Chapter Fifty-Five: Champion of "The New Voice"!

“Rap? Chen Nian can rap too?”
“No way, I’ve never seen Chen Nian perform a rap song. How could he possibly know how to rap?”
“He’s trash, it’s definitely going to sound terrible!”
“He can rap? If he actually sounds good, I’ll eat my hat right here!”
“Bro above, you’re just looking for free food and drinks again, aren’t you?”
“Not singing doesn’t mean he can’t. I’ve said it all along, my guy can do anything, can’t he?”
The comment section erupted once more, scrolling like a chorus of barking dogs.

Ever since Chen Nian became famous, more and more online trolls found him insufferable. Wherever he appeared, they would pick up their weapons and launch relentless attacks against him.

The lights on stage gradually dimmed. Then, the accompaniment to “Border Tavern” began to play. The intro lasted only five seconds, and everyone was stunned. By fifteen seconds in, comments started flying across the screen.

“That sounds amazing—damn, this intro is perfect!”
“Hey, remember your stance! Did you already forget what you just said?” someone reminded in the comments.
“Sorry, my bad. Chen Nian, you suck!”

At that moment, Chen Nian finally began to sing, his voice slow and measured.

“To say this world is only black and white is foolish.
Because some hate feels like love, and some love feels like hate.
Some good seems bad, some bad seems like paradise.
Yet from within comes the sound of wailing…”

The once clamorous hall fell instantly silent. The entire audience was bewildered. Jay Chou and the other singers stood there, equally dumbfounded. As a star of rap himself, Jay Chou naturally recognized the caliber of Chen Nian’s song. It wasn’t just about rhythm, technique, or rhyme; the lyrics themselves were the most impressive of all.

Unfazed by the dazed crowd, Chen Nian continued.

“Look at those ten thousand buildings, a hundred thousand homes, a million vibes.
Tens of millions of tears streaking across hundreds of millions of faces, all for the sake of love.
Before you rush to blame, think it through.
No one wants to be the villain; everyone just wants a good life.
So what does it mean to be bad…
Every choice comes with its consequences.

Gains come with losses, losses with rewards.
So many crossroads—what does it mean to take the wrong path?
It just means you walked for a long time.
And then realized you’ve been down this road before…”

As Chen Nian performed, the comment section went blank for a moment—then exploded.

“Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful…” The feed was filled with nothing but praise.

When Jay Chou heard Chen Nian was going to perform a rap, he thought it was just Chen Nian acting out of spite and that his rap skills would be mediocre at best. But now, it was no longer a question of skill or competition. Jay Chou, who carried the banner of the rap world, was left to wonder if he could withstand the impact of this song.

Chen Nian’s “Border Tavern” wasn’t just rap—it surpassed Jay Chou’s previous song in composition, lyrics, rhythm, and groove; they simply weren’t on the same level. In short, Chen Nian’s “Border Tavern” was a comprehensive, crushing victory over Jay Chou’s song.

Apart from words like “incredible” and “amazing,” the comments could find no other adjectives worthy of describing the song.

“Damn, I can’t hate him anymore. He’s just too damn good.”
“Is this what real rap is?”
“This is what real rap is!
“That song Jay Chou just performed was just a nursery rhyme compared to this!”

In Chen Nian’s world, although “Border Tavern” wasn’t considered a classic rap song, it had always been his personal favorite. In this music-starved world, it was nothing short of a dimensional strike.

After Chen Nian finished singing, the venue was silent for a moment, then a tidal wave of applause erupted. At this point, even his haters didn’t care about hating anymore. The feeling this song gave them was utterly earth-shattering.

In front of the television, Wei Xi stared blankly at the scene.

Every choice comes with its consequences.
Gains come with losses, losses with rewards.
So many crossroads—what does it mean to take the wrong path?
It just means you walked for a long time.
And then realized you’ve been down this road before…

These lines struck deep into her fragile heart.

Born into an aristocratic family in the capital, Wei Xi had been immersed in Chinese calligraphy from a young age. Following the path her elders had meticulously arranged, it seemed as if this was an indispensable, non-negotiable part of her life. But was this truly the path she wanted? Perhaps she had never considered this question. Maybe she’d been on the wrong path from the very start. It wasn’t something she wanted to devote her heart to—just a mark forcibly branded on her by her elders.

At that moment, the rappers lurking in the livestream, waiting to see Chen Nian make a fool of himself, were utterly dumbfounded.

They had to admit—Lin Feng’s song was both powerful and exceptional! Setting aside personal grievances, this song could simply wipe out anything else!

“My god, is this Chen Nian’s true strength?”
“So this is why he’s so arrogant?”
“If I had that talent, I’d be even more arrogant than him!”
“He wasn’t exaggerating—once this song dropped, there isn’t anyone who can compete!”
“He’s a god among men—a divine song!”
“He’s been deified on the spot!”
“Truly, from this moment on, Chen Nian, you’re the god of the music world!”

Crash!

Elsewhere, upon hearing that Jay Chou was going to challenge Chen Nian in rap, Lin Xinrou eagerly opened her laptop, only to witness this very scene. In a fit of rage, she smashed her tablet to pieces!

She hated—hated Chen Nian! Hated everyone around him! If Chen Nian hadn’t suddenly appeared, she would be the one shining on stage now! She wouldn’t have been sidelined by the company, nor forced to participate in that terrible show “Camp of Creativity.” If fate gave her another chance, she swore she’d personally send Chen Nian to hell. She absolutely would!

In the end, thanks to his brilliant performance, Chen Nian secured an impressive 498 votes!

“Who were those two idiots? Who on earth didn’t vote for him?”
“Don’t you have ears? How could you not vote for such an outstanding performance? What, you saving your votes for the holidays?”

Seeing that Chen Nian was only two votes shy of a perfect score, the comment section erupted again, denouncing the two audience members who hadn’t cast their votes.

“He’s been completely deified tonight.” Backstage, Mo Fan, who had long since quit smoking, slipped a cigarette between his lips once more, his expression indifferent as he gave his assessment of Chen Nian. “This guy… he’s simply not human…”

At last, after all seven singers had finished their performances, Chen Nian lived up to expectations, falling just two votes short of a perfect score and winning the inaugural season of “The New Voice.” Second place went to rap star Jay Chou, while third went to Tianxing Entertainment’s leading singer, Zhou Lu.

After “The New Voice” wrapped, Chen Nian entered a brief period of silence. Many shows and producers reached out to him, but he declined them all.

Half a month later, after the buzz had mostly faded, Chen Nian, who had gradually slipped from the public eye, once again appeared on the big screen.