I really didn't intend to make a living based on my looks.

Chapter 108 Arriving in Light, Unstoppable Force

The seats in the stands are arranged in a fan shape, tapering upwards in layers, like a giant orange flower.

At the highest point, someone raised a telescope to find their seat.

Inside the stairwell, the flow of people continued to surge upwards, with countless orange lights moving about.

Warm-up music was playing from the speakers; some people were humming along, some were taking group photos, and some were looking down at their phones.

Section A, third row.

Yang Zi sat cross-legged on the chair, holding a glow stick in her hand, looking around.

"Xiao Chenzi is amazing! This stage is much bigger than I imagined."

Zhang Yisan sat next to her, legs crossed, chewing gum: "I wish I could hold a concert someday."

Yang Zi glanced at him and said, "Give up on that idea."

"On what grounds?"

"Why should I?" Yang Zi looked him up and down. "You think you can compare to Xiao Chenzi? Grow ten centimeters taller before you speak."

'

Li Xian, sitting on the other side of Zhang Yisan, laughed so hard his shoulders shook: "Sister Zi is right, you, Yisan, are far from good enough."

"My acting skills are better than his; I'm a true talent."

"What a load of rubbish!"

He Xuanlin peeked over from the other side and asked, "Sister Zi, I heard you filmed a kissing scene in 'Battle of Changsha'?"

Yang Zi's face stiffened.

"What?!" Zhang Yi was shocked. "Chen'er can really bring herself to kiss him?"

"Why can't I bring myself to kiss her?" Yang Zi retorted, her neck stiff. "It's all for filming!"

"How long did it take to film?"

"————Three passes."

"You're kidding me, I heard they kissed for three hours?"

"So Chen'er's injury wasn't a work-related injury?"

Yang Zi slapped Zhang Yisan on the arm: "Shut up!"

VIP area, east corner.

Naza and Ying Er huddled in their seats, both wearing masks and their hats pulled low, looking like two spies making a rendezvous.

Yinger tugged at her mask and said in a muffled voice, "Why are we still wearing this thing now that we're inside? It's suffocating."

"You don't understand," Naza pulled her hat brim down even further, "Old Cai is a petty person. If he finds out we're here, he'll start nagging us when we get back."

"Let her study," Ying'er shrugged indifferently. "She's not our mother."

"She's our boss."

"Then why did you come? And why did you have to drag me along?"

"My senior is having a concert, how could I not come?"

Yinger stared at her for two seconds, then sighed, "Fine, fine, I'll go along with your crazy idea this once. But we're Tang Ren's artists. If we get photographed, the media will write that Tang Ren's female artists have all defected to the enemy. Where will Lao Cai put his face then?"

Naza waved her hand, looking unconcerned: "Oh, it's okay. We're just two little karaomis, we can't represent Tang Ren. As long as Senior Sister doesn't come, it's fine."

"If she comes too, then Tang Ren's actresses will be completely wiped out."

Yinger thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense."

The guest seating area is on the right side of the stage.

Yang Mi sat in the first row, wearing a long red dress with a black coat over it, revealing a deep V-neck underneath.

Next to her was Tang Yan, who had long, wavy hair and wore heavy makeup, but her eyes still looked a little red.

Next to her was Liu Shishi, wearing a light blue gauze dress, her hair styled in a bun with a few stray strands falling to her side. She sat upright, as if attending an awards ceremony.

The three of them sat together, and the atmosphere was inexplicably a little awkward.

The three best friends have recently drifted apart due to various reasons.

The Golden Eagle Awards voting, the interactions on Weibo, the competition for resources, and also ————

Yang Mi spoke first: "Shishi, what brings you here?"

"To repay a favor," Liu Shishi said, "I have to thank you for this, Mimi. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have been willing to help."

Yang Mi: "————"

"Oh, is that so? I thought you came to see Jiang Chen."

"Looking at your man?" Liu Shishi smiled faintly. "I'm not that free."

Liu Shishi turned to Tang Yan, "Tangtang, how have you been lately?"

Tang Yan was stunned for a moment, and her eyes reddened again.

"————Not good."

"Don't be too sad. If you've broken up, you've broken up. There are plenty of good men out there."

"Yes," Yang Mi said, "I've talked to Tangtang about it many times, but she just can't understand it."

Tang Yan sniffed: "Three years of relationship, how can you get over it so easily?"

