Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 894 Shared hatred and hatred
Bian Lang was genuinely surprised that Roma would openly advertise for him after the match.

Immediately, all sorts of flattering words began to sway him:
"Wave! Let those bitches hear what music is all about!"

"We don't need their strip club moves on the court, we just need grit and passion!"

"Let those damn Tai Chi Cats die! Who are their sponsors? I will boycott them to the end!"

"Go Wave! Take the Rolling Stones and beat those little girls! Don't let those Koreans do anything in our Italian World Cup!"

"Those criminals stole the fairness of the World Cup! I think they should be permanently disqualified from participating in the World Cup!"

Hearing that no one liked the little stick, Bian Lang felt relieved. He hadn't looked into the situation on Water Blue Star in detail, but he figured it was pretty much the same.

Back on Earth, Bian Lang vividly remembered that World Cup. After all, it might have been the only time in his life he saw the Chinese men's national football team reach the World Cup finals. The night Wulihe defeated Oman, he and his uncle bought a string of 10000 firecrackers and set them off in the town center back in his hometown in Yunnan Province.

Of course, their family wasn't the only football fan in the county; other fans also bought tickets and came to celebrate together. Even the elderly folks passing by were saying, "Who won 500 million in the lottery?!"

Later, seeing that other island nations in Asia had made it to the round of 16, and that South Korea had actually reached the semi-finals, some fans who admired the strength of the teams started calling them the Taeguk Warriors.

But Bian Lang's uncle was one of the few who understood: "The World Cup is a shoddy operation, the referees definitely took bribes!"

Back then, Bian Lang was a young man in his early twenties, full of youthful arrogance, believing it was impossible. How could there be any behind-the-scenes manipulation in the World Cup? How dare those referees do it? How dare those Koreans do it?

But looking back, in that match between South Korea and Italy, there was Totti, who was sent off for diving; Coco, whose face was bruised and bleeding after being elbowed; Maldini, who was kicked in the back of the head; and Zambrotta, who was tackled and forced to leave the field...

If this isn't a case of biased refereeing, then something fishy is definitely going on!
Years later, after that guy who proudly confessed to bribing the referee in his mayoral campaign revealed the truth...

Bian Lang thinks that this ethnic group can still live in this world because that remote, desolate place is not worth anyone else's attention!
Faced with the eager gazes of Juventus fans and Roma fans not far away, Bian Lang didn't know what to do. If he had a microphone, he could at least raise his arms and respond.

But all he has now is a megaphone, which is quite awkward!
He turned to look at Agnelli, who shrugged, indicating he knew nothing. Fortunately, at that moment, staff guided the camera towards their stands. Needless to say, it was aimed at him.

Bian Lang moved out from the middle of the stands, took the microphone handed to him by a staff member, and said sincerely to the camera: "Hello, Roma fans, thank you for your support, I heard you all!"

The signal transmitted to the big screen inside the stadium was slightly delayed, but the fans who had already walked halfway stopped to listen to what Bian Lang had to say when they saw him appear on the screen after hearing the DJ's words.

"Like you, I have absolutely no good feelings towards South Korea. I just turned down the invitation to the Woodstock Music Festival a few days ago because next year's event will be held in South Korea!"

When it comes to the ability to stir up emotions, any rock lead singer is no less capable. Some may only be able to unleash their emotions when performing on stage, but Bian Lang can do it as soon as he picks up the microphone.

He just mentioned this, which isn't a huge deal, but it's not insignificant either. People who don't follow rock music might dismiss it with a dismissive, "It's just a music festival, if you don't go, you don't go, what's the big deal?"

However, rock fans know the significance of Woodstock's invitation; no Chinese band had ever received one before.

As the world's largest rock music festival in terms of both size and volume, bands that get to perform there are essentially recognized by the global rock music scene!
Bian Lang clearly remembers that the only Chinese band on Earth to have performed at Woodstock was Nine Treasures, whose four songs captivated European music fans and peers. Back then, social media titles were often things like "The Bloodline Suppression from Genghis Khan!"

