Because a movie's runtime is limited, no matter how skillful the storytelling, it's impossible to show every detail.
So, after lifting up the dream-chasing father who'd never really fallen into despair, after bringing him back into the family portrait's light — a series of montages appeared before the audience:
The family decided to accompany Lily Zeller to The Voice competition.
Since the family had six members but the father's car only seated five, Dad volunteered to go borrow another car.
After dinner, Grandpa went to rest, Mom tidied up the table, and Lily's uncle and older sister both came to her room one after another to apologize — they hadn't meant to discourage her — and they even brought her small gifts of blessing.
Then—
The little anthropomorphic beaver appeared.
And then—
Lily Zeller was astonished.
"Oh— such a cute girl… is actually me?"
"Yeah~"
"Oh my god, when did you paint this?"
"Uh… last year?"
"So could you tell me why you painted it? Also— why the mustache? Not that I dislike it, I just want to know where that idea came from!"
"Oh~ no problem~ That's the Little Beaver."
Her sister smiled and said,
"Remember last year, when our whole family went to see Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone? You said you really liked Hermione Granger.
Then Mom, Dad, Uncle, Grandpa, and I all thought you looked just like Isabella Haywood.
And Hermione's nickname was 'Miss Beaver.'
So… um… inspiration struck. I thought, 'If you were Hermione, what would that look like?'
But now, I just want to say— I hope you can be as successful as Isabella."
"Oh~~~ thank you~~~"
Though her sister's words were a bit long-winded, Lily understood perfectly.
When she raised her brows, curved her lips into a smile, and happily accepted the painting—
British and American theaters erupted in laughter.
"OMG— that line killed me! 'Such a cute girl… is actually me?' Did Isabella really write this scene? She's literally praising herself!"
"Ohhhh I need the behind-the-scenes for this! I can't believe she didn't burst out laughing while filming it!"
"Okay okay okay, I now fully believe The Voice's story was written by Isabella herself. Only the person involved could write something this adorably narcissistic, hahahahaha—"
The structure of The Voice was, in fact, quite simple:
Those who've lost hope in life — the losers — are painted in gray.
Those full of passion and optimism — the winners — are in color.
That's it.
Once that contrast was established, the tone of the movie became easy to track.
Whenever the losers appeared, the entire film's tone sank into melancholy.
Whenever the winners showed up, the atmosphere brightened.
So, after lighting up the "loser dad," the movie instantly shot from hell to heaven.
The gloom vanished, and laughter filled the screen.
This cheerful, comedic unfolding — that was Lily Zeller's essence.
She was the little angel who brought happiness and hope to everyone.
After the reconciliation scenes ended, the screen cut again—
The next day — departure.
The family officially began their road trip. British countryside scenery unfurled before the audience — stunningly beautiful, making British viewers proud and the American audience gape.
In the car, Lily found musical inspiration and began scribbling lyrics. Meanwhile, Grandpa, now sobered up, started reminiscing about the past.
Since Grandpa's "light" hadn't yet been switched on, the tone dimmed back to gray.
As he gazed out the window, Grandpa lamented the lost glory of the British Empire — how it had once been unmatched, but was now in decline.
Uncle immediately objected, saying Britain was still great.
And once a conflict appears — a story begins.
From their argument, the audience learned something new:
Uncle had once been the family's pride.
Years ago, the boy from a small village had entered Cambridge through sheer brilliance.
After graduating, he even stayed for his master's and PhD — the family's shining star.
But just when everyone thought his future limitless, he came home one day — with his luggage.
Why? Because though he'd pursued his PhD… he couldn't finish it.
His dissertation topic? One of the most counterintuitive problems in mathematics: the Hodge Conjecture.
"Riley, can you tell me why you chose that topic?"
His argument with Grandpa piqued the sister's curiosity.
"If every math PhD had to solve one of the Seven Millennium Problems, there'd be no PhDs left in the world! So why pick that one?"
