Chapter 64

As they walked to the center of the stage, Quan Baolan and Li Zhiyan looked towards the dimly lit back of the stage, then proceeded to their respective positions.

Zheng Junying came to the microphone stand, placed the microphone on it, and the Kim brothers stood on either side of the stage.

Quan Baolan stood behind the chair.

Li Zhiyan walked to the middle chair and sat down with her legs together, slightly lowering her head, looking very beautiful. Jiang Minjing, sitting beside her, looked at the five people on stage and suddenly felt a bit envious. But thinking of her oppa still backstage, she felt a little sorry for him, as he wasn't very good at singing, Li Hualei naturally couldn't join this performance. Thinking of her oppa in the darkness, Jiang Minjing's gaze turned towards the back, but she couldn't see any figure.

The five people in place exchanged glances, nodded to each other in encouragement, and then gave a thumbs-up to the production team in front.

Soft and melancholic music began to play, and Quan Baolan, who was standing at the back, slowly walked to the front of the stage.

Although Li Hualei had obtained the song "First, Be Yourself," he didn't know who the creator was because there was no information in his memory. However, this didn't affect anything.

This song is about the differences in perspective between a man and a woman, with the lyrics presented in a dialogue format. The style is essentially Korea's unique K-POP, or it can be called emotional HIPHOP.

Since the arrangement was completed by the Kim brothers with Li Hualei's suggestions, the quality was no worse than the original.

Moreover, the five of them had practiced day and night recently. As long as there were no unexpected issues, they would definitely succeed on stage.

Li Hualei, standing behind the curtain on the right side of the backstage, watched the situation outside, clenched his fists, and whispered encouragement: "Come on! Let's succeed together!"

...

"We stand at the edge of our relationship,

Countless misunderstandings and excuses back and forth,

Baby, I just wanna talk to you,

Baby, I just wanna belong to you,

Unable to believe the eyes, the fading sparks!"

Stunning!

Absolutely stunning!

Under the simple prelude, Quan Baolan's hoarse voice, slow and full of emotion, immediately captured everyone's attention.

In the original version, there were 4 men and 1 woman. Since it was now 3 men and 2 women, after discussion, they decided to let Quan Baolan take on the more soulful part, as Li Hualei suggested, to balance the image of her being only cute and adorable.

At first, Quan Baolan's rap didn't feel right, even though she had practiced it at the company. This song required more emotion.

Of course, if perfection wasn't required, it wouldn't have been so troublesome. All of them were young, even Zheng Junying, with his panda eyes, wouldn't be careless about such matters.

With the help of the Kim brothers, Quan Baolan, after diligent practice, found her feel in a hoarse voice.

"Baby, talk.

Baby, talk about you,

Baby, talk.

It's been hard to hold back until now,

Now everything is in chaos,

Let's talk about you,

Let's talk about you,

Let's talk about you,

Just talk about you,

Don't say anything else, just be yourself..."

After the prelude rap, the accompaniment music suddenly became rich and full, with a much stronger rhythm. The song directly entered the chorus, and the emotional duet between Quan Baolan and Li Zhiyan was very catchy. Many audience members swayed their bodies gently, not strongly, but in sync with the music.

Following the strong rap part by the Kim brothers and the main song solo by Zheng Junying, each of them showcased their strengths. The Kim brothers' strong rhythm and Zheng Junying's deep voice further immersed the audience in the world of music.

If there was a flaw, it was the punk lolita Quan Baolan. Although she was very serious and her voice was emotional, her lolita face had a slight impact, but no one was paying attention to this now.

In the guest seats, Kim Tae-yeon widened her eyes, looking at the five performers with great surprise, suddenly thinking, "Musician... Li Hualei, ah!! Could it be him!"

Thinking of the sheet music Li Hualei tore up last time and the situation they met in the waiting area, Kim Tae-yeon's eyes widened, wondering if this musician was indeed Li Hualei.

Shin Ji, sitting next to her, was also very surprised. This song was definitely a good one, and the performance was excellent. Although she had seen the videos of the Musician online, like many others, she thought the music style was unique and liked by many, but it didn't fit the mainstream. Even the second video, like the lyrics of Crescendo, if the content was meaningless, it wouldn't be liked, as meaningful songs aren't always easy to write.

But this song "First, Be Yourself" had no trace of the previous清新风格, completely fitting the Korean music style.

Jiang Minjing, sitting in the second row next to Shin Ji, became dazed. Compared to others' surprise at the song, Jiang Minjing thought more about Li Hualei.

"Oppa has really changed, he's so amazing, so amazing!"

Gradually, a hint of admiration appeared in Jiang Minjing's eyes. Although she had seen the sheet music and thought it was good, it was only to that extent. The first two songs aside, this third song completely exceeded her expectations and hopes. She also confirmed that the composition was done by Li Hualei alone, with only the arrangement done by friends.

At this moment, Jiang Minjing believed that if Oppa really worked hard on this path, he would definitely be great.

...

Li Hualei, however, had no idea that his song had restored a bit of the past admiration in his "cheap sister." He was still thinking about the path ahead.

Standing backstage, watching the five people perform, Li Hualei happily clenched his fists. The effect of the performance wasn't something that could only be seen after it ended. Sneaking peeks at the audience and guests, Li Hualei felt very relaxed and happy.

However, this relaxation was only for a moment. Seeing the large-faced MC sitting at the far left of the guest seats, Li Hualei's eyes narrowed, and his mind started working at high speed.

Actually, if he had to say, Li Hualei preferred Liu Zaishi's hosting style. Ignoring other aspects, just in terms of hosting style.

When a good friend was going downhill, Liu Zaishi would choose to lend a hand and provide some help within his means.

But Jiang Hudong's style was to push hard from behind, and generally, most people would fall to the ground.

Under normal circumstances, most people would prefer Liu Zaishi's gentle style, and Li Hualei was no exception. However, Li Hualei was also clear that if he himself became an MC one day, his style would be 100% closer to Jiang Hudong's.

This was a matter of personal character. In the past, Li Hualei would sometimes help juniors who were bullied by seniors because he couldn't stand it and would tell them to resist such unreasonable seniors. But if the same person was bullied by the same unreasonable senior again, Li Hualei's choice would be to let them die.

Li Hualei never had the resolve of a saint. Only he could help himself stand up. Relatively speaking, Li Hualei preferred the style of pushing hard.

Although their personalities weren't the same, they definitely had some common points. Plus, Jiang Hudong had been in the entertainment industry for many years, and his TV image was very clear to everyone. So Li Hualei felt there was a high chance he could trick him.

Of course, saying "trick" was just a way of putting it. In reality, if done properly, it would benefit both parties. After this trick, the goal Li Hualei would finally reveal was the future's heaven-defying and tricky Korean song. This was the most critical and important step in Li Hualei's music plan. Once it succeeded, everything would become much simpler.

Moreover, Li Hualei wasn't a benevolent song-giving machine. After achieving fame and success, besides continuing his plan to find endorsers, he would also start thinking about making money.

That peculiar song, if given to the right person, might yield peculiar results. Although it wasn't guaranteed, with the right promotion, the chances were still high.

Of course, Li Hualei didn't have the idea of hanging on one tree to death. Although he spent most of his time on music recently, he still spent other times learning and had already started plagiarizing his first TV script. Movies were too high-end for him, and he was still learning. TV scripts and movie scripts were limited, so he had to be more cautious.

"Large-faced MC, I hope you'll give me trouble!"

Seeing the performance about to end, Li Hualei silently prayed.