Chapter 171 - Envy
Backstage ofT1 Studio Hall.
From time totime, Mu Xiaochu looked in the direction of the doorway, with a look of anxietyin her eyes.
Lu Chen hasbeen called away for almost an hour, and he still hasn't appeared yet, as if hehas disappeared from the face of the world, and the chorus program “LifeOn A String” of the top five singers of “Singing China” willsoon be rehearsed on stage!
She didn’teven know what had happened to Lu Chen, and just now a staff member on the spotcame to inquire about the situation.
What couldhave happened?
Mu Xiaochu wasworried that Lu Chen’s delay would affect the program schedule, which woulddefinitely offend Beijing Satellite TV.
Lu Chen’scareer will certainly be greatly affected by this.
But it wasobviously someone from the station who called him away, so it should be allright, but why didn’t he come back?
Mu Xiaochu’sheart was really in a mess.
Sitting nearby,Zhang Haohai knew what Mu Xiaochu was worried about, and his heart was filledwith sour water. (TN: Envy)
“Xiaochu,you don’t have to worry about others…”
Zhang Haohaicouldn't help saying, “Let’s get ready to go on stage. Anyway, it’s rehearsal.It doesn’t matter if there is one less.”
As he spoke,there was a hint of mockery on his face.
Zhang Haohaiwas looking forward for Lu Chen not to be on stage, or better yet, for Lu Chento be laid off by Beijing Satellite TV.
He believedthat whether in appearance and talent, he was no worse than Lu Chen, and itjust that the latter has developed very fast and has grown rapidly.
Even MuXiaochu look at Lu Chen with special fondness and made no false remarks abouthim.
Mu Xiaochupursed her lips, glanced at Zhang Haohai and said faintly: “This song waswritten by Senior Lu Chen, and he's also the champion of "Singing China".Without him, there would be no such program.”
Mu Xiaochuis kind-hearted, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a temper.
She wasreminding Zhang Haohai that Lu Chen was the core of the chorus program, and heshould never forget this.
And don't beself-righteous!
ZhangHaohai’s face suddenly turned red.
He was oneof those people who have a great deal of pride, and who couldn't stand thecontempt of others, so he wanted to make a quick retort.
But the resultwas, Mu Xiaochu didn't pay attention to him at all, and instead she suddenlyburst into a smile, got up and waved her arm and said loudly, “Senior LuChen. Come quickly!”
It turnedout that Lu Chen appeared at this time!
Zhang Haohaiwas about to say something but he forcefully swallowed it back. His face wasextremely ugly.
Lu Chendidn’t know about the episode that had just happened because of him. He wentback to his position and asked Mu Xiaochu with a smile: “What’s thematter?”
Mu Xiaochusaid with a smile: “We are going to go on stage. Senior, are you ready?"
Her smilewas so sweet that Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat.
He noddedand said, “Ready!”
At thistime, Lu Chen suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him had changed. Itquieted down all of a sudden.
Mu Xiaochualso felt the same way. She and Lu Chen turned their heads at the same time.
Whathappened?
Only to seea beautiful woman in a colorful plumage dress, accompanied by severalassistants, like the moon surrounded by the stars, arriving in front of them.
She took theinitiative to greet them with a smile: “Lu Chen, Xiaochu, long time nosee!”
The womandressed in gorgeous clothes was Chen Fei'er, the Queen of Sweet Songs in thesinging world, and a big figure in the entertainment industry!
There were alot of star artists who came to the party rehearsal, but in terms of position,there was no one higher than her.
If Wang Bin wasstill there, maybe he can compete with her.
It was apity that he was now held in custody.
Chen Fei'erhas debuted for more than ten years and is already 30 years old this year. But withher natural beauty and proper maintenance, she looked like she was in her earlytwenties. Moreover, she had an amazing aura around her, which naturally calmed downthe scene.
No one onthe scene dared to shout in front of her, and many people showed admiration andeven awe.
“Hello,Teacher Chen!”
Lu Chen andMu Xiaochu replied at the same time.
Chen Fei'er wasone of the four judges of “Singing China”. She appreciates Lu Chenvery much and likes Mu Xiaochu very much.
“Hello,Teacher Chen…”
The artistsaround them, including the other three top five singers, all got up and greetedrespectfully.
“Hello,everyone.”
The Queen ofSweet Songs smiled and said, “Just call me sister. Calling me teacher makeme sound old!”
Mu Xiaochusaid cleverly: “Sister Fei.”
“Un!”
Chen Fei'ernodded, held Mu Xiaochu’s hand and asked, “What's your program?”
Under theeyes of the public, Mu Xiaochu blushed because of her intimate actions andreplied shyly, “Sister Fei. Our program is a chorus, singing Lu Chen’s "LifeOn A String". “
Chen Fei'ersuddenly said, “Then the next program is you…”
She leanedforward and asked Lu Chen, “Lu Chen, I remember you promised to write me asong, right? Did you write it? Have you forgotten?”
The Queen ofSweet Songs smiled, with starry eyes like water, indescribable charm, and evenwith a touch of girlish loveliness that made people forget her true age.
