Game Seven

Inventing, or rather discovering, a new synthesized sound is no simple task. First, it is difficult for Song Ya to accurately describe the sounds in his head to Delay. Then, trying to simulate them using a combination of instruments or electronic equipment is even harder. Delay is an excellent keyboardist, but his capabilities in this specific area are still insufficient, and Song Ya's current financial resources cannot afford to hire industry heavyweights, so progress is very slow. The new company also remains a shell for the time being, as Song Ya does not want to be distracted by management at this stage, waiting for the future instead.

Rehearsals for the new song are going smoothly, and people have started visiting Joe Music one after another.

The first to arrive were the public relations staff from SBK. They took Mira and the band to perform a few unplugged sets in some Chicago bars. After receiving positive feedback, they began preparing for subsequent promotion. A song filled with profanity is hard to present in polite society; in an era where society is still quite conservative, there is no hope for any serious awards without changing the lyrics. If it were to be played on major media outlets like MTV, it would definitely need to be censored. Given the ratio of profanity in FXXXYOU, censoring the entire song would leave it so fragmented that it would be better not to play it at all. They decided to stick to their previous strategy: focusing on equality rallies and music festivals, letting word-of-mouth do the work.

Dr. Michelle also brought people over to evaluate it a few times. On her last visit, she brought the Chicago Police Commissioner and two highly respected Baptist pastors from equality organizations. Soon after, there will be a large-scale protest in Grant Park against apartheid in South Africa, and Mira will perform the song on a formal stage for the first time. They need to assess the impact the song will have beforehand; it cannot be too inflammatory to avoid inciting the large crowds, and the criticism of de Klerk cannot be too harsh, as everyone is currently pinning their hopes on this white South African president.

Song Ya had already discussed these two points with Michelle. Mira is a white girl, and the song is performed more like a teenage love song. Coupled with a somewhat playful approach, it can be said that the aggressiveness has been minimized. Although the two pastors had some reservations, it was passed unanimously as expected. If the performance at Grant Park is successful, Song Ya's assignment will be considered complete.

Watching these big shots evaluate and converse with such solemnity, Song Ya actually finds it somewhat amusing. The public safety in the South Side is in such a state—a fatal shooting occurred right across from Joe Music not long ago—yet these people act as if they don't see it...

Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to voice these thoughts. He feels that the South Side is more intimate than New York, but that doesn't stop him from planning to move away from the South Side to live and attend school in a place with better public safety.

Another unexpected visitor was the producer of Mira's next film, Return to the Blue Lagoon. He heard rumors about the song and rushed over to evaluate its impact on the lead actress's future and to adjust the film's promotional strategy according to Mira's expected popularity.

This is a good thing. When the producer from Columbia Pictures left, Mrs. Jovovich went with him to Los Angeles. Mira is now completely free from supervision. Aside from the things they love to do, Song Ya and she spend their time watching movies, window shopping, and strolling through nearby attractions, living like a leisurely pair of newlyweds. They even planned a trip to Detroit; the Bulls and the Pistons have reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. If they lose this game, Little Lowry's plan to perform at the Finals will fall through, so they might as well go over to watch the excitement.

"YO! APLUS!"

When he saw Little Lowry again at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the guy had undergone a complete transformation. He was dressed in flashy clothes, wearing more than one gold chain, and had his arm around a black girl of similar age. He was followed by brothers like AK and Tony, and he even started to walk with a swagger. According to Joe, although they haven't received their share from SBK yet, as their fame has spread across the U.S., they have been receiving endless invitations during the promotional period. No matter which city they go to, there are always nightclubs, strip clubs, and similar venues privately inviting them. They just have to go and sing a three-minute song to receive a large amount of tax-free cash on the spot, which is very satisfying.

"Hey, my good brother, look." Tony followed behind Little Lowry, showing off the gold Rolex on his wrist. He also rolled up the sleeve of Silencer, who was beside him, to show off the matching one.

Although Song Ya doesn't like Little Lowry much right now, to be fair, Little Lowry treats Tony, Silencer, and the others well.

"Hey." Song Ya bumped fists with them in greeting.

"Isn't this..."

Little Lowry recognized Mira, who was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses beside Song Ya. Having lost face last time when Mira gave him the middle finger and rejected him, he immediately became unhappy. "Kid, you did this behind my back, ah?"

"Hello." The black girl beside Little Lowry was very vigilant, her eyes scanning Mira up and down several times.

"Hi..." Mira smiled at her. Ever since she got together with Song Ya, her bad temper has subsided a lot.

"AJ!" Silencer suddenly blurted out two letters. It turned out that a Nike store was nearby.

There was still some time before the start, so everyone walked into the store together. Little Lowry stepped forward, picked up a pair of AJ5s from the display rack, struck a few shooting poses, and then threw them at Tony like a basketball. Then he picked up the next pair and threw them to AK, then to Silencer. "Yeah!" All three caught them. He celebrated by spreading his arms and sprinting through the store as if he had just hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

"Let's stay away." Song Ya looked at the embarrassed clerk and the disgusted customers, then put his arm around Mira and walked to the other side.

"This pair is nice." Mira took a liking to a pair of AJ4s.

"Hey! APLUS, why are you buying discounted goods for your white girl!" Little Lowry, over there, grabbed another pair of AJ5s. "Yours, fifty! This one! One hundred!" He threw them from a distance.

Song Ya quickly caught them and returned them to the clerk, shaking his head with a wry smile.

Fortunately, Pablo found them at this time. He hadn't changed much, pointing at his watch and urging, "It's getting late, let's go in. There are reporters inside, don't play around like this anymore."

Little Lowry put the shoes on right there, leaving his old ones where they were. He grabbed the black girl and hurried away. Tony and the others also changed their shoes, and there was another chaotic scramble as they swapped sizes. Finally, after they were done, AK picked up the old shoes from the floor and threw them into the trash can. Before heading to the checkout counter to pay, he didn't forget to turn back and point at the shoes in Mira's hand, making a throwing gesture.

"No need, we'll look around some more." Song Ya politely declined. Only after they left did he and Mira slowly pick out their shoes. The AJ5s were priced around eighty to one hundred dollars, and the out-of-season AJ4s were discounted to around fifty. Both of them felt that the all-white AJ4s were nice, and they would make perfect couple shoes.

After buying the shoes, they walked into the arena. Joe and his people were already seated. Song Ya's ticket was next to Joe's, so he led Mira over to sit down. Joe was very nervous; after all, he also had a part in the Finals performance.

Pablo, Tony, and the others were not far away, while Little Lowry and the black girl went to the seats closest to the court. Joe told Song Ya that the black girl was the daughter of a local Detroit music legend and was preparing to release an album. Being in that position with Little Lowry would definitely be caught by the cameras; it was a promotional strategy to gain exposure and create news.

The game started, and the Bulls were ice-cold, having no chance throughout the game. Joe was so angry that he kept cursing, berating Phil Jackson for his poor coaching, cursing the Pistons for being too dirty, cursing Pippen for going one-for-ten and Grant for going three-for-seventeen like a useless teammate, and cursing Little Lowry, blaming him for being too greedy and insisting on choosing the Finals for the performance, which caused him to lose his chance to perform during the playoffs for nothing.

Song Ya watched Little Lowry, who was already wilting in his seat from afar, and not only did he not feel any sympathy, but he also felt a little like laughing.