Chapter 54: A Chorus of the Century
After gritting her teeth and persevering through the afternoon's rehearsal, Li Sishi let out a long sigh of relief. She casually picked up her thermos and sipped her food, waiting for lunch to be served.
The partners in Shanghai provided them with lunch and dinner boxes. Seeing the trolley slowly being pulled from the other end, many people were excited: the reason was simple, they had only eaten some breakfast in the morning, then got off the plane and transferred to a car to come to the stadium, and then started rehearsals directly. Strictly speaking, they had only eaten one meal by this time today.
They had to go to the hotel for a press conference at 5 o'clock, so they only had about half an hour to eat and tidy themselves up.
As expected of Hong Kong's highly efficient entertainment industry, once they received their lunchboxes from the food distributors, the group immediately found a corner to squat or sit down and start eating. Some of the slightly more particular ones simply unfolded a small folding chair to sit and eat—they didn't look like a group of poor bricklayers who had just finished their work, let alone have any "star quality"... They should be secretly pleased that they didn't look like a group of poor bricklayers who had just finished their work...
Li Sishi took her lunchbox and squeezed into the crowd. Considering that she was young and a minor, Le Yun waved to her, unfolded an extra small folding chair she had prepared, and gestured for her to come and sit down and eat.
"Thank you, Master." Li Sishi readily sat down, opened the lunchbox and took a look. It was a typical Shanghai specialty dish, with a perfect balance of color, aroma, and saltiness. It tasted quite refreshing and appetizing.
Moreover, the taste is not only delicious, but the portion is also quite generous, especially the two meat and vegetable buns that come with the lunchbox, which have a slightly sweet and slightly salty savory flavor that makes people's mouths water.
It's a pity that they can't eat too much of this delicious food, because these artists not only have to maintain their figure, but also ensure their performance on stage. In short, they can't eat their fill.
Of course, there was one exception – Huo Gucheng, who still has a mushroom haircut and looks quite cute and innocent, ate all the remaining meat and vegetable buns by himself because he burns a lot of energy while singing and dancing and can eat a lot…
"Aren't you afraid of getting scolded when you get back if you eat like this?" Ling Chen was dumbfounded: These two are considered to be under the strict control of their manager.
"What's there to be afraid of? My appearance order is later than Le Ji's, so I'll have been digested by then. And the most valuable thing is that no one can criticize me now, so of course I'll eat as many as I can." Huo Gucheng looks quite innocent and well-behaved on the surface, but in reality, he's a mischievous little shrimp who starts to let loose as soon as no one is watching him.
"What you said actually makes some sense..." Ling Chen thought for a moment, then immediately shoveled more into his mouth.
He looked like a starving person who was so happy with the food that he was almost moved to tears.
Le Yun glanced at the two of them letting loose and turned to Li Sishi with a very serious expression, saying, "You must not imitate them and ask to eat. Wait until after the performance and your master will take you to eat."
"Of course I won't do that like them. I'm going to change into an ancient costume in a bit. It's been altered to fit my measurements. I'd rather starve than be full!" Li Sishi nodded heavily. "Master, you underestimate us women. We can go without food for the sake of beauty."
"It's not necessary to skip meals. You should at least eat something to fill your stomach, otherwise you won't have the energy later," Le Yun quickly added.
"Okay!" Li Sishi quickly finished her meal and then instructed her assistant, who came to clear the table, to tell the staff at the gymnasium that she didn't dislike the food, but had some concerns and therefore couldn't finish it all.
"Received!" Zuo Lili nodded, handed the little dress to Li Sishi, and then went to clear the tableware and move to the other side.
Li Sishi grabbed her little dress and headed to the dressing room to quickly change. After changing, she hurried out and rejoined the ranks of female celebrities.
Come here quickly
May, May, we're just missing you and a few others. There weren't many female artists at the opening concert this time, so they were implicitly led by You Jiating, who herself came from the mainland to make her way in Hong Kong.
Although You Jiating has become quite fluent in Cantonese over the years, she still retains a slight accent and language habits from her mother tongue. Therefore, when she calls Li Sishi, she uses a reduplicated word similar to "younger sister" based on her English name "May".
