Chapter 57

After Li Mu returned to Haizhou, the theory test for the Jinan Driving School's batch of students began.

Fortunately, Li Mu had brought the study materials with him when he went back to the countryside, and with many years of actual driving experience, his theory test went relatively smoothly. However, in 2001, the driving school exams in Haizhou were still very backward. The theory test did not have a computer-based examination room, and it was all a closed-book written test. After the exam, it would take two to three days to get the results.

After completing the theory test, Li Mu immediately became a flying man, rushing to Jinling to catch a flight to Wencheng. He arrived at the headquarters of Metersbonwe on the same day, signed the contract, and paid a few ten thousand yuan as a cooperation deposit. That night, he took another flight back to Jinling.

To advance the Eting Yiting Network project, Li Mu had once asked Ye Tianming to help him find an office, but he had never had the time to come and check it out. He decided to take this opportunity to stay in Jinling for a day and resolve this matter.

That night, the four members of Simple Plan went to the airport to pick up Li Mu. They then took him to a high-end restaurant for a meal and drinks to welcome him.

Zhang Kexuan told Li Mu, "The recording of the preliminary round has been broadcast. It was first aired on the satellite channel, then rebroadcast once, and then aired twice more on the second channel."

Li Mu smiled and asked, "How did it feel after it was broadcast?"

"Wow!" Zhang Kexuan said excitedly, "I get recognized by young girls wherever I go. I didn't even dare to take you to that big street stall today."

Li Mu nodded and looked at the other three, asking, "What about you guys?"

The other three all said there was nothing special, as the young girls only had eyes for Zhang Kexuan.

There was a hint of envy in their words.

Li Mu was worried that the other three might gradually develop resentment, so he casually said, "For a band to become popular, it's essential to establish a core figure in the early stages. Once the first core figure is firmly established in the market, the second core figure can be promoted."

He continued, "Just like Beyond, the earliest core figure was only one person, Wong Ka Kui. After Wong Ka Kui's image as the lead singer was established, Wong Kwan Chung, as the lead guitarist, was then promoted as the performance core."

The four of them all nodded in agreement.

Zhang Kexuan knew the real purpose behind Li Mu's words. This was something he had been worried about recently. They were all good friends, and they played in a band together. Now that he had suddenly become popular, the other three were being ignored, and he was very concerned about the potential resentment they might feel. However, as the beneficiary, it was inappropriate for him to say such things.

But Li Mu said it just right, using Beyond, a well-known band in China, as an analogy. The other three members of the band seemed to understand immediately.

Zhang Kexuan couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, this 18-year-old young man seemed to see through everything and could point out the key issues that no one wanted to mention at critical moments, which was truly remarkable.

Ye Tianming then said with a smile, "I don't really mind. After all, the drummer is usually the one who stands at the back of the band and is hard to get attention."

Li Mu shook his head, "That's not true. At your current stage, you're not really considered stars yet. After the audience watches TV and online promotions, they will only have two direct impressions: whether the song is good and whether the people are good-looking. However, as your exposure increases, the audience will turn into your fans and admirers, and they will try to learn more about you."

"For example, they might think that, besides the lead singer, the guitarist in Simple Plan is also quite handsome, and the drummer is quite cool. Moreover, once you have live performances, Kexuan can give more opportunities to showcase you."

"For instance, when he finishes the chorus and needs to go into a guitar solo, Kexuan can step back, and you, Xiaqi, can move to the front of the stage, using your guitar, your solo, and your forward position to attract the audience's attention. The same principle applies to the bassist and the drummer."

"I get it!" Ye Tianming exclaimed happily, "That's why, in Beyond's concerts, Kwan Chung moves to the front when he plays a solo, or all the lights focus on him. They even arranged for Wong Ka Keung to play a long bass solo in 'Cold Rainy Night,' and even Ye Shihung has a few minutes of solo time."

Li Mu nodded, "In the later stages of a band's development, the best outcome is for everyone to become famous and have their own fan base, which will enhance the band's overall influence. In the future, I will give you three more opportunities to showcase yourselves, such as better solos, more perfect harmonies, or solos, but this can only happen after Kexuan's core position is firmly established."

