A song called "The You of the Past" has prompted the entire internet to beg me not to leav

The Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing has a super-large rehearsal room on the third basement floor.

There are less than two weeks until the start of the "I Don't Want to Go to Work" family concert.

For any other superstar, this period would have been an absolutely grueling training camp where they would have signed a waiver of their right to live or die.

Every day, they practice their voices, move around, and rehearse their dance routines. They never close their eyes until 3 a.m., and there are two doctors on the team backstage who are ready to administer IV drips at any time.

But at this moment, the atmosphere in the Bird's Nest rehearsal room has completely changed.

There was no microphone stand in the center of the rehearsal room.

Two large charcoal grills, each over a meter long, were prominently displayed.

Lin Yan, wearing floral shorts and a white T-shirt printed with "Hope of the Whole Village," and flip-flops, was sitting on a small stool flipping over a lamb skewer.

Cumin mixed with chili powder was sprinkled on the sizzling, oily tender meat, and the rich aroma of the meat instantly filled this expensively built, soundproof room.

"Old Xue, don't just stand there, go to the refrigerator and get that ice-cold, deadly beer." Lin Yan didn't even look up, his wrists flailing as he brushed on the cooking oil.

In a corner of the rehearsal room, Xue Zhiqian, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, gripped his hair tightly with both hands, on the verge of a breakdown.

He glanced at the thick sheet music in his hand, then at Lin Yan, whose face was full of contentment.

"Boss! Please! I'm begging you!" Old Xue shuffled over, tears welling in his eyes. "This is the Bird's Nest! 100,000 people here! Weren't we here to rehearse our blocking? Why are you having an open-air barbecue in the rehearsal room?!"

"You need to eat even when you're rehearsing." Lin Yan handed Lao Xue a skewer of grilled kidneys. "Here, have some to eat. You look so weak lately, your eye sockets are sunken."

Old Xue stared at the oily kidney in his hand, his lips twitching uncontrollably.

Since his career resurgence due to "The Actor" and his subsequent signing with "I Don't Want to Work" entertainment group, he thought he was about to experience a high-pressure, competitive second spring in his career.

For the past two weeks, his daily routine consisted of: playing games with Lin Yan, having barbecue with Lin Yan, and running errands for Lin Yan to buy chilled watermelon.

"But...but we haven't even done a full circle of positioning!" Old Xue angrily took a big bite of the kidney, chewed it a couple of times, and, to be honest, it was grilled really well. "As for 'Ugly Monster,' I'm still a little unsure about the high notes. Should we go through it again?"

"What a load of crap." Lin Yan popped open a can of ice-cold Coke with one hand, the bubbles bursting out with a "pop." "You're just too burdened. Just run around on stage, if you crack your voice, that's considered interaction, if you forget your lines, just hand the microphone to the audience. Don't you understand such a simple principle?"

Old Xue was dumbfounded.

This is the Bird's Nest stadium for 100,000 people! Do you think this is some cheap karaoke bar downstairs? And you forgot your lines and handed the microphone to the audience? Those are 100,000 people who paid real money to come here!

Just as Lao Xue was preparing to continue his desperate remonstrance, the door to the rehearsal room was kicked open.

Lao Liang and Chen Yu pushed two large food carts in, piled high with Boston lobsters and king crabs that had just been airlifted in.

"Old Lin, how's the heat? The kitchen has rendered all the oil from the garlic!" Old Liang rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a lobster, and began to skillfully butcher it.

Chen Yu held up his phone, slicing the grill 360 degrees: "Brother Yan, if this were posted on Weibo, the haters would probably be furious. Other idols are working out their abs on wires for their concerts, while we're running a seafood stall here."

"So they can only be idols, while we are artists." Lin Yan said without changing his expression as he piled a thick layer of minced garlic on the oysters.

Old Xue was utterly desperate. Destroy it! This company, from top to bottom, is full of spineless cowards devoid of worldly desires.

The rehearsal room door was pushed open again.

