Chapter 1039: New Year's Eve (Part 2)

"Amidst the sound of firecrackers, the old year passes; the spring breeze brings warmth into the Tusu wine."

This year's New Year's Eve is much livelier than usual because many regions have been allowed to set off fireworks and firecrackers.

The long-silent New Year's Eve night finally rang with the sound of firecrackers, and the sky was lit up by blooming fireworks.

However, in such a festive atmosphere, the audience watching the TV broadcast felt a bit uncomfortable all over.

They were originally happily spending the New Year, watching the gala with their families.

Because the quality of the gala in recent years hasn't been very good, everyone's expectations were already set very low.

The good news is that the first few song and dance performances were unexpectedly good, definitely above the passing grade.

The bad news is that the language-based programs still failed.

The sketch program currently playing is called "First Meeting Photo Studio." The performers are not sketch actors at all, and the dialogue between them has no punchlines; it's not funny at all.

"It's really hard for the audience off-stage." Wen Xia couldn't watch it after seeing the beginning and decisively switched to Bilibili to grab red envelopes.

The livestream popularity of the gala wasn't displayed, but the popularity of Bilibili's New Year's Eve Gala truly exceeded 100 million.

This level of popularity only appeared twice last year.

Once was Miss Luo Quan's online song party, and once was the night of the S11 World Championship victory for the Chinese team.

As for the New Year's Eve Gala, the popularity in previous years was basically around 10 million.

The reason it is so high this year is, of course, because of the 100 million red envelopes, which drew a large batch of users from outside.

Although most people don't understand Bilibili's anime culture and some memes, it's still much more interesting than that "First Meeting Photo Studio," not to mention there is money to be made.

The red envelope distribution has been going on for several waves. The "lucky ones" who drew the 5,000 yuan big red envelope have already started showing off on QQ Space, attracting a pile of jealous comments from friends.

It is worth mentioning that the galas of the past two years actually had red envelope distribution segments.

Alibaba, Tencent, and Douyin had all held hundreds of millions of cash distribution activities during the Spring Festival gala, which was a disguised form of advertising.

But this year, none of these internet companies can be seen, and the sponsorship brands thanked by the host have all become names of various alcoholic beverages.

This phenomenon can show from the side that in the past year, companies related to the internet haven't had an easy time, and they have already lost so much that they don't even have the spare energy to lose money to earn a reputation.

As for whether there can be a recovery in the new year, no one can say for sure.

The few minutes of "First Meeting Photo Studio" finally ended amidst the cheers of the audience. The few hundred seconds felt as long as several hundred years to them.

Many viewers were forced to make memes because of this program, or to be precise, "pain masks."

The camera unintentionally cut to the constipated expressions of these audience members. The viewers watching the livestream were quick-eyed and captured them, and then they quickly spread online.

However, this kind of topic probably won't make it to the trending list.

"My mom, it's finally over."

"What kind of B-grade stuff is this? Can this even be called a sketch?"

"First Meeting Photo Studio? I think it's 'Born' Photo Studio!"

"Bad news: the subsequent language programs might not be much better; good news: the next program is Miss Luo Quan's."

"Finally waited for Luo Bao; hurry up and save my terrible mood."

………………

Amidst the complaints of countless netizens, Miss Luo Quan took the stage.

Today she is wearing a conservative dress full of ethnic characteristics, and the style is similar to the girls on the side of the thimble.

"Next, please enjoy the song—'Heavenly Road'!"

The announcement ended, and the camera focused on Miss Luo Quan's bright, smiling face.

Her upturned corners of the mouth made her apple muscles pile up high. This enthusiastic and infectious energy made the mood of everyone who saw it become happy as well.

"Early in the morning, I stand on the high mountain ridge, watching the divine eagle draped in the glow of dawn."

"Like a piece of auspicious cloud flying across the blue sky, bringing good fortune to the snow-covered plateau."

……………………

Miss Luo Quan's singing voice has unique ethnic characteristics. If you don't look at her face, you would think it was a local person singing.

The song is very new and hasn't been heard sung by anyone before this gala. It should have been specially created for this Spring Festival gala.

Besides this, the audience's feeling is probably that the pitch of this song seems a bit high.

Just at the beginning, the singing voice was as loud as if it were lingering in the clouds, melodious and clear, refreshing the heart.

But when the climax arrived, everyone knew what the "Number One Golden Voice in Chinese Music" meant.

