The online livestream platform crashed several times that night. The technicians worked overtime and survived on ginseng tablets before finally stabilizing it.
Multicolored lights flashed like fireworks falling from the night sky.
For a long time, a single person completely occupied both giant electronic screens. The camera stayed on him for at least ten minutes.
[Aaaaaah Lan Che is so handsome!]
[Is it my imagination? Why does Lan Che look even hotter after winning Country A’s Gold Award?!]
[Not your imagination. Our idol has always been this handsome.]
[Who’s the young fresh-faced guy diagonally behind him? He’s so exquisite.]
[I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere? A face like this not becoming famous is against the laws of heaven. Sisters, I want every piece of information about him within one minute.]
Lan Che had chosen a very particular seat: in front of Lu Huiqing and diagonally up to Yue Han’s right.
They were already seated toward the right side, which meant one thing.
No matter which camera filmed Lan Che, Yue Han would inevitably enter the frame.
[Oh my god…]
[Is that washed-up pretty face Yue Han?!]
[To be fair, that face is seriously incredible…]
[Why is he sitting so close to our Lan Che/Huiqing/Yihan/Xinran? Trying to leech popularity again?]
[I didn’t even recognize him at first. Did he get subtle cosmetic work done?]
The reporters became frantic. Solo shots of major stars absolutely could not contain some insignificant minor celebrity, especially with someone at Lan Che’s level.
They clicked their shutters while panicking internally.
Several compositions were beautiful enough to be movie posters, but Yue Han’s profile happened to be in the shot. If they cropped Yue Han out, they would also have to crop the arm Lan Che was resting against the chair.
Although the accidental profile actually improved the image aesthetically, the gap in status was too obvious.
They couldn’t exactly mosaic him out, could they?
The person the public wanted to see was still not Yue Han. He deliberately lowered his head and eyes, refusing to steal the spotlight.
Yet no matter how the cameras moved or changed angles, Yue Han kept appearing on the screens. The reporters’ photographs could not avoid him either.
[Can certain people please stop leeching popularity? Damn. Shameless people really are invincible. Was leeching Lan Che with that room-key incident not enough?]
[Yue Han’s sugar daddy must be seriously capable. He’s this irrelevant and still gets so much screen time. Impressive.]
[Uh… why do I feel like the camera is pointed at Lan Che and Yue Han just happens to be in frame?]
[Don’t joke. Once or twice is an accident. What do you call every single time? Stop trying to clean him up. You can’t wash this clean.]
[Speechless. I’m not even a Yue Han fan. What am I supposedly cleaning up?]
The host’s pleasant voice spread through every corner of the hall via microphone. “Welcome, everyone, to Joyful Dawn Entertainment’s fifteenth-anniversary celebration. Over these fifteen years, Joyful Dawn Entertainment could not have become what it is today without all of you!”
Behind the host, a projected display scrolled through the names of Joyful Dawn Entertainment’s artists.
The typeface was dignified and grand. When the list finished, someone cast a mocking glance toward the back.
“Did I see wrong? Isn’t what’s-his-name from Joyful Dawn Entertainment too? How come I didn’t see him on the list?”
“Hahaha, he’s so irrelevant his own company forgot he exists. How tragic.”
Yue Han maintained a calm expression and looked straight ahead.
His name truly had not appeared on the list.
He was still an artist under Joyful Dawn Entertainment. Maybe it was a staff mistake.
Or maybe Joyful Dawn Entertainment was already preparing to terminate his contract.
Whether he had been forgotten or abandoned, neither possibility was worth celebrating.
But it didn’t matter much anymore.
Li Yihan and Lin Xinran had been discussing which male artists at Joyful Dawn Entertainment were handsome and which had good bodies. They suddenly fell silent and furtively glanced at Yue Han as if afraid of something.
Yue Han was far too calm, as though this humiliating situation had nothing to do with him.
Li Yihan muttered, “What kind of trash company is this? They can even leave someone out of something this small. What the hell are they doing?”
It wasn’t really about whether the matter was small or not. Lin Xinran did not respond to that. Instead, she turned seriously toward Yue Han. “Yue Han, why don’t you jump ship to my company? Mine isn’t large, but at least they behave like human beings.”
