Chapter 181: Guardian Angel

The audience in the stands listened to the woman's commentary as if they were listening to an appreciation of an ancient poem.

An Oriental beauty blessed with such classical Chinese charm possessed a graceful temperament that one could never tire of admiring.

Matched with the song "Blue and White Porcelain," she looked precisely like a figure stepping right out of a traditional painting of the Jiangnan water towns.

Following the commentary of this gentle and refined woman, it was once again time for Host Liu to speak.

In truth, because the live broadcast program "Tomorrow's Star" aired in the evening, the production team had always required the broadcast duration to be compressed.

The six members invited to the review panel were merely intended to play a coordinating role, and in the original plan, only one or two of them would take turns sharing their insights.

For the most part, the rest would simply participate by giving scores.

However, that was no longer possible. Because Mentor Cai Xukun had not yet returned to the mentor's seat, Host Liu and the review panel had to stall for time as much as possible, waiting for Cai Xukun to come back.

Otherwise, with one of the four mentors missing, the show could simply not go on!

Host Liu was extremely anxious right now as well!

Dammit, wasn't it said that Cai Xukun would only be gone for ten minutes?! Why on earth hasn't he returned yet?!

At this rate, forget social anxiety, even schizophrenia should have been cured by now!

If you suffer from social anxiety, why even become an entertainer?!

Host Liu inwardly complained without stopping.

Yet, facing the stage and the audience, Host Liu could only maintain a smile as he invited the next reviewer to speak, even though he knew the audience was currently cursing him in their hearts.

Is this a competition or a song appreciation class? Why do they just keep asking reviewers to speak?!

Regarding this, Host Liu silently equipped his mother with a Guardian Angel in his heart...

"Alright, the comments given by the reviewer truly possess boundless charm. Now, let me listen to 'Blue and White Porcelain' again, and I will definitely gain a much deeper understanding!"

As Host Liu spoke, he glanced toward the backstage passageway leading to the broadcasting studio.

Just moments ago, Cai Xukun had been physically hauled away through this very passage by his manager.

Host Liu stared longingly at that door, but until now, it still remained firmly closed.

Dammit, when on earth is Cai Xukun coming back?!

Host Liu sighed inwardly and had no choice but to continue: "Then next, let us invite the next reviewer to speak!"

Seeming to catch Host Liu's sentiment, the music critics on the reviewer panel couldn't help but smile wryly at this moment.

Many of them were participating in a show of this kind as reviewers for the very first time.

Yet who could have imagined that on their very first time participating in a show, they would encounter such a broadcasting disaster.

An artist acting as a mentor was actually snatched away by their manager right in the middle of the show!

No wonder people in the industry now said that the show "Tomorrow's Star" could be used as a textbook case of broadcast directing failure and put into university curricula for students to study thoroughly.

The broadcasting issue that had just occurred alone was something many people would never encounter in their entire lifetimes!

However, helpless as they might be, the middle-aged man whose turn it was to rescue the show still had to speak up.

The man appeared to be around thirty years old. Though not particularly old, he exuded an scholarly aura, giving off a slight vibe of an old-school academic.

This temperament made him look all the more mature.

The man began to speak: "Since the first two teachers started with 'firstly,' I suppose I shall start with a 'firstly' as well."

"Firstly, I feel that all three songs chosen by contestant Su Chen are quite good, but since the competition entry is 'Blue and White Porcelain,' I won't waste any effort on the show."

"Therefore, what I will offer is my personal interpretation of 'Blue and White Porcelain.' As for the other two songs, everyone can check my online reviews after the competition."

Hearing the man's words, the audience chuckled and nodded in succession.

It seemed these reviewers all possessed a greater or lesser degree of a sense of humor.

The man continued: "The previous teachers mostly commented on the overall aspects of the song, so as for me, let me share my views on the lyrics of 'Blue and White Porcelain.'"

"In the lyrics, Su Chen used imagery such as plain bisque, court ladies, and clerical script to showcase the elegance of legendary blue and white porcelain. At the same time, Su Chen also employed a tender vocal delivery, imbuing the entire song with a distinct Jiangnan flavor."

