Chapter 41 "Vancouver, long time no see!..."
"Vancouver, long time no see!"
As soon as the voice rang out, the people below erupted in a furious roar, as if they were lovers arguing.
Huang Shiyu could hear clearly from mid-air that it was a countdown.
At the same time, the electronic screen changed from one to four faces being swept by lights.
One of the faces successfully caught Huang Shiyu's attention.
How should I describe this face? This was the first thought that popped into Huang Shiyu's mind.
The reason she couldn't describe it was because the difficult point wasn't on the surface, but rather the temperament she carried. It was too demanding of her knowledge and understanding; she could only think that true beauty lies in the bone structure, not the skin.
Even though the man on the big screen was dressed in clothes similar to his companions, he still couldn't hide the sinister aura that emanated from his clothes.
Did you make a wish upon seeing a shooting star?
The man on the big screen was wearing a round black hat that was three or four times larger than his face. He had blond hair that was hard to describe in terms of length, with a strand of blond hair hanging down his chest, more like a bright decoration on his clothes.
Huang Shiyu heard shouts from below: "A prosperous and peaceful world!"
They were very neat, as if they had practiced hundreds or thousands of times.
"It must be their previous code," Huang Shiyu thought.
The concert venue had an open sky, allowing visitors to see countless stars. At first, Huang Shiyu thought they were just real stars, until Li Xingzhou next to her told her that it was an artificial meteor shower, with each meteor costing nearly 100,000 RMB. She couldn't help but swallow hard, thinking to herself: "This band isn't exactly niche, otherwise, how could they be so generous?"
"I wonder why you all came to the concert." Yan Shi raised the microphone in front of the bass a little, a height that would allow his voice to spread more widely throughout the concert venue.
"Because life is bitter and tasteless."
The moment he finished speaking, the electronic screen behind him switched from showing their four faces to displaying a sentence in blue text.
I don't know why we couldn't face the blow life fired at us before.
After pausing for a few seconds, he changed to another sentence.
[It's so interesting, yet so random.]
The moment the last character disappeared, Yan Shi's voice rang out again.
"So the concert is a short-term sanatorium, a brief healing for everyone's traumatized soul, but such a wonderful moment is too short."
As soon as he finished speaking, the electronic screen resumed the performance that was still going on.
They say you were born to be a savior, the protagonist of their own script.
We must strive to be good oxen and horses, working diligently and conscientiously without complaint.
They say this is life's challenge to you.
Hmm, I think that's utter nonsense.
Life is clearly playing hard to get with me, trying to make an ordinary person like me even more ordinary.
The text on the big screen ended there. Huang Shiyu couldn't see the expressions of the people below, but she could feel the blood boiling and clamoring. Sure enough, the next second, a thunderous scream rang out.
She watched Yan Shi on the big screen. When he heard the screams, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He put his index finger to his lips and made a shushing gesture. When the people below saw his gesture, the screams completely stopped and quickly disappeared.
"Let us imagine a sorrowful soul who has caught the signal of a light chaser. He crosses a dazzling crossroads and stops there, where stars are falling. He treats the concert as a lover and embraces the shooting star that briefly stops for him."
Huang Shiyu finally saw him raise his head and smile at the people below. His facial features were fully exposed under his hat. Although his hairstyle was the same as everyone else's, his features were too eye-catching, especially his eyes. Although they were hidden under his thick eyebrows, they were too captivating. Huang Shiyu could even detect a hint of flirtatiousness in those eyes, even though the other person was clearly a tall man over 1.8 meters tall.
Huang Shiyu felt that she had a preconceived notion, seeing the other person's long hair and overly soft features, which gave her this feeling.
Yan Shi continued what he hadn't finished saying.
"I hope the probability of a meteor hitting you is equal, just as the door that life knocks on is also random. I hope everyone can find moments of happiness in life, and when you're unhappy, go find happiness."
Another text appeared on the large screen behind me, the white text turning increasingly red.
[But I want to say that even a screw has its great use, and an ordinary person can also have big dreams.]
"The stage design is different every time, and this style of band stage is really rare."
