Chapter 170: 《If Only It Weren't》

A single piece, "Confession Night," earned Luo Mo the title of "God Luo" in the violin circle.

In this era where anything can be crowned with the name of a god, this doesn't seem like such a rare occurrence anymore.

However, the interlude in "If Only It Weren't" today is enough to awaken in a large group of people the fear of being dominated by "Confession Night."

During that period, a piece of instrumental music went on a rampage on the charts of all major platforms, rubbing a bunch of new songs into the ground.

In the lounge, Chen Shanqi, the best "mount" to have been ridden by Luo Mo on the charts, listened to this interlude with her little mouth wide open, enough to fit half of her own fist.

She put down the vegetable salad in her hand, shifted her peach-shaped buttocks—honed by gym workouts—on the sofa, and felt that this violin passage made her scalp tingle.

The outpouring of emotion within it caused this woman to fall into memories.

She knew very clearly that the moment Luo Mo decisively and cleanly picked up the violin, the climax of this song had only just begun!

…….

…….

At this very moment, a curtain on the stage suddenly dropped.

The entire audience let out gasps of surprise.

Because behind the curtain, there was an entire orchestra!

An orchestra wearing suits and formal attire!

Several professional judges stood up from their chairs, looking shocked.

Bringing an orchestra to the scene is nothing surprising.

It's just that by using the nearly one minute and fifty seconds of buildup beforehand to lead into the orchestra, one can only say that Luo Mo's boldness is truly too great!

It is just like the so-called "Golden Three Chapters" theory in the web novel circle, meaning that writers should throw out something attractive enough at the beginning to strive to retain more readers.

"To dare to suppress the emotion for a full two minutes on a competitive stage, he truly has high skill and bold courage!" the music critics thought to themselves.

At the same time, they found it increasingly interesting.

This song has an "interlude kill," and the violin solo just now can be called the finishing touch.

In other words, the music is still one of the focal points of this song.

Since the comments from the Heavenly King Zhao in the first episode, Luo Mo seems to really intend to carry through the innovation and technical display in his music to the end.

At the center of the stage, Luo Mo still kept his head down, both arms hanging down, holding the violin listlessly.

But the entire song began to trend toward intensity.

As soon as Luo Mo opened his mouth, the orchestra in the back, having prepared everything, began to follow along completely.

"【If I had understood earlier,

That impulsive you,

Or met a mature me a little later,

However, Oh——】"

The effect of the buildup was completely ignited at this moment, and the listeners clearly felt the articulation become clearer.

It perfectly corresponded to the lyric, "【Say what should be said properly】."

From the perspective of vocal technique levels, the content of the B-section is equivalent to a monologue after regret, or perhaps a shout from the depths of the heart.

No longer mumbling, no longer holding back, but wanton and loud.

As mentioned before, there is a saying that when an opera singer sings pop, it is a dimensionality-reduction strike.

This is not an isolated case in the music scene, especially among the older generation of Singers.

Luo Mo has a full 19 years of Opera foundation; his control over high notes is definitely among the top tier of his generation of Singers.

In fact, on the stage of "King of Love Songs," he had not yet properly belted out high notes.

His vocal style began to shift from ambiguous to bright, and the audience's emotions were completely ignited.

But for some reason, many in the audience felt this song was inexplicably sad.

From the lyrics to the music, and then to the change in vocal technique, there was an indescribable sadness.

Even though it was stimulating your ears, you would feel it scratching at your heart.

"Young and Promising" is like a thorn, while "If Only It Weren't" is a hand that reaches out but then pulls back.

"【It's all my fault——

Silent when I shouldn't have been, weak when I should have been brave,

If it weren't for me, mistaking myself for being carefree,

Making us sad,

But if the you from back then, and the me from now, could start over.】"

The orchestra was top-tier in the industry, and their synchronized movements carried a beauty of their own.

It had the effect of combining motion and stillness with the motionless Luo Mo at the front of the stage.

