Lin Jin was definitely the thick-skinned type usually, although he would blush from shame or embarrassment, he would hardly ever tremble or stammer in speech.
However, today he finally experienced what it was like to be unable to articulate himself properly.
As he walked to the center of the stage, Chen Xinya consciously stood about two meters behind Lin Jin, her body slightly bent, assuming the starting pose of a dance, while Lin Jin tightly held the microphone in both hands, feeling like he might crush it due to his nervousness.
So panicked!
Lin Jin's eyes were wide open, looking down at the students who had finished clapping and were gradually quieting down, watching Wen Xuan standing tall and continuously cheering him on.
"Go Lin Jin! Go! You're the best!" Wen Xuan seemed completely absorbed in the atmosphere of the evening, jumping around with his flashlight on his phone, just like a fangirl at a pop concert.
The song hadn't even started yet, what was there to cheer about?
Usually, Wen Xuan was sarcastic towards Lin Jin or would ignore him while focusing on his own business, but Lin Jin didn't expect that the person who cheered for him the most at the gala would actually be him. Wu Min, although friendly with him usually, was somewhat introverted and didn't disregard others' opinions like Wen Xuan.
Lin Jin had originally wanted to say a few words to warm up the crowd before the accompaniment started, just like the stars at concerts, but now he was so nervous he could barely speak, completely bewildered.
The accompaniment started.
The stage lights focused on Chen Xinya, dressed in a white gown, she looked like a pure fairy, gently bowing her head and then beginning to dance gracefully. The lighting effects combined with Chen Xinya's soft dance immediately drew rounds of applause from the audience.
Of course, it could simply be encouragement for Chen Xinya.
"Lin Jin seems really nervous" Wu Min said, frowning slightly, a bit worried, and tugging at Wen Xuan, who had been cheering all along. "Don't pressure him, look, his legs are shaking."
"Really?" Wen Xuan took a closer look at Lin Jin on stage, noticing that he was indeed almost unable to speak from nervousness, and immediately shut his mouth, plopping down on the grass, "Don't mess it up, that would be really embarrassing."
Cai Jianlai, a deeply hidden gay man, locked his gaze tightly on Lin Jin, his fists clenched, as if even more nervous than Lin Jin himself.
Feng Jing stood to one side of the stage with arms crossed, her eyes coldly watching Lin Jin on stage. In her mind, she repeatedly thought about the rumors spread by Lin Jin, and she was so angry that she even wanted to cut the audio power line to create big news and disgust Lin Jin. However, this was a highly valued school event, and even if she could do a series of things to annoy Lin Jin in her pursuit of a man, she couldn't bring herself to cut the power line.
If discovered, she would be a criticized and reprimanded at the very least.
Twenty seconds into the accompaniment, it was time for Lin Jin to start singing.
But Lin Jin's throat was dry and hoarse, and he was so nervous that he felt as if his Adam's apple was stuck, unable to move. He struggled to make a sound but could only let out a faint raspy noise.
He was practically mute.
Chen Xinya noticed Lin Jin's problem and, somewhat panicked, walked up to him, grabbed his stiff hand, and pulled the microphone toward her mouth. She selectively forgot the first line of the song and started singing from the second.
"Thinking of tomorrow brings sun and wind, Tired and in pain, yet fearless~"
She tightly held Lin Jin's hand, and her slightly cool touch snapped him back to reality. Opening his hoarse throat, he continued singing along with Chen Xinya's words.
"The pain on me keeps me from sleep, The road ahead brings even more weariness~ Chasing dreams, always with twists and turns, No complaints, no regrets, calmly facing."
"Lin Jin's performance is so off" Wu Min frowned, he and Wen Xuan were the first to hear Lin Jin, and they knew that he was not in the right state.
"Lin Jin's voice doesn't sound good, too hoarse, feels like a eunuch's voice" Lin Xin, hearing Lin Jin's song for the first time, thought the rhythm was fine but found Lin Jin's voice a bit strange.
Wen Xuan anxiously shook his leg, wanting to cheer for Lin Jin, but seeing his current state, he didn't dare make a sound, fearing that if Lin Jin heard him, he might become even more nervous.
After singing a long phrase, Lin Jin suddenly felt his heart beating faster and faster. In the process of singing, his originally chilly body grew hotter, and his throat itched inexplicably, while the hand gripping the microphone began to relax.
He closed his eyes, his mind gradually blanking out. In the few seconds between the verses, his body rapidly relaxed, and his throat became increasingly unbearable, feeling as though he would sing an incredibly beautiful tune as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Rainbow after Storms, Unyielding Roses. No matter how much sorrow, no matter how much pain, I bear it on my own~ Rainbow after Storms, Unyielding Roses. Roaming all over, laughing at the world, never retreating!"