"The original lines of the lyrics, *'Plain bisque outlines the blue and white, brushstrokes turning from thick to light; the peony painted on the porcelain body resembles your initial makeup; the curling sandalwood smoke drifts through the window, and I understand your thoughts; the brush stops halfway across the rice paper, and the glazed glaze renders the portrait of a court lady, its charm kept in secret; yet your radiant smile is like an unopened flower bud; a wisp of your beauty drifts away, heading to a place I cannot reach'*, are truly breathtakingly beautiful."

"At this moment, I seem to picture a scene: a man is applying colors to a plain bisque while longing for the Jiangnan woman he once crossed paths with, who was as delicate and fair as blue and white porcelain."

" Amidst the curling sandalwood smoke, a slight bitterness and heartache stir within the man's heart, making him unable to continue painting."

"He feels that even the peony painted by a master painter cannot rival the unopened smile of this woman, and not knowing where this woman is, he inevitably feels melancholy and sorrowful."

"The beginning of the lyrics is not overly ornate, but the gentle and delicate descriptive technique establishes the pure, fresh, and elegant tone of the entire piece."

"Just like *'The sky turns azure waiting for the drizzling rain, and I am waiting for you; smoke from kitchen chimneys curls upwards, separated by thousands of rivers across the border; inscribing clerical script on the bottom of the vase to imitate the elegance of a previous dynasty, let it be as if I laid the foreshadowing for meeting you.'*"

"What is drizzling rain? The mist generated when it rains. To the azure of the sky, the drizzling rain is like you to me."

" *'And I am waiting for you' highlights just how precious this woman is to me.*"

"This 'waiting' encompasses a great deal of helplessness and sighing."

"Knowing full well it is a wait that may yield no result, yet it remains as simple as waiting for the sunrise every single day."

" *'Smoke from kitchen chimneys curls upwards, separated by thousands of rivers across the border' depicts the beautiful rural scenery of Jiangnan, setting the mood through scenery and casting a faint sorrow over the thoughts.*"

" *'Inscribing clerical script on the bottom of the vase to imitate the elegance of a previous dynasty, let it be as if I laid the foreshadowing for meeting you'*: that man traces the patterns on the blue and white porcelain while reflecting, and the word 'foreshadowing' hints at the ending of these lyrics—will I ever have the fate to meet the woman I once crossed paths with again?"

" *'The moonlight is fished up, blurring the edges of the ending, like the legendary blue and white porcelain beautiful in its own right, your eyes carrying a smile'*: this 'blurring' can be called the finishing touch, utterly marvelous."

"What is blurring? It is a slow diffusion; placing it in this lyric line creates an extremely strong sense of immersion."

"Under the hazy moonlight, has the ending truly been revealed? Has the beloved figure of one's constant yearning been seen? It goes without saying."

" *'A brocade carp with white body and green scales leaps upon the bottom of the bowl, yet when copying in the Song style signature, I am still thinking of you'*: the man continues to trace the patterns on the porcelain body, and upon completing it just as he is about to sign his name, he thinks once more of his sweetheart far away in another place, comparing the figure in the painting to his beloved."

" *'Outside the curtain, banana leaves provoke a sudden rain, door rings provoke copper patina, and I passed by that Jiangnan town and provoked you'*: three consecutive uses of the word 'provoke,' employing the rhetorical device of repetition and accumulation."

"Repetition and accumulation is a stylistic device where, in order to highlight a theme during writing, one repeatedly describes a phenomenon one wishes to express. To put it colloquially, it means repeatedly using the same words, phrases, or sentences to manifest one's intense inner feelings. This rhetorical method is called the device of repetition and accumulation."

"The word 'provoke' carries an active meaning, thereby infusing two otherwise passive objects—banana leaves and door rings—with vitality. Combined with *'and I passed by that Jiangnan town and provoked you,'* it makes the entire scene much more vivid and concrete."

"The leisurely and slow melody of 'Blue and White Porcelain' gradually dilutes a heart full of parting sorrows and lingering grievances."

"What does it matter if one cannot attain what they desire, or if lovers must part? In truth, waiting is also a form of sentiment; it is better to consider our encounter in this lifetime as laying the groundwork for a reunion in the next."

"Even if we can never meet again, we should still be grateful for having known each other once, at least capable of gazing across thousands of mountains and rivers at the curling kitchen smoke of Jiangnan."

"Silently yearning across a vast sea of humanity for that once-familiar scene and that fleeting silhouette, just like quietly admiring the unchanging beauty of legendary blue and white porcelain across the heavy veils of history."