What was motionless was the surface; what was intense was the depths.

Ke Ming watched all this from backstage and sighed in his heart: "Every one of his stage designs is very brilliant."

He had felt this point when watching "Creating Idols," especially the two times Luo Mo wore red and performed "Red Actor" and "Xi."

"He really is worry-free," Ke Ming thought to himself.

Generally speaking, variety shows involving music will specifically hire a Music Director to control the overall musical direction of the entire show.

"King of Love Songs" also hired one, but their influence was low because too many big-shot Singers were invited.

This Music Director for the program completely deferred to Luo Mo, this Newcomer.

He said directly to Ke Ming: "Director Luo's stage is very mature; I don't seem to have the qualifications to point fingers. Several times I had inspiration and wanted to consult with him, but once I calmed down and thought about it, I felt I would just be gilding the lily."

He said incredulously: "It is hard for me to imagine that he is a Newcomer with little stage experience who has never even held a solo concert."

"He is like someone born specifically for the stage!"

Ke Ming is very excited right now; he has begun to look forward to Chen Shanqi's performance with immense anticipation.

"Although after this episode airs, there will definitely be many voices from the outside world, cursing the program for having too much of a Luo Mo attribute, and the Contentment with Mo being too high."

"But, so what?"

"His songs are explosive!"

"My program is going to be even hotter!" Ke Ming pressed down on the hat on his head and shouted in his heart.

On stage, when Luo Mo's voice carried a very subtle vibrato as he sang the line "【Unfortunately, there are no ifs】", the song came to an end.

The audience was still immersed in the emotions, looking at the man on stage with his hands hanging down, holding a violin, feeling only that he had interpreted 【Losing You】 to the fullest.

After several seconds, enthusiastic applause finally erupted at the scene.

Luo Mo bowed toward the audience, then bowed toward the band behind him.

It must be said, Ke Ming is truly responsive to every request.

He said he needed a first-class orchestra, and Ke Ming managed to get it for him in just one day; he likely pulled some strings.

During yesterday's rehearsal, he already felt the effect was excellent, and at the moment the curtain fell, it should be able to bring a Surprise to the audience.

The female host stepped onto the stage in high heels, leaning a bit close to Luo Mo; Luo Mo could even smell the carefully blended perfume on her, likely a mixture of two different scents.

She was wearing a gown, exposing her bare shoulders, and her shoulder was almost touching Luo Mo's arm.

He silently moved half a step to the side and then placed the violin in his hand onto the table.

A man must have self-respect; how can one be casually taken advantage of!

The female host glanced at him, then, under the urging of Ke Ming in her earpiece, began to thank the sponsors.

Ke Ming's program has always held the title sponsors in supreme reverence; in his heart, the sponsors have always been in first place, and now Luo Mo and the sponsors are on equal footing.

Rounding it up, Luo Mo is equal to a father.

The female host first expressed her emotions about the audiovisual feast just now, then began to call on the audience to hurry and cast their votes, entering the final five-second countdown.

"Alright! The voting channel is officially closed!" The female host turned her gaze toward the professional jury and said: "The teachers of the professional jury can now begin their critiques."

Luo Mo listened to her words and also turned his gaze toward them.

Even though he is just a young man who has just debuted, this group of professional judges felt a sense of oppression.

His gaze was clearly restrained, yet it made people somewhat afraid to face him directly.

In the private room, we critique wantonly.

In the audience seats, they nudged one another, and again, no one was willing to be the first to speak.

This kind of pressure was something they only felt when facing Heavenly Kings and Heavenly Queens.

"Are we qualified to critique a Heavenly King or Heavenly Queen to their face?" This is what most of them were thinking.

But in order to earn money, regardless of whether they were qualified or not, they had to push through.

Who could have imagined that now, facing a Newcomer, they would have a fear like facing a Demon King.

