"Bi shang guan"?"
Chen Tian thought for a moment, then began to hum the melody softly from memory.
"Is this the song?"
"Mhm."
"But this song is very difficult to sing. Are you sure you'll be okay?"
Chen Tian was a little worried for her; many people were watching them now.
"No problem."
Although the skill given by the system had a somewhat unconventional name, its quality was guaranteed.
"Then it's okay. I've already thought of what dance to do."
After making her decision, Yao An no longer hesitated. She took out her phone, connected it to the speaker, and began to play the accompaniment.
At the same time, the surrounding students all pulled out their phones and started recording videos.
Regardless of how well the two campus beauties sang and danced, just seeing them perform together on stage made this talent show worthwhile.
"A bunch of blind idiots, let's see you spray me again. Even with light makeup, An'an's looks are on par with Chen Tian's carefully made-up appearance. I'm going to show you blind fools what a true beauty looks like!"
Tian Yuan recorded the video while grinding her little canine teeth.
She had already planned how to cyberbully the overconfident men on the forum who had argued with her. She would @ them one by one and interrogate them in turn.
As the sound of a pipa gently strumming began, Yao An brought the microphone to her lips and sang softly.
"Forgotten sands flow between fingertips..."
"Cloud Tower Immortal's flowing sleeves entwine~"
With so many classmates watching and it being her first time on stage, it was false to say she wasn't nervous. Her voice trembled slightly during the first two lines.
However, a group of university students who weren't music majors couldn't distinguish between good and bad singing, but they could tell if it sounded pleasant.
Yao An's voice was like a wind chime blown by a cold winter wind from under the eaves, with heavy breath, giving a cool impression. Her vocal line was different from other girls, but it was very pleasing to the ear.
It especially suited the style of this song.
So, even with a slight flaw, her opening still achieved an astounding effect, drawing gasps of admiration from many.
Chen Tian also started moving. Her fingers formed a lotus gesture, covering half her face, while her other hand gently brushed in front of her, like ripples on autumn water. Her posture was soft and agile, and her dance steps were quite beautiful.
"Under the Bodhi tree in Garan ~ guests arrive."
"Dreams invite the Eight Legions to dance."
Yao An gradually found her rhythm in the following lines.
She had listened to this song many times when Black Monkey released it, so she was very familiar with the lyrics and melody.
Coupled with the "Best New Artist in the Music Industry" skill, which she exchanged for 500 points to enhance her singing, she could naturally perfectly interpret every tonal transition.
"Craggy ravines rise and fall in layers."
"Sheng, xiao, pipa, golden palanquin."
"A thousand autumns of yellow sand never fade."
"The rich and colorful Tang Dynasty."
As the second verse was sung, Chen Tian's movements also began to expand. Her golden-red Hanfu perfectly matched the imagery described in the lyrics. From a distance, she looked like a goddess from a fresco brought to life.
There was a one-second pause before the chorus, and at this moment, the sports field was completely silent.
Something big was coming.
The intro to this song was ordinary, but the chorus was extremely stunning, and equally, extremely difficult to sing.
The performances in front of the other college formations had stopped, and everyone on the sports field focused their gaze on those two stunning figures.
Undeniably, they were the most beautiful scenery of the night.
In that second, Yao An's distinct intake of breath was heard through the speaker.
The next moment, the desolate and profound lyrics echoed in everyone's ears.
"In an instant, vivid, wispy shadows and shimmering light reflect in the palace."
"Mistakenly asking what year this evening is ~"
Yao An's tone was very high, her singing soaring yet not sharp, as if one could hear the ancient ruins recounting a thousand years of silent sorrow in her voice.
Regardless of whether they were students, teachers, or instructors, everyone present unconsciously got goosebumps.
Chen Tian was also like this, her movements noticeably half a beat slower. She hadn't expected this newly enrolled junior to have such an amazing singing voice.
However, her dance skills were excellent, and she quickly adjusted.
She was dressed beautifully, but after these two lines were sung, she seemed to become merely a backdrop.
No other reason: the lyrics and melody were too outstanding, and Yao An's rendition was so perfect, that people unintentionally overlooked the beautiful campus queen dancing gracefully beside her.
"My goodness, An'an's singing is actually so good! Why do I feel my scalp tingling?"
"Mhm, mhm, me too. I thought she was reluctant to come on stage earlier because she couldn't sing, but it turns out she just didn't want to steal everyone's thunder. After she sings this song, how could anyone else dare to open their mouth?"
"Sister An'an is truly amazing."
Yao An's singing undoubtedly earned another wave of goodwill for the girls in Dorm 404.
"W-what the f***!"
Two third-year seniors not far from the Industrial Management Class A formation also uncontrollably blurted out an expletive.
There was no other way to put it; it was simply too beautiful to listen to. Compared to the performances of other students, it was a dimensionality reduction strike.
"Graceful whirling dance, where do the lamplit courtesans sleep forever?"
"Accompanying the myriad stars reflecting in the heavens ~"
After the first half was sung, the sports field erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.
