The show team just pushed out this message, and the internet exploded immediately.
The live stream’s bullet screens, the comment sections on Weibo, the show’s super topics, and within each fan group, there were all sorts of excited howling.
[Damn! I love the show team!]
[Watching the stage live?! Is this for real?! I’m going to faint!]
[Oh my god, little one, you’ve grown up! You know how to give us benefits now!]
[Reserve! Immediately reserve now! Who the hell needs rational thinking! It’ll be gone soon!]
[Hurry, hurry, hurry, reserve now!]
[Don’t rush, I’ve checked for the sisters, the link shows there’s still five minutes before reservations start]
[It’s just the weekend! And it’s happening in Hai City! I’m so happy!]
[I’m leaving my family behind to rush over, whether I get a spot or not, I’ll just listen outside the venue tomorrow!]
[Director, I’m dying of love for you!]
[Is this a benefit for ending the game early, or did the show team plan this all along?]
[I’m heading over to the nearby mobile store, can’t have slow internet speed and miss out]
[It’s free?! We get to see Lin Lian’s singing and dancing debut for free?!]
[Li Yang mama’s here! Tomorrow’s biggest cheering in the venue is definitely for you!]
[We’ve been online friends for so long, are we finally meeting in person, sisters]
[Offline support is happening! So excited!]
[Brother Cheng! Brother Cheng! Brother! I’m coming to see you!]
[In a moment, we can watch the online performance, and then grab a spot to see it live tomorrow, woohoo, so happy]
[Everyone! I just made Brother Cheng brand orange juice-flavored cookies; our Cheng Zhirang support club is covering tomorrow’s entrance snacks for everyone’s fans!]
[Li Yang’s support club has drinks covered! Shout as much as you want!]
[Shu Ran’s support club has tissues! Don’t worry about getting too excited!]
[Hahahahahahaha it’s got that huge group event vibe for sure!]
[It’s good that this game ended early! You can tell there’s really no script anymore]
[The show team is really bold, to allow the guests to handle everything themselves like this /shocked.jpg]
[Mu Qiu is really awake, knows what everyone wants to see, truly the fan representative]
[Bai Shu! We get to see Bai Shu’s stage again!]
[Xu Cheng, why are you so excited, just perform well, such a good chance to cooperate with the popularity king!]
[Jiang Zhu and Feng De should do a dance with a republic era style? Too fitting!]
[I’m going to see Lin Lian tomorrow, for those of you who just joined the fandom, I’ll check for you guys if he’s as handsome in person]
[Five thousand isn’t enough?! Director! Add more spots, please?! We’re willing to buy tickets! That venue can fit ten thousand people!]
[Requesting the same! Five thousand really isn’t enough!]
[Hahahahaha are we the only Shi Yuhuai fans thinking this is hilarious! Brother Huai is going to sing and dance, hahaha]
[Huai · I just want to lie down for this episode · Brother]
[Li Yang: No interest in games, just wants to sing and dance; Brother Huai: Not interested in games or singing and dancing, just wants to chill and rest]
[Hahahahaha Brother Huai is really funny! Lying down and telling everyone "come"]
[?? Why does this comment sound so weird when read aloud?]
[Family! Offline meet-up! It’s Brother Cheng’s offline meet-up before his birthday! The last time I saw him in person was last television festival!]
[What level of a show team can be this confident to let guests arrange the show themselves? Truly the chubby son brought up by Changtong’s dad]
[Brothers and sisters! Reservations have started!!! Grab it! /shout till my throat hurts.jpg]
This fan explosion is a bit exaggerated, and the engineer who’s been with the team finally found bigger uses, frantically operating on the computer to maintain the server, no longer just sitting idly by.
Fortunately, it’s the time for fans to access the link and reserve, the live stream’s bullet screens have instantly decreased, making maintenance slightly easier.
But there’s no room for relaxation, the five thousand spots will soon be gone, and the bullet screens will surely explode again later.
And in these five minutes, the twelve people on camera still don’t know a thing.
The temporary performance program is mostly finalized, and with the help of the show team, a full set of sound equipment is ready, a group is surrounding the music staff, reporting their performance tracks.
In the shell house facing the piano stand, the assistant has set up fruits and sunflower seeds, trying to create the atmosphere of a high school class evening party.
After reporting the program, Mu Qiu sits in the shell house, munching on seeds, gazing at the small stage in the middle of the lake through the half-open balcony.
Guan Yu picks up the role of host, passionately announcing, "The ’Different’ Second Class Arts Performance officially begins."
"Please take your seats quickly, as our first performer’s exciting act is about to start! And who is the first guest? Of course, it’s—
Li Yang, you’re up first to kick things off."
Li Yang, walking towards the shell house: "...Alright."
He takes off the Sailor Moon mattress from his back, tidies his hair a bit, and he looks quite presentable now.
"So, Li Yang, as the first performer, do you have anything to say to everyone and the fans?"
Li Yang bows beside her and says, "I hope everyone enjoys my performance, light up my stage, thank you!"
"Okay, that’s indeed quite an unoriginal line, and what will you perform?"
"Piano and vocal solo ’Arrogant’."
Mu Qiu, still snacking in the shell house, claps excitedly while biting a seed:
"Wow! Stage prince! Li Yang, Li Yang, you’re the best! Li Yang, Li Yang, you’re the strongest!"
Shu Ran and Bai Shu also applaud and cheer along.
Li Yang sits before the piano, adjusts the mic on it, and nods to the staff.
As the song’s prelude starts, his voice suddenly shifts from clear and clean to deep and magnetic, carrying a sense of suppressed, unasked questioning intertwined with exhaustion.
Mu Qiu genuinely wows again.
"Too much, too heavy, too cruel, not tangled, it’s yours, the reasons are too fake..."
"Your every word cuts into my heart like a scar, my every move changes foolishly with you..."
He closes his eyes, plays the piano, and sings, deliberately lowering his voice, his slightly furrowed brows align perfectly with the song.
In this state, he’s no longer the naïve and gullible contestant on the show but the "seriously expressive stage prince Li Yang" his fans admire.
When people are earnest, they are always the most captivating, and the few earnest listeners in the shell house are too engrossed to eat seeds, all swaying along, cheering for him.
————
This song was just what I was listening to while coding, so I used it.
Does anyone have song recommendations? Something sexy, with strong climaxes, suitable for Brother Cheng and the guys to dance to. I’ve picked a few songs but they don’t feel quite right.