Chapter 60: Sixty Fire

Not long after Yan Duo finished singing, someone immediately posted a video of her performance online with a particularly eye-catching title: “Shocking! Actress Actually Sings Off-Key at New Year’s Eve Gala! Can’t You Be More Professional?”

Such an extremely sensational title aroused the curiosity of many netizens. Everyone clicked on the video, listening carefully to the song with the intention of finding faults, preparing for a large-scale questioning session. But after listening, many people were a bit disoriented. Where am I? Who am I? What was I just about to do?

【Blame me for being incompetent. The OP mentioned there were off-key parts, but I just couldn’t hear them. However, I’ve listened to it over and over again on an endless loop and still can’t get enough. What’s wrong with me? (25846 likes)】

With such high pay, couldn’t you prepare properly? You even sang the wrong notes, simply garbage! (13798 likes)

The person upstairs must be crazy. Even professional singers can’t guarantee they’ll sing perfectly during a performance, right? Besides, Yan Duo is just an actress! Also, how do you know she got paid so much?

Duo Duo’s acting also amazed me, and I didn’t expect her singing to be so beautiful either. Who says you’re not good enough for Ji Ran? Clearly, he’s the one who’s not good enough for you! (Ji Ran’s fans want to argue? Bring it on!)

A singer held back by acting, she sings so well. I don’t care if she goes off-key anywhere, I just love listening to it! (21,447 likes)

Ahhh, I was right there on site, Yan Duo’s singing was really beautiful, it’s a pity she didn’t get enough time, and we couldn’t even tell where she went wrong. (19675 likes)

When this song emerges from her throat, it instantly becomes imbued with her own distinctive signature (even with imperfections), making listeners not want to seek out who the original singer was or how it should sound. (18,321 likes)

To be honest, I just compared it with the original version, and there are indeed two notes that weren’t sung accurately, slightly faster. (15,359 likes)

……

At this time, netizens were divided into two factions. One faction believed that Yan Duo’s voice was heavenly, arguing that not only was she just an ordinary actress, but even a certain legendary female singer had made pitch mistakes during performances, so there was no need to dwell on it. The other faction contended that the television station must have informed Yan Duo of the songs she would sing in advance, and with so much time, her inability to perform even one song well was simply slacking off while drawing a high salary.

As more people joined the discussion and shared it, the video quickly went viral.

“Hey, Duoduo, your off-key performance at the New Year’s Eve gala is trending. What’s going on?”

At the end of the year, Qi Sixian was assigned a lot of work by his superiors and was incredibly busy. Plus, Yan Duo had Ji Ran by her side, so Qi Sixian hadn’t been going to the television station with her these past few days. Now that he knew about the heat It was something she was told by her subordinates. After reading Weibo, Qi Sixian found it strange. The audio had been recorded beforehand, so why would the broadcast station play a flawed version?

Yan Duo, who had been sitting beside Ji Ran watching a TV series on her tablet, had no idea she would become a trending topic for singing off-key. She stuck out her tongue and explained somewhat embarrassedly, “I was too nervous when I went up, only remembering the dance moves and forgetting the mistakes the teacher had pointed out.”

Back in the recording studio, the sound engineer had paid special attention to those two wrong notes. After being repeatedly reminded, she had corrected them. But during this time, she had only focused on matching the lip movements and hadn’t practiced singing live at all. Plus, being told just five minutes before going on stage that she had to sing live, Yan Duo was extremely flustered and completely forgot what the sound engineer had said, singing according to her old habits instead.

Qi Sixian frowned upon hearing this, “What do you mean? You sang this song live?”

Yan Duo nodded, “Yeah, the director said my audio equipment was broken, so I had to sing live.”

After hearing this, Qi Sixian stood up from his office chair in shock, “The audio was broken? Was all of it broken?”

Yan Duo: “It seems like only mine was broken.”

Later, Yan Duo observed that the singers who performed after her were all lip-syncing and weren’t required to sing live at all.

Qi Sixian rubbed his forehead, “Something this big happened, why didn’t you tell me?”

Everyone was fine except for Yan Duo, which in itself was a big problem. Yan Duo was really something else, not even mentioning this!

Yan Duo scratched her head and explained in a small voice, “I thought it wasn’t a big deal…”

Right after getting off stage, Yan Duo was still very nervous, afraid she would be scolded by the station’s leaders, but Ji Ran said she performed well, and the director even said she sang well, so Yan Duo thought everything was fine. How could she have expected it to trend on social media!

Qi Sixian paced around the office for two rounds, comforting herself. Ji Ran had always been with Yan Duo, so he probably knew the situation and would definitely do something about it. “Alright, I understand. Don’t worry about this either, I’ll handle it.”

Yan Duo: “Mm, thank you, Sister Qi.”

