Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 989 Please, Rolling Stones, show some mercy.

Driven by the lyrics and rhythm, the men and women in the audience, who seemed to have almost run out of energy, started jumping up and down again. Even Xia Yuxi's longtime fans, who were waiting in line for autographs and photos with Hedgehog, couldn't help but get excited along with them.

One of the female fans who came to the checkpoint just to see Xia Yuxi felt as if a new world had opened up to her, looking at the circle of female bodhisattvas shaking their heads wildly in the distance.

Normally, girls who want to let loose like this would only go to dark, dimly lit places like slow bars, probably because they feel a sense of "safety" in that kind of environment.

Because only there can you briefly find some "kindred spirits"! But as time goes on, those who know better understand that the kindred spirits in those places aren't so pure.

But music festivals are different; they're pure fun and letting loose, and all in broad daylight!
As she was hesitating about whether to join in, she saw Xia Yuxi take the lead and join in. So what was there to hesitate about?
Forget about sunscreen, forget about tax bills, forget about last summer's terrible love...

Forget rose gold, forget fur skirts, forget those drunken sweet lies…

To put it simply, the lyrics are about tearing off your disguise and then:
Let's sway together, let's forget all our troubles, let's sway together...

Yesterday's joy will become tomorrow's sorrow, so let's sway together to our hearts' content right now...

Liu Yao unleashed her breath by pressing it to the bottom of her vocal cords, using her chest voice to maximize the texture of her voice. This was completely different from her more pop-oriented techniques and singing style after she went solo.

But today, some longtime fans of No. 1 Anxiang Road felt as if they had truly returned to the peak of Anxiang Road. Although the song was new, it still had that old blues rock flavor.

Many of Liu Yao's later fans were surprised to hear about this Liu Yao who was quite different from before, and they wanted to find out what kind of existence Liu Yao and No. 1 Anxiang Road were before.

Don't think this is an exaggeration. There are still plenty of Wang Feng fans on Earth who don't know what No. 43 Baojia Street is. Especially those older folks like Bian Lang's uncle, who like to listen to songs like "Fly Higher".

The frenzy at the scene intensified with the sonic boom generated by Qiu Long's solo performance.

The 20th fret ignited the ever-burning but not very strong fire within him, and once it started, it was unstoppable.

Qiu Long unleashed all the pent-up frustration from the tedium and boredom of his usual music-making work, throwing it all into this fire and burning it clean.

He showcased a series of amazing skills, earning praise from the guitarists in the audience, including Dili: "They say Qiu Long is much more disciplined now, but I think he's just as good as he was back then!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiu Long stood up his electric guitar and knelt down on the stage. The three screens on the stage immediately switched to give him a close-up shot.

It was inevitable that the fans in the audience would heckle, but the reaction was even more intense among the pop singers who had collaborated with Qiu Long. Even Liu Chuang, a top-tier male singer who knew Qiu Long's past achievements well, couldn't help but utter a curse:
"Wow, I'd only ever heard that Qiu Long was really cool when he played in a band, but seeing this today, I realize that was an understatement. This is so cool..."

Those who had only worked with him once or twice were so shocked that they gaped and didn't know what to say: "This is Professor Qiu Long?"

Clearly, the Qiu Long of today is a completely different person from the Qiu Long they remember, who speaks gently and is both patient and professional.

After her initial surprise, a second-tier female singer exclaimed, "Having Qiu Long provide music for us before was truly a waste of his talent. Someone like him should be shining on stage, not behind the scenes..."

It depends on your perspective. For example, producers like Liu Ziyang think that having a top professional like Qiu Long do the music would save you a lot of trouble.

And to be honest, Qiu Long, who hasn't performed on stage regularly for so many years, is far inferior to Di Li in terms of live performance and expressiveness, even though people in the industry consider the two to be guitarists of the same caliber.

