Chapter 52: History of a Socially Anxious Girl's Growth

The true battle broke out on the blind audition stage!

The lights focused, and the four mentors facing away from the stage waited quietly.

Song Jiaru took a deep breath, faced the microphone, and softly started to sing.

She didn't choose any highly difficult show-off song, but sang "Light Chaser," a song Xu Yunzhou picked for her that had not yet been released at this time, but would move countless people in the future:

(TL: "Light Chaser" is a popular 2017 Chinese pop song by Yisa Yu.)

"If you are the fireworks over the sea, and I am the foam of the waves, at a certain moment, your light illuminated me..."

Just two lines!

Just those two lines!

"Smack!"

The venomous-tongued godfather of rock, Zheng Jinyun, was the first to laugh out loud and slapped the button:

"Aiyo! This voice! It's too recognizable!"

Almost the instant Zheng Jinyun's voice fell—

"Bang!"

Queen of Love Songs Na Ying laughed loudly, almost smashing the button, and abruptly turned around:

"Old Zheng was quick on the draw! But the moment I heard this voice, I knew exactly who it was! You're that 'Nunchuck Sister' who's taking the entire internet by storm, Song Jiaru, right? Auntie has been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Bang bang!"

Wang Feng and Sister Zhang Hui also turned around immediately after.

All four mentors faced her, with brilliant smiles of "as expected, it's you" on their faces.

"Hahaha! I knew it was you! Song Jiaru!"

The entire venue instantly boiled over. Applause, cheers, and whistles swept over like a tsunami.

Many young audience members jumped up excitedly, waving their arms crazily.

They were members of the "Jiaru Fan Club," witnessing their idol conquer the authorities at this moment, feeling honored to be associated with her.

As the final note slowly drifted from Song Jiaru on stage, the lingering melody seemed to hover mid-air within the massive studio.

A thunderous eruption of applause and cheers followed, coming close to tearing the roof off the building.

Song Jiaru panted slightly, looking at these four giants of the music industry before her eyes, whom she could only look up to on TV and record covers, all turning around for her and showing smiles of deep appreciation at this moment.

Adhering perfectly to Big Brother's rehearsal instructions, she bowed deeply, the stage lights enveloping her in a dazzling, golden halo.

Host Hua Shao walked quickly onto the stage, his voice carrying professional excitement:

"Congratulations Song Jiaru! All four mentors turned around for you! This is not common on this year's stage! Come, tell the mentors and the audience, what is your name?"

Song Jiaru took the microphone, and Xu Yunzhou's calm rehearsal seemed to ring in her ears:

"Slow down your speaking speed, enunciate clearly, bring a bit of your hometown accent, it will seem authentic."

"Hello four mentors, hello audience friends at the scene. My name is Song Jiaru, from Chengzhou, a sophomore student in the Ancient Chinese Language Department of Bashu University."

"No need to introduce! We all know you!"

Zheng Jinyun mischievously gestured the movement of using nunchucks,

"Did you bring your 'equipment' today?"

Song Jiaru shook her head, her gaze gentle yet firm, her voice spreading throughout the venue through the microphone:

"I hope what everyone ultimately remembers is the singer Song Jiaru, rather than any other viral labels."

Wang Feng gestured with both hands, his expression serious,

"Answered beautifully! Song Jiaru, I appreciate you very much! Your timbre is like metal with ductility, bright but not piercing. The most crucial thing is that the emotion in your high notes is a genuine roar, not showing off skills! My team needs a voice with a sense of narrative like yours!"

Sister Zhang Hui immediately interrupted, putting her hands together, tears in her eyes:

"Jiaru, you almost sang me to tears just now. There is a pure power in your voice that reminds me of myself when I just debuted. Come to my side, I know how to protect this trait of yours, and magnify it! I believe we can create very formidable works!"

Na Ying directly unleashed her ultimate move, pointing at herself:

"Sister Ah, don't reminisce about the past just yet! Jiaru, when it comes to building a voice like yours, I have the most right to speak! If you come to my team, I guarantee, I won't just teach you how to sing this one song well, I will teach you how to become a complete, solid singer!"

The scene was full of the smell of gunpowder!

Zheng Jinyun, who had been observing, smiled cunningly and caught a detail:

"All right, all right, you two are just painting pretty pictures with empty promises. Jiaru, I noticed you have a habit of slightly raising your chin when singing, very rock! It shows you have a playful artistic spirit deep in your bones! Come to my side, let's play with music, I absolutely won't let you get bored!"

