"Hello, Liu Yajie, do you have any concert tickets left?"
"Wow, calling me by my full name now? Jiang Hua, you're not even calling me senior anymore."
"Is this how you ask for a favor? Sorry, I don't have any. Even if I did, I wouldn't give them to you."
Jiang Hua immediately changed his tone: "Senior, senior, do you have any tickets? Can you spare a few for me?"
Laughter erupted from the other end of the phone: "Since you're so determined, tell me how many you need. Your big sister will get them for you."
Jiang Hua said quietly: "Do you have five?"
"What? Five? Are you trying to kill me? The organizers only gave me a few tickets in total. If I give them all to you, what about my parents and grandfather who want to see me perform?"
Jiang Hua pouted: "Senior, are you performing songs? Maybe you shouldn't."
"Hmph, don't look down on me. I'm the host. Be careful, or I might make you lose face on stage."
"Don't you have tickets? The organizers gave you 10, have you given them all away?"
Jiang Hua glanced at the living room. Indeed, they were all gone. It seemed he could only ask the organizers, or worst case, buy some from scalpers.
"Alright, alright. Five tickets, right? I'll try to figure something out for you."
Ms. Liu Yajie was reliable after all. This friendship wasn't in vain.
A little while later, Liu Yajie called back.
"Jiang Hua, it's settled. You owe me one. That's it for now. See you at the concert entrance."
This favor would be hard to repay.
....
At the concert entrance, a 7-seater business car slowly came to a stop.
Jiang Hua got out first and opened the door.
"Everyone, we're here. Please be careful getting out."
At the concert entrance, quite a crowd had already gathered. Jiang Hua's car arrival drew everyone's interest.
Many stars were coming today. This was a charity concert, with all proceeds after costs being donated.
The Qianzhou Tourism Bureau had really gone all out.
All to attract a wave of visitors during the Spring Festival holiday. Qianzhou's presence was too low.
"Look quickly, which star is this? They look so familiar."
Jiang Hua was wrapped up like a dumpling. Winter in Qianzhou was very, very cold.
The north was physical damage, the south was magic damage.
Qianzhou was soul damage, with heavy humidity, bone-chilling cold.
Look at those in the car, all wrapped up like dumplings, impossible to tell who they were.
Qingqing was the first to jump out.
Looking at this stadium, it must seat tens of thousands of people.
When they performed in theaters, a few thousand people was considered a large venue.
Opera and concerts were fundamentally different. Opera required smaller venues to ensure the audience's viewing experience.
Otherwise, imagine tens of thousands watching a play. The experience would definitely be poor, with people in the back barely able to see the stage.
Concerts, well, hearing the sound was enough.
Li Yunxiao was the last to get out. You could tell her mood was still a bit off, but she still managed a smile.
"Jiang Hua, congratulations. You've finally made it to the stage. Now I can watch your performance from the audience."
"Thank you all for coming. Let's go inside first, it's windy out here. I'll give you the tickets in a bit."
"Alright, we're really looking forward to it."
Qingqing was particularly excited about this concert for tens of thousands. It felt different when your own colleague was going to perform.
Everyone followed Jiang Hua into the venue. Jiang Hua took off his sunglasses and hat. The security at the entrance did a routine check and let them through. Jiang Hua did have some clout.
"You all wait in the performers' backstage area for a while, okay? There's air conditioning. I need to go rehearse with the band a bit. I'll treat you to sour fish soup tonight."
They were all as familiar as could be, spending day and night together, usually joking around.
But in this changed setting, they all became a bit reserved.
After Jiang Hua left, the group livened up.
"Wow, Yunxiao, Jiang Hua's aura was pretty strong just now. I barely dared to look at him. He seems to have become even more handsome."
Qingqing was straightforward, directly expressing her thoughts.
Caicai agreed. It was like a classmate you used to joke around with suddenly got into Tsinghua University. There was a sense of distance, feeling that Jiang Hua had become unattainable.
Chen Lijun didn't feel much different. She tilted her head and said, "Really? I think he's fine. He specially came to the airport to pick us up and even arranged a hotel for us."
Li Yunxiao watched Jiang Hua's receding figure, lost in thought.
Meeting two such idiots was probably her luck. These two were a perfect match,
Two straight guys who understood nothing. Sigh!
...
"Next, let's welcome Jiang Hua to the stage. What do you all expect him to sing? I'm really looking forward to it too."
Liu Yajie, in a white evening gown, looked like a fairy descended from heaven.
"Jiang Hua! Jiang Hua! Jiang Hua!"
The whole venue erupted, chanting Jiang Hua's name in unison.
Chen Lijun was infected by the atmosphere and started waving her glow stick, chanting along with everyone.
But Li Yunxiao was different. She frowned as she looked at Liu Yajie on stage, the one Jiang Hua had admitted was his first love.
First loves are always hard to forget.
She turned to look at Jun Jun beside her, feeling exasperated. This guy was just hopelessly dense.
"Ah, son, do your best!"
Li Yunxiao heard an auntie nearby shout.
"Jiang Hua, Jiang Hua!"
This shout was drowned out by the crowd, but she still heard it.
"Thank you all, thank you to my friends for coming to hear me sing, and thanks to the Tourism Bureau for inviting me. To be honest, I'm very emotional and nervous. I haven't been home in five years, and my hometown has changed a lot."
"I'm especially grateful to my colleagues who've taken time out of their busy schedules to come see me perform. I'm very touched."
"Next, I'll sing a song called 'They Came to Hear My Concert' to thank them, and to thank all friends who've come from afar. I hope you enjoy your time in Qianzhou."
The stage was dark at this moment, with only Jiang Hua's voice coming through.
Then, a beam of light shone down, revealing Jiang Hua in a sparkling suit, sitting quietly beside a white piano.
Damn, he was handsome enough to provoke both gods and men.
Jiang Hua pressed a few piano keys, and the whole venue fell silent. Everyone quietly listened to him play.
"They came to hear my concert."
Was this improvised? It was absolutely amazing, only "overflowing with talent" could describe it.
"At the age of 14, I watched The Butterfly Lovers."
On the big screen, Jun and Xiao were finally in the same frame. The "stubborn couple" CP was many people's unfulfilled wish.
Now, the only person who could make them appear in the same frame and still smile was Jiang Hua.
You should know that even when they appeared on shows together, it was like there was a galaxy between them.
Now Jun and Xiao were leaning close together, just short of holding hands. This was cause for great celebration.
Li Yunxiao smiled at the camera, while Jun Jun waved her glow stick, grinning like an idiot.
"Still bought tickets for them."
"A student's savings, all for opera tickets."
"I sang until their hearts broke, I sang until her heart broke, thank you for being with me all the way."
These simple lyrics directly opened the highlight of the concert.
"Oh my God, Jun Jun, Jiang Hua is singing specially for us. I'm so happy. It's a good thing I'm married, otherwise I'd fall for him."
Caicai, the joker, sighed. She had gotten a boyfriend too early.
Qingqing's eyes were sparkling, her hands cupping her chin.
"Oh no, it's over, I've fallen for him."
"Yunxiao, Jun Jun, can you let him be my boyfriend for a day? I'd die of happiness."
Yunxiao and Jun Jun immediately objected, saying in unison: "What's that got to do with us!"
....