Huayu98: Starting with mentoring pop divas

After spending some more time rehearsing with the members of "Tian Gong Music Hall", Li Shuo told everyone to get some rest, then sent his grandparents and Zhu Zhu back to the hotel, and then went back to his home in Taikoo City.

Fortunately, all the necessary preparations had already been made, and the adjustments made due to Liu Changle's last-minute arrangement for ATV's recording were actually not significant.

The main upgrades were made to the lighting and stage lighting to accommodate more professional on-site technology, and Li Shuo's performance and exposure also increased accordingly.

When Shu Qina suddenly prompted him that he could participate in the lottery, he also noticed that a progress bar had appeared out of thin air under his "unknown" position in the system, and there was still a little progress.

It must be due to the effect of the songs that were sold previously circulating in a small circle within the industry.

Therefore, at this stage, this is an effective way to increase exposure, so it's definitely not something we can let slip by.

Especially with the success of the first performance, the progress jumped forward again.

Looking at it this way, once tonight's news and tomorrow's special program air, the progress bar seems like it's going to level up!

If that's the case... then why not save up our recent lottery chances and exploit a "bug"? That idea should be feasible, right...?

Once he got home, he washed up and went straight to sleep.

The next morning, as soon as I turned on my phone, it started buzzing with text message notifications.

Li Shuo squinted and scanned the list roughly, then picked one and called it back directly.

The other party's assistant answered, but Andy Lau's voice came through very quickly.

Li Shuo quickly and politely expressed his gratitude.

"Brother Hua, thank you so much! Thank you for helping to make the connection; that's why Uncle Zhan's authorization went so smoothly."

After thanking him, Li Shuo asked with a puzzled look, "However, I only received an authorization confirmation letter, and I didn't see the payment account..."

Upon hearing Li Shuo's question, Andy Lau's hearty laughter came from the other end of the phone.

"Uncle Zhan knew that the performance was authorized to the Chinese Folk Orchestra, and specifically instructed that no money be charged. He said, 'Just treat me to a drink sometime!'"

"Definitely." Li Shuo thanked him again solemnly.

"Why are you being so polite?" Andy Lau asked jokingly. "Sammi always says you're a great songwriter, so why don't you... write one for me too?"

Without hesitation, Li Shuo laughed and replied, "One song isn't enough! Two, please. One is guaranteed to win an award for Andy Lau and will be widely sung. The other one, not only will it be widely sung, but I'm thinking of writing one that will make Chinese people all over the world so happy that they absolutely must listen to it at a certain time every year!"

"Hahaha!" Andy Lau's laughter grew even louder. "Young man, you've got quite the big mouth! I was just joking, but now I'm actually starting to look forward to it. Okay, when you're free these next couple of days, let's meet up! Wishing you a successful performance tonight!"

After hanging up the call with Andy Lau, Li Shuo's gaze fell on another text message containing only a string of ellipses "...".

He smiled and dialed the number.

The call was answered almost instantly.

"Feed?" Sun Yanzi's voice came through, with a slight nasal tone.

"Sister Yanzi, you have a cold?" Li Shuo asked with concern.

"No..." Sun Yanzi denied, her voice muffled.

"I heard you performed? It was quite successful. What a pity, I didn't see it. I heard from JJ that it was broadcast on ATV's news in Hong Kong... By the time I rushed to turn on the TV, it was already over..." Her words revealed the frustration and a hint of grievance of missing it.

"It's okay, there's another one tonight... and it'll be recorded as a special program. I'll let you know the broadcast time then."

To everyone's surprise, Sun Yanzi sounded even more aggrieved: "Well... I really wanted to go see it live... but unfortunately..."

Li Shuo sensed something was wrong with her voice and asked, "Sister Yan Zi, you sound... a little unhappy? What's wrong?"

This question broke her defenses...

Sun Yanzi sniffed, her voice becoming unstable: "I... I practiced the song you gave me in the music school's practice room... everything else was fine, but that song 'The Happiness I Want'... I could never get the rhythm right, I couldn't practice it well... I..." As she spoke, she began to sob softly.

Li Shuo listened quietly for a few seconds on the other end of the phone.

Sun Yanzi probably realized she had lost her composure and hurriedly stopped crying, apologizing, "Li Shuo... I'm sorry, I..."

"It's alright, how could I let you apologize... It's my fault, I promised to practice hard with you."

Li Shuo interrupted her apology, his voice softening.

"Sister Yanzi, go to the recording studio now."

"Huh? To the recording studio?"

