“The next act: from Magic Cultivation Department, Class 4, Lin Jiaxin will perform a new arrangement of the song ‘Li Bai’ with guitar and vocals.”
A smattering of applause rippled through the audience out of habit.
But soon people caught the key point.
“Wait, singing with guitar? For real?”
“Whoa… this is good! Finally, no more of that BYD ancient poetry recitation!”
“Hurry up, hurry up, bring it on!”
They were genuinely sick of the other acts.
College students still reciting old poems.
You’d think it was an elementary school talent show.
“…”
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Magic Cultivation Class 4’s section was distinctly different from the rest.
As soon as they heard Lin Jiaxin’s name, their palms started sweating uncontrollably.
They had been waiting to see Lin Jiaxin mess up and get a laugh.
But now that the moment had arrived, they inexplicably felt a bit nervous.
It was like… Lin Jiaxin had a very special talent.
Whether you wished her well or wished her dead.
In the end, your heartbeat would still speed up.
Beep—
A sharp, unusual sound came from the speakers.
The entire venue fell silent.
A spotlight hit the center of the stage.
A figure stood straight on the stage, a guitar slung over her back.
The moment the light fell.
Many people stared at the figure on stage and froze for a second.
A dark red dress, the hem falling just above her ankles.
One hand rested on the guitar, a gray glove covering it, fingers long.
Her hair wasn’t fully tied up; two thin braids were woven on each side and pulled back, the rest falling on her shoulders.
She was slightly bent, tuning the strings, her profile outlined by the spotlight, eyelash shadows falling on her cheekbones.
So beautiful…
Everyone in the audience, male and female, unconsciously swallowed.
“Hmph…”
Lin Jiaxin seemed to sense the audience’s infatuation and daze.
She gave a self-satisfied light snort, scanned the crowd, and gently strummed the strings.
“🎶 Ding—ding ding—ding 🎶”
Accompanied by the crisp music.
Lin Jiaxin shook her head, following the beat as she sang:
“I was a support, but tonight I’m jungling…”
“Only thirty thousand days, what’s the harm in trying?”
“So what? What can you do?”
“So what—what can you do?”
“Most people want me to learn to look with worldly eyes~”
“🎶🎶~”
Her voice switched back and forth between head voice and chest voice. The guitar was crisp, the melody light.
Lin Jiaxin closed her eyes, her body gently swaying to the beat, completely immersed in her performance.
Her expression, her tone—as if she were singing a heartfelt soul piece on stage.
Meanwhile, the audience’s expressions gradually unified.
From being stunned by her beauty to… a kind of constipated, liver-colored look.
It wasn’t that it sounded bad…
On the contrary, Lin Jiaxin played beautifully, and her voice was ethereal.
But that damn lyric… it was like Louis XVI’s confusion.
Equally baffling.
“…”
As for Lin Jiaxin’s classmates.
Few of them looked surprised.
It was just as expected, right?
Seemingly serious, but actually the least serious.
Yet somehow, this version of Lin Jiaxin felt more like the Lin Jiaxin they knew.
The feeling was back. Everything was back!
That divine being Lin Jiaxin was back again!
…
Finally!
After torturing everyone in the audience for 4 minutes and 33 seconds.
The Dongyang Witch, Lin Jiaxin, finally ended her ritual… no, her performance.
She swung the guitar behind her back, then elegantly lifted her skirt hem and bowed to the audience.
But… she didn’t receive the wild, enthusiastic applause and cheers she had imagined.
The venue was dead silent.
‘What do you mean? You guys aren’t giving your Sister Xin face?’
Lin Jiaxin frowned, extremely dissatisfied, and looked down at the audience.
Every single spectator looked like they were wearing a Pain Mask.
They didn’t even dare to meet Lin Jiaxin’s eyes.
Perhaps for the rest of their lives, they would never forget Lin Jiaxin’s melancholy gaze.
“Oh my god! It’s finally over!”
