Chapter 108 Coachella: The Wind and Fire of Coachella
Coachella, a music festival held in California, USA, takes place on weekends and is a star-studded event every year. This year's lineup includes many big names such as Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone, Charli XCX, and Megan Thee Stallion.
K-pop was naturally included. Lumera's event was on Sunday, and in the final lineup announcement, her name appeared right after Post Malone and Megan Thee Stallion. The earlier the name appeared, the more popular the artist was, and the higher the organizer's recognition of the artist. Furthermore, Lumera's name was in the same font size as Megan's, making it easily recognizable compared to the string of names that followed, which required close scrutiny. This was a real honor for Lumera.
Many unscrupulous people searched the list carefully and found that there was another one a few names behind it: Jennie, whose relationship with G-Dragon started and ended, whose relationship was unknown, whose relationship was not real or not, but whose relationship was believed by countless people to be true.
So they immediately started stirring up trouble, wanting the two fan groups to fight, or to see a catfight that would definitely cause an uproar across the internet. Some marketing accounts that specialize in generating negative traffic also started posting various posts to ride the wave of popularity and watch the drama unfold. In the end, it turned into a huge melee with everyone talking at once and other fans impersonating each other. China and South Korea were the main battlegrounds, with one negative post after another being created and one negative image after another being posted using the usual tactics.
Many passersby were curious about what kind of unflattering photos Coldy had, but it turned out to be the same old story: the villainous photo of him bullying Lin Zhixia in the practice room, as well as some photos of him with messy hair after just waking up or looking listless. When passersby saw these photos, they could only exclaim, "Wow, he just woke up and his face isn't swollen at all, and he still looks so beautiful!"
People can laugh when they're speechless. Even Xia Jie, a popular internet celebrity who has had countless boyfriends, posted a series of question marks on Instagram and shared photos of the birthday gifts Coldy gave her this year, last year, and the year before, to prove that the bullying allegations were completely unfounded and that they had a great relationship!
Since the two haven't had any public interaction since their debut, Lin Zhixia didn't want to be accused of trying to gain popularity, so she didn't post it until today. Actually, it's not just her; other teammates she worked with during the talent show, such as Lena and Song Yamin, also received her birthday gifts.
Similarly, Jiang Tinghan receives just as many birthday gifts as he gives out in a year. When he first joined SW, everyone there was difficult to get along with; some were quiet, while others were never nice. The only ones who showed Jiang Tinghan kindness were his roommates. In the end, they were all tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and there were no bad people among them. Even if they didn't keep in touch much, they would never forget to give him a gift.
This is why, even two and a half years after "SW" ended, people still rewatch it or watch it for the first time, and regard "SW" as an unsurpassable masterpiece among talent shows. No other program pursues such a pure and excellent stage, and no other program can gather a group of strong, diverse girls who do not treat the program as a social gathering place but strive to debut, yet are kind and sincere at heart.
In short, Lin Zhixia's Instagram post caused a huge uproar among the original talent show fans. Even those who had stopped following the show after her debut and were just fans of the talent show returned, jumping up and down excitedly, shouting "Ahhhhh!" and adding a long string of crying emojis.
[TT I'm going to cry. It feels like I've rediscovered the feeling of watching "SW" back then. It was a tough but unforgettable time. I'm still wondering if those wonderful days really existed? It feels like a dream...]
[Sister Xia probably never expected to suffer this again two years later, but I'm still very grateful that she posted all the gifts Coldy gave me. It shows me that you, who were once very close, are still in contact with each other privately. I'm really touched.]
[kkk Saw a birthday card from Unnie, "Please keep your eyes open when looking for a man," still so sarcastic, just like our usual Hanha-ha way of getting along.]
In terms of retaliation, Lumera has only been back for less than a month and has so many active fans that they're like krill in Antarctica. Any casual comment from one of them can bombard these people, forcing them to close their comment sections and ban their accounts.
Lumina and Coda are masters at using data and accolades to their advantage. Their entries are filled with gleaming trophies and overwhelming sales figures. There's no need to compare them to the dismal performance of Solo this year. The troublemakers certainly saw a good show, but they also got slapped more than once. For the fans, it's just a matter of course.
Even foreign girls who say they don't care and are very open-minded, and don't make a fuss like you East Asian fans, but actually care a lot, have joined the battle. In less than half a day, all platforms have been taken over by Lu fans.
Lumera just departed from Incheon Airport today and hasn't even arrived at Coachella yet, but the atmosphere is already quite heated.
It just wasn't as popular as they had anticipated.
Lumera had no time to pay attention to online comments. Their performance lasted a full hour and was quite lavish. The entire stage was rearranged, and all the songs from their second mini album were included in the performance, as well as classics like "Wildfire," "Waves," "Swallowing Flowers," "Lying in Wine," and "Startled Spring." The arrangement was done by all eight members together, so Jiang Tinghan wasn't under as much pressure, but she was still very busy.
During rehearsals, she took a break to greet Megan. Megan in 2025 was as hot as ever, but Jiang Tinghan was different. Although she had star quality back when she auditioned, she was still green. Now she has grown into a dazzling superstar.