"As you all know, I'm very loyal in relationships."

"I wash his clothes, clean his toilet, and do everything for him—"

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face. "How could he do this to me? Waaaaah—"

"Hey, don't cry," Yang Mi quickly handed over tissues. "How about this, I'll treat you to drinks later tonight. It's been a long time since we've gotten together. I'll have Jiang Chen arrange it. We'll drink with you until we drop tonight."

"good----"

"good!"

The backstage corridor was noisy with voices and footsteps, and the static of walkie-talkies rose and fell.

Xu Yiruo stood at the entrance of the waiting area, holding a walkie-talkie in one hand and speaking continuously.

"Yes, the guests have arrived, right? What? The media wants to ask? Just say they're here to support us, and don't say anything else."

"Media interview questions are reviewed in advance, and sensitive ones are deleted."

"Especially with the phrase 'traffic star,' ask them to rephrase the question. If they insist on asking, say that time is limited, next one."

'

The backup dancers were doing their final warm-up, some stretching, some opening their hips.

Bai Mengyan stood at the very edge of the group, wearing an orange sequined performance outfit, holding a glow stick, and swaying her head to the music.

He was muttering to himself, it was unclear whether he was silently counting the beats or encouraging himself.

A backup dancer glanced at her and whispered, "Are you new here?"

Bai Mengyan nodded: "Yes, part-time."

"You danced well."

"Thank you, I've been practicing for a whole month."

In the dressing room, Jiang Chen sat in a chair with a lit makeup mirror in front of him.

Li Yitong half-squatted in front of him, one hand on the armrest next to his knee, and the other hand reaching over to straighten his collar.

She was wearing a cream-colored knitted cardigan today, with a slightly upturned neckline that revealed a small section of her fair skin when she bent over; unfortunately, the curves appeared somewhat thin.

"Brother Chen, are you nervous?"

"I'm not nervous."

Why?

"Tongtong, do you remember who I sang my first song for?"

Li Yitong's hand stopped.

She looked up and met his gaze.

The two were so close that their breaths mingled, so close that he could see the thin layer of tears in her eyes.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out; her ears turned red from her earlobes all the way to the tips.

Time seemed to be held back by something.

She first looked away, stepped back, stood up, and took a step back.

They moved very quickly, as if they were running away.

"alright."

Jiang Chen looked at his neatly arranged collar in the mirror, then glanced at Li Yitong beside him, who was adjusting her cuffs with her eyes downcast.

He smiled but didn't say anything.

Beside him, Jiang Dazhuang, who was 1.9 meters tall, paced back and forth in the corridor. He was wearing a black suit with a work badge pinned to his chest, but his physique made him look like a bodyguard no matter what he wore.

He would stand at the door of the dressing room and peek inside, then walk to the end of the corridor and peek outside, then return to the door of the dressing room, tilting his head and pondering something.

Jiang Chen glanced at his restless appearance in the mirror and couldn't help but say, "Zhuangzhuang, can you stop fidgeting?"

It made me dizzy.

Jiang Dazhuang walked over, his face full of worries.

"Brother Chen, should I grab something?"

"Take what?"

"You know, that kind of thing—" He gestured, "weapons or something."

Jiang Chen glanced at him speechlessly. His arm was thicker than Li Yitong's waist. What kind of weapon did he want?

"How about I give you a brick?"

Jiang Dazhuang was taken aback: "A brick?"

"Yes, red bricks. You stand at the entrance of the platform, holding a brick in your hand. If anyone dares to cause trouble, just glare at them, and you won't even need to say a word."

Jiang Dazhuang scratched his head, frowned, and thought for a long time before asking seriously, "Brother Chen, do you think I should bring a weapon to protect you?"

Jiang Chen: "...

'

Li Yitong smiled so hard her eyes squinted.

At the end of the corridor, Li Ronghao leaned against the wall, holding a sheet of music in his hand, with two obvious dark circles under his eyes.

Jiang Chen walked over and asked, "Old Li, what are you doing squatting here?"

"The entry point of the last string section was too abrupt during rehearsal, so I just had the band revise it."

"Okay, you'll go up and sing a couple of songs in a bit, don't slack off."

"Thanks, Brother Chen!"

Jiang Chen patted him on the shoulder without saying anything.

At the end of the corridor, Xu Yinuo's walkie-talkie rang again.

