41 One Man's Stage
Music suddenly sounded from the ground. Gu Yuchen, who was holding the microphone on the stage, was stunned and looked up at the central control.
This prelude...
It's so familiar. This song was his first solo single released during his band period. He wrote the lyrics and composed the music himself, and learned how to mix and record it bit by bit. Even though he wrote many more songs after that, some more mature and some more popular than this one, this melody is still deeply engraved in my heart and I can't forget it even if I want to.
He smiled helplessly. Who else could it be but Yuan Xiao?
There was a wave from the distance, Gu Yuchen narrowed his eyes and saw that his immediate boss, who was a little bit smaller than him, had already taken out his cell phone to record it and was making some gestures towards him.
It’s a bit far and I can’t see clearly, but I can guess what Yuan Xiao means.
Gu Yuchen weighed the microphone in his hand and looked around the empty venue. There were no lights, no audience, and he was the only free man.
He walked slowly on the stage, one step, two steps, and with the third step he stepped smoothly into the music.
The first single, I miss it so much, even the choreography was choreographed by him and the other members back then.
Yuan Xiao was recording with his phone, but still felt that the center console was a bit far away, so he said something to the staff next to him, went out of the center console, and walked to the first or second row of the backstage, holding his phone.
Gu Yuchen had not expected such a thing to happen. He was wearing the simplest black sweatshirt and black pants, but when he stood on the stage, no one would confuse him with the staff.
If those kids saw Teacher Gu like this, they would probably burst into tears again.
Gu Yuchen did not deliberately imitate the singing and dancing that he had designed for himself. He just swayed gently to the music. Without earphones, he listened to the floor. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers a few times, then put the microphone to his lips:
“I’m not the lucky one”
Teacher Gu's voice is like wine that has been brewed for eighteen years. The bass is incredibly mellow when he sings. This has nothing to do with his age. He was like this when he was a child. It's purely a gift.
“Not the chosen one”
He held the microphone with one hand, drew loops with the fingertips of his left hand, and his body moved lightly. It was obviously a somewhat sad song, but when performed by Gu Yuchen today, it became a calmness that came from seeing through everything.
He is not as unconvinced as he was back then.
"The silent background wall waits for the dawn alone. Poems are engraved on the bones, worthy of being sung repeatedly by the moon."
Gu Yuchen turned around on the empty stage, spreading his arms like a flying bird, not caring about whether the movements were standard or not. With a slight dizziness, he remembered that he seemed to have never sung this song himself, although it was his single.
A long time ago, I was doing offline commercial performances. At that time, I didn’t have the money to hire dancers. It was said to be each person’s single, and in fact everyone could sing and dance together.
"A sober loser, curled up in the rules, I don't care about any gilded recognition."
The four sides of the nine-square stage were uneven in height. When Gu Yuchen saw Yuan Xiao approaching from the audience, he squatted towards her, supported himself with his hands and sat on the stage, with his long legs hanging outside the stage.
He hasn't sung in front of the camera for a long time, but he still has the instinct of an idol. Today's camera was keenly captured by Gu Yuchen, not by a mobile phone, but by Yuan Xiao's beautiful eyes.
"How can we define right and wrong? They laugh at me for living like a weed against the wind, but I still want to burn as much as I can in the spring, and taking root is my only goal."
This song actually doesn't have any complicated techniques, but it has been endowed with a high level of emotional intensity since its creation. However, when performed by Gu Yuchen at this moment, the stubborn unwillingness of the past has been reduced to helplessness and despair. He is no longer the person who always sang with tears in his eyes.
Even when he was squatting, Teacher Gu's voice was still extremely stable, making people want to open his throat to see how many CD players he had eaten.
Yuan Xiao felt a little itchy. She looked up at Gu Yuchen who was swaying around in the stage, and regretted not bringing one of the delivered cheering sticks.
If she were to evaluate Gu Yuchen's stage performance like she would evaluate the trainees, there would be only one word that fits best: "Reassuring." Especially after watching many trainees' stage performances, Gu Yuchen's stage performance gave people a sense of security, like curling up in a thick quilt in the winter. No matter how he moved or how he changed the tune, his entire person was always in tune with the aura of the entire stage, and there was no need to worry about any performance problems.
The song is called "Survivor" and the footage recorded on her mobile phone should really be used as a teaching material.
"Dreams and reality are fighting each other, twelve years is just a dawn——"
In the last sentence, Gu Yuchen changed the lyrics. When he wrote this song, he had been a trainee for three years and debuted for three years. Now, six years have passed and it is almost seven years.
His last tone was light, like a feather brushing against one's heart.
There was a gentle smile between Gu Yuchen's eyebrows, and the not-so-bright sunlight of dusk was shining on her back. When she looked at Yuan Xiao, she didn't know why, but her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"Xiaoxiao." He sat on the stage holding the microphone that had not been turned off, lowered his head and asked, "What's the evaluation?"
Yuan Xiao coughed lightly, calmed himself down, and waved to Gu Yuchen, asking him to come down.
I don't know what she was asking, and she didn't have a microphone.
Gu Yuchen came down from the stage after a while and handed the microphone back to the central control. Just as he was singing, the mixer had almost finished adjusting the sound. Once all other equipment was connected tomorrow, the trainees could come over for rehearsal.
