I Want to Laugh Whenever I See Her

That evening, Song Ya saw Mira on various news channels, though most were just fleeting glimpses. After all, the news was reporting on the equal rights rally, not some opening act. If not for SBK's advance PR, it would have been impossible for Mira to appear on screen at all.

Next, everyone had to leave Chicago, where they had stayed for over a month, and return to the SBK headquarters in New York to begin recording the studio version of the song for de Klerk—the version that would be officially released shortly.

"Honey, just one day, I'll see you in New York." At the airport, Song Ya held Mira in his arms.

He had to make another trip to Detroit for a radio interview. This was originally Old Joe's engagement, but since the Bulls had lost, that old fox knew he would definitely be mocked and ridiculed by the people of Detroit if he went now, so he simply dumped the burden on Song Ya.

Song Ya couldn't refuse Old Joe, and secondly, he wanted to take this opportunity to promote Mira's new song, so he agreed. It was only for a day, so it wouldn't delay anything. Eric and Al would also accompany Mira and the others to New York first. In the future, they would accompany them throughout the promotional tour as the band's DJ and assistant, which would allow them to earn a paycheck from SBK. Besides, once Song Ya started school, they wouldn't be able to be his lackeys anymore anyway.

After personally seeing Mira and the others off on the plane, he and Hayden boarded a flight to Detroit.

As a native of Detroit, Hayden was naturally a Pistons fan. In Chicago, he had hidden his leanings well. Coincidentally, the interview was scheduled for the morning rush hour tomorrow, so he could still catch a Pistons Finals game that night.

As soon as they arrived in Detroit, the two headed straight for The Palace of Auburn Hills. The tickets were already sold out, but Hayden, familiar with the routine, found a black scalper lurking outside the arena and bought two at a high price.

"Don't worry, I'm not a rich man, the seats I bought won't be caught by the cameras." Hayden pulled the hesitant Song Ya into the arena. "My treat, just take it as a thank you."

In just a few months, he had already earned over twenty thousand dollars from Song Ya, and there would be more in the future; treating him to a ball game was indeed a small matter.

"I'm not a star, it doesn't matter if I'm caught on camera or not, it's just that I really don't understand the game."

Song Ya followed Hayden into the arena. He had no interest in the basketball, ice hockey, football, or baseball popular in the USA; he could play a bit of ping-pong, though.

They couldn't sit down immediately after finding their seats; the audience and players were all paying tribute to the flag. In the center of the court, a female singer was performing the second national anthem, America the Beautiful.

Song Ya didn't have any patriotic fervor for the USA, but he couldn't help but go through the motions.

The questions for tomorrow's interview had been agreed upon by the radio station and Old Joe long ago. Theoretically, he just needed to answer according to the script, but the radio DJ certainly wouldn't be that honest, especially after the Pistons defeated the Bulls; otherwise, Old Joe wouldn't have been hiding.

Just as he was lost in thought, he was suddenly interrupted by an extremely high note from the female singer on the court. Once that whistle-like high note appeared, the tens of thousands of spectators in the arena went wild, starting to cheer and clamor.

"Wow, it sounds just like a dolphin..." Hayden also kept clapping.

"Who is this?" The position was too high, and Song Ya could only see the female singer's blonde hair.

"Don't know, but she must have some background to be able to perform on an occasion like this," Hayden replied.

When the female singer left the stage and headed toward the aisle, Song Ya finally saw her true face clearly, and then...

"What are you laughing at?" Hayden noticed Song Ya's abnormality.

"I... I don't know either... Why am I... Hahaha... Why am I laughing..." Song Ya was laughing until he was out of breath. The terrifying thing was that he had absolutely no idea why.

"She's quite pretty..." Hayden thought the female singer had some strange appearance and squinted to look. "Seems like she's mixed-race too, just like you."

"Hahaha... I don't... I don't know, I just want to laugh the moment I see her, I just feel... feel she's particularly funny." Song Ya pressed on Hayden's shoulder, trying his best to maintain his balance.

"Sit down."

The game officially started, and everyone around them sat down. Hayden also pulled Song Ya into his seat. "You didn't fall for her, did you? How long has it been since you parted with Mira?"

