Chapter 131: Yesterday

When Bai Yao’s voice rose again, everyone in the café felt as if they were about to be intoxicated by such a stylish performance. Several young men beside Feng Zheng wore expressions of infatuation. They simply couldn’t understand how Bai Yao, with her once-ruined vocal cords, could sing such moving ballads. Whoever married this girl would surely be the happiest person alive!

Most viewers in the livestream were hearing Bai Yao sing live for the first time. Unlike the wild metal vocals from “You Were Once a Beautiful Corpse,” Bai Yao’s rendition of “The World” was deeply heartfelt, stunning many listeners. Zhao Jing’s livestream audio system wasn’t very high-end, and the sound card was ordinary, causing some distortion in transmission. Listening to Huang Guolun and Bai Yao sing online was only half as good as hearing them live.

It was this distortion that made netizens feel Bai Yao’s extraordinary voice had even more flair than Huang Guolun’s. The chatroom was abuzz with exclamations:

“Bai’s voice is amazing! I’m so captivated, what should I do?”

“She sounds awful when she talks, but her singing is incredible. What a magical voice!”

“She’s my new wife! Don’t even think about competing with me! Anyone who tries will have to deal with me!”

“Jing Ge can step aside now! This livestream belongs to the busty girl from now on!”

“This is the real homebody goddess, nothing fake like Jing Ge!”

...

Watching the fans gush, Zhao Jing didn’t bother arguing. The total value of gifts flooding the livestream was rapidly approaching 500 yuan, and the viewer count was nearing 5,000. This put Zhao Jing in a fantastic mood. She glanced at the main page of Qing Tian Livestream. Their room wasn’t yet on the front page; viewers had to scroll back two pages to find it. Rooms featured on the front page all had over 10,000 viewers. The most popular one was a well-known gaming streamer’s competition broadcast, drawing a staggering one million viewers. Although that number was probably inflated, even half a million concurrent viewers was impressive.

Zhao Jing dreamed that if their livestream could be that popular tonight, she would be more than satisfied—even just 100,000 genuine viewers would be enough.

Back in the café, Bai Yao’s performance of “The World” had everyone entranced. When the song ended, Feng Zheng immediately applauded enthusiastically, “That was amazing! Xiao Bai, you’re destined to be a diva someday!”

Wang Peng leaned over to Jiang Lili and whispered, “Xiao Bai really has the potential to become a mid-range contralto queen. Her voice is so rare and recognizable, it’s scary.”

Jiang Lili laughed, “Just judging by the voice alone, I think Xiao Bai is even better than Teacher Huang.”

Wang Peng stroked his chin thoughtfully, “Well, to each their own. It’s like comparing Tsai Chin to Eason Chan or Jacky Cheung. You might think Tsai Chin’s voice is better, but a lot more people prefer Eason’s singing.”

Jiang Lili considered this and said, “True, they both sing beautifully anyway.”

Feng Zheng led the cheers, “Xiao Bai, one more!”

Many others joined in, shouting, “One more! One more!”

Bai Yao turned and smiled at Huang Guolun, silently asking whether she should continue or if they should take turns singing.

Seeing how much the students adored Bai Yao, Huang Guolun decided not to spoil their fun. Smiling, he said to Bai Yao, “You go ahead. Which song do you want to sing?”

“Yesterday?”

“Okay.”

Huang Guolun gave an approving gesture and began playing the iconic chord progression of “Yesterday.”

The noisy café gradually quieted down as everyone focused once more on Bai Yao’s performance.

No introduction was needed for “Yesterday.” As soon as Bai Yao started singing, everyone instantly recognized the classic tune.

Compared to Mandarin songs, Bai Yao usually listened to more English music and preferred singing in English. When she used to perform with a band in Houhai, most of her covers were Western songs. This time, however, Huang Guolun had arranged mostly Chinese songs for their rehearsal, with only two English pieces: the ending theme of “You Were Once a Beautiful Corpse” and “Yesterday.”

Initially, Huang Guolun had planned to sing “Yesterday” himself. But one day, hearing Bai Yao hum it with her languid, deep bass voice that carried a jazzy allure, he immediately assigned the song to her. It felt perfect.

A voice like Bai Yao’s, with such a rich low register, when covering classics, transcends gender boundaries and exudes a unique brilliance that touches listeners deeply. Even Huang Guolun himself loved hearing her interpretations of these timeless songs.