The feeling... suddenly, he wasn't nervous anymore.
This thought suddenly appeared in Lin Jin's blank mind, and he opened his eyes, looking down at the microphone in his hand.
That last line was sung at least to his own standard, but his throat still felt unbearably itchy, a strong emotion wanting to be vented, gathering in his heart during the pause in the song.
Was this the effect of the master pill? Lin Jin lightly pursed his lips. In the past, no matter how passionately he sang, he never expressed the deep emotions he felt now.
Hearing the accompaniment approaching the next line, Lin Jin closed his eyes again, his mind inexplicably blanking out, and he involuntarily sang the next line.
"Drifting thoughts, chasing dreams. Being true to oneself, daring in deeds~ Life is short, how can we give up halfway~ Unyielding, fearless~!"
The applause from the audience below did not affect Lin Jin's performance, he became even more immersed in the music. As it was a song with the theme of the Long March, the classic scenes of the army marching thousands of miles, climbing snowy mountains, and crossing grasslands gradually appeared in his mind. He felt as if he were there, as if he were a member of the army, accompanying them through the vast snowy mountains, eating tree bark and grass roots with them...
"Rainbow after Storms, Unyielding Roses! Heart like water, passion like fire, dreams boiling! Rainbow after Storms..."
The originally somewhat bland song became more intense with Lin Jin's impassioned and surging emotions. It was as if his heart was on fire, and that flame danced to the rhythm, stimulating his blood to boil. Despite the cold winter and the chilling wind, Lin Jin did not feel the cold at all.
When the song ended, Lin Jin, who was still immersed in the performance, closed his mouth. The itch in his throat had disappeared through his singing, and he took a deep breath, raising his head to look at the audience standing and staring at him.
"Why... is there no sound at all?"
Lin Jin was stunned.
Even if the performance was not good, there should be some encouraging applause, right? Was such indifference necessary? These were supposed to be high-quality university students of the new century, weren't they? Where was the applause?
"Did I sing poorly? That shouldn't be the case, I felt it was pretty good." Lin Jin turned his head, looking at Chen Xinya, who had moved to his side, only to find a few droplets in the corner of her eyes.
"Is it raining?"
He continued to look puzzled.
Lin Jin was definitely the thick-skinned type usually, although he would blush from shame or embarrassment, he would hardly ever tremble or stammer in speech.
However, today he finally experienced what it was like to be unable to articulate himself properly.
As he walked to the center of the stage, Chen Xinya consciously stood about two meters behind Lin Jin, her body slightly bent, assuming the starting pose of a dance, while Lin Jin tightly held the microphone in both hands, feeling like he might crush it due to his nervousness.
So panicked!
Lin Jin's eyes were wide open, looking down at the students who had finished clapping and were gradually quieting down, watching Wen Xuan standing tall and continuously cheering him on.
"Go Lin Jin! Go! You're the best!" Wen Xuan seemed completely absorbed in the atmosphere of the evening, jumping around with his flashlight on his phone, just like a fangirl at a pop concert.
The song hadn't even started yet, what was there to cheer about?
Usually, Wen Xuan was sarcastic towards Lin Jin or would ignore him while focusing on his own business, but Lin Jin didn't expect that the person who cheered for him the most at the gala would actually be him. Wu Min, although friendly with him usually, was somewhat introverted and didn't disregard others' opinions like Wen Xuan.
Lin Jin had originally wanted to say a few words to warm up the crowd before the accompaniment started, just like the stars at concerts, but now he was so nervous he could barely speak, completely bewildered.
The accompaniment started.
The stage lights focused on Chen Xinya, dressed in a white gown, she looked like a pure fairy, gently bowing her head and then beginning to dance gracefully. The lighting effects combined with Chen Xinya's soft dance immediately drew rounds of applause from the audience.
Of course, it could simply be encouragement for Chen Xinya.
"Lin Jin seems really nervous" Wu Min said, frowning slightly, a bit worried, and tugging at Wen Xuan, who had been cheering all along. "Don't pressure him, look, his legs are shaking."
"Really?" Wen Xuan took a closer look at Lin Jin on stage, noticing that he was indeed almost unable to speak from nervousness, and immediately shut his mouth, plopping down on the grass, "Don't mess it up, that would be really embarrassing."
Cai Jianlai, a deeply hidden gay man, locked his gaze tightly on Lin Jin, his fists clenched, as if even more nervous than Lin Jin himself.