"I really hope no one discovers this niche band."
The VIP box can accommodate dozens of people at a time. Several girls behind Huang Shiyu were discussing something with the stage. Their voices were so faint that it was hard not to pay attention. Huang Shiyu wanted to listen to their discussion so that he could quickly understand the band, but Li Xingzhou next to him said something surprising.
"This person hasn't changed. He still likes to write this kind of painful literature, a common problem among artistic youths."
Huang Shiyu was quite surprised that Li Xingzhou would comment on someone in this way, as it was not like his usual style.
"It's alright, I think he's quite romantic."
It's clearly romantic and poetic. Moreover, she felt that Yan Shi's opening narration was quite appropriate for the concert, truly a brief refuge from life, where one can immerse oneself in the vast ocean of songs, just like Sappho seeking rebirth as she sank to the bottom of the sea.
“A romantic fool?” Li Xingzhou said, looking down at the crowd. “Then you would really like his songs or poems.”
"You know him so well, you know him?"
The reason she could ask that question was because she sensed from Li Xingzhou's words that the two of them definitely knew each other and that something had definitely happened between them.
"Yes, he's an old friend I studied music with back then." Li Xingzhou didn't bother to hide anything and answered directly.
Sure enough, she knew it.
“If you had spoken any louder just now, I guarantee his fans would have put up a sign at the door saying that the nitpickers and Li Xingzhou are not allowed to enter,” she teased.
“Alright, but there’s a condition for Li Xingzhou.” He looked at Huang Shiyu and said, “Huang Shiyu and Li Xingzhou must not enter, that’s the only way to be fair.”
Huang Shiyu felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, quickly glanced at him, then looked away, saying, "You're living in a dream world."
Li Xingzhou concluded that Huang Shiyu was just shy and didn't intend to tease her any further.
Girls tend to have thinner skin.
She had no idea what Li Xingzhou was thinking, otherwise she would have rolled her eyes at him.
She didn't have the energy to speculate, because all her attention was focused on the band on stage.
Or you could say it's on the row of magnificent chime bells behind the band.
Although the chime bells were in the center of the visual position, the screams of the fans below—"The puppet show is back!" and "She seems to be controlling these chime bells, oh my god..."—made the scene even more dramatic.
Huang Shiyu's gaze moved upwards, and sure enough, she saw the marionette she had seen on the giant poster last time. But it was different from that one; its eyes were wide open. However, it still didn't make her feel eerie. After all, the marionette was made to look quite lifelike, and she felt as if the sunlight shining on her face could transmit light through it.
The marionettes in sight began to manipulate the chime bells on the stage. The chime bells, which were in mid-air, swayed and shook as if they had started working. The sound of collisions rang out, creating a magnificent sound that slowly permeated the ears of all the audience members, creating ripples invisibly.
The prelude began, and the chime bells gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the lamplight. The tranquility of the concert was broken by the piercing sound of the bells, like a series of resounding hoofbeats that swept through the swirling snow and engulfed everyone present.
Then the puppet released the strings, and all the red lights on the stage suddenly lit up.
It was like a ray of daylight bursting in from the shadows that clouded your vision.
Then all the chime bells in the venue poured down. The speed of the descent was not fast, but the scale was as magnificent as ever. However, it was not a simple descent. The moment they landed, Huang Shiyu and the fans in the audience showed the same shocked look.
And those four words that came out at the same time.
A time of peace and prosperity.
This perfectly complemented the opening remarks of the fans, creating a closed loop.
The stage design was so stunning that Huang Shiyu was stunned for a long time. After a while, she turned her head and asked a question.
"Your old friend must have amazing musical talent." It sounded more like a sigh and a compliment.
Li Xingzhou turned his gaze back to the stage, looking at the person she had mentioned. He paused for several seconds, as if unsure where to begin, before finally uttering this sentence.
"He's someone who spent seven years completing his undergraduate degree."
Before Huang Shiyu could ask why, the prelude faded, and Yan Shi's voice rang out.
"listen."