The sound of high heels was crisp and rhythmic. Shen Qingqiu walked in, wearing a sharply tailored black trench coat, bringing with her a sophisticated, cool fragrance.

Upon seeing her, Lao Xue's dim eyes instantly lit up, as if he had seen a righteous and just official.

"Boss lady! You have to do something about him!" Old Xue pointed at the oven and tearfully accused him, "There are less than two weeks until the show starts, and he hasn't rehearsed a single song!"

Shen Qingqiu glanced quietly at the sizzling, golden-brown, crispy oysters on the grill, walked over to Lin Yan, and naturally pulled up a chair to sit down.

"Get me an oyster first, make it spicy, with lots of scallions."

Lao Xue: "..."

I'm tired. Let's quickly buy a standing ticket and escape from Earth overnight.

Lin Yan skillfully picked out the fattest piece of meat and handed it to Shen Qingqiu.

After finishing her meal, Shen Qingqiu elegantly pulled out a wet wipe to clean her red lips, then casually tossed the thick stack of documents in her hand onto the folding table.

"The security level at the venue has been raised to the highest level. Three thousand people have been deployed to maintain order around the perimeter." Shen Qingqiu's tone was calm, as if he were talking about tonight's late-night snack. "Also, seven or eight top-tier brands have tried to bribe me for naming rights these past few days, but I've turned them all down. Your first concert should be clean and tidy; we don't need those messy GG brands."

Lin Yan nodded and gave her a thumbs up: "Well done. By the way, have you sent the tickets for those ten VIP first-row seats reserved for Old Master Li?"

"It's been sent. Old Li said he'll bring all those old bones from the Music Association to support you." Shen Qingqiu rested his chin on the back of his hand, a rare hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes. "But who exactly is your 'mystery guest' for the finale? Why are you keeping it a secret, even from me?"

Lin Yan grinned and precisely tossed the skewer in his hand into the trash can three meters away.

"You'll see when the time comes. It's guaranteed to be a game-changer."

As he spoke, he subtly stroked the warm velvet box through the thin fabric of his trouser pocket. A proposal witnessed by 100,000 people needed to be impressive enough.

Seeing his secretive demeanor, Shen Qingqiu didn't press him further. No matter how outrageous it seemed, as long as it was Lin Yan's arrangement, she had the confidence to back it up.

"Alright, you've eaten and drunk your fill, time to stretch your muscles." Lin Yan clapped the cumin off his hands, stood up, and walked to the million-dollar Martin guitar in the corner.

The moment the fingers touched the neck of the violin, the atmosphere in the rehearsal room changed without warning.

One second he was a disheveled barbecue stall owner on the street, and the next second, a suffocating sense of dominance enveloped the entire space.

Old Xue swallowed back all his grievances and instinctively straightened up. He knew all too well that this man could do whatever he wanted normally, but once he touched a musical instrument, he was the only tyrant in the Chinese music scene.

"Old Xue, the second chorus of 'Ugly Monster' in C major, start."

Without even looking at the sheet music, Lin Yan casually swept a very imposing chord, as precise as a computer program.

Old Xue abruptly closed his eyes, his emotions plummeting in an instant, and his first words were a piercing high-pitched scream.

Three minutes later, the echo faded away.

Lin Yan casually hung the guitar back on the rack: "Your emotions are in place. Don't worry about the stage blocking, just remember one thing—once you're on stage, unleash your wild side. You're there to conquer 100,000 people, not to work for them. Understand?"

Old Xue got goosebumps all over, and nodded emphatically as if he'd been injected with adrenaline: "Understood!"

Lin Yan yawned, slipped back into his flip-flops and sat down on the small stool, grabbing a skewer of half-cold roasted cartilage.

"Alright, that's it for today's rehearsal. Lao Liang, get someone to clean up the mess. Go back and log in; I'll carry you guys to the top rank."

Total rehearsal time: three minutes.

Looking at the half-eaten kidney in his hand, Lao Xue was once again bewildered by the cold air conditioning in the Bird's Nest.