"I'm here, Sister Jia Ting." Li Sishi hurriedly joined the team and then went with the group to the hotel where the press conference venue had been set up.
In addition to these artists, some leaders from Shanghai were also present at the press conference. Because it was a charity performance, Shanghai gave it strong support and gave it the green light, sending some heavyweight figures from the political, cultural, and business circles to join the social elites from the port city as the officiating guests for the opening concert that evening.
This is one of the reasons why so many artists are willing to perform for free: in addition to their intention to do public welfare and charity activities, they are also paving the way for their own careers in mainland China, from popularity to fame.
If you perform well and catch the eye of a powerful figure, it will definitely be beneficial for your future development.
Li Sishi herself has some powerful connections in the Hong Kong film and television industry, so she didn't have much of an opinion on this performance.
Her motivation is simply to gain experience and make a name for herself in mainland China—she doesn't have many works yet, and her popular album in Hong Kong hasn't been widely popular here, so for now she only has the titles of Miss Hong Kong and Miss World runner-up to use.
However, the title of "Sun Girl" allowed her to stand in the center of the group and enjoy the treatment of being in the center position.
Seeing these familiar faces from television and record players appear before them, many attendees of the press conference began making phone calls to their friends and family: "Hey, it's me! There's a rare all-star concert tonight, right here in the stadium..."
"Yes, they're all big stars from Hong Kong! Who knows when we'll get another chance if we miss this opportunity!"
After gathering their friends and family, the group rushed to buy the few remaining tickets as soon as the press conference ended.
By evening, the Shanghai Stadium, which can accommodate 10,000 people, was packed with them.
When Li Sishi came out after changing into the classic printed white T-shirt from the Sun Project event, she immediately spotted Ling Chen wearing a black suit that looked very gentlemanly. His all-black outfit was quite out of place among the white printed T-shirts around him.
"Leo was always teased because of his name, and he's also quite popular, so he was arranged to perform the first solo. There wasn't time to change his clothes, so he had to sing in this outfit," Le Yun explained to Li Sishi, glancing at Ling Chen, who was dressed in a gentleman's suit but looked like a spirited young man.
After learning the order of appearance from the rehearsal, Li Sishi nodded. Looking at Le Yun's calm demeanor, she felt a little wistful. It has to be said that using the same language is indeed the best way to boost popularity. Ling Chen has "From the Capital" and Shang Hanyou has "I Kissed You Goodbye," so these two juniors were able to occupy the opening and closing performance positions at this time.
This probably also subtly proves that Cantonese singers of the generation like Lok Wan gradually need to adapt to the development of the times and give way to a new generation of singers who can develop both languages.
"If Sister Yin Mei could come, the opening or closing act should be for you, Master." Although she knew that Le Yun didn't care much about the order of appearance, Li Sishi couldn't help but whisper it to herself.
"Silly girl, I'm fine being in the middle. The atmosphere is lively enough, everyone's interest is piqued enough, and I have enough time to change and get dressed." Le Yun smiled and reached out, originally wanting to pat her little apprentice's head, but when she saw the little sun on her head swaying with her movements, she couldn't help but turn her head and cover her mouth to laugh a couple of times before calming down.
Li Sishi stomped her foot and angrily took two steps toward Shang Hanyou.
"It's no use moving closer to me; you'll still be standing in the middle on stage." Shang Hanyou joked, then got ready and followed the group closely. After the officiating guests struck the electric gong, they quickly walked onto the stage in the order and formation they had rehearsed.
Walking from the side to the center of the stage, facing the audience, Li Sishi listened intently to the progress of the accompaniment, raised the microphone, and sang the first line of the Cantonese version of the theme song.
"Open your eyes"
A warm window / dispels the desolation of this barren land..."
The melodious and soothing tune, combined with the clear and pure voice, is like a refreshing spring in summer, irrigating the somewhat stuffy gymnasium and instantly giving people a sense of openness and tranquility.
The ensuing chorus of stars imbued the melodious and soothing melody with an indomitable and unwavering power, while the Mandarin version of the theme song in the second verse gradually propelled the atmosphere to its climax.
"Seize every minute of life / Go all out for the dreams in our hearts / How can we see a rainbow without experiencing wind and rain / No one can succeed easily..."