Of the 8 people present, more than half listen to rock music!

So as soon as this was mentioned, those who knew about it immediately exclaimed:
"Yes! Wave is on our side!"

"Let Woodstock regret it! It will become the dirtiest and most boring Woodstock music festival in history, just like that World Cup!"

"Wave! Even though you're a Juventus fan, outside of the league, we'll always be your music fans!"

"It would be wonderful if you could write a song for us!"

Bian Lang couldn't hear these words, of course, but he controlled his tone and speed and continued: "I think this despicable nation should not appear on the World Cup stage! I don't know what the organizing committee is thinking, nor do I know how much sponsorship their backers have given them!"

But I believe the World Cup is meant to serve the fans, and I want to let all the fans in Italy and fans all over the world make a comparison..."

With these words, Bian Lang has offended both South Korea and Nike to an extreme degree. Just how much?
It's like these two families will try to kill Bian Lang as long as he doesn't become a hero who saves the world!

But Bian Lang doesn't care about all that; he says the same thing even in China. What public figures are supposed to be mindful of their words and actions, and how they should guide their fans and minors' values?

Bian Lang felt that, regarding the two issues of the Koreans' stupid behavior and the island nation's war, even if the Heavenly King himself came, he would still say the same few words.

This caused a wave of people to appear in the stadium, a phenomenon usually reserved for goals scored by the home team!

Yes! It's a human wave!

Bian Lang wasn't sure what the principle was, but some fans really did organize a human wave, and all the Italian players in the stadium, including those from Roma, ran towards this side of the stands.

Finally, led by Totti, the entire stadium chanted Bian Lang's name in unison: "Wave! Wave!"

While recording on his phone, Da Yong kept shouting, "I'm so excited! This is incredible! People who don't know you know you're a rock singer, but they'd think you were the world's best footballer!"

Even the usually composed Dili couldn't help but take photos with his phone, exclaiming, "This venue must have at least 10 people, if not 8! I've never had this many fans chanting my name at my own concerts. This achievement is truly amazing!"

Before the DJ could even respond, Bian Lang chimed in, "I hope everyone will keep an eye on Rolling Stone and my updates. I promise I'll have a demo of the song ready within three days, so all my fans can sing this song to cheer on their team at the stadium next week!!"

By saying it would take three days, Bian Lang was still giving himself some leeway. In fact, the very next day, after they returned to their recording studio in England, Bian Lang gathered the entire Rolling Stones band to record the demo. Of course, the part where the fans sang along was first featured in the music video footage, with the North London Arsenal fans being among the first to appear.

They have no interest in the feud between Italians and South Korea, but they would absolutely refuse to let a South Korean girl group sing the theme song for this World Cup!

Even if that girl group XXX becomes incredibly popular, in their eyes there is only one true god, and that is Bian Lang, who wrote "The Angel"!

It's not surprising that Arsenal fans reacted this way, but it's different for fans from other European countries who shared the same hatred for Italy back then. After the video of the Roma vs. Juventus match ended and was uploaded online, these fans naturally joined the ranks of supporters.

Although Italy is the host country, this is the World Cup for football fans worldwide, and all fans' opinions matter. Predictably, Nike's actions have stirred up old grudges among half of Europe's football fans.

For a moment, they were all at a loss as to how to end this situation...

After news of Bian Lang's outburst in Europe reached China, public opinion remained polarized.
The criticism continues, and this time they've added another charge: affecting diplomatic relations!

However, most netizens see this clearly. Even some parents who previously thought Bian Lang was immoral now believe that if this is the case, then it should be discussed separately.

It's right to criticize Bian Lang's songs, but we must also support those that deserve our support!
Some fans with brilliant logic joked that since they'd never see the men's national football team qualify for the World Cup, then Bian Lang writing a theme song for the World Cup would practically mean that Chinese men were participating in the World Cup!

Although this statement is completely unreasonable, fans and netizens have always had a great sense of humor.

Moreover, after reaching a consensus on the issue of hatred towards Koreans, domestic fans began to organize to support Bian Lang!

