Chapter 29 Part 2

Someone else said, "Didn't you know we gave him a nickname in the group chat last time?"

"What is it?"

"Pika-Lin," the person replied, even imitating Pikachu's voice, "Pika pika, one hundred thousand volts."

"Hahahaha, that's pretty fitting. It really is one hundred thousand volts. It's not just his face that's electrifying anymore; his whole body can give you a shock."

The song ended.

Half of the audience below was moved to tears, while the other half continued to roar, chanting Lin Qingye's name.

His hand was still resting on the mic stand. He raised his eyes and swept his gaze over the audience. After a moment, he leaned in slightly towards the microphone, a very slight smile gracing his lips as he said, "Thank you, everyone."

The smile was actually very small, but his fans in the audience still caught it. Screams erupted, almost powerful enough to break through the studio ceiling.

Even everyone in the lounge was stunned.

"Holy shit? Did Lin Qingye fucking smile just now??"

"Don't swear, don't swear. When the show airs, they'll have to bleep out half your words. Though I'm fucking shocked too! Why is Lin Qingye suddenly giving fan service!?"

"Didn't you guys notice he seemed to be in a good mood when he came in today?"

Ever since the show started recording, Lin Qingye had always had a gloomy air about him. Everyone had gotten used to it, thinking that was just his personality.

Soon, Lin Qingye came off stage and returned to the lounge.

Shen Linlin was still holding a grudge about asking him for a song four years ago and getting no response. Seeing him act like that before, she only thought his personality was too wild. Even after meeting him on the show, she hadn't asked him about it. Today, she finally found her chance.

As soon as he returned, Shen Linlin raised a hand to greet him. "Hey, bro."

Lin Qingye paused, then walked over to her. "What's up?"

"I want to ask you something." Shen Linlin paused, pointing a finger at herself. "Do you remember me?"

Lin Qingye's eyelids drooped as he sized her up. "Shen... Lin... Lin?"

Shen Linlin held a very respectable position in the music industry now; she was considered the most recognized female singer for her talent. Although she wasn't old, everyone addressed her as "Sister Linlin."

But Lin Qingye went and said her full name. The way those three words came out of his mouth carried an inexplicable hint of provocation.

Fortunately, Shen Linlin didn't care about such formalities. "Me. Four years ago. I asked you for a song. Remember?"

Lin Qingye raised an eyebrow. Clearly, he had no memory of it.

Shen Linlin nodded to herself.

Very good, just as expected.

Even with the one hundred thousand volts and the smiling today, his persona was still intact.

"Did I write a song for you?" Lin Qingye asked.

Shen Linlin was speechless. "...Do you remember writing a song for anyone?"

He smiled faintly, denying it frankly. "No."

"..."

Shen Linlin had to admit, Lin Qingye really had a face that made it impossible for girls to stay angry at him, especially when he smiled.

It was simply a crime.

Shen Linlin let out a breath, waved her hand, and joked, "Be careful, or I'll have you blacklisted."

"You want to request a song?" Lin Qingye sat down on the single sofa next to her and took a sip of water. "What genre?"

Shen Linlin's eyes widened immediately. "Am I even able to get a song from you?!"

The people around them roared with laughter. Lin Qingye also quirked his lips. "If you're interested."

"This is so sudden, I haven't even thought about it." Shen Linlin patted her chest, feigning a startled look.

Requesting a song involved many details. In the end, the two exchanged contact information and decided to discuss it later. Her four-year-old grudge avenged, Shen Linlin glanced at him again and couldn't help but lean in to ask, "You seem to be in a really good mood today?"

Lin Qingye lowered his head and chuckled softly. "Mhm."

"Why is that?" Shen Linlin was genuinely curious. In a rare moment of gossip, she covered her mouth and lowered her voice, "Are you in a relationship?"

He didn't answer. Leaning back on the sofa, he lifted his chin slightly, looking nonchalant and arrogant.

"..."

Shen Linlin clicked her tongue in her mind. 'Youths these days, really.'

Not long after the next contestant went on stage, Lin Qingye was called to the interview room for a mid-term interview.

