Lu Zhixian leaned back on the sofa and picked up his phone.

He opened Weibo.

There was only one image in his album, something he had just thrown together.

He selected the image.

His fingers tapped on the screen, typing a line of text:

"Penguin Music Awards, Global Premiere Performance."

Sent.

Putting down his phone, he picked up a glass of warm water from the bar and took a sip.

Old Zhao sat opposite him, staring at the data on his screen.

Ten minutes passed.

Old Zhao suddenly sucked in a breath, his legs involuntarily shaking.

The trending topics list refreshed.

#Lu Zhixian Global Premiere# had parachuted directly into the number one spot.

Old Zhao clicked into the tag. Tens of thousands of comments had already flooded the section.

"He's here! He's coming with a new song!"

"Just a dark image and a beam of light? This teaser is way too cool!"

"I get it, this is a response to the previous rumors from the capital. It means no packaