83: Chapter 83 makes its grand finale appearance.

Teacher He stepped down from the stage, carrying a black lottery box in his hand.

"Next, I will go to each singer's dressing room, and the singers themselves will draw their performance order. The entire process will be broadcast live, open, and transparent."

The camera followed Teacher He as he walked through the backstage corridor.

The first dressing room, Zhao Pengfei.

The door opened, and Zhao Pengfei stood up, reached into the box, felt around for two seconds, and pulled out a ball.

"Number 5." Teacher He held it up for the camera to see.

The second room, Chen Hao.

When he stood up from the sofa, the camera clearly tilted upward before capturing his face.

He reached in and drew one at random.

"Number 2."

Chen Hao gave a grunt of acknowledgment and sat back down, the entire process taking no more than ten seconds.

A wave of comments floated across the Livestream Room:

[Chen Hao is so calm. Hahaha]

[It doesn't matter what number he draws, he's going to crush it anyway!]

The third room, Lin Ke.

Before Teacher He could even hand over the box, Lin Ke had already jumped up.

"Let me, let me, let me!"

She reached in and stirred it around for a long time, pulled out a ball, and took a peek at it first.

"Number 4!" She held up the ball and flashed a peace sign at the camera.

The fourth room, Wang Mingxuan. Number 7.

The fifth room, Zhang Yihan.

When Teacher He pushed the door open, Zhang Yihan was sitting in the makeup chair, applying lipstick.

Seeing the camera, she put down the lipstick, stood up, and offered a graceful smile.

She reached into the box and pulled one out.

"Number 6."

Teacher He smiled and said, "Six brings smooth sailing."

Zhang Yihan smiled cooperatively. "Thank you for your kind words, Teacher He."

[Zhang Yihan is number 6, that's in the second half, a good spot.]

[Who is the grand finale left for?]

— —

The sixth room.

In the dressing room, Zhou Yutong was lying on the coffee table, hands clasped, muttering to herself.

"Number eight, number eight, number eight, number eight..."

Shen Nian was sitting on the sofa, her hands placed neatly on her knees.

The door was pushed open.

Teacher He walked in, followed by the camera.

"Teacher Shen Nian, please draw."

Zhou Yutong sat up abruptly, her eyes locked on that black box, her lips still moving silently.

Shen Nian stood up.

She glanced at Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan gave a slight nod.

Shen Nian reached her hand into the box.

Her fingertips touched two balls, and without hesitation, she gripped the one on the right and pulled it out.

Teacher He took it and held it up to the camera.

"Number 8!"

Shen Nian froze for a second, then the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.

Teacher He smiled and said, "The last one to perform, a position everyone is looking forward to."

Shen Nian nodded at the camera. "Thank you."

The Livestream Room exploded.

[Holy crap, number 8! The grand finale!]

[Shen Nian's luck is too good.]

[The grand finale spot is a double-edged sword; you either blow everyone away or you flop.]

[Can she handle it? She hasn't sung in a year, right?]

[She just won the copyright case and is already on a variety show? Is she here to whitewash her reputation?]

[What whitewash? She was the victim to begin with, okay!]

The comments split into two camps, arguing fiercely.

— —

The seventh room, Su Xiaoman, number 1.

The smile on Su Xiaoman's face stiffened for half a second.

Being the first to go on stage, the audience hasn't gotten into the zone yet; it's the position with the weakest memory retention.

The last room, Liu Yuhang, number 3.

The lottery ended.

Performance order: 1 - Su Xiaoman, 2 - Chen Hao, 3 - Liu Yuhang, 4 - Lin Ke, 5 - Zhao Pengfei, 6 - Zhang Yihan, 7 - Wang Mingxuan, 8 - Shen Nian.

Jiang Fan scanned the order.

Chen Hao performs second, Zhang Yihan sixth.

The two strongest opponents are both in the first half.

By the time Shen Nian performs in the grand finale, the Audience Jury's ears will have already been bombarded for seven rounds.

Aesthetic fatigue is a double-edged sword.

If Shen Nian's song isn't good enough, the grand finale is a death trap.

— —

Eight o'clock sharp.

The Studio lights dimmed.

All one thousand members of the Audience Jury were in position.

The number of viewers in the Livestream Room reached 11 million.

Teacher He stood in the center of the stage, and the spotlight shone down.

"The Sound of Nature, Episode 1 — Ranking Competition, starts now!"

Thunderous applause.

— —

The first, Su Xiaoman.

Standard and steady, the technique was on point, but it lacked a memorable hook.

She sang a cover of an old song; she played it too safe.

The second, Chen Hao.

When he walked out from the right curtain, the air pressure on the entire stage changed.

Standing in the center of the stage with his 1.9-meter height, his handsome appearance was visually striking.

He chose an original song.

As the intro started, the richness of the bass range spread out.

Like a heavy layer of fog, it pressed from the stage toward the Audience Jury seats.

He held the final long note.

The whole venue went quiet for a second.

Then applause exploded.

Among the five hundred members of the Audience Jury, at least a third stood up.

The comments flooded the screen — —

[Legendary, absolutely legendary!]

[What is that texture in the bass? And this is only the second performance?]

