Lin Chudong smiled. "Absolutely. I'll be counting on you to look after me, Manager Meng!"
"Of course, of course!"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Chudong headed back toward the backstage area. The director hurried over and said,
"Brother Fei, Manager Meng called. You're scheduled second-to-last, so you can head to the lounge and rest."
Liang Yin and the others were delighted and hurried backstage.
"Da Fei, how'd you manage that?"
"It's a long story," Lin Chudong said. "I'll tell you when we get back."
Backstage, they saw plenty of singers. Most of them weren't very well-known. They had one or two songs that had gone viral online, and they'd come to the music festival to get their faces out there.
The audience might not recognize the singers, but as soon as the songs started, they'd know they'd heard them before.
But Da Fei Band was different. Plenty of people in the crowd had come specifically to see them.
They'd scheduled Lin Chudong and his band second-to-last. Did that mean Da Fei Band would be following Lin Chudong's set?
Now that was interesting!
When they got backstage, Jia Lu was about to head to the makeup room when a woman suddenly blocked her.
"What are you doing? This isn't a place for you."
Jia Lu froze. "Isn't this a shared makeup room?"
The open makeup room was for all the performers. Big names—like Lin Chudong back in the day—had private, fully enclosed lounges of their own.
The woman sneered. "Shared? You mean any construction worker off the street can use it?"
"You can squat outside and do your makeup by looking at your phone. This isn't the place for people like you. Take a look at yourselves."
Jia Lu clenched her fists, her face flushed. Her manners kept her from starting an argument, and since this was her first time performing onstage, she didn't want to cause trouble.
Lin Chudong stepped forward and tugged Jia Lu along.
"Come on. We'll go somewhere else."
Then Lin Chudong glanced at the woman.
"You're Wang Xiaoyan's manager, right? Long time no see."
The woman replied coolly, "I didn't think Brother Da Fei would remember me. How the mighty have fallen. You've cobbled together this little variety shop to perform at a music festival? You're really tarnishing your own name."
"That's right. I've fallen so far I'm sharing a stage with you. You can tell I'm desperate enough to make a living that I've thrown away all my dignity, can't you?"
Then Lin Chudong raised his voice. "Wang Xiaoyan, keep your dog on a leash. Don't let it out to bite people!"
"You..."
"Xiao Xue, come back!"
A woman sitting in front of a mirror spoke up. A makeup artist was working on her, and neither of them reacted to what had happened. They were used to it.
That was how the Entertainment industry worked. Back when Da Fei was popular, Wang Xiaoyan had been all smiles whenever she saw him, politely calling him Brother Fei. She'd practically have climbed into his bed if he'd let her.
Now that Da Fei was on the decline, even her manager could take a jab at him.
Wang Xiaoyan sneered. "He's an idiot. If Shen Jianbin could leave him with nothing, he'd never let him make a comeback."
"We'll see."
Sitting on a little stool in the hallway, Liang Yin gritted her teeth. "That was so humiliating! How can someone talk like that?"
"You get used to it," Lin Chudong said. "In the Entertainment industry, people get trampled on and put on a pedestal in the blink of an eye. Old Chen, you've never been treated like that, have you?"
Old Chen had a cigarette between his lips. He laughed. "What kind of treatment haven't I had? Back in the day, they paid me two hundred yuan to perform all day at a rural wedding, and I didn't even get a meal out of it. That was a lot worse than this."
Lin Chudong glanced at Jing Feifei. "Miss, you holding up okay? Should I ask your dad to put on a music festival so we can have our own show?"
Jing Feifei's face was expressionless. "If my dad found out I was playing rock, he'd break my legs."
"..."
He'd pretend he hadn't said anything!
Soon, the music festival began.
Wang Xiaoyan opened the show with a high-energy song and dance routine, getting the crowd hyped.
Wang Xiaoyan wasn't a particularly big name. She was more of an internet-famous singer trying to go professional, but without any good songs, she didn't quite fit either category.
She'd approached Lin Chudong several times, but he'd turned her down each time. She'd held a grudge ever since.
Meanwhile, in the audience, a chubby guy held up his phone on a selfie stick, pointed the camera at himself, and shouted,
"I'm streaming the entire Summer Music Festival live! Ma Jinlong is here! I'll stream the whole thing for everyone to watch for free. I keep it real!"
Ma Jinlong's livestream immediately came alive with comments.
"Old Ma's killing it! Doing the family a solid! If security kicks you out, make sure you point the camera at yourself!"
"Give me a break. Old Ma's got over ten million followers. You think they'd kick out a big streamer?"
"Old Ma, you can't just stream! You've gotta do something fun! I'm not watching if you don't!"
"Old Ma, stop shaking your phone. Have you been rewarding yourself too much?"
"Brothers, tickets to the music festival cost 135 yuan today. I bought a scalped ticket and got a front-row seat. I paid 990 yuan, all so I could stream the festival for you guys for free. Later, I'm going live for The Voice, so smash that like button!" Ma Jinlong said.
Ma Jinlong was a Douyin streamer known for his humor and entertaining content. With over ten million followers, he was a major internet celebrity. His livestream from the music festival had official approval, of course. As for security kicking him out, even if it happened, it would just be staged.
As soon as Wang Xiaoyan finished her song, Ma Jinlong started reviewing it.
"Man, that singing... Brothers, I don't even know what to say! If that's good enough to get onstage, then I can do it too."
The comment section erupted with laughter...
It was all thanks to the Million-dollar tuner. Internet-famous singers like Wang Xiaoyan lost their nerve as soon as they performed live.
"I have to say, she's definitely singing live!"
"Haha, I wish she'd lip-sync."
One song after another came to an end, and Lin Chudong and the others were ready backstage.
Liang Yin took a deep breath and said,
"I feel like my heart's about to jump out of my chest. Are you guys nervous?"
"Boss lady, you're not even going onstage."
"I'm nervous for you! Da Fei, make sure you give it your all!"
Lin Chudong smiled. "This is nothing. You should look at Wang Zhi instead."
Wang Zhi's lips had gone white with nerves. Da Fei and Chen Jianguo had both been through plenty of big events; a music festival like this wouldn't make them nervous.
At a time like this, Lin Chudong didn't bother reassuring him. He'd be fine once he got onstage. They'd rehearsed countless times. Even without thinking, his fingers could play the right notes from muscle memory.
The host said,
"Take a walk with me through the streets of Chengdu, until all the lights have gone out, and I still won't stop."
"These beautiful lyrics made me long for a city I'd never been to."
"Do you remember Da Fei Band's former lead singer?"
"His song Chengdu made quite a splash in the Music Scene."
"Today, he's brought his new band to our Magic City Music Festival. Please welcome Liang Yin Band!"
The host's introduction sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Da Fei's reputation and the popularity of Chengdu had both given the audience a pleasant surprise.
Ma Jinlong was so excited he slapped his thigh. "Holy crap, Da Fei's actually here! And he's performing second-to-last! I'm not here for the music—I want to see Da Fei go at it with his former band!"
"Everyone, stay tuned to my livestream. You do not want to miss this!"
Before you continue