After hanging up the phone, Yan Duo opened Weibo and saw the topic #YanDuoOutOfTune# hanging on the trending list. She secretly pulled Ji Ran aside, handed him her phone to see, and whispered, “My going out of tune is trending.”

Anyway, being associated with “out of tune” wasn’t exactly glorious. Yan Duo wondered if she should apologize to everyone on Weibo or something, since it was her mistake after all.

Ji Ran casually glanced at Yan Duo’s phone and said, “Hmm, I know.”

Yan Duo’s eyes widened, “Since you knew, why didn’t you tell me?”

They were in the same dressing room, and for something so big, Ji Ran didn’t even tell her. That’s just going too far!

Before Ji Ran could say anything, his phone rang in his pocket. He took it out for a glance, then walked to the side to answer the call.

“You know about Yan Duo trending on social media, right?” Qi Sixian asked, getting straight to the point.

How could Ji Ran, who paid attention to everything Yan Duo did, not investigate? Qi Sixian felt he must have some purpose, so he directly called to ask.

Ji Ran admitted bluntly, “I did it.”

Qi Sixian paused for a moment on the other end, probably guessing his intention, and asked, “Who’s behind it?”

Ji Ran: “No evidence.”

Some people were suspicious, but there was no evidence.

Qi Sixian was a smart person and quickly understood Ji Ran’s meaning, finally saying, “If you need anything, just tell me directly.”

Although it wasn’t necessary, Ji Ran didn’t reject Qi Sixian’s kindness, “Mm.”

Hanging up the phone, Ji Ran turned around to see Yan Du standing one meter away, hands on her hips, glaring at him.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Ran asked her.

Yan Duo snorted, “Which girl were you just on the phone with? And behind my back too!”

Ji Ran had never answered the phone behind her back before, but today he did. Not only that, but she also vaguely heard that the person on the phone was a woman.

Ji Ran looked at Yan Duo’s jealous appearance and said with a smile, “That’s just a colleague from my studio, don’t overthink it.”

Ji Ran had no intention of troubling Yan Duo with those matters, so he didn’t tell her what he had done.

Yan Duo didn’t believe it, “Really?”

Ji Ran took out his phone and handed it to her, “If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.”

Seeing how certain he was, Yan Duo had no reason to doubt him anymore and pushed her phone back, “Alright, I believe you.”

Ji Ran didn’t take his phone back, saying to Yan Duo, “I’m about to go on stage, can you hold onto this for me?”

Yan Duo checked the time and realized it was almost Ji Ran’s turn to go on stage, so she gripped her phone tightly and nodded in promise, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely keep it safe.”

Ji Ran couldn’t resist patting her head when he saw how serious she looked, then followed the other four to wait backstage.

After Ji Ran left, Yan Duo took out a mask from her pocket and put it on, then put on her hat as well. She beckoned Fang Fang to leave the backstage together, sneaked into the venue, and waited for Ji Ran to take the stage.

The New Year’s Eve concert was held at the largest stadium in T City. At this moment, the two stood in an inconspicuous corner where they wouldn’t attract attention, but that spot was directly opposite a ventilation vent, making it particularly cold. Yan Duo was shivering, but Fang Fang couldn’t persuade her to leave.

Just as Yan Duo sneezed twice, Ji Ran and his group of five finally appeared on stage. At this moment, huge cheers erupted from the audience, mixed with the names of the five guests, with Ji Ran’s name being shouted the most.

The host greeted the five with a smile and then began interviewing them.

“Some netizens say that you five are the strongest group this year. Regarding this, what do you have to say?”

The male athlete standing closest to the host answered first, “If we’re a supergroup, then Ji Ran is definitely the captain. We’re just riding on his coattails.”

The other three also chimed in with smiles, “That’s right. We’ve watched him step by step officially announce his marriage, and got fed dog food in the process.”

Laughter and applause erupted from the audience.

The host asked Ji Ran, who hadn’t spoken yet, improvising the question, “On a scale of one hundred, what score would you give Yan Duo for her performance on stage earlier?”

Ji Ran pondered for two seconds, then said, “Eighty points.”

When this answer came out, not only the audience below the stage, but even Yan Duo was stunned.

Eighty points? Didn’t he say she performed well? Hypocritical man!

The host asked everyone’s question: “Why this score?”

Ji Ran answered again, “I told her to wear a jacket over her dress, but she absolutely refused. She was being so disobedient, so she gets twenty points deducted.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the audience’s cheers grew even louder, accompanied by loud whistles, creating an extremely lively atmosphere.

Yan Duo, who was standing far away, covered her face in disbelief. She couldn’t believe that Ji Ran would say such words with a hint of doting affection at a major gala. These words clearly weren’t there during the rehearsal!

