100: In Chapter 100, during the chorus, she refunded the money.

The entire stage was left with only a single beam of white light, with Shen Nian standing in the center of the light, gripping the microphone.

The intro was an acoustic guitar solo.

A very simple melody, no flashy Arrangement, no layers of strings.

Shen Nian lowered her head and waited for four bars.

Then she raised her head and began to sing.

"Every time I wander, I stay strong in my loneliness—"

"Every time, even if I'm deeply hurt, I don't let tears shine in my eyes—"

The moment her voice came out, a man in the front row of the Audience Jury almost dropped his voting device.

Clean. Clear, without a single impurity.

"I know, I've always had a pair of invisible wings—"

"Carrying me to fly, flying past despair—"

The chorus kicked in.

Shen Nian's breath was steadily supported from beneath.

On the mentor's podium, Heavenly King Zhou's hand rested on the armrest, his fingers tapping slightly to the melody.

Tang Yingxue held her coffee cup, her expression looking a bit surprised.

"I don't think about the beautiful sun they possess—"

"I see that the sunset changes every day—"

In the second verse, the strings came in, but the volume was kept extremely low, just padding behind the vocals.

Shen Nian's vocal range opened up in this section.

It was no longer the restraint and forbearance of the first section.

"I know, I've always had a pair of invisible wings—"

"Carrying me to fly, giving me hope—"

When she sang the word "hope" in the second chorus, someone in the back row stood up.

—Audience Jury Section B, seventh row, seat number B-47.

A woman in her early thirties sat there, clutching the voting device in her hand.

She had been contacted three days ago.

A strange number called, saying, "You have been selected as a member of The Sound of Nature Audience Jury, and there is a small favor I would like to ask of you—"

"When voting, give one of your three votes to Zhang Yihan."

"But do not vote for Shen Nian."

The reward was five thousand yuan.

She originally thought it was no big deal. It was just one vote.

But now she was sitting here, listening to that girl on stage singing.

"I finally see all dreams blooming—"

"Chasing the young singing voice, how loud it is—"

The woman remembered the year she first came to Star City.

She rented a ten-square-meter partitioned room by herself, sent out forty resumes, and was rejected after a dozen interviews.

One night, working overtime until two in the morning, walking home, three streetlights were broken, and the whole alley was pitch black, with only the sound of her own footsteps.

At that time, she also felt that she had a pair of wings.

They were just invisible.

"I am finally soaring, gazing intently without fear—"

"Wherever there is wind, let me fly as far as I can—"

The entire venue was so quiet that one could hear breathing.

Shen Nian closed her eyes.

"invisible wings, let dreams last longer than the sky—"

"Leave a wish, let yourself imagine—"

For the last long note, she didn't show off, didn't use vocal runs; she just sent it straight out.

The voice circled the Studio and slowly settled down.

It was as if an invisible force had fallen upon the people.

It was over.

The whole venue was silent for two seconds.

Then applause started from the first row, spreading row by row to the back, getting denser and denser, until finally, the whole venue was resounding with it.

The Livestream Room's comment feed turned white.

It wasn't that there were no comments; it was that the comments were so dense and scrolling so fast that the screen turned into a white stream of text.

When Teacher He walked onto the stage, he didn't look at the cue card in his hand.

"I—" He paused and took a breath. "I need a moment."

Laughter and applause mixed together at the scene.

Teacher He waved his hand and turned to look at the mentor's podium.

"Three mentors, please give your comments."

Heavenly King Zhou picked up the microphone and put it down again.

He rubbed his face and picked it up again.

"I've been in this business for thirty years, and I've seen too many singers with good technique."

He paused for two seconds.

"But there is something that technique cannot give you. Music has a soul; it can give people strength, cleanse the soul, and bring both joy and sorrow. In these years, I have heard countless people sing, but very few have truly achieved this point."

He didn't finish speaking, put the microphone down, and clapped twice.

No need to say more.

Producer Chen Kexin pushed up his glasses.

"I'll add one thing. The Arrangement of this song is very restrained. The simpler it is, the more it tests the singer's own ability. Shen Nian's voice can withstand this kind of test."

He paused.

