Rock and Roll: Glorious Years

The next day, Bian Lang got up early and went straight to the hospital for a check-up.

After a day of fussing and confirming that his physical indicators were good enough for the national football team, he went to the mountainside without any worries.

After the guests left late at night, he would practice the new song "Loop Station" by himself.

Old Tan thought he just wanted to do the accompaniment himself, so he didn't bother him and let him do it by himself.

After practicing through the night for two days, Bian Lang received a message from Lao Tan: "The video copyright issue is settled. Modie said there's no need to issue a special statement. If anyone asks in the future, just mention it casually, but a contract needs to be signed. Also, they've arranged for you to sing the opening act for their new song, and I've already agreed to it for you."

"Warming up the atmosphere? You're so cunning... no... I mean, you're incredibly audacious!"

Hearing Bian Lang's reply, Lao Tan smiled meaningfully: "I'm really curious to see how Li Yiliang will react after you've blown things up."

"That's his own business. Anyway, if he still needs it after I finish singing, I'll just continue to accompany him..."

……

June 13th, Friday, the day of the performance.

Fearing something might happen on the way, Bian Lang drove to the convention center at 1 p.m.

Perhaps it was due to the original owner's habits, but as soon as he got in the car, he opened the ride-hailing app and accepted an order instantly. After realizing what had happened, he wanted to cancel, but when he saw that the destination was the same as his own, Bian Lang started the car and headed towards the passenger's location.

"27 kilometers, and the gas and parking fees are already paid up!"

The passenger was a young woman with long, straight black hair, dressed in a studded leather outfit; she was clearly a rock music fan. With her black suitcase and gimbal, it was obvious she was a livestreamer.

While putting away his luggage, viewers in the live stream noticed three expensive-looking violin cases in the trunk of Bian Lang's tank and started asking questions out of curiosity:

"Wow, could this master be one of the legendary folk masters?"

"No, no, the little witch is just hitchhiking; the driver is probably delivering the musical instrument."

"Little witch, once you get in the car, quickly ask the driver who he is."

Little Witch is a niche music content creator specializing in rock music, with over 2 followers on Bilibili. She was invited by Magic Disc to promote Li Yiliang. Content creators of her caliber aren't expensive, and Magic Disc invited more than 10 of them this time, focusing on affordability.

With more people broadcasting, there will naturally be competition. If you can capture some off-site footage that others haven't discovered, you might be able to attract more traffic and gain more followers than other bloggers.

Bian Lang, the unidentified rideshare driver, clearly fits this description.

"Master, are you going to the convention center to deliver instruments to Li Yiliang's band?" the little witch asked as soon as she got in the car.

"I guess so!" Bian Lang wasn't lying.

"Oh! It seems you're quite familiar with the band, otherwise why would they trust you to send three such good guitars over by yourself?"

Faced with this question, Bian Lang thought for a moment before replying, "We are quite familiar with each other. I've been listening to their songs since the band was formed."

"Wow! I actually ran into a masked veteran fan."

"I've followed the Masked Band before. I heard that all of their original songs were written by Li Yiliang. Now that he's going solo, do you know anything about the inside story?"

Bian Lang, a chatterbox, ran into an acquaintance while bragging, and he didn't hold back at all when he started to criticize the original owner of the body: "It's true that they were all written by Li Yiliang. What kind of songs can Bian Lang, a sculpture major, write? He could make a living with his looks, but he insists on wearing a mask and playing the guitar."

"Haha, Master, you understand rock and roll. How many rock musicians are actually professional musicians? As long as the music is right, shamelessness doesn't matter!" The little witch felt that this master must be a kindred spirit to her: "Then you must be very familiar with Bian Lang. Tell our viewers in the live stream..."

"We know each other like the back of our hand. I even know where his household registration book is. If you need his autograph, I can get it for you in bulk. Bian Lang's voice is pretty good too, but he's too lazy and unwilling to work on his technique..."

He drove on, chatting idly, and what should have been an hour's journey took him more than two hours, mostly because he was making U-turns and taking detours.

Bian Lang said he would waive the little witch's transportation fee, and she didn't mind, since the magic disc would reimburse her anyway.

Even if you get there, you might not be able to film anything interesting. Listening to the driver's ramblings is quite entertaining. The key is that this driver really knows a lot about rock music, and he has a whole repertoire of slang that never repeats itself.

The viewers in the live stream were quite cooperative in their interactions, especially the top-ranked fan who kept sending virtual gifts to request Bian Lang's messages, which made the live stream much more popular than her usual streams.

Upon arriving at the destination, Bian Lang dropped the little witch off at the entrance of a nearby hotel and went to find Lao Tan.

Old Tan arrived early, and as the two of them were carrying effects pedals and other equipment inside, they happened to run into Li Yiliang's musicians going in.

Everyone was a familiar face, and they all greeted Bian Lang when they saw him. However, a tall man carrying a violin bag looked a little awkward when he saw him, and he hesitated several times before trying to say hello.

