Chapter 171: Grand Finals, Round Two - "Calming the Waves: Listen Not to the Sound of Wind and Rain Piercing the Woods"

On the live broadcast screen, Zhong Xunxun spoke his final Korean sentence facing the camera: "I am just a tiny bit away from the championship."

The witty netizens' bullet comments first asked what the phrase meant:
[Could a big shot with an 18-centimeter reach please translate what he just said, a-re-you-kididding-me?]
[He said: I am just a few billion points away from the championship.]
[Can you not sabotage, upstairs? As a translator, tampering with someone else's speech is wrong. He clearly said just a tiny bit.]
[No, no, no, I was just correcting the error in his speech.]
[A translator who can correct speech errors. Amazing!]
[It really is a few billion points away. No errors found.]
……

Donghai, Tianlan Literary Garden.
When the host announced Fang Xing's victory, Lu Xiang'er jumped up in excitement, grabbed Ning Xiaoyun's arm, and shook it vigorously: "He won! He won!"
Being shaken from side to side, Ning Xiaoyun said speechlessly, "I know he won, but do you have to be like this? Are you kidding me, I'm about to fall apart."
Lu Xiang'er reverted to her ladylike posture, cupping her chin with both hands, and smiled, "I knew he would win."
Ning Xiaoyun rolled her eyes: "Oh, please. Who was the one just pulling on me relentlessly, asking if he could win, asking if he could win? You're also from the Conservatory of Music, don't you have any sense of whether he could win?"
Lu Xiang'er reached out to pat Ning Xiaoyun's head and coaxed, "I was just too happy, you should be happy too."
Ning Xiaoyun said with a serious expression: "Although I also think our school's doctoral supervisor plus Fang Xing is indeed much stronger than Zhong Xunxun, I didn't expect the live audience to give Fang Xing and the others such a high vote. It seems the music appreciation level of the audience jurors is still decent."
……

The live broadcast continued.
After He Hao announced the competition results between Fang Xing and Zhong Xunxun, he continued:
"The first round of competition has completely ended. Next, we will announce the performance order for the second round, the battle for the championship.
"However, the performance order will be announced by our chief director in the singers' lounge.
"Before that, we need to take a short commercial break. We'll be right back after the commercials."

The live broadcast screen switched, and commercials began to play.
At the same time, the four singers who advanced to the second-round championship battle gathered in the lobby of the singers' lounge.

Zheng Tao prepared to explain the performance order for the second round: "We are about to begin. Once the commercial ends shortly, the feed will switch over. Are you all ready?"
After waiting for all camera positions to be ready, Zheng Tao began to announce in a formal tone:
"Congratulations to the four of you for advancing to the second-round championship battle.
"In the second-round championship battle, each singer will have the time of one song.
"After all four singers have finished singing, the 500 jurors on-site will vote. Based on the vote counts, this season's champion, runner-up, and second runner-up will be decided.
"Therefore, tonight's championship battle will be decided by a single song.
"Now, the rules for the performance order will be announced. The performance order is determined by the votes from the first round.
"The higher the vote count, the priority power to choose the performance order.
"Therefore, in tonight's first round of competition, the singer with the highest vote count is... Fang Xing, with 301 votes.
"Fang Xing, you now have priority to choose your performance order. Which position would you like to perform?"

Fang Xing glanced at the other three singers.
Since it had reached the final championship battle, every singer would go all out, and there was nothing left to be modest about.
As for the rule of choosing the performance order based on this, it was actually a bit subtle.
The performance order of the second round was determined by the high or low vote counts of the first round.
However, a high vote count in the first round didn't necessarily mean singing well guaranteed more votes; it also depended on the opponent's vote count.
If the two singers in a first-round duel were both very strong and sang exceptionally well, but because the gap between them was small, both ended up with around 250 votes.
In such a situation, it was very difficult to secure the priority to choose the order for the second round.

