After the system granted her reward, Lin Ziyao held her guitar as a strange bundle of memories inexplicably appeared in her mind. Once she’d sorted them out, she could play the song she’d redeemed with ease.
Chin propped on her hand, Qin Yu watched Lin Ziyao sit there holding her guitar, lost in thought. Had she been too hard on her?
Qin Yu was just about to speak when a spark returned to Lin Ziyao’s eyes. The words died on Qin Yu’s lips.
Her fingers danced across the strings, bringing out a smooth stream of notes.
At the sound of the guitar, Qin Yu stopped moving.
Simple—that was Qin Yu’s first impression. But it was catchy, too. At least for Qin Yu, hearing it once was enough to make it hard to forget.
After listening to Lin Ziyao play, Qin Yu found herself looking forward to hearing lyrics for the song. But when Lin Ziyao finished playing, she still hadn’t sung a single line.
It was like a little cat had pawed at your heart a few times, then flicked its tail and bounded away.
Qin Yu couldn’t help feeling a little let down. Still, with just this arrangement, she was confident she could write fitting lyrics and make the song a hit. “Have you written lyrics for this song?”
Lin Ziyao nodded and handed the guitar back to Qin Yu. The guitar skills she’d learned before came back to her the moment she picked it up. With the memories boosted by the system, playing the song perfectly felt like second nature. She hadn’t sung a word yet, but she already had a lot more faith in the system she’d bonded with.
The task she’d initially been reluctant to take on had now made Lin Ziyao start thinking about how to complete it.
As for who she’d chosen as her target, naturally, it was her roommate and collaborator, Qin Yu!
Thirty minutes was neither long nor short, but it soon passed. When everyone reappeared in the villa garden, a few of them looked completely different, clearly dressed for the talents they planned to show off.
Lin Ziyao took her seat. Whether by design or by chance, it had been placed beside Qin Yu’s. She sat down and waited for Director Chen to host and announce what came next.
Director Chen glanced at the guests who’d arrived and nodded. “All right, everyone’s here. Let’s go in seating order.”
The cameras were already set up and rolling, filming from the moment the guests arrived. None of them seemed fazed by the lenses. Qin Yu was the only one still reliving Lin Ziyao’s performance in the room.
If the talent show followed the seating order, Lin Ziyao would be last—perfectly placed to close the show. Until her turn came, she could sit back and enjoy everyone else’s performances.
Yang Tian, seated at the very first spot, looked around and stood up. “If that’s how Director Chen wants to do it, I’ll go first!”
Yang Tian looked completely different from how he’d looked at dinner. With metal accessories all over his outfit and a fluffy hat on his head, everyone could guess he was about to rap.
“Yo!” Yang Tian slipped into the mood the moment he opened his mouth. His gaze sharpened, and from the crisp delivery of his lyrics, Lin Ziyao could tell he’d put in real work. This wasn’t some half-hearted performance he’d thrown together on the spot.
So this was the level of a trainee?
Comparing herself to Yang Tian’s performance, Lin Ziyao could still feel the pressure weighing on her shoulders.
“Surprised?” Qin Yu came back to herself and noticed Lin Ziyao beside her, looking tense, both hands clenched on the chair.
Still, Lin Ziyao had to admit the gap between them. She nodded. “I didn’t expect Yang Tian to be this good when I first saw him.”
The sight of Yang Tian confidently giving it his all onstage had genuinely caught Lin Ziyao off guard.
“There are countless trainees across the country, but only a handful make it to the end and successfully debut. Yang Tian stood out among all those trainees and got ready to debut through more than just the fans he gained by running a video account. He put in the work himself, too.” As someone who’d been through it, Qin Yu was in the best position to know.
When Yang Tian finished, it was the turn of Tang Wenjie, seated beside him. As they traded places, the two high-fived to encourage each other.
Tang Wenjie’s talent took Director Chen by surprise: he was going to perform street dance. Tang Wenjie had never given any sign in public that he could dance, and even his fans had no idea their idol had this up his sleeve.
But watching Tang Wenjie’s practiced footwork, Director Chen couldn’t help admiring how well he’d kept it under wraps. It seemed plenty of people were determined to show what they could really do on the reality show stage.
Next up was Feng Qiqi. She chose to show off her strength—piano. Since she was already a piano prodigy, her performance came as no surprise. Even without a grand piano in the villa, the keyboard the production team brought in was enough. Her instrumental performance alone had everyone entranced.
As she put it, playing the piano was how she made her living.
Next, Dai Wen, the model, performed a classical dance and earned plenty of applause. Teacher Xu then pulled out the clappers they’d brought along and performed a kuaiban routine, winning even more praise from everyone.
Following the seating order, Teacher Xu’s performance was followed by Qin Yu’s.
Then Qin Yu walked onto the stage with a guitar, looked around, and let her gaze settle on Lin Ziyao.
Lin Ziyao’s heart gave a jump. Looking at the faint smile curling Qin Yu’s rosy lips, she had a strange feeling Qin Yu was up to something again.
“I haven’t decided what to perform yet, so I’ll play the song my roommate just played for me in our room.” Qin Yu’s mischievous smile, exposed beneath the lights, looked a little blinding to Lin Ziyao.
Damn!
Everyone’s attention turned to Lin Ziyao. With the cameras still rolling, all she could do was keep a polite smile on her face as she watched Qin Yu onstage, wondering what she was planning.
“My roommate only played the tune for me just now. She didn’t sing it, and I was left wanting more. So, Director Chen, would you let us perform the whole song for the audience together?”
These guests really knew how to make good TV!
Director Chen was a hundred percent in favor of Qin Yu’s request, of course. But on the surface, he pretended to hesitate and looked toward Lin Ziyao.
Seeing Director Chen looking to her for an answer, Lin Ziyao knew it was just his usual routine. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and nod.
When Lin Ziyao nodded, Director Chen agreed at once. “Of course!”
At this point, she had no choice but to get up and leave her seat. She went over to Qin Yu and, where the cameras couldn’t see, shot her a couple of fierce looks. “What are you really up to?”
Qin Yu leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Don’t you think showing the song off like this would be good for you?”
