"WOOOOOW—" Cheers erupted throughout the restaurant.
"Jensen Morrison! Jensen Morrison—!"
"James Zimmers! James Zimmers—!"
Everyone was cheering both their names. Even Kira Walton felt a spark of anticipation—if James Zimmers could sing a duet with Jensen Morrison, his fame would surely rise to a new height.
What did it mean to be caught between a rock and a hard place? James Zimmers was now finding out firsthand.
In a situation like this, if he dared to utter a single "no," or even show a flicker of refusal in his eyes, Jensen Morrison's fans would tear him to shreds online. He'd be branded arrogant and ignorant, then forced to crawl out of the entertainment industry in disgrace.
"Thank you for this opportunity, Morrison!" James Zimmers said, walking onto the small stage and giving Jensen Morrison a full ninety-degree bow, adopting a posture of utmost humility.
"Don't be so formal. It must be fate that we'd run into each other in a foreign country." Jensen Morrison smiled, handing a microphone to James Zimmers. "What song should we sing? How about that new single you released before the new year?"
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. Let's sing your song, Morrison, *Deep Sea Starlight*." James Zimmers's back was already soaked in sweat. It wasn't that he was too awestruck by Jensen Morrison to sing his own song; it was that his new single had done incredibly well. If he botched it now, it would be tantamount to digging his own grave.
"Oh, I don't know about that. The fans will say I'm pulling rank and bullying you," Jensen Morrison teased with a smile.
Another wave of cheers swept through the restaurant, with many people shouting out the titles of Jensen Morrison's songs.
"How about this? Let's ask the DJ what the next Chinese song on his playlist is, and we'll sing that. Sound good?" Jensen Morrison asked the crowd. This was a man who rarely smiled, maintaining a cool, aloof persona even at his own fan meet-and-greets. But today, he'd suddenly changed his tune, acting so warm and approachable, smiling constantly. It baffled everyone in the restaurant.
"I want *Deep Sea Starlight*!"
"I want to hear *Deep in the Forest, Seeing Deer*!"
"Morrison! I love you—!"
"Morrison, I want to have your babies—!" someone screamed, completely losing their composure.
Jensen Morrison ignored the clamoring crowd and simply handed a microphone to the young man at the soundboard. The guy, Jason, was a local and spoke almost no Chinese. He could only parrot back what he was told, mangling the pronunciation: "Ooh-choo-eye-fung."
The crowd, having no idea what he'd just said, burst out laughing.
"James Zimmers, do you know which song Jason was trying to name?"
"It's *Nowhere to Place*," James Zimmers answered, privately gritting his teeth while also feeling a wave of relief. He was frustrated because he didn't know the song well, but relieved because its style was a world away from his own. Even if he sang badly, it would be difficult for anyone to draw a direct comparison to his own music.
Jensen Morrison's smile faded, his usual cool and aloof stage presence returning. He slowly raised his hand. "And now, let us begin our performance."
The restaurant instantly fell silent.
"I smell the scent of early spring, like the fresh fragrance of a childhood dream…" Jensen Morrison began a cappella. His voice was as clear and pristine as the skies over the Mirellian Sea, yet held a hint of sexy raspiness. The moment he began to sing, he captured the hearts and souls of everyone present.
Standing in a corner, Ivy Holden was instantly reminded of a particular phrase: 'Total eargasm.'
Jensen Morrison's gaze drifted, seemingly unintentionally, toward a corner. Spotting Ivy Holden recording a video on her phone, he continued to sing: "Oh, my love, after so many years, do you still remember? My longing, my sorrow, my struggle… Don't you know? Without you, this jangling heart of mine… is always, always with nowhere to place."
James Zimmers took a deep breath and picked up the next line: "I return to the road I came from, and there's the moon, lying at the highway's end…"
As his voice filled the restaurant, the crowd seemed a bit baffled.
Someone couldn't help but whisper to the person next to them, "Does his voice sound… a little off to you?"
"Didn't his manager just say James Zimmers didn't sleep well last night and has a sore throat?"
"Even so, it shouldn't sound like *this*, right?"
"It's like a different person is singing…"
"He's completely off-key…"
"Is this a fake James Zimmers or something?"
"Holy crap! What the hell is going on?"
"I could sing better than that…"
"I traveled all this way for my idol, and *this* is the piece of crap I've been stanning??"
...
The whispers from the crowd made James Zimmers even more flustered. In a moment of panic, he even messed up the lyrics. The situation grew more awkward, and his pale, slender face instantly flushed crimson, all the way to his ears.
Suddenly, someone let out a jeer, and the atmosphere in the room completely cratered.
James Zimmers was young, after all, and not mentally tough enough to handle it. He stopped singing immediately. He wasn't a complete fool, though, and knew to make an excuse. "I'm so, so sorry! I'm just incredibly nervous singing a duet with Morrison. The pressure is killing me… Please, forgive me, everyone."
"Oh? So you're saying this is my fault?" Jensen Morrison asked, a playful smile on his face.
"No, no, no, no… Morrison, sir, please don't say that…" James Zimmers looked like he was about to cry.
Just as the awkwardness reached its peak, music suddenly swelled, and a woman's voice rose with it, singing the title track from James Zimmers's most recent album: *Deep in the Forest, Seeing Deer*—
"They say, deep in the forest, one sees a deer; when the sea is blue, one sees a whale; and when the dream ends, I see you…" Holding a microphone, Ivy Holden sang as she wove through the crowd. Step by step, drawing every eye, she walked right up to Issac Sutton and offered him the other microphone in her hand.
James Zimmers's face went bone-white. 'He had to disappear,' he thought desperately. 'Right now. Or maybe a sniper could just put a bullet in his head. That would be good too.'
But reality's script didn't follow his preferred plot line.
Issac Sutton accepted the microphone from Ivy Holden and continued the song: "But in my story, when the forest is deep, the fog rolls in; when the sea is blue, the waves surge; and when the dream ends, the night carries on…"
CRASH—
The entire restaurant was once again filled with the sound of applause.
The scene was becoming chaotic as people started shouting at the top of their lungs: "James Zimmers! James Zimmers! James Zimmers…!"
Issac Sutton followed Ivy Holden toward the stage, singing with deep emotion: "I see no deer, no whale, and not you, either."
Onstage, Ivy turned, waved to the crowd, and sang the next line: "The deer is hidden by fog, the whale submerged in the sea, and you are hidden in my heart."
"At last, the deer steps through the fog, the whale rises with the waves, and I emerge with the night." Finishing the line, Issac Sutton pulled off his mask, revealing a plain, scarred face.
"AHHHH—This guy's voice is identical to the original recording by James Zimmers!" someone yelled, waving their hands frantically.
"That singer! That singer…!"
Everyone in the room had their phones out, recording videos, and some had even started live-streaming. At that moment, standing beside Jensen Morrison, James Zimmers wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.
Ivy Holden glanced at Issac Sutton, who gave her a gentle smile. Together, they sang the chorus: "The forest deer rests by the stream, a love awaits on the city wall. The wind blows, the fog recedes, the sea reflects an endless blue. If you come, then I will wake—to see the deer, to see the whale, and to see you."