My absurd experiences in North America over the years

In the third week of April, Li Fu announced during a video conference in his New York office: everyone would have the day off this Friday to charter a plane to see Taylor Swift's concert in St. Louis.

Lina paused for a moment on the other end of the screen, "Everyone?"

She thought she had misheard.

"That's right, everyone is allowed to bring their families," Li Fu replied very confidently.

The foreign exchange position building is complete, the allocation of US stocks and gold is on track, and the clean energy layout has just been completed.

Their team has barely had a break in the past three weeks, so they deserve a chance to completely relax. People can't always be tense, otherwise he would be their "role model" in his past life.

After the news spread, there was a brief silence in Nashville for about two seconds, followed by a burst of cheers loud enough to lift the roof off.

They even allow family members to bring their children.

Lina smiled and shook her head on the other end of the video call, but did not object.

She knew all too well how her team was doing lately. For three consecutive weeks, they had been monitoring the market for more than ten hours a day, and even working overtime on weekends. Everyone was on edge, like a string about to snap.

"Then it's settled," Li Fu glanced at the itinerary. "I'll arrive in St. Louis Thursday night. You'll depart from Nashville and meet at the hotel when you arrive."

Li Fu hung up the video call, leaned back in his chair, and said to Thompson, "Book me three tickets to St. Louis for the day after tomorrow. You can bring Odovia along."

Thompson was stunned for a moment, tears welling up in his eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Li."

Odovia was depressed after the kidnapping incident. She was not seriously harmed. After moving to New York, Chen Long and his subordinates treated her well.

However, she did witness the wickedness of human nature and the tragic fates of others.

The doctor determined that she had depressive tendencies.

The whole family are country music listeners, and O'Dovia's current favorite singer is Taylor Swift, the top country music superstar, who may be able to soothe her wounded heart.

On Thursday afternoon, Li Fu and Thompson took off from New York and landed at St. Louis Lambert Airport a little over two hours later.

The weather in St. Louis is warm in late spring. Outside the airport, the sky is darkening, and the city lights are gradually illuminating the distance.

The vehicles from Big Machine Records had been waiting for a long time.

Lina, along with forty or fifty members of Forrest Capital's team and their families, was to depart even earlier; they had chartered two buses from Nashville.

On the train, some people were playing cards, some were chatting, and some were gently dancing to the music playing on the train. The whole carriage was noisy, like a spring outing rather than going to a concert.

When the bus arrived at the venue, a long queue had already formed at the entrance.

Li Fu had naturally arranged everything in advance. Team members could enter through the VIP channel, bypassing the winding queue at the entrance.

Li Fu and Thompson are already inside the venue.

He stood next to a seat in the VIP area and saw Lina leading a large group of people in. He waved to her.

Forty or fifty people, along with some elderly people and children, were dressed in all sorts of casual clothes. Everyone looked completely relaxed, as if they could bring their families, which doubled the joy.

"Boss, you really booked an entire area?" someone in the team shouted.

"We told you beforehand it was a team-building activity, so we can't expect everyone to stand in the back row craning their necks to watch, can we?" Li Fu was very approachable, shrugging his shoulders casually.

At 7:30 p.m., the venue lights dimmed, and screams erupted from all directions.

An opening animation flashed on the big screen, and then Taylor Swift rose up from the center of the stage, wearing a gold sequined dress and holding her signature guitar, radiating light.

As the intro to the first song, "Fearless," began, the entire venue was instantly ignited.

Li Fu leaned back in his chair, looking at the radiant figure on the stage.

Nineteen-year-old Taylor Swift ran and danced on stage, her smile radiant, as if she were filling the venue with the energy of her entire youth.

He knew that in a few years she would have a bigger stage, more complex productions, and a more magnificent tour, but at this moment, this pure, unadorned live experience felt real and could never be replicated again.

He always thought that Taylor Swift during her country music era was the most spiritual and unsurpassable.

More than an hour into the concert, during the interlude of a slow song, Taylor Swift looked towards the VIP section and made eye contact with him.

They were actually very close to each other, only about ten meters apart.

But sometimes they seem very far away.

He hadn't been back to Li Fu's little courtyard for a long time.

However, every time Taylor Swift passed by, she couldn't help but glance over there. She always remembered that dusk and the melody he hummed.

They hadn't seen each other for at least six months, and their occasional contact was nothing more than small talk between friends.

This distance seems insurmountable.

The concert lasted for nearly two hours.

It was past 10 p.m. when the event ended. Some members of the team had already lost their voices from shouting, while others were still humming the songs that had left the deepest impression on them.

……

Even after the show ended, the backstage corridors were still bustling with people. Staff members were carrying equipment, and musicians walked by in twos and threes carrying their instrument cases. The air was filled with the smells of sweat, perfume, and the embers of stage fireworks.

When Li Fu led Thompson and O'Dovia through the security passage, Taylor's assistant was already waiting at the end of the corridor.

A young woman with a ponytail waved to them, a professional smile on her face. "Mr. Li, this way please. Taylor is waiting for you in the dressing room."

Oddovia was a little nervous, gripping Thompson's hand slightly tighter. Thompson looked down at his sister, patted the back of her hand, and said, "It's okay, she's a nice person, she'll say yes."

When the door to the dressing room was pushed open, Taylor Swift was sitting in front of the mirror taking off her earrings.

When she saw Li Fu walk in, she immediately stood up straight from her chair, walked over barefoot, and her body still carried the warmth of the stage, making her seem so real that it was almost unreal.

"Long time no see," she said, her voice tinged with fatigue and hoarseness from the performance.

"Yes! Long time no see!"

The two gave each other a polite, light hug.

Taylor Swift released him, took a half-step back, and looked him over, as if to make sure he was still standing there. "It seems like it's been half a year since we last saw each other. How have you been?"

"Not bad," Li Fu nodded slightly. "In just six months, you've become an unstoppable superstar of our time."

The album Fearless was a huge success, even more so than in his previous life, and it topped the charts for a longer period of time.

After acquiring Big Machine Records, he concentrated resources on nurturing Taylor Swift and collaborated with Universal Music ahead of time to further increase her exposure and make her music more widely known.

"The reason isn't my fault. I invited you to the music festival, but you're always too busy," Taylor Swift said with a smile and a shake of her head. There was no complaint in her smile, only a sense of understanding that she took for granted.

"There's nothing I can do, I'm just born to be a workaholic," Li Fu said with a smile and a shrug. He suddenly remembered something, "Oh, right, a young girl wanted to take a picture with you. I agreed on your behalf. Could you do her a favor and grant her wish?"

"Of course, it's my pleasure," Taylor Swift replied immediately.