Wake Up, This is Not a Dating Show! Chapter 19
Chapter 19 “Who is Singing” (Part 2) “Anyway, they can’t do anything…
Ye Nai had originally thought that since Yi Xingzhi didn’t love talking, he naturally wouldn’t be good at handling these kinds of situations. He didn’t expect him to be even more adept at it than himself.
The trailing note of that final “Partner” lifted slightly, like the wind blowing willow catkins, brushing against a person’s heart and making it itch.
“Mhm.” With his mind wandering, he agreed. “Let’s settle on this then.”
Actually, even if Yi Xingzhi hadn’t proposed a duet first, Ye Nai had originally intended to do so. What he told the Little Witch wasn’t just a randomly fabricated excuse; he truly wanted to find Yi Xingzhi to collaborate on an ancient-style song.
After confirming their collaboration grouping with the directing team, the two prepared to find a quiet place to discuss their song choices.
Walking behind Yi Xingzhi, Ye Nai looked at his tall and slender figure carrying the sword on his back. A trace of loneliness seeped through the coldness. He suddenly felt this scene was very familiar.
“Why did you think of doing this styling?” he couldn’t help but ask. “You might not believe it if I say it, but when I saw your back view walking towards the stage with your guitar on your back before, the image that came to my mind was exactly a swordsman.”
While talking, they had already arrived at the room where Yi Xingzhi had initially stayed, far away from the noisy crowd.
“Is that so?” Yi Xingzhi seemed to be in a good mood. He pulled out a chair and sat down, picking up the guitar placed nearby. “Then let me use a ‘sword’ to answer you.”
He gently plucked the strings and sang: “I once dreamed of roaming the world with a sword, to see the prosperity of the world.”
Ye Nai laughed when he heard it. “You actually went through that phase too?”
Yi Xingzhi slightly curled the corners of his mouth without answering. He casually strummed the guitar, the strings letting out a warm, low resonance under his plucking fingers.
“What do you want to sing for the duet?”
“What are you singing for your final song?”
Ye Nai guessed that Yi Xingzhi was just like him—because of schedule conflicts, he would only record one episode and reveal his identity on the spot.
“Lost and Never Returning.”
“Original rock?”
“Mhm.” Yi Xingzhi glanced at him. “How did you know?”
“Guessed.” Ye Nai propped his hands up and sat on a table. “At a time like this, shouldn’t you sing a song with the strongest personal style? But…”
He suddenly thought of something, but felt that saying this kind of thing directly was a bit insensitive.
Yi Xingzhi looked at him. “Holding back half a sentence and not saying it, isn’t it uncomfortable?”
“Shouldn’t it be you who’s uncomfortable only hearing half a sentence?” Ye Nai countered.
“Fine.” Yi Xingzhi compromised very quickly, his voice laced with a smile. “Then can you make me slightly less uncomfortable?”
Ye Nai also found it funny and went ahead and finished his sentence. “It’s nothing, I just think you’re quite rebellious.”
Yi Xingzhi didn’t speak, just quietly watched him, waiting for the rest.
“When you sang Awn last time, I saw people saying you were leeching off the band’s traffic, always singing rock that was similar in style to before.” Ye Nai sat on the table, tapping his foot on the ground to the chords Yi Xingzhi was playing. “And yet here you are, unexpectedly planning to sing it again this time, completely ignoring what those people think.”
Yi Xingzhi’s hand paused, but he didn’t evade the question.
“To begin with, many of Feidu’s songs were written by me, so it’s perfectly normal for my current songs to be similar in style, right? A person’s preferences don’t just change on a whim, and I don’t want to change my preferences for those people either.” He looked down and strummed the strings. “Anyway, they can’t do anything about me.”
The last sentence was the most widely circulated lyric from Ye Nai’s rap song Helpless.
Ye Nai had originally been listening intently. He hadn’t expected Yi Xingzhi to suddenly pop out with this line, and to recite it so flatly without any tune at all.
“You actually know this too?” He couldn’t hold back his laughter again. “But you sound like a text-to-speech reader.”
The corners of Yi Xingzhi’s lips curved slightly. He strummed the strings a few more times and brought the topic back on track. “Are we confirmed on an ancient-style genre for the duet?”
“Yeah. Is there anything you want to sing?”