There's not much to say about what he gives me; he can usually get the desired effect after one or two tries. And he won't ramble on and on with statements like "I think this is better" to demonstrate his lack of skill.

The two had collaborated before, so seeing Qiu Long enjoying himself so much on stage, Liu Ziyang said to Olaf beside him, "What do you think of this guitarist?"

Olaf has a very sharp eye, and he hit the nail on the head: "His expressiveness might be a bit lacking, but his technique is definitely impeccable. So, can we sign him?"

Liu Ziyang smiled but remained silent!
Stop hoping for people who will never come back, stop waiting for things that can never be achieved...

Looking back on all those long nights, do you understand the tears that silently flowed into your heart...?

Let's sway together, let's sway together...

Forget all the pain, let's sway together...

Who knows what tomorrow will bring...

So let's sway together to our hearts' content right now...

Let's sway together, let's sway together...

Forget all your troubles, let's sway together...

Yesterday's joy will become tomorrow's sorrow.

Let's sway together to our hearts' content right now...

Let's rock together...

Unsurprisingly, the next loop was a massive four-character chorus from the entire audience, with even the few foreigners in the room joining in with their broken Mandarin.

To casual listeners, it was just another exhilarating encore. But to veteran rock fans, it was a clear signal: "It seems No. 1 Anxiang Road is really going to be reunited this time!"

Although No. 1 Anxiang Road has performed with this complete lineup more than once in the past year, and even performed a new song as a guest performer at the finals of The Big Band, rock fans at the time felt that the song should be for Liu Yao, and the band was just temporarily helping out to create a sentimental highlight for the show.

But at today's music festival, even the bands' encore songs were new songs. If you said they weren't prepared, no one would believe you.

Since it was prepared, regardless of Bian Lang's motives for releasing the new song, it couldn't possibly be just for this one music festival. The key point is that it's blues rock, completely consistent with the band's style!
If this isn't a sign that the band is about to officially reunite, then what would be a sign?

So after the music festival ended and the live video of "Let's Rock Together" started circulating online, a music blogger immediately began wishing: "Anxiang Road will be reorganized! They'll sign directly with Rock Records!"

Although a dog emoji was added at the end, it was intentionally or unintentionally ignored by those who spread it a second or even Nth time.

After gaining a moderate amount of attention on social media, Liu Yao's company's vice president was so "frightened" that he called Liang Kuan without consulting Liu Yao first.

"Sister Kuan, please, Rolling Stone, show some mercy! Liu Yao is the lifeblood of our company right now. If you take him away, then most of us below will probably have to pack our bags and leave."

"Mr. Jia, you say you're just a subordinate. Are you trying to embarrass me, Liang Kuan?"

When Liang Kuan saw the trending topic, she started arranging some follow-up actions. Moreover, she also had Du Ziteng secretly add fuel to the fire as the online buzz grew.

She had thought this matter would take some time to develop before there was any mutual probing, but she never expected the other party to call and play the victim so quickly.

"Sister Kuan, please stop playing games with me. If it were news from other companies, even if it trended on 10 hot searches, I, Jia Chenfu, wouldn't take it seriously. But you have Bianlang! Even if I trust Liu Yao and have a broad perspective, I'm still afraid..."

Of course, Jia Chenfu, the company's vice president, wasn't as afraid as he claimed. After all, they had no conflicts with Rolling Stone, and even when Liu Yao clashed with Edan Music to support Bianlang, they didn't utter a single word of objection.

But as the old saying goes, it's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you.

Their company is completely different from Guo Sichu's. The absence of Guo Sichu might not necessarily be a bad thing. After all, the departure of a pop diva from a company means that the insurmountable mountain that used to be on the heads of all female singers has disappeared.

Moreover, after Guo Sichu left, the company's resources that were originally indispensable to Guo Sichu became available. Giving these resources to newly cultivated traffic stars may not be worse than those of Guo Sichu, and the returns may even be shorter.