Conversely, if the opponents in the first-round PK had a vast disparity in strength, it would result in one high vote count and one low vote count.
In fact, based on the live performance, Li Caiwei and Zhang Huiying's combination performed extremely well, but their opponent was Xu Xinzhen, whose strength was not weak either.
This resulted in Li Caiwei getting only 247 votes, making her the lowest among the singers who advanced to the second round.
Meanwhile, Fang Xing and Chen Chaonan's collaboration shocked the audience and secured the highest vote count.
In this round, winning meant becoming the champion, while losing meant being forgotten.

Fang Xing smiled and replied, "Since it's the final song, I won't be modest. I'll choose to perform last."
Immediately following that, it was the turn of Liu Hongsheng, who had the second-highest vote count, to choose.
He was also very straightforward: "I won't be modest either. I'll perform third."
Finally, Xie Yuwen and Li Caiwei were left.
Xie Yuwen looked at Li Caiwei, shrugged, and said, "Then I'll choose to perform second, is that okay?"
Li Caiwei nodded and replied, "Of course, I have the lowest vote count, so naturally I should perform first."

After the performance order was finalized, the live broadcast screen switched back to the stage.
He Hao said in an excited tone, "Welcome back. Next is the final round of competition for the grand finale of *Song*."
"After this competition, the final 'King of Singers' will be decided.
"Who will ultimately claim the prize? Let's begin now.
"First, the opening singer is... Li Caiwei. Let's invite her to the stage."

Special effects appeared on the stage.
Li Caiwei walked forward as if stepping on waves, arrived at the center of the stage, and waved to greet the audience.
He Hao began the pre-performance interview: "Caiwei, performing first, are you nervous?"
Li Caiwei replied with a smile: "Being able to advance to the final round of the grand finals, I am already very satisfied. For this last song, winning or losing doesn't matter, I'm just going to enjoy the song."
He Hao hyped her up: "I can tell Caiwei is indeed very relaxed. I believe her performance will be great too, and maybe there will even be a pleasant surprise?
"Then, what is the story behind the song you are about to sing? Is it related to another singer who advanced to the championship battle?"
Li Caiwei nodded and replied, "Yes, as you all guessed, it was produced by him again."
"Whoa!"
He Hao said excitedly, "Produced by that singer again and again? Why does it feel like that singer is fighting against himself?"
"Can you tell us a bit? What kind of song is this upcoming piece?"
Li Caiwei thought for a moment and replied, "This song is also adapted from classical poetry, and it sounds wonderful."
He Hao raised an eyebrow and continued his inquiry: "Adapted from classical poetry again? Whose poetry is it?"
"It's *Ding Feng Bo: Don't Listen to the Sound of Striking Through the Forest and Beating the Leaves* by the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi," Li Caiwei directly stated the title of the ci poem, which was also the name of the song.
"Another adaptation of classical poetry, tonight is truly a feast for the ears. Let's listen to this *Ding Feng Bo: Don't Listen to the Sound of Striking Through the Forest and Beating the Leaves*." After finishing his last sentence, He Hao turned and walked off the stage, leaving the stage entirely to Li Caiwei.

*Ding Feng Bo: Don't Listen to the Sound of Striking Through the Forest and Beating the Leaves* is a song with lyrics by Su Shi and Li Yongmei, composition by Liu Zhuo, arrangement by Zhao Qijiu, and originally performed by Huang Qishan.
This song, performed on *Classic Quoting Masterpieces*, is exceptionally beautiful.
Huang Qishan, possessing the vocal standard of the top female voice in Asia, performed this song with a transcendent detachment and untrammeled ease of facing life's storms with a calm smile.

Li Caiwei paced on the stage, beginning to immerse herself in the artistic conception of the song, then looked toward the band and nodded to signal that they could begin.
The band conductor waved the baton, and the prelude sounded.
The light, untrammeled piano melody, combined with orchestral music, instantly captured the audience's ears.
Li Caiwei slowly raised the microphone and began to sing the verse:
"When did we take flight, where did we land?
"Every step is light and breezy.
"Always searching, for a pair of eyes.
"That can clearly see the figure of the years..."

