The interview hall was quiet, and the staff who had been coming and going stopped moving at some point as they watched the video on the screen carefully.

A few seconds later, led by the host, applause rang out in the interview room. Then it became more and more intense and enthusiastic.

Qi Cong froze for a moment, then got up and thanked the staff for the applause.

The applause became even more enthusiastic.

The host smiled, raised his hand in time to signal everyone to keep it down. Inviting Qi Cong to sit down again, he said, “It looks like everyone likes your work very much.”

Qi Cong said sincerely, “Thank you.”

The screen faded to black after the MV finished playing, then became bright again as the tune of ‘A New Life’ sounded again, along with additional noise.

Everyone in the interview room was attracted by the sudden sound, and they all looked over. Qi Cong also looked over. He saw himself from the time he went to record the song. The vlog taken during the recording began to play.

“Here comes the best part.” The host looked at the screen positioned at their side. The smile on her face was replaced by a little sigh. “Qi Cong, you really worked too hard,” she told him sadly.

Worked hard?

Qi Cong looked at the words “A New Life” typed on the screen, remembered what happened during the recording session, and clasped his hands.

It was clear that it was harder for those who wanted to protect him.

On Weibo, Le Play, Penguin Music Studio and other platforms, all the viewers who watched the MV and tried to digest their emotions were going to the comment section to express their surging feelings when they were stunned by the video that suddenly appeared.

Huh? What was this?

Everyone looked over and saw that in the brightly lit picture, Qi Cong’s figure appeared in the center. He was accompanied by a middle-aged man who pushed a door open. Qi Cong was wearing an everyday shirt, with casual pants and sneakers. The top two buttons of the shirt were unbuttoned, revealing a slender neck and lean body. His hair fell softly around his face and his forehead and eyebrows were partly covered by bangs, making him look young. Qi Cong appeared to have a small face, soft cheeks contours and slightly tired almond shaped eyes, but his demeanor was very serious. His skin was very white, and his walking posture was gracious. Overall he looked very clean and handsome.

The audience froze again.

This was Qi Cong? No, of course they could recognize Qi Cong but he felt so different.

It was probably because they have never seen Qi Cong in an everyday setting, so it felt a little strange to see him like this.

This strangeness was similar to suddenly seeing the fixed persona of a paper person suddenly come to life in front of their eyes. The familiarity becomes strange.

Their impression of Qi Cong came from his cowardly and pitiful appearance from the surveillance videos when he was bullied by Jiang Zhaoyan and the Jiang family. Also from the miserable and painful appearance described in the case analysis, or the handsome appearance in those ancient costumes on the drama set. He seemed to not be a normal ordinary, person, even though he had an excellent appearance and prominent temperament.

Time suddenly advanced on the screen after a line of words marked with the recording days popped up, giving Qi Cong a close-up when he met with the vocal teacher and others to exchange pleasantries. In these close-ups, Qi Cong showed a polite and subtle smile to the vocal coach as he shook his hand and called him teacher.

All the thoughts of the audience were cut off in this smile and him addressing the teacher, making them a little confused.

Wow, this smile, coupled with this unique voice and tone. Good, so good. It made people itch, the kind of itch that made people expect to see an even more gentle expression and softer tone of voice from this person.

It turned out that Qi Cong’s normal state was like this.

As the vlog was played, this image that made the audience feel strange and confused became more and more frequent.

After rendezvousing with the vocal teacher, Qi Cong took the score and lyrics from him and looked down at them. The camera was still showing close up shots at the serious expression on Qi Cong’s face. His expression changed as he looked over the lyrics.

Before Qi Cong flipped through the lyrics, the comment area of each platform and the broadcast room were very lively, with everyone enthusiastically discussing the vlog and the normal-looking Qi Cong in the video, as well as Qi Cong singing voice and smile. However, after Qi Cong’s expression changed while he flipped through the lyrics, the discussion suddenly lessened.

From the beginning of the vlog broadcast to the present, Qi Cong has been polite and considerate. Although he has little expression, he gives people a very gentle and comfortable feeling. Even his speech was self-contained and calm, as if he hadn’t experienced anything terrible at all.

Now, however, Qi Cong’s expression has changed. He still had his head down, and his expression seemed to be the same, but his eyelashes hung a little lower, and behind the cover of his eyelashes, his eyes became obviously dull and slightly out of focus. If you looked closely, you could see his Adam’s apple moving slightly, as if restraining some emotion.

In the background, “A New Life”, which had been absent before, suddenly started playing, and the lyrics sang: I always expected the luxury of hope after I was born.

It was probably because Qi Cong’s concentration was too obvious that the vocal coach called him again. When Qi Cong looked up, the emotions in his eyes couldn’t be restrained and were completely magnified in the camera.

In the background: But the world is like a journey, always full of ups and downs and unpredictable.

Coupled with the dark unfocused eyes of Qi Cong, this made everyone remember his experience, giving them a sense of heartache that came out of nowhere.

