Li Yunshang hung up the phone and jumped up excitedly. She’d get to see Wenwen again tomorrow!
Ever since their last parting, Li Yunshang had been thinking about “Lin Shuwen” constantly. Even while following her professor on a protective excavation of a tomb—and discovering it belonged to a Tang Dynasty princess—her mind would involuntarily drift back to that day on the variety show set, to “Lin Shuwen” in that stunning red palace dress.
Li Yunshang had always thought of herself as straight, the type who fell for sunny, outgoing guys with eight-packs—or at least six-pack abs.
But after meeting “Lin Shuwen,” she’d started to doubt herself a little.
Now that the excavation was wrapped up—and since they’d spent over a week inside the tomb—the professor felt bad about keeping them grinding any longer. So he gave his students three days off. Li Yunshang knew exactly how she wanted to spend her break: going to see “Lin Shuwen.”
That was why she’d made that call.
Hearing that “Lin Shuwen” had a paid performance lined up made her even happier. What she loved most was watching “Lin Shuwen” shine on stage.
Luo Ming, on the other hand, hadn’t given it much thought. What could possibly go wrong with a friend coming to watch a show? So after hanging up, he turned his focus back to practicing his songs.
He spent the rest of the afternoon and all of the next morning nailing the three songs Lin Shuwen had picked.
After lunch, Luo Ming took the van to a mid-sized LIVE HOUSE.
A LIVE HOUSE, for those who don’t know, is a venue specifically designed for live music performances. Over in Japan, they’re mostly hangouts for underground idol groups. Here in China, they’re more commonly used for fan meet-and-greets with celebrities.
This particular LIVE HOUSE was opening for business today. The owner was an agent with solid connections in the industry, which is why he’d managed to book a few stars to help liven up the place. He also happened to know Sister Shan. They were on good terms, but since they worked for different companies, there was no such thing as a free favor—so he’d officially invited Lin Shuwen as a paid performer.
It was Luo Ming’s first time at a LIVE HOUSE—both in this life and his past one. He’d only ever seen places like this in movies and TV shows.
When he arrived, he’d expected it to be somewhat like a bar, but it turned out to be completely different. If anything, it felt more like an indoor stage than a bar.
A staff member led Lin Shuwen to the backstage area, where the LIVE HOUSE owner, Qin Qianyue, came over to greet them.
Qin Qianyue was a man in his early thirties, dressed in a sharp black suit with his hair combed perfectly. He looked like someone who took things seriously.
“Wenwen! Long time no see!” Qin Qianyue said with a smile.
Luo Ming didn’t actually know Qin Qianyue, but that didn’t stop him from pretending he did. He knew a thing or two about social pleasantries.
“Qin Ge, long time no see! What’ve you been up to lately?”
“Just signed a new talent. That guy over there,” Qin Qianyue said, pointing at a handsome young man tuning his guitar.
“He’s in music too?”
“Yeah, but talent-wise, he’s nowhere near your level.”
“You’re too kind, Qin Ge.”
“I mean every word. Honestly, I’ve had my eye on you for a while. If you weren’t with Sister Shan, I’d have tried to poach you ages ago.”
Luo Ming smiled but didn’t reply.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Qin Qianyue went off to greet the other performers.
Around 2 PM, Chen Sichu got a call from Li Yunshang and left to pick her up.
By the time the show officially started at 3, Chen Sichu still hadn’t returned. Chen Junmiao called to ask, and all Chen Sichu said was, “Almost there, be right back.”
Luo Ming couldn’t be bothered to worry about them. She was scheduled second-to-last—the so-called “grand finale” spot.
Not that Lin Shuwen had the biggest star power among the performers, but Light Years Away had been blowing up lately.
Luo Ming closed his eyes and focused on getting into the right headspace.
At 5 PM, it was finally his turn to go on.
He put on his earpiece, took the mic, and walked onto the stage.
This time was completely different from the movie premiere or the CCTV variety show.
The moment he stepped out, the audience erupted into cheers.
“Holy crap! It’s Lin Shuwen!”
“Wenwen, I love you!”
“Wenwen, are you gonna sing Light Years Away?”
“Wenwen, how about a new song from the album!”
The crowd was so loud Luo Ming felt like his eardrums might burst.
At the same time, he could feel the audience’s energy feeding into him—his heart was racing, his blood pumping.
He took a deep breath, forced himself to stay calm, and greeted the crowd: “Hi everyone, I’m Lin Shuwen. So happy to see you all here.”
Another wave of cheers came roaring back, warm and enthusiastic.
“Thank you! Since you’re all so hyped, I won’t waste time with small talk. Let’s let the music do the talking. First up, I’ll sing Light Years Away for you.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the backing track kicked in, and the audience fell into a natural hush.
“I feel the tips of your fingers resting on my forehead…”
By the time he finished the song, the crowd erupted again—cheers and screams blending into one.
“Wait, does this song sound this epic live?!”
“Wenwen’s vocals are insane.”
“For real. She hit those high notes like it was nothing.”
“If Wenwen ever holds a concert, I’m definitely buying tickets.”
“Don’t wait till then—I heard she’s performing in Hangzhou tomorrow. Let’s go together!”
Luo Ming went on to sing two more songs. In the crowd, Li Yunshang was so moved watching the radiant figure on stage that she couldn’t even speak.
“Just now, I heard someone say they wanted to hear a new song from the album,” Luo Ming said with a playful tone. “I’ve always been the type to spoil my fans. If you want to hear it, I’ll sing it. But promise me one thing—just because you heard it here doesn’t mean you won’t buy the album, okay?”
“OK!”
“Wenwen, don’t worry—I’m definitely buying it!”
“I’ll buy ten copies!”
“I’ll buy a hundred!”
“Whoa, no need to go that far! Just buy what you can manage.
I noticed a lot of you here are around my age, so I’m guessing most of you are also fairly new to the workforce. I know the pressure can be a lot.
Take me, for example—both of the TV shows I acted in flopped. People started calling me ‘ratings poison.’ That was definitely the lowest point in my career.
I even thought about going back to grad school just to call it quits. But luckily, I stuck with it. And this next song—I wrote it back then. Can I get a guitar, please?”
A moment later, the host brought out a guitar, along with a stool and adjusted the mic for him.
Luo Ming tested the tuning—it was spot on. He sat down, crossed his left leg over his right, and although he was wearing pants today so there was no risk of flashing anyone, he still made sure his posture was graceful.
“This song is called Snail. I hope you all like it.”