In the end, Lv Yi, who was sitting in the first row, picked up the microphone and said: "I have nothing to say; I will only use four words—brilliant and stunning!"

Then, he really put the microphone down.

Ke Ming in the backstage area grew anxious, and this General Director began to transmit his voice and shout: "Not enough! The duration is not enough!"

Damn it, when you critique others, you talk endlessly, and when I'm editing, I'm exhausted to death, having to pick a few of the most garbage lines out of a pile of garbage talk.

Now it's even worse, you won't even let out a fart!

Ke Ming directly started calling names; if you won't critique voluntarily, I will force you to critique.

"Zhao Yang, you go!"

Zhao Yang, sitting in the second row, picked up the microphone and only said one sentence: "Teacher Lv Yi is a great senior; he said brilliant and stunning, and I feel exactly the same as him. My critique content is—plus one!"

Director Ke in the backstage area nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.

"Still +1, why don't you +10086?"

Laozi spent a fortune to invite you here, and you are openly taking easy money!

He continued to call names, but as a result, one by one they started to slack off.

"Plus two!"

"Plus three!"

"……"

Adding them up to the end, Ke Ming instead felt... the variety show effect was maxed out!

"It seems this kind of critique segment is actually not bad?" he thought to himself.

With the rise of singing variety shows, the audience has long detested professional judges.

A group of people sitting there acting arrogant, not saying a single human word, just wanting to go against the audience.

"Isn't this sense of satisfaction coming now?" Ke Ming decided not to cut it, and even wanted to add a slow-motion shot to this segment, giving these old slickers who wanted to muddle through a few close-ups, magnifying all their micro-expressions!

"Heh, fighting with the director?" This bald man felt he was very strong.

Finally, when the critique concluded, the microphone returned to Lv Yi's hand, and he said: "I have given both of these songs written by Director Luo near-perfect scores; I look forward to your works in the next few rounds."

Luo Mo smiled and said: "You can actually look forward to this round as well."

He decided to give a small spoiler.

The professional jury looked at each other in dismay; what does that mean?

But Luo Mo had no intention of saying more; according to the procedure, it was time to announce the scores.

"Let us see the final score of Singer Luo Mo from the professional jury—" the female host said loudly.

"93.7 points, the highest score so far!"

Sun Yi's previous score was already high enough; Luo Mo is both the creator and the performer, so there must be a bonus.

Sure enough, the only one who can defeat Luo Mo is Luo Mo!

…….

…….

Luo Mo left the stage amidst applause, while Wei Ge stretched his body in the backstage corridor, letting himself fully relax.

Luo Mo had achieved a high score, and he was clapping backstage with a smile, even cheering a few times.

Although it was a singing competition variety show, he held no hostility toward Luo Mo.

"Luo Mo is a trainee, and I am a mentor."

"Luo Mo is an Ox, so if you round it up, it means I'm an Ox!" Wei Ge was quite skilled at comforting himself.

Ever since that half-song "Gentle," he had thought highly of Luo Mo; in his view, it was normal for this young man to soar into the sky.

Sad love songs were also an area where Wei Ran excelled, and even with Luo Mo's pearls of wisdom preceding him, he still achieved a lucky score of 88.8, narrowly losing to Sun Yi.

After seeing the score, Wei Ran felt no disappointment at all; instead, he publicly stated on stage: "Sun Yi's performance just now really moved me. I am publicly challenging Luo Mo here—don't think that just because you are great at writing lyrics and music, the outcome would have been certain if not for Sun Yi's excellent singing just now."

He smiled and pointed at himself, saying: "Me, Wei Ge, I'm not bad!"

Amidst the audience's laughter, Wei Ran bowed and left the stage; everyone could tell he was joking.

On the contrary, Zhao Xueqin, who was to perform next, felt extremely uncomfortable.

——Now, the pressure was on Heavenly King Zhao.

The reason Wei Ran could be indifferent to winning or losing was that he and Luo Mo were naturally in a friendly camp.

