Chapter 25
Nowadays, concerts didn’t only compete on the lineup, the stage, and the attendance rate. Most importantly, they had to compete on creativity.
A few years ago, the format of concerts were very uncomplicated: the singer sang on the stage, the dancers surrounded them, and then there were live bands and choirs behind, clean and simple.
But now, these alone were not enough to attract the attention of the audience, or to grab entertainment headlines. Entertainment companies pulled out every trick in the hat, using high-tech methods to make the stage more dazzling and grand.
Among other things, in the past two years alone, there have been a lot of novelties: a certain singer rode a animatronic beast into the arena, a certain singer performed magic on the spot to appear and disappear, a certain singer used holograph technology to “awaken” a dead starlet to perform love songs…
Chen Yueyang’s team was not exempt from vulgarity. How cool the stage was, just for those specially-made sets, the investment was an astronomical figure. A small artist like Fei Chang couldn’t afford it even if he laboured for the company for ten lifetimes.
Chen Yueyang’s singing and composition were excellent, spanning many styles of music. Whether it was sexy and hot or gentle and mild, he could sing it all. He even had two Chinese folk-style songs that were quite popular.
One of the Chinese style songs was regarded as the “highlight” of the second half of the performance. This song was originally created for the ending of a xianxia movie.
When the song began, Chen Yueyang, dressed as a sword immortal, stepped on a flying sword and flew down from the top of the stadium along a cable–of course, hanging by a wire–to the front of the stage.
After reaching the front of the stage, he didn’t land immediately, but performed while hanging in midair. Chen Yueyang performed sword dances, cast spells, and moved lightly in the air. He maintained a graceful posture, singing while also dancing, which required great physical strength.
As he “cast spells”, the lights on the stage would show a variety of colorful lights, and the specially laid water channels in front of the stage would also spray water jets at the same time, which was very trendy.
The venue was set up two days in advance. Chen Yueyang led the team there, rehearsing every day from the moment he opened his eyes, and going to bed exhausted. Fei Chang originally wanted to follow, but he had an outdoor variety show which ended up shooting for several days.
Fortunately, Fei Chang did not miss the last dress rehearsal.
He arrived a little late, and he was still wearing game clothes from the variety show. He didn’t have time to change, wrapping himself in his coat, and hurrying straight to the stage.
Because they were rehearsing while adjusting, the stage was a huge mess. Fei Chang searched for a long time but couldn’t even find Chen Yueyang’s shadow.
He grabbed Jing Jiren and asked, “Where is senior brother, where is senior brother?”
Jing Jiren’s dark circles were about to droop to his chin. He didn’t sleep well and had a bad temper. While finalizing the final details with the director, he took the time to point to the sky.
“Lift your head.”
Fei Chang said, “Huh?”
“Look up to the sky.”
Fei Chang raised his head to look at the sky.
But, but there was nothing in the sky. There were only a few thin silver metal tracks. If it weren’t for Fei Chang’s extraordinary vision, he would never find it.
Fei Chang was at a loss. Then he saw the track trembling suddenly, and at the same time there was a loud metal rubbing sound in the air. Fei Chang was stunned, following the sound–
In midair, Chen Yueyang wore a blue historical costume robe, stepping on a flying sword. He had long hair in a crown1[The traditional headpiece men wear when wearing hanfu.], stepping out from a sunset, descending lightly from the top of the stadium.
There was still light outside, and the wire on Chen Yueyang was clearly visible. Logically speaking, it should be very uncomfortable to be hung like this, but Chen Yueyang appeared as if he was really floating in the air, every move relaxed and full of sprezzatura.
He sang while doing aerial dances or martial arts movements. Fei Chang stood in the center of the stage and looked up. He just happened to see Chen Yueyang’s… “skirt bottom”.
…Speaking of which, was the “skirt bottom” of the historical costume robe also called the “skirt bottom”?
The long legs under Chen Yueyang’s robe were wrapped in a pair of black tights. Fei Chang stood there anxiously waiting, for fear that this scenery would be seen by others.
In fact, Chen Yueyang had noticed Fei Chang a long time ago. He persisted until the rehearsal of the song was over, then looked down in Fei Chang’s direction.
Chen Yueyang said, “Feifei.”
“Senior brother, I am here!” Fei Chang waved at him excitedly.
“Catch me.”
“……Eh?”
Chen Yueyang did a somersault and suddenly fell from the air.
Fei Chang instinctively stretched out his arms to catch him, and his heartbeat instantly soared to one hundred and eighty.
Chen Yueyang was 20 meters above the ground, which was six stories high. Fei Chang had originally thought that when he fell from such a height, he would really be finished. He completely ignored the possibility that he might be injured, just thinking that he must catch his senior brother, and absolutely not let Chen Yueyang lose a single strand of hair.
Until Chen Yueyang floated into his arms, he still couldn’t recover. His arms were slightly bent in the air, and all his thoughts were written on his face–“Why is senior brother so light?”
Chen Yueyang scolded while laughing: “Aren’t you stupid, don’t you see that I’m still attached to the wire?”
Fei Chang’s mind was chaotic, and covering his mistake with a stupid laugh, “I thought you fell…”
Jing Jiren, who was standing next to him, turned green when he heard this. He hurriedly said “pei pei pei”2[Spitting onomatopeia. It’s a ritual to ward off evil, very similar to spitting over the left shoulder to get rid of the Scottish Play curse.] three times, scolding, “Tomorrow will be the official opening. Don’t carelessly speak inauspicious words! Security settings have been checked 18003[Certain numbers in Chinese, like 9 or 18, have the meaning of infinity, or asymptotically approaching infinity.] times. If you really fell, everyone would accompany you to the grave.4[Like the Japanese practice of junshi, or people being buried alive with the Emperor as punishment or sacrifices. The Terracotta Army is an example.]”
…This line really sounded like a dog-blood5[Overly dramatic, like telenovela or soap opera style, full of suffering and misunderstandings.] battle drama.
Currently, everyone was extremely busy, and there was no time for the two to stick together. Jing Jiren unceremoniously took Chen Yueyang out of Fei Chang’s arms, making the two stand side by side in a proper manner.
Jing Jiren held the script in his hand and beat Fei Chang on the shoulder, “You missed the rehearsal before, so now I will tell you again: After this song is over, the backup dancers will come on stage, and Yue Yang will somersault down in the air and fall into the ensemble. You will come up with the ensemble, and you are responsible for catching him–just as you did before. And while the ensemble is dancing in front of you, quickly strip off his clothes.”
Fei Chang: “…Jing-ge, what did you say I need to do?”
Chen Yueyang said, “Jing-ge said, while the backup dancers are blocking the audience’s view, you have to take my clothes off on-stage.”
???
Fei Chang suddenly thought of the comments made by the little assistants a few days ago. Even if a singer’s concert was equivalent to the coming out press conference, this was too exciting, right?
- 1[The traditional headpiece men wear when wearing hanfu.]
- 2[Spitting onomatopeia. It’s a ritual to ward off evil, very similar to spitting over the left shoulder to get rid of the Scottish Play curse.]
- 3[Certain numbers in Chinese, like 9 or 18, have the meaning of infinity, or asymptotically approaching infinity.]
- 4[Like the Japanese practice of junshi, or people being buried alive with the Emperor as punishment or sacrifices. The Terracotta Army is an example.]
- 5[Overly dramatic, like telenovela or soap opera style, full of suffering and misunderstandings.]
Very exciting