"Also—the completion of the lyrics and music is very high. The person who wrote this song understands you very well."

The microphone was passed to Tang Yingxue.

She leaned back in her chair and was silent for three or four seconds.

Someone in the Livestream Room typed: [Is Tang Yingxue going to start again?]

Tang Yingxue raised the microphone.

"Sang not bad."

Teacher He waited for two seconds, confirmed she was done, and then took over the conversation.

The Livestream Room's comment feed exploded again—

[Just this? Hahahaha]

[Shen Nian sang this so well that Tang Yingxue couldn't find any flaws at all]

[Sister Yingxue must be stifled]

—

Section B, seventh row, seat B-47.

Voting hadn't started yet.

The woman looked at the voting device over and over, her fingers resting on the buttons.

She opened her phone and found the transfer record from three days ago.

She stared at it for a dozen seconds.

Then she clicked into the chat box and transferred the five thousand yuan back, intact.

She attached a message: "Returning the money. I'll cast my vote myself."

She stuffed her phone back into her pocket and let out a long breath.

Five thousand yuan, that's not a small amount.

Her monthly salary was only about that much.

But just now, when the song reached the part "Even if I'm deeply hurt, I don't let tears shine in my eyes," a thought suddenly popped into her head—

A few thousand yuan, is it worth it?

Letting a girl who sings seriously lose to a pile of money, is it worth it?

Not far away, someone in Section C was doing the same thing.

A young man in his early twenties hesitated for a long time, and finally returned the money.

No one knew how many people returned that money tonight.

Maybe ten, maybe twenty, maybe more.

—

Seventh, Liu Yuhang, performed normally, didn't make much of a splash.

Eighth, Chen Hao. The finale.

He chose a rock adaptation for this episode; his stage presence was fierce, and the texture of his bass range was still the ceiling among singers of his age.

After singing, the applause was no less than Shen Nian's.

The three mentors gave high praise; Tang Yingxue actually talked a lot more this time, praising him for a full minute.

All eight people finished singing.

Challenge round—Han Bing challenged Zhao Pengfei. Fang Xiaoxiao challenged Su Xiaoman.

Both pairs advanced.

The two spots at the bottom of the total ranking for the two episodes would eventually be eliminated.

Teacher He stood in the center of the stage.

"Voting channel is open—countdown sixty seconds."

Numbers jumped on the big screen.

Eight singers stood in a row.

Shen Nian was to the right of the center, with her hands folded in front of her.

Chen Hao had his hands in his pockets, his face expressionless.

Zhang Yihan stood on the far left, a smile hanging on the corner of her mouth.

Sixty seconds passed.

"Voting channel closed."

Teacher He opened the card.

"Eighth place—Su Xiaoman, 241 votes."

Su Xiaoman nodded; she was mentally prepared.

Seventh and sixth places were announced one after another, without causing too much of a stir.

"Fifth place—Zhao Pengfei, 292 votes."

"Fourth place—Lin Ke, 356 votes."

Lin Ke pouted and whispered to the microphone next to her: "Next time I want to be in the top three."

At this time, only three people were left on stage.

Chen Hao, Zhang Yihan, Shen Nian.

Teacher He looked at the card and paused for two seconds.

"Third place—"

He raised his head.

"Chen Hao, 468 votes."

The whole venue went "hum."

Chen Hao's eyebrows jumped.

Third?

He looked to both sides—Shen Nian and Zhang Yihan.

Then he smiled and spread his hands to the camera.

He still had the demeanor of a general.

The Livestream Room went crazy.

[Chen Hao is only third???]

[Zhang Yihan and Shen Nian are competing for the championship???]

[Zhang Yihan's vote count is so high? Something is wrong]

[What's wrong with it? She sang really well this episode]

Teacher He's hand tightened slightly on the card.

"The champion of this episode will be between Zhang Yihan and Shen Nian."

Zhang Yihan turned her head, glanced at Shen Nian, and the look of certainty remained on her face.

"Second place—"

Teacher He opened the last card.

The venue quieted down.

The breathing of more than a thousand people could be heard.

Teacher He looked at the name and number on the card, and his lips moved.