The people inside the stadium erupted into applause once again, and the thunderous clapping rolled through the area like waves crashing against a cliff. Everyone witnessed this moment.
The goddess standing on that stage... The prodigy who had made the world gasp in amazement... From this point onward, she would truly rise.
Her first belief had appeared long ago: Shine as early as possible.
Her first goal had also been carved into her heart: Defeat the father she saw as the enemy of her life.
But now, Little Shuying felt less like a person and more like moonlight descending from the heavens. Brilliant and untouchable. Destined to ascend higher and higher until one day she would return fully to the sky itself, radiating light no one could ignore.
And Yu Ye... He was like soil buried beneath history. Ancient. Silent. Unchanging. Without even the faintest glimmer.
"It's time to end this. Next time... I'll rise completely. It begins with Under the Sea. No one will suppress my talent anymore. Singing, composition, music, acting, writing, literature. Everything. Father... The enemy of my life... You will never defeat me again."
Now, at this very moment, Shuying suppressed every emotion inside herself; only those words remained.
And reality proved her right. From the age of five onward, she truly began to rise. As for the so-called father, that lonely man trapped inside the slums. That man wandering endlessly through darkness. That man is searching helplessly for meaning in life. He seemed destined to remain below forever.
At that same instant, the comment streams as everything flared simultaneously.
"The goddess has risen!"
"So this was the moment she truly began seeing her father as her lifelong rival!"
"This childhood ambition is incredible!"
"Her father probably never imagined how terrifyingly talented his daughter would become."
"He's trapped by mediocrity, while she broke through everything!"
"This is where Yu Shuying truly separated herself from her family and began her astonishing rise!"
At this moment, Shuying stood beneath the spotlight once more. The noise faded. The cheering faded. Everything faded. Only her confidence remained and it dazzled the entire audience.
Meanwhile, the hourglass of time continued to flow. The fourth year of Little Shuying's life... Reached its end. Four years and twelve months. On this day, Ye said Shuying would not rise.
And on this same day, he finished his part-time courier sorting shift. At two o'clock in the morning, he walked home alone. Past dim streetlights. Past filthy alleyways that smelled of dampness and decay. Past drunk alcoholics staggering along broken roads. Past distant groups of teenagers fighting beneath flickering lights.
Until finally, he returned to the old neighborhood. Dark, quiet, and lonely. Only then did he begin humming softly.
"Scattered moonlight cuts through clouds..."
"Hiding from the crowd..."
"Scales beneath the sea..."
"Waves soak the white dress..."
"Trying to push you back..."
"The waves wash away blood..."
"Trying foolishly to warm you..."
"Listen to the depths of the sea..."
"Whose crying guides the way..."
"The soul remains silent..."
"No one wakes you..."
That voice... Hoarse. Worn. Heavy with exhaustion. The kind of voice only someone crushed by life could possess, and he sang beautifully. Years of suffering had polished his voice into something deeper. Something heavier. Every note carried a story, and every breath carried pain. And in this era, this song had never appeared before.
Inside the stadium, at the very edge of the audience, he smiled quietly, then he removed a handkerchief. Fresh blood stained his forehead.
Hematohidrosis. An incurable illness. Unpredictable and cruel. He wiped away the blood, and his eyes were red.
On the giant screen, his thirty-year-old self walked alone through darkness. But reality pulled him back. Now, he was already over fifty. He lowered his head slightly and hummed softly.
"Scattered moonlight cuts through..."
"Clouds..."
But before he could finish, tears had already fallen. He was a transmigrator. After the divorce... After illness... After discovering that this era lacked countless works that once existed...
But none of it mattered, because he was dying. And in what little time remained, he only wanted one thing: to raise his daughter well. Not merely to make her ambitious but to make her strong enough... To carry those ambitions.
None of it mattered anymore. Nothing. His failing heart. His weakening pulse. Everything told him the same truth. Time was running out. Pain he had endured for more than ten years was finally becoming unbearable.
Yet strangely, he felt peaceful and comfortable. He only wanted one final thing: to hear his daughter call him "Father."
People approaching death rarely cling to anger. Instead, they think of what matters most. The people they love most.
And at this exact moment, the entire show exploded because everyone realized something terrifying. This terminally ill man is connected to that song. Connected to Yu Shuying. According to the timeline, it should still be months before Shuying officially created and performed it.
"How is this possible..." Cheng stared blankly, and his expression became complicated. He unconsciously stepped backward. "No... That can't be possible..."
Shuying froze as the confidence from moments ago quietly shattered. She stared at the man singing. Standing beneath the broken entrance of an old neighborhood. Standing before twelve worn apartment buildings. His voice sounded cold and lonely. Like December wind. Directionless yet stubbornly moving forward.
His body looked frighteningly thin. Seventy pounds. Fragile. Almost skeletal beneath the cold night. His pale face carried an unsettling whiteness. Yet even now, his features remained refined.
Shuying fell silent. She remembered creating this song herself. Every line. Every emotion. She created it. Then why, why was this man singing it? Just like... Insect Flying. Again. And again. Was he helping her?
A terrifying thought suddenly appeared. If... If this man had never become sick... Then... How far could he have gone? Even after losing two songs, she remained extraordinary. Brilliant. A genius admired by countless people.
And Yu Ye was only a coughing man buried beneath the dust of society. A man who always lowered his head.
"I'm sorry. Even if this song belongs to you... The gamble of this life... I'll still win." Shuying spoke quietly because surrender never existed inside her.
Once she decided to shine, she would never allow herself to lose. Not in academics. Not in talent. Not in life. She crushed every rival before her. Again and again.
But now, looking at this man, she hesitated. For the first time. Between herself... And him... In this gamble called life, who would truly win?