Chapter 74

"Take good care of yourself these days, especially make sure to eat and sleep on time, got it?"

At 6:30 PM the next day, Li Mu sent his parents and his aunt to the train station. Before they went through the ticket check, his mother kept giving him instructions.

Li Mu nodded his head like a pecking chick, agreeing to everything his mother said without hesitation.

His father looked at the time and said to Li Mu, "Alright, you don't have to wait for the train with us. Go do your own thing."

Li Mu casually replied, "I don't have anything to do anyway, I'll stay with you for a while."

At this point, his mother reminded him to check if the doors and windows were closed before going to bed, and also to make sure to close the screen door when entering and leaving to prevent mosquitoes from getting in.

Li Mu nodded repeatedly, his brain almost exploding from all the instructions, until his phone rang, coming to his rescue.

It was Chen Wan.

"Bad boy!"

Chen Wan's tone was somewhat displeased from the start.

Li Mu knew she was upset that he couldn't go to Jinling to watch the Simple Plan competition, so he asked earnestly, "Sis, have you arrived in Jinling?"

"I've arrived, I'm having dinner with my brother and the others." Chen Wan's voice sounded like a little aggrieved woman.

Li Mu chuckled, "Then please convey my best wishes to them, I hope they win this time."

"Okay." Chen Wan responded, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "This time, the parents of all four of them are here, even my parents came. They are all going to cheer for them at the venue. You can tell that my uncle, aunt, and the parents of the other three are very pleased."

"That's great." Li Mu smiled, "Getting the parents' approval is more important than anything."

Chen Wan said, "I heard that my brother and the others went to the venue to adjust the sound in the afternoon, and the female college students at Jinling University surrounded them. Countless girls asked my brother for photos and autographs. I heard that this is also the result of your promotion online. It's really hard to believe..."

Li Mu said, "It's no big deal."

Chen Wan added, "It's all thanks to you, so I don't blame you for not coming."

"That's good." Li Mu sighed with relief, "Remember to tell me the results of the competition as soon as possible."

"Okay." Chen Wan said, "I'll go back to the private room now."

"Okay."

After Li Mu finished speaking, just as he was about to hang up, Chen Wan suddenly said, "Actually, I miss you a lot. I thought I could see you this time, but it's fine, there will be other opportunities..."

"Okay." Li Mu felt a bit embarrassed.

"Bye, see you."

Chen Wan hung up, and Li Mu felt a warm feeling in his heart.

It wasn't because of the momentum of Simple Plan in various aspects, nor was it because of their and Chen Wan's gratitude to him, but because of Chen Wan's words, "I miss you a lot."

Although Chen Wan was a few years older than him in actual age, in his eyes, she was a热情活泼而且真性情的大女孩 (warm, lively, and genuine big girl).

Chen Wan wanted to see him, and he wanted to see her too...

Li Mu suddenly felt a sense of restlessness.

He looked at the time; it was just past 6:30 PM. Li Mu knew that the semi-finals started at 8:00 PM, and there were only eight bands participating. He didn't know which number Simple Plan was, but it would take about two and a half hours to drive to the provincial capital. At this time, the traffic might be better, and the time could be compressed a bit. He should be able to arrive by 9:00 PM.

Although he wasn't sure if he could catch Simple Plan's performance, Li Mu was clear about one thing: if he went now, he could see Chen Wan.

So Li Mu hurriedly said to his parents and his aunt, "Mom, Dad, Aunt, I won't see you off to the train. Give me a call when you get on the train. I have something to do suddenly."

Li Dad nodded and waved, "Go ahead, I'll call you when we get on the train."

Li Mu, having received the order, turned and ran. Li Mom was still giving instructions from behind, "Remember, eat well and don't stay up late!"

"I know!"

Li Mu rushed out of the waiting room, crossed the square in front of the station, and saw a row of taxis waiting on the roadside. Li Mu glanced at them, and the models ranged from千里马 (Qianlima) to羚羊 (Lingyang) to夏利 (Xiali), none of which looked like they could drive very fast. At this moment, Li Mu suddenly saw a Jetta in the long queue and immediately ran over.

"Driver, are you going to Jinling?"

The driver, who was about fifty years old, immediately perked up when he heard Li Mu's question, "Sure!"

The reason these drivers chose to wait for customers at the train station was to get a long-distance job. The Jetta driver then quoted a price, "Five hundred yuan."

The current taxi starting fare was three yuan, and the cost per kilometer was less than one yuan. The distance to Jinling was about 200 kilometers, and if the empty return trip was considered, the price was reasonable.