"Because over at Oxford, there was a doctoral thesis on the Riemann Hypothesis," the uncle replied.
"What???"
The sister frowned.
"So someone at Oxford picked the Riemann Hypothesis, and you just had to pick the Hodge Conjecture? What kind of logic is that?!"
"I don't get it!"
"Why not choose something easier so you could actually graduate?"
Her tilted head and sharp gaze made Uncle fall silent. His lips tightened, his eyes flickered — as if she'd struck the truth.
The sister's artist's intuition sensed something deeper, while Grandpa gave a cold snort.
"Because Riley wanted to be the center of attention."
"He was admired by everyone since childhood — the brightest student in school. But when he got to Cambridge, he realized… there were many just as smart as him."
"He couldn't stand it. So he kept studying, harder and harder… hoping to reclaim that spotlight."
"He didn't understand — in math, problems that stump others for life might be scribbles to a true genius. He couldn't accept his own mediocrity. So he chose an impossible problem — and prayed for a miracle."
As Grandpa spoke, Uncle's face flushed red like a boiled shrimp.
Unable to bear it, he yanked at the car door — locked — then rolled down the window, trying to climb out.
Everyone panicked, shouting for him to stop.
Even the father turned to look—
Bang!
He crashed straight into a tree.
Uncle tumbled out of the car into the roadside grass. The road trip — halted.
They rushed him to a hospital to patch his forehead. Mom comforted him; Dad begged Grandpa not to poke at everyone's sore spots anymore.
Grandpa agreed, promised he'd behave—
Then vanished.
The family scattered, searching in panic.
Finally, as night fell, Lily found him — leaning under a tree, silent, holding a pocket watch.
Inside was a photo — of a young, beautiful woman.
Lily's eyes flickered. Grandpa suddenly came to, snapped the watch shut — click — and the screen went black.
When the image returned, the family had arrived in the city for the competition.
That sharp cut marked the end of the first leg of their road trip.
And what did it mean?
The audience understood perfectly.
Columbus's visual storytelling was direct:
The uncle's failure wasn't real failure — it was pride.
The grandfather's despair wasn't true despair — it was love and loss.
And once those truths appeared—
"Oh! I get it now! Isabella chose to make a musical because music awakens the soul!"
As the audience murmured, the now-confident father eagerly explained the competition rules:
Each contestant performs in order; the judges score on the spot.
If your score beats the best so far, you stay in; last one standing wins a ticket to the county finals.
While waiting, they saw a boy from the church choir, Cole Carter, perform beautifully — scoring 96.69 points.
He seemed unbeatable… until Lily Zeller walked on stage, her family cheering her on.
She greeted the judges, introduced herself, and said her song choice was "Tears in Heaven."
The judges asked why.
And then—
The Voice's signature move appeared again — Lily "enchanted" her performance with a backstory.
"Because Tears in Heaven is a song about remembrance. And my whole family misses my grandma."
"Your whole family?" one judge asked, thinking she'd misspoken.
"Yeah— my whole family," Lily nodded.
She spoke softly:
"Grandma passed away three years ago. She was so kind, so gentle — to me, to everyone. I still remember, when I was little, she'd take my sister and me to play in the fields, mend our clothes, cook us delicious food.
We lived together, and to help Mom, she did chores all day long — in the kitchen, the cellar, the fields, even picking us up from school.
She was like the Flash from DC — everywhere at once.
She loved Grandpa so much. He loves wine, especially red wine, and every year she'd make it for him by hand. The weather here makes that hard, but she never complained — because she loved seeing him drink it, and hearing him say, 'It's delicious.'
She was in every part of our lives. When she left… the world changed."
"That's why I chose Tears in Heaven. I want to tell Grandma — we miss her.
And I want to tell Grandpa — we understand his pain. Because since she passed, he's always been drinking… Maybe, when he's drunk, he gets to see her again."
"Ohhh…" two female judges were already crying.
"So, dear, is your grandfather here today?" one male judge asked gently.
"Yes," Lily pointed toward her family.