Sun Yanzi sniffed to adjust her breathing and asked in confusion, but she had already unconsciously followed Li Shuo's directions.

"You'll find out when you get there. Don't hang up yet."

Sun Yanzi did as instructed, holding the phone, walked through the corridor, and pushed open the door to the recording studio.

Teacher Li Sisong was inside adjusting the equipment when he saw her come in with red eyes and gave her an inquiring look.

Sun Yanzi was a little flustered. She nodded shyly in greeting, her eyes seeming to be searching for something.

"Look to your left, isn't there a shelf with lots of CDs? On the top shelf, there's a metal box."

Li Shuo's voice came through the receiver, sounding like he was playing a treasure hunt game.

Sun Yanzi did as instructed and indeed found an inconspicuous iron box.

She opened it and was immediately stunned!

Inside, there were many different brands of beautifully packaged chocolates neatly stacked, and next to them was a box of "Fisherman's Treasure" throat lozenges that Li Shuo had picked up before.

"Li Shuo! You...you're amazing!? How did you know? I really, really want to eat chocolate right now?!" Sun Yanzi's voice lit up instantly, full of surprise.

Li Shuo laughed on the other end of the phone, thinking to himself.

I can't possibly tell you that in my past life I read the interview transcripts... When you were practicing the song "The Happiness I Want" and got so frustrated by the rhythm, you were crying and begging for chocolate, right?

Luckily, I made this arrangement before leaving Singapore... and your "Fisherman's Treasure" box helped me a lot before, so this is my way of repaying you.

However, Li Shuo said, "Sister Yan Zi, choose your favorite and eat a few pieces. Besides, you still have time before your official debut, so don't put too much pressure on yourself. You don't need to force yourself to 'chase' that beat. Relax, rest for a few days, go out for a walk... and then try following the beat that feels most comfortable to you later."

"Hmm..." Sun Yanzi murmured in response, her fingers tracing the chocolate wrappers, her mood noticeably improving.

I happily hung up the phone.

She looked up and found that Teacher Li Sisong was looking at her meaningfully... and in her hand was a tin box full of chocolates, as if she wanted a piece.

Sun Yanzi blushed and immediately slammed the box shut.

Goodbye, teacher!

Then he just slipped away so quickly... leaving Li Sisong looking at his "traitorous disciple" with a completely bewildered expression.

On the other side, Li Shuo also quickly finished getting ready and rushed to Victoria Park, his phone almost constantly ringing the whole way.

My father, Li Mingyao, called from Singapore. He spoke with pride and remained stubborn, but still instructed me to "make arrangements to take good care of my grandparents."

Director Wong Jing's message was also full of surprise: "Young man, you've made such a big splash? You need to work on that quirky idea for 'Ju-on' as well, but I wish you a successful performance tonight!"

Zheng Xiuwen sent a short and powerful "Go for it!" with a smiley face. Li Shuo knew that the Hong Kong diva's concert tour had started, and it seems that she took some time out of her busy schedule to keep an eye on him.

Lin Junjie's message was the longest, but Li Shuo thought about it and decided not to read it...

Li Shuo arrived backstage and saw the members of "Tiangong Music Hall" gathered in the backstage area, creating a contradictory atmosphere of tension and excitement.

He took a deep breath, walked over, clapped his hands, and drew everyone's attention.

"Everyone! Forget everything else, just focus on tonight. In the end, only our voices will resonate in this Victoria Harbour Park! Let's do it!"

The team members listened attentively and agreed with the simple and easy-to-understand explanation.

The staff passing by were a bit bewildered when they heard different voices, men and women, shouting "Damn!" backstage.

Li Shuo didn't say anything more and devoted himself to the final stage of coordination and preparation.

It was evening when we finally arrived at Victoria Harbour, and it was unusually crowded today.

In front of the Chinese Folk Orchestra's stage today, the VIP viewing area specially arranged by Liu Changle was already quite full of people.

Li Shuo's grandparents were respectfully invited to sit in the front row, where several Hong Kong celebrities who had come after hearing the news were also seated.

Although the preparations for this recording were somewhat rushed and not very formal, these usually meticulous gentlemen and ladies didn't mind at all, and instead waited with great interest.

The originally simple open-air stage has been completely transformed overnight thanks to the upgrades made by the ATV technical team.

Even more extravagantly, a very expensive television broadcasting van was parked nearby, highlighting that tonight's performance was of a different "standard" than yesterday's.

Multiple camera positions had already been set up, and the photographers were ready to go.