Chapter 27.1: First Performance (2)
They secretly watched the captain’s expression and heard him speak in a stern, cold voice.
The team members: “…”
This didn’t feel like encouragement at all—it was more like a cold blade pressed to their throats, a blatant threat!
Who else gets repeatedly threatened by their captain right before going on stage?
Oh, right, it’s that Boss Xiu dealing with them—never mind, then!
With the mindset that failure meant being “cut into pieces” by their captain, the team members followed behind Shen Xiu and stepped onto the stage…
——
Click!
A crisp sound echoed through the venue as the lights snapped off, plunging everything into pitch-black darkness where you couldn’t even see your own hand.
Before the audience could stir in confusion, a single spotlight suddenly lit up the front of the stage.
That lone beam of light in the entire space drew everyone’s attention instinctively. The audience held their breath, fell silent, and fixed their gaze on that one point, curiosity burning.
Within the pale spotlight stood a throne, forged from countless swords of varying lengths, each marred with scratches and marks. Green-leafed thorns wrapped around it, and vivid red roses bloomed brightly all around the throne.
Seated upon that iron throne of swords, entangled with roses and thorns, was a strikingly handsome man. He wore ornate, medieval-style clothing, had long silver-white hair, and a pale face. His eyes were closed.
It was Shen Xiu.
His hands were clasped together and rested gently on his abdomen, his expression peaceful.
Ding-ling…
A clear bell rang out suddenly, breaking the midnight silence.
Two more beams of light shot down from above. In front of the rose-covered throne, two jesters—played by Ke Zi’an and Zhou Tong—knelt on one knee, one to the left and one to the right. Their heads were bowed toward the white-haired man seated on the rose throne with closed eyes.
In a strange, singsong tone full of theatrical flair, the jesters respectfully called out to awaken the master on the throne: “My lord.”
Following the grotesque, uncanny voices of the jesters, the pale-skinned, silver-haired man slowly opened his eyes. His white lashes lifted, revealing crimson pupils that swept across the entire hall.
In that moment, he was no longer Shen Xiu, but the very embodiment of the powerful, proud, cold, and indifferent Lord of the Night as described in the lyrics of Blood Romance.
“As sunlight fades, the night descends with silent moonlight…”
His deep, icy voice undulated like a haunting melody, singing of the chilling stillness that belonged only to the night.
The moment Shen Xiu opened his mouth, the grandeur and eerie atmosphere of the night were set. Everything hidden in the darkness slowly began to awaken…
The audience: “!!!”
[!!!]
[Holy crap, that entrance was insane—I’ve got goosebumps all over!]
After a grand chorus, the spotlight returned to Shen Xiu.
He leaned slightly to the left, the back of his left hand resting gently against his cheek. His crimson eyes stared ahead with his chin lifted ever so slightly. In his right hand, he swirled a goblet of dark red liquid. Under the stage lights, his silver-white hair shimmered like moonlight, now tinged with a sacred hue stained in blood.
His lips parted. That deep, timeworn, yet elegant voice carried into every corner of the venue:
“The crimson moon sways within the glass… let the blood-feast begin…”
The light then shifted to the werewolf, who wore a headpiece with ears and fangs. As he stepped atop a massive stone, he suddenly threw his head back and tore apart his shirt with both hands.
Fabric exploded off his body and fell in tatters around his waist. Under the lights, his fierce, shadowy eyes locked onto the audience. From deep in his throat came a hoarse, growling voice:
“…Tonight, I will tear your fragile throat with my fangs…”
Elsewhere, a pale-faced zombie in traditional garb tilted his head to gaze up at the moon. Beneath the full moon, he opened a paper parasol and let out a sigh-like, ethereal melody:
“Cracking open the skull to serve fresh brain on a platter—such exquisite delicacy…”
At the dining table, a zombie dressed in a suit and bow tie elegantly carved into the brain on his plate, murmuring in low, pleased tones of delight.
