840 Yearning Is a Knife

Until now, Heloise was still in disbelief. This Li Nianwei, she had such a grand yet intricate voice. The moment she opened her mouth, it was as if the stage was designed for her alone. Was she really the opponent this time?

"She has potential, she has potential!" Kristel's eyes lit up. He stared at Li Nianwei's face and did not move his gaze away for even a second.

This was not sexual in any way. Kristel simply felt that the girl in front of him now was a treasure. She was a treasure he had not met in all his years in the industry!

Now, she could get into the semi-finals or even the finals, without a doubt!

"Li Nianwei, she's the one!" Kristel yelled and slammed the table. The buzzer lit up!

His action woke the other three judges from their trance. Franklin slouched weakly on his chair and murmured, "To be honest, I can't bring myself to press the buzzer. Seriously, I feel maybe we should wait for a while? Otherwise, if all the scores are out, she will have to end her performance."

Franklin's words got everyone's support. The other two judges nodded in unison. "Alright!"

"I did not have the heart to cheat you during our green days,

Neither did I betray you when we were young and stupid.

Oh heavy snow, I beg you,

Please do not erase the traces of our past."

"Young Master, do you know? If possible, I am so willing to share all your pains. Even if it's a glass of poisoned wine, as long as I have you, I'll still drink it in one gulp…"

In the crowd.

Countless women sat quietly on their chairs. They did not talk. In fact, the entire place was silent apart from Li Nianwei's singing.

Yet, tears streamed down all their faces.

"I did not expect this." Lake shook his head and said, "An extraordinary genius was hidden here. Luckily we came here today. If we missed this, we would regret it for the rest of our lives. It's just a little sudden. Hai, it's a difficult choice."

"Yes." Kristel said in a low voice, "Now there are five people with all passes. These five contestants are all skilled. The most crucial thing is that most of them have powerful backgrounds. This Li Nianwei definitely has superb skills. However, her background appears to be average. If she can't make it in the end due to a lack of popularity…"

He was not unduly worried.

The four buzzers all lit up. That accounted for six thousand points. The other four thousand points depended on the fans' support.

According to the rules of the competition, the other forty points came from the audience's votes. This tested the popularity of the contestants. Li Nianwei had no issues in this department originally. However, money could accomplish many things in this world. One of those things the other candidates could do was to buy fake votes for themselves.

"Actually, I feel that there is no need to worry." Lake touched his chin and smiled. "She is such a prodigy. It will be a shame if she is eliminated here. Anyways, that's not really my concern. I won't mind writing her a few songs, actually."

"That's true." Kristel smiled and said, "Then I will have to take her as an apprentice. To be honest, there's not much to teach. At least I have some connections within the industry. She has nothing to lose, right?"

"You should hurry up, then." Franklin smiled and said, "Otherwise, a prodigy like her will be snatched up instantly."

"Indeed." Kristel nodded in agreement.

As the four judges thought about how to help her, Li Nianwei had reached the final stage of the song.

"Oh, the heavy snow must not be able to erase,

The memories we left to each other.

What date is it today?

The green grasses are thick.

The bright moon accompanies you a thousand miles away,

I am waiting for next year's autumn wind…"

In a trance, the image of Hong Dali lying on her lap emerged in Li Nianwei's mind again. He was mumbling about how good and warm the pillow was…

Thinking up to this point, a smile emerged on the corner of her lips. No words came out, as tears streamed down her face.

The song ended. The singing ended.

The entire venue was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was quiet. They felt the deep broken-hearted yearning.

Yearning is a knife.

Everyone's hearts were violently torn apart. Yet, it did not hurt. Their tears, however, could not be stopped.

After the silence, they went completely crazy.

People could no longer control their turbulent emotions. They were no longer rational after being shocked by Li Nianwei. They shook their fists and yelled wildly. Countless audience members ran straight towards Li Nianwei. After all, this was only a virtual world. Even if they died in a stampede, they just had to return to the city for their revival.

Even more people stood on their chairs without a care for their images. They yelled and roared at the top of their lungs.

There were over a million people in the venue. People had no idea how terrifying it would be for the entire crowd to erupt in unison. Now they knew.

Hundreds of thousands of people sprinted towards the competition venue. Countless were trampled to death along the way. They turned into white flashes and were revived at the revival point. They then instantly used the portals available to rejoin the race towards the stage.

Li Nianwei.

On this night, countless people remembered this name. They could never forget it again.