Grandpa's eyes were red. The rest looked on with emotion.
"He was the first to support me joining this contest. And of course, my whole family came too."
The audience stood and applauded.
As the music began—
"Oh— this is so moving…"
In theaters across the UK and US, people sniffled and wiped their eyes.
"She's going to win, right?"
"She has to win!"
And she did.
Isabella had chosen The Voice as the title precisely because it lent itself to storytelling.
Ahem— well, she admitted it — she had a few stereotypes about The Voice as an IP.
But that didn't matter. Cinema is about storytelling through light and shadow. No matter how dazzling your effects or how fierce your battles — what stays in people's hearts is always that one moment of pure emotion.
So she borrowed the framework of The Voice — because emotional storytelling sells in the West.
In her past life, people said "The Voice" was really "The Good Story", and they were right.
Western audiences loved emotional intensity — far more than the modest sentimentality of the Chinese variety. The Oprah Winfrey Show, America's Got Talent, The Voice USA — all masters of emotional spectacle. Sometimes shamelessly so.
And the result?
Skyrocketing ratings.
So when family love entered the story — audiences leaned forward, hands clenched.
And when Lily Zeller finally scored a perfect 100, winning the city contest—
The theaters erupted.
"Yay——!"
"Lily, you're amazing——!"
The sudden eruption of cheers became the main theme in most cinemas across Britain and America.
With Lily Zeller's victory, her grandfather's silhouette was illuminated too.
Then came the second road trip—
Because the county-level competition was to be held in Manchester, the whole family set out once again on their journey of dreams.
The bustling cityscapes they passed filled Lily's mother with emotion.
She hadn't left the countryside in years;
she hadn't been to a big city in years;
and she hadn't traveled alone with her husband in years.
The reasons for this were both trivial and profound—
The grandmother who used to share her burdens was gone.
And there was her love for her husband—
Lily's father still chased his dreams, and her mother had supported him unconditionally. She kept hoping for the day he'd succeed, but that day never came. It left her disappointed, powerless, and quietly resentful.
So—
Beneath the neon lights, Lily's mother looked at Manchester's dazzling glow through tearful eyes.
Her unspoken sorrow gave her character life.
After Lily nudged her hesitant father and told him to take Mom shopping, assuring him that Grandpa, Aunt, and Uncle would help her prepare for the contest, the sight of the couple walking together under the stars gave her mother back her color.
Then—
At the county competition, Lily performed Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough.
"Oh, if I'm not mistaken, that song's from ten years ago."
"It was a huge hit back then, right? Number two on the Billboard charts? Sung by Patty Smyth and Don Henley from the Eagles. So tell me, why did you pick a song that's barely older than you are?"
The judges looked curious.
And Lily, naturally, coated her performance in a layer of love—
"Because I want to dedicate this song to my mom and dad."
"They've known each other for years, been married for years… but recently—well, maybe not recently, maybe sometime before we noticed—they've had some trouble."
"My dad's always busy with work. And outside of that, he has his own hobbies. He loves writing, and while chasing his dreams, maybe he forgot about the person who loves him most."
"That's not really fair to my mom."
"But she never complained. And I think that makes her incredible."
"Today, they put everything aside to come with me—to Manchester—and I'm really grateful for their love. So I want to use The Voice to tell them that I love them too."
"And I also want to say something to my dad—"
"Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough."
"Sometimes, love alone isn't enough to keep a relationship together."
"Sometimes, Mom just wants a hug too."
"Woooooow——"
The judges of The Voice burst into tears!
Dad and Mom hugged tightly!
The audience in front of the screen was deeply moved!
Some parents even started hugging each other, which made the kids in between think—
"Damn, was I part of a phone plan promo or something?"
Ahem.
Just kidding.
Most of the kids were moved too.
And after Lily Zeller finished singing, the flashing of every light on the panel gave her a unanimous vote into the finals!
Next stop: from Manchester to London.