Facing the "siege" of the four mentors, Song Jiaru stood in the center of the stage, her face carrying a bit of shyness and being at a loss what to do.

Right at this moment, Hua Shao controlled the rhythm:

"Alright, all four mentors have given very tempting promises. Jiaru, now it's time for you to make your choice. Your choice is—"

The whole venue quieted down, all gazes focusing on this 19 years old girl.

Song Jiaru's gaze slowly swept over the four mentors.

Wang Feng's raw rock energy was very attractive, Sister Zhang Hui's emotional resonance moved her, and Zheng Jinyun's concept of "fun" was also very interesting.

Yet, echoing loudly over the noise in her head was Xu Yunzhou's definitive final directive:

"If Na Ying turns around for you, choose her. Her path is the shortest and most orthodox one to the throne of 'Queen of Pop'."

She took a deep breath, hesitated no longer, and spoke clearly:

"My choice is—Teacher Na Ying!"

"Yeah!!!"

Na Ying jumped up from her chair excitedly, waving her fists like a little girl who won a competition. She rushed quickly onto the stage and gave Song Jiaru a big hug.

The lights focused on the hugging master and apprentice. The other three mentors offered applause of blessing, with regret on their faces.

Song Jiaru smoothly joined Na Ying's team, and advanced triumphantly all the way in the subsequent team assessments and mentor battles!

Xu Yunzhou was like the top music producer behind her. Every battle song tailor-made for her was a king-bomb golden hit that Song Jiaru would use to bloodbath the Chinese music scene in the future:

During a critical elimination match, she performed a breathtakingly ethereal rendition of "Big Fish," demonstrating a mature narrative depth and vocal control far beyond her years.

The haunting, wordless operatic vocalizations sent literal goosebumps through the entire studio audience.

(TL: "Big Fish" is a famous 2016 song by Zhou Shen.)

Going head-to-head against a formidable rival, she pivoted to the highly rhythmic, attitude-driven track "Cassini" to display her explosive power and diversity on stage, completely breaking people's stereotype that she "only knows how to sing slow songs."

Every appearance was a dimensional strike!

She used musical aesthetics and mature interpretation from the future to conquer all mentors, judges, and tens of millions of viewers!

Without any suspense—she fought her way into the finals!

...

The night of the finals, watched by the masses.

When the host read Song Jiaru's name, she slowly walked to the center of the stage.

This time, she didn't speak, only nodding slightly to the band director.

As the opening instrumental flared to life, a heavy, pounding electronic synth effect rippled through the hall, carrying the gritty, resolute weight of someone pacing alone down a pitch-black alleyway.

She opened her mouth, her voice low and full of a sense of story:

"All, are brave

The wound on your forehead, your, differences, the mistakes you made..."

It was "Lonely Warrior"!

(TL: "Lonely Warrior" is a massively viral 2021 song by Eason Chan.)

The majestic melody and the lyrics full of fighting spirit of this song, under the interpretation of her highly penetrating and story-filled voice, instantly ignited the passion of the whole venue!

And at the same time, the huge circular screen behind her abruptly lit up!

A meticulously edited, tear-jerking growth MV began to play synchronously!

The footage flashed back rapidly—

It was a clip of an interview with middle school classmates, "Jiaru ah, she used to be extremely introverted, she wouldn't even dare to speak loudly to people..."

It showed her as a street busker under the warm glow of the lanterns along Jinli Ancient Street, cradling an acoustic guitar with clear, innocent eyes as she hummed a soft melody.

It cut to the unyielding, defiant girl cornered in that dim alleyway, gripping her nunchucks tight with sharp, ferocious eyes as she stood her ground against a group of thugs.

It captured her pristine, everyday life along the tree-lined walkways of Bashu University, walking briskly while clutching a stack of textbooks, looking exactly like the sweet, unassuming girl next door.

It displayed her performance at the university welcome gala, where her breathtaking "Voice of Nature" had instantly spellbound the crowd and radiated a blinding star quality the second she began to sing.

And finally, it showed the poised, self-assured girl during the blind auditions of Great Xia's Good Voice, sparking a fierce, chaotic war of recruitment among the four legendary titans of the music industry.