Chapter 828: Chapter 824: Encounter Assassination
The modified Volkswagen weaved through the traffic in silence, and half an hour later, arrived at the address given by Shen Yan, an upscale coffee shop in the outskirts.
The driver asked, “Sir, do you need me to wait here?”
“Yeah, just wait here for now.”
Ye Fan entered the coffee shop. Shen Yan wasn’t there yet, so he found a private booth and sat down. After waiting about ten minutes, he saw Shen Yan arrive.
She was wearing a white T-shirt on top, tight denim shorts on the bottom. Her legs were straight and slender without a trace of excess fat. On her feet were white canvas shoes, and she wore a baseball cap on her head. Large round sunglasses covered most of her face.
The last time he saw her, she wore a white floral dress, like a graceful princess, but now, her outfit exuded a youthful and fashionable vibe.
Shen Yan sat down on the sofa opposite Ye Fan, smiled slightly, removed her baseball cap and sunglasses, and said, “I didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly.”
Ye Fan replied, “I just got here.”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, they got down to the main topic.
The production team and contestants had already gone to Hangzhou for a week of preparation. However, Shen Yan had great confidence in Ye Fan. Unlike other contestants, he was invited by the “China’s Good Voice” production team with a substantial investment. The further he advanced, the less the production team would lose; of course, they could potentially earn more, so after understanding these points, Shen Yan wasn’t as anxious as before.
During the last recording, Ye Fan passed the blind audition and chose Yang Kun as his mentor. This trip to Hangzhou was to prepare for the upcoming mentor group PK audition.
“The first round PK is against another contestant within your group. Your opponent is Lu Jiachai, a student from Four-nine City Music College. She’s young, pretty, and excels in pop music, taking the youthful idol route, with quite a bit of popularity.”
Shen Yan said, “The song for your PK is ‘Legend.’ Although this song is a test of singing skills, given your foundation, it shouldn’t be a problem. However…”
She shifted her tone, “The original singer of ‘Legend’ is Li Jian, but a few years ago, during the Tiger Year Spring Festival Gala, Wang Fei’s cover version of ‘Legend’ amazed the whole country. Her ethereal voice became people’s deepest impression of the song.”
Shen Yan looked into Ye Fan’s eyes and said, “I’ve heard Lu Jiachai practicing ‘Legend’ a few days ago. She added some pop elements to it, and with her unique voice and tone, she transformed the song into a completely different style. Frankly speaking, I have to admit that it was a very successful change. I’m sure your mentor Yang Kun put a lot of effort into guiding her.”
Ye Fan frowned slightly, “Is this Lu Jiachai specifically arranged by the production team?”
“I’m afraid so,” Shen Yan took a sip of her coffee, “Your performance during the blind audition was too stunning! The production team arranged it this way not to make things difficult for you but to see if, in your clash with Lu Jiachai, more brilliant sparks could be created.”
“Conflict, collision, and explosive highlights are needed to boost ratings.” Ye Fan said bluntly.
Shen Yan was slightly startled, looking at Ye Fan, surprised at how quickly he grasped the essence of the matter.
She was silent for a moment, then continued, “When Queen Wang Fei sang this song, it quickly became popular for a reason beyond just her ethereal voice. A more profound reason was the emotion embedded in the song.”
Ye Fan was momentarily stunned, as he never really valued his identity as an online singer or regarded music highly.
He had agreed to participate in “China’s Good Voice” at the time for charity.
As he mentioned during the blind audition recording, for him, music was just music; the world is vast, and many things are more sacred and meaningful than music.
In a sense, he was a pragmatist, not overly concerned about music, art, and other metaphysical things.
Up to now, he seldom thought about the emotions expressed in songs or the inner meaning intended by the songs.
“So, within this short time, your singing technique likely won’t change much. You might consider focusing on the song’s connotation.” Shen Yan continued her analysis.
After discussing ‘Legend,’ they talked about the song Ye Fan would solo, ‘Dream’s Wings Are Injured.’ Although noticing Ye Fan wasn’t very enthusiastic, Shen Yan only briefly mentioned some points to be mindful of before saying no more.
The two chatted a bit longer. Seeing it was getting late, they prepared to leave.
Shen Yan put on her baseball cap, and large round sunglasses again, and walked out of the booth shoulder to shoulder with Ye Fan.
The coffee shop owner had chosen this location, considering the quiet environment and rental costs, opting for this not-so-busy and even somewhat isolated place.
So, when they stepped out of the coffee shop, there weren’t many people around.
Shen Yan had driven here. As they reached the parking lot at the entrance, they exchanged a few more words.
Inside the modified Volkswagen, the young driver glanced at the rearview mirror, both envious and jealous, “Just sent away a top-notch mature woman, and now having a tryst with a beautiful lady, this guy really has some good fortune!”
As he was marvelling, he suddenly saw the man suddenly pounce on the woman, pinning her against the car.
“What the hell!” The driver couldn’t help but blurt out a curse, eyes widened, thinking this guy was going for a forceful play right here, in a place !
However, in the next moment, his vision blurred, as something darted over at lightning speed, piercing through the windshield, and then embedded in the back of the front passenger seat.
The fletching of the arrow was still vibrating.
Seeing this power, if it hit someone, they’d either die on the spot or suffer serious injury!
Stunned for a second, the driver panicked, “What the hell is happening here!”
The next moment, another crossbow arrow flew over, hitting the hood of the Volkswagen with a ding, leaving a thumb-sized dent in the steel plate.
Although the young driver still hadn’t figured out the situation, he couldn’t care anymore, quickly pushing the car door open, climbing over the roadside barrier, fleeing head over heels.
The few pedestrians on the road finally reacted, beginning to flee in terror.
Another crossbow arrow whistled through the air.
At this moment, Ye Fan and the panic-stricken Shen Yan had already stood up. Ye Fan quickly pushed Shen Yan and leaned back; the arrow screeched past between them.
Ye Fan stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Shen Yan’s waist, and in a few strides, retreated into the coffee shop, hiding behind the wall.
“What…what’s happening?” Shen Yan’s face was pale, her chest heaving violently.