"Money is not the issue, the key is to be fast!" Li Mu said, and immediately got into the back seat.

The driver immediately started the car and promised, "Don't worry, I'm a twenty-year veteran driver, and I know the route to Jinling very well."

"Great."

The driver quickly drove out of the city, and Li Mu closed his eyes to rest in the back seat. Around 7:00 PM, his father called to tell him that the three of them had already boarded the train and to let Li Mu rest assured.

Li Dad was always very reliable and thorough, so Li Mu didn't have much to worry about.

His mother also took the opportunity to remind him to fill the water tank after taking a shower, and Li Mu quickly agreed.

At 8:00 PM, the car was still speeding on the national highway, and Chen Wan sent a text message: "The competition has started."

Li Mu asked, "What number is Simple Plan?"

"Number eight. They originally drew the second number, but the venue was almost packed, and everyone was there to see Simple Plan. The organizers were afraid that the venue would be empty after their performance, so they moved them to the last slot."

"Alright!" Li Mu sighed with relief. If they were the second to perform, he wouldn't have been able to see their performance, but if they were the last, he would definitely make it.

...

When the driver arrived at the entrance of Jinling University, it was just 9:00 PM. Before getting out of the car, Li Mu asked the driver, "Driver, can you get a ride back?"

"Definitely not." The driver laughed, "Very few people take a taxi from here to Haizhou. Even if they come to Jinling, it's rare to get a ride once a month."

Li Mu asked with a smile, "Almost 200 kilometers, going back empty?"

"Exactly." The driver shrugged, "There's nothing I can do."

Li Mu then said, "How about this, I'm going back tonight, but it might be in the middle of the night. Do you want to wait for me?"

The driver's eyes lit up, "Three hundred yuan to go back? I'll find a place to rest for a few hours, give me your phone number, and call me when you're ready to go."

"Okay." Li Mu nodded, wrote down the driver's phone number, and then ran into Jinling University.

When Li Mu arrived at the Jinling University gymnasium, he was stunned. Outside the door, a large number of teenagers, mostly girls, had gathered, at least several hundred people.

Li Mu casually asked a girl, "Classmate, what are you all doing outside?"

"We can't get in!" The girl said anxiously, "We want to watch Simple Plan's performance, but the school and the organizers said the venue is already full and no more people can enter..."

Li Mu was taken aback and asked, pointing to the hundreds of people around, "Are all these people here to see Simple Plan?"

"Yes..." The girl stomped her feet in frustration, "They said the song they are performing this time is called 'Sunflower.' Someone said they once heard the lead singer, Zhang Kexuan, sing it at his home, and it was extremely beautiful and touching!"

Li Mu thought to himself, "Good job, Zhao Kang. Your online promotion is beyond my expectations. The name 'Sunflower' was just a casual mention to Zhao Kang, and the story about hearing it at Zhang Kexuan's home is clearly made up. Even if Zhang Kexuan's friends really heard him sing it at his home, it wouldn't have been promoted so effectively. Now, the only person who could do this online is Zhao Kang."

Li Mu was amazed and gave Zhao Kang the title of "Admiral of the Water Army."

Despite his amazement, the entrances to the venue were guarded by school security, and he couldn't get in. How could he manage this?

Li Mu wanted to surprise Chen Wan, ideally by sneaking in and finding her, then gently tapping her on the shoulder and watching her face light up with surprise.

But then he thought, even if he could get in, there were at least a thousand people inside, and how could he find Chen Wan in such a crowd? Moreover, he remembered that Chen Wan had mentioned that her parents were also there, likely right next to her. What should he do?

After much thought, Li Mu called Ye Tianming. As a participant, he should be able to get Li Mu in. He didn't call Zhang Kexuan because there were too many of his fans at the entrance, and he was afraid the situation would get out of control.

When Ye Tianming answered Li Mu's call, Li Mu first deliberately told him not to make a fuss, and then said he was at the entrance and couldn't get in.

Ye Tianming said, "Wait, I'll come out to get you."

Two minutes later, the venue's main door opened, and Ye Tianming squeezed through the gap between the security guards. At this moment, many fans around Li Mu tried to take the opportunity to get in, and the security guards quickly blocked them. Li Mu, being clever, bent down and slipped to Ye Tianming's side. When Ye Tianming saw him, he didn't say a word and almost pushed Li Mu to the security guards.

"This is our band's manager." Ye Tianming shouted at the security guards, and they might have been informed beforehand, so they let a gap, and the two of them slipped in.

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