The questions were selected from popular fan comments on the show's official Weibo, but of course, they were filtered for appropriateness. Questions like "Lin Qingye, can I have your babies?" were excluded.

There were six questions in total, none of them difficult.

Lin Qingye had never been afraid of the stage or the camera. Even without preparing in advance, he could answer smoothly.

Then came the last question. "Everyone really liked 'Black Locust' which you sang in the first round. Some fans want to know if there's a special meaning behind the lyrics of 'Black Locust'?" the host asked.

Lin Qingye paused.

He had won the Golden Melody Award at 18 because of this song, but he wrote the lyrics when he was 17. Now, almost six years had passed.

Seeing him not answer, the host added, "There's a line in the lyrics, 'You are the maiden, I am the crawling five-legged monster.' May I ask if this 'maiden' is a real person?"

Just when the host thought he had touched on a question that couldn't be answered, Lin Qingye finally spoke.

"This maiden—"

He paused for a few seconds, then raised his eyes to the camera. The corners of his long, narrow eyes lifted in a subtle arc. Then he lowered his gaze again and gave a helpless smile. "I wrote the lyrics when I was 17, so naturally, she's a girl I met when I was 17."

The host was stunned, not expecting to unearth such a big scoop without any warning. He even stuttered a little. "Then what about the next line, does the crawling monster refer to you?"

"I guess so."

"Why is that?"

"Because she was too good, and the 17-year-old me didn't dare to get close."

It was the first time the young man had opened up about his past in front of the camera. It wasn't a difficult decision; it was just that the him of today was finally willing to talk about it.

He smiled resignedly. "Back then, I had pretty low self-esteem."

The voting for the preliminary round of the Tattoo Design Contest ended. In the end, Lu Xihe was first, and Xu Zhinan was second.

However, they were in different groups, so it didn't affect the semi-finals; they were both first in their respective groups.

On Friday, the semi-finals began at the stadium.

This time, the model Xu Zhinan had invited was another woman who had gotten a tattoo at her shop before.

The requirements for the semi-finals were different from the preliminaries. For the preliminaries, contestants prepared their own designs, whereas for the semi-finals, there was a standardized design provided by the competition, which they could modify in terms of details.

The top ten tattoo artists from each group, based on votes, were selected. They would tattoo the same design, with the focus being more on their tattooing technique and skill.

After every contestant who made it to the semi-finals was seated at their workstation, the organizers announced the tattoo designs for the four groups for this round.

The design for the Realism Group was a lion—a male lion with a fluffy mane, baring its fangs. Even as a tattoo on skin, you could still feel the majestic aura of the king of beasts. It was very lifelike.

But the difficulty was clearly higher. The color scheme was black and white, with different shades and blending in various areas, which was a real test of skill.

The designs for the other groups were similar, much more difficult than the designs most people had prepared for the preliminaries.

As soon as the images were displayed, many people below sighed that it was too difficult.

"This design is great, Ah Nan, I love it!" the model, Chen Liming, said, looking up at the big screen. "I was worried it would be a portrait. I don't really want to get a meaningless portrait tattooed on me. This lion is just gorgeous."

Xu Zhinan smiled. "Don't worry, I'll make it look good on you."

Amidst the surrounding voices complaining about the difficulty, the young woman's voice was gentle and calm—not out of pride, but a very composed confidence.

Lu Xihe, who was first in the Totem Group, was positioned next to her. Hearing this, he chuckled and glanced over.

Xu Zhinan met his gaze. Lu Xihe raised the tattoo gun in his hand. "Good luck, sis."

Xu Zhinan had also admired his work from the preliminaries. She smiled and nodded at him. "You too, good luck."

Lu Xihe found her deadpan expression amusing. He threw his head back and laughed heartily, his laughter loud and clear.

Soon, the competition began.

Xu Zhinan didn't start right away. Instead, she first made a sketch on paper, modifying the design on the screen—she cut away more than half of the full lion image, leaving only the head.

Although the design was smaller, the difficulty actually increased. It meant the demand for detail was higher, otherwise, any flaws would be glaringly obvious. An ordinary tattoo artist wouldn't dare to do this.

She added a few more strokes. Xu Zhinan had an art background to begin with, and soon, the image became even more realistic.