“The classic Pouring Out the World, the atmospheric Not a Fish, the difficult Puppet Show, the story-driven The Lute Player, the nostalgic Never Change in This Life.” Yi Xingzhi listed a string of ancient-style songs for him to choose from.
Since Ye Nai hadn’t heard him clearly express his stance, he had been worried that he didn’t have a strong desire to sing ancient-style songs. He didn’t expect him to have even thought of the tracklist.
“You came prepared.”
“When you told the Little Witch earlier that you wanted to sing an ancient-style duet, I started thinking.” Yi Xingzhi strummed the guitar breezily. “However, my repertoire reserve for this style isn’t large. Do you have any other options?”
“No need, let’s just go with Never Change in This Life.” Ye Nai decided almost without hesitation. “It’s magnificent in momentum, profound in emotion, and has a bit of a nostalgic bonus. I kind of want to try performing it on stage.”
Yi Xingzhi was actually a bit surprised. “I thought you wouldn’t pick this one, which is why I put it last.”
“Why, you didn’t think a rapper could sing love songs too?”
“Not exactly, maybe it’s just…” Yi Xingzhi thought for a moment and said, “It doesn’t fit your usual vibe?”
“Hey no, what kind of image do I have in your heart anyway?” Only after saying this did Ye Nai realize it sounded a tiny bit weird.
“Just your current image.” Yi Xingzhi didn’t seem to notice. Looking at his armor, he said, “When you rap, you have a very strong feeling of holding a blade on a warhorse, sweeping across the battlefield.”
Ye Nai reached out and performed an imaginary chop in the air. “The kind that takes on ten men single-handedly, right?”
“Mhm, and the kind who complains that not a single one of the others is capable of fighting,” Yi Xingzhi added.
The two laughed together, suddenly hearing voices coming from outside the ajar door.
“Hey, don’t knock yet!”
Ye Nai recognized that as his assistant Jiujiu’s voice.
“Why?”
Yi Xingzhi also identified his assistant Ayue’s voice.
“The atmosphere is just right right now!” Jiujiu lowered her volume, her tone laced with poorly concealed excitement.
“What atmosphere?” Ayue was completely lost.
“Oh, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”
“Then why don’t you tell me?” Ye Nai pulled the door open, crossed his arms, and leaned diagonally against the doorframe, looking down at the people outside. “What atmosphere?”
Jiujiu instantly stiffened. It took her a long while to force a smile. “Uh, well, it’s just, the atmosphere of you guys discussing the duet song choices. I felt it was inappropriate to interrupt in the middle.”
Ye Nai scrutinized her suspiciously a few times, too lazy to ask more, and simply said, “We’re done discussing now.”
“Oh, then, you know,” Jiujiu tugged at Ayue. “Werent you looking for Brother Yi just now? If you have something to say, hurry up and say it.”
Ayue glanced at Ye Nai and Jiujiu. He didn’t speak immediately, seemingly in a bit of a tough spot.
Understanding the hint, Ye Nai tilted his chin towards Jiujiu. “Let’s go, we’ll head over there first.”
“It’s fine.” Yi Xingzhi raised a hand and rested it on Ye Nai’s shoulder, stopping his movement to leave, and said to Ayue, “Just say it directly.”
Since he had already said so, Ayue didn’t hesitate anymore. “I came over from over there just now, and I heard a guest say he wants to sing Splendor.”
Splendor was one of the Feidu band’s breakthrough hits, co-created by Yi Xingzhi and Wu Chengyao. Even people like Ye Nai, who didn’t follow the band, could hum a few lines of the chorus; its reach was very wide.
It was just that now, whenever Feidu was mentioned, the public would always lament the band’s disbandment, vent their anger on the perceived instigator, Yi Xingzhi, and then hurl a barrage of insults.
Therefore, after Feidu disbanded, no one had sung their songs to avoid stirring up trouble.
“The directing team agreed?” Ye Nai asked.
“Mhm. Anyway, no one raised any objections,” Ayue said.
Clearly, the production team had found the traffic password again and was unwilling to let such an opportunity slip by.
Even if it was just a guest singing a Feidu song, it would generate a lot of discussion. Not to mention that Yi Xingzhi was now also participating in the program. When his identity was revealed later, it was bound to trigger an even fiercer wave of attacks.
“Let him sing, then.” Yi Xingzhi’s tone remained very flat. It was just that the smile on his face had completely vanished, reverting to his usual indifference.