When Megan saw Jiang Tinghan, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Hey girl, you've changed so much! You shine like a diamond!"
“Now, we are two black diamonds meeting.” Jiang Tinghan smiled slightly, looking at Megan’s long, wavy black hair. Since Megan herself also had black hair, it corresponded to the two black diamonds in her words.
Megan couldn't help but burst out laughing: "You still have such a silver tongue. What about the other girls?"
"Ah..." Jiang Tinghan looked towards the doorway, and a group of beautiful girls immediately poured in from both sides of the previously empty doorway.
Standing in the center, Skye pulled out a bouquet of fragrant champagne-colored roses and green lisianthus from behind her back and handed it to Megan. As she did so, a chorus of greetings erupted: "Mentor! Long time no see!"
"Ms. Megan, I miss you!"
"I listened to this year's new album..."
Megan was visibly taken aback, then somewhat surprised: "Oh, is this for me?"
"I, I, I..." She glanced around the lounge for something to give as a gift, but everything was used. She practically rapped "I" in one breath but still couldn't find anything. In the end, she could only laugh and say, "I didn't expect to receive such a surprise, but I love it!"
She accepted the bouquet and exclaimed, "These flowers are as fragrant as you are."
Meghan used the literary word "Redolent," which means fragrant and rich, often used to describe a quality or atmosphere that is full of beautiful qualities. She was not only referring to the fragrance, but also praising your profound taste.
Those who understood smiled and said thank you, and those who didn't understand also said thank you. They also talked about some funny stories about the members who were present during the previous auditions, such as Kim Seo-hee mispronouncing "stability" in the lyrics as "sterility," which Megan still remembers.
Most of the members were hearing about this for the first time, and they immediately burst into laughter without any mercy, leaving Kim Seo-hee feeling extremely helpless.
Jiang Tinghan then teased, "Ruixi, do you still remember that rap? Why don't you show Megan how much you've improved?"
Jin Ruixi waved her hand dejectedly and said, "Let's skip it, I've forgotten everything."
The girls burst into laughter again.
Megan saw this and thought to herself that the relationship was really good. She had also worked with K-pop artists before and had seen many seemingly harmonious but actually discordant groups.
She then asked, "When are you performing? I think I saw you on the Coachella stage?"
Coachella has many stages. The Coachella stage is the main stage, the Outdoor Theatre is the second largest outdoor stage, and the rest are indoor stages. Since it is the main stage, it is undoubtedly No.1.
Jiang Tinghan nodded: "Yeah, it should be between seven and eight o'clock here."
Megan was somewhat surprised: "Right in front of me? I'm going on stage at 8:30."
"Yes!" Everyone's tone was filled with excitement as they thought about their first time on the Coachella stage.
Megan flicked her long hair with her long, sharp, aggressive nails: "Girls, you'd better watch out."
This confident tone was clearly the style of a Western diva. Lumera didn't feel challenged at all; she just thought, "Soooo—cool!"
With the belief that they too should have this attitude towards life, Lumera took to the main stage of Coachella. There were tens of thousands of audience members. Looking down into the audience, the venue was so packed that there was concern about whether there would be any audience members left for the other stages. Faces from all over the world could be seen in the audience. Fans from all corners of the world had gathered here because of Lumera.
Most of them carry Lumera light sticks, and some are even the newly released second-generation Lumera light sticks. A completely alien bird is on top of a five-petaled flower that looks like a starfish. The remaining three petals are superimposed on the top, bottom left, and bottom right petals, and the eight petals are neatly combined to form a star.
Today, Coldy wore a tight-fitting outfit with a cutout at the back waist: a sleeveless, strappy black and red leather jacket and a shiny black leather skirt. Two thin cutouts were also drawn down from the side waist, covered with a spider-like black web. Against her snow-white skin, she looked flamboyant and hot. The red on the leather jacket looked like splattered blood, both bloody and gorgeous.
It's said that Coachella is very good at blowing in the wind. Her black hair fluttered in the wind, revealing her delicate profile and sharp, deep black eyes under her wispy hair. Her gaze was as fierce as fire as she looked at every audience member who had come from afar.
Jiang Tinghan took a step forward, her black hair brushing against her fair ears, the red in-ear monitors contrasting with the bloodstains on her leather jacket, like two leaping flames.
She gripped the microphone tightly and shouted, "Coachella! Shout louder, Baby!"
This loud shout quickly ignited the spark in the hearts of the audience, instantly setting the atmosphere ablaze. Cheers continued unabated, growing louder and louder, and screams filled the air.
"Aaaaaaahh ...
Feeling the enthusiasm of the audience, Jiang Tinghan also showed a bright smile, and then strode forward, waving his hand as if he were a commander directing his teammates, or as if he were greeting the audience, his voice clearly reaching the ears of every spectator:
"Let's go! Lumera!"
"Wildfire!!!"
At that very moment, the accompaniment to "Wildfire" began to play!
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Author's Note: Coachella was officially announced a year in advance, and in April. Consider this my personal interpretation [pat on the head].
I tried Binggrae's banana milk when I went to Korea. I read on XHS that it had a strong artificial flavor, but it was exactly the taste I liked! Haha, it was really delicious.
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