After the Top Idol Omega and I Started Living Together - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Some words Sheng Jingyu wanted to convey with her voice.

But fate’s cruelty lay here; it did not care if she once possessed the most beautiful voice in the world.

The earphones blocked out all external sounds, leaving only the faint hum of electronics filling Lu Zhao’s ears.

An ancient pronunciation rested in her ear canal, as if it came from distant Nanzhou, spoken only for her.

The room’s cool air conditioner brushed past her cheek, stirring a silent, floating breeze in the ear not occupied by the earphone, reminding her this was not a dream.

Everything happening now felt unreal, yet it was truly reality.

Sunlight grazed the edge of clouds, scattering brilliant golden rays across the window.

Sheng Jingyu stood face-to-face with Lu Zhao, gazing at her calmly.

This Omega truly had an extraordinarily beautiful pair of eyes.

Though she was the one looking at you, her eyes seemed like a deep pool, drawing the person opposite to lean forward and peer down, forgetting to notice the dangerous, jagged edges.

Lu Zhao stared blankly, unable to describe her current feelings.

Her anxious heart settled down; she thought she should be happy, but she knew it was not just because Sheng Jingyu did not abandon her like her past teachers.

Thump, thump…

Something seemed to fall silently onto Lu Zhao’s heart in that second, vibrating with a soft thud.

Then it traveled through her bones to her ears, colliding with Sheng Jingyu’s words.

“I am too!” Lu Zhao did not know how to express this feeling in her heart, so she tried harder to assure Sheng Jingyu.

She would not let Sheng Jingyu down.

She wanted Sheng Jingyu to feel that choosing her was worthwhile.

Obsession split into two branches, passing through Sheng Jingyu’s fingers, taking root in Lu Zhao’s heart in a subtle way.

Sheng Jingyu wanted only Lu Zhao as her student, and Lu Zhao wanted only Sheng Jingyu as her teacher.

With less than two weeks until the audition recording, Lu Zhao’s days passed busily; she attended vocal lessons and studied Cantonese intensively.

Time moved faster than ever before, and the window frame in the small hall remembered the shadows of Lu Zhao and Sheng Jingyu standing together day and night.

Since learning that Si Liaoliao was inquiring about Sheng Jingyu, Lu Zhao prepared for the company to trouble her again.

But perhaps luck turned in her favor; the day after Si Liaoliao visited Sheng Jingyu, Chenchen excitedly arrived at noon with a big bag of food and great news.

—Lu Zhao’s agency, Tomorrow Star, was randomly selected for a tax audit.

Originally, Chen Ruozhi called Chenchen to the company, but Chenchen did not want to go.

Unexpectedly, when she went, she saw Chen Ruozhi frantically making phone calls in a chaotic office; he turned and bumped into an assistant carrying freshly brewed coffee.

In the summer heat, steaming white vapor spilled over Chen Ruozhi, and dark brown stains splattered his body.

He wailed like a monkey doused with hot water, hopping around in a flustered, disheveled mess.

Chenchen stood at the door, watching the spectacle for a while, until Chen Ruozhi angrily sent her away.

Lu Zhao laughed heartily, feeling quite satisfied.

She knew this would not bring serious consequences to the company, but it would trouble everyone involved.

Including Chen Ruozhi, they were all dizzy with work, running around everywhere.

Too busy to save themselves, they had no time to bother her.

Prepared for a fight but greeted with rare peace, Lu Zhao felt somewhat unaccustomed.

She never considered herself that lucky, thinking it must be because she visited Grandma’s grave, and Si Liaoliao came to show off, so the old ladies took pity and prayed to the gods for her.

She did not know which god was so effective, but she must thank them properly later.

While Lu Zhao’s preparation life was peaceful, some could not rest easy.

The moon hung high in the sky, and the starless night felt especially lonely.

The skyscraper’s lights had long gone out, but one lamp shone conspicuously, staying on late into the night for two weeks.

“I pretend I don’t care, don’t care about all of you—”

The rising accompaniment lifted the voice, full and ready to break through the final barrier, but it cracked.

The harsh, torn sound grated through the practice room, and Si Liaoliao stood before a wall of mirrors, her face grim.

This was the song Si Liaoliao would sing for the audition next week, a type she was confident in.

She could easily hit the song’s original high notes, but this time, she asked the music teacher to raise the accompaniment to the key from her duet with Lu Zhao.

Like the lamp defying the night, Si Liaoliao had practiced for a long time.

But she could not reach it.

The mirror reflected cold-toned light, and the person inside no longer had her usual aloof composure.

Her heavy expression brimmed with frustration; Si Liaoliao was angry at Lu Zhao and herself.

Why could Lu Zhao do it, but she could not?

Once, twice…

For days, she stayed in the practice room until midnight, never singing it perfectly.

As if touching some real answer, Si Liaoliao’s gaze suddenly changed.

She stared at the mirror for a long time, unwilling to admit it, and never would.

“Creak.”

A door hinge turned in the quiet space; someone pushed open the back door.

In the mirror, Chen Ruozhi approached Si Liaoliao slowly with a caring smile: “Liaoliao, still practicing?”

Si Liaoliao, in a bad mood, replied coldly: “Three days until the audition.”

“Your voice is already great, and Teacher Wu always liked you, right? She will definitely choose you.” Chen Ruozhi stood beside her, comforting her meaningfully, “Just sing well then; leave everything else to me.”

Hearing Chen Ruozhi’s words, Si Liaoliao’s expression shifted.

She turned to look at him and asked: “Is the company’s issue resolved?”

Chen Ruozhi said: “It’s fine; all the accounts match, and they can’t find any problems.”

Knowing what this young lady worried about, he brushed off his matters and suggested: “Not letting Lu Zhao return to the company isn’t an issue. Let her attend the audition next week. We can just eliminate her then.”

