At Capital City Foreign Languages College, in the C3 dormitory building for female students.
In Dorm Room 305, Tong Tong leaned against the headboard of her bed, a pink laptop resting on her lap.
On the 13-inch high-definition screen, an MV (music video) was playing. A beautiful and moving melody streamed from high-fidelity speakers, echoing softly through the room.
"Don't let Your Eyes witness the heartbreak of this world again. Let them be carried through the wind and rain, as we cling to each other for dear life."
"Looking into Your Eyes, there's so, so many tears flowing endlessly,
My heart aches for every hardship you've endured for love."
When the song finished, Tong Tong instinctively moved her fingers, ready to click Replay. She wanted to hear it again!
"Ah ya!"
Suddenly, a round head popped down from the upper bunk, grumbling playfully, "Hey, Miss Tong, how many more times are you planning to listen to that? My ears are getting calluses from all this repetition!"
Tong Tong reflexively snapped her laptop shut and laughed. "Okay, okay, I won't play it again!"
The girl above was her roommate and also her best friend.
Tong Tong loved this duet ballad titled "Your Eyes", and she really liked the newly released MV.
She was a fan of both Chen Fei'er and Lu Chen. Last night, both Chen Fei'er and Lu Chen had reposted a new blog post from Haijin Satellite TV's official microblog.
From December 4th to December 30th, Haijin Satellite TV was holding a Couples Cover Show Contest on Wave Blog, open to any blogger willing to participate, with a bounty of exciting prizes.
The "Couples Cover Show" invited bloggers to film themselves singing a cover of Your Eyes as a duet. Upload the video to the designated link, and you're in! The grand prize was 50,000 yuan in cash and a romantic 7-day trip for two to Europe. Even the first prize came with 30,000 yuan and a pair of luxury couple watches!
Initial selections would be determined by online votes, while the final judging panel included Chen Fei'er, Lu Chen, and Lin Zhijie. Even making it to the final round guaranteed prizes, extremely tempting.
Additionally, Chen Fei'er and Lu Chen had both released a highlight edit of the Your Eyes MV on their blogs, which included clips from their drama "Autumn in My Heart" and behind-the-scenes footage of them recording the duet in the studio.
Tong Tong had watched this MV ten times straight!
She was absolutely smitten with the song.
More than just the melody, she felt a deeper connection to the MV, even though it wasn't particularly polished in terms of production quality.
She had a gut feeling, maybe what fans were speculating was true: Chen Fei'er and Lu Chen might really have something special between them.
Their eye contact while singing felt so natural and in sync. Especially the emotion in Chen Fei'er's gaze, Tong Tong just couldn't believe it was merely acting.
If that was just acting, then Chen Fei'er deserved an Oscar!
This realization made her even more excited for the upcoming premiere of Autumn in My Heart on Haijin Satellite TV on the 12th.
She had been following Lu Chen's blog novel updates religiously, reading every day.
Her best friend teased, "If you love it that much, why don't you enter the Couples Cover Show yourself? I'll shoot the video for you, it'll be top-notch quality!"
Tong Tong rolled her eyes. "It's a duet, remember? How am I supposed to sing it alone?"
Her best friend giggled. "Isn't that Chen Senior from the International Business Department chasing you? Ask him! He'll be over the moon!"
"He sings pretty well too, didn't he win third place at the freshman welcome gala last year with his solo?"
Tong Tong's cheeks flushed red. "Nonsense!"
Her best friend chuckled mischievously. "See, you won't admit it! Honestly, Tong Tong, you chose the wrong major. You sing so well, doing accounting is such a waste! You should be entering singing competitions, just like Mu Xiaochu!"
"She's a big star now!"
At Capital City Foreign Languages College, Mu Xiaochu from the English Education Department was a living legend.
Just six months ago, still a freshman, she'd entered the first-ever reality talent show produced by Capital City TV, Singing China. With her sweet looks and captivating voice, she had powered through all the rounds, made it to the grand finals, and placed in the Top 5.
She signed with Flying Stone Records, a major music label, right after.
Since then, Mu Xiaochu became a member of the girl group MSN, released their debut album last month, and it sold like crazy. Now, MSN was one of the hottest girl groups in the country.
She had officially taken a leave of absence from school and was reportedly busy every day filming, attending shows, and doing ads, fame and fortune all at once. Girls from outside Beijing were green with envy.
Tong Tong admired her fellow schoolmate deeply, and she knew Mu Xiaochu had a close relationship with Lu Chen. The two were like siblings, and Lu Chen had even written three hit songs for MSN that topped the original music charts.
People said if not for their close bond, Lu Chen might not have been so dedicated to the group's music.
But Tong Tong didn't resent Mu Xiaochu's luck, she knew her own looks and singing skills didn't quite measure up. Singing was just a hobby for her, not something she could turn into a career.
Still, her best friend's suggestion tugged at her heartstrings.
Should she give it a try?
Tong Tong couldn't help but be tempted. "So… how should we shoot it?"
