The next day.In the evening.
Olympic Stadium was crowded with a sea of people.
"What a grand stage!"
"Jesus, this is gorgeous!"
"So this is the Olympic Stadium?"
"Is it starting soon?"
"It"s almost time."
"Zhang Ye!"
"Zhang Ye!"
"Zhang Ye!"
The tens of thousands of people at the venue had already started shouting Zhang Ye"s name.
The stadium"s crowd was even doing the wave.
Backstage.
Zhang Ye was currently having his makeup put on.
Ha Qiqi shouted, "Do one more round of checks on the equipment! The concert is about to begin!"
Little w.a.n.g said excitedly, "The crowd outside is making such a big commotion!"
Little Zhou also said excitedly, "What a grand sight! It"s so spectacular!"
"How can it not be? This is a venue holding close to a 100,000 people!" Wu Yi said, "No one in Asia has ever held such a large concert before! We"re the first to do so!"
Zhang Zuo asked, "Has the livestreaming camera been set up yet?"
Tong Fu said, "It was set up very early on. Everything is ready to go!"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Great job, everyone."
The makeup artist said, "Don"t smile, I"m doing your makeup."
Ha Qiqi asked, "How"s your throat today?"
Zhang Ye replied, "It"s great, never been better!"
Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Then you must definitely sing well tonight. Who knows, we might just get to the summit of the Asian entertainment circle after today. If that happens, it would really be a success after all the hard work we"ve put in. When you return from your half a year or yearlong break, we can finally take a proper shot at the international entertainment circle. The domestic scene was our first step, followed by the Asian region. Our end goal is still to make your name known throughout the world. Let"s work together towards that, everyone!"
Zhang Ye was very happy to hear that. "Alright."
…
At Zhang Ye"s parents" house.
His father urged, "It"s starting soon. Quickly get the livestream up."
His mother said, "What are you rus.h.i.+ng me for? There"s still 10 minutes to go."
His father said, "Can"t you put it on first?"
…
At Old Wu"s parents" house.
Li Qinqin said, "I had wanted to go to the venue to watch it live."
Wu Changhe harrumphed, "That Little Ye! He kept insisting that we not go."
Wu Zeqing smiled. "Let"s just watch it at home."
…
At Old Yao"s house.
Yao Jiancai said, "This fellow has all the glory today."
Yao Mi giggled, "Uncle Zhang is mighty!"
…
Spring Garden"s studio.
Xiaodong called out, "It"s about to begin!"
Amy harrumphed, "I"m not gonna watch!"
Li Xiaoxian smiled and said, "Are you still angry about that?"
Amy said, "Of course! No one stands people up like he did."
Xiaodong said, "Alright then, I"ll just watch it with Xiaoxian."
Amy grumbled, but she still glanced at the livestream.
…
The livestream had already started.
In the livestreaming channel, the viewers.h.i.+p numbers shot up like crazy!
10 million!
20 million!
30 million!
50 million!
It kept soaring!
It was increasing by close to a 100,000 people each time!
In the end, even before the concert had begun, the number of people in the livestreaming channel had already broken past 100 million people. What kind of a concept was that? No one knew. Because in all of the streamed concerts that had taken place in the past, none of them had ever reached 100 million concurrent online viewers before!
The media.
The industry peers.
The citizens.
Zhang Ye"s family and friends.
Those who could attend the concert live were here at the venue, while those who couldn"t make it were currently waiting for the stream to begin.
…
Counting down!
Five!
Four!
Three!
Two!
One!
Bang!
The lights at the venue blazed to life!
Stunning stage effects exploded at once!
The audience, be it those at the venue or those watching the livestream, were immediately thrilled!
At this moment, the music played. It was the strum of an electric guitar!
"Here he comes!"
"It"s Zhang Ye!"
"It"s starting, it"s starting!"
"Lord Zhang is so full of spirit!"
"Teacher Zhang, I love you!"
"Ahhh!"
Screams resounded through the stadium.
The entire venue was up on their feet, and everyone was crazily waving the glow sticks in their hands!
A glamorously dressed Zhang Ye was standing on an elevator platform as he made his appearance in the middle of the stage. Looking at the view in front of him, seeing the hyped crowd of people, he felt at this moment that he had a lot of things to say. If there were still time, he still had a lot would like to do. However, he did not have the luxury. He was only left with the next two hours. This was the final bit of time that the Heavens had afforded him. Zhang Ye treasured it very much, so he wanted to give a perfect closing.
Thank you.
Thank you all for coming.
"Zhang Ye!"
"Zhang Ye!"
"Zhang Ye!"
Amid the shouting, Zhang Ye lightly raised his microphone.
The entire venue"s audience fell silent!
Zhang Ye closed his eyes as a lot of images appeared in his head.
From his birth.
To his graduation.
To his debut in the entertainment circle.
The experiences he had on this journey were flas.h.i.+ng through his mind.
Opening his mouth, he sang in a hoa.r.s.e voice.
"Whenever I walk on any of these streets,
"My soul can never seem to be at peace.
"Apart from the roar of engines and the buzz of electronics,
"I think I hear the heartbeat of its soul."
Zhang Ye sang in a low voice.
"I have belly laughed here, and I have cried here.
"I have lived my life here, and I will die here.
"I have said my prayers here, and I"ve been at a loss here.
"I"m searching here for what I lost here.
"Beijing.
"Beijing."
The audience screamed with excitement!
It was a new song!
A new song!
It was so nice to listen to. They knew he would come out with a new song!
However, no one knew what sort of a mood Zhang Ye was in as he performed this song. Perhaps only Wu Zeqing understood.
…
Watching the stream.
Wu Zeqing was still smiling, but her eyes had reddened.
…
At the venue.
Zhang Ye continued singing.
"The three blocks between the coffeehouse and the plaza,
"Feel like the distance between the neon lights and the moon.
"In the struggle through life, people comfort and hug each other.
"Searching and pursuing, clutching at shattered dreams."
All of a sudden.
Zhang Ye raised his voice.
"If one day I have no choice but to leave!
"I hope people will bury me here!
"I can feel a sense of belonging here!
"I"m attached to so many of the things here!
"I have belly laughed here, and I have cried here.
"I have lived my life here, and I will die here.
"I have said my prayers here, and I"ve been lost here.
"I"m searching here for what I lost here.
"Beijing, Beijing.
"Beijing, Beijing."
Cheers were ringing out through the venue!
The audience went wild!
This opener had pumped up the crowd!
…
Old Zhang"s house.
Fang Weihong sighed and said, "Teacher Zhang"s got such exceptional talent."
But Zhang Yuanqi said, "Don"t you find him to be a little different today?"
Fang Weihong was taken aback. "No, not really? What"s wrong with him?"
"Nothing, I probably just got the wrong impression," Zhang Yuanqi replied.
…
Old Xu"s house.
Xu Meilan"s expression was one of total appreciation. "What a truly good song."
Her agent said, "It"s a new song! This is amazing!"
A female a.s.sistant said, "Just the opener alone is so good. It"s stunning!"
...
Old Chen"s house.
Chen Guang said, "The effects at this venue are awesome!"
Fan Wenli said, "The choice of song was a good one too."
…
Before this, some people were still worried that Zhang Ye would only perform his old songs at the concert.
But now, everyone was relieved after this opener.
Zhang Ye was still that Zhang Ye they knew!