Chapter Seventy-Five: Emerging After Countless Calls

As soon as he entered the venue, Li Mu was astonished by the fiery atmosphere inside. The gymnasium, which could normally seat at most one or two thousand people, was not only packed to capacity, but even the corridors and aisles were crowded with standing spectators.

Li Mu had originally planned to look for Chen Wan first, but Ye Tianming pulled him straight backstage.

Before they arrived, Li Mu briefly explained to Ye Tianming how he’d asked Song Liang for help the previous day. Since he’d involved his friend, he should at least give Ye Tianming a heads-up, even if it was after the fact.

Ye Tianming waved his hand dismissively after hearing the story. “No need to be so polite with Brother Liang, and don’t feel like you owe him anything. If you do, I’ll settle it on your behalf.”

Li Mu nodded. By now, he and the four members of Simple Plan had already become partners in shared interests—there was no need for formalities.

Backstage, the bands yet to perform were busy preparing, most gathered in small groups of three or five.

As soon as Ye Tianming led Li Mu in, Zhang Kexuan’s face lit up and he leapt to his feet. The other two followed quickly.

“You really came, Brother Mu!” All three were beaming, clearly in high spirits.

Li Mu grinned. “Come on, enough with the ‘Brother Mu.’ How’s your prep going?”

“Piece of cake.” Zhang Kexuan ruffled his stylish, side-swept hair, brimming with confidence. “All our parents are here today—my aunt and uncle too. They finally look up to us, so of course we have to win the championship and make them proud!”

Li Mu nodded. “I finished work around six and rushed here by taxi just to support you guys. If you don’t win, my travel expenses will have been for nothing.”

Ye Tianming burst out laughing. “We know all the bands in the semifinals. Their level is average at best. With ‘Sunflower’ in our set, we’re sure to take first place.”

Zhang Kexuan leaned in and whispered, “After we win, we’ll need you to give us another big push online. We’ve already prepared the promotion fee—ten thousand up front, and if that’s not enough, just say the word.”

Li Mu nodded. Internet promoters and paid posters usually charged by the stage anyway—ten thousand for this round wasn’t much. Some promoters who specialize in hyping online celebrities charged much more, but with far less effect. He wasn’t making internet stars; he was making real celebrities.

Of course, the excellent songs he provided played a big part in their success.

Li Mu lingered backstage for a while, but his thoughts kept drifting to Chen Wan. He turned to the others. “I’ll leave you to your preparations. I’m going outside to see Sister Wan.”

Zhang Kexuan nodded, smiling. “She’s in the third row with her parents. There probably aren’t any empty seats.”

“No worries.” Li Mu waved it off. If there were no seats, she would come find him.

After bidding farewell backstage, Li Mu circled around to the very last row directly facing the stage, where he managed to find a spot to stand. He took out his phone and sent Chen Wan a message: “Has Simple Plan started performing yet?”

“Not yet, we’re only on the sixth band.”

Li Mu replied, “This band is awful.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty bad.”

Li Mu chuckled to himself; Chen Wan’s responses seemed a bit slow.

“Take a look at the lead singer’s long hair—doesn’t it look a lot like how Zhang Kexuan used to style his?”

“Yeah, it does.”

Li Mu was momentarily stunned by her reply. He couldn’t tell if Chen Wan was really that slow to catch on, or if she was teasing him on purpose.

Just as he was puzzling over it, another message came through: “Where are you?!”

A satisfied smile crept onto Li Mu’s face. So, this big-hearted girl really was a beat behind.

He stood on tiptoe and managed to spot Chen Wan in the third row, scanning the crowd. It was no easy task to spot Li Mu in the darkened back rows.

“Why aren’t you replying? Where are you, you rascal?!”

Unable to find him after scanning for a while, Chen Wan sent another urgent message.

“Come to the back row.”

No sooner had he sent the message than Li Mu saw her leap to her feet, squeeze out of her seat, and hurry down the crowded aisle toward the back.

Watching Chen Wan rush over, Li Mu admired the sight of her flowing hair and bouncing figure, raising his phone above his head and waving it. “Wan!”