Si Liaoliao sneered: “As if you know all the mentors.”

Looking at the song’s pitch notation, she said reluctantly: “I’ve heard her voice; some mentor will pick her, maybe even Zhou Huanyin.”

“What if the music equipment fails?”

Chen Ruozhi shared his plan with Si Liaoliao: “She has no fame. With so many at the accident scene, who would believe she improved so much? If she sings poorly because of a small equipment issue?”

“Not even Zhou Huanyin would want her if her voice doesn’t fit the rhythm. No one will pick her, letting her efforts go to waste. Isn’t that better?”

In the room’s light, the darkness faded.

In the mirror, the man’s lips curled into a sinister smile.

Si Liaoliao slightly lowered her eyelashes, then her gaze gradually returned to its usual calm.

She nodded, her soft voice seemingly harmless: “Indeed, it’s better.”

Hot wind blew through lush street trees, stirring green waves outside the building.

Various people entered the hall, bright sunlight seeming to send them off brilliantly.

Time quickly arrived at the audition day for ‘Hear Your Voice’. A light rain fell last night, so the morning weather was not too hot.

The building’s air conditioning was strong, even a bit chilly; Lu Zhao shrank in her seat, watching the noisy scene in the mirror.

She had no status and was assigned to the public makeup room.

The large makeup room bustled with people; some acted superior, some warmed up their voices in corners, and others recorded vlogs with their phones, creating a lively atmosphere.

Lu Zhao felt a dreamlike haze, remembering her last time here was during her debut stage in a talent show.

Two years later, she sat again before a public makeup mirror, still without a private dressing room.

It was another kind of fresh start.

Lu Zhao pursed her lips but quickly stopped, worried about smudging her makeup.

The makeup artist had finished her look but ran out of setting spray, instructing Lu Zhao not to move while they went to find more.

The surrounding chatter and laughter reached Lu Zhao’s ears; she lowered her head, alone.

Chenchen was nowhere to be found, so Lu Zhao, bored, pulled out her phone.

Fortunately, her phone was lively; messages kept popping up on WeChat.

Her group knew Lu Zhao and Si Liaoliao were attending the ‘Hear Your Voice’ audition today. The main group was quiet as usual, but in the mentor group, Xu Xiaonian and Chen Yining started cheering for Lu Zhao early.

Xu Xiaonian, with her flair for flattery, hyped up Lu Zhao’s encouragement to the skies.

[Ah Zhao! Today is our day to shine!]

[Our dark horse will meet her champion today! Rise to the top! Crush those who looked down on us!]

[Thirty years east, thirty years west, never underestimate the young!]

[After today, our Ah Zhao won’t be the old Ah Zhao; she’s Niu Gulu·Lu Zhao! Who’s Si Liaoliao? Who remembers her?]

Chen Yining, seeing Xu Xiaonian’s words, worried about pressuring Lu Zhao and spoke calmly: [Ah Zhao, you can do it. Your voice is absolutely fine. Don’t be nervous, relax, and ignore everything Xiaonian said.]

Xu Xiaonian, hearing Chen Yining’s comment, turned with a “Why!” expression.

Chen Yining glanced at her faintly; Xu Xiaonian seemed to realize something and quickly added: [Right, don’t take it to heart! I was just talking. Ah Zhao, don’t get nervous, or I’ll be the eternal sinner orz.]

Lu Zhao, reading Xu Xiaonian’s words, could imagine the dorm scene and smiled, reassuring her: [Don’t worry about me; I won’t get nervous easily. Rest assured.]

[Of course, we’re assured. Ah Zhao will perform steadily.]

[Right! Show the state that crushed Si Liaoliao that day! Go, my little deer!]

Lu Zhao did not want to disappoint her teammates and replied confidently: [I will stand out in the audition and take the lead! Wait for my good news!]

The sunlight shone brightly, illuminating everything brilliantly, as if the future held promise.

But while Lu Zhao replied confidently one second, she slumped her shoulders the next, still on the chat screen.

She said so, but in reality, her heart was terribly nervous.

Though she had practiced Jingyun’s ‘Nanzhou’ well, and Sheng Jingyu approved of her voice, it had been a while since she stood on such a big stage. Despite knowing she could do it, insecurity still surged.

Especially since she was singing the Cantonese version, a single mistake could become a point for someone to exploit.

Though Xu Xiaonian and Chen Yining cheered her on in the group, Lu Zhao’s confidence was still strained.

She held her phone, lowered her head, and a strange thought popped up.

—If only Teacher were here now.

“Ah Zhao.”

At that moment, a familiar voice reached Lu Zhao’s ears.

Chenchen popped her head into the mirror with a mischievous smile, saying mysteriously: “Guess who’s here?”

Lu Zhao, for some reason, paused as she lifted her head.

As if sensing an answer, her amber eyes fixed on the mirror’s movement.

The mirror still showed the bustling crowd, but someone stepped out from behind Chenchen.

Dressed in a neutral style, the person wore a black short-sleeve cardigan over a white T-shirt, a tall figure topped with a black cap, long black hair threaded through the cap’s hole, tied low in a casual way.

Many around Lu Zhao dressed like this, and the discreet outfit made it hard to discern her appearance.

Yet Lu Zhao recognized her.

Green vines wove through the tacky makeup room; as the distance closed, a pair of eyes emerged under the lowered cap brim.

Gray-silver, like carved gems, calm and unyielding, restrained yet deep.

It was Sheng Jingyu.

Lu Zhao: The first player is mysterious, like a princess from some country.

Whale: The second player is a sword-wielding guard; her duty is to protect.

Si Liaoliao: The… (Your Whale unplugged someone’s microphone)