They couldn't just randomly sing together into a phone camera and call it a day, right?
Tong Tong wasn't vain, but she did have pride.
If she was going to sing, she wanted to give it her best.
Her best friend said, "Let's go to the music room, they've got all the equipment. I know the supervisor there!"
Tong Tong hesitated. "Is that… okay?"
Her friend scoffed. "What's not okay? Trust me. If we don't win the grand prize, we'll still get the first!"
Ding-ling-ling!
Suddenly, the dorm room phone rang, startling Tong Tong!
Before she could react, her best friend was already halfway down from the top bunk, one hand gripping the bed rail, the other snatching the receiver in a flash like a trained phone ninja.
"Hello? Who are you looking for?"
Tong Tong always admired her best friend's incredible phone-snatching skills.
"Huh? Senior Brother Chen? You're looking for Tong Tong?"
Tong Tong's best friend laughed as she chatted on the phone. "What do you want with her?"
As soon as Tong Tong heard it was Senior Brother Chen, she became anxious and glared. "Give me the phone!"
But her best friend held it away. "You want to treat Tong Tong to a meal? What about me? Don't I get an invite too? Hahaha!"
Grinning smugly, she guarded the phone. "Since you're being so polite, I'll let you in on something. Did you know Tong Tong is planning to join the Couples Cover Show contest on Wave Blog? And she just happens to be looking for a duet partner!"
"What Couples Cover Show? Go check the blog right now. Don't say I didn't give you a golden opportunity!"
After hanging up, her best friend smirked mischievously. "You'd better thank me!"
Tong Tong exploded, lunging at her with both hands and tickling her waist mercilessly.
"Ahhh!"
Her best friend squealed and quickly retreated back to her top bunk to dodge Tong Tong's attack.
Their dorm filled with the sounds of laughter and playful chaos.
Until the phone rang again.
After all the fuss, Tong Tong finally, though trying to act aloof, agreed to Senior Brother Chen's invitation to lunch, and brought her best friend along too.
That afternoon, the three of them went back to the college's music room.
Tong Tong's best friend sweet-talked the music room supervisor into lending them the key. Then, they began filming their cover of Your Eyes.
But the process was far from smooth. Since none of them were familiar with the equipment, just playing the instrumental backing track from the internet took forever. And after everything was set up, Senior Brother Chen got nervous, completely losing his usual level during the first few takes.
Only by evening, after lots of practice and trial-and-error, did they finally get a usable recording.
After treating the supervisor to dinner as thanks, Tong Tong ditched the pitifully exhausted Senior Brother and dragged her best friend back to the dorm.
Back in their room, she couldn't wait to upload the video. She submitted their duet via the Couples Cover Show page on Wave Blog.
To Tong Tong's surprise, in just one day, 1,759 cover videos had already passed review and were showcased on the contest homepage, open to public views, comments, and voting!
Curious, Tong Tong and her best friend sat on the bed and began browsing through the other entries.
Most of the videos were clearly rushed, shot on phones with terrible quality. Some people didn't even reach KTV-level singing but still belted out the emotional ballad with full confidence, turning the poignant "Your Eyes" into accidental comedy gold.
What made Tong Tong and her best friend burst into laughter most were the duets that weren't just the typical boy-girl pairings. There were quite a few boy-boy and girl-girl duets. No clue how they got past the vetting process.
Especially the boy-boy duos, singing with such deep, smoldering passion that both girls felt like their eyes had been burned.
Maybe same-gender duets counted as couple entries too?
Still, a few of the vagabond singer couples stood out with surprisingly high production quality. Even if they didn't match the original, they brought unique flavors and interpretations, refreshing and impressive.
It was clear those teams had used professional equipment, with some even filming inside real recording studios, showcasing nearly broadcast-level precision.
And this was just the first day of the contest.
It was clear that more and more high-quality entries would flood in soon.
Tong Tong and her best friend both felt a bit discouraged. It felt like all their efforts that day had been for nothing.
Their video? Probably had no chance of winning anything.
Her best friend consoled her: "The important thing is that we took part. We had fun, didn't we? Don't get too caught up in rankings."
Tong Tong nodded. That was the only way to comfort herself now.
She decided to stop obsessing over the contest and instead shift her focus to next week's TV premiere.
…
The Couples Cover Show contest, organized by Haijin Satellite TV via Wave Blog, had exploded in popularity since its launch on December 4th.
The organizers themselves were caught off guard by the intense feedback, it had created a massive buzz.
The number of entries was jaw-dropping. Almost 2,000 on day one. The second day? That number doubled. By day three, it had already surpassed 10,000. Related search terms were trending all over the blog platform.
And the biggest beneficiary of this viral contest?
The song Your Eyes itself.
Its play counts across major music apps and video platforms were skyrocketing. It quickly became one of the hottest ballads of the year.
Many people were calling it the most beautiful and moving love song of the year!
Naturally, the singers, Chen Fei'er and Lu Chen, were once again caught up in fresh dating rumors.
(End of Chapter)
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