The eldest sister’s invitation is about to take flight~

Though startled by the praise, Ji Fanxing felt her interest stir as well. She suddenly realized that Fang Zhijing on the judges’ panel was not the stern, old-fashioned master everyone imagined him to be.

Anyone who could keep innovating in the music world of Dragon Nation must be stubborn and unyielding.

Ji Fanxing, who had lived for nearly a thousand years, admired such people. Seeing Fang Zhijing pick up the program booklet and prepare to continue, she straightened her expression and listened carefully to what he had to say next.

Fang Zhijing looked down at the booklet in his hand and slowly read out the title of Hai Lan’s song, word by word.

“This song of yours has such an interesting title, just like its lyrics.”

His tone held a hint of wit, and the audience below could not help laughing.

As the atmosphere loosened, Fang Zhijing finally came to the point.

“What makes this song remarkable, in my view, is that it uses a very entertaining form to convey a truth I only recently understood.

More than seven hundred years ago, Guan Hanqing wrote in The Begonia Blossom: I am a copper pea that cannot be steamed soft, boiled tender, pounded flat, fried to a burst, ringing bright and clear.

Isn’t that line the same in spirit as the stubborn single-mindedness in your lyrics?

Never forgetting one’s original intention, holding fast to oneself, a principle I lived decades without truly grasping, yet this song laid bare in a single sentence.

Truly remarkable!”

Though the worlds of Star W and Earth existed in different times and spaces, their development was nearly identical.

Especially Huaxia and Dragon Nation: while dynastic names, place names, and the like differed somewhat over the course of history, their cultural development was basically the same, and many major historical events and figures corresponded across both worlds.

[So Master Fang was speaking from the experience of his own life. Thinking of it that way, it really is remarkable.]

[As a working stiff crushed by reality, I really want to flip the table and tell my boss I’m quitting, but that’s only something I can think about, haha.]

[Now I finally understand why listening to it gave me such a satisfying feeling. It really sang my heart out...]

[“Copper pea”?! What a funny phrase! Did ancient people really write things like this?!]

[Sorry, I’m illiterate. I always thought ancient people were all stiff and dull, and I never expected them to say something this modern.]

[As a history major, I just want to say that ancient people were people too, vivid and alive. Compared with that, our cultural history is even more vivid and interesting; it’s just that too few people are willing to understand it now...]

Hearing Fang Zhijing’s evaluation, Ji Fanxing looked at the elderly man on the judges’ panel, already well past sixty, and could not help but think of the lines that came after The Begonia Blossom.

Even if my teeth fall out, my mouth twists, my legs go lame, my hands are broken, and Heaven has bestowed on me all these cruel afflictions, still I refuse to stop!

Ji Fanxing, who had lived a hundred lifetimes, had seen countless people, and slowly learned how to read them.

A person’s character, thoughts, psychological resilience, even their values—if she wished, she could judge them with uncanny accuracy.

The Fang Zhijing of now was somewhat different from the one she had first sensed. He had changed... or rather, more precisely, he had begun to face himself honestly and gradually return to his true nature.

The wild, proud, and indomitable Fang Zhijing was coming back.

A faint smile curved at the corner of Ji Fanxing’s mouth.

Things had become interesting. Would a Fang Zhijing like this still go on, again and again, doing things contrary to his own heart?

The elder sister’s invitation, I’m afraid, is about to fly away~

Only, who would it end up belonging to?

She thought it over and felt the odds were probably not in her favor.

As the second daughter of Ji Changming, if the invitation were given to her, it would go against Fang Zhijing’s own reluctance to be used and maneuvered.

Besides, she had no interest in the invitation anyway; from beginning to end, she had never shown any intention of competing for it.

With Chu Hao having already refused, someone like Fang Zhijing would probably not force it into her hands.

On the judges’ panel, Fang Zhijing went on to speak about rock music and encouraged Hai Lan to keep steadfastly on the rock path. After learning that she had not signed with a company, he even offered to introduce her to a famous senior figure in the rock scene...

Ever one to cherish talent, he understood how hard it was for a singer like Hai Lan, gifted yet of ordinary background, to make a name for herself in Dragon Nation’s entertainment industry.

Touched by Fang Zhijing’s kindness, Hai Lan bowed repeatedly, thanking him again and again.

[This is the bearing of a master. So moving.]

[Master Fang really thinks highly of Hai Lan, and all I can say is: she deserves it!]

In the livestream, the cameraman’s lens swept across the venue at just the right moment, and every audience member in the stands was smiling for Hai Lan.

The direct shots of the contestants rotated in turn.

Under the live director’s signals, the contestants and their family-and-friend support teams waved to the cameras.

When the camera finally cut to Ji Fanxing, all everyone could see was Ning Ze’s enlarged, striking face.

[Holy crap! Who is that? I’m not fully awake!]

[So handsome, Ning Ze.]

[No, where’s Ji Fanxing? Handsome guy, slide over a bit and let me take in the song queen’s heavenly face.]

[Coming over from the other side to tell you all not to look anymore—Ji Fanxing isn’t there at all.]

[That’s right, Ji Fanxing never returned to her seat after finishing the competition.]

[Huh? How could that be? The gap between Ji Fanxing and Hai Lan’s performances was so long; she had plenty of time to come back, and besides, after their matches, the other contestants all came back to accompany their fans.]

[Maybe because she felt the championship was already in the bag and couldn’t be bothered to keep up appearances. Walking back and forth is tiring, after all.]

[I think Ji Fanxing is just arrogant, and it makes me furious. Luckily our Hai Lan still treated her as a good friend, and yet she couldn’t even be bothered to watch her performance.]

Ji Fanxing’s absence from her seat quickly gave the black fans an opening, and they seized it to steer the conversation.

Among these haters, some were genuine, people who truly disliked Ji Fanxing. More were the handiwork of those unwilling to see her soar after the competition, those who could no longer control her.

The person behind it was very clever. He did not attack directly; instead, he targeted Ji Fanxing’s lapse and attached negative interpretations to her behavior.

Such criticism was easier for the public to accept. At first it might not seem significant, but with time, as it was constantly reinforced, one day it would become a crucial weapon to bring Ji Fanxing down.

By then, without a company or professional team to manage public opinion, Ji Fanxing, unable to control the storm, would eventually have no choice but to yield to them.

Onstage, all the judges had finished their comments, and without exception they gave this one-of-a-kind rock song an extremely high rating.

Especially Lu Yi, who, having understood Fang Zhijing’s stance, praised Just Not Compromising for being utterly unparalleled, unique in heaven and earth.

There was even a hint, in her words, of putting down Rid of Sorrow to elevate it.

“I really like the uplifting feeling in this rock song. It makes people happier than some music that sounds all about sorrow.

As singers, we should be bringing more positive things to everyone. This is simply a work of genius!

I’ve never heard this song before. I wonder which great master wrote it?”