Chapter 540: Chapter 513: Changes (Extra Chapter for Alliance Hierarch As If We Just Met at Bin’s Child)
Evening.
Home.
From afar, Lin Yuan heard his sister giving a speech: “Our very own Prince of Lanling is so amazing, his voice is hoarse but he can still sing so well…”
Lin Yao: “Sister, I watched the competition.”
Lin Xuan: “Pretend you didn’t, and listen to me…I look towards the distant mountains… Ah no, I’m off track…”
“Woof!”
Antarctica barked at Lin Yuan.
Lin Xuan turned her head: “Our brother is back, do you want to listen to me too?”
Lin Yuan went upstairs.
Antarctica followed.
Lin Xuan pouted her lips, and continued to chat with her sister.
Upstairs.
In his bedroom, Lin Yuan turned the faucet on and, finding the water temperature acceptable, knew that the water heater had been repaired during the day.
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“Time for a bath.”
Lin Yuan looked at Antarctica.
Antarctica had not rinsed off last night’s shower gel, and was all covered in foam.
Lin Yuan had to dry him off roughly.
Antarctica hesitated for a moment, but obediently lay still.
After the bath, Lin Yuan dried Antarctica once more before lying on his bed to play with his phone.
He mostly checked out online comments about the latest competition.
This had become Lin Yuan’s leisure activity.
Soon.
Lin Yuan spotted a trending topic.
There was a topic initiated by someone named [Winter Bear Sauce]. The title read:
“Prince of Lanling has stopped speaking, not because he has lost his voice, but because some people have choked him silent.”
Winter Bear Sauce, the initiator, first gave their own commentary:
“It’s a bit sorrowful that in recent episodes Prince of Lanling has spoken less and less, and he no longer comments on the performances of other singers. I initially thought he had forgotten or that the production crew simply didn’t give him any screen time to comment, but it wasn’t until I heard his song today that I realized he’s just tired.”
“Look at the lyrics of ‘It Doesn’t Matter.’
“On the surface, it’s a love song, but actually, it’s telling his inner thoughts.”
“Right or wrong isn’t declared so absolutely anymore; true or false, I no longer say I don’t regret, shattered but what need for perfection, I can soar only when I let go of myself, forgiving the world for all its wrongs, why let oneself go through painful reincarnation…”
“Indeed.”
“There are too many accusations. Each time he opens his mouth, controversy arises. Some understand and accept his critiques, like Zhao Ying Ge and Illaoi (who has come around), and some, like Yuan Xi (likely the Revenge Goddess), and their fans, are fiercely incensed. It’s a thankless task. After commenting on the third team, Prince of Lanling has no longer discussed other singers. He’s been silenced by the criticisms, and the world has lost another person who dares to speak truth.”
“…”
This analysis got a lot of agreement.
“Just like the lyrics of his song, Prince of Lanling strives for perfection, so that’s why he points out what he sees as inadequate, but sadly, no one likes to hear it.”
“Some people are obsessed with right or wrong, so others see them as too serious.”
“Everyone likes a genuine person, but nobody wants to be that person.”
“The Masked Singer is also part of the entertainment circle, and people there dislike such an approach. If he continues like this, he won’t have any friends. But I really like someone like Prince of Lanling.”
“It’s simply a matter of perspective.”
“We have no vested interest, we simply feel Prince of Lanling is great. But some fans can’t tolerate anyone criticizing their idols even if the comments are reasonable. It seems the majority of those jumping up and down are fans. Passersby, even if they don’t like Prince of Lanling, don’t say anything too harsh.”
“…”
On the other hand, there are many who disagree:
“Just a love song, don’t read so much into it. He shut up for only one reason: he’s scared.”
“Public pressure is huge. Wearing a mask, he doesn’t care, but what about when he takes it off?”
“His unmasking is due next episode and he knows to behave virtuously now. As for what storm awaits him once his identity is revealed, who needs to speculate?”
“Too late now, he’s offended too many people. Even if he wanted to backtrack, it’s impossible, he will definitely be overwhelmed.”
“After the unmasking, he will face a barrage.”
“…”
There were also some arguments.
“Once Prince of Lanling takes his mask off, I’ll attack him. I’m a fan of Illaoi.”
“Stop pretending, you’re an Illaoi fan, huh? All your posts are about Yuan Xi.”
“Your idol hasn’t said anything, yet you guys are anxious.”
“We’ve been anxious for a long time, isn’t Prince of Lanling also scared silent?”
“…”
Such arguments never cease.
Lin Yuan shook his head, put down his phone, and suddenly lost interest in browsing the internet.
However, the post did remind Lin Yuan of something.
Recently, he really hadn’t commented on any other singers. That realization almost made him subconsciously put this into practice. He never thought why he was avoiding commenting…
Was it because he had nothing to say?
No.
Just that subconsciously, it seemed unnecessary to say too much.
Was it because he was afraid of being surrounded by those who disliked him after unmasking?
No, not that either.
Lin Yuan has never been afraid of a barrage.
Lin Yuan suddenly remembered the fans who had come a long way to the music center that day, just to shout “Good luck!” at him.
They were fighting for him online.
Until now, the fight hadn’t completely stopped.
If he stopped speaking.
Everybody wouldn’t have to fight anymore.
In fact, it seemed to be the case.
Because he hadn’t said anything controversial over the last few episodes, the comments seemed more harmonious.
People would still bicker from time to time.
But at least it was much quieter.
Until it completely vanishes.
So…
Maybe it’s better to just not care.
It turns out that he was still a peace-loving individual after all. With this thought, Lin Yuan felt that he had let go of his resentment.