The uproar surrounding "Bianlang" (a popular Chinese comedy series) has been trending on social media for several days, finally attracting the attention of higher authorities. The reason is that a few veteran figures in the arts, whether bribed or misled, made some comments about "Bianlang," resulting in a backlash from various groups within Rolling Stone.

Whether they are easily offended or hold high positions of power, reporting this to the central government would be a joke, but the relevant leaders at the Ministry of Culture have taken notice of the matter.

Because his mentor called him, implying that he wanted him to get some exposure, and then...

But just as this second-in-command was trying to understand the whole story, people from the ZZ Cultural Troupe arrived. And it wasn't just one person; the current troupe leader, Lin, and the former troupe leader, Hao, came together.

Commander Lin pushed Commander Hao's wheelchair, and the two of them, led by the secretary, appeared at the door of Leader Xu's office.

"What brings you two here? Especially you, Commander Hao, since you retired, you haven't been coming to meetings at the ministry, so we haven't seen you much..."

What Leader Xu said was true; the two had indeed not seen each other for quite some time. He and Regiment Commander Lin were of the same generation; when Regiment Commander Hao still came to the ministry for meetings, he was just a staff member.

Regiment Commander Hao had a bad temper and went straight to the point: "Deputy Xu, I'm here about Bian Lang!"

When Leader Xu heard this, he was a little confused. He knew about Bian Lang's matter, but what did it have to do with the ZZ Art Troupe? And both the old and new directors of the troupe came together!

Seeing that Leader Xu did not respond immediately, Regiment Commander Lin, who was pushing a wheelchair, explained: "Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March" is Bian Lang's work, and he collaborated with us on the Army Day Gala.

Upon hearing this, Leader Xu's expression remained unchanged, but his mind began to wander. "Someone who's been on the Army Day Gala... this might be a tricky situation!"

The Ministry of Culture has a wide scope of work, and as a deputy, he has many things to take care of, so it's normal that he doesn't know all the details about Bian Lang.

His previous impression of Bian Lang and the Rolling Stones was based on the commotion they caused in Europe last year.

As for his mentor, he has students all over the world, but as the saying goes, "When they gather, they are a pile of dung; when they scatter, they are a sparse mess..." There are indeed one or two outstanding students, but they are just so-so.

In his position, there are too many things to consider. If it doesn't involve any violations and is within his jurisdiction, he's willing to give his mentor face.

But Bian Lang himself hadn't even figured out the specifics of the situation on his side when the people from the ZZ Art Troupe arrived.

"Have some water first, and we can talk slowly! I wasn't really aware of Bian Lang's situation before, but since you two are, you can tell me all about it."

Vice President Xu didn't send his secretary; he went ahead and made tea for the two group leaders himself.

They talked for over an hour. When Commander Lin and Commander Hao came out, Ding Tong and her mother were waiting in their car in the parking lot.

As soon as Ding Tong helped Regiment Commander Hao into the car, she couldn't wait to ask, "Regiment Commander Lin, what's the situation now?"

After holding back for a while, Commander Lin finally laughed and said, "I don't know how things will turn out in the end, but during the hour we were inside, this Deputy Xu took quite a few phone calls about Bian Lang. We didn't eavesdrop, but we could tell a bit about it; they were all there to vouch for Bian Lang!"

"Then why are all these people coming to see this person?" Ding Tong knew that coming back to Beijing to see the two regimental commanders would be useful, but she didn't know what this Deputy Xu was after.

"That bigwig who said online that Bian Lang is shameless and has disgraced all Chinese people after going abroad is actually Vice President Xu's former mentor! Everyone in this circle knows this, so of course they're all going to him..."

In reality, something like Bian Lang's affair shouldn't have reached this level. If it weren't for that influential figure, a simple statement from the official media would have been enough to settle the matter. So, this is the limit for Vice Minister Xu now; it's impossible for him to rise any higher, unless…”

"Unless what?" Ding Tong asked impatiently.

"Unless Bian Lang is truly confident in securing the World Cup theme song!"

(End of this chapter)