Now fully immersed as a fan, Huang Guolun played emotionally charged chords while silently humming the rhythm along with Bai Yao’s jazz rendition.

As Bai Yao opened her mouth, Huang Guolun closed his eyes behind his sunglasses, wearing an expression of pure enjoyment, listening intently to her soulful version of “Yesterday”:

“Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away…”

(“Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.”)

(“But now I’m filled with worry.”)

(“Oh, I’d rather believe in yesterday.”)

Bai Yao’s voice was so deep and resonant; the melody so elegant. Together, they calmed and delighted everyone in the café, who once again lost themselves in her singing, savoring every note.

The story behind this Beatles classic was quite fascinating.

It was said the melody came to Paul McCartney in a dream. Upon waking, the tune lingered vividly in his mind. So beautiful and complete, McCartney initially thought he had subconsciously borrowed it from someone else’s work. He played it on the piano and recorded it.

In the weeks that followed, he played the tune for friends, asking if anyone recognized it, but no one could identify it. After consulting many musicians, McCartney finally confirmed it was his original creation, not a copy. Only then did he begin writing lyrics.

At first, McCartney scribbled silly placeholder words like “Scrambled eggs, oh, baby I love your legs” to fit the melody. Later, before the official release, he wrote the real lyrics for “Yesterday,” carefully crafting rhymes like “all my troubles seemed so far away” and adding “suddenly” to match the rhythm.

McCartney’s lyric writing flowed smoothly, and Bai Yao’s singing was equally effortless and elegant:

“Suddenly, I’m not half the man I used to be…”

(“Suddenly, I’m not the same as before.”)

(“His shadow lingers still.”)

(“Oh, memories flood my mind.”)

“Why he had to go, I don’t know, she wouldn’t say…”

(“Why did he leave without a word?”)

(“I must have said something wrong, so I quietly wait for yesterday.”)

(Note: The lyrics were written half by McCartney and half by Lennon.)

Bai Yao’s deep bass shone brilliantly on this universally familiar song. Every relaxed vibrato stirred emotions that made hearts sway.

The brightly lit café transformed into a romantic atmosphere bathed in candlelight, all conjured by Bai Yao’s voice.

Some listeners felt warmth and sweetness, others sorrow and loneliness.

Zhao Yan, busy all day, finally found a few minutes to rest. Sitting on a small round stool by the kitchen door, leaning against the frame, she listened to Bai Yao’s rendition of the British oldie, as if it were playing from a vinyl record, her heart swelling with warmth.

The power of Bai Yao’s “Yesterday” was so captivating that Zhao Yan didn’t want to look away even to glance at Huang Guolun.

She gazed at Bai Yao with tender affection, her clear eyes filled with hazy poetry, like a child lost in a fairy tale, forgetting the harsh realities of earning a living. She just wanted to drown in this song and linger in that blissful state.

Bai Yao herself was enjoying her singing immensely. After all this time rehearsing with Huang Guolun, her skills had improved tremendously, and her confidence soared. Though she still had a long way to go with pitch control and breath technique, her overall feel for singing had become fluid and expressive.

Especially when relaxed, singing classics like “Yesterday,” she resembled a jazz diva intoxicated by her own voice, her very breath enchanting listeners.

“Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play…”

(“Yesterday, love was so simple.”)

(“But now I want to escape.”)

(“Oh, I’d rather believe in yesterday.”)

At the song’s close, everyone in the café felt swept up in the vinyl-like whirlpool Bai Yao’s voice wove around them.

This distinctive, textured live performance was many listeners’ first experience hearing such soulful beauty face to face.

Only then did they truly realize how music could be so soulful and exquisite.

Though the livestream viewers couldn’t fully grasp the profound impact of hearing Bai Yao live, her remarkable low bass voice still radiated unparalleled beauty through digital restoration. More and more of Zhao Jing’s loyal fans were ready to switch their allegiance to Bai Yao.

Those who hadn’t yet seen “You Were Once a Beautiful Corpse” grew intensely curious after hearing Bai Yao’s two songs. They wanted to see how this busty girl performed in China’s acclaimed zombie film.

At least a hundred viewers, captivated by Bai Yao’s singing, opened new tabs to watch “You Were Once a Beautiful Corpse” on video platforms.