Ye Nai scanned the crowd. “Which guest is it?”
“It’s that Magician.” Ayue didn’t dare to point his finger at people casually, only secretly indicating the person’s location with his eyes. “I didn’t recognize who it was.”
Ye Nai followed his gaze and saw the Magician wearing a black cloak, top hat, and mask.
He had an impression of him. This person had continuously recorded several episodes without his identity being guessed. But he hadn’t heard the other party sing, nor had he spoken just now, so he didn’t know who it was. Judging by his build, it should be a man.
Perhaps it was just someone who liked Feidu’s songs and hadn’t thought that much about it?
Or was it someone Yi Xingzhi had offended, taking this opportunity to exact revenge?
Whatever, who cares who he is. Ye Nai lifted his foot and started walking over.
“Where are you going?” Yi Xingzhi asked.
“Going to have a chat with him.” Ye Nai didn’t break his stride. “At least to see what his attitude is.”
He hated the passive feeling of sitting and waiting for death the most.
Although this matter didn’t have much to do with him, since Yi Xingzhi was teamed up with him now, he automatically categorized the other’s matters as team matters, with no reason to just sit idly by.
Yi Xingzhi didn’t stop him, walking over together with him. The Magician had just finished coordinating with the directing team and was about to find his teammate to discuss the stage design.
“Excuse me.” Ye Nai raised a hand, getting straight to the point. “I heard you want to sing Splendor?”
“How did you know?” The Magician stood still and said cheerfully, “I’ve always wanted to sing a rock song, so I planned to rely on this opportunity to fulfill my dream.”
Ye Nai felt his voice sounded a bit familiar. It seemed like someone he knew, but he couldn’t distinguish who it was.
“There are so many rock songs out there, why did you specifically think of singing one of Feidu’s?” He didn’t like beating around the bush, asking directly.
The Magician froze, probably not expecting him to come over specifically to ask this. He paused for a moment before saying, “Feidu’s disbandment is quite a pity. I just thought that the audience hasn’t heard their songs in a long time, and we can’t let good songs remain buried forever.”
If someone else had said these words, Ye Nai might have believed them. But this voice seemed to have planted a bad impression in his subconscious; he couldn’t help but feel that this person was speaking somewhat pretentiously.
“But if you really sing it, it will inevitably drag out a series of criticisms toward the band members, won’t it?” He made his words even more explicit.
“People always have to pay the price for what they’ve done.” The Magician finally stopped spouting beautiful, empty pleasantries. “If just me singing a song can subject someone to universal condemnation, that only proves this person truly did something wrong. Bearing the corresponding consequences is only right and proper.”
Hearing his insinuations clearly aimed directly at Yi Xingzhi, Ye Nai lost the last bit of his politeness. “Then what if the public was misled, and this person was framed? Does your action count as maliciously inciting cyberbullying and deliberately stirring up trouble?”
The Magician pushed the brim of his hat up and looked at Ye Nai. “Aren’t your words a bit too heavy? It’s just a song. Do you need to crown it with such a massive crime? Making a mountain out of a molehill.”
“Then you’ll have to ask yourself what exactly you’re thinking deep down.” Ye Nai also stared back at him. Seeing the obvious hostility in the other party’s eyes, he finally remembered who it was.
…No wonder he had no good impression of him.
But why was he targeting Yi Xingzhi? When did they form a grudge?
“No matter what I’m thinking, you have no right to interfere with my song choice, do you?” The Magician’s tone grew increasingly unkind, then he lowered his voice. “Besides, I’m guessing you’re probably only recording this one episode, right? So mind your own business. Anyway, I’ll still be here next episode, and you won’t be able to do anything about it. You’d better spend more thought on your own program, so you don’t end up dead last again in the next competition. I’m feeling anxious for you.”
It seemed the other party had recognized him as well.
Just as Ye Nai was about to completely tear off all pretenses, he heard the person who had been silent by his side suddenly speak up.
“You can just stay here and sing with peace of mind,” Yi Xingzhi said unhurriedly. “Even if you sing for a few more episodes, probably no one will be able to guess who you are anyway. So don’t worry about others.”
Translator’s Note: Ye Nai is so quick to protect his man! By the way, the phrase “reader” originally means someone reading a text flatly without emotion, but in Chinese internet culture, it specifically mocks rappers who have no flow and just talk fast!