Lu Chen wasa little dizzy. Fortunately, he had enough concentration and hurriedly replied,“I've already written it. When do you want it, Sister Fei? I’ll send it toyou.”
Chen Fei'er askedhim to write song for her, but it was during the program. (TN: He thought it wasjust lip service during the program.)
So, Lu Chendidn't take it seriously, including when Chen Fei'er invited him to be a guestof her concert. After all, the status between the two was so far from eachother, and he didn't want to be misunderstood of social climbing. (TN: to claimconnections with people in higher social class)
Unexpectedly,Chen Fei'er actually remembered it, and she seemed serious.
Of course,he wouldn't be foolish enough to say he wasn't prepared.
Chen Fei'erwas surprised: “Really? That's great. Thank you. I’ll have my assistantcontact you.”
Lu Chensaid, “All right.”
All those whoheard the conversation between the two all cast envious and jealous eyes.
In theiropinion, Lu Chen was so lucky. He not only formed a relationship with Chen Fei'er,but also wrote songs for her.
It should beknown that those who are qualified to cooperate with Chen Fei'er are all high-levelfigures in the industry. Lu Chen was just a new artist who has just made hisdebut, but he was actually been favored by Chen Fei'er.
If that wasn'tluck, then what is it?
Chen Fei'ernoticed the strange look that came from all around, but she didn’t care. Shesaid with a smile, “You're probably busy, I won't take any more of yourtime.”
With that,she took her assistant to the VIP room.
After ChenFei'er left, the atmosphere in the backstage quickly returned to its originalstate.
Then a staffmember appeared, holding a megaphone to remind the performer of the nextprogram to be ready to go on stage.
It was thechorus of Lu Chen, Mu Xiaochu and others.
The top fivesingers of “Singing China” will gather in the waiting area and thenperform on the stage together.
According tothe arrangement of Beijing Satellite TV, today was the first rehearsal of theNational Day Party. Then a rearrangement on the 21st, dress rehearsal on the25th, recorded live on the 29th, and broadcast on the evening of October 1st.
The schedulewas very tight, and if there was problem with the program, it needs to bearranged.
Except forthe New Year’s Eve Party, the other major parties of Beijing Satellite TV areall recorded and broadcast.
Today’sfirst rehearsal was very important for the artists participating in theperformance, because if their performance was not good enough, they may bebrushed off, that is to say that they may not be part in the official recording.
Therefore,whether it was Lu Chen, Mu Xiaochu, or Zhang Haohai, they all gone all out and tookit very seriously. Although it was the first time for the five singers tocooperate, apart from the lack of tacit understanding, there was basically nomajor problem.
After all,the difficulty of this song wasn't high, and any one with good ssinging skillscan mastered it.
BeijingSatellite TV T1 Studio Hall can accommodate 3,000 live audiences, but today wasa rehearsal, so there were certainly not so many audiences. Basically, thepeople at the scene were the TV station staff and relevant leaders, includingthe reviewers of the evening program group.
After thesong, the reviewers of the TV station gave some advice and let everyone go.
Today theirrehearsal was over.
After theywent back backstage, Mu Xiaochu asked, “Senior Lu Chen, are you going backnow?”
Artists’time is precious, especially those with a lot of notices. Although they arewilling to find time to attend the rehearsal of the party, the TV station wasstill very reasonable.
So, they canleave after rehearsal and come back on the 25th’s dress rehearsal.
Lu Chenshook his head and said, “Go ahead. I have a solo program torehearse.”
Solo program?
The othersingers were stunned, unable to believe what they have just heard.
Especially ZhangHaohai. His chin almost fell off.
All three ofthem knew that the program was originally a solo by Lu Chen, but was laterchanged into a five-person chorus after the public relations operation of theircompany contracted Beijing Satellite TV.
Perhaps, theonly one who didn't know the inside story was Mu Xiaochu.
The three ofthem couldn't help gloating over Lu Chen’s bitter experience. Perhaps, anyonewho encountered such a thing would be depressed.
But whowould have thought that Beijing Satellite TV had even prepared a solo programfor Lu Chen.
This is toomuch!
Other starartists have only one program, but Lu Chen can go on two programs, just becausehe is the champion?
They wereaggrieved, they were jealous and bitter, they were depressed and speechless…
Only MuXiaochu was really happy for Lu Chen: “Senior Lu Chen, you are soamazing!”
Lu Chen saidwith a smile, “It’s just good luck.”
Zhang Haohaiand others scolded secretly in their hearts at the same time: what are youpretending for?
But nomatter how jealous they were, it didn't affect Lu Chen at all.
After sayinggoodbye to Mu Xiaochu, Lu Chen waited for nearly half an hour in the backstage,and then took the stage again.
This time hewent on stage alone.
At this point,most of the rehearsals have passed, but there were still a lot more people inthe auditorium of the studio, and the people sitting in the first two rows werevery eye-catching.
Lu Chen knewthat more than a dozen of them were senior executives of Beijing Satellite TV, andtwo leaders of CCTV.
All eyeswere on him.
Comparedwith the previous chorus, the pressure he bore alone has undoubtedly multiplied.
Standing inthe center of the stage, standing in front of the microphone, facing those pairsof scrutinizing eyes…
Lu Chen’sheart was still like water.
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