"That is a magical heavenly road, yeah~~ eh~~"

"Sending the warmth of the human world to the frontier."

"From now on, the mountains are no longer high, the roads are no longer long, and the children of all ethnic groups gather together."

………………

Singing an echo in the Great Hall isn't a skill; making tens of thousands of live audience members feel their scalps go numb in unison is what can be called a skill.

Miss Luo Quan achieved this, and her smile never changed throughout the whole process; it seemed like it didn't take any effort at all.

What's more exaggerated is that this was only the first wave of the climax.

People familiar with Miss Luo Quan's singing habits know that for such high-pitched songs, the volume of every chorus will be at least one octave higher than the previous one.

Right now, the first chorus was already so high; what would the subsequent choruses be like?

Before the audience could be surprised for too long, Miss Luo Quan increased her volume like an untiring high-pitched loudspeaker.

And while increasing, the timbre still maintained a round and bright feeling, without giving people the slightest bit of discomfort.

"That is a magical heavenly road, yeah~~ eh~~"

"Leading us into a human paradise."

"Highland barley wine and butter tea will be even sweeter."

"The song of happiness spreads everywhere."

"The song of happiness spreads everywhere————"

After a series of rapid high-pitched turns, this "Heavenly Road," which is as high as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, was finally finished.

Hearing the end, the expressions of many viewers became distorted.

It wasn't that it didn't sound good, but they were worried about whether Miss Luo Quan's throat could withstand the ravages of such a high-difficulty song.

However, Miss Luo Quan herself was very calm from beginning to end, smiling even more happily than those who had grabbed red envelopes.

After the performance, warm applause erupted from the audience.

This was probably the first time the audience gave applause from the bottom of their hearts since the program started tonight.

There was no other reason; it was simply because this song was too good, and Miss Luo Quan's performance was too wonderful.

"Like listening to celestial music, the ears are temporarily cleared!"

"A king suddenly appeared among a group of bronze players, and the atmosphere changed instantly."

"It has to be Miss Luo Quan; as long as she is on stage, you don't have to worry about quality issues."

"Speaking of which, the expression is a bit too relaxed, is it really live singing?"

"To be reasonable, in order to avoid mistakes, the Spring Festival gala must use lip-syncing, but I think even if it were live, it wouldn't be a difficult task for Luo Bao's singing skills."

"Unfortunately, there is no Luo Bao after this program ends."

"Are you confused from grabbing red envelopes? Luo Bao and Gao Liang have a duet program tonight."

"Remembered it, there is one more, but the song title is a bit rustic."

"When is it coming?"

"The next one is it."

………………

The two singing programs were connected, and because the styles and atmospheres to be created by the two songs were different, the performance costumes Miss Luo Quan needed to wear were also different.

So after "Heavenly Road" was sung, as soon as the camera cut away, she ran to the backstage and rushed into the changing room.

The host on stage could buy her two minutes through banter and off-site interaction.

Actually, the time to walk back to the dressing room was enough, but having more time is always better than being tight.

After quickly stripping, changing, and checking her makeup, Miss Luo Quan and Gao Liang arrived backstage.

At this time, she had already changed into a bright red long dress, looking exceptionally festive.

Gao Liang was also wearing a Tang suit for the first time in his life, with a large, upside-down "Fu" (fortune) character on his back.

It is said that he designed it himself, but Miss Luo Quan always felt that she had seen this design somewhere before.

Seeing her younger brother's back at this moment, she suddenly remembered.

In movies and TV shows, isn't this what the cannon fodder soldiers and death row prisoners have pasted on the back of their clothes?

It's just that theirs are all "Death" or "Soldier" characters, not as festive as Gao Liang's.

Miss Luo Quan had a premonition that if Gao Liang went out wearing this, he would probably be mocked by netizens for the entire Spring Festival.

She only hoped that he wouldn't turn around while singing later and expose the design on his back to everyone.

Gao Liang knew nothing about his older sister's worries.

He was still immersed in the lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve. Although it was an indoor stage, the atmosphere was no worse than the Super Bowl halftime show in the US.

And the Super Bowl halftime show is only ten minutes long; in terms of performance length and difficulty, it cannot be compared to the Spring Festival gala.

And the audience for this stage is truly hundreds of millions.

Thinking of the director's repeated instructions not to make mistakes, even Gao Liang, who had rich stage experience, felt considerable pressure.

Fortunately, the lyrics he had to sing this time weren't many; the bulk was on his older sister's side.