"What's wrong, Da Kun? Did you have an upset stomach at lunch? You can't hold it in. If you poop in your pants on stage later, you'll really be infamous."

As soon as Bian Lang spoke, everyone laughed, and at the same time, they were very surprised by the change in Bian Lang's personality.

Seeing that Bian Lang still wanted to tease him, Da Kun confessed directly: "Brother Bian, it's mainly because Liangzi offered a lot this time, otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to come and be this backup."

Upon hearing the truth, Bian Lang laughed nonchalantly, "Then I'll try my best not to cause any trouble today, so you can earn this money while lying down. It's your treat when we get back to Banshan tonight!"

"Absolutely, Brother Bian, if you say that, I won't hold back anymore."

And so, the group walked into the venue, chatting and laughing.

Bian Lang didn't come to the previous rehearsal, but he's going to sing the opening act today, so naturally he has to come and do the sound mixing first.

Fortunately, it was all a team that Lao Tan had found beforehand; otherwise, they might not have been willing to follow Bian Lang's schedule.

The sound engineer, an acquaintance, saw Bian Lang setting up his effects pedals and computer on stage and asked, "Bian Lang, are you going to play backing tracks? Then adjust the volume of the electric guitar and microphone, right?"

"The acoustic-electric guitar, electric guitar, drum kit, bass, keyboard, and microphone are all used in live performances, and all six tracks need to be tuned."

Upon hearing Bian Lang's reply, the sound engineer laughed and said, "So you hired a musician separately? Why bother? Everyone here today is an acquaintance. Just give them a heads-up, and they'll all help out with just one song."

Bian Lang, who was fiddling with the keyboard, turned around and laughed, "No need, I can handle it by myself."

Bian Lang isn't the type to nitpick; he finished all six tracks in just over ten minutes.

The sound engineer could tell that he planned to use a loop station for the performance, but years of experience told him that the chances of messing up when doing this live were extremely high.

This places extremely high demands on the performers. Not only must they have a solid foundation in playing various instruments, but their control of rhythm and on-site operation are also virtually flawless.

If even one beat goes off, the entire performance instantly turns into a major train wreck.

If it were the guitarist Bian Lang he knew before, the tuner would have given up all hope. But seeing the incredible skill Bian Lang displayed today as he tuned various instruments, he actually started to have expectations.

"Bian Lang, do a good job! Let those idiots with their eyes on their foreheads learn something!"

The sound engineer knew very well that in China, those who could perform Loop Station live were basically all in the electronic music scene. If this live Loop Station rock performance was a success, with the help of Magic Disc's promotional efforts, Bianlang would definitely break out of the mainstream, and Magic Disc would definitely regret not signing Bianlang.

As one of the top sound engineers in Yunnan Province, he has his own pride, but after the Magic Disc team got involved, they still looked down on his team to some extent.

He tolerated it because of his car loan and mortgage, so he really wanted to see the look of utter dismay on the faces of the people from Magic Disc.

"Okay, I won't rehearse on the spot. I'll just go straight to the performance. Please take care of the sound system and make it louder..." After finishing his work, Bian Lang didn't stay at the venue any longer and went to the venue to smoke with Lao Tan.

Li Yiliang had just finished a media interview.

It was the first time he had been surrounded by more than a dozen entertainment reporters asking him questions. Although he had prepared in advance, he was still a little nervous. When asked some sensitive questions related to his creative work, he even looked a little embarrassed.

Just as things were finished, the assistant who was overseeing the scene sent word that Bian Lang wanted to play Loop Station.

Upon hearing this, agent Wei Lan frowned, her concern making her flustered: "This would steal your thunder. No, tell him to cancel it."

Li Yiliang, who thought he knew Bian Lang very well, swept away his displeasure from the previous interview and secretly mocked him in his heart: "Look at you, so capable. I've been inferior to you in everything since we were in school. Now, you finally have your chance to make a fool of yourself."

When the two were in school, they had a very good brotherly relationship. However, after leaving the ivory tower of school, the difference in their family backgrounds gradually made Li Yiliang, who had a strong sense of self-esteem, regard Bian Lang's kindness to him as a form of charity.

Furthermore, if Li Yiliang, who came from a rural background, failed, he would probably have no choice but to go back to farming or work in a factory tightening screws, while Bian Lang had no pressure to make a living, so...

"Sister Lan, it's okay, let him play, I can handle it!"

Seeing that Li Yiliang wasn't nervous at all, Wei Lan calmed down and thought about it, and instantly felt relieved: "That's right, he's just an ordinary guitarist." At the same time, she also gained a deeper understanding of Li Yiliang's character.

Bian Lang has already been very magnanimous regarding the copyright issue; if I don't offer some advice now, I really can't live with myself.

However, Li Yiliang is only just starting out and is not pursuing an idol route, so it's far from the point where he needs to create a persona, and she won't say anything more.