Chapter 46: An Invitation to a Challenge!

The situation had become grave, and the organizers immediately implemented top-level security measures. All security personnel rushed to the Xuanle stage to handle the incident, and the police—already prepared—intervened on the spot.

The six members of Jiazi, seeing that things were turning sour, seized the opportunity to slip away amidst the chaotic crowd.

The audience, ever keen to sense the atmosphere, stopped their actions as soon as they saw the police cars arrive, dispersing nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.

"Officer, please! You must stand up for me!" Liu Pengfei, upon seeing the police, rushed towards them as if he were seeing his parents.

The first officers out of the car took one look at his bruised and battered face—and realizing he was a celebrity—immediately grew tense. "Who hit you? Can you identify them?"

"It was..." Liu Pengfei turned to point out the culprits, only to discover that those who had struck him hardest had vanished. Now, all that remained around him was a crowd of onlookers, mostly women.

He was utterly at a loss.

"Officer, they've already run off, but I'm sure they can't have gone far. Why don't you deploy people to cordon off the area and check everyone one by one? I guarantee I'll find them!"

The police couldn't help but smile wryly at Liu Pengfei's suggestion. "Mr. Liu, your method is far too ambitious. We simply don't have the manpower for that. How about this—if you can recall and identify even one of them, that's enough."

Liu Pengfei looked around in desperation, only to find that several more people had slipped away. Now, those standing nearby were mostly women, and the few men present were clearly frail and not the ones who had attacked him.

At that moment, Xie Wendong approached with his secretary. "Officers, thank you for your trouble. The fault lies with us, the organizers. Whatever the outcome, we will take full responsibility."

Fights at music festivals were not uncommon; nearly every event saw such incidents. The police could only mediate as best they could, especially in this situation—there was no way to apprehend the perpetrators, as they'd all fled.

The lead officer pondered for a moment and said, "Since the culprits can't be caught, how about you, as the organizers, mediate between Mr. Liu and the audience today? Are you willing?"

Xie Wendong felt a pang—mediation meant compensation, and he would have to offer a sum that satisfied Liu Pengfei.

Liu Pengfei immediately demanded an exorbitant amount, disregarding the issue of the culprits. "Fine, I'll agree to mediation! One million. Not a penny less!"

The officer looked to Xie Wendong. "What do you think?"

Xie Wendong's expression changed, but he smiled. "I'm willing to compensate, and I can afford one million, but the cause of this incident was the guest artist's lip-syncing. Our contract stipulates that all performers must sing live. Officer, how should this be handled?"

"This..." The officer was at a loss. He wasn't a judge or a lawyer—he couldn't make such decisions. Both parties were at fault, though the audience's was greater. Yet, Xie Wendong had already agreed to represent everyone and compensate; the dispute was only over the amount.

"No! It must be one million!" Liu Pengfei exclaimed. "This concerns my reputation, emotional distress, and physical injury—not a cent less!"

Xie Wendong's secretary sneered, interjecting, "Mr. Liu Pengfei, when you chose to lip-sync at the festival, did you not consider the potential damage to your reputation and mental well-being? As for physical injury, we're willing to compensate, but your amount is far too high!"

"You—"

"Furthermore," the secretary cut him off, "regarding your breach of contract by lip-syncing, we can also file a lawsuit. The contract clearly states that any breach requires tenfold compensation for the losses to our side. You should be aware of this, shouldn't you?"

"I..." Liu Pengfei wanted to retort, but faced with the increasingly cold gaze of the officers and the disdainful looks of the crowd, he couldn't bring himself to speak.

Meanwhile, the six members of Jiazi quietly slipped over to Gallen and Liu Nan. As soon as they met, Akai burst out laughing, "That was exhilarating! We beat him so hard he was searching for his teeth on the floor!"

"Exactly! That really let off some steam!"

Seeing their cheerful faces, Gallen asked curiously, "What, you joined in as well?"

"Not just joined in!" Carbonhead thumped his chest. "It was my shout that gave everyone the courage to act!"

Gallen smiled wryly. "You'd better leave quickly! If Liu Pengfei recognizes you, he'll definitely try to pin it on you!"

"Ah, you're right!" Akai slapped his forehead, and the others, sobered from their glee, hurriedly bade Gallen farewell. "We'll go now—let's call later!"

"Sure, go ahead," Gallen replied. Once they were gone, he turned to Liu Nan and explained, "Nan, my friends are like this—clear in their loves and hates."

