Chapter 26: A New Couple

The middle-aged man called “Teacher Zhang” was Zhang Zheng, the head of this evaluation committee.
He held considerable prestige throughout the entire industry.

Piggy Music had invited him to lead the panel precisely to prove the authority of their competition.
But Zhang Zheng himself found this task tiresome—rookie submissions were torture to the ears.
If he hadn’t already signed the contract and taken the payment, he would’ve quit long ago.

The assistant beside him turned on the speakers and opened the audio file.

Normally, for proper scoring and appreciation, one would at least use studio monitoring headphones to catch all the details.
But clearly, Zhang Zheng didn’t think rookie works deserved that effort.

“The gentle night sky… should move your heart.”

The music began, and Zhang Zheng’s ears twitched slightly.

Xia Jinnian’s voice was clear and soft, like a stream flowing quietly, carrying a youthful tenderness.

“I won’t let you feel sad. I’ll chase away your loneliness. Leave the weight of your dreams to me.”

Lin Xiyue’s voice was firm and full of strength, carrying a deep sense of promise—as if she were confessing her determination to the listener.

Zhang Zheng raised an eyebrow.
He began listening seriously.
Just the first two lines were already far above the average level of this competition.

Then came the duet section from both girls.

“Hold my hand and follow me. No matter how strong the wind is, with me by your side, you’ll never lose your way again.”

Their voices intertwined, telling a shared story—answering each other and forming a perfect harmony.

At this point, Zhang Zheng suddenly turned his head and signaled to cover his ears.
The assistant immediately understood and handed him the headphones.

Zhang Zheng accepted them, closed his eyes lightly, as if the music had drawn him into a dreamlike world—two young voices weaving together like twin meteors streaking across the night sky, carrying an inexplicable beauty.

“Let me take you to watch the meteor shower fall upon the earth. Let your tears fall on my shoulder. Believe that my love is brave only for you—you will see where happiness lies—”

A faint smile appeared on Zhang Zheng’s face.
He felt the emotion hidden in the song—like two hearts meeting under the night sky, protecting and warming each other.
That youthful, innocent yet unwavering affection was perfectly expressed.

His fingers tapped lightly on the sofa’s armrest, following the rhythm of the music, all the way until the song finished…

No one spoke.
All the evaluators fixed their eyes on Zhang Zheng.

They too could hear that the song’s quality was undeniably high,
but they wanted to hear the group leader’s verdict first.

“The composition itself is decent. Not astonishing, but worth at least around three thousand points.”

“The arrangement style is outdated and simple, differing noticeably from today’s trends.”

“The singers’ technical skills are average—barely sufficient to control this song.”

His critique made the others blink in surprise.
They had expected, based on his earlier reactions, a much higher score.

“These are the flaws,” he continued. “Now for the strengths.”

“The singers’ style matches the song extremely well. Their cooperation is seamless and appropriately balanced.”

“The emotional expression is outstanding—and provides an excellent sense of immersion.”

“Considering these are newcomers with no previously released works, I personally believe this deserves… 85 points.”

The sudden reversal left everyone stunned.

Eighty-five?!

Zhang Zheng was also one of the reviewers for StardustNet.
If even he said this piece would only earn around 3,000 points on StardustNet—that meant 30 points in their conversion scale.

Even for rookies, even with the organizer’s request to “not let scores look too ugly,”
an 85 still meant he genuinely liked the girls’ performance.

Since the team leader set the tone, the rest of the evaluators could only adjust around his score.

This was just a paid evaluation job anyway—no need to be overly serious.
And no one wanted to embarrass Zhang Zheng by giving a drastically lower score.

In the end, the compiled average score for the song was 87.5, placing it firmly at the top of the competition.

Lin Family Residence

To celebrate the release of the new single, Lin Xiyue headed home early and flopped onto her bed.

Whether in her past life as Young Master Lin, or in this life as Miss Lin—she had never been this exhausted.
At last, she could finally rest a little.

“Ding dong—”

Just as she was about to nap, her phone buzzed.
It was a message from “Lulu.”

【OMG, let me tell you—I found a SUPER shippable new CP today!】

【Hah, as if you haven’t shipped enough CPs already. Not surprising~】

【No no, this time it’s real-life!】

【Hm?】

【I was bored and opened StardustNet to check new releases, and I came across a duet by two girls. It was SO good!】

【Wait… does the song happen to be…】

【It’s called Stardust Rain, by Lin Xiyue and Xia Jinnian】

【Ah?】

【Girl, the emotions were SO genuine. With my years of CP-shipping experience—this is TRUE LOVE. Not fake yuri marketing! And they’re both so pretty—they’re EXACTLY my type!】

After reading the conversation, Lin Xiyue froze.

Well then.
She had officially eaten melon only to discover she was the melon.

After shipping CPs for years, now she had become someone else’s ship!?

After thinking it over, Lin Xiyue decided to tell Bai Lulu the truth.
Otherwise, she’d have to face Lulu’s “CP fever” every day—getting spammed with clips of herself.

They’d been online friends for so many years, and Lulu was also a girl—nothing to feel embarrassed about.

So Lin Xiyue took a picture from a flattering angle with her college entrance exam admission card, and sent a voice message too.

【(photo)】

【Eh?? Is this… your selfie? Your name is Lin Xiyue too?】

【▷︎ı||ııı||ı|ı||ııı||ı| 15”】 (voice message)

【Huh?? No way, sis—
You LOOK like Lin Xiyue,
You SOUND like Lin Xiyue,
Your NAME is Lin Xiyue…
Who are you?!】

【Is it possible… that I’m actually the real Lin Xiyue?】

【? f**k】

Silence.

Half an hour passed with no reply.
Lin Xiyue rolled around on her bed laughing.

She could perfectly imagine Bai Lulu’s embarrassment—shipping a CP so hard… only to find out she’d been shipping the actual person she was chatting with.

Finally, Lulu sent another message.

【Uuuu, Goddess Xiyue… I’m your fan! We’ve been online friends for years—let’s meet up sometime! Bring Xia Jinnian too okay~】