After listening, she turned and called out towards the dressing room, "Chen, five minutes. The guests are all here, and the media interviews are all arranged. You can go on stage with peace of mind."

Jiang Chen nodded: "I'm leaving."

8 PM, Workers' Stadium.

Ten thousand people held their breath.

The lights suddenly went out.

The entire venue was plunged into darkness, with only a few scattered cell phone screens lit up, like a swarm of floating fireflies.

Then, a buzzing sound like electricity surged from all directions of the venue.

The giant screen lit up.

It's not an ordinary VCR; it's a visual narrative that transcends time and space.

The scene begins in black and white.

In 1983, Hong Kong was ablaze with popularity, and Alan Tam's "Love in the Fog" concert drew massive crowds.

In 1991, at the Yanjing Workers' Stadium, during Beyond's "Life Contact" concert, Huang Jiaju roared, "Forgive me for my unruly and unrestrained love of freedom throughout my life."

In 2004, at the Taipei Arena, Jay Chou held his "Unparalleled Concert" and premiered "Seven Mile Fragrance".

In 2011, at the Hengdian film set, a young man dressed in ancient costume was holding a guitar in a corner and singing "Anhe Bridge" into his phone camera.

The scenes switch rapidly, like fragments of time being pieced back together.

Then, all the images shattered, reassembled, and transformed into a cyberpunk-style futuristic city.

Neon lights, holographic projections, levitating trains, and mechanical birds.

A voice rang out, Jiang Chen's own narration, electronically processed, sounding as if it came from the future.

"They say that traffic is a bubble."

"They say that newcomers can't carry a show with 10,000 people."

"They said your song isn't good enough."

In the scene, the future Jiang Chen stands in the center of the ruins, with a huge holographic projection behind him playing news headlines about him being attacked by the entire internet.

"But tonight!"

The scene abruptly shifts, showing a futuristic city collapsing, rebuilding, and transforming into a sea of ​​orange lights.

"Break through all prejudices, tear apart all doubts!"

"Transcending time, stepping into the light, to keep our promise in this sea of ​​orange."

The giant screen went dark.

The entire venue went dark.

Suddenly, a cold white laser beam shot down from the ceiling, like a sharp light sword, cleaving through the thick darkness.

The second and third lasers followed closely behind, with countless lasers crisscrossing and instantly weaving a precise and sharp laser grid above the stage. The cold light flashed, cutting the stage into the shape of a future battlefield.

Immediately afterwards, a low, oppressive, and extremely oppressive prelude suddenly rang out.

With a heavy bass as the base, subtle electronic sound effects flow like electricity, and the rhythm gradually increases, like a beast gathering all its strength in its chest, gripping the hearts of everyone in the audience.

The ten thousand people in the audience froze, their bodies instinctively leaning forward, their hands clenching glow sticks, their pupils fixed on the laser-shrouded center of the stage.

Just as the emotional build-up in the prelude reached its climax.

"Thump!!!"

A heavy drumbeat slammed down!

The stage floor shook violently, and white dry ice instantly gushed out from all directions, engulfing the entire main stage. A white mist surged and rose, like a sea of ​​clouds, reducing visibility to zero in an instant.

The audience's hearts skipped a beat, their screams caught in their throats. Everyone waited, waiting for that figure to break through the clouds and come bathed in light.

The heavy drum fell again, the second beat, the third beat, the rhythm layered upon each other, becoming more and more rapid and powerful.

Just as the drumbeat ended on the fourth beat, the circular platform in the center of the stage slowly and steadily rose under everyone's watchful eyes.

A beam of golden light pierced through the thick layers of dry ice smoke and struck precisely the center of the lifting platform.

Jiang Chen stood in the very center of the light and mist, dressed in a black fitted suit, his shoulders straight and his posture as upright as a pine tree.

He held the microphone in one hand, while the other hand hung naturally at his side. White mist swirled around him, his eyebrows and eyes were sharp, and a calm light shone in his eyes, as if he were a king who had traveled from the end of time.

The moment the platform reaches its highest point, the intro ends, and the drumbeats abruptly stop for half a second.

The entire room fell silent.

The next second, he parted his thin lips slightly, and his voice, transmitted through the speakers, instantly resounded throughout the entire stadium.

I'llsmile, I know what it takes to fool this town

I will smile, knowing full well how to deceive this worldly masses. I'll do it until the sun goes down and all through the night.