After a few minutes of interaction with the host, it was time for the five-person group performance. Even though she knew it was a recording being played, Yan Duo remained in place, leaving only after listening to Ji Ran finish his part.

“The flower in my heart, I want to take you home, in that late-night bar, who cares if it’s real or fake…”

Su Su’s male voice, even after listening to it many times, Yan Duo still felt her ears were about to get pregnant. After taking one last look at Ji Ran on stage, Yan Duo crouched down and returned backstage.

Yan Duo first developed a crush on Ji Ran during the summer vacation before high school, when a fantasy drama starring Ji Ran was broadcast. The ending theme was sung by Ji Ran himself, and the song gave her an electric feeling, making Yan Duo reluctant to skip the ending credits after every episode. By the end, she couldn’t tell whether she had become his fan because she admired his acting skills or was seduced by his voice. In any case, there was only one result: she fell in love with him and couldn’t stop since.

As Ji Ran came down from the stage, he saw Yan Du standing to the side waiting for him. He walked over, took her cold hand, and headed toward the dressing room.

“Why are your hands so cold?”

Yan Duo didn’t answer, but instead chided him, “Little liar.”

Ji Ran’s first instinct was, could she have found out about his phone call with Qi Sixian? Although he had some doubts in his heart, his expression remained unchanged, “When did I lie to you?”

Yan Duo wrinkled her nose at him, “When did you tell me to wear a coat?”

Ji Ran looked at her: “What if I asked you to wear it? Would you agree?”

Yan Duo’s eyes widened, “How is that possible!”

That dress is so beautiful, it would be a crime to cover it with a coat!

Ji Ran: “So, I only asked once in my heart. liangxyz.com”

Because he knew there would be no result even if he spoke up, he didn’t say anything.

Faced with such unreasonable logic, Yan Duo was completely speechless and couldn’t find a word to refute.

After Ji Ran’s performance ended, it wasn’t long before the entire gala reached its finale. The director called everyone onto the stage to prepare for the bell-ringing countdown.

There were no specific position requirements for the finale. Yan Du had taken off the dress she wore for her performance and was now in her own clothes, planning to just stand in the back to make up the numbers. Little did she know that when Ji Ran learned of her plan, he didn’t go to the front row either, instead taking Yan Du’s hand and standing with her in the third row of the crowd.

Once on stage, Yan Du glanced at the four people who had performed with Ji Ran earlier. They were now standing beside the hosts. Yan Du whispered to him, “Is it okay for you to stand here?”

For an obscure actress like her, nobody would notice where she stood, but Ji Ran was different! Many people were watching!

Ji Ran held Yan Duo’s hand, “It’s okay.”

At this moment, everyone was focused on the New Year countdown, so no one would notice him.

Ji Ran said he was fine, so Yan Duo didn’t insist, holding his hand and counting down along with the host.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1—Happy New Year!”

Yan Duo cheered along with everyone else, feeling extremely excited, but the next second, her vision suddenly darkened as a familiar scent enveloped her, and then her lips were kissed.

At first, Yan Duo was still worried that the action of Ji Ran kissing her on stage would be captured by the camera, but Ji Ran’s kiss was too gentle, so gentle that she didn’t want to ruin the beautiful moment at all. She just cooperated by opening her mouth, happily exchanging saliva with him.

After the party ended, Ji Ran let Ma Peng and Fang Fang go back directly, while he himself drove Yan Duo home.

Sitting in the car, Yan Duo’s mood had not yet calmed down. If Ji Ran weren’t driving right now, she would have wanted to sit on his lap and refuse to get down.

Ji Ran noticed Yan Duo’s little glances as she secretly looked at him through the rearview mirror and said, “Your eyes are telling me that you want to eat me up.”

Yan Duo’s face flushed as she argued defensively: “No way!”

How could her gaze possibly be so obvious?—She was being perfectly subtle!

Ji Ran turned to look at Yan Duo and asked her: “What did you see in my eyes?”

Yan Duo took a serious look, but couldn’t see anything different about those eyes from usual, “No.”

“My eyes are saying that the one who wants to ‘eat’ someone is actually me.”

Yan Duo used her cool hands to cool down her face, chiding softly, “Show some restraint!”

Fifteen minutes later, the person who talked about being reserved became anything but.

As soon as they got home, Yan Dong jumped onto Ji Ran, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, making it impossible for him to shake her off.

Ji Ran carried her upstairs, supporting her legs, and asked the woman who was nibbling on his neck, “Are you done with your period?”

Yan Duo had completely forgotten her previous clumsy lie, saying: “My period ended long ago.”

Ji Ran nodded, “So, what’s your reason for lying?”

Yan Duo took time to answer him: “When you’re extremely hungry, then eat a full meal.”

Ji Ran couldn’t help but laugh, patting her hip and quickening his pace up the stairs.

“Alright, I’ll let you have your fill tonight!”