Chapter Forty-Five: Whose Song Is It, After All?

Modern souls are brokenhearted.
Today, each stands alone.
In this life, there is no hope of meeting you again.
When the brilliance fades, those parted dare not confess their hearts.
Last night, I saw again the man who abandoned me years ago and never returned.
Tonight, the hours stretch unbearably long.
Tonight, restlessness stirs within me.
Tonight, I am thinner than dead leaves, paler than withered flowers.
I am reflected in the drifting world, drinking a jug of muddy wine…

“Damn, damn, damn, damn! Was this song really written by Goddess Lin? It’s incredible!”
“This is the music that truly belongs to China!”
“I love it so much—Goddess Lin, you are the last hope of our music scene!”

Lin Xinrou’s fanbase was already vast, and this song “Sorrow of the Departed” seemed, to those unaware of the truth, nothing short of a masterpiece. In an instant, the emotions of the five hundred audience members at the venue were ignited.

“What’s Zhou Lu compared to this? Even if her ‘Under the Sea’ and ‘Adao’ are great and outstanding, they were written by someone else. This ‘Sorrow of the Departed’ was composed by Goddess Lin herself!”
“That’s right. As far as I’m concerned, Zhou Lu is nothing! Goddess Lin is the true national goddess of China!”
“Yes, Goddess Lin is the national goddess!”
“Goddess Lin! Goddess Lin! Goddess Lin!”

Hearing the unified chants at the venue, Lin Xinrou smiled triumphantly.
This was the live stage she had always dreamed of, the representative work she truly wanted!
The song “Sorrow of the Departed” would forever be her signature, her label. As for Xing Fei’s mysterious mentor? Ha! Let them stay out of the way!

“Wonderful!” Backstage, the crew members all rose and applauded after hearing the song.
Last episode, because of Chen Nian’s sudden emergence, their show “Who Is the Singer” was suppressed in trending topics and ratings by “New Voices,” unable to catch a breath.
Today, Lin Xinrou’s “Sorrow of the Departed” would surely compete with Chen Nian, vying for supremacy!
It might not secure a decisive victory, but at least they wouldn’t be completely overwhelmed.
And their core contestant, Xing Fei, had yet to perform—who knew what surprises her mentor might bring?

After the mentors’ performances, the official recording began.
The main event tonight was undoubtedly the long-awaited challenge round!
Four mentor teams, four challenger singers—each challenger chose a team member from a mentor to compete against.

“Are you all confident?” In the contestants’ lounge, Lin Xinrou, fresh from her stellar performance, was unusually excited, her eyes shining as she looked at her team members.

“No problem!” The team members responded with confidence.
Though the challenge round sounded brutal, as competitors who had made it this far, they knew these rounds were mostly for show, a platform to debut their latest songs.
It posed no real threat to these well-prepared contestants.

Once the mentors and their trainees returned to their posts, it was time for the challengers to take the stage.
The production team had done a superb job of keeping things secret—even Lin Xinrou and the other mentors had no idea who the challengers would be.

The first challenger was Lin Junjie, who had been in the industry for over a decade, with a few signature songs but whose popularity had recently waned.
He hoped to regain fame with a new song.

The second was Sun Yanzhi, whose situation mirrored Lin Junjie’s—both were “has-been singers” seeking to ride the show’s popularity back to the spotlight.

The third was slightly better off—a newcomer who had made a name for himself after participating in the previous two seasons of “Who Is the Singer.” Dan Yichun was now a rising star in the music scene.

Watching these singers step onto the stage one by one, Lin Xinrou furrowed her brow.
She couldn’t understand why, with only these faded stars and newcomers, the production team had been so secretive—even up to the moment they went on stage, she, as a mentor, had no idea who the challengers would be.

But as the host’s voice rang out and the final challenger slowly walked onto the stage, Lin Xinrou’s eyes widened, and she instantly understood.

“Let us welcome our final challenger!”
“Once the hottest among the new generation!”
“The strongest female soprano in the Chinese music scene!”
“The hope of the industry… Ai Ting!”

As that familiar figure drew nearer, Lin Xinrou’s brows knit even tighter.
When host He Rong announced the name, Lin Xinrou’s lips curled into a subtle smile.
She instantly realized why the production team had kept the mentors in the dark—clearly, they intended to use her for dramatic effect.

Still, Lin Xinrou had no objections. After all, she had risen to fame precisely through media hype and sensationalism.

But as the final challenger turned out to be Ai Ting, the audience was anything but pleased.
To them, the once-glorious Goddess Lin had nearly been dethroned by this woman, dragged down by a plagiarism scandal.

“Damn! How could the production invite a plagiarist onto the show?”
“All for views—they’ve no shame left?”
“Plagiarist! Get out! My Goddess Lin was almost falsely accused because of you!”
“How can you show your face on a Hearttrace Entertainment program? Have you no shame?”

Listening to the ignorant audience’s insults, Lin Xinrou merely smiled faintly, paying them no mind.

Once the challengers appeared, the challenge round officially began.
Perhaps because the production had hinted at it, the other three challengers deliberately avoided choosing Lin Xinrou’s team when selecting their opponents.
Thus, amid the anticipation, Ai Ting and Lin Xinrou were paired against each other.

“Goddess Lin, show this plagiarist how it’s done!”
“Defeat her! Plagiarists deserve no mercy!”
“Goddess Lin, you’re the best!”

Though these were words of encouragement, for some reason, when Lin Xinrou heard them, they grated on her ears.

Unsurprisingly, the other three challengers were eliminated after performing their songs, leaving only Ai Ting to take the stage.

According to the rules, Ai Ting needed three consecutive wins to be considered successful in the challenge.

“Did you arrange all this?” Luo Xiaoyi asked, her gaze fixed on Ai Ting standing in the center of the stage.

Chen Nian smiled and shook his head. “It’s all fate’s arrangement—I am merely the one who nudges destiny forward.”

On stage, Ai Ting, dressed in a crimson gown, faced the audience and spoke slowly, “Hello, I’m Ai Ting, an artist with Dawn Media. Tonight, I will perform a song titled ‘Listening to Rain at the Little House Beyond the Mountains,’ lyrics and music by Chen Nian…”

As soon as she finished, the audience erupted!
Even the four mentors at their seats stared wide-eyed.

It was unavoidable—Chen Nian’s name now echoed like an atomic bomb in the music industry.
Anyone following the scene would have heard the name, at least in passing.

“Chen Nian’s song?”
“No way! Isn’t she the mastermind behind plagiarizing Chen Nian? Why would Chen Nian write a song for her?”
“That’s right—why would our idol write for a plagiarist?”
“We’ll know as soon as she starts singing. If it’s his song, I’ll recognize it instantly…”

Unmoved by the audience’s skepticism, Ai Ting began her performance as the accompaniment started.

“Counting the ripened red beans as spring departs, dusk falls with no one to share them.”
“In the courtyard, autumn chills, growing thinner for whom?”
“Under the moon, only my shadow remains—who should I pledge it to?”
“Wine passes my throat but cannot resolve my sorrow.”
“Lotus blossoms crowd the branches, yet butterflies cannot linger.”

As the prelude unfolded, the audience was instantly baffled.

“Wait, isn’t this the song Goddess Lin just sang—‘Sorrow of the Departed’?”
“So whose song is this, really?”