The emotions in Qi Cong’s eyes quickly faded after looking up, and in less than a second, he returned to his serious and appropriate appearance. He began humming the score at the request of the vocal teacher, but the audience who saw his eyes just now couldn’t collect their own emotions as quickly as him.

Sometimes, the unmovable scar touched people’s hearts more than the hysterical cry, and just now Qi Cong eyes….

Yeah.

The comment areas for each platform all quieted down as the viewers began to take a closer look at Qi Cong, who they seemed to know a lot about, but not understand at all.

The vlog edited by Manju didn’t use any particularly complicated techniques, nor did it add any fancy special effects. It just showed the process of recording the song by Qi Cong.

It was this kind of ordinary that made everyone more intuitively understand the real Qi Cong.

Some people were particularly easy to like, and it seemed that Qi Cong was such a person.

In the video, Qi Cong started humming the music. He obviously just got the sheet music not too long ago, but he still could barely sing it smoothly. He held up the lyrics and score himself, looking serious and attentive. His posture was nice and relaxed, without any of the restraint and nervousness that other newcomers often had.

The background music stopped at some point, leaving only the sound of Qi Cong singing in the video.

Because it was the first time he sang the song, his voice inevitably sounded a bit raw and intermittent. The lyrics were also different from the official version played before, which hindered their empathy. Even so, everyone was still brought into the mood of the song by him on the first try.

Then, everyone noticed the look in Qi Cong’s eyes that slightly changed according to the lyrics. When singing about friendship, his eyebrows and eyes were slightly warm, with a faint smile on his face. His eyes became heavy and downcast as he sang about his family affection. When he sang about love, there was an intoxicating light in his eyes. When the lyrics came to speak of hope, his eyes became bright and firm.

The song seemed to come alive and turned into pictures flying before their eyes.

The singing Qi Cong was still restraining his emotions, not showing sadness or heartache, but the audience couldn’t help but purse their lips as they felt choked on their throats.

– Oh, my God, I kind of want to cry. Qi Cong cry or else I will really cry. Why do you restrain yourself? You can also cry.

There were various comments appearing in the previously quiet comment section, attracting some meaningful “oooh” and sighs of agreement.

Still, Qi Cong didn’t cry as he finished singing. After he finished, he relaxed, and clenched his fist as he looked toward his vocal teacher.

He then returned to his previous serious and decent appearance, as if he wasn’t emotionally touched by the lyrics.

The audience  became even more depressed when they saw this.

What the…?  How can someone be this way? How can Qi Cong be like this?

The appearance of Master Cao Dewen broke the stifling of the audience’s hearts. Master Cao Dewen asked Qi Cong if he liked the song. Qi Cong looked at the score and didn’t say whether he liked it or not, but replied in a solemn and serious tone, “This is a good start for me.”

A good start.

It was a heartbreaking blow.

The audience looked at Qi Cong’s gentle expression, as he looked at the music score and couldn’t help taking a deep sigh. They wanted to grab something and destroy it to vent the complex, unspeakable emotions in their hearts.

How could Qi Cong be such a person!

The vlog played to the point where Cao Dewan asked to spend two hours alone with Qi Cong and then the two of them walked to the piano while talking. Cao Dewan asked Qi Cong to play his favorite tune for him to hear. Qi Cong nodded and sat down in front of the piano.

The background music stopped again at some point and just Qi Cong’s piano playing could be heard.

Light and gentle music floated out.

The cameraman gave a close up to Qi Cong’s upper body. His back was straight, his eyes looked down at the keys as his beautiful slender fingers danced over the piano keys. His fingers were a little rusty at first but then became more and more smooth and natural.

The music developed from brisk and gentle to warm and high-spirited. Qi Cong closed his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth, as if he had been immersed in the music.

The audience froze when they looked at this image of Qi Cong.

He was so dazzling.

The Qi Cong who played the piano seriously was really dazzling. His self-confidence and elegance flowed straight from his bones as he controlled the rhythm of notes with ease and even some vague strength. It was totally different from his previous quiet and low-key image.

Everyone suddenly remembered the awards that Gu Xun once posted on Weibo belonging to Qi Cong as well as the video and photo materials of Qi Cong that had been dug up from his various competitions.

In those materials, Qi Cong was the proud son of Heaven and child that attracted attention even from other families. This was completely different from the cowardly and pathetic Qi Cong they first knew.

Master Cao Dewen in the video showed his appreciation, and the viewers watching the video vaguely realized something – what they were watching now was the Qi Cong who was the proud son of Heaven and not the Qi Cong who lost his memories and was bullied and tortured by Jiang Zhaoyan.

This was the real Qi Cong.

The recording of the song lasted three days, so the vlog couldn’t play it in its entirety. After that, the time spent with Master Cao Dewen was cut out, and only three piano pieces and some important conversations between the two were retained.

 

Edited by: Antiope1

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