Under the moonlight, the twin demons smiled gently at each other, caressing each other’s faces—only to suddenly draw daggers and stab them into each other’s chests without hesitation. As they collapsed in an embrace, a mournful death song echoed.
The twin jesters danced a grotesque, twisted jig around the blood-soaked demons, cheering in crazed delight.
A lost magician, having stumbled into this blood-soaked night, clutched his broom in confusion and panic, letting out a startled cry before fleeing the scene…
Each solo scene and solo performance was distinct and full of character. And yet, when the chorus came together, though you could still clearly hear each unique voice, they blended perfectly. Not a single note felt out of place.
Individually, every performer was a singular, irreplaceable presence. Together, they formed a hauntingly harmonious whole.
What was once a painfully long three and a half minutes in the original Blood Romance now passed in a heartbeat—“a fleeting three and a half minutes.”
“…see you again.”
As the final, drawn-out note faded away, Shen Xiu slowly closed his crimson eyes.
The two jesters stood before the throne, holding hands, and bowed to the silver-haired man seated on the rose-covered throne. In bright, cheerful unison, their voices rang out:
“Yes, my Lord.”
The house lights came on.
Under the watchful gaze of the entire audience, every performer on stage remained frozen in the exact poses they held when the night first descended—as though time itself had stopped in eternal darkness.
Blood Romance thus came to an end.
As the lights fully illuminated the venue, every member of Shen Xiu’s team began a familiar countdown in their minds: Five… Four… Three… Two… One!
With the final count, the performance was truly over. The team members straightened up, stepping out of their fantasy roles and returning to reality. In silence, they walked over to Shen Xiu’s side and lined up neatly beside him.
At that moment, every member of the team had only one thought in their minds: It’s finally over!
But almost immediately, worry crept in. With anxious eyes, they looked out at the countless audience members in front of them.
A performance like that—did it even pass?
The venue fell into a few seconds of eerie silence…
And then, like a dam bursting, a thunderous wave of applause erupted.
Clap clap clap…
The sound of clapping merged with the excited chatter of the crowd.
“Elegant—absolutely elegant! Every single member sang with such emotion and skill, it all flowed so naturally. Beautiful and seamless! I swear, my soul feels purified after watching this.”
“I never imagined Blood Romance could be like this! The moment Boss Xiu started singing, it gave the entire song a new feel. With the costumes and set combined, it felt like I’d been dropped into a dark night full of hidden dangers and bloodshed. Absolutely insane!”
“I’m so moved… It truly felt like I lived through a midnight blood-soaked masquerade. This is the real Blood Romance!”
“This is opera! After the adaptation and their performance, the artistic level has gone up to a whole new dimension!”
“This is crazy. Is this what people mean by ‘layers’? The depth is unreal!”
The audience’s thunderous applause continued without pause, wave after wave. Only then did the tension in Shen Xiu’s team finally begin to ease—they could breathe again.
They… really did it. They actually succeeded!
Meanwhile, the livestream comment section was so flooded with messages that the screen practically froze.
[The elegant and terrifying Lord of the Night, Vampire Shen Xiu, sipping blood from a wine glass… The werewolf Ying Zi’ang watching in silence before exploding into violence… The pale-skinned, paper-umbrella-carrying zombie boy Qin Hua… The bow-tied, brain-eating zombie Jiang Yuheng with a fork and knife… The adorably creepy twin jesters Ke Zi’an and Zhou Tong… The mutual backstabbing yet death-embracing twin demons Xiang Yueting and Xia Wenhao… And the confused little wizard Lu Qian bumbling through the bloodstained night on his broom… Holy crap, I remembered all of them!]
[Each of them had such a distinct and vivid presence, yet together they fit perfectly in the stillness of this bloodstained night.]
[Even though Boss Xiu wasn’t lying in a rose-filled coffin, he was seated on a throne wrapped in thorns and roses—with that long white hair and those red eyes… awsl (I’m dying from the beauty)!]
