Chapter 82. I will officially retire from the entertainment industry.
On November 21st, Chen Zhoudu's concert began, and Xia Chan, Huang Mao, La La, Pang Hu, and others all changed into blue clothes and went to the stadium.
The concert tickets were handed to them by Jing Zixi through Chen Zhoudu. He reserved seats in the first row of the inner field for all of them, and one of the empty seats was specially reserved for Siyi, number 41.
Winter has arrived, and the temperature in Shanghai is no longer warm.
However, the entire venue was packed, with many fans arriving several hours early and exchanging materials in a warm and friendly manner.
As night gradually fell, the lights in the venue became increasingly dazzling.
Then, at 7:30 p.m., all the lights in the venue suddenly went out, while the stage lights suddenly came on.
The video footage of the sunken boat crossing was shown on the big screen, which drew excited shouts from the audience.
After the warm-up video ended, background music gradually started, and the sunken boat slowly rose from below the stage to the center of the stage, beginning the first opening song.
Xia Chan had never heard Chen Zhoudu sing live before, and this was the first time she had ever looked up at him on such a big stage.
He was still so handsome that it was impossible to look away. He had a special stage makeup and styling done, and the slightly shimmering makeup didn't seem superfluous on his face and body. Instead, it amplified every inch of his facial features and lines.
The stage lights shone down on him without restraint, making him look exceptionally dazzling.
He was so dazzling that it seemed as if all the light in the world was shining on him at that moment.
At this moment, she also felt exceptionally distant, so distant it seemed unreal.
So distant that Xia Chan felt the whole world should love his dazzling and lofty appearance.
The concert was really exciting...
Young faces, passionate shouts;
When the support lights for the "Sinking Boat Crossing" event lit up, it was as if a dreamy, pure blue ocean had spread throughout the entire venue.
Then everyone sang the songs they knew together, as if they wanted to send their voices to the farthest places. The passion was so intense that it made people want to shed tears. That must be the eternal image of youth.
Siyi, can you see this...?
Xia Chan's eyes reddened as she gently touched the straw cicada pendant hanging on her coat zipper, but her gaze unconsciously drifted to the empty seat beside her, silently thinking to herself.
The concert you've been longing for, we've brought it to you.
We each brought you along.
After Chenzhoudu had sung a few songs, it was past eight o'clock.
Huang Mao glanced at the time and hesitated before saying to Xia Chan, "Sister Chan, it's almost 8:30."
It's time to go.
After the sunken boat had already left the stage for a break and was getting more glamorous, Xia Chan looked deeply at the stage and whispered, "Let's go."
When Chen Zhoudu returned to the stage, he had changed into a simple casual outfit: a plain white T-shirt, white pants, and a blue shirt jacket. The shiny makeup on his face had also been completely washed off, making him look like an ordinary young man.
She walked quietly on the stage, eliciting a chorus of surprised screams.
He could naturally see the few empty seats in the inner row, and a sense of emptiness suddenly filled his heart.
Then he immediately smiled slightly at the audience, and the big screen magnified his face, which made the fans scream and wave their glow sticks wildly.
A slight blush appeared in his eyes, yet his gaze was unusually bright and moist. He quietly raised the microphone and addressed the audience: "The next song, I believe, is the one that many of the fans who came here today came to know me from."
"But before this song, I want to tell you a story about it..."
""Summer Crossing"!"
""Summer Crossing"——!"
Below, countless fans were waving glow sticks and shouting wildly. Chen Zhoudu listened and watched, a slight smile creeping onto his face as he looked up at the sky, his eyes slightly red. "The story might... begin in a small town, right? Once upon a time, in a small town, there lived a girl..."
"—Your name is Xiaofang?!"
One of the fans in the front row below shouted hysterically.
Suddenly, the entire audience burst into laughter. Even Chen Zhoudu couldn't help but laugh, and unconsciously looked in the direction of the shouts, saying with a smile, "Alright, then I'll use Xiao Fang to replace her!"
"Xiaofang has a very warm and loving family. Her mother, father, and maternal grandmother live there. Her grandmother runs a small inn in a small alley; it's filled with flowers, fish, and cats—it looks wonderful."
"Xiaofang herself is beautiful, has good grades, and is a lovable girl."
"But no one knows that Xiaofang isn't a happy little girl. Because she has a vicious father, a father who could abuse her at any time..."
...
Before arriving at the stadium, Xia Chan and Huang Mao left their luggage at a guesthouse not far from the stadium. After retrieving their luggage, they took a taxi straight to the airport.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport is nearly an hour's drive from the stadium. The car travels through overpasses amidst neon lights, and the driver listens to the radio and hums songs along the way.