However, Liu Yao's situation is completely different. Although Liu Yao is also in the pop music scene, she is still carrying the banner of Chinese rock! Whether it is her personal style or her business scope, she is unique not only within her company but also in the entire Chinese entertainment industry.

If she were to join Rolling Stone, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous boost for the company. However, the resource gaps left by her departure are something her company simply cannot fill!

For example, when it comes to Liu Yao's endorsements of those unisex international brands, there's no one in China who can replace them, not even affordable alternatives.

Among female celebrities of similar status, none can pull off her cool style! Those who even remotely resemble her are worlds apart in terms of status…

Furthermore, Liu Yao is also a prolific creator. Although he can't compare to a monster like Bian Lang, he can maintain a pace of one album every two years, so the royalties from his works are not a small amount.

Although the bulk of the profits came from Liu Yao himself, the sheer volume of transactions still resulted in a huge number of figures...

So as soon as there was any indication of this, Jia Chenfu had to make it clear to Rolling Stone first. Whether it was playing the victim or occupying the moral high ground, at least it made one thing clear: "We know about this. Rolling Stone, don't even think about stealing our business!"

Even if they can't keep him in the end, they can't let Liu Yao be treated like other pop singers who joined Rolling Stone, essentially given away for free.

"Mr. Jia, I'll take that as a genuine compliment to Rolling Stone. You all know about Liu Yao and Chu Chu's relationship, and you can also feel Bian Lang's respect for No. 1 Anxiang Road, so isn't it reasonable for these rumors to exist?"

These words were highly suggestive, and Jia Chenfu couldn't possibly have failed to understand the hidden meaning in Liang Kuan's words! To correctly understand the meaning of Liang Kuan's words, one only needs to remove the word "rumors and gossip."

Upon hearing this answer, Jia Chenfu had a plan in mind. He breathed a long sigh of relief, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart, and said, "I hope I'm just overthinking it! But please, Sister Kuan, don't joke like that with Liu Yao. If the joke comes true, then..."

As for testing each other, they're all seasoned foxes anyway. As long as there's some room for profit, no one will really tear off the mask.

After hanging up the phone with a smile, Liang Kuan started thinking about how to meet with Liu Yao's agent. Of course, before that, the first thing to do was to sign everyone at No. 1 Anxiang Road except for Liu Yao.

In her opinion, this wasn't a big problem; even Bian Lang's words might not have as much influence as Pan Jianhu's.

After all, those who play rock music are all proud and arrogant. Bian Lang, who is the boss with the biggest name in the company and is even a generation below Qiu Long and the others, is really not as good as letting Pan Jianhu show off his seniority and connections.

Just as she was figuring out the details of the matter, her phone rang again.

Looking up at the caller's name, Liang Kuan couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Now, hearing 'Rock Records' is like hearing 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'?"

Those who were handling other matters nearby overheard this and couldn't help but retort, "Sister Kuan, don't you feel a little embarrassed saying that?"

Liang Kuan gave the staff member a "you just wait" look, then walked a bit away before answering the phone: "Ah Yuan, what time is it? What do you want? I'm busy with all sorts of things at the music festival, so get to the point..."

"Sister Kuan, could Rock Records please be lenient with our new artist? Or could we get together sometime and have a proper chat... Forget about breach of contract fees, they're a small matter out of respect for you, but we haven't had any successful new singers for several years. How about we find a different collaboration method that everyone agrees on?"

“Ah Yuan, this is none of your business!” Liang Kuan said with a deliberately helpless smile, “Bian Lang really likes Qian Mingming’s voice, he gave her a song without saying a word. You know that song, Chu Chu wanted to sing it before but Bian Lang wouldn’t give it to her…”

Zhao Yuanyuan couldn't tell whether what he said was true or false, but she made this call to show her stance and test the waters: "Sister Kuan, it's an honor for Teacher Bian to choose Mingming, but at least let us benefit from it too, okay?"

(End of this chapter)