Seeing how confident Wu Bo was, Shen Jianbin and Sun Jie didn't know what to say.
Su Yulin watched with an expressionless face and the faintest hint of a cold smile.
Who did he think he was, trying to replace Da Fei?
What a fool's dream.
Shen Jianbin said, "Don't go too hard when you get onstage. Don't get too excited, either. Remember to introduce the musicians and the band."
"You're the lead singer. You should do all the talking. I can't steal your thunder."
Wu Bo nodded. "Got it, Brother Bin!"
Lin Chudong came offstage, and the director called out.
"Da Fei Band, you're up!"
Wu Bo took the lead, his face brimming with confidence. Shen Jianbin and the others followed close behind.
In the corridor, Lin Chudong and the others came offstage as the two groups passed each other.
Everyone in Da Fei Band looked at Lin Chudong. A provocative smile tugged at Wu Bo's lips, as if to say, I'm taking your place. It's as good as done!
Shen Jianbin's expression darkened. He could let the earlier song, "Chengdu," go.
But Lin Chudong hadn't even brought out "No Hesitation." If it had been in their band's repertoire, it would have become another signature classic!
Da Fei was such a bastard!
As Su Yulin passed Lin Chudong, she suddenly winked at him, then went right back to her usual cold, expressionless look.
As the two groups passed each other, everyone had plenty of thoughts running through their heads.
Liang Yin said, "Da Fei, we did way too well. Shen Jianbin and the others are going to have a hard time performing, aren't they?"
Chen Jianguo said, "Of course. From what I've seen so far, no one who follows Da Fei's two songs will be able to keep up."
Lin Chudong smiled. "It's not that bad. Let's see."
"Please welcome Da Fei Band!"
Da Fei Band took the stage, and the audience erupted in thunderous applause.
They were the headlining band, after all, and they were well known. Even with a new lead singer, they still had plenty of fans.
Seeing the audience's reaction, Shen Jianbin smiled with satisfaction.
Wu Bo picked up the microphone and spoke loudly.
"Hello, everyone! I'm Wu Bo, the new lead singer of Da Fei Band!"
"It's great to meet you. With me on board, Da Fei Band's music is going to make a huge leap forward!"
Shen Jianbin frowned and quietly reminded him,
"Introduce the musicians..."
Wu Bo didn't hear him at all. He raised his voice and said,
"Now, let's kick things off with our first song, 'Keep Up With The Rhythm'!"
Wu Bo was challenging Da Fei's signature song right out of the gate. His goal was to surpass the original.
Only by outdoing the original singer could he make people remember him.
Shen Jianbin took a deep breath, furious. What an idiot. He didn't even know how to introduce the musicians!
All he cared about was bragging!
Wu Bo's opening line was pretty impressive, though.
"This is my rhythm. Come on, enjoy it with me..."
The audience's reaction was decent.
They were enthusiastic at first, but after a couple of lines, they realized something was missing.
Most people didn't know much about music. They could only tell whether it sounded good or not.
Wu Bo had a good voice, quite similar to Da Fei's, and he had a lot of edge.
But the music was nowhere near as good as it had been when Da Fei led the band.
Ma Jinlong spoke to his phone. "From a professional standpoint, Da Fei Band is missing a guitarist!"
"When Da Fei was still with them, Sun Jie was the lead guitarist, but Da Fei was an outstanding guitarist too. He'd have a guitar in his hands and throw in a few melodic notes from time to time, filling in Sun Jie's gaps. It was basically a simplified version of a dual-guitar solo."
"But Wu Bo is just a lead singer, so naturally the music is missing a voice part."
The bullet comments immediately lit up.
"Old Ma's a pro. You could hear that? I just knew it wasn't as good as Da Fei, but I had no idea why."
"Old Ma has a master's degree in music. You guys didn't know?"
"Never mind the rest. This song is nowhere near as good as 'No Hesitation.' I'm falling asleep."
"I was ready to get hyped again, and then they hit me with a sleeping pill. Why didn't they let Da Fei close the show?"
"Wu Bo isn't even close to Da Fei. Just look at Shen Jianbin's face."
Ma Jinlong enlarged the image on his phone and zoomed in on Shen Jianbin.
Shen Jianbin looked absolutely awful.
The audience was far too quiet. Aside from a few people singing along, most of them were just staring blankly.
Da Fei's "No Hesitation" had been so explosive that there was no way to follow it.
A dead crowd was the ultimate test of a singer's composure.
Wu Bo's expression changed when he saw what was happening.
Suddenly, he paused and missed a beat.
"Did he forget the lyrics? Hahaha!"
"Guess it's not the same when you didn't write the song yourself. That was so unprofessional. Even I'd do better at karaoke—I once scored a 99!"
"Is this kid here to make us laugh? Is he related to Shen Jianbin? Da Fei Band's going downhill!"
Shen Jianbin's eyes widened. He hurriedly sang a few lines, and only then did Wu Bo catch up!
The rest of the performance was fairly steady, but the audience had already checked out.
The atmosphere grew colder and colder. Quite a few people had even started heading to the restroom—something unheard of during the headlining act at a music festival.
Ma Jinlong said, "Looks like the result is already clear. Without Da Fei, Da Fei Band is an empty shell. Without those songs, they might as well disband!"
"Why isn't Da Fei singing this song? Didn't he write it?"
"Copyright issues. The rights belong to Da Fei Band."
"What? Da Fei can't even sing his own songs? Where's the justice in that?"
"Get offstage already! Let Da Fei come up!"
"Old Ma, get Da Fei up here! This is a new challenge. You always say you keep things real—do you have the guts?"
As soon as that comment appeared, others piled on, flooding the screen.
Ma Jinlong said, "I have to give the fans what they want today. Challenge accepted! I'll get Da Fei back onstage. I keep things real!"
By the time Da Fei Band started their second song, the venue had already grown quiet. People were chatting and playing on their phones, and Wu Bo got absolutely no response when he tried to interact with them.
Shen Jianbin was so furious he was practically going crazy. Wu Bo's ability to command a crowd wasn't even close to Da Fei's.
After the second song ended, Shen Jianbin said, "Bow and get offstage!"
Wu Bo nodded and bowed to the audience.
"See you all next time!"
Not even a round of applause accompanied them as they left the stage.
The crowd was colder than anything they'd ever seen!
As soon as they came offstage, Shen Jianbin exploded.
"How the fuck does a professional singer forget the lyrics? You're useless!"
Wu Bo gritted his teeth. "Brother Bin, I was too nervous. It won't happen again."
Shen Jianbin's face darkened. He ignored him.
The host went onstage and said,
"Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes this music festival. Please leave in an orderly fashion."
Suddenly, Ma Jinlong stood up and shouted,
"We're not leaving! Da Fei! Da Fei! Da Fei!"
With Ma Jinlong leading the chant, the entire crowd joined in.
"Da Fei!"
"Da Fei!"
"..."
The host hurried offstage. The lights went out, and the crew began packing up.
But not a single person in the audience left. The crowd roared Da Fei's name so loudly that the surrounding neighborhoods could hear it clearly.
The host grew anxious. "Director, what do we do?"
Before you continue