The entire sports center echoed with the words "Luo Yang, please enter the arena."
Even a deaf person would have heard it.
The host grew more and more embarrassed and had no choice but to bite the bullet and call out again, "Luo Yang, please come up!"
This time, the host didn't say "enter the battlefield" but hoped Luo Yang would bravely step up to the ring.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than someone was seen jogging toward the ring.
That prompted applause from some of the crowd.
Then all the spectators began to clap, evidently cheering Luo Yang on.
At first, most of the audience hadn't made out who was heading for the ring; when they saw it was a beautiful woman, they were quite surprised and thought this beauty was called Luo Yang.
In fact, it was Xu Huimin.
Even the host was taken aback, thinking the fifth contestant was a girl.
"What a heroine, not conceding to men! This female hero..." the host was about to praise with emotion.
Xu Huimin hurriedly waved her hand.
After ascending the ring, Xu Huimin took the microphone from the host and said, "The last to appear, Luo Yang, is special; he is preparing for his entrance ceremony. Please wait. Our TV station has also invited a singer to liven things up. During the break, let's first listen to a few pop songs. Now, let's welcome Shi Nan."
This time, the competition in the ring could be watched for free.
The audience, not expecting to enjoy a performance by a singer, naturally got excited and began to applaud enthusiastically.
Shi Nan was called upon in a time of crisis; had it not been to help Luo Yang, she wouldn't have done such non-paying work so casually.
With a singing program added in the middle, the Japanese side's competitors had some minor complaints, but they had no choice but to accept it.
Kui tou Xiong er, who had held the ring champion title consecutively, even jumped onto the ring's fence, arrogantly celebrating his eventual victory in advance, and after performing a back-flip on the ring, he descended.
In the stands, An Yuying and the other beauties were anxious, yet unable to get through to Luo Yang's phone.
All of them knew that Hong Jiaxin was with Luo Yang, but her phone was also switched off.
Luckily, Chen Jie was there; she called Zhu Li.
Zhu Li answered the phone and said, "Speak."
Chen Jie then asked, "Is Niu Zai with you?"
Luo Yang hadn't told Chen Jie about his brother's kidnapping, so she was unaware.
At that time, Chen Jie was also in the county town.
Zhu Li confirmed he was there and asked what it was about, and Chen Jie relayed the story about the ring competition.
At that point, An Yuying borrowed the phone from Chen Jie and expressed concern, "Niu Zai, you haven't arrived yet? What are you and Jiaxin doing?"
Luo Yang was in turmoil, but his mood lightened slightly upon hearing An Yuying's voice.
"Sister An, I'll come to find you," Luo Yang responded.
"Well hurry up, we're all waiting for you. Shi Nan is singing right now," An Yuying said in a sweet voice.
From the other end of the phone, Luo Yang indeed heard Shi Nan's singing.
"I'll be up there immediately. Really soon," Luo Yang said.
"I want to see you sooner; hurry up," urged An Yuying.
After ending the call, Luo Yang handed the phone back to Zhu Li.
"You go on. I'll take care of things here. There shouldn't be any problems," Zhu Li said with confidence.
"Sister Kick, I'll leave first then. I leave this matter in your hands," Luo Yang said earnestly.
Luo Yang parted with Zhu Li, taking Hong Jiaxin and Luo Guoxing with him to the county town.
The car he drove was the SUV previously driven by Zhu Li.
On the way, Luo Yang warned his brother not to mention anything about the evening's events to anyone.
...
...
After Shi Nan finished singing "The Sudden Me," the audience's reaction was quite good, and she felt invigorated as well.
Standing on the ring's stage, even though it was a small space, it felt like hosting a concert.
For the amateur singer Shi Nan, her coveted dream was to hold a concert of her own.
Even if it were to take place in Honghai County, that would be fine.
Her requirements were not high, as long as people came to listen, that would suffice.
You must know, in the current state of the declining singing industry, even many famous singers encounter extremely unsatisfactory ticket sales for their concerts.
Not to mention an amateur singer like her.
Therefore, Shi Nan's wish was to hold a concert that basically didn't charge for admission, as long as fans came to listen, she would be content.
Now standing on the stage, taking a look around at the thousands of audience members in the stands, they were all there for free.
Having had this opportunity to perform, Shi Nan's wish had been fulfilled.
As the saying goes, "When a person encounters joyful events, they feel elated."
With her mood lifted, Shi Nan let loose her singing voice, achieving an exceptional level of performance, both technically and expressively.
Before the martial arts competition began, it hadn't been announced that there would be a singing performance midway.
Now, not only could the audience enjoy what was quite a formal martial arts match, but they could also listen to a passable concert, and they were thrilled.
The applause and rhythm, even without a band, was better than a band.
Shi Nan was also enjoying herself, singing one song after another.
But after all, this was a martial arts competition, not a concert.
When Shi Nan had finished her third song, Yiye Bupo expressed his displeasure and immediately had the interpreter, Mr. Shen, negotiate with the host.
After Mr. Shen conveyed the situation, the host reluctantly asked Shi Nan to step down and rest.
However, the audience would not have it, chanting in unison for "one more song."
Having no choice, the host invited Shi Nan to sing one last song to satisfy the audience's auditory needs.
One song, from start to finish, plus a minute or two of interaction with the audience added up to about 5 minutes each.
Originally, Shi Nan had sung three songs, taking up almost 15 minutes.
The drive from Hongyun Town to the county city generally takes about twenty minutes.
At this moment, Luo Yang was driving past Renmin Bridge, heading towards the sports center in his off-road vehicle.
Shi Nan did not refuse; taking the microphone, she passionately sang "Do You Know I'm Waiting for You."
Listening to the audience clapping in a uniform rhythm, anyone outside the sports center who didn't know better would indeed think that a concert was taking place inside.
The only puzzling thing was that although there was singing and music, it didn't sound like it was played by a live band.
After finishing the fourth song, Shi Nan wanted to sing a fifth, as she too was caught up in the excitement.
However, the host politely requested that Shi Nan step down to rest.
After all, this was a Chinese-Japanese amateur martial arts competition, not a Chinese-Japanese amateur singing competition.
The audience was still chanting for "one more song," but the host said into the microphone, "The intermission is over, and now let us grandly welcome our final warrior! Please... welcome... Luo Yang!"
Clap, clap, clap...
The applause was thunderous, echoing to the heavens.
On the red carpeted walkway leading to the stage, no figure appeared.
The round of applause had ended.
Yet Luo Yang's figure was nowhere to be seen!
The audience was extremely disappointed, looking at Kui tou Xiong er on the stage, waving his fists in various challenge poses, they felt both anger and helplessness.
The host had no choice but to call out again, "Please... welcome... Luo... Yang... to... battle!"
The host, stretching out every syllable to maximize the delay, almost ran out of breath.
But he also looked very embarrassed.
The entire venue fell silent.
The Japanese team leader, Yiye Bupo, with a contemptuous smile, said coldly, "It seems that Lord Luo has lost his nerve; there's no need to wait any longer."
Mr. Shen agreed, saying, "Lord Yiye speaks the truth."
Just then, a young man appeared casually on the red carpeted walkway.
First, beauties like An Yuying and others excitedly shouted, "Cowboy is here, Cowboy is here."