“Let’s sing together,” he said to the countless faces below the stage, “a song that everyone knows.”
As soon as he finished speaking, all the lights in the room suddenly dimmed, leaving only a few purple ambient lights to create the atmosphere.
As soon as the pre-recorded accompaniment began, the bass drum took the lead and struck the drumhead dozens of times with drumsticks in both hands, maintaining a steady and powerful pace. Next to him, the zither player tapped the zither board with one hand and the head of the zither with the other, freely tapping the board in rhythm with the piano accompaniment. The bass drum accompaniment continued, and as the sound of the zither's tapping changed, a clear and ethereal zither melody gracefully swept across the stage, colliding perfectly with the bass drum beats.
Although both are traditional Chinese musical instruments, their timbres are completely different. The dense drumbeats combined with the guzheng's pressing and sliding techniques create a grand and majestic sound. Neither the drumbeats nor the guzheng's sound can overpower the other, pushing the atmosphere of the event to another climax.
As the audience listened to the music, they gradually became engrossed and felt the ebb and flow of their souls. Suddenly, there was a pause between the zither and drum sounds, but the deep, ethereal bass took over immediately. Although the pause was very short, the moment the bass sound came out, it had a chilling, overwhelming feeling that could kill the whole world, no less powerful than the impact of traditional Chinese music.
He pressed the strings with one hand higher than the other, his lips just centimeters from the microphone, and sang the first line of the first song of the day.
"From the Jade Pavilion, I cannot see anything, and my heart is filled with sorrow."
In contrast to the sound of his instruments, Yan Shi's voice is not deep, but clear and bright, just like their band name, like eating watermelon and drinking iced soda in the summer, which makes people feel very relaxed.
The zither player's fingers moved swiftly across the strings, like flowing clouds and water. Her right hand plucked the strings quickly while her left hand pressed down on them. Against the backdrop of the deep, resonant sound of the drums, she sang her part of the lyrics: "Two fingers flicked, the sound was mournful, and what could be more unbearable, filled with sorrow."
She plucked the strings faster and faster, the rhythm of the drums matching her perfectly. The hearts of the audience were in their throats countless times, rising and falling. The zither and drum sounds progressed in layers, finally reaching a critical point. The drummer and zither player moved in unison, lifting their hands, and the drum and zither sounds paused.
Yan Shi's exquisite operatic singing perfectly complemented the final note of the zither music, eliciting a resounding "Ah ah ah~"
The moment the opera singing ended, Yan Shi released his hands from the strings and spread them out to the audience, the meaning clear: everyone should sing along.
The audience below the stage also cooperated, singing in unison: "Parting sorrow, yet parting sorrow and longing."
The timing of the three performers on stage was also excellent. The drums and zithers continued to lead the way, followed closely by the bass. Then, the gentle, drizzling sound of the zither player rang out again: "A soft breeze blows away ten thousand scrolls of sorrow, leaving only the fragrance of the moon palace in the empty tower."
Yan Shi did not downplay the presence of the bass. Although the bass played a supporting role in the performance, it was the bassist's unique temperament that made it difficult to ignore the bass's core role.
"In the past, people would compete for the lead in front of the building."
Now we sit facing each other upstairs and look out.
Ahhh~
After the storms of time
The flowering season is the same as before.
Ahhh~
His singing this time was even smoother, with a touch of Peking Opera vocal techniques, making it incredibly perfect.
"Wow!! That vocal transition and that Peking opera style are amazing!!"
"This?! That opera-style vocal transition is sung way too easily!!!"
That wasn't all. The three musicians' instruments, mixed with the accompaniment of electric pianos, engaged in a constant dialogue. The unique grainy texture of electronic music combined with the folk music was exhilarating yet retained the unique flavor of the instruments. The trio brought the atmosphere to another climax, which was very infectious and made people resonate with them. This was also the most exciting part of the song. The three sang together: "Young men from the eight mausoleums go to pick plum blossoms, fight in the northwest, the youths are all beautiful and prosperous today, today's flowers are redder than the old dynasty."