With the third road trip came the stories of her aunt and uncle—
Or not!
Since the first two trips had already explored family love and romantic love—the two main emotional pillars of family life—any further sentimental repetition would be pointless.
So, when designing this act, Columbus gave Isabella a suggestion:
Since the aunt and uncle's lives were just beginning, and their so-called failures came from seeing career as the whole of life, their stories should unfold from the perspective of work and purpose.
Thus, once the family arrived in London, everyone threw themselves into helping Lily—their family's little sun—find success at the finals.
Grandpa somehow got his hands on a competitor's guidebook—its source clearly as shady as it was impressive.
Opening it revealed a series of even stranger entries—
Animated-style power charts, like something out of an RPG.
Every finalist was rated by a pentagon diagram: Tone, Skill, Aesthetics, Charisma, and Popularity.
Lily Zeller had top marks in tone and popularity—but the rest?
Severe imbalance.
Clearly a long-shot contender.
And then, there was the Boss—a bowl-cut powerhouse known as "The Demon King."
Columbus added a short montage to introduce her, narrated dramatically: in the previous rounds, her performance had been so jaw-dropping that judges literally knelt before her in awe.
The Zeller family stared in disbelief.
No one knew what to say.
Except Lily, who smiled after glancing at the data. She said she understood. That the goal had never been victory—it was the journey that mattered.
Still, her smile looked a little too bright. Everyone could tell she was forcing it.
And then—
"Bang!"
Her uncle slammed the table, stormed out of the dining hall, and chased after her.
He wanted to talk.
And through their conversation, his own story unfolded.
Just as Grandpa had said: his obsession with solving the Hodge Conjecture for his doctorate came from realizing he wasn't special at Cambridge.
He'd always been the genius, the golden child. But at Cambridge and Oxford, he was just average.
He couldn't stand it.
He wanted brilliance. Applause. The rush of being extraordinary.
But he couldn't reach it.
So he lied to himself.
Became a clown in his own circus.
And now, in admitting his weakness, he hoped Lily wouldn't judge herself too harshly if she didn't win.
Because geniuses abound—and even among them, there are brighter stars.
Sometimes, accepting your limits is the bravest act.
But then—
"Riley."
"Hmm?"
"I actually don't think what you did was wrong."
"Wha—What?"
He froze.
Lily, walking beside him by the Thames, smiled. "There isn't a single person who doesn't want to do their best. Your choice makes sense to me."
"To others, you might look like a failure. But to me, you're a success—because you did what you wanted to do. You might not have succeeded, but…"
"You didn't hurt anyone, did you?"
"You used your life to chase your dream. How is that wrong?"
"It's the same with Auntie. She gave up studying for now and doesn't want to do anything. Is that wrong? No. Who said we have to keep studying until we die?"
"She's probably just tired. She'll start again when she's ready. I believe that, because she still paints."
"And I think her art is amazing."
"I love the little beaver painting she gave me."
"So, Riley—if you decide to change your research topic, I'll be happy for you."
"Because it means you've found a new dream to follow."
"Maybe something like Mom—chasing a better life?"
Under the golden sunlight, Lily's smile was radiant.
And her uncle, looking at her, seemed to thaw from winter into spring.
Nearby, her sister bit her lip.
She had followed them and heard everything.
And she—
Turned.
Left.
She wandered the streets of London, spending real pounds on art supplies.
She stayed up all night crafting a handmade outfit to support her sister.
And as she worked, her world gained color too.
The final competition was fierce, but there was no suspense—Lily performed The Climb, a song she'd been preparing for years.
When the judges asked why she dared to sing an original piece—a risky move—
She said:
"Because I want to."
"My uncle and my sister are both people who strive for perfection in everything they do."
"I want to be like them."
"Cool——"
Her fearless words drew thunderous applause!
As her performance ended, the announcement of first place, and as the invitation to the World Finals arrived—
The film reached its end.
The screen went black, and the credits began to roll.
The first line read:
Story by: Isabella Haywood