"Next, please enjoy the song brought by Miss Luo Quan and Gao Liang—'The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'!"

"It's our turn!"

Miss Luo Quan shouted at her brother, gripped the microphone, and walked out of the curtain.

Gao Liang took a deep breath and followed closely behind.

"What kind of song title is this? 'The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style' is here, it sounds so low."

"Luo Bao's song titles have always been quite good. 'In the Name of the Father,' 'Nocturne,' 'Qilixiang'—these levels are all quite high. Why did it fail this time?"

"Don't be mean; Luo Bao is marching into the sinking market; what she's playing is being grounded."

"I don't know why, but when I see Miss Luo Quan's smile, I have an ominous premonition."

………………

Reminded by this person, everyone seemed to have discovered that Miss Luo Quan's smile had become strange.

When singing "Heavenly Road" just now, it was clearly so full of affinity, like a big sister next door.

But this time back on stage, it became a bit "cheap," as if she was holding back a big move to prank everyone.

It can only be said that people's intuition in a "crisis" moment is quite accurate. Everyone didn't know what kind of song they were about to hear.

Nor did they know that the upcoming Spring Festival holiday would be completely captured by a demonic melody.

And because Miss Luo Quan had anticipated all this, she started grinning as soon as she got on stage.

"Haha, watch how I brainwash you all."

As the accompaniment started, Miss Luo Quan's body also swayed with the dynamic music:

"The vast horizon is my love,"

"Flowers are blooming at the foot of the rolling green mountains,"

"What kind of rhythm is the most, most swaying,"

"What kind of singing voice is the most joyful,"

………………

Having only sung four lines, the netizens in the livestream felt something was wrong.

"Strange, why are my legs shaking along?"

"What a demonic melody; clearly I've never heard it before, yet it gives people a sense of déjà vu."

"This song is a bit interesting; let's keep listening and see what's going on."

………………

These netizens sending barrage comments clearly hadn't realized the severity of the problem; they just felt that Miss Luo Quan's song was a bit interesting.

But once they really realized it after a while, everything would be too late.

"If we want to sing, we must sing the most freely!"

Miss Luo Quan's high-pitched chant opened the arrival of the 2021 divine song era.

Many years later, when the audience of this year's Spring Festival gala is bombarded by countless divine songs, they will definitely remember this unusual New Year's Eve.

Future generations will call it the beginning of everything, calling it the "Source of All Evil."

"Miss Luo Quan: You are the most beautiful cloud on my horizon,"

"Let me keep you with my heart,"

"Gao Liang: Keep you!"

"Miss Luo Quan: Singing the most dazzling ethnic style leisurely,"

"Let love sweep away all the dust,"

"Gao Liang: I know,"

………………

One chorus, only one chorus, and Miss Luo Quan firmly imprinted its melody in everyone's mind, and no matter how time passes, it can never be erased again.

December 30th, 2020, in the lunar calendar, at 10:08 PM, this is an extraordinary moment.

The music isn't long, only a mere five minutes.

But because of Miss Luo Quan and Gao Liang's endurance singing, all the people of China will remember these extraordinary five minutes.

When the performance ended, many people were still in a dazed state.

"What song did we just listen to?"

"My brain has been occupied by something, constantly repeating a melody."

"Does everyone still remember what Miss Luo Quan sang just now?"

"The vast horizon is my love... Next!"

"Flowers are blooming at the foot of the rolling green mountains... Next!"

………………

If Miss Luo Quan saw these barrage comments, she would know that her brainwashing plan had been a great success.

And on Weibo, the trending search for "Heavenly Road" hadn't reached the top yet, but "The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" had already reached the first position, and there was even an "Explosive" prefix.

Sure enough, it takes such a divine song to more easily gain resonance from the masses.

Although this time it wasn't an overwhelming wave of praise, there weren't many negative reviews either.

The public's feeling was generally that it was very magical:

"Luo Bao seems to be trying something very new."

"I've heard of brainwashing, but I've never heard of anything so brainwashing."

"Miss Luo Quan probably thought, since the brainwashing divine songs on the market are all so trashy, why not occupy this market myself and let everyone listen to some better brainwashing divine songs."

"That's a good reason, but I think Luo Bao might just simply want to pull a stunt for everyone."

"Haha, that is indeed her personality."

"This is indeed a peerless stunt; I probably won't be able to sleep tonight. This melody is considered to have stayed in my brain!" ===== CHAPTER 1040 =====