Yuan Xiao took on the expensive venue rental fee and rented the venue for two more days just to allow the trainees enough time to rehearse and get used to the four-sided stage.
The live broadcast equipment will be delivered and debugged on Thursday, and this Friday will be the final debut concert.
Yuan Xiao sent messages to confirm a few places, and the light in front of him was suddenly blocked by someone. When he looked up, it was Teacher Gu.
"All done?"
Gu Yuchen nodded casually, his hands in his pockets, the hood of his sweatshirt dangling in front of Yuan Xiao: "Almost, how about you?"
"That's all right." After getting off work on time, Yuan Xiao and Gu Yuchen walked along the inner field division towards the stadium exit again. Gu Yuchen tilted his head and asked her, "How are you leaving?"
"Call the driver to pick me up later."
Teacher Gu replied casually, "No need to bother. I drove here. Where is your home? I'll take you back."
As if afraid that Yuan Xiao would refuse, he added, "There are a few stage designers on the bus. Let me talk to you about it."
Yuan Xiao: “…Okay.”
I didn't intend to refuse.
We don’t have to talk about the stage.
The two walked slowly on the playground, their shadows stretched out long by the setting sun. Yuan Xiao asked Gu Yuchen, "Do you want to hold a concert for 10,000 people?"
“…I want to, but I probably won’t open it again.”
This answer was a bit beyond Yuan Xiao's expectations. It's okay to want to or not want to, but what does it mean to want to but not want to open it?
"You know, 'Ouwei' was very well broadcasted, and many people got to know you and me. The audiences are very confident in your professionalism. With your current popularity, it will be no problem for you to make a comeback. As long as you take on a few music variety shows, you can hold shows in front of tens of thousands of people." Yuan Xiao looked at him, "If you want, I can help you."
She couldn't just keep Gu Yuchen in the recording studio just because she wanted to be in a boy band. Yuan Xiao herself was a career-minded person, and she supported Teacher Gu in developing his career.
"It's not a question of popularity." Gu Yuchen looked back at the stage, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes, but more of a determination after thinking it over. "If I were to step onto a stage like this, I would still hope to be with them. Unfortunately..."
"Your members?"
"Um."
Yuan Xiao recalled what he had learned from checking Mr. Gu's information. Two of his previous team members became actors, and one directly retired from the entertainment industry. It was almost impossible for them to get together for a concert.
"When will their contract expire? Do you want to sign Yuan Xin?" Yuan Xiao thought it would be difficult to quit the entertainment circle, but she could still try to become an actor. She didn't do it for the concert, but mainly wanted the talent. If they were all of Teacher Gu's quality, then she would have gotten a bargain.
"...I'll ask them for you when they return to Beijing after filming next time."
"OK."
"In fact, I've been on too many stages when I was young, from shopping malls to New Year's Eve performances. I think it's not bad for me to write songs and compose music every day and take care of the children. The concert was a promise I made with them when we were training. Even if I can hold it one day, it will be a permanent regret if I'm not there during that time."
Yuan Xiao glanced at Gu Yuchen's profile and said, "You sound like you're forty when you say that."
"Maybe." Gu Yuchen winked at her, "You also know that many people in the circle falsely report their age..."
Yuan Xiao smiled, "You know you submitted your identity information when you signed the contract with the company, right?"
“…You bosses are too easy to fool.”
"Integrity management is the development principle of our company."
“When did the rules come into being?”
"I'll have it when I get back..."
-
At the same time as the last episode before the debut battle was released, the trainees’ final limited-edition peripheral products were also put on sale in the Yuanxin mini program.
After the debut battle, all the peripherals updated in this mini program will only be various products of the new boy group. The 20 trainees will return to the practice room without all the cameras. The mini program has also clearly stated the deadline for purchasing peripherals during the trainee stage.
Fans who are worried about whether they can make their debut have been in a bad mental state these days, and the barrage of comments when watching the fifth public performance was full of tears.
Shopping on the mini program has even become a channel for relieving stress, which Yuan Xiao had not expected. Fans put their enthusiasm, which they could not spend money on voting, into purchasing peripheral products, and tried to use some dolls and standees that can only be sold with a single image to make Yuan Xin pay more attention to his ability to bring goods.
Yuan Xiao had to urgently issue an announcement on the mini program, with large bold letters advising fans to consume rationally.
The newly launched peripheral products also include some starry blue card holders, pompoms, etc., which can be hung on belts, backpacks, etc. The official Weibo account of "Idol" has already sent out the dresscode for the debut concert, which is blue. After these gadgets arrive, they will be perfect for fans to match with their outfits at the scene.
But I don't know why, with only 10,000 tickets, more than 30,000 accessories were sold. The biggest difficulty Yuan Xiao has encountered since she started her career is the estimated stock of peripheral products. Every time she feels that she has enough stock, the purchasing power of Yuanxin fans will still refresh her imagination again and again.
As accessories and cheering sticks have been shipped to all parts of the country, the trainees' debut battle is just around the corner.
【Author’s words】
There are no citations in this chapter, because the lyrics were written by Teacher Gu himself [shy]
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