen. The lyrics to “Once, It Was You” left him speechless.

Backstage, the host stretched and yawned, relieved that the busy morning was almost over. Across from him stood the manager of the production company, the man in charge of the event.

The manager grinned, “Great job, everyone! No boxed lunches today—let’s have a proper meal. The company will cover it!”

“Boss, you’re the best!” the host cheered, throwing an arm around the manager. After so many rushed meals, they were more than ready for something better.

Just then, a singer hurried over. “Mr. Wang! Manager Cai! Come quickly!”

“What’s going on?” Manager Cai’s heart skipped a beat at the urgency. Had something gone wrong? He rushed to the stage with the host, but the scene before them left them both dumbstruck.

They never imagined that, just as the event was winding down, such a crowd would gather. These were not the same fans who’d come for Yao Xiaotong—no hysterical screaming, no frenzied applause, no cries of anyone’s name.

This audience was different in age as well. Along with students, there were many middle-aged and elderly people—professors, staff, or perhaps just passersby. Yet, all had stopped in their tracks and come closer to the stage, united by one simple reason: the song was beautiful. And that was enough.

“How did this guy pull in so many people?” Cai was astonished.

Host Wang’s mouth formed a perfect “O” as he muttered, “This… this can’t be happening…”

Suddenly, Manager Cai snapped out of his daze and nudged Wang urgently. “Quick, as soon as he finishes this song, go on stage and introduce him!”