Chapter 34: The Debut of a New Song!

Back at the hotel, Garen opened his laptop and registered the copyright for his new song on the Music Association website before finally drifting into a deep sleep.

When he awoke again, it was already one in the afternoon. He hurried outside and found Maile still fast asleep on the bed in the outer room; after all, he’d stayed up all night with Garen, so it was no wonder he was exhausted. After some thought, Garen decided not to wake him. He packed his things and left quietly.

Magic City, Everything Cola Plaza.

This afternoon, the plaza hosting the performance was festooned with promotional posters for “The Year We Graduated” and Everything Cola advertisements. Giant posters of the four stars of the TV drama—Huang Daming, Zhang Peiyu, Yao Xiaotong, and Gao Zishan—towered four stories high, hanging on either side of the stage, visible from a hundred meters away.

There were twenty minutes left before the roadshow began, but the audience was already a vast sea of people, dense as a black tide. Many of those gathered were fans of the four leads, arranged in groups according to their favorite star, all clad in matching shirts and holding portraits and names of their chosen idols.

When the performance team arrived at the plaza by bus, everyone was stunned by the scene before them.

Shanshan from Super4 cried out, “Wow! So many people!”

“Heh, it’s all for Huang Daming and the others! If it were just us performing commercially, there’d never be this many,” Ai Ai said with a wry smile, the envy in her voice unmistakable.

Garen gazed through the bus window at the throng outside, equally astonished. He’d guessed that changing the time yesterday would have an effect, but hadn’t expected anything so spectacular—it was nearly as crowded as a stadium concert for a superstar.

“So many students? Aren’t they supposed to be in school today?” Er Mao asked, puzzled, since it was only Thursday and many in the audience were clearly students.

A male singer across the aisle chuckled, “Lost track of time, have you? The Golden Week starts the day after tomorrow—lots of schools are already on holiday!”

“Yes, and plenty are college students; their schedules are flexible!”

“Lucky them, those students! Sigh!”

“I’ve decided, once I earn a bit more, I’ll go back to school—maybe get a diploma at Beijing Film Academy or Central Academy of Drama, or even study music abroad!”

“Heh, to afford tuition, you’ll have to perform at countless venues and…”

“Shut up…”

The bus was filled with laughter and banter as it rolled into the backstage security zone, already cordoned off by security guards; only stars and performers were allowed in.

The scale of this Magic City performance was indeed extraordinary. The waiting area for performers was divided into several sections: the first and second-tier celebrities had their own area, while Garen and his group were assigned to another.

Led by Cai Yuehua, the group entered the waiting zone. Whatever the space had been before, it was now partitioned with plywood into small, private rooms.

“Haha! We’re getting pretty good treatment here!” Host Wang said cheerfully. He wasn’t hosting today—Everything Cola had hired two popular TV hosts from Magic City for the event, so Wang’s job was backstage coordination.

Gone were the days of everyone crowding into a hall to do makeup and rest; the girls no longer had to hide behind clothing racks to change. The atmosphere immediately brightened.

Amid the laughter, Cai Yuehua began assigning rooms.

Everyone got their own resting space, except for Garen—there was none left for him.

Cai Yuehua feigned regret, “Oh dear, Garen! So sorry, the planners must’ve overlooked it and there’s one room short. Would you mind making do in the hall?”

“No problem,” Garen replied with a cold smile, meeting Cai’s eyes. It was clearly deliberate: Super4 and Jiazi Band each had a group room, but when it came to the male duo from Treasure Island, they’d been given individual rooms.

This was clearly planned to embarrass him.

“Well, if you don’t mind, let’s do it that way! The show only lasts a few hours—just hang in there,” Cai Yuehua said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Host Wang happened to emerge from his room at that moment and, seeing the scene, immediately asked, “What’s going on?”

“No room left! Manager Cai wants me to make do in the hall. It’s fine, I’m new here, and I can handle a bit of discomfort!” Garen said loudly, as if nothing was amiss.

Immediately, several people poked their heads out to see what was happening.

Cai Yuehua shot Garen a glare and addressed the onlookers, “Nothing to see! Get ready, the show is about to start!”

With that, Cai strode away, unwilling to linger even a second longer.

A group of people exchanged uncertain glances. Wang pulled Garen aside, “Come on, use my room! I’m not performing today anyway.”