Yue Han sincerely said, “Thank you, but there’s no need. I can’t leave Joyful Dawn Entertainment.”
“Why?” Lin Xinran frowned.
“Because…” Yue Han spread his hands helplessly. “The contractual penalty is too expensive.”
Lin Xinran froze. Then several people burst into laughter at the same time.
Yue Han looked soft, blank, and well-behaved, the obedient-boy type. They had assumed he didn’t know how to joke.
Unexpectedly, he was actually rather funny.
“For this anniversary celebration, we have invited Joyful Dawn Entertainment’s newest shareholder. He is—Xu Zui!”
Thunderous applause erupted. Yue Han looked toward the stage. A man in a black formal suit walked expressionlessly to the center.
His hair and clothes were immaculate, without a single detail anyone could criticize.
Most astonishingly, each step he took seemed measured in advance, every stride the same distance.
“He looks so young,” Li Yihan said in surprise.
No matter how mature Xu Zui dressed or how steady his temperament seemed, his slightly youthful appearance could not be hidden.
Lin Xinran began educating them. “Xu Zui is the heir of the Xu family. You know the Xu family, right? Commercial giants. Xu Zui’s mother holds a hereditary position in the International Piano Association, and his older sister continued their mother’s piano career. One sibling does art, the other enters business. Clear division of labor. He’s only just become an adult, and apparently Joyful Dawn Entertainment is his first practice project.”
Joyful Dawn Entertainment was a major entertainment company within the industry, yet in his eyes it was only a testing ground. It was hard not to sigh at the difference.
“I am deeply honored to attend this anniversary celebration.” Xu Zui’s voice was on the low side, like a bottomless abyss carrying invisible pressure. His indifferent gaze swept across the audience before he continued. “Of course, I also had an unexpected discovery.”
“I once thought that after leaving home, I would never again hear piano music this beautiful. But the facts prove that Chinese pianists are not necessarily inferior to those in the West.” Xu Zui’s expression softened slightly. “Mr. Xie Shen performed La Campanella tonight. His technique was superb and his transitions agile. I believe he can achieve considerable success in the piano world.”
Yue Han abruptly lifted his head, his fingers digging hard beneath his sleeves.
The hall fell deathly silent, everyone astonished.
“The piece we heard earlier was played by Xie Shen?!”
“Oh my god, it really was him! I should have known. Who else has technique that smooth and effortless?”
“Is Xu Zui planning to support him?”
“Obviously. Xu Zui may often live abroad with his mother, but he is Chinese. More than anyone, he wants to see Chinese people make a name for themselves in the piano world.”
Someone shouted playfully, “Why not have Xie Shen play something live for us?”
Xu Zui said calmly, “Piano is a sacred art.”
“I hope Xie Shen will not betray his own talent and ability by committing foolish, shallow mistakes. Since he has chosen this path, he should charge forward until his head is bloody rather than give up halfway out of weakness,” Xu Zui said. “After all, Mr. Xie Shen is one of the few piano geniuses I have ever seen.”
“One of them.”
“Brother Yue Han, why does your face look so awful?” Li Yihan suddenly turned and realized Yue Han had gone deathly pale.
Yue Han’s breathing was somewhat rapid. “I… might have gotten a headache from the wind.”
“Your fever only just went down!” Li Yihan said anxiously. “Why don’t you leave first? We’re so far in the back anyway. Nobody will notice.”
Yue Han had been planning exactly that.
Chen Zhao had already secretly slipped toward the entrance. The moment Yue Han stood, dizziness washed over him. If Lu Huiqing hadn’t grabbed him, he might have fallen to the ground.
Yue Han clutched Lu Huiqing’s arm, his own arm trembling. “Thank you.”
His voice was faint as a mosquito’s. Lu Huiqing frowned. “I’ll walk you out.”
Only after they left the hall and the fierce cold wind struck him did Yue Han calm slightly.
The piano piece Xu Zui had just mentioned was La Campanella?
Xie Shen had played it?
His mind was so chaotic it threatened to swallow his consciousness. He shook his head hard, trying to force himself awake.
[Do you want to take back the glory that belongs to you? I can help.]