Chapter 130: Big City, Small Love

Dong Fen caught Chen Fang off guard.

To be honest, Chen Fang had never considered the possibility of being challenged today. After all, Wang Situ had hogged all the limelight; if anyone were to be challenged, it should have been Wang Situ.

"Great System, help!" Chen Fang cried out in his mind.

The system’s gloating voice echoed back: "It’s useless to be anxious now. You have no money, and even if I gave you a song, with only a few minutes left, can you guarantee you’d sing it well on stage?"

Chen Fang was speechless. It made sense. But the problem was, if he didn't even have a song, what would he sing? Whether he had something to sing and whether he could perform it well were two different things.

A second later, the system added, "Don't you have other songs in your head?"

Other songs? Chen Fang thought about it. He actually did! But the songs he remembered were all love songs he used to woo girls. Would they be too generic to sing here?

Soon, Chen Fang made up his mind. He would sing those love songs! On one hand, he didn't want to owe the system money; on the other hand, since he was being forced into a corner anyway, he might as well sing those songs. At least he had sung them many times and was very familiar with them.

"Actually..." the system’s seductive voice chimed in. "You have another option."

"What option?" Chen Fang asked curiously.

"Don't you have a Time Reversal Card in your inventory? Use that to turn back time."

The system's suggestion made Chen Fang's eyes light up. That's right! He still had a few prop cards in his inventory he hadn't used yet.

"If I use the Time Reversal, can I buy a song on credit?" Chen Fang asked, feeling a surge of excitement.

"No," the system replied, accompanied by an eye-rolling emoji. "I’m just telling you that you’d have more time to choose the one you’re best at from the love songs you know."

Chen Fang was speechless. Twice in one minute. Every time he chatted with the system, he felt like his native language had become "speechlessness." The key was that he couldn't do anything about the system. After all, it was just a system, not a person.

Chen Fang sneered, "Then what the hell is the point of reversing time? Better to save that card for a more useful moment."

The system said nothing more. Whether he used it or not was his business; it was just a reminder.

On stage, Dong Fen had already begun his performance. Xi Yuanyuan looked at Chen Fang; the situation had happened so suddenly that she could see the distress on his face. "Is the pressure too much?"

Wang Situ also looked at Chen Fang with concern.

"A little," Chen Fang replied. "But I'll be fine."

He closed his eyes and began to cycle through the love songs in his mind. Seeing this, Xi Yuanyuan stopped bothering him. In such a short time, he needed to think for himself.

The production team was very savvy about creating effects. At that moment, the live broadcast didn't show Dong Fen's performance, but instead cut to a shot of Chen Fang in the lounge, eyes closed in deep thought. He looked genuinely troubled.

"The pressure on Chen Fang is mounting."

"Chen Fang probably never expected Dong Fen to challenge him."

"He was supposed to be the supporting role today, but now he's being targeted as the soft target."

"I'm curious, does Chen Fang have a new song, or will he sing 'Father' again?"

"Dong Fen is quite cunning. After hearing Wang Situ's performance, he realized he had no chance of surpassing him, so he quickly changed his target to Chen Fang."

"You have to say, Dong Fen is smart."

"Chen Fang looks so miserable, but it's strangely cute."

"Even if Dong Fen played a bit dirty, I have to admit his performance is really good. In terms of vocal technique, he’s probably the best among all the contestants who made it to the main competition."

The live chat was filled with mixed opinions. Some were worried about Chen Fang, some were teasing Dong Fen for his cleverness, and others were commenting on the song. But no one was insulting Dong Fen. After all, his request was reasonable. Chen Fang was a contestant and a member of the top-ranked group, so challenging either him or Wang Situ was fair game. It was just that everyone had subconsciously assumed Dong Fen would target Wang Situ, not Chen Fang.

As the song ended, Dong Fen's confident smile was infectious. He was confident! Of course, his confidence stemmed from his perfect performance. While it didn't match the emotional outburst of Wang Situ's "Father," it was an exceptional performance. After the judges' critiques, Dong Fen received an average score of 97.

97 points! That was a difficult score to surpass. Setting aside Wang Situ's high score of 99.25, Dong Fen's 97 was the ceiling. What was Chen Fang to do?

Bring out another new song? Or cover "Father"?

In the lounge, Chen Fang slowly opened his eyes.

"Do you want to change your clothes?" Xi Yuanyuan asked with concern. Chen Fang had changed into his regular casual clothes, leaving the suit he wore on stage tossed to the side.

Chen Fang shook his head. "No time to change now. I'll just go up as I am."

A staff member came to notify him. Under the gaze of Xi Yuanyuan and Wang Situ, Chen Fang flashed a confident smile—a radiance even brighter than Dong Fen’s. "I won't lose."

Wang Situ believed in him unconditionally. "Get a perfect score! Go for it!"

Xi Yuanyuan was more rational, but at this stage, worrying was pointless, so she offered encouragement: "No matter how you perform, in my heart, you are the best."

Judging by her tone, she still lacked confidence in him. Chen Fang smiled without saying much.

Then, he walked out of the lounge. The camera followed him closely. Soon, Chen Fang stepped onto the stage, and all the lights converged on him. Dressed in simple, casual clothes, he didn't look like a performer, but more like a street busker—he seemed far too relaxed.

No other instruments. Just a guitar. Chen Fang walked to the center of the stage carrying it.

"Contestant Chen Fang, what song are you going to sing?"

In truth, most people expected him to cover "Father."

Chen Fang sat on the chair on stage, propped his right foot up on the rung, and rested his hands on the guitar. "My original song, 'Big City, Small Love'."

"Big City, Small Love"? Judging by the title, it sounded like a love song. Of course, that didn't matter! What mattered was that Chen Fang had pulled out yet another original song.

Chen Fang's decision not to cover "Father" surprised everyone. Xi Yuanyuan and Wang Situ were stunned—when had Chen Fang written another song? He hadn't told them!

However, love songs were a risky bet. The Chinese music industry had no shortage of love songs. Whether romantic or heartbreaking, the archives were overflowing with them. The audience had already developed a certain immunity to the genre, so achieving a high score with an original love song seemed unrealistic.

Xi Yuanyuan couldn't help but clench her fists. Whether this original song would be a disaster or another stunning surprise, it all depended on his performance now, Chen Fang!