“My… my head is about to split…”
“Duh… hehehe… what’s for dinner tonight? Duh…”
It took a long time before they finally reacted.
But they all looked mentally deranged, with a kind of innocent beauty untouched by wisdom.
Only the senior students who had some cultivation foundation kept normal expressions.
“Dude… did you record it?”
“No… I already deleted it. I will absolutely never listen to that again. If I hear it again… I’ll puncture my own eardrums!”
‘…A bunch of tasteless idiots! I wasted my free performance on you guys!’
Lin Jiaxin’s face instantly darkened upon hearing that.
She snorted, flung her skirt hem back forcefully, and stalked offstage in a huff.
Although she could feel it—
The Manifestation True Qi inside her body was growing at an unprecedented rate.
Normally, she should be happy…
But seeing that these people completely failed to appreciate her art.
An inexplicable anger rose in Lin Jiaxin’s heart.
It was like her sincere feelings had been thrown to the dogs.
…
Backstage.
Lin Jiaxin carried her skirt hem toward the dressing room, her steps heavy and fast, the dark red hem of her dress swinging back and forth in the corridor.
As she walked, she muttered under her breath, indecipherable but definitely not pleasant.
Probably something like ‘no taste’ ‘don’t get art’ ‘not playing again.’
At the corner of the corridor, a male student leaned against the wall, looking down at his phone.
He wore a black short-sleeved shirt, his hair a bit long, like an overgrown wolf tail.
An armband with the Student Union logo was on his arm.
Hearing footsteps, he looked up. Seeing Lin Jiaxin, he suddenly smiled.
“Hey, classmate, that was a pretty good performance just now.”
Lin Jiaxin stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him.
She wasn’t sure if he was complimenting or mocking her.
Because when he said ‘pretty good,’ the curl of his lips definitely didn’t look sincere.
“Who are you?”
Lin Jiaxin’s tone wasn’t exactly friendly.
The other guy didn’t take offense. He smiled faintly, put his phone back in his pocket, and tilted his head toward the stage.
“Student Union helper. I listened to the whole song backstage just now.”
“Oh?”
Lin Jiaxin sized him up, her eyes full of skepticism. “So what did you think?”
“Me? Hmm, not bad. Pretty good, actually.”
When he spoke, his eyes were always smiling, narrowed into two slits.
He looked like a fox, giving off a crafty vibe.
“I think it was even better than your performance yesterday.”
Lin Jiaxin was slightly startled. “You were at yesterday’s rehearsal too?”
“Mhm.”
He nodded, placing his finger on his temple as if recalling. “At that time, you were singing ‘Unrelated to Wind and Moon’?”
“…No.”
Lin Jiaxin’s face instantly darkened. Her mood, which had just slightly improved, plummeted again.
Damn it, bringing up my black history, are you?!
She gritted her teeth. “That song was ‘Preface to the Orchid Pavilion’… my own adaptation.”
“Oh right… ‘Preface to the Orchid Pavilion.'”
Hearing this, he lightly tapped his forehead, as if scolding himself for a bad memory.
“Sorry, I must have remembered wrong, haha.”
But his expression showed no sign of apology at all.
Lin Jiaxin glared at him.
She finally confirmed one thing.
This guy hadn’t remembered wrong at all—he was deliberately messing with her!
“Hey… what’s your name?”
Lin Jiaxin suppressed the urge to turn and leave, asking for his name.
“I didn’t call.”
“…?”
Seeing Lin Jiaxin about to lose it, he laughed heartily.
“Hello, Lin Jiaxin. My name is Shen Yan.”
“Fine. Shen Yan, huh?”
Lin Jiaxin emphasized the two words heavily.
Mocking your Sister Xin, are you?!
Alright!
“I’ll remember you!”
Lin Jiaxin spat out the threat viciously, then fled quickly as if escaping.
This was the first time since she’d enrolled that she’d been bested by someone!
“…”
Meanwhile, that guy named Shen Yan still stood there, watching her retreating back.
His narrow eyes narrowed slightly, lost in thought…