Chapter 646: The Benefit of Admitting Defeat

The lights onstage diminished slowly and darkness spread out.

All that was left was a spotlight like a moon shining over them.

Bai Murong kept his back straight and tall as he knelt and looked up at the girl with the glorious voice. Her hair was braided elaborately, making her look like a goddess, and she was wearing a mermaid-like dress with a chiffon tail embroidered with pearls. She had the look of perfection and made it hard for the audience to tear their eyes away from her.

Tonight was her night.

His voice rang out, full of passion and ardor. "To be conquered completely by you..."

His opening sentence was enough to leave the audience in awe. Many singers had covered "Conquered." Some of the covers were impressive, but none held a candle to Bai Murong's version. He was a heavenly king in the industry that possessed a soulful voice. The audience hadn't yet recovered from the first sentence when the second rang out.

"You've cut off all my escape routes..."

The audience was completely silent as they gave him full attention.

Bai Murong was conquered by Xia Ling, and they were conquered by him as well.

This was the force and presence of a heavenly king. Even if he had lost, even if he was singing while kneeling, he still managed to enthrall them all and move their hearts. The third and fourth lines followed after.

He slowly but surely sang through the entire song.

Xia Ling stood a step in front of him silently listening to his song.

Her expression was full of elegance, and she did not sway with the music but was like a queen sitting on her throne receiving the worship of her courtier. Everything seemed so regal, but it looked just the way it should be.

Even though Bai Murong's voice was so mesmerizing, and even though he was so well-respected as a heavenly king.

Everything still seemed so right for her to be standing in front of him and receiving his worship.

The director signaled for the cameras to zoom in slowly, filming them from all around. He was also a veteran director and nothing should faze him. However, he was almost shaking with excitement at the scene that had unfolded and barked out at the lighting technician, "Just use this light! Don't change it! Don't move it at all!"

The warm spotlight shone down on the two onstage.

One standing, one kneeling, blending together in perfection, a scene that could be captured for eternity.

It was so simple but so beautiful, something that was extremely hard to achieve. Yet, the two onstage — heavenly king Bai Murong and Xia Ling who was being conferred the title of Queen — played this out to perfection. Their poise and presence did not require lighting effects to bring out. All it needed was one spotlight.

Outside the stadium, online.

Bai Murong's fans stopped their squabbling as they watched the live broadcast of the concert.

There was no denying that this scene was astonishingly beautiful.

Bai Murong didn't have the despondency of a loser but seemed like a reverent follower watching the goddess that he had chased after for so long, worshipping her with his song.

This was worship, wasn't it?

Bai Murong's gaze was full of sincerity as if he was truly being conquered by her and was not acting. It was not only her singing that made him bow down in defeat but her character as well. When they had collaborated, she had covered for him and pushed him to a breakthrough without asking for anything in return.

Now, it was his turn to return the favor.

With this song — "Conquered".

Bai Murong sang with all his heart and displayed all that he had in this one song, giving Xia Ling all the respect that he thought she deserved. After the song, there was a long period of silence as everyone stared in awe.

After a long while, there was a sudden eruption of applause in the audience.

Xia Ling raised her hand slightly, signaling for Bai Murong to stand up.

Her gaze had the glint of a smile and full of praise.

Bai Murong's eyes were also smiling as he bowed slightly to kiss her hand. "My queen." He said in his deep and attractive voice. "Is this acceptable?"

"Perfect." She complimented.

He smiled and kissed her hand again.

The applause in the stadium was like thunder.

This was certainly an amazing battle. From Bai Murong's high-quality concert the night before to the unrivaled performance that Ye Xingling put up today. And then seeing Bai Murong kneel down and sing the most reverent "Conquered" they had ever heard.

The whole series of events was like waves after waves of pure delight.

Discussions broke out everywhere about this scene where Bai Murong knelt down and sealed Xia Ling's queen Diva status, lifting her up from an A-lister to a superstar.

Ye Xingling's fans celebrated.

However, there were also many dejected Bai Murong fans, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge their Heavenly king's loss. How could he have possibly lost to Ye Xingling? He had merely given in to her!

"A gentleman doesn't fight with the ladies." Many of Bai Murong's supporters expounded. "Bai Murong must have let Ye Xingling win because she's a lady."

"Exactly, exactly." Comments in agreement followed closely after.

Hence, both their fans started to squabble endlessly again.

Tan Ying scolded Bai Murong for being a useless fellow and summoned him to his office to reprimand him. "Are you lacking a nerve in your brain?! Why did you admit defeat to Ye Xingling or even go watch her concert?!"

"I truly can't match up to her." Bai Murong did not fear Tan Ying.

Tan Ying was furious. "How many people can truly tell that you can't match up to her?!" Even someone with such a high position in the industry like him could not judge between the two of them, let alone the typical fan. "If you just refuse to admit defeat, who will dare judge on the matter? See what you've done now! You've willingly demoted yourself to a position under her!" Tan Ying almost suspected that Bai Murong was doing this just to spite him.

Bai Murong merely narrowed his eyes and retorted in a calm voice. "If I didn't admit defeat, that would truly be demoting myself."

Tan Ying slammed the table. "What rubbish!"

Bai Murong shrugged.

"What's this kind of attitude?!" Tan Ying started to get even angrier.

Bai Murong said, "General Manager Tan, I think you are biased against Xiao Ling and are being blinded by your biased views. Can't you tell? With her current presence and poise, it won't be long before she leapfrogs me and soars to the top like a Phoenix. No, it's a matter of time before she leapfrogs everyone in the industry. When she's left everyone else in the dust, the media and netizens will recall this day that I didn't admit defeat. I would be a laughingstock then, and my entire image would be ruined."

This was a fact.

While he did have a good relationship with Xiao Ling, it wasn't to the point that he was willing to demote himself and be stepped on by her. He was willing to admit defeat and sing her "Conquered" on his knees precisely because of what he had observed.

If he didn't admit defeat, it would just be a cause for embarrassment in the future. Many people would say, "Why couldn't Bai Murong appreciate such talent? Was he just so without class and taste? How could he not tell that Ye Xingling was singing way better than him?"

If he admitted defeat, people would say instead that, "Heavenly King Bai is indeed a heavenly king. When all of us felt that Ye Xingling's singing was not top-class, he had recognized the talent and potential within her."

Furthermore, there was another benefit...