039 The Girl’s First Shine
“I bet you’ll definitely want to keep her later, but she might not necessarily stay here with you in the future.”
As soon as Wang Heng said this, Yan Zitao immediately became a little curious. After all, these words were really worth pondering. It was as if in just a few days, Pei Ningle was about to become an overnight sensation.
Could it be that Pei Ningle was actually a potential artist signed by some big company, already internally decided as the champion of a talent show? Just as Yan Zitao was about to scoff, he heard the girl’s singing voice.
“Leaves are wings that cannot fly,
Wings are leaves that fall from the sky,
Heaven, it turns out, shouldn’t be a delusion,
It’s just that I’ve long forgotten how to start flying…”
Yan Zitao was stunned.
Before deciding to let Pei Ningle have a trial performance, he had of course listened to see if this girl had any singing skills. But that was in his office, without accompaniment or a microphone, and he had just let her sing a short snippet. At that time, he could tell that Pei Ningle definitely had singing skills, but he never would have thought that after she started to sing a song seriously, this girl’s voice would have such a stunningly captivating power.
Wang Heng secretly clenched his fists.
He had always been very confident in Pei Ningle’s voice, but even so, he hadn’t expected today’s Pei Ningle to perform above her usual level. Even at her concerts after she became famous, he remembered that she rarely sang this well.
Perhaps this song was particularly suited to her voice?
Wang Heng looked around again and saw that the few customers whose attention had been drawn by the spotlights were now completely captivated.
“Loneliness is one person’s carnival,
A carnival is a group of people’s loneliness,
Love, in the beginning, was companionship,
But I’ve also gradually forgotten how it was to have someone by my side…”
More customers also turned to look at Pei Ningle. There was no applause, no jeering. They just listened quietly.
At a corner table, a young woman with red lips sat alone. She had just raised her wine glass when she was stunned by the singing. But she didn’t look at the stage. Instead, she stared straight at the wallpaper in front of her, as if it were a big screen, replaying her past experiences…
“I eat, travel, and wander around alone,
I also read books, write letters, and talk to myself,
But where has my heart drifted to,
Even I can’t see it clearly,
I think I’ve lost more than just you…”
A mere four or five minutes later, the song ended.
Only then did Pei Ningle finally open her eyes. While she was singing, she had kept her eyes closed, deliberately avoiding the audience’s reaction.
Noticing this, Wang Heng secretly smiled to himself. Although she acted so nonchalantly, this small detail ultimately exposed the girl’s inner nervousness. After she had her own loyal fans, she wouldn’t sing with her eyes closed the whole time.
Pei Ningle blinked, looked around, and found that everyone was staring at her. She couldn’t help but feel a little shy.
Her attire at this moment was very simple, even overly so. She was still in that same sportswear and a pair of canvas shoes. She wore no makeup, and her hair was in a simple ponytail, making her look like a middle school student who had just run out of school.
Of course, considering she had just gone through the college entrance exam a little over two months ago, she wasn’t much different from a high school student.
Such an image for a bar singer was, logically speaking, not quite up to standard. But the delicate and cute features on her small face, especially those big, sparkling eyes, were undoubtedly more capable of attracting everyone’s attention.
After the singing stopped, there were a few seconds of silence, and then a burst of applause suddenly erupted in the bar, mixed with whistles.
“Another one!” someone shouted.
Pei Ningle smiled faintly and said, “I’m supposed to sing 20 songs tonight. The next one is coming right up…”
At this moment, the intro to the next song had already started.
This time, it was no longer a quiet piano intro, but a rhythmic drumbeat.
“This next song…” The girl was slightly troubled and raised her hand to tidy a stray strand of hair by her ear. “I don’t know what to say. Anyway, all the songs I’m singing today were chosen by me. I hope everyone likes them.”
Soon, the singing started again, but it was completely different from the previous song.
“Gray air pressure, a twisted face, so stuffy,
The color of life is darker than the sky,
What you don’t want to be responsible for has no solution,
Love is like diving, with only a little oxygen left,
The moment you can’t breathe…”
The rhythm of this song was significantly faster, so almost every note the girl sang was short and powerful, except for the long notes at the end of the phrases. Although this was also an old song that had been popular for many years, the audience’s attention was still hooked on that small stage, unable to break away.
After the verse, when the chorus arrived, the girl hit the high notes.
“Let’s start, the starting line of a mad dash,
The visuals are like a movie editing the past,
My heart is pounding, flying in the sky,
Chasing desperately,
I-will-go-this-way…”
The key of this part was even higher than the original song. The moment the clear high notes came out, it was a magnificent display of skill. And because of the build-up in the earlier part of the song, it didn’t seem abrupt, but just right.
Wang Heng patted the shoulder of Brother Tao beside him and said in a low voice, “Tell me the truth. Do you hope she stays here?”
At this moment, a section of high notes ended, and the song reached the instrumental break in the middle.
The bar owner came to his senses and sighed, “I really didn’t expect, your sister’s…”
Wang Heng: “Hey, why are you cursing?”
Brother Tao quickly waved his hands. “No, no, I mean your sister’s talent is terrifying. I couldn’t tell, I really couldn’t tell. I thought she was going for the cute route!”
Wang Heng smiled and asked, “She’s supposed to sing a full 20 songs tonight, right?”
Brother Tao replied, “Yes. After two songs, I’ll let her rest for 5 minutes, have a drink of water, and then continue. Is that okay?”
“You’re the boss, so of course, it’s your call…”
Soon, the second song was also finished, and another round of applause erupted in the bar.
“Another one!”
“That was great, again!”
Someone started shouting again, and it wasn’t just one person.
Pei Ningle said into the microphone, “I agreed with Brother Tao to take a break after two songs. Everyone, don’t be in a hurry. I’ll sing again in a little while, in a little while…”
At this moment, she was not standing on the stage, but sitting on the high stool. The stool was very high, and the girl was rather petite, so she had to reach several times before her feet finally touched the floor.
Jumping down from the stage, Pei Ningle immediately ran to Wang Heng’s side.
The bar owner tactfully gave up his seat and said, “That was great, really great! Have some water and take a good rest. When you hear the accompaniment start, go on stage, okay?”
“Mhm!” Pei Ningle nodded.
The bar owner silently walked away.
Pei Ningle sat in that seat, stared at Wang Heng, and asked, “What do you think? How was my singing?”