"This morning, the chairman of the Guan Group announced that his wife will hold a press conference at 9 PM tonight in the Guan Group lobby to address a recent extortion case. Reporters from various stations are already..."
Xia Chan's body slowly stiffened, and she sat up straight, almost incredulously, wanting to hear it again.
The broadcast ended and the next news item was broadcast almost immediately.
She quickly took out her phone and searched online.
Meanwhile, in the lobby of the Guan Group in Fudong New District, countless reporters with their cameras and microphones were already on high alert.
Backstage at the venue, Xie Xun clutched her handbag tightly, her face pale. Guan Yuntian gently placed his hand on her shoulder, patted her lightly, and whispered, "Don't be afraid."
Xie Jun nodded as if she had met her pillar of support.
...
At the concert, the moment Chen Zhoudu finished speaking, a murmur of surprise erupted from the audience.
Many fans were already speculating about what was going on, but dared not shout, and the originally lively and noisy venue fell into a slight silence.
The backstage area of the concert was already in complete chaos. Jiang Cheng had been anxious before going on stage today, fearing that he might cause some trouble.
Now that the damage was done, he was frantic, practically running around in circles. "Oh dear... how could he say such things! I knew it, I knew it... Oh dear, how can I explain this to his father..."
A few bodyguards in formal attire came over and ordered the person at the control panel, "Turn off the sound system."
"Let's see who dares to lock them up!" Jing Zixi suddenly arrived with another team of people. This time there were more people, more than a dozen burly men who surrounded the two or three people, and a conflict was about to break out.
At the front desk, Chen Zhoudu continued:
"Xiao Fang grew up in this kind of environment, outwardly glamorous but inwardly scarred..."
"But she didn't complain about the hardship or the fatigue; she just wanted to grow up quickly. She thought that once she grew up, she could leave this place, leave her father, leave this home, and take her mother far away."
"But neither she nor her mother expected that her father's fists would escalate, each blow more brutal than the last."
“One day, after drinking, my father beat my mother as usual, leaving her with a bloody head and almost broken ribs.”
"Xiaofang knew that if her father continued to beat her like this, her mother probably wouldn't survive. So she stood in front of her mother to try to stop her father, but she was beaten by him just the same way. In the struggle, terrified, she could only pick up a fruit knife from the table—in her fear, she stabbed her father three times!"
...
The departure hall of Fudong Airport was bustling with people. Huang Mao, Lala Pang Hu, and Xia Chan checked in at the machine, while Xia Chan stood to the side, constantly refreshing the information online with a gloomy expression.
The news has gradually gained traction online.
The hashtag #Guan's Group Press Conference# is also trending on social media.
A moment later, the three returned with four boarding passes. Huang Mao noticed Xia Chan's expression and hesitated, asking, "Sis... are we still going?"
They had already learned most of what had happened on the way and were extremely worried about her condition.
Xia Chan was still holding Si Yi's ashes in her arms, wrapped in layers of cloth. Upon hearing this, she tightened her arms slightly.
She pursed her lips, finally turned off the screen, shoved it into her pocket, and said, "Let's go."
...
At the concert, the huge audience seats were filled with a cacophony of whispers, the sound waves like surging ocean currents.
The buzzing sound spread throughout the venue like a cacophony of bees.
Amidst the discussion, the name "Xia Chan" occasionally came up. Chen Zhoudu heard it and continued resolutely to the crowd:
After stabbing someone, Xiaofang remained calm and no longer harbored any illusions about her future.
"As she expected, she was quickly taken away and detained, and because of her young age, she was sent to a juvenile detention center."
"Her mother and grandmother went to great lengths to try and get her released, but the law indicated she could face four to six years in prison. But their efforts paid off; they finally encountered a compassionate benefactor—a female prosecutor who did everything in her power to secure Xiaofang's acquittal and release."
"You can probably guess what happened next. Xiaofang's father left the town in disgrace, and Xiaofang went to live with her mother and grandmother."
"Then one day, my mother also left."
"Only Xiaofang and her grandmother remained, an orphan and an elderly woman, relying on each other for survival."
"Later, Xiaofang met a boy... let's call him Xiaoming! Xiaoming... admires Xiaofang, respects Xiaofang, and also feels sorry for Xiaofang..."
"He likes Xiaofang. But Xiaoming has a family that is much better than Xiaofang's, but also very strict. They don't allow Xiaoming and Xiaofang to be together."
