Chapter 75

Just as he entered the venue, Li Mu was shocked by the bustling scene inside. The gymnasium, which could hold at most one or two thousand people, was not only packed to the brim but also had people standing in the corridors and aisles.

Li Mu had initially intended to find Chen Wan, but Ye Tianming directly pulled him to the backstage.

Before they reached the backstage, Li Mu had already briefly told Ye Tianming about asking Song Liang for help yesterday. Since he had asked his friend for help, he naturally had to inform Ye Tianming, even if it was after the fact.

After hearing the gist of it, Ye Tianming waved his hand and said, "You don't need to be formal with Brother Liang. You don't owe him any favors; I'll repay him for you."

Li Mu nodded. The four of them in Simple Plan had already formed a community of interests, so there was no need for formalities.

When they arrived at the backstage, the bands that had not yet performed were preparing, mostly in small groups of three to five people.

As soon as Ye Tianming and Li Mu entered, Zhang Kexuan's face lit up, and he stood up abruptly. The other two also quickly followed.

"Brother Mu, you really came!" The three of them smiled, looking very pleased.

Li Mu laughed and said, "Please, please, don't call me Brother Mu anymore. How are your preparations going?"

"Piece of cake," Zhang Kexuan said confidently, rubbing his cool, asymmetrical hairstyle. "Our parents are all here today, and even my aunt and uncle. It's rare for them to think so highly of us, so we have to win the championship to make them happy!"

Li Mu nodded. "I rushed over here in a taxi after finishing my work at six. If you don't win the championship, it would be a waste of my travel expenses."

Ye Tianming laughed and said, "We know all the bands participating in the semi-finals. Their skills are average. With the song 'Sunflower,' we have a sure chance of winning first place."

Zhang Kexuan leaned in and whispered, "After winning the semi-finals, we'll need your help to promote us online again. We've already prepared the advertising budget. We'll give you 100,000 yuan first, and if it's not enough, just let us know."

Li Mu nodded. Online promoters and internet trolls usually charge by stage, and 100,000 yuan for one stage wasn't too much. In the future, those who specialize in promoting internet celebrities would charge much more, but their results would be far inferior to his. He wasn't promoting internet celebrities; he was promoting stars!

Of course, this was also closely related to the good songs he provided them.

Li Mu stayed in the backstage for a while, but he kept thinking about Chen Wan. He said to the others, "I won't disturb you here. I'll go outside to see Sister Wan."

Zhang Kexuan nodded slightly and smiled, "She and her parents are sitting in the third row. You might not find a seat when you go there."

"That's fine," Li Mu waved his hand. Not having a seat wasn't a big deal; he could have her come to him.

After saying goodbye to the backstage, Li Mu walked through a side passage to the last row directly facing the stage. There was still some space to stand. He then took out his phone and sent a message to Chen Wan: "Simple Plan hasn't started performing yet?"

"Yes, they're the sixth band now."

Li Mu: "This band is terrible."

"Indeed, they are pretty bad."

Li Mu chuckled inwardly. Chen Wan's reaction seemed a bit slow.

"Look at the lead singer's long hair. It's quite similar to Zhang Kexuan's old hairstyle, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is quite similar."

Li Mu paused, unsure if Chen Wan was really slow to react or if she was deliberately teasing him.

Just as he was wondering, another message came: "Where are you!!!"

A smug smile appeared on Li Mu's face. It seemed this big girl was indeed a bit slow to react!

Li Mu stood on tiptoe and could just see Chen Wan in the third row. She was looking around, trying to find him in the dark rear rows, which was not an easy task.

"Bad boy, why aren't you replying? Where are you?!"

After looking around for a long time, Chen Wan couldn't find Li Mu and sent another message urgently.

"Come to the back."

As soon as the message was sent, Li Mu saw Chen Wan stand up hurriedly, move out of her seat, and run quickly through the crowded aisle.

Li Mu watched Chen Wan run, admiring the beauty of her flowing hair and bouncing chest, while waving his phone above his head: "Sister Wan!"

Chen Wan saw an arm waving above the crowd and immediately recognized Li Mu, the person she had been thinking about day and night.

Indeed, she had been thinking about him day and night.