Seniors passing by the edge of the field couldn't help but cast their gazes.
The cheers should have erupted with the first line of the chorus.
But the freshmen were afraid that making noise would distract Yao An, so they tacitly saved their applause until now.
As the second half began, Senior Chen Tian had already stepped behind Yao An with her dance moves.
Then, she took Yao An's free hand and performed a gesture of plucking a flower and brushing the moon.
Yao An felt her soft body press against her back, and her body first stiffened, causing her to inadvertently sing two lines incorrectly.
However, she quickly realized that Senior Chen Tian wanted to pull her into dancing together.
The dance Chen Tian performed was actually very simple, summarizing to eight movements.
Yao An, possessing the "Audition Dance Leader" skill, only needed a slight adaptation to fully master it. She sang and danced hand-in-hand with Chen Tian to the rhythm.
Thus, the scene on stage featured two campus beauties dancing with the moon. They were like goddesses stepping out of a Dunhuang fresco, their figures captivating, their dance steps flawless.
The entire venue was silent; no one made a sound. Everyone was enjoying this perfect performance.
Well, Yao An was in camouflage, so she could only be considered a green flower in the army.
But it didn't affect the viewing experience at all, and no one found it discordant, because the freshmen were all stunned.
"Snow permeates ~ myriad brilliant lights, bells sculpt the Buddha niche."
"Going forth, covered in dust, drinking at the joyous banquet."
"Fading youth, why can't I see the past splendor of the grotto paintings?"
"But I awaken to watch from the sidelines ~"
As the final line was sung, the two girls also stopped their dance, bowing in unison to thank everyone.
After a silence so profound you could hear a pin drop, came thunderous applause. The sound-activated lights in the nearby teaching building flickered on and off due to everyone's enthusiasm.
"Starlight Brilliance" mission triggered. This performance's rating: C. Reward: 1000 points, 30 pieces of peach-flavored chewing gum (can give the user fresh breath, full of peach flavor).
Only a C rating, huh? Well, her breathing was unstable at the beginning, and she sang two lines incorrectly in the middle.
Her stage presence was also very poor; she only danced a few steps because Chen Tian pulled her.
Moreover, the sound system quality was very poor, with a lot of static, so a low rating was quite normal.
"What's the name of that girl from Industrial Management Class A? I've decided to support her as the new campus queen of the University of Finance and Economics!"
"Senior Chen Tian and this girl from the Industrial Management major are truly a perfect match. I'm obsessed!"
"Did you record it? I'm putting it on Douyin; it's definitely going to go viral!"
"That was so epic! I've decided to go back tonight and kill Elder Jinchi ten more times!"
After the song ended, everyone still felt the lingering excitement, as if they hadn't heard or seen enough. Many shouted, "One more song!"
Only Ye Xuan's world of sadness had been achieved.
If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn't have called out Yao An's name to make her perform a talent.
Actually, her conflict with Yao An wasn't very deep; she had only spoken out on a whim, wanting to see her make a fool of herself.
But now, not only did Yao An not make a fool of herself, she actually stole the show.
This made her gnash her teeth.
She really wanted to ask, 'Why? Why are you both beautiful and exceptionally capable? Why are you always surrounded by admirers wherever you go? Why do you get so much love from so many people? What exactly am I lacking compared to you?'
These questions would ultimately remain unanswered.
Yao An had no intention of performing another song, though Chen Tian still seemed to be enjoying it, constantly turning her head to gaze at Yao An's beautiful profile.
Yao An ignored the surrounding noise, brought the microphone closer to her mouth, and said:
"Thank you all for your support. Actually, my singing isn't perfect. At least in our dorm, there's a girl whose singing is many times better than mine."
There's another master?
Everyone was curious who she was referring to.
"Who is it?"
The girls in Dorm 404 exchanged glances. They didn't usually sing in the dorm.
Ye Xuan's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Sure enough, the next moment, Yao An pointed at her from a distance, a rich smile on her lips, but her eyes were extremely cold.
"Next, the stage is yours, Ye Xuan. Good luck!"
"No... I..."
Ye Xuan wanted to defend herself, but her defense was drowned out by the shouts of her name from beside her.
Immediately, her face turned crimson.
Now, whether she went on stage or not, she would be the biggest loser tonight.
Because she couldn't sing better than Yao An, nor did she have Chen Tian's graceful dance moves.
As a follow-up act to such a brilliant performance, she would inevitably be compared.
With Yao An and Chen Tian's perfect performance as a precedent, normally excellent performances would become mediocre, and mediocre ones would become poor.
In short, as long as she couldn't surpass them, no matter how hard she performed, she wouldn't gain everyone's recognition.
After tonight, Yao An would become the campus queen, while Ye Xuan would become a laughingstock.
Looking at Yao An's smile now, Ye Xuan only felt a chill down her spine.
"Hiss."
The girls in Dorm 404 gasped.
Yao An is truly a vengeful woman! Never provoke her in the future, because she will expressionlessly toy with everyone who provokes her until they're dead.