145. Prosperous Chang'an

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Unlike the overwhelming sensation felt by the viewers watching through their screens, the atmosphere at the listening session had nearly come to a standstill.

Many people present suddenly remembered hearing, long ago, that the girl onstage, Ji Fanxing, possessed an exceptionally fine singing voice.

Listening to her sing in person was said to be the ultimate pleasure.

Now, at last, they understood what those words meant.

Everyone had been stunned by the sudden feast for the ears, scarcely remembering to breathe.

Onstage, the lights shifted and shimmered, casting Ji Fanxing and Chu Hao in an even more dazzling glow.

Ji Fanxing wore a red dress, her waterfall of long hair tied back. Her eyes moved with radiant grace, and every glance she cast seemed to sparkle. She looked like a heroic swordswoman who had stepped out of a painting.

Chu Hao’s features were stern and his gaze deep. Standing beside Ji Fanxing, he seemed perfectly suited to her, the two of them forming a strange and harmonious whole.

Their voices rose high and passionate, as though recounting an ancient and tragic epic.

The students playing behind them were utterly absorbed. Though their instruments were plainly old-fashioned, the music they produced was something no one had ever heard before.

“Th-this was really played by those students? I heard they only had four days to rehearse. How could they possibly achieve an effect like this...?”

Someone muttered to himself, unable to believe his own ears.

“This song is truly extraordinary...”

“I think I may have misunderstood traditional Chinese music. No wonder young people like songs such as this.”

“Ji Fanxing’s singing is actually this good? I wonder whether I could invite her to perform one of my compositions...”

Yuan Bingbing sat among the guests, her expression somewhat unpleasant.

It was not that she could not produce an effect like this. The prerequisite was a long period of preparation, and even then, everything depended on her condition that day, the sound equipment, and countless other factors.

Yet Ji Fanxing looked completely at ease onstage. Why was she so gifted at singing too?!

Only now did Yuan Bingbing remember that Ji Fanxing had made her debut on a talent show called The King of Singers Competition. At the thought, she clenched her fists.

Damn it! How could a singer who had come out of some little talent competition be this formidable?

How were the rest of them supposed to make a living?!

Du Mingyu, president of the Conservatory of Music, sprang excitedly to his feet and turned to Gu Huaiyuan, giving him a thumbs-up.

“Old Gu, you’ve struck gold this time!”

Gu Huaiyuan beamed. The heart he had kept suspended finally settled, though it continued pounding fiercely.

At last, he had waited for the hope of national music to arrive!

“Chang’an, where the pages of history turn,
where mountains and seas collapse upon the palace towers;
where beacon fires rise, and westward beyond the Pass,
no one is seen again;
where spring fills the city and grass and trees run wild,
and the young find no road home;
the wandering stranger, the traveler far from home...”

The performance onstage continued. Andu, once known as Chang’an, a cultural city with thousands of years of history, was now returning to the public eye through Ji Fanxing’s song.

“Damn! Isn’t this song about Andu? I want to buy a ticket there right now!”

“This is Andu in the age of the Grand Tang. Was that era really so beautiful?”

“I visited Andu before. Even then, I felt the city had an extraordinary character. After hearing this song, I want to go back again.”

“Andu’s historical and cultural heritage is simply astounding! I’ve decided—I’m going there this summer.”

Earlier, the travel influencer Shu Ning, known online as the Global Traveler, had promoted Dela in the livestream chat. Now, watching the comments scroll past, he felt increasingly irritated.

As a travel blogger, he had visited many countries and was currently standing in the supposedly romantic and elegant Dela Square.

He deliberately ignored the homeless man lying by the roadside, snoring loudly less than a hundred yards from one of Dela’s iconic landmarks, Dela Square.

After changing his camera angle and applying a filter, he took a photograph brimming with atmosphere and posted it in the comments.

“This is Dela, a place countless times more elegant than Andu. If you have the time, you may as well come here.”

The moment Shu Ning’s comment appeared, someone recognized him.

“Thanks for the recommendation, but I’d rather learn about the five thousand years of our own history.”

“Well, well. Isn’t this the blogger who claims the air abroad is especially sweet? Still savoring it, are you?”