Even Chen Wan herself hadn't expected that after leaving Haizhou, she would think about Li Mu every night and even have trouble sleeping. She wanted to see him but didn't have his photo. Fortunately, there were two of his songs on her MP3, so she listened to them every night to fall asleep.

Now, she was finally going to see this bad boy. Chen Wan suddenly felt nervous, worried about not having put on makeup and about her casual attire. The opportunities to see Li Mu were becoming fewer, and she wanted to present her best self to him every time.

Li Mu watched the big girl run towards him, feeling a surge of emotion. When they finally faced each other, both were nervous.

"You said you couldn't come," Chen Wan panted, her nose wrinkling slightly, looking a bit dissatisfied but with a trembling voice that betrayed her excitement.

Li Mu smiled and said, "I missed you."

Chen Wan was momentarily stunned, as if struck by lightning. When she asked the question, she had imagined that Li Mu might say he didn't want to miss the performance or that he didn't want her to be upset, but his direct response left her at a loss for words.

After saying that, Li Mu also felt he had been a bit too bold. Although Chen Wan was three years older, she seemed very innocent after multiple interactions, and he shouldn't have teased her like that.

Seeing Chen Wan remain silent for a while, Li Mu scratched his head and laughed, "Sister Wan, you look beautiful today. Are you going back to Shanghai tonight?"

Chen Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had been stuck in the dilemma of how to respond to Li Mu's words, but his sudden change of topic allowed her to escape that predicament. However, she felt a bit disappointed and wondered if things would have changed if she had suddenly hugged him when she heard those words.

She quickly pushed that absurd thought aside. She didn't dare to take such risks, even though she had many thoughts in her heart. Rationally, maintaining the status quo was best.

"Bad boy," Chen Wan said coyly, then added, "I have a train at 12:30, a slow one. It will arrive at 5:30 in the morning. What about you?"

"I came by taxi and will take you to the train station tonight, then go back to Haizhou."

Chen Wan was deeply moved. From Li Mu's words, she could at least be sure that he had come to Jinling for the performance not for Simple Plan, but for her.

Women are easily moved by the crazy things men do for them.

"So, I won't have my brother and the others take me to the station tonight," Chen Wan said softly.

"Okay," Li Mu nodded. "Let them go back early. The taxi driver is still waiting in Jinling. He can take us to the station, see you off, and then take me back to Haizhou."

Chen Wan asked with concern, "Won't you be back by 4:00 AM? Aren't you afraid your parents will scold you?"

"They're out of town," Li Mu smiled. "When you called me this afternoon, I was at the train station seeing them off."

"Where did they go?"

"Wencheng."

"What for?"

"Training."

"How long?"

"Half a month."

"..."

Chen Wan looked at Li Mu and reminded him, "You mustn't misbehave while they're away."

Li Mu laughed and asked, "What counts as misbehaving?"

"Well..." Chen Wan wanted to say that bringing girls home would be misbehaving, but she was too embarrassed to say it, so she vaguely replied, "Anything they don't agree with for now is considered misbehaving."

"Ah," Li Mu sighed. "Then my sudden taxi ride from Haizhou to Jinling must also be considered misbehaving..."

"This time doesn't count!"

Since Li Mu was there, Chen Wan didn't return to her seat and stood by his side.

The seventh band finally finished their five-minute heavy metal performance and screaming vocals, scoring a pitiful 18 points.

Before the seventh band even left the stage, the audience was already in a frenzy, shouting in unison, "Simple Plan, Simple Plan."

The band on stage awkwardly left, and the host smiled and said, "Since everyone is so eager for Simple Plan to perform, I won't say much more. Please welcome the last band of the night, Simple Plan!"

The cheers in the venue were deafening, and even the fans outside the venue joined in, cheering. Although they couldn't enter, they had been waiting outside to hear Simple Plan perform.

Chen Wan, standing next to Li Mu, excitedly grabbed his arm and jumped up and down like a child, "They're about to perform!"

Under the anticipation of the crowd, the four members of Simple Plan finally made their grand entrance!

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PS: I'm going to the Three Rivers today in the afternoon. If you have a Three Rivers ticket, please don't be stingy and support me!