"No... no..." The female singer's figure disappeared into the aisle, and Song Ya finally calmed down gradually. Since his transmigration, besides the massive amount of information from his "apocalypse," subconscious thoughts often popped into his mind, which was very similar to this situation.

"Hayden, can you help me look into her?" Song Ya had been dragging Mira around everywhere during this time, visiting every thrift shop he could find, just to try his luck and see if he could trigger the "apocalypse" again. If this sudden emotional fluctuation was a catalyst, he couldn't let it go to waste. No transmigrator would complain about having too many cheats, right?

"Now?"

Hayden looked at the court and then at Song Ya. "Alright, alright, it just so happens I'm very familiar with this place. You little lecher..." He stared at the game while complaining, and followed the direction the female singer had left.

After a few minutes, he returned. "Come on, she's backstage. I told her APLUS wanted to see her, and she agreed."

"That smooth?"

Song Ya quickly got up to follow. "Is my name already that effective?"

"Of course, Thrift Shop has been hovering around tenth place on the Billboard charts for five consecutive weeks..."

Hayden introduced as he led the way, "She's a newcomer from Columbia Records, named Mariah Carey. But I warn you to be careful; she released her first single last month and will release her debut album in a few days. Judging by this release pace, Columbia Records has high expectations for her."

"You're something else, finding out so much in such a short time." Song Ya praised.

"The young lady has a very cheerful personality, no hidden agendas..." Hayden walked to the door of a dressing room inside the arena and knocked.

A female assistant opened the door, and Song Ya finally saw the target up close, but...

Mariah Carey was still wearing the black evening gown from her performance, the neckline quite open, and her mixed-race features were very beautiful. "Hi... APLUS, Thrift Shop, right? The song you wrote is great, and the style is fresh." She took the initiative to step forward and reached out her hand. "Nice to meet... you... uh... what's wrong with you?"

Song Ya bent over, leaning on the door frame, unable to stop laughing.

"Is it because of my hair?" Mariah Carey misunderstood, her face changing drastically. She touched her hair and quickly rushed back to the vanity mirror. "I said it, I don't suit this kind of fluffy curly hair!" She threw the long comb in her hand and began to loudly blame the makeup artist, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What are you doing!?" Hayden asked in a low, embarrassed voice, gritting his teeth.

"Hoo hoo..." Song Ya took several deep breaths and finally calmed down. "I'm sorry, Miss Carey, I..."

Just as he was about to enter the dressing room, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him, "Who are you?"

He turned around and saw a tall, handsome white man in his forties looking at him and Hayden with a look of displeasure.

"Uh... uh, hello, hello Mr. Mottola..."

Seeing the man, Hayden's tongue suddenly started to trip. "I'm Hayden, an agent from William Morris, and this..." He pulled Song Ya to his side to stand steady, "is my client APLUS, the one who... the one who wrote Thrift Shop. We really like Miss Carey's voice... so..."

"Tommy!" Mariah Carey pouted pitifully at Mottola from inside. "I said it, I don't suit this hairstyle. Look, everyone is laughing at me."

"No one is laughing at you." Mottola replied casually. He reached out to Song Ya. "APLUS, your song is quite good. I heard you have a collaboration with SBK?"

"Uh... yes." Song Ya shook his hand. "We are recording an equal rights song."

"I know, I know, I saw yesterday's reports. The song is quite good. That girl is named Milla Jovovich, right?" Mottola gestured to his female assistant, took a business card from her, and handed it to Song Ya. "Although Daniel at SBK is a good hand at selling records, I still have to say that his methods are completely overdrawing the singer's future. Believe me, if you want to stay popular for a long time, you have to stay vigilant against him."

Song Ya took the business card, which had only a phone number on it.

"This is my assistant's number. If you have any new songs, call this. The doors of Sony Columbia will always be open for a talented young man like you."

Mottola stood at the doorway, showing no intention of letting them in.

"Who is this guy? Sowing discord the moment he opens his mouth." Having failed to speak with Mariah Carey and now taking his leave, Song Ya muttered in dissatisfaction.

"He is someone you cannot afford to offend."

Hayden replied, "Tommy Mottola, the new president of Sony Columbia Records."