"Without Xiaoming's knowledge, they found Xiaofang and forced her to separate from Xiaoming. It was also at this time that Xiaofang's grandmother and younger sister suddenly fell ill, very seriously ill. Xiaofang had no choice but to make a deal with Xiaoming's family, asking for what was a large sum of money to save her life at that time."
...
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard this flight. Please turn off all electronic devices and fasten your seatbelts..."
The plane slowly taxied and took off. Xia Chan sat by the window, tightly holding the jar in her arms, and looked out.
The dazzling neon lights outside the window seemed to slowly unfold before my eyes like a scroll painted with flames, and all the skyscrapers, cold rivers and lakes, and vast distant mountains... began to gradually become extremely distant.
She silently looked down at everything that belonged to this city, thinking that there was still someone in this city.
A pang of sadness welled up in her heart, her eyes silently reddened, and she looked down at the jar in her arms, whispering:
"Remembrance".
"We're home."
...
The noise in the concert hall was getting louder and louder, with various surprised, amazed, angry... discussions that almost overturned the venue.
On the big screen, Chen Zhoudu's face became calm and peaceful, his eyes red with tears, but his lips curved into a comforting smile as he said:
"That's the complete story of this song;"
"I know everyone has heard a lot of rumors lately, some true, some false, all sorts of things. We can accept all the slander and swallow all the insults, but I don't want the truly innocent to be wronged, or for the wicked to act with impunity."
"No matter how people judge this matter in the future, it is up to you to decide. And this will be the last time I stand here to tell you this story and sing this song."
"I will also officially retire from the entertainment industry after this tour ends."
With a bang—this time, the audience was truly in awe!
Exclamations and shouts filled the entire venue.
Jiang Cheng, backstage, was almost in tears from shock, but recent events made him unable to say anything about "not leaving the industry." He could only look towards the front of the stage with mixed feelings.
Jing Zixi also looked in the direction of the front desk, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
Gradually, the background music of "Crossing Summer" began to play. The gentle music gradually drowned out all the commotion and shouts in the hall, leaving only a summer-like melody flowing through the world and spreading far and wide.
"This song, 'Crossing the Summer,' is dedicated to everyone."
He spoke softly in that summer, and then began to sing that song slowly:
"The cicadas' chirping harmonizes with the strings"
Turning back to that summer
Recalling memories
But it was hard to find a way to sleep through the night.
You in my memory
In the blink of an eye, it's all gone.
..."
...
Meanwhile, in the lobby of the Guan Group, Xie Xun followed Guan Yuntian onto the stage.
The entire venue was ablaze with flashes, all cameras were pointed at her, and the platform was broadcasting it live.
Xie Jun bowed and said to the camera:
"Hello everyone, my name is Xie Mei, and I am the wife of Guan Yuntian, the chairman of the Guan Group. I also have another name, Xie Jun."
"She is also Xia Chan's biological mother;"
"Xia Chan is my biological daughter with Zhang Guozhong, born in 200X. In 199X, I married Zhang Guozhong in Qingshui Town, Tongcheng. After the marriage, I repeatedly filed for divorce due to Zhang Guozhong's domestic violence, but to no avail. In 201X, my daughter Xia Chan, in an attempt to protect me, accidentally stabbed Zhang Guozhong three times during a domestic violence incident. The court subsequently ruled it self-defense and acquitted her."
"Subsequently, due to personal reasons, I changed my name and separated from my daughter. In 201X, Zhang Guozhong retaliated against my daughter and mother, beating them in the street, and was sentenced to six years in prison."
"After Zhang Guozhong was released from prison, he came to Shanghai this September and successively subjected me and my daughter Xia Chan to coercion, intimidation, defamation, extortion, and blackmail. His behavior is so egregious that it is intolerable! Hereby, I announce to the public that I will file a criminal lawsuit against Zhang Guozhong! He has coerced, intimidated, and extorted a total of 470,000 yuan from me; verbally coerced and extorted 40 million yuan; and failed to extort 5 million yuan from my daughter Xia Chan and Chen Zhoudu!"
"My daughter, Xia Chan, is an independent, self-disciplined, resilient, and kind person. Abandoning her back then was my mistake. I can bear any accusations or insults, and I urge everyone to see the truth and stop slandering and insulting her. Now that she has left Shanghai, I wish her all the best for the future, and I earnestly request everyone to stop bothering and criticizing innocent people."
Thank you everyone!
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Author's Note: There's one more chapter! It will be updated around 10 PM, and it's the last chapter of the main story! See you then, and thank you for your support! [Rose]
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