The livestream room's popularity had increased slightly due to the sudden surge in comments, reaching one hundred thousand.
On the homepage of the livestream platform, positions were ranked according to popularity.
The increasing popularity also moved the Peking Opera Grand Ceremony livestream room from a corner to a more prominent spot.
"What does this mean?"
"What is Chiling?"
"Someone knowledgeable, tell me what's happening!"
"Isn't this the Peking Opera Grand Ceremony? Why is she holding a microphone, is she going to sing?"
"One hundred thousand popularity and only this many comments?"
"Stop talking, listen to the song!"
...
Chen Rong had sung opera for so long without ever feeling nervous, but today her palms were actually sweating slightly.
She gripped the microphone in her hand, took a deep breath, and steadied her breathing.
The song's prelude began.
The emotion gradually built up. The erhu sound arose, followed by the dizi and various classical instruments.
Instantly, the mood was set.
Then, the music slowed down again.
Chen Rong brought the microphone to her lips.
Finally, she began to sing.
"A scene unfolds, sleeves of water rise and fall.
Singing of joy, sorrow, separation, and union, it concerns me not.
A fan opens and closes, gongs and drums sound and fall silent,
Emotions within the play, people outside it, who can tell?"
Chen Rong's voice carried subtle emotion, coupled with her opera skills, every line was handled perfectly.
Judging whether a singer is good or not isn't about how high their notes are or how accurate their pitch, but whether their voice can touch people's hearts.
And Chen Rong's voice clearly achieved that.
With just a few lines, she conveyed the emotion the song intended to express.
Combined with the scene on stage of Japanese enemies holding compatriots captive, it sent a shiver down one's spine.
Below the stage, though quiet, everyone was watching the stage with rapt attention.
Couples who had been engrossed in their phones put them down and listened intently.
Parents who had brought their children to fulfill a task stopped chatting, their expressions becoming incredibly serious.
The song flowed gracefully, and the audience was as still as water.
"Accustomed to infusing joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness into face paint.
What if the old tunes are sung through,
White bones and green ashes are all me..."
Helplessness, deep helplessness.
After this line,
All the opera performers present were in tears.
The lyrics struck at the heart, completely a monologue of the opera performers.
In ancient times.
Actors were called "Ling Ding," serving only the wealthy and powerful, considered low-class, beneath notice.
"Bitches are heartless, actors are unrighteous" was a demeaning remark about actors.
Chen Rong sang this line without any technique, pouring her genuine emotions into it.
Although sung softly, it was incredibly heartbreaking to listen to.
"In times of chaos, like duckweed, how can I bear to see smoke and flames engulfing the mountains and rivers,
Though humble in position, I dare not forget my country,
Even if no one knows me!"
Chen Rong's voice carried an indescribable sorrow.
It was a sorrow that, after seeping into the bone marrow, made one suffocate.
Without the audience needing to imagine, the song's imagery was unfolding on stage!
Compatriots were being held at gunpoint by the enemy.
The humble actor was threatened by the enemy to perform.
Even with her lowly status, she refused to sing what their ancestors had passed down to the Japanese.
But before her were her compatriots, her countrymen!
She had to sing, and she couldn't refuse!
Helplessness and desolation erupted completely at this moment.
...
At the peak of the accompaniment, it suddenly stopped.
"Either sing, or they all die!" The words seemed to echo in everyone's minds.
That bone-deep frustration was vividly portrayed by Chen Rong's singing and the plot on stage.
Whether it was the audience or the viewers in the livestream room, their minds buzzed, and goosebumps involuntarily appeared on their skin.
The blood hidden deep in their hearts began to boil.
Some had red-rimmed eyes, some sobbed softly, some clenched their fists, gritting their teeth.
They wanted to rush forward, tear those enemies to shreds, and let the blood of the invaders atone for their ancestors!
Never forget national humiliation!
"Light the fire!"
Suddenly, Chen Rong shouted!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
On stage, red silk, blown by the wind machines, rose up, waving wildly.
Combined with the lights, it looked like raging flames.
The compatriots who had been kneeling on the ground let out roars like beasts.
They lunged towards the group of enemies listening to the opera!
