67 67. A New Game Announcement

Hearing Ryūhei admit that he was no better than Yun Jin at singing, Yanfei turned to Yun Jin while asking her opinion.

"You flattered me and you're too humble, Sir Ryūhei. To be honest, I really like the song you sang yesterday. I'd say that your voice was so expressive when you brought that song. My gut said that you definitely can do more than that."

Yanfei suddenly exclaimed after Yun Jin finished her statement.

"Oh, an unexpected statement from our celebrity. It turns out that contestant Niwa Ryūhei made her become his fan. Now, how do you feel knowing that a celebrity in Liyue has become your fan, contestant Ryūhei?"

Ryūhei put a smile on his face before replying.

"I'm so pleased to hear that. I may be talented at singing or playing instruments. But, I'm still very far from being the best musician. You know, there are probably a lot of talented musicians out there. Or perhaps, no one noticed their talent. What do you think, Miss Jun?"

"Agree. Even though I'm renowned for my voice, I believe there are still talented singers outside of Liyue." Yun Jin replied with a nod.

Yanfei felt the chit-chat was enough, thus she proceeded to the main event.

"Alright. We'll be back to our business. Are both of you ready for the final round?"

"I'm ready." Both Ryūhei and Yun Jin replied simultaneously.

"Now, I will hand things over to the select panel judge, Lady Ningguang, for further announcement. Lady Ningguang, please!" Yanfei gestured to Ningguang to voice out her announcement.

"Thank you, Yanfei, and thank you all for being here today at the music competition finals. I am the Tianquan, Ningguang. I would like to announce that we, the three judges, will not only be the ones to vote for the contestants in this final round. In addition to us, there will be 10 judges chosen from among the audience randomly. Each judge will vote for the preferred finalist, and the one who receives the most votes will be the winner!" Ningguang announced the voting system for this final round. After that, Yanfei announced.

"Okay! Without further ado, let the music commence! The first contestant, Niwa Ryūhei, and his group will be the first one to perform. As for contestant Yun Jin, please wait in the backstage to prepare!"

After waiting for a while, only Ryūhei and his group stood on the stage.

"Hello everyone, we meet again. Today, I'm planning to present another good song to you all. Are you ready!"

"Let's gooo!!!" The audience cheered. Compared to the previous day, the audience who responded was much more.

On the drummer's signal, the music started with Xinyan temporarily adjusting the guitar to an acoustic sound for the intro as Ryūhei sang the song.

"Seize the day or die regretting the time you lost

It's empty and cold without you here, too many people to ache over

I see my vision burn, I feel my memories fade with time

But I'm too young to worry

These streets we travel on

Will undergo our same lost past

I found you here, now please just stay for a while

I can move on with you around

I hand you my mortal life, but will it be forever?

I'd do anything for a smile

Holding you 'til our time is done

We both know the day will come

But I don't want to leave you

I see my vision burn

I feel my memories fade with time

But I'm too young to worry

A melody, a memory, or just one picture

Seize the day or die regretting the time you lost

It's empty and cold without you here, too many people to ache over"

— — — —

"Seize the day or die regretting the time you lost

It's empty and cold without you here, too many people to ache over

Trials in life, questions of us existing here

Don't wanna die alone without you here

Please tell me what we have is real

Silence you lost me, no chance for one more day

Silence you lost me, no chance for one more day"

Ryūhei brought Seize The Day by Avenged Sevenfold to the stage.

The moment Ryūhei finished the song, Ryūhei and his group got applause from the audience. Even the judges couldn't help but applaud as well.

— — — —

"The song touched the depth of one's heart and told us to "Seize The Day" before we regretted it. It's so hard to not get choked after listening to the lyrics to this song. And it could spark bitter memories in our minds." Ganyu commented on Ryūhei's song. Moreover, this song reminded her of her comrades who fell during the Archon War thousands of years ago.

"Agree. Sometimes, cherishing a current life is so hard for many people. That's why Ryūhei brought this song to tell us to think twice about our actions. It's about "Seizing the Day," keeping those they love close because everything can be gone in the snap of a finger." Keqing added.

Then, Ningguang nodded.

"Impressive, I must say. People take life for granted, love for granted, things for granted, and I thought it was mainly based upon the thought that "no matter what, I have another day to fix it and make it better." But, as life goes, there's no guarantee, nor is there a promise. Because, once they lose, there's no way to go back. This song can serve as a warning and make us do something better before it's too late. Contestant Ryūhei did a great job delivering a piece of art with his group. The backing vocal added a different feel by alternately singing the lyrics with the lead vocal. Even the guitarist managed to play her part with a technique so different from what we are used to seeing." Ningguang commented with her honest thoughts.

After commenting on Ryūhei and his group's performance, it was Yun Jin's turn to step onto the stage. But apart from Yun Jin, their faces lost all confidence after the judges gave Ryūhei their incredible comments.

And this also made their appearance so down that some of them made mistakes even though Yun Jin tried to cover it up.

Because of the impact of Ryūhei's song, Yun Jin's performance after him was overshadowed. And as a result, three-quarters of the judges vote for Ryūhei as the winner.

Yun Jin felt extremely frustrated when she tasted defeat in the field she excelled at. However, she admitted that Ryūhei's song was the best of the best she has ever heard.

Ultimately, Ningguang announced the winner and gave him a reward. After that, she said,

"Do you want to say a thing or two?"

"Yes. First of all, thank you for supporting our performance. To be honest with you, I didn't have any expectations that you would like my music. After all, I hailed from Inazuma. In that nation, a lot of people and even The Raiden Shogun were too afraid to change, causing her to initiate a decree that caused rebellion and riot everywhere, and made that nation to be in a state of turmoil and isolation. I'm so glad that people in this nation could accept the change, albeit not everyone. That was one of the reasons I like this nation."

After Ryūhei said that, some people contemplated, especially the old fogies who were afraid of change. If they kept their old thinking, something that happened in Inazuma might happen in Liyue as well.

Meanwhile, Ningguang eventually grinned when she heard his statement.

Then, Ryūhei continued.

"I learned an idiom in this nation. Money is external to one's life. And I somehow understood as money will naturally come and go. And that idiom depicts the status of this nation, which is an economic hub. Because of that, I believed that most people in Liyue Harbor weren't afraid of change. And it was the start of my journey to spread something new called manga. I believe most of you have already read my manga. But this time, I'd like to introduce something new."

Ryūhei took out some cards.

"These are cards for a Trading Card Game. I created this after being inspired by a card game created by a researcher from Sumeru Akademiya. If you want to know how to play this game, you can go to my shop tomorrow. In addition, a new volume of each series will be published as well."

After announcing that, he bowed to the audience.

— — — —

After the music competition.

"Did you hear that? The manga shop is going to introduce a new game."

"I saw one of the cards he took out since I was near the podium."

"Really? What did you see?"

"The card had a picture of a light blue dragon called Blue Eyes White Dragon."

"Wow. I wonder how to play that game he mentioned."

"What are you two talking about?"

"It's like this, the owner of the manga shop will release a new game."

"A game? What kind?"

"Dunno."

"If you don't know, why are you two so excited?"

"It's the owner of the manga shop we're talking about. Of course, his creation will be good as always."

Unbeknownst to Ryūhei, it seemed almost all of the people who heard his announcement couldn't wait for him to show the game.