But in the following days, he suddenly felt lethargic, and even a little stifled for no reason.
He didn’t want to practice singing or talk.
Even his family didn’t notice that Lin Yuan had damaged his throat.
Ultimately, Lin Yuan didn’t talk much to begin with, so even if he went a day without speaking, no one would find it strange.
His sister, though, seemed to sense Lin Yuan’s low mood and started behaving much better. At meal times, she quietly ate quite a lot of vegetables—
Every day their mother would make small portions of vegetable dishes as a daily task for Lin Yuan and Big Yaoyao.
It was absolutely necessary to finish them within a day.
If it weren’t for Antarctica secretly helping out, Lin Yuan and Big Yaoyao would have trouble managing.
And so it went.
Several days passed.
Lin Yuan’s throat had finally improved significantly, no longer posing a risk for the competition, and the atmosphere of the finals had begun to subtly pervade.
Online.
Discussions on “The Masked Singer” were multiplying, almost reaching the pinnacle since the start of the competition!
At the same time.
In the singer support rankings for The Masked Singer, there were now only six singers left.
The top four were the singing kings and queens.
Fifth place was The Mermaid.
And the Prince of Lanling had the lowest ranking.
This wasn’t particularly surprising, after all.
Everyone had higher hopes for the singing kings and queens.
However, what was strange was…
The Prince of Lanling’s support ratings, even compared with The Mermaid’s, were significantly lower.
Lin Yuan thought this was just normal.
Until he was getting ready to leave for the competition venue and heard his sister complaining,
“Those singers’ fans are so annoying, purposely voting for the top five singers and refusing to vote for the Prince of Lanling. The Prince of Lanling originally had the fifth highest support ratings, but they managed to drag him down to sixth. And it’s not just that, why do they even bother voting so many times for the top five, making the Prince of Lanling’s data look so bad!”
Sometimes.
The tree wants peace, but the wind will not cease.
Lin Yuan didn’t say anything, he just got into Gu Dong’s car and headed for the competition venue.
Gu Dong, who was wearing a mask to cover his face, said, “We’re entering through the main entrance today. The show’s filming will start as soon as we get out of the car.”
Lin Yuan just grunted in acknowledgment and closed his eyes to rest.
Twenty minutes later.
The car was about to arrive.
Looking out the car window, Lin Yuan saw a diverse crowd and various support banners.
There were those of the Overlord.
There were those of the Swan.
There were those of the Revenge Goddess.
There were those of The Mermaid.
There were those of the Elf.
Of course, there were those of Lin Yuan’s as well.
However, at a glance, the Prince of Lanling’s support crowd was apparently the smallest of all, with the other singers’ crowds being several times larger than his.
Lin Yuan said, “I must have offended a lot of people.”
Gu Dong smirked, “You mean in terms of fan numbers? Then Mr. Lin really might not understand. You have quite a lot of fans, it just seems like the other singers have more fans because most of them were pre-arranged by the singers or their companies. Those companies knew about their participation in the competition, so they arranged all this to make a good show for the singers. Unlike our company, which had no idea you were taking part in the competition. If they did, they might at least have helped you control some of the public opinion online, or arranged more support for you than for them…”
“Oh.”
Lin Yuan didn’t respond.
At that moment.
A stretch limousine appeared in the distance, moving pretty quickly, almost drifting. Then the Revenge Goddess got out of the car under the escort of her own bodyguards.
“Revenge Goddess!”
“Revenge Goddess!”
“Revenge Goddess!”
As the Revenge Goddess stopped to wave, her fans went wild and started screaming her name.
If it weren’t for the security guards holding them back, they seemed like they would rush into the hall.
Still, the momentum was quite overwhelming.
The Prince of Lanling’s support crowd was forcibly pushed to one side, with one person getting squeezed by the crowd and falling over.
Lin Yuan’s expression changed suddenly, and his eyes flashed with annoyance.
Seeing that the person was helped up by a friend before he completely fell over, Lin Yuan managed to calm down a little.
One of the girls raising a support banner accidentally got it squeezed out of her hand, and as a result, supporters of the other singers endlessly stepped over it.
The little girl was frantic.
When the crowd finally moved away, a few of the fans of the Prince of Lanling dared to run and pick up the dropped support banner, wiping off footprints and dusting it off.
“Thankfully they’re okay.”
Lil Goodoong, who was driving, had also seen what happened.
She almost rushed out to help them just now, it would have been a disaster if a stampede had occurred: “These people act like they have a death wish when they see a celebrity. The person just now should be injured, Mr. Lin, when you… hey…”
Turning her head, Lil Goodoong only then discovered that Lin Yuan had already gotten out of the car and was entering the venue under the protection of on-site security.
Lin Yuan, however, did not go in immediately.
He stood in an invisible spot at the entrance and suddenly looked back at his support crowd.
The little girl who had accidentally dropped her support banner was still fervently wiping the already clean banner, tears streaming down her face.
“Why aren’t you going in?”
The Swan had appeared from somewhere nearby and seemed to have sneaked in to avoid being mobbed by supports: “The company is always into doing these unnecessary things. Are you today…”
“It matters.”
Lin Yuan suddenly uttered these three words, then started walking towards Tongtong in the distance, leaving Swan with the view of his retreating figure.
It took Swan a while to react…
The Prince of Lanling was answering the question he asked last week.
The answer to that question…
Seemed to have changed?
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PS: Special thanks to “Only Like At First Sight Binzi” for the Alliance Hierarch tip. Extra chapter as a reward!