Feng Jing stood to one side of the stage with arms crossed, her eyes coldly watching Lin Jin on stage. In her mind, she repeatedly thought about the rumors spread by Lin Jin, and she was so angry that she even wanted to cut the audio power line to create big news and disgust Lin Jin. However, this was a highly valued school event, and even if she could do a series of things to annoy Lin Jin in her pursuit of a man, she couldn't bring herself to cut the power line.
If discovered, she would be a criticized and reprimanded at the very least.
Twenty seconds into the accompaniment, it was time for Lin Jin to start singing.
But Lin Jin's throat was dry and hoarse, and he was so nervous that he felt as if his Adam's apple was stuck, unable to move. He struggled to make a sound but could only let out a faint raspy noise.
He was practically mute.
Chen Xinya noticed Lin Jin's problem and, somewhat panicked, walked up to him, grabbed his stiff hand, and pulled the microphone toward her mouth. She selectively forgot the first line of the song and started singing from the second.
"Thinking of tomorrow brings sun and wind, Tired and in pain, yet fearless~"
She tightly held Lin Jin's hand, and her slightly cool touch snapped him back to reality. Opening his hoarse throat, he continued singing along with Chen Xinya's words.
"The pain on me keeps me from sleep, The road ahead brings even more weariness~ Chasing dreams, always with twists and turns, No complaints, no regrets, calmly facing."
"Lin Jin's performance is so off" Wu Min frowned, he and Wen Xuan were the first to hear Lin Jin, and they knew that he was not in the right state.
"Lin Jin's voice doesn't sound good, too hoarse, feels like a eunuch's voice" Lin Xin, hearing Lin Jin's song for the first time, thought the rhythm was fine but found Lin Jin's voice a bit strange.
Wen Xuan anxiously shook his leg, wanting to cheer for Lin Jin, but seeing his current state, he didn't dare make a sound, fearing that if Lin Jin heard him, he might become even more nervous.
After singing a long phrase, Lin Jin suddenly felt his heart beating faster and faster. In the process of singing, his originally chilly body grew hotter, and his throat itched inexplicably, while the hand gripping the microphone began to relax.
He closed his eyes, his mind gradually blanking out. In the few seconds between the verses, his body rapidly relaxed, and his throat became increasingly unbearable, feeling as though he would sing an incredibly beautiful tune as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Rainbow after Storms, Unyielding Roses. No matter how much sorrow, no matter how much pain, I bear it on my own~ Rainbow after Storms, Unyielding Roses. Roaming all over, laughing at the world, never retreating!"
The feeling... suddenly, he wasn't nervous anymore.
This thought suddenly appeared in Lin Jin's blank mind, and he opened his eyes, looking down at the microphone in his hand.
That last line was sung at least to his own standard, but his throat still felt unbearably itchy, a strong emotion wanting to be vented, gathering in his heart during the pause in the song.
Was this the effect of the master pill? Lin Jin lightly pursed his lips. In the past, no matter how passionately he sang, he never expressed the deep emotions he felt now.
Hearing the accompaniment approaching the next line, Lin Jin closed his eyes again, his mind inexplicably blanking out, and he involuntarily sang the next line.
"Drifting thoughts, chasing dreams. Being true to oneself, daring in deeds~ Life is short, how can we give up halfway~ Unyielding, fearless~!"
The applause from the audience below did not affect Lin Jin's performance, he became even more immersed in the music. As it was a song with the theme of the Long March, the classic scenes of the army marching thousands of miles, climbing snowy mountains, and crossing grasslands gradually appeared in his mind. He felt as if he were there, as if he were a member of the army, accompanying them through the vast snowy mountains, eating tree bark and grass roots with them...
"Rainbow after Storms, Unyielding Roses! Heart like water, passion like fire, dreams boiling! Rainbow after Storms..."
The originally somewhat bland song became more intense with Lin Jin's impassioned and surging emotions. It was as if his heart was on fire, and that flame danced to the rhythm, stimulating his blood to boil. Despite the cold winter and the chilling wind, Lin Jin did not feel the cold at all.
When the song ended, Lin Jin, who was still immersed in the performance, closed his mouth. The itch in his throat had disappeared through his singing, and he took a deep breath, raising his head to look at the audience standing and staring at him.
"Why... is there no sound at all?"
Lin Jin was stunned.
Even if the performance was not good, there should be some encouraging applause, right? Was such indifference necessary? These were supposed to be high-quality university students of the new century, weren't they? Where was the applause?
"Did I sing poorly? That shouldn't be the case, I felt it was pretty good." Lin Jin turned his head, looking at Chen Xinya, who had moved to his side, only to find a few droplets in the corner of her eyes.
"Is it raining?"
He continued to look puzzled.
