A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Everyone turned towards the voice.

In the first row of VIP seats, Chu Chen was sitting with his hands clasped. “I admit that Ye Xingling’s version of ‘Sea Demon’ is good, just about achieving the standard that Xia Ling set in her rendition…” He slowly opined. “But, don’t you think she is simply being a copycat? The similarity with Xia Ling’s rendition is just too high. You consider someone like this having diva potential?”

The auditorium was silent after hearing Chu Chen’s views.

On stage, Xia Ling was furious. She treated Chu Chen well in the past said many good things about him to Pei Ziheng. However, now that she had reincarnated, why was Chu Chen constantly getting in her way, being a pest time and time again?

She opened her mouth to say something in defense, but Wei Shaoyin had already beat her to it —

“Chu Chen, please get Feng Kun to come next time if you don’t know how to appreciate good music.” Wei Shaoyin never minced his words and was unusually pointed in the recent few days. “Couldn’t you tell that Ye Xingling’s version today was completely different from Xia Ling’s version?”

Chu Chen gave a cold laugh. “Yes, she could only imitate Xia Ling to a large extent and not completely — at many of the high notes she did differ from Xia Ling because she could not reach those notes!”

The audience started to buzz with sounds of discussion. Chu Chen was right, Xia Ling’s vocal range in her previous life was wide and she could easily reach many high notes. Her voice in this life was not comparable to that of her previous life in terms of range. There were many parts in the song that she indeed was unable to reach.

“Hence, Ye Xingling perfectly modified many parts of the song.” Wei Shaoyin argued. “Every part that she was unable to hit, she managed to resolve in a manner that was impeccable, making the song sound as if nothing was changed. She did not affect the quality of the song at all — can’t you tell that this is a talent that is much more valuable than someone who is able to imitate the original completely?”

Many in the audience started to nod at Wei Shaoyin’s statement. “Yes yes, if I didn’t know that the original singer of this song was Xia Ling, I would think that the song was made for Ye Xingling.”

Wei Shaoyin continued, “What’s more, Ye Xingling sang a completely different style from Xia Ling. Xia Ling was ostentatious, like a fireball in the middle of the sea. Demonic and spectacular, full of the danger of temptation.”

“But Ye Xingling did not sing it like that. She was more… cold.” He glanced over at her at this point and said, “Her voice was like a mist, hiding loneliness and emptiness as someone lost at sea.”

“For a young girl like her to sing with such emotion, I think her potential is unlimited.”

Wei Shaoyin finished his short speech.

Chu Chen looked at him in silence, his lips pressed together.

Xia Ling knew that Chu Chen did not have anything to rebut Wei Shaoyin with. With regards to music appreciation, he was miles apart from Wei Shaoyin, and any further discussion would only embarrass him.

He stood up, saying, “We’ll temporarily leave this trainee at Skyart Entertainment for now.”

As he completed his sentence, he gave Xia Ling a deep gaze. This time, she was able to read his emotions clearly. There appeared to be a tinge of nostalgia mixed with some disdain, some hatred as well as a hint of a sigh… It was hard to tell if Chu Chen was feeling joy or sorrow as the emotions were complicated.

Chu Chen turned around and left without saying anything to her — those at Imperial Entertainment were people of action, not words.

His final look left Xia Ling shuddering and unable to breathe as if her heart was being gripped by a pair of freezing hands.

She stood in her place until Tan Ying announced the conclusion of the event and Wei Shaoyin walked over to pat her on the shoulder. “Xiao Ling.”

She came back to her senses.

He passed her the items in his hands — a glass of warm water and a piece of candy to soothe her throat. “Don’t push yourself so hard next time.” He said, “You need to protect your voice so that it can last a lifetime.”

She gave a start and then smiled at him in gratitude. “Yes, I know.”

He placed his index finger on his lips to indicate that she should stop talking, and then brought her back to the rest area.

Xia Ling sat down for a while and drank some more water before she started to feel better.

Only then did Wei Shaoyin said, “It was very difficult to sing that last segment, wasn’t it?”

Xia Ling knew that he had noticed. “Sea Demon” was a highly challenging song, and even though she was able to modify some parts of it, it was still difficult to sing the song in its entirety. She was having trouble catching her breath at the climax of the song at the end. Although it was an inconspicuous few seconds, Wei Shaoyin was astute enough to catch it.

She sighed in resignation.

In her past life, she had a personal nutritionist to care for her body. She ate well and her vocals got the best protection. In this life, her vocals were mediocre and she was unable to give it the same detailed care. How could she possibly match up to the time when she was in her prime?

That Xia Ling — the diva of the decade — would ultimately be a legend that could not be replicated.

Wei Shaoyin saw her disappointment. “No one in their right minds would try to beat Xia Ling at her vocal range. That would just be courting death. Xiao Ling, you did really well. Your technique is on par with Xia Ling’s and the delivery of your emotions is more meticulous than hers. As long as you stick with what you are good at and persevere, one day you will definitely stand at the very top.”

She understood what he meant. That would be the peak that belonged to Ye Xingling, completely different from what Xia Ling created.

She felt expectation rising in her heart despite her unhappiness, and said to herself softly, “Yes… the pinnacle that belongs to Ye Xingling, what would that look like?”

She drank up the water in her glass slowly, and then lifted her head, “Ah Wei, thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for? I’ll be more than thankful if you stop torturing your vocal cords.” Seeing that she was fine, Wei Shaoyin returned to his sarcastic self, saying, “I can’t believe you were this dumb to follow that idiotic Xia Yu in pushing yourself to your limits?! Are you trying to trick Tan Ying, how much do you hate him?! Are you trying to make him reject Imperial Entertainment and then cry over a spoiled Ye Xingling?!”

She replied sheepishly in a small voice, “But I modified many parts to suit my vocal range…”

“Even if you did modify the song, you are not in a good enough condition to sing such a challenging song live!”

“But you told Chu Chen just now that I sang it perfectly…”

“I was lying to him! You believed me?! Are you as dumb as he is?!”

She was unable to say anything to his rant and simply kept quiet till he said his piece and turned to leave.

After Wei Shaoyin had walked away, Xia Ling dejectedly went to have her dinner before going back to the dorms to wash up and sleep, feeling utterly exhausted.

Wei Shaoyin was right, singing “Sea Demon” in her current vocal and body condition was indeed a big burden. She did not feel it when she was on stage, but now that the adrenaline was not pumping, she felt drained of all her energy both mentally and physically.

She fell into a deep sleep and did not have any nightmares — a rare occurrence.

After a long while, she was woken up by someone shaking her hard.

“Xingling, your phone is ringing.” It was her roommate, Lan Lan, who handed her a phone that was encased in exquisite crystals. “It’s been ringing for a long time now. We’ve all been woken up by the ringing. Quick, pick it up.”

Xia Ling did not feel like moving in her blurry state. She mumbled, “Just help me to hang up…”

Lan Lan stared at her as if she was looking at a ghost. “Hang up?! That’s a call from the Big Boss. Xingling, since when did you get to know Big Boss Li?!”

Xia Ling gave a start and was instantly awake.