Chapter 107: The Princess’s Birthday of "Try"

March 30th is Qiao Zhen’s birthday. It falls on a Saturday, which also happens to be the day of the music competition finals. Compared to the nervousness and apprehension she felt during the preliminary rounds, Qiao Zhen now possesses visibly more confidence and courage. This is because she has sung for Qin Yichi many times, and he has praised her countless times in return. When one is deeply loved, there is nothing to fear.

The night of the finals is filled with starlight. As evening falls, the audience enters the venue one after another, full of anticipation and tension. Many have already picked their favorite contestants, while the rest are neutral onlookers. Unlike the preliminary rounds, which were divided into multiple sectors, this grand finale stage is magnificent, spacious, and bright. The competition is determined by a combination of judges' scores and online votes, with forty contestants competing.

At 6:00 PM, the live broadcast of the grand finale officially begins. The host starts the warm-up, and the atmosphere in the venue gradually heats up. The cheers from the audience are deafening, especially from fans of well-known bloggers who have begun to hold up support signs. Waves of enthusiasm sweep across the auditorium again and again.

In a distant seat, Sheng Lulu cries while shouting, "Zhenzhen actually made it to the finals! What do I do? Oh my god, I’m so nervous..." Chen Meixiang presses her philtrum firmly, saying, "Stop it, I’m nervous too. And Zhenzhen drew third to last; we have to be on edge until eight or nine o'clock!" Yun Yue comforts them silently, "It’s okay, believe in Zhenzhen. I’ve calculated it; things are looking great." As the three sisters worry, they turn their gaze toward Qin Yichi in front of them, observing him gloomily.

At this moment, a beautiful woman in traditional Hanfu performs a piece with operatic vocals, winning countless applause and cheers; the support is deafening. Qin Yichi barely looks up, focusing silently on his phone screen to text Qiao Zhen. Suddenly, Niu Yifeng pokes his shoulder. While Qin Yichi was beaming with a smile while messaging, his expression vanishes the moment he looks up, his gaze indifferent: "What do you want?" Niu Yifeng looks around and whispers into his ear: "It’s just... we all wanted to remind you."

"Remind me of what?" Niu Yifeng tosses a pack of tissues at him while saying, "Don't get a nosebleed later."

Qin Yichi: "...Get lost."

At eight o'clock, a golden figure appears on stage, instantly capturing all of Qin Yichi's attention.

—"Contestant 37, Qiao Zhen. Performing the song 'Try' by Colbie Caillat. Let’s give her a round of applause!"

The live stream already has over a million viewers, and the chat is heating up:
[Holy crap, the first thing I hear is my favorite English song!]
[That’s my girl! That’s my girl Zhenzhen! [Excited][Tears]]
[Oh my god, so beautiful.]
[I’ve liked her since the preliminaries. I hope the casual viewers will support our little Qiao! (Peeking)]

Qiao Zhen stands under the spotlight, wearing the golden princess dress that Qin Yichi gave her, shimmering with dazzling golden light. Her seaweed-like black hair hangs over her chest, making her look as fresh and pure as an angel. The venue is much larger this time, and the audience looks like a dense swarm of ants. She cannot find her friends, nor can she find Qin Yichi.

Suddenly, she remembers the "Golden Coast" roses Qin Yichi gave her when he confessed to her on the mountaintop. They symbolized that there is no need to chase the sun, for one is already the most radiant existence. He had written in his love letter: "Qiao Zhen, you always seem so unconfident, always thinking you are ordinary and plain." "But in my eyes, you have always been a unique, shining princess, more dazzling than the sun."

Qiao Zhen walks across the bright stage, each step calm and composed.

The lights slowly rise. She raises the microphone, smiling directly at the lens:

—"Do you like you?"
—"You don't have to try so hard."
—"You don't have to give it all away."

When she begins to sing, time seems to stand still. Her voice, clear as a spring, acts like the first ray of morning light, piercing through the gloom and dust to shine upon the softest parts of the heart. For the finals, she did not choose a song with a strong melody; instead, she chose a quiet one. Integrating gentleness with strength, and combining emotion with technique, she weaves a feast for the ears. The judges' eyes light up, and they cannot help but notice the talented girl on stage.

Qin Yichi is entranced. "Try" expresses that girls do not need to change themselves to cater to others; one should love their pure, authentic self.

The lyrics imply:
—You don't need to change anything.
—You don't have to try to cater to others.
—You just need to bravely face yourself.