I will persevere to the end, from sunset until the long night. His voice was calm and deep, combined with electronic music, carrying an undeniable sense of power. The first two sentences made the whole audience explode!

The long-suppressed screams, shouts, and cheers burst forth from their throats like a volcanic eruption!

"Jiang Chen!!!"

"Aaaaaah!!!"

The combined roar of ten thousand people made the stadium vibrate and made eardrums tingle.

Jiang Chen calmly swept his gaze over the jubilant crowd below the stage, took a few steps forward, and swayed his body gently to the rhythm of the music.

The heavy drumbeats piled up layer upon layer, and the suppressed emotions kept building up in the melody. His voice suddenly deepened, carrying the stubbornness hidden in his bones, as he sang the next verse.

Ibreakdownonlyalonelwillcryoutloud

After failure, I walk alone and cry alone. You never see what's hiding out deep down.

You will never see the secret I keep hidden deep inside.

The interplay of vulnerability and resilience in the song instantly touched the hearts of everyone in the audience.

The screams from the audience subsided for a moment, then erupted into an even louder roar. Countless fans had tears in their eyes, gripped their glow sticks tightly, and nodded vigorously, as if at that moment, they understood all the hardships behind this young man's journey.

The music suddenly pitched up, the electronic sound effects intensified, and the drumbeats of the pre-chorus slammed down, like the sounding of war drums signaling an impending battle.

Jiang Chen straightened his back, and his aura instantly became sharp.

I put my armor on, show you how strong I am

I don my armor, and I'll show you my power.

I'm fully armed, ready to prove my strength to you. Before I could finish speaking, the powerful drumbeats and electronic music exploded out!

The melody is passionate and fiery, and the unstoppable power sweeps across the entire venue, culminating in a thunderous climax in the chorus.

Jiang Chen leaned forward slightly, facing the oncoming sound waves, and sang the most exciting core of the song with all his might.

I "munstoppable, I "maPorschewithnobrakes

I am unstoppable, like a sports car speeding forward, never stopping. I am invincible, I don't need the keys to the castle.

I am invincible, needing no one's approval. The moment the song ended, he raised his hand, his fingertips flicking lightly.

The audience instantly erupted in a sea of ​​vibrant orange light!

Tens of thousands of orange glow sticks lit up simultaneously, surging into waves that covered the entire audience, dazzlingly bright in the darkness.

Idon't need the keys to the castle

I don't need the castle key.

"I am unstoppable," he spoke again, his voice even more resolute and fervent, each word carrying immense power.

The fans in the audience completely lost control. Everyone raised their hands, waved glow sticks wildly to the melody, screamed and sang along, and tears and screams burst forth together.

The camera shutters of the fansites clicked incessantly, creating a dense, continuous cacophony, determined not to miss a single dazzling moment on his face.

In the guest section, Yang Mi suddenly stood up from her seat, her pupils slightly contracted, her eyes filled with shock and amazement.

Tang Yan had long since forgotten the tears in her eyes, her eyes fixed on the radiant figure in the center of the stage.

Liu Shishi gripped the hem of her skirt tightly with her fingertips, her eyes swirling with indescribable emotions.

In the VIP area, Yang Zi's knuckles were white as she held the glow stick, her eyes were red, and she nodded vigorously to the rhythm, letting out a suppressed shout.

Jiang Chen walked to the very front of the catwalk and stood firmly.

He raised his eyes, his gaze slowly sweeping across every corner of the audience, over the sea of ​​orange lights that were burning brightly for him.

He lowered his head slightly, and when he looked up again, his eyes were filled with tenderness and determination. All his forbearance, dormancy, and unwillingness were transformed into the most passionate song at this moment.

I'm unstoppable, I don't need the keys to the castle

"I am unstoppable and need no one's approval." As his voice trailed off, he slowly raised his hand and pointed the microphone at the jubilant crowd below.

The next second, the roars of ten thousand people were perfectly synchronized and pierced the sky.

"I'm unstoppable!!!"

Lights, music, singing, screams, and a sea of ​​orange all merged into one at this moment.

The stadium, with a capacity of 10,000, was completely ignited and boiled over.

Jiang Chen arrived bathed in light, his momentum unstoppable.

(P.S.: There's a bonus video of the opening song later on.)

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