Chapter 176: I plan to invite guest performers to my solo concert every night...

Although Shang Hanyou said he was just passing by, the "luck" of encountering a professional singer who happened to be passing by and performed for free on such a significant life event as a wedding is far more heartwarming than any deliberately invited surprise. It's an unforgettable memory for ordinary people, let alone for the newlyweds who are fans who met through Shang Hanyou's songs.

"Really? I'm honored, thank you so much!" Hearing that the two were his fans, Shang Hanyou was even more delighted. If it weren't for the fact that the song "Longing in the Wind and Rain" didn't quite fit the atmosphere, he probably would have sung a few more songs after pulling Li Sishi to sing the tender and melodious "Eternal Affection"...

It's a pity that the new song in the movie, which perfectly matched the atmosphere of the scene, is now without accompaniment. Although singing a cappella is not something they can't do, they still have to consider copyright issues and restrictions on new songs.

Having enjoyed himself a little, Shang Hanyou sighed inwardly.

However, even though the two only sang one song as a congratulatory gift to the newlyweds, the hosts expressed great welcome and gratitude for their "gift" and enthusiastically led the entire crew to sit at two of the reserved empty tables, insisting on inviting them to a banquet.

Since everyone was already there and there was no rush, they all obliged to share in the joy of the occasion and sat down for the banquet. Although the open-air wedding banquet in the walled village couldn't compare to the ambiance of a big hotel, the wild and natural festive atmosphere was far superior. Even Shang Hanyou, who had just visited relatives who had a banquet at a big restaurant, said that the food here had more "flavor."

"Of course, if a restaurant is going to hold a banquet, many dishes are prepared in advance and then heated up and served after the banquet starts. But this kind of banquet is basically made on the spot and served as soon as it is made. The fresh taste is definitely better..." Li Sishi used to help Madam Li prepare for her wedding banquet, so she naturally knew some of the unspoken rules of holding banquets in big restaurants.

“That’s true, except for the lack of air conditioning… but there’s natural wind everywhere here, so it feels more comfortable than an air-conditioned room.” Shang Hanyou nodded, then quickly snatched the last steamed abalone with garlic and vermicelli from the scramble for chopsticks and put it in Li Sishi’s bowl. Only then could he resist arguing with the others, “You bunch of beasts, eat more politely!”

"It's okay, that's what creates the atmosphere—it's all about the competition." Li Sishi waved her hand and smiled gently.

If there are leftovers after the dishes are distributed to each person in a round at this kind of rural wedding banquet, then the remaining one or two abalones and prawns have to be "fought" for to make everyone happy.

It's like children who, once food is divided and placed in front of them, have little appetite; only when they manage to grab something amidst a scramble of people do they truly enjoy it.

Although Hong Kong's entertainment industry has spread throughout Asia and become one of the most brilliant entertainment industries in Asia with the remarkable story of a small place rising to prominence, the place is still too small, with only a few million people. Moreover, the current trend in the industry is not yet popular, where anyone can call someone "teacher." When artists step off the stage and away from the camera, most of them are quite down-to-earth.

Therefore, although they took the initiative to sing and unceremoniously freeloaded at other people's banquets, the people of Hong Kong, who often see "celebrities," initially just found it amusing and then regarded it as a mascot.

After saying goodbye to the hospitable villagers, Li Sishi and her group got back into the car and returned to the city to begin preparing for the next part of the filming.

The filming here mainly consists of singing competition scenes. With Li Sishi, Zhuang Menghua's darling, the crew had a great deal of convenience when filming at the TV City. The recording time was arranged well in advance, and they even borrowed the studio in Studio One to build the set.

Sitting in a corner, looking at the stage builder Hanyou, I sighed with emotion: "I also 'came out' from here back then."

“Yes, but you are really strong…” Li Sishi looked at the script without looking up, but it was clear that the quotation marks around her word “strong” were quite meaningful. “It was a singing competition jointly organized by TBL and Gangcheng Radio, and it was even recorded in TBL’s studio. You sang the theme song of a TV series from the other station. You were able to win the championship back then. It was absolutely based on your strength!”

"Hahaha!" The award-winning MC, Brother Dan, who was there as a guest host for the competition, burst into laughter upon hearing this. "Indeed, indeed, I was backstage back then too. Although the songs did have a few problems..."

But when I heard that voice, I immediately told everyone that this person was definitely going to win the championship.

"I was so nervous!" Shang Hanyou laughed. "After the results were announced, I had to sing the winning song again. My palms were sweating and my feet felt like they were nailed to the stage!"

"As for choosing that song, it's mainly because it's short and I can finish singing it quickly, otherwise I'm afraid I'll crush the microphone..."

"Hahaha, you were such a talent back then..." Li Sishi couldn't help but laugh when she heard him reminiscing about his youthful days.

Looking back at his youthful days years ago through the memories of a now-established superstar, the feeling of how time has transformed him into who he is today is both poignant and wistful.