The few ambient lights that were previously used to create atmosphere suddenly went dark, while the white lights on the stage came on, and the three people continued playing their instruments.
Yan Shi was dressed entirely in black, except for a glittering ray of light in his hair. His movements were subtle, making him appear more like an elegant classical gentleman, dancing gracefully to the rhythm of the music at the banquet.
When the drummer tossed the drumstick up and spun it around before striking the drumhead hard, the audience barely had a moment to react, or perhaps the three of them didn't intend for the audience to respond at all. The three of them then sang in unison again: "The young man is handsome enough to capture three generals, not to be underestimated in his youth, for he is born with a face full of life."
Yan Shi sang his exquisite and melodious opera singing once again.
"Ahhh~"
The melodies of different instruments, such as the electronic keyboard, Chinese drum, guzheng, and bass, are intertwined, creating a magnificent effect, like a sword that cuts across thousands of miles. Once the sword breaks through the sky, it continues to burn until it turns to ashes, which then turn into a gray tone.
The concert ended, and the three performers on stage all looked at the audience below. It wasn't until the first person screamed that everyone snapped out of their goosebumps and started shouting and screaming.
Yan Shi, who was standing a little in front of the drummer and zither player, turned his head slightly to look at the two of them and said, "Let me formally greet everyone."
"Hello everyone, we are Summer of the Island." The three of them smiled at the audience below the stage. "Welcome to the world of light."
"We've come to the banquet!"
"I am Yan Shi, the bassist and lead vocalist." He moved the bass to his back and held the microphone in his hand. "Although this is the first time we have held a concert in Vancouver, we are really happy to be able to bring good songs to everyone again."
After saying this, the three of them bowed to the audience, saying, "Thank you all for your hard work today."
"It's not hard work at all!"
Yan Shi smiled and said, "I hope you'll still be here when we hold our next concert."
He added, "I also hope that when you hear this song, you'll remember our band, whose name alone sounds very exciting."
He gave the two people next to him a wink, and they immediately understood. The three of them stretched out their arms and waved in the air, saying, "Goodbye Vancouver."
Hundreds of fans in the audience shouted in unison, "See you next time!"
Yan Shi said with a grin, "Don't be in such a hurry, I won't say goodbye to you."
He waved to the audience again, "Then we'll be going now. Be careful on your way, bye-bye."
Huang Shiyu clicked send and then closed her Moments. She rarely manages her Moments, maybe only posting once every six months, and when she does, it's usually something like financial news. She's not trying to show off, but she feels that the scenery is just so-so, the food is just so-so, and posting the same things over and over again is just the same. She might as well treat Moments as a memo, recording some practical things and making full use of the value of each item.
Now that the concert was over, she and Li Xingzhou should leave. It was a bit of a distance to walk back, so she thought she would go to the restroom first. She said goodbye to Li Xingzhou and headed towards the restroom.
Once everyone had left, the entire corridor was practically empty. Apart from a few staff members, there wasn't much else to be seen. Although staff members occasionally passed by, the concert area was too large, and with so few people around, it felt very deserted. Huang Shiyu just wanted to finish relieving himself as soon as possible and leave.
She looked at the sign above her head, turned left, and walked even faster than before. Just as she was about to walk out the next corner, a very familiar male voice rang out, causing her to pause and immediately pull back her foot.
"First you asked me to lend you money and then asked me to help you raise a lot of funds. Now you're going to release news that's bad for your family's company. What exactly are you trying to do?"
That voice... it sounds so much like the person who was playing bass on stage just now.
Before she could even peek out to see if it was the person she thought it was, the male voice continued.
"I'm really curious."
Now she was quite certain that the male voice belonged to Yan Shi, who had just been playing bass on stage. After all, his voice was very distinctive, just like his bass. Although it didn't overshadow the bass, it was still very memorable.
But judging from what he said, it was clearly not a simple matter, not an ordinary topic. Huang Shiyu was considering whether to retreat, after all, it was not good or honorable to eavesdrop on other people's business matters.
She considered herself a person with business ethics in some respects. Just as she was about to turn back, a voice that was extremely familiar to her fell, freezing her foot in place and making her afraid to move an inch.