[A visual and auditory feast on this level—how is it possible I got to witness this for such a small price?! Who can relate?! I’ve got goosebumps all over—not from cringe, but from awe! Calling this a ‘stunning stage’ isn’t even doing it justice!]
[Shen Xiu’s team went absolutely feral—they slayed!]
…
Backstage.
The chief director’s eyes were red with emotion. He was pacing back and forth, too fired up to sit still.
“I knew it! I knew Shen Xiu could do it! This—this is exactly the effect I wanted!”
The assistant director discreetly rolled his eyes. ‘Wow, look at you taking all the credit now.’
As the first group to take the stage out of all twelve, and the group that drew the most difficult song, Shen Xiu’s team didn’t just capture the audience’s full attention—they also had the other eleven teams watching closely.
After Shen Xiu’s performance ended, the atmosphere in each of the other teams’ dressing rooms turned… unnaturally quiet.
They all knew Shen Xiu was strong. But when they saw he’d drawn such a “death sentence” of a song, they assumed he’d manage to “revive” it at best—just barely bring it to life.
What they never expected… was that he’d push it to its absolute limit.
The lighting, costumes, makeup, props—everything was flawless, down to the last detail.
But what really blew them away: every single member was operating at peak performance.
From their vocals, facial expressions, gaze direction, stage movement—it was all so perfect, it didn’t even seem like the same people they’d seen before.
It was like their bodies had been possessed by stage demons.
They weren’t even on the same level anymore.
Even before the next performance began, everyone found themselves thinking the same thing:
Best debut performance of the night? Without a doubt—it’s Shen Xiu’s team.
And as for Shen Xiu himself, as the team leader… he’s terrifying.
“Shen Xiu… is he even human?” muttered Luo Yuan from Zhuang Yi’s team.
Luo Yuan’s voice was soft, but in the silence where even breathing could be heard, it was impossible for the rest of the room not to catch it.
Everyone looked over at Luo Yuan. They didn’t say anything, but their eyes all clearly said: ‘We agree.’
As the team set to directly compete with Shen Xiu’s, Zhuang Yi had previously been happy about drawing Shen Xiu’s team.
Now, he just wanted to say one word: “Unlucky.”
Hearing Luo Yuan’s comment only piled on more pressure for Zhuang Yi. As he looked away from Luo Yuan, he noticed something was off with Lin Jiashi—his face was so pale it could rival the zombie on stage, Qin Hua.
“Lin Jiashi.” Zhuang Yi waved a hand in front of him. “What’s wro—”
He was about to ask what was wrong, but then he noticed Lin Jiashi’s hand was shaking.
“Why is your hand trembling?”
Lin Jiashi snapped out of it at the sound of Zhuang Yi’s voice.
“I-I’m fine…” he said weakly, not sounding fine at all. Especially with that expression.
Zhuang Yi was about to comfort him.
“You—”
But Lin Jiashi abruptly stood up, cutting him off.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
Before Zhuang Yi could say another word, Lin Jiashi had already turned and walked off.
Watching his retreating figure, Zhuang Yi could only call after him:
“Don’t take too long!”
As Lin Jiashi’s silhouette disappeared from view, Luo Yuan leaned in and whispered:
“Captain, should we maybe tell Lin Jiashi to take out the red contacts? I mean, it’s one thing he didn’t dye his hair black like the rest of us, but wearing red contacts too? It’s kinda weird…”
Lin Jiashi’s hair color was already different from the rest of their team, and now he was wearing red contact lenses too—on stage, it was obvious who drew the most attention.
Zhuang Yi, as the strongest performer in Class A, didn’t care for these kinds of petty tricks, but the rest of the team were clearly unhappy about it.
Zhuang Yi didn’t want to offend anyone, so he said, “Alright, I’ll bring it up first later, and we’ll all speak together.”