It is something that makes people nostalgic.

"Alright, stop laughing at me. Everyone went through this when they were young!" Shang Hanyou said, feigning anger.

"Tsk, I also came from a competitive background, and I was never this stiff and awkward back then." Although the reason she was calmer than her peers was because she had been reborn and started anew, when she got together with her friends to brag... she would definitely brag as much as she could.

"That's true, you were born for this." Shang Hanyou and Brother Dan had both witnessed Li Sishi's rise from beauty pageants, so when faced with Li Sishi's self-praise, they really couldn't find an opportunity to refute her.

Besides, given Li Sishi's performance in the competition, it was just like what Brother Dan said about Shang Hanyou's competition – that's pretty much what it meant. With her looks and abilities, if she still pretended to be stupid and chose someone else as the champion, it would be like TVB didn't want to hold another Miss Hong Kong pageant!

Otherwise, Lee Sze-sze would have become the second Miss Hong Kong winner recognized by the public, after Yin Ka-lai!

While chatting and studying the script, Li Sishi gained a clearer understanding of the psychology of amateurs participating in singing competitions from Shang Hanyou's recollections and remarks. When filming began, her "newcomer performance"—a mix of awkwardness and stiffness—was so impressive that Director Liu couldn't help but applaud.

"Ah May acted very well in this scene, keep it up, let's do two more shots!" The set for this singing competition was to be filmed in one go for all the competition scenes, and Li Sishi has never made the mistakes that newcomers often make since her debut, so Director Liu is not worried about Li Sishi's performance in the later competition scenes, only about her scenes as a newcomer.

Fortunately, Li Sishi has Shang Hanyou as a role model, who can add "life experience" to her excellent acting skills and then integrate them to take her to the next level.

If you want to win an award, you have to be meticulous like this to impress those discerning judges.

After filming the scene where the female lead participates in her first singing competition, they quickly changed her costume and continued filming the subsequent competition scenes.

They filmed until evening when a staff member came to inform them that the studio needed to be handed over to the next group, and everyone hurriedly packed up.

As artists who frequently come to TVB City to record programs, Li Sishi and others went to a nearby dressing room to prepare for removing their makeup.

"Everyone has worked hard today, so I'll treat you to dinner. Please don't be shy..." Director Liu was very satisfied with today's filming progress, and...

It was the first day back in the city for filming, so Director Liu naturally wanted to have a good omen by eating out instead of taking boxed lunches.

While removing her makeup, Li Sishi smiled slightly and looked down at the documents her assistant had just brought back.

After looking at the options everyone had chosen, Shang Hanyou raised his hand to indicate that he wanted to have hot pot. He then moved his chair closer to Li Sishi and asked, "Do you want to have hot pot or something else?"

"Hot pot is great, I'm fine with that." Li Sishi prefers this method of everyone choosing what they like to order, rather than having to cater to everyone's tastes in a private room.

Seeing Li Sishi engrossed in the documents in her hands, and holding them openly without any attempt to hide it, Shang Hanyou leaned over to glance at them: "Oh? It's the guest list for the concert. Did you book the Hong Kong Coliseum?"

“I’ve got the dates. Filming will finish around the end of September, and the dates are perfect for October 1st to 7th, seven screenings in a week.” Li Sishi said thoughtfully, holding her pen. “So I plan to invite a guest every night…”

“I have plenty of time to spare!” He made it clear in his words, and even reached out to point and give instructions. “Ideally, it would be the first show, so that I can have more time to prepare for my next tour.”

“Alright, you’re number one.” Although she had many friends in the industry, it was certainly nice to have a guest who offered himself up, so Li Sishi readily agreed and arranged for him to be the first guest on the first night.

Shang Hanyou watched with satisfaction as Li Sishi marked up the form: The proposed guest for the second night is Wen Huihui. Not bad. Although she was bothered by fans before, Li Sishi and Wen Huihui get along quite well. It's a good opportunity to show off their friendship...

The proposed guest for the third night is in the early morning—well, considering Li Sishi's social circle, it is indeed easier to invite someone of the same level in the early morning.

Although he had mixed feelings about Ling Chen, his former best friend and now his rival in love, Shang Hanyou stroked his chin and felt that he could accept the ranking, considering that he had taken the top spot on the first night and Ling Chen would be ranked third by Li Sishi.

After all, Li Sishi's form was based on "work," not "relationships."

Thinking this, Shang Hanyou's eyes widened when he saw the name of the guest candidate proposed for the fourth night: "Huang Qianyan?!"

"Yes, is there anything strange?" Li Sishi put down her pen and looked at him.

"Are you planning to invite her to... perform a dance?" As one of the victims deeply poisoned by the Soul Diva, Shang Hanyou could only make another guess.

“There will be dancing and singing.” Li Sishi thought about her plan and nodded in reply.

The moment she finished speaking, she received a live-action "Are you serious?" emoji from the person next to her.