The gentle verse slowly narrated a detached and carefree attitude toward the unpredictable winds and clouds.
Li Caiwei's vocal timbre perfectly interpreted the mood of the verse, sounding so pleasant that people didn't even dare to make a sound.
Some audience members even closed their eyes, listening carefully to feel the beauty within the song.
The lyrics of the verse were written by Li Yongmei.
Meanwhile, Su Shi's *Ding Feng Bo* formed the chorus of the song.
As the final line of the verse approached, the melody began to climb, and the soaring, clear singing soared straight to the roof:
"How many dreams, how deep is the love.
"Turns out it was just a scenery..."

Hearing the melody rise, the audience's hearts fluctuated with the notes. The audience members who had closed their eyes to listen quickly opened them to watch and listen, as if preemptively sensing the arrival of the climax.
Only to hear Li Caiwei release her voice to sing to her heart's content:
"Don't listen to the sound of striking through the forest and beating the leaves, why not chant and whistle while strolling leisurely?
"With a bamboo staff and straw shoes, it's lighter than a horse; in a cloak of mist and rain, I spend my whole life calmly..."

The live audience couldn't help opening their mouths upon hearing the chorus, wanting to let out praises, yet not daring to make a sound.
Not only the live audience, but the other three singers sitting in the lounge were also appreciating the song.
Xie Yuwen was relatively relaxed because he had basically adopted a calm mindset.
He felt that being able to advance to the final round meant he had already given his all.
This season of *Song* was entirely a clash of immortals.
To make matters worse, there was also a singer who fought against himself, releasing two songs per round, both of which were so fierce that they left people speechless.
Therefore, Xie Yuwen's positioning at the moment was extremely clear.
He had given up competing for the championship, and whatever ranking he got for the remainder didn't matter anymore.
Without the ambition to fight for the crown, his mood became very relaxed.
Thus, upon hearing Li Caiwei's song, he couldn't help voicing his praise, gently applauding, and then turning to look at Fang Xing.
Because this song once again came from Fang Xing's hands.
Xie Yuwen simply couldn't understand why the quality of every song produced by this guy was so high—it was practically unscientific.
Let's not mention the lyrics of the last two songs; one used a Ming Dynasty poet's lyrics, and the other used a Song Dynasty poet's lyrics, which was quite literally a dimensional reduction strike against the lyrics of modern pop songs.
Aside from the lyrics, the composition was also top-tier, with every single song sounding wonderful.
Moreover, this *Ding Feng Bo: Don't Listen to the Sound of Striking Through the Forest and Beating the Leaves* suited Li Caiwei far too well.
Especially the vocalizing during the interlude—that ethereal and soaring vocalization was simply intoxicating to the extreme.

Xie Yuwen made a comparison in his mind and felt that the runner-up position could also be abandoned.
However, him giving up didn't mean the other singers had given up as well.
Xie Yuwen couldn't help stealing a glance at Liu Hongsheng.
This Heavenly King, whom the production team had invited with three visits to a thatched cottage, though he had advanced to the final round of the grand finals, his journey all the way here had been far too bumpy.
Furthermore, Xie Yuwen felt that during the first round of the grand finals, Fang Xing had still been quite kind, choosing Zhong Xunxun, who possessed very strong strength. If he had chosen anyone else, it definitely would have been whomever he chose going home.
Xie Yuwen felt that if Fang Xing's opponent in the first round had been Liu Hongsheng, Liu Hongsheng wouldn't even have made it to the second round.
Xie Yuwen had given up on the championship fight, but Liu Hongsheng hadn't given up hope yet.
This time, he was trying his utmost to get a good ranking, preferably the championship.
For this purpose, he had also prepared a very high-quality song—an old track of his that had won a Golden Melody Award, which he re-arranged and brought out to sing, hoping to turn the tide.
Seeing Liu Hongsheng's serious expression, Xie Yuwen knew he hadn't given up.
However, upon hearing Li Caiwei's performance, Xie Yuwen felt it was questionable whether Liu Hongsheng could even win against Li Caiwei, let alone the fact that Fang Xing was still waiting behind.