The three of them all agreed. For them, there was definitely a sense of disparity, but they didn't know how much disparity they could accept. With Li Mu's words, they felt more at ease, knowing that they wouldn't be truly overlooked.

Zhang Kexuan also felt relieved and said to Li Mu, "We have the semi-final on the night of the day after tomorrow at 8 PM. It's eight to one, and only the champion can go to Yanjing. This is such a crucial competition, you must come to the scene."

Li Mu didn't rush to agree but asked, "How is the practice for 'Sunflower' going?"

"Pretty good," the four of them almost said in unison, "We've been practicing this song recently."

Li Mu then said, "I'm not sure if I'll have time the day after tomorrow. Let's go to your practice room right now and see how you're doing. Also, where are the resumes you found for me? Bring them to me later. Tianming, can you go and check out the office space tomorrow?"

Ye Tianming said, "No problem, anytime."

Li Mu nodded, "To be honest, I have a lot of things to do in Haizhou and need to go back by evening."

Ye Tianming, hearing this, quickly said, "Right, my father's former subordinate is now doing business in Haizhou. He came to Jinling yesterday to handle some matters and was originally scheduled to return tomorrow morning. I asked him to wait for you, so you don't have to take the train tonight. You can go with his car."

Li Mu said, "That's not appropriate. Don't delay his business. Let him go back tomorrow morning, and I'll take the train back in the evening."

Ye Tianming hurriedly said, "How can that be? You came all the way for us four, how can we let you take the train back to Haizhou? That person is like a brother to me, and we have a good relationship. If you don't want to go with his car, I can drive you. Choose one."

Li Mu was about to refuse, but Zhang Kexuan also said, "That's right, Xiaomu, I can also drive you."

Li Mu didn't insist and turned to Ye Tianming, "Then I'll trouble your brother."

"It's a small matter, I'll call him and let him know."

Li Mu nodded. At this moment, his phone received a text message: "Your aunt-in-law agreed."

It was from Li Ma. Li Mu had called his mother before boarding the plane today to tell her that the contract was signed and to ask her to talk to his aunt-in-law. It seemed that the aunt-in-law had no issues now.

He needed to go back quickly to arrange things, either his mother and aunt-in-law would go for training together, or they would go with his father. In any case, this matter needed to be resolved quickly.

So, Li Mu finished the half glass of beer in his cup and said to the four, "Let's all finish our drinks. We won't drink too much tonight. Let's get full and go to your practice room. I have a lot of things to do tomorrow. I don't know if I can come the day after tomorrow, but I must be back in Haizhou by tonight."

The four of them, hearing this, didn't say more and quickly finished their meals before settling the bill and heading to their practice room, which was previously called Jinling Noise but had now been renamed Simple Plan.

In the practice room, Li Mu looked at the resumes the four had found for him while listening to them practice "Sunflower." The song was not particularly difficult to play or sing. After the last reminder from Li Mu, Zhang Kexuan had started to try to perform the song with his own feeling, which was a significant improvement. Moreover, the four had indeed practiced hard, and they performed three times without any mistakes.

After the third performance, Li Mu gave them a thumbs up, "Maintain this level, and you'll have no problem going to Yanjing!"

He then took out four resumes and said, "These four people look good. Let's meet them tomorrow."

The four people Li Mu selected were all from Nanjing Province, and one named Kong Lingyu left a deep impression on him.

Kong Lingyu was from Jinling and graduated from Yanjing University of Technology in 1998. He joined China Yahoo as a web technology developer in early 2000, which was one of the earliest portal websites in China and was at its peak at the time. However, Kong Lingyu resigned from Yahoo in late March this year and returned to Jinling.

According to his resume, after returning to Jinling, Kong Lingyu started his own business, creating a navigation website similar to hao123. The website was currently in a stage where it had no revenue but required continuous investment. Kong Lingyu hoped to find a web technology development job to support his small website.

Li Mu wasn't sure whether to say Kong Lingyu was honest or naive for mentioning his ongoing business in his resume, but his profession and skills were exactly what Li Mu needed, like a timely rain in a drought.