This was the first time Lu Chen was called ‘teacher.’
This wasn’t the kind of teacher who teaches and educates students, it’s merely a nickname given to those who established a good reputation in their field. Having someone call you teacher means you are very respected.
In Houhai, Blue Lotus music carnival was held many times and usually, someone from Lu Chen’s generation wasn’t qualified to perform on stage.
Thus, when he heard someone call him ‘teacher’, he was a bit embarrassed.
Sister Na stood up and said, “Don’t worry i’m here with you.”
She was worried about Lu Chen, considering he has to stand and sing in front of thousands of spectators. She wanted to give him some support and let him know that he wasn’t alone in this.
Qin Hanyang stood up after hesitating a moment and said, “We’ll go together, we are all family here.”
Understanding their intentions Lu Chen was filled with gratitude. “Thank you, Brother Qin, thank you sister Na.”
“No need to be so polite…”
Qin Hanyang patted Lu Chen on the shoulder as he said, “You should be more confident in yourself, you have real talent!”
Lu Chen nodded silently, he had to agree with Qin Hanyang, he should be filled with confidence!
He was no longer Lu Chen of the past, in his brain he had the knowledge of three people.
Therefore, he needs not fear any sort of challenges.
Looking at FIT band not too far away from him, he could see the confidence in Cheng Xiaodong, the male lead singer of the band. When their eyes met one could feel the fire in their gazes.
Cheng Xiaodong’s had a mocking grin on his face full of disdain as he left with his companions.
Lu Chen grabbed his guitar case and headed backstage, he wasn’t even fazed.
He’d use his own strength to knock his opponents down!
Backstage the left side was used to hold the groups going up next to perform.
Lu Chen, Sister Na, and the Wandering band went backstage, but there were already a ton of people there.
Amongst the group of people already there was the FIT band who seemed to be the first to arrive. Cheng Xiaodong saw Qin Hanyang and the others arrive, but he ignored them and started to chat with his own companions.
“Brother Qin, Sister Na…”
A man who seemed to be 30 years old wearing a jacket stood up and smiled as he said, “Why are you so early?”
He had a slender figure with raised cheekbones, eyes shined and his long hair was draped over his shoulders.
Qin Hanyang vigorously hugged him then he introduced Lu Chen, “This is the captain of the North Needle band, Gan Lang. This is our little brother, Lu Chen.”
Lu Chen reached out his hand in a humble manner as he said, “Hello brother Gan.”
Gan Lang shook Lu Chen’s hand and smiled, “Last time I saw you was at Forgotten Worries bar, your two original songs were very good.”
Lu Chen was stunned as he never imagined that the lead singer of North Needle band went to Forgotten Worries bar and heard him sing.
“Thank you, Brother Gan, but I also ask you for some pointers!”
“I wouldn’t dare, I do not have the talent to write originals…”
Gan Lang earnestly asked, “Little Lu, are you planning on singing those two songs this evening?”
Lu Chen shook his head and said, “No.”
“That’s good!”
Gan Lang was relieved, “The style of those two songs aren’t suitable for this event, it’s better to use another one.”
Lu Chen said nothing and smiled.
Lu Chen understood the meaning in Gan Lang’s words.
The lead singer of the North Needle band was very straightforward.
Underneath the surface, there is a deep arrogance contained inside him. He bluntly reminded Lu Chen he shouldn’t think about winning because it is not as simple as he thinks.
Did he think Lu Chen was someone he could step on?
Gan Lang started to chat with Sister Na and Cheng Xiaodong glanced at Lu Chen.
Lu Chen found a spot in the corner as he took out his guitar and started to tune it.
From the applause and cheers coming from outside, one could tell that the performance on stage has just come to an end.
A staff member on stage came and told the FIT band to get ready as they were up.
Cheng Xiaodong did two small jumps as he pumped himself up.
“Let’s go, brothers!”
As he was leaving, he glanced back at Lu Chen.
The appearance of their band on stage really got the crowd hyped.
Young boys and girls were holding up signs with their band name on it or Chen Xiaodong’s name. Shouting and jumping up in the crowd, they couldn’t contain their excitement.
Cheng Xiaodong held his electric guitar in his right arm as he raised his left hand that held his guitar pick. Waving to the fans he said, “Good evening everyone, I’m very happy to be able to take part and perform tonight. I’m Cheng Xiaodong of the FIT band!”
“Cheng! Cheng! Cheng! Cheng!”
The girl fans screamed loud as they started waving their signs up high.
“Doesn’t this band seem to be very popular?”
Seated in the VIP seat on the top floor at Blue Lotus bar, Dong Yu whispered to Su Xiaomei who was seated beside him, “Did you never think about signing them?”
Light Rain Media was founded not that long ago, and the recruiting of artists was always been done by Su Xiaomei.
Su Xiaomei lightly said, “Other companies already came to them for a contract, their conditions were much better than ours. If it isn’t worth the price i’ll give up.”
Dong Yu nodded his head in understanding.
The route that Light Rain Media was developing was already stable, there is no need to rush into anything when they were laying down a solid foundation. They needed to accumulate more experience first.
Therefore, they had no need to try and sign on a lot of new people.
Many people were seated around Su Xiaomei and Dong Yu, such as Chang Wei and Chen Jianhao. There were also entertainment company executives, songwriters, and critics.
Chang Wei turned and smiled towards Chen Jianhao, “Old Chen, after this band Little Lu is up next.”
Chen Jianhao smiled bitterly, “Boss Chang, so it was you who arranged the order of appearances?”
Chen Jianhao knew some things about the entertainment business, so how can he not see through some tricks? Previously, he just didn’t say anything, but now that Chang Wei mentioned something he might as well shake the tree a bit.
He had faith that Chang Wei wouldn’t do such a thing.
Chang Wei laughed a little as he said, “This matter is out of my control, why don’t you ask your own family instead?”
Chen Jianhao felt something was amiss in the air, but now that he had confirmation on the matter things were a bit awkward.
Is cousin Su Xiaomei not considered family?
Chang Wei turned and comforted Chen Jianhao, he could understand what he was feeling right now. “This could be considered a small matter, something young people should get used to.”
Chen Jianhao was left speechless.
On Stage, the FIT band just finished performing a famous rap song.
Cheng Xiaodong was very active as he sang, easily stirring emotions from the crowd, causing them to cheer loudly.
Cheng Xiaodong pushed his hair out of the way as he raised his guitar high and shouted, “The following song is dedicated to all of you. It’s called Beyond, let us go beyond ourselves!”
As his voice fell the cheers and shouts increased by a dozen decibels!
“Cheng! Cheng!”
Some of the females couldn’t contain themselves as they rushed towards the stage but were stopped by security.
Cheng Xiaodong lowered his body as he held his electric guitar and strung the strings.
A profound sound emerged!
Beyond!
Qin Hanyang and Sister Na who were sitting backstage looked at each other and saw the look of surprise in each other’s eyes.
‘Beyond’ is a classic rock song. Back in the 1990’s, it was a huge hit, but very difficult to sing. There were a lot of high-pitched parts that caused many people who wanted to do a cover stop. Those parts were so hard to intimate that no one could sing it.
Cheng Xiaodong was very confident in himself as he had the guts to challenge ‘Beyond.’
Qin Hanyang and Sister Na couldn’t help but feel worried for Lu Chen.
His opponents were strong!