"This really is… so touching…" Tears streamed down Brianna's face. She could not stop rubbing her eyes. "I am thinking of my first love again. It's so touching, sob sob sob…"

"Phew…" Franklin leaned against his chair and thought about his first love. He mumbled, "Don't know if she's doing well now. Maybe I should find her for a chat…"

On the stage, Li Nianwei raised her head slightly and looked at the sky. She thought she saw Hong Dali's little face. She mumbled, "Young Master, are you doing well over there? Do you know how much I think about you? Yet… perhaps, I'm asking for too much…"

Her heart felt sore as if something was lost. Then, space was filled in by an increasingly clearer shadow. It lodged itself in her heart like a knife.

The shadow's name was Hong Dali.

"Li Nianwei…" Heloise clenched her fists tightly. Her face was filled with panic. Her eyes were filled with disbelief and, more so, fear. She mumbled, "She… she's so good… how can she be so good!"

She had to be scared. Because no matter how hard she tried, her tears would not stop falling.

It was destiny that this opponent would cast a shadow over her. A shadow that she would never be able to forget for the rest of her life.

She looked at Li Nianwei on the stage now. The holographic projection of her body grew increasingly beautiful and calm as if she was the queen of the music kingdom.

No, to be exact, she should be called the goddess.

"Thank you, everyone." Li Nianwei bowed deeply towards everyone around. "Thank you especially to the person I like the most. It was you who gave me a new life."

A tiny seed was planted. It had set its roots and sprouted too. Not too long later, it would become an entire forest that would cover the whole sky.

Sing! Milky Way, regional finals, came to a perfect conclusion.

As for Li Nianwei, her battles had just begun. Obviously, this was the Galaxy Alliance Center, a Silver-blue super-planet that had billions of people in the main city alone. The scale of things here would exceed everyone's expectations. This time, the fight over popularity with the fans would certainly leave a huge mark on the musical history of the galaxy.

…

Li Nianwei sighed lightly as she looked at the passionate audience around. A hint of loneliness and melancholy was hidden in her eyes. She took another bow to thank the audience for their cheers and applause. She then turned around and walked backstage.

Hong Dali's grinning, carefree face occupied her heart again.

The contestants gathered around and formed a circle in the distance. They only pointed at her. Li Nianwei was so strong that they did not even dare to comment secretively about her anymore.

Because they did not have the right to.

Qi Shengjie looked at Li Nianwei from afar. He had some unpleasant, mixed feelings.

This woman was so perfect. She was more perfect than he could imagine. Compared to her, Heloise seemed more like a well-packaged product. Her most valuable assets were all on the outside.

This Li Nianwei, though, was different. She did not appear packaged at all. She was so natural, like how the finest wine would not need any beautiful bottles. As soon as it was exposed in the air, the rich scent would intoxicate anyone in the vicinity.

The place was quiet for two minutes. Afterward, some singers tried to surround her and give careful compliments. However, no compliments could do justice to Li Nianwei's actual prowess.

Li Nianwei was a little tired. Singing looked easy as if it was merely a few short minutes. However, as she dedicated her entirety into the act, although the presentation was perfect, it was also incredibly tiring.

"Your name is Li Nianwei right." Heloise stepped forward at this time. She arrogantly looked Li Nianwei up and down, and said vindictively, "I have to say, you sang well indeed. However, this is a competition. Skills alone will never be enough. I will let you know. You, will not defeat me!"

Although she did not state it clearly, Li Nianwei knew that Heloise was afraid!

Heloise was afraid of her skills, afraid that she would be overtaken in the popularity voting, afraid that she would lose. Because then, her dignity would be entirely gone.

Yet, Li Nianwei did not care about that at all. She was not angry at all. Instead, she smiled lightly and said, "Yep, I know. Well, if you have nothing else to say, I'll go and rest now."

"You!" Heloise felt like her full-forced punch just landed on a cotton ball. It was an unpleasant feeling. The more calm and indifferent Li Nianwei seemed, the worse Heloise felt. However, she could not find any other ways, either. She would not partake in things like hair-pulling or fist-fighting.

In the end, Heloise could only angrily say, "We'll wait and see!" She then swayed her hips and left.

"Heh heh, boring competition." Li Nianwei shook her head lightly. She did not intend to compete against anyone by taking part in Sing! Milky Way. She just wanted to sing well and gain people's support. Of course, she wanted to convey the thoughts in her heart through her voice even more. That was all.

"Oh my god, lucky, lucky, luckily you have not left yet." Just as Li Nianwei was about to relax, a slightly older yet charismatic voice sounded. "Your name is Li Nianwei, right? Hello, I'm Kristel. I'm one of the judges for the regional finals."