Lyrical songs are not actually easy to sing. Her delicate and steady voice lingers, with perfect pitch and technique, and the emotions are expressed to the fullest. It is clean and flawless—calling it "heavenly" is no exaggeration. On the big screen, Qiao Zhen's eyes seem to hold billions of stars, showing not a hint of nervousness. She seems to be calmly conversing with those behind the screen. At one moment, she truly seems to be glowing, making it impossible to look away.

Perhaps because it was so sincere, many sentimental girls quietly teared up:
[I! LIKE! HER!]
[SOS, she has improved so much since the first round! There’s a strange sense of accomplishment like raising a daughter, who understands! Falling in love is just that simple.]
[Is this talent...? Too strong, let her blow up!]
[Objectively speaking, this is a live-mic performance, and she is the most stable so far. It’s silky and consistent; she isn't showing off, it’s just really comfortable to listen to.]
[I changed my vote, boohoo, all ten votes are for her, treasure girl! (Stealthily kisses her cheek)]
[She has to be first, otherwise, I’ll suspect something is rigged.]

In the million-viewer stream, many people become instant fans. As the final note fades, Qiao Zhen smiles lightly, revealing two dimples. The audience is immersed in the music, taking a long time to return to reality, waving their glow sticks as applause and cheers intertwine, filling the entire venue. Several boys cheer wildly, and the three roommates scream at the top of their lungs. Sheng Lulu is moved to tears: "I think Zhenzhen sang the best; is it just because I have bias?" Chen Meixiang, waving her glow stick, says, "Compared to those who were off-key or cracking, our Zhenzhen is much better. Did you notice she wasn't nervous at all?"

Qiao Zhen lifts her skirt and leaves the stage. Ten minutes later, the final two contestants finish, and the organizers begin to tally the votes. First, the online votes are calculated, then combined with the judges' scores. After a long wait, the host finally takes the stage to announce: "After months of selection across many regions, the moment to reveal the answer has arrived. The screen will display the scores and names of the top ten. Let's give them a round of applause!"

Online votes actually account for a small percentage; most depend on the judges' scores. The screen slowly lights up, and the host reads out, his tone impassioned: "10th place: Wang Zihan, score 88.4, congratulations!" "..."

Qiao Zhen and the other contestants sit in the front row. She sees that her online ranking was only 18th, and she hasn't heard her name called yet. However, she doesn't feel too sad; after all, this was her best performance, and she has no regrets. She silently looks at the two messages Qin Yichi sent:
【Princess, you sang the best.】
【Come home with me tonight.】

Qiao Zhen's face slowly burns, and she inexplicably thinks of some flirtatious and ambiguous images. Suddenly, the next second, she hears her own name. The host's voice is extremely loud: "1st place: Qiao Zhen, score 95.5, congratulations to our champion!!!"

The entire venue boils over like boiling water.
Huh?
Huh, huh, huh?
Qiao Zhen is stunned, unable to believe her ears, because her online vote count wasn't actually that high, so how could she... Was the judges' score really that high?

The camera captures her adorably confused reaction on the big screen. The girl looks up, dazed and surprised, even dropping her phone on the ground. She looks like a little fawn that wandered into a competition. The viewers, who were planning to click away, suddenly return, furiously typing in the chat:
[Meme material! So cute, oh my god, my baby! Can she debut? I really want to be her fan QWQ!]
[Want to pinch her cheeks, they must be so soft.]
[Hahaha, this reaction, you can't act this; it’s clearly real, no rigging.]
[Why is our Xixi only third? Unfair! [Angry]]
[Is the person above okay? Your blogger was shaking during one of her lines; I heard it with both ears. If it weren't for the high fan votes, she probably wouldn't have even made the top five.]
[Anyway, Qiaoqiao deserves it; her performance was my favorite.]

Meanwhile, off-stage, the three sisters cry with joy, and the boys yell, "Holy crap, Qiao-mei is amazing!" "She led the second place by 0.1 points, that's incredible! My heart almost jumped out!"

The first-place prize money is quite generous. Qiao Zhen remains in a state of shock. It isn't until after the interview, while on the way to get a late-night snack, that she suddenly comes to her senses. She hugs Qin Yichi's waist tightly and looks up: "Am I really that good?!"

Qin Yichi stares at his girlfriend, who has such a long reaction time, secretly kisses her, and picks her up to spin her around, a smile tugging at his lips: "Yes, our little Qiao Zhen took first place."

Kisses, hugs, and being lifted high. The sensation of weightlessness hits suddenly, and Qiao Zhen exclaims, her ears turning red: "You... put me down..."

The boys follow behind them like zombies. Seeing the two showing off their affection, they painfully close their eyes, wishing they could poke them out. Seriously, they are fed dog food every single day!