"Haven't there always been people who want to expose the poisoning incident at Shenzhen-Hong Kong Group twenty years ago? So I'm doing this myself, giving the relevant departments a boost."
Huang Shiyu's heart tightened; she knew that voice all too well.
It was Li Xingzhou.
What did these two people mean by saying all this? They're talking about borrowing money, raising funds, and then there's the news about the poisoning incident at the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Group.
Huang Shiyu suddenly felt like she had stumbled upon some earth-shattering gossip. She was momentarily stunned in disbelief, then carefully looked to the side, her movements very cautious. She was afraid of being discovered, since she had been eavesdropping, and being caught would be extremely disgraceful.
Just moments ago, Huang Shiyu claimed to be a person with decent business ethics in certain aspects, but now he has completely forgotten that idea and is only focused on clearing up the fog.
"Oh."
She saw Yan Shi chuckle softly and approach Li Xingzhou, but not too close, leaving room for maneuver. Then she heard Yan Shi's seemingly casual teasing voice, "Do you even believe what you're saying, my dear President Li? You businessmen are all about being meticulous and calculating. I'm really curious, what are you up to this time?"
Li Xingzhou looked at him and smiled slightly, "If you insist on saying that, then when you do hedging, don't you also emphasize careful calculation? Otherwise, how can you hedge against market uncertainties?"
Huang Shiyu, who was eavesdropping in the corner, finally remembered why Yan Shi looked familiar because of Li Xingzhou's words. He was the founder of a foreign hedge fund. She had seen him in financial news before, but she didn't remember him well because she had never interacted with him in real life. That's why she didn't think of him at first.
Meanwhile, Yan Shi, whether amused by Li Xingzhou's words or dismissive of his reply, scoffed again, "I'm not going to play games with your words. When you borrowed money from me before and raised a large sum of funds, I thought you were trying to fleece investors in the stock market. Now you're releasing this news that completely overturns my previous assumptions. I really can't figure out what you're up to."
Huang Shiyu stared intently at the two people who were talking. Although her face was expressionless, her heart was in turmoil because of their words.
As expected, her guess was correct. The surge in Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock prices due to the new drug announcement was suspected of being a ploy to manipulate the market and shake out weak hands. But Huang Shiyu couldn't help but wonder, even if he wanted to inflate the stock price to make a quick profit, Li Xingzhou certainly had the money; he didn't seem short of cash. So what was the purpose of his borrowing money and raising such a large sum? If she remembered correctly, Sunac's annual report showed an overall upward trend in revenue, especially with a significant year-on-year increase in net profit.
Another thing she couldn't understand was why Li Xingzhou would expose the news about the poisoning incident at Shenzhen-Hong Kong Group twenty years ago. He must have known that doing so would cause the stock price to plummet, so what was his motive? She really wanted to know.
But one thing she was certain of was that Li Xingzhou was definitely going to do something bad; however, she didn't know what it was.
Coincidentally, Yan Shi's thoughts were exactly the same as Huang Shiyu's. "That's not right." Yan Shi looked at him, suddenly frowned, and showed a perfectly timed look of suspicion. Then he changed the subject, "Could it be that you want to short Shenzhen-Hong Kong Group? But that's your family's company." Surprised, he looked around and then lowered his voice, "You wouldn't be that crazy, would you?"
“You should know that acquiring more than 5% of the shares requires public disclosure,” Yan Shi said. “I’m really curious about what you’re planning to do.”
Li Xingzhou did not answer his question. Instead, he brought up something completely unrelated to the topic: "I remember when I took over the medical company debt restructuring project during my internship at KKR. It was in the summer of 2020."
Yan Shi: "...".
Ignoring the confusion on Yan Shi's face, Li Xingzhou continued, "Due to the overall impact of the pandemic, this medical company was unable to repay its debts on time, totaling 80 billion yuan in principal and interest, thus beginning its debt restructuring. However, the fundamental reason that ultimately led to its debt restructuring was the company's actual controller and shareholders; the impact of the pandemic was only a small part of it."