[How are the people after him supposed to survive?]

Teacher He walked to the stage, "Let's hear what the three mentors think of Chen Hao's song?"

Heavenly King Zhou spoke first.

"The richness of the bass range—I haven't seen a second singer of his age who can do that."

He paused. "And it's an original, lyrics, composition, and Arrangement all by yourself. This kind of ability gives you a huge advantage in the competition because no one can compare to you; you are the standard."

Producer Chen Kexin took over.

"The song's completion is very high, and there are no issues in terms of production. But I personally think the melody in the chorus could be sharper, to make people remember your voice more."

Tang Yingxue leaned back in her chair, holding the microphone to her lips.

"Let me add one thing. Chen Hao, your stage presence is very steady, but when it's too steady, something is missing. You were too safe on stage."

She smiled.

"Young singers on stage can take a risk once in a while."

Chen Hao stood on stage and nodded.

"Thank you, three mentors."

He turned and walked off the stage, his steps as steady as when he came up.

— —

The third, Liu Yuhang.

His singing skills were above average, but following Chen Hao, the gap was too obvious.

The fourth, Lin Ke.

This girl chose a song with a cheerful rhythm, bringing the atmosphere back.

Her strength isn't in technique, but in infectious energy.

When she sang the chorus, quite a few people in the Audience Jury were tapping along.

The fifth, Zhao Pengfei. No surprises.

— —

The sixth, Zhang Yihan.

When she went on stage, Jiang Fan noticed Tang Yingxue's sitting posture changed.

From crossing her legs to sitting with them together, her body leaning slightly forward.

Zhang Yihan chose an old song, with a major change in the Arrangement, adding strings and electronic elements.

The first thirty seconds set the tone very high.

Her voice was sweet, her articulation clean, and her vocal runs were beautiful.

The high notes in the chorus were pushed up steadily, without a hint of wavering.

She finished singing.

After the applause died down, Teacher He looked toward the mentor seats.

"Let's hear the three mentors' critiques."

Tang Yingxue didn't wait for anyone else to speak this time.

"Yihan, the song you chose is tasteful, the adaptation has layers, and your understanding of the song is spot on. Most importantly—you are very relaxed on stage. This is something you can't fake; it requires confidence."

Tang Yingxue put down the microphone and took the lead in applauding again.

Jiang Fan was in the lounge watching the broadcast, looking at Tang Yingxue.

"Very relaxed," "requires confidence"...

Tang Yingxue didn't mention Shen Nian's name, but this knife had already been thrust over.

Heavenly King Zhou took the microphone.

"The Arrangement is very good. The ratio of strings to electronic elements is controlled very precisely. But I want to say a truth—"

He paused.

"The credit for this Arrangement might be a bit greater than the singing itself."

The venue went quiet for a moment.

The smile on Zhang Yihan's face didn't change, but her eyelid twitched.

Heavenly King Zhou continued, "It's not that you didn't sing well, but if you replaced this song with another singer with similar vocal conditions, paired with the same Arrangement, the effect wouldn't be much different. Your vocal recognition could be improved."

Tang Yingxue turned her head to look at Heavenly King Zhou but didn't speak.

Producer Chen Kexin finally said,

"Teacher Zhou is right. The Arrangement is a bonus, but what ultimately touches people is the singer themselves. Yihan, your technique is no problem, but in the next competitions, you could try choosing songs that test individual expression more."

Zhang Yihan raised the microphone.

"Thank you for the three mentors' advice; I will digest it well."

She bowed slightly and turned to walk off the stage.

The smile stayed on until she reached the side curtain before fading.

In Shen Nian's lounge, Zhou Yutong's expression tightened further.

"Brother Fan, was Tang Yingxue secretly stepping on Sister Nian during her critique? What was that about 'relaxed' and 'confidence'—"

"You heard that?" Jiang Fan's tone was a bit surprised.

— —

The seventh, Wang Mingxuan...

Teacher He walked back to the center of the stage.

"Thanks to Wang Mingxuan for the wonderful performance!"

He paused a beat.

"Next—our last singer of the night."

The whole venue quieted down.

The number of viewers in the Livestream Room jumped—14.6 million.

The speed of the comments increased visibly to the naked eye.

[It's here, it's here, it's here!]

[Shen Nian! The grand finale!]

[Chen Hao and Zhang Yihan already blew everyone away, can she handle it?]

[The heroine of the copyright case, let's see what her real level is.]

— —

The door to the dressing room was knocked on.

"Teacher Shen Nian, please prepare to wait for your turn."

Zhou Yutong jumped up and turned to look at Shen Nian.

Shen Nian stood up from the sofa.

Jiang Fan walked up to her.

"The people off stage, you don't need to worry about them. The three mentors, you don't need to worry about them either."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"Just sing for one person."

Shen Nian's eyelashes trembled.

"Who?"

"Yourself."

Shen Nian looked at him, smiled, and turned to walk out of the lounge.

Zhou Yutong followed behind, whispering, "Go, Sister Nian!"

— —

Shen Nian stood behind the curtain.

Facing the stage cut by the lights.

Teacher He's voice came from the front.

"Let's welcome our last singer of the night—"

"Shen Nian!"