Clinging to them tightly with their own bodies.
Finally, some enemies reacted, grabbing their guns and shooting at them.
Bang! Bang!
With each gunshot, a compatriot fell.
Even as blood gushed forth, they continued to roar and hold onto the enemies!
When someone completely lost their life, another would rush out to entangle the enemies!
One.
Two.
Three.
The gunfire did not stop, their roars did not stop, and their determination to die did not stop!
They were unarmed, yet they showed no fear of the enemy's guns and blades.
However, gradually, more and more compatriots died.
"Block the entrance!"
Someone shouted!
Everyone rushed madly towards the entrance.
Some injured compatriots, dragging their broken bodies, crawled towards the entrance with their hands.
Leaving trails of bright red blood on the ground.
Even in death, they would use their corpses to stop these beasts!
They wanted to perish together with these enemies!
Better to be a ghost of China than a slave of a fallen nation!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
...
The sound effects of erupting flames echoed one after another.
The "flames" on the stage had engulfed everyone.
Suddenly, the drumbeats sounded!
"Though I am a lowly actor, how can I sing for the enemy..."
A sigh, summarizing the theme of the earlier line.
【They all say actors are heartless, how do they know actors have hearts!】
...
In the lounge, a group of opera performers had red eyes.
The eighty-five-year-old elder, the chairman, was in tears.
He was the one who felt it most deeply here, because he had personally experienced that era!
He remembered his master, the opera troupe members who died tragically that day, the opera listeners, and the millions of compatriots who died over the years.
"Well said, 'Though humble in position, I dare not forget my country!'"
He stood up unsteadily, applauding and cheering, tears already wetting half his face.
His eyes blazed with terrifying hatred!
He gritted his teeth, his wrinkled cheeks trembling violently.
His body, like a flickering candle, swayed precariously, yet an unyielding spirit supported him.
The homeland was shattered, the mountains and rivers adrift; though I am a lowly actor, even if it means utter destruction, I will not sing for these enemies!
"Teacher..." Liu Chuanfeng, standing nearby, fearing the elder would get too emotional and his body couldn't handle it, quickly went to support him.
He hadn't expected Chen Rong to be "quite good." How good was "quite good"?
This was far beyond "quite good"; this song was tailor-made for opera performers!
...
The music started again.
On the screen, Chen Rong and the other actors were no longer visible.
Only the intensely burning flames remained.
"People in the audience pass by, no old colors are seen.
People on stage sing, a heart-wrenching farewell song.
The word 'love' is hard to inscribe, she sings with blood as ink.
The opera curtain rises, the opera curtain falls, who is the guest..."
Opera phrasing!
Opera phrasing as smooth as water!
Chen Rong's skill as a first-class opera actress was fully displayed at this moment.
Paired with the tragic scene of flames rising on stage.
The audience could no longer hold back, erupting into thunderous applause!
This was the skill of opera performers, the result of continuous practice since childhood!
The applause roared, long and sustained!
"Deep affection will be taken seriously,
Looking back is all illusion,
Who is opposite..."
Another line of opera phrasing that sent shivers down the spine.
It directly doubled the applause!
Everyone unconsciously stood up, their faces filled with excitement.
Not just the elderly people whose voices were hoarse from shouting.
Young people were also cheering!
In the livestream room.
The barrage of comments was so dense that the screen was obscured.
"Never forget national humiliation!"
"Damn it, kill those Japanese!"
"Holy crap, this song is too damn sad, I'm crying like a dog..."
"Can't take it anymore, my blood is boiling!"
"Just came in, what's with all the fire on the screen? So many people are listening to opera? Truly a sight to behold..."
"Go back to your mother! If you don't listen, get out!"
"Damn yin-yang people, get out!"
"Keyboard warriors! Let this old man blast these yin-yang people!"
"What's wrong with listening to opera? I just love listening to opera!"
"..."
The popularity increased visibly.
One hundred fifty thousand!
Two hundred thousand!
Three hundred thousand!
In just a short while, it had reached one million!
Then, the Peking Opera Grand Ceremony livestream room, due to the soaring data, was directly pushed to the most prominent position on the homepage.
...