At this point, Li Xingzhou sighed, and his voice became somewhat ethereal as he spoke again. "The shareholders of this medical company are the founding members who followed the actual controller before the company went public. They have worked in the company for many years, which sounds inspiring, right? But after the successful listing, these shareholders, because they hold most of the shares and suddenly have a huge amount of wealth, have lost the passion they had before the listing and have started to rest on their laurels."
As he spoke, he chuckled silently, looking somewhat helpless. "Faced with these veterans who have been with him since the beginning, the actual controller is reluctant to let them go because of personal feelings, and he is not hard-hearted enough. Clearly, if he just takes back the power held by these veterans and hands it over to the capable backbone of the company, while retaining the veterans' treatment and positions, everything can be easily solved."
Hearing this, Huang Shiyu didn't quite agree with Li Xingzhou's final decision. The reason why the veterans are veterans is that they made huge contributions in the early stages of the company's development. Without these veterans, the company might not have been able to go public. Moreover, rashly taking action against these people would make others in the company think that they have served their purpose and then discard them, which would be putting the cart before the horse. In the future, no one might be willing to devote themselves to the company's development.
At this moment, Yan Shi's voice rang out again, but his tone was somewhat complicated, "So this is why this medical company started to decline and eventually had to undergo debt restructuring?"
“Yes,” Li Xingzhou said. “So, I naturally have my reasons for doing this.”
After that, Yan Shi didn't ask anything more. Huang Shiyu watched the two leave.
Yan Shi originally intended to leave with Li Xingzhou, but when he turned around, he happened to catch a glimpse of a suspicious figure in the shadows around the corner. He thought it was just another illegitimate child following him, but that thought vanished when he walked behind the shadow.
However, he never expected that the sneaky person who had been hiding here listening for who knows how long was actually Huang Shiyu.
Li Xingzhou, the founder of Joint Innovation, once played a game of dare, willing to accept punishment rather than betray his little finger by changing the slip of paper.
That's interesting, really interesting.
Seeing that everyone had left, Huang Shiyu also planned to leave. She didn't intend to go to the restroom and just decided to head home. As soon as she turned around, she was startled by Yan Shi, who suddenly appeared in front of her and was looking her up and down. If she hadn't suppressed her screams to the extreme, she would have already let out a loud scream.
"Hiding behind someone and eavesdropping is not a good habit."
His tone of voice was gentle, without a hint of reproach, as if he were chatting with her about everyday things.
Huang Shiyu knew he was in the wrong, and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, I was looking for the restroom, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation, don't worry, I'm tight-lipped."
She really did come looking for the restroom; she wasn't lying.
Seeing that the other person didn't speak or react, she was about to leave when she heard the other person say, "You've brought up a private matter."
She saw the other person glance behind her before walking towards her. Huang Shiyu wasn't sure if she had misread the glance, but she felt that Yan Shi's gaze was somewhat mocking.
Before she could figure it out, Yan Shi was already standing very close to her. She was about to step back and separate herself a little when Yan Shi stood very close to her.
Yan Shi bent down and gave her a wicked smile, standing a few centimeters away from her ear. Huang Shiyu didn't like strangers getting so close, so she could only freeze for the moment.
Yan Shi's gaze was fixed on the figure approaching from afar, but he slowly opened his mouth and asked in a meaningful tone, "Can you tell the difference between a dog and a wolf approaching from a distance?"
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The author says: I personally really like the free-rhythm movement of the guzheng, hahaha. When I was practicing with a friend as her piano accompanist, I noticed she always started with this movement. Watching her pluck the strings, I really understood why the guzheng was originally an instrument used in ancient times for defense. No wonder so many poets loved the guzheng. The free-rhythm movement of the guzheng is equivalent to the octave span in piano accompaniment.
The song in the article was just something I wrote on the spot. I'm a complete novice, so I can't compare to a professional. Just enjoy it! I don't know if it's suitable for universal chords, but I've used them with friends to sing some pop songs before, and it worked. Maybe I can give it a try sometime.
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