“I’m at Dela Square right now. I just want to point out that you avoided photographing the homeless man, but you did manage to include the man urinating beside him. How incredibly rude.”

Shu Ning grew furious as he read the comments.

He had kindly recommended a beautiful destination, and these people were being so utterly unreasonable.

What was so good about those rural places in Longguo anyway?

Shu Ning made up his mind to visit Andu personally and photograph its backward, impoverished appearance for all of them to see.

Everything Ji Fanxing had sung about was merely fabricated nonsense for dramatic effect!

Shu Ning was only a brief interruption. In the livestream chat, most viewers said they intended to travel to Andu and experience the charm of the ancient city that had stood for a thousand years.

Inside the Andu Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Director Zhang Mingyuan slapped his desk in excitement.

“Wonderful! What a performance!”

Watching the comments pour across the livestream, Zhang Mingyuan’s face was filled with a gratified smile.

“This song by Ji Fanxing was practically tailor-made for Andu!”

He remembered how the director of Su City’s Bureau of Culture and Tourism had once bragged that Ji Fanxing’s song Gentle Voices had driven a vigorous boom in tourism across the Jiangnan region. At the time, Zhang Mingyuan had scoffed, thinking that it was only a song—how much influence could it possibly have?

Now, it seemed he had simply been thinking too small.

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Zhang Mingyuan immediately summoned his subordinates for a meeting. They worked through the night to formulate a series of plans for promoting tourism in Andu. He intended to seize this wave of attention and let the entire world see Andu’s allure.

In the study of an apartment, Zhang Ming buried himself in his research, writing furiously.

“The city wall of Andu is thirty-five kilometers in circumference, with sixteen gates...”

He consulted his sources as he recorded notes in a notebook, attempting to reconstruct the majestic splendor of Chang’an in its golden age a thousand years earlier.

There was far too little material available to him, and he remained dissatisfied with everything he wrote.

“Dad! Come quickly! Ji Fanxing is onstage!”

His daughter Zhang Xiaoxiao’s voice came from the living room, interrupting his thoughts.

Zhang Ming frowned, set down his pen, and said displeasedly, “Xiaoxiao, how many times have I told you not to become so absorbed in these entertainment shows? What’s so interesting about those celebrities?”

“Dad, just take a look! Just one look!” Zhang Xiaoxiao pleaded, clinging to his arm.

“No. I need to finish my thesis, and I don’t have time for that boring stuff.” Zhang Ming’s tone was firm.

“Dad, please! Keep me company for a little while. I’ll go study as soon as it’s over!” Zhang Xiaoxiao shook his arm and begged.

Zhang Ming could never resist his daughter’s pleading. With a helpless sigh, he said, “Only for a little while. Once it’s over, go straight back to studying.”

“Okay!”

Zhang Xiaoxiao cheered and pulled him into the living room.

On the television, Ji Fanxing and Chu Hao stood side by side. Behind them stretched a vast painting of Chang’an, its grandeur breathtaking.

“Another cheap gimmick designed to grab attention...” Zhang Ming curled his lip disdainfully.

“Dad, don’t talk. Listen carefully!” Zhang Xiaoxiao stared fixedly at the screen, afraid of missing even the smallest detail.

The melodious sound of an erhu arose, as though drifting from Chang’an a thousand years in the past. Laden with the weight of history, it seized Zhang Ming’s attention at once.

As Chu Hao and Ji Fanxing sang, the splendor of Chang’an in its golden age coincided perfectly with the scene Zhang Ming had constructed in his own mind.

He stared at the television in stunned silence. The disdainful expression he had worn moments earlier was gradually replaced by shock.

Th-this melody...

These lyrics were practically tailor-made for Andu!

A tempest rose within Zhang Ming’s heart. He had spent more than half his life studying Andu’s history, yet never had anyone managed to depict the charm of this thousand-year-old city with such vivid perfection.

“What... what is this song called? Who wrote it?” Zhang Ming murmured, a faint tremor in his voice.

“Dad, it’s called All Things Chang’an! It’s a work Ji Fanxing performed at the listening session!” Zhang Xiaoxiao said excitedly, her face glowing with pride.

“Ji Fanxing...” Zhang Ming repeated the name softly, a strange light flickering in his eyes.