"I know. Everyone has moments of passion," Liu Nan smiled. "Among the younger generation, it's rare to find someone as calm as you. If this were anyone else, they wouldn't miss any chance to strike at an opponent."

Gallen shook his head. "I'm the same. I just don't see Liu Pengfei as my opponent."

"Oh?" Liu Nan paused, then understood, and couldn't help but smile.

This Gallen, it seemed, didn't consider Liu Pengfei a rival at all—his ambitions were clearly greater.

As they chatted, a young woman with short hair walked out of the lounge. Seeing Gallen and Liu Nan, she immediately approached. "Hello, Nan! Hello, Gallen!"

Gallen? He was momentarily confused, then realized she was addressing him. He smiled, "Hello! And you are...?"

"I'm Assistant Jiang, working for Mr. Xie," she replied with a smile.

"Oh, Assistant Jiang, hello! Is there something you need?" Gallen suddenly understood—Mr. Xie was the founder of Ideal City, the festival's organizer.

"Indeed," Assistant Jiang said. "Mr. Xie couldn't come in person due to other matters, so he asked me to thank you for your wonderful performance today. Here’s a little token—please accept it."

With that, she handed him a red envelope, pressing it into his hand.

Gallen was caught off guard. "I—I can't accept this!"

He was about to refuse, but Liu Nan spoke up, "Gallen, just take it. It's a gesture from Xie. I'm his friend, and I know him well—he never does this with people he doesn't respect. If you refuse, you’d be denying him face."

"Uh..." Gallen replied helplessly, "All right then."

He didn't check the contents, simply pocketed it. It was thin—likely a check.

Seeing him accept the envelope, Assistant Jiang smiled. "There’s another matter—Mr. Xie wishes to recommend you for 'Dream Star Show.' He hopes you won’t refuse."

"'Dream Star Show'?" Gallen touched his chin. Truthfully, he had no intention of joining the show; if he had, he would have auditioned as soon as he got his secondhand laptop, instead of singing in bars. For him, music could earn money, fame, and fortune, but joining such a contest—rife with backstage manipulation—was not something he desired.

"Yes," Assistant Jiang said. "If you enter, we’ll invest in your journey, promote you, advertise you. Of course, the most important thing is that you and your company agree."

"This..." Gallen hesitated. Those who challenged on 'Dream Star Show' were all grassroots talents; many had made a name for themselves in a single attempt. But the pressure was immense—defeating a weekly champion was no easy feat.

Liu Nan chimed in, "Join, Gallen! This is a chance—a chance for the whole country to know you!"

Gallen thought for a moment, then replied, "I’ll need to discuss it with my company first. I’m about to release a new EP."

"That’s not a conflict," Liu Nan urged. "You’re not competing, just challenging. It’s a live broadcast—just spare Saturday nights for it."

"All right, but I still need to report to the company," Gallen nodded, not committing fully.

Assistant Jiang smiled. "No problem. Mr. Xie said he’d personally speak to President Liu, so you needn’t worry."

"Oh, haha," Gallen chuckled. It looked like he couldn’t avoid the challenge.

When Zhang Weiwei and Chen Yingying finished removing their makeup and came out, Assistant Jiang was already gone.

As they reached the car, Liu Nan couldn’t wait to share the news. "Hey! What took you so long? You missed a great opportunity!"

"You seem really happy," Zhang Weiwei laughed. "Did Gallen finally write you a song?"

"Not that," Liu Nan shook his head. "Xie sent his assistant to say he’ll personally recommend Gallen for 'Dream Star Show.' It’s a fantastic chance!"

Zhang Weiwei’s face lit up. "That’s wonderful—especially as a challenger! So many aspiring singers dream of this."

Chen Yingying gleefully grabbed Gallen’s arm. "Really? My parents love 'Dream Star Show.' You have to win! Then, when you meet them, you’ll..."

Halfway through, she realized Liu Nan and Zhang Weiwei were watching her with ambiguous smiles, their expressions somewhere between amusement and teasing. She quickly covered her mouth.

Chen Yingying stuck out her tongue. "Uh, I’ll go sit in the car!"

Liu Nan and Zhang Weiwei laughed heartily, making Gallen blush instantly. "Um, Nan, Weiwei, please don’t mind!"

"Don’t worry, we don’t mind!" Liu Nan patted Gallen’s shoulder, unable to hide his smile.

Zhang Weiwei nodded, "Of course not. We wish you both happiness!"

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Gallen glanced at Chen Yingying in the car and saw her sneaking peeks at the three of them outside. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, feeling a sweet warmth in his heart.