“Alright!” Garen accepted. The show was about to start, and he needed to prepare.

The male duo from Treasure Island had overheard Garen’s words. They’d wondered why their team was split up. Now, they understood—it was Cai Yuehua deliberately trying to make things difficult for Garen.

Though they didn’t know the details of the conflict, as newcomers from afar, they dared not stir trouble and quietly retreated to their own rooms.

“Brother Wang, thank you!” Garen said as soon as he entered.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Things like this happen all the time. No matter how improper Cai is, he has to show me some respect! Go ahead, do your thing. I’m going to check the stage,” Wang said with a smile, leaving the room.

It was clear he knew about the friction between Garen and Cai, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

The program schedule had been roughly set: Garen was to perform after Ai Ya, his new song serving as a bridge between acts. According to the timetable, he wouldn’t go on stage for another two hours. He decided to use the time for a nap.

Still weary from the previous night, Garen lay back in the chair and soon fell asleep.

Two hours later.

Wang pushed open the door and shook Garen awake. “Garen, wake up—it's your turn!”

Garen groggily opened his eyes, checked the time, and asked, “Who’s on stage now?”

“Ai Ya just went up. You’re next. Come with me!”

“Alright!” Garen got up, put on his performance outfit, tidied his hair, and left the small room.

At the backstage entrance, Garen peered out—two hours later, the audience had only grown, spilling onto the adjacent streets, which were now closed off.

On stage, Ai Ya was singing a lively song, dancing energetically, while the crowd’s cheers echoed nonstop.

Just then, a backstage staffer came over, “Are you Garen?”

“Yes,” Garen nodded.

“Ai Ya’s last song is a duet with you?”

“Yes.”

“Then get ready to go up! Take your mic,” the staffer said, handing him the microphone. Garen grasped it, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, waiting for the music to begin.

He and Ai Ya had already planned their entrance—he wouldn’t come on early, but walk onto the stage as the song started.

A few minutes of waiting felt like an eternity.

Ai Ya finished her second song amid applause and cheers, then addressed the crowd, “Thank you! Thank you all! This isn’t my first time in Magic City, but it’s my first time on a stage this grand here. Receiving your passionate applause is truly satisfying!”

“Ah—Ai Ya!”

“Ai Ya! I love you! Ai Ya, you’re my goddess!”

The fervent fans shouted with wild enthusiasm. Ai Ya had become nationally famous after appearing on “Starlight Dream Show.” Though her popularity had faded somewhat since then, she still had loyal followers.

She thanked the audience repeatedly, then continued, “Among our performing team is a singer named Garen. It’s his first time in Magic City, and he’s so excited he couldn’t contain his feelings. He wrote a song for Magic City overnight, and I am honored to perform it with him. We hope you’ll like it!”

The audience began murmuring to each other,

“Garen? Is he the one who sang ‘Gardenia Blossoms’?”

“Must be! Online, people say he writes a new song for every place he performs. From what Ai Ya just said, it sounds like him!”

“Wow, wow! Didn’t expect him to show up—maybe he’s promoting with ‘The Year We Graduated’?”

“Hmph! What’s so good about Garen! He stole our Huang’s chance to sing the drama theme! He’s not even fit to carry our idol’s shoes!”

“Exactly! We, the Ming group, firmly boycott Garen!”

“Right! All Ming fans, boycott Garen!”

“Boycott Garen…”

Meanwhile, Garen had made his way backstage, standing at the side of the stage, ready to go on.

A brief train whistle sounded in the intro, and as the drumbeat kicked in, Ai Ya began to sing, “I don’t know what you’re thinking, still on that street at that place, oh oh!”

“That night we parted, that lingering place—is it the scales of love tipping away?”

Garen sang as he walked onto the stage. Aside from Huang Daming’s fans, nearly everyone erupted in cheers.

“Garen, sing rock!”

“Garen, I want to hear folk!”

“I want to hear you play guitar!”

Magic City, after all, was a thriving entertainment capital, rivaling the capital city, and in some ways even surpassing it. The capital boasted deep cultural heritage, fitting for the arts circle, but Magic City’s luxury, restlessness, and allure were hallmarks of the entertainment world.

Naturally, Magic City residents were not strangers to the rising star Garen; in fact, they were quite familiar, especially since he’d been the subject of constant trending topics on microblogs. It almost felt as if Garen lived amongst them.