Zhao Xueqin was different; he was in the naturally hostile camp.

Even if President Wang of Pineapple had suddenly changed his temperament and suppressed the murderous intent in his heart, it was already too late.

Could it be that just because everyone shook hands and made peace, they wouldn't compete in "King of Love Songs" anymore?

Pineapple goes to seek peace, and then tells everyone to throw the competition in "King of Love Songs"?

Is that possible?

His status as a Heavenly King did not allow him to ignore winning or losing.

This was currently the hottest singing variety show, one that was even going to break records.

Therefore, until this show ended, everyone was in a life-or-death situation.

They didn't just know how to be reckless; they had no way to retreat. Otherwise, Huang Xishan wouldn't have gone to find Yuan Hewen.

It was just a pity that even with two Great Gods collaborating, they couldn't produce a song that quickly; on the contrary, precisely because two Great Gods were working together, the finished product was slow to emerge, and it was easy for their opinions to clash.

Their collaborative song would only be ready for the fifth episode.

For the fourth episode, Heavenly King Zhao had no choice but to bite the bullet and go on.

His bottom line was: Luo Mo wrote two songs for this episode, so I must win at least one.

In the end, his score was 89.3, actually tying with Sun Yi!

For a moment, the whole venue was in an uproar, question marks appeared on many people's faces, and someone in the professional judging panel even shouted: "What!?"

It was clear that this person didn't want to speak English; after saying the word "fuck," they had forcibly changed it back.

This meant the final ranking was now in the hands of the live audience.

As long as the audience score was high, he could defeat Sun Yi.

Of course, theoretically speaking, as long as the audience score was high enough and Luo Mo's was low enough, he could even defeat Luo Mo, hahaha.

Backstage, Ke Ming looked at Zhao Xueqin's hand gripping the microphone, feeling no sympathy at all.

He was just excited.

"Our show doesn't control scores, there's no rigging; a tie is a classic variety show moment, how exciting!"

He didn't care about the Heavenly King's mindset. Anyway, the appearance fee he gave when extending the invitation was very, very generous; once the money was in place, my respect was also in place.

……..

……..

Time passed second by second, and finally, it was time for the most "mysterious" replacement singer to appear!

The female host announced loudly: "Let us welcome the singer——Chen Shanqi!"

Many audience members actually didn't know which company the singer came from, so they didn't yet know she was one of Director Luo's people.

But many in the professional judging panel knew, and most of the other singers in the lounge knew as well.

In an instant, many people's mindsets underwent drastic changes.

Chen Shanqi, in a black dress, walked out through the mist; this female singer, who had been stuck at the quasi-first-tier level for many years, gripped the microphone in her hand and stepped forward.

She had waited many years for this moment.

Those female singers who had shouted the same slogans as her around the same time, declaring they would charge toward the first tier, had several of them broken through their bottlenecks one after another, ascended to the first-tier throne, and become hot female stars in the industry.

Quasi-first-tier, after all, was just quasi-first-tier; there was a huge difference.

This woman took a deep breath; while calming herself down, what she said in her heart was a slightly comical phrase: "Director Luo, bless me."

In reality, the audience's feedback was top-notch.

On the big screen, the appearance of a few lines of text pushed the program to a climax once again.

Chen Shanqi knew very well that the fact that everyone was so excited before the song had even been sung had little to do with her personally.

Several audience members who had come together were patting their companions hard, pointing at the large characters on the screen with excitement.

"Song Title: 'I Am Not Sad'."

"Lyricist: Luo Mo."

"Composer: Luo Mo."

"Arranger: Luo Mo."

In the fourth episode of "King of Love Songs," the Great Demon King Luo Mo revealed his full prowess.

Let the world feel the fear.

This man, who was still practicing pen-spinning in the lounge, had gradually constructed a killing trap.

"It is dark, please close your eyes."

(PS: Second update, 4700 words, requesting monthly tickets!)

(End of this chapter)