After the bilingual theme song was performed, Li Sishi bowed to the audience along with everyone around her, and then quickly left the stage amidst enthusiastic applause, leaving time for the next performance.
After all the singers had left the stage, the four hosts immediately came on stage and began to explain the theme of tonight's concert: "Tonight's concert is about finding nine suns, so our first task is to find out where the first sun is..."
"I believe that as long as we keep searching, we will definitely find it." The female host raised her voice. "The sun rises in the east, so let's start our search from the east..."
"When you see the sun rise, that's 'dawn'—let's welcome Leo at dawn!"
Accompanied by the enthusiastic accompaniment of "From the Capital", Ling Chen immediately took to the stage with a lively and energetic demeanor, singing and bouncing around like an uninvited young man.
In the early hours of the morning, he was to sing three songs, all of which were relatively well-known; and after him, several other artists also chose songs that sold well in mainland China.
For example, Li Dewen, who only had one song, decisively chose "Red Sun's Fire," and even prepared a bright red suit for his outfit; while Lu Shi'an, who was following behind him and preparing to sing "Fiery Dynamics," shared the same main color scheme.
The two people, one in front and one behind, were as red as two bird's eye chilies...
In contrast, Le Yun, the senior artist, was much calmer. He simply slipped on a yellow suit jacket, instantly concealing his impending transformation into a "great demon" for the song.
A flashy vest.
When he walked onto the stage with a smile, he exuded the demeanor of a master and saint.
"This time, I've brought a song that I really love to everyone here. Although my original partner couldn't come to recreate this classic with me for some reason, I believe that the remaining half of this golden song will not go unnoticed..."
This opening statement essentially tells people which song he will be singing, and that his duet partner was unable to attend, so a replacement singer has been found.
Just as the audience and listeners on the radio were holding their breath, waiting for the substitute's performance, a clear and melodious voice, like the gentle rain of Jiangnan tapping on the eaves of a house, called out "Brother Sheng!" Accompanied by a series of rapidly ascending strings and harmonies that seemed to cover the sky like a blanket of yellow sand, appeared in everyone's ears.
Suddenly, white smoke made of dry ice rose up from the entire stage, and the previously warm colored lights turned blue and purple, transforming the stage into a snowy landscape of a winter mountain, covered in silver.
Amidst the white mist, like snow shadows and shimmering waves, a small boat shrouded in a light white veil slowly emerged. A beautiful young woman in white robes and a gold belt stood smiling atop it, and with a voice distinct from the grand and majestic one sung by Yin Mei, she gracefully and melodiously began to sing the first note of this classic song—
"A vague dream seems to have occurred before, stirring up waves in my heart..."
The dreamlike stage effects and the melodious, captivating singing voices, combined with the soaring and resonant lyrics sung by Le Yun, created a unique and harmonious new feeling in this version of "A Difficult Struggle to Sever Kindness and Righteousness," which differed from the classic and stunning version sung by Le Yun and Yin Mei.
It's as if Qing Rong from the book has stepped out of the boundaries of literature and paper and come to them, using her melodious and clear voice, like the misty rain of Jiangnan, to tell them her determination to guard the border for love and to face the flames of war without regret.
Many years later, a netizen who was fortunate enough to be called back to Shanghai from his relatives' home in another city by his father when he was young to watch this concert, recalled this century's chorus with words full of memories under the video of this concert he happened to see on a video website: "...I actually saw my first concert here, and this concert was like a dream for me when I was a junior high school student at the time."
"What impressed me most at the event, besides the opening and closing, was the 'century-long duet' in the middle. Le Ji, along with his young apprentice Li Sishi, who is still a newcomer at the time, reinterpreted the classic song 'Difficult to Sever Ties'. Li Sishi's white dress and gold belt Qing Rong look has been unforgettable for many people for years..."
"Many book fans say that at this moment, she is Rong'er who walked out of the book. Even when I later bought the original book and read the description of Qing Rong changing back into women's clothing, I couldn't help but imagine that performance scene in my mind..."
"This is a gift from time and memory to our generation. We personally experienced the best of Hong Kong entertainment, and we also watched it gradually decline. But undeniably, that golden age is the most beautiful memory our generation has encountered in terms of cultural and entertainment spirit."
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