Chen Wan spotted the waving arm above the crowd and followed it with her gaze, finally finding Li Mu—the one she had been longing to see.

Yes, longing. Even Chen Wan herself hadn’t expected that every night since leaving Haizhou, she’d lain awake thinking of Li Mu. She wanted to see him, but had no photo of him. Thankfully, her MP3 player had two of his songs, and she’d fallen asleep to them every night.

Now, finally about to see this rascal again, Chen Wan suddenly felt nervous—nervous that she wasn’t wearing makeup, and that her outfit was too casual. Opportunities to see him were growing rare, and she wanted to look her best each time.

Watching her run toward him, Li Mu felt a surge of emotion as well. When they finally stood face to face, both were nervous, not just Chen Wan.

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t come?” Chen Wan caught her breath, wrinkled her nose with a touch of feigned displeasure, but her voice trembled with excitement.

Li Mu smiled. “I missed you.”

Chen Wan was stunned as if struck by lightning. When she asked the question, she’d expected him to say he didn’t want to miss the show, or that he didn’t want her to be mad. But he’d answered so directly that she was at a loss for words.

After saying it, Li Mu thought he might have been too forward. Though Chen Wan was three years older, she seemed so innocent that perhaps he shouldn’t tease her like that.

Seeing her speechless for so long, Li Mu scratched his head and changed the subject. “You look beautiful tonight. Are you heading back to Shanghai after the show?”

Relieved, Chen Wan finally found her voice. She’d been stuck, not knowing how to respond, so was glad for the change of topic—though she couldn’t help feeling a pang of disappointment. She wondered: if she’d just hugged him after he said that, would things between them have changed?

She hurriedly pushed that reckless thought aside. It was better not to take risks—her feelings aside, it was wiser to keep things as they were.

“You rascal.” Chen Wan scolded him with a girlish shyness. “My train is at half past midnight—a slow one. I won’t get there until after five in the morning. What about you?”

“I came by taxi. After I see you off, I’ll head back.”

Chen Wan was deeply moved. From his earlier words, she realized that he’d rushed to Jinling not for Simple Plan’s performance, but for her.

Women are easily touched by the crazy things men do for them.

“Then I won’t let my brother and the others see me off tonight,” Chen Wan said softly.

“Good.” Li Mu nodded. “They can go home and rest. The cab driver’s still in Jinling, so he can take us to the station. Once you’re on the train, I’ll head back to Haizhou.”

Chen Wan asked with concern, “Won’t you get home at four in the morning? Aren’t you afraid your parents will scold you?”

“They’re out of town,” Li Mu replied with a smile. “When you called this afternoon, I was actually at the station seeing them off.”

“Where did they go?”

“Wencheng.”

“For what?”

“Training.”

“How long?”

“Half a month.”

Chen Wan looked at Li Mu and warned, “Don’t get up to any mischief while your parents are away.”

Li Mu retorted with a laugh, “And what counts as mischief?”

“Well…” Chen Wan wanted to say bringing girls home would count, but was too embarrassed. “Anything they wouldn’t approve of, that’s mischief.”

Li Mu sighed. “So me dashing by taxi from Haizhou to Jinling counts as mischief?”

“This time doesn’t count!”

With Li Mu here, Chen Wan didn’t return to her seat, but stayed by his side.

Finally, the seventh band finished their noisy five-minute metal set with only 18 points.

Before the seventh band had even left the stage, the audience was already in a frenzy, chanting in unison, “Simple Plan, Simple Plan!”

The band onstage exited awkwardly, while the host smiled and said, “Since everyone’s so eager for Simple Plan, I won’t keep you waiting. Please welcome our final band of the night—Simple Plan!”

The stadium erupted in deafening cheers, even from fans outside who couldn’t get in. They’d waited outside all evening just to hear Simple Plan perform.

Beside Li Mu, Chen Wan clung to his arm, bouncing with excitement like a child. “They’re up next!”

At long last, to thunderous anticipation, the four members of Simple Plan took the stage in a blaze of glory!

-----

PS: This afternoon I’ll be on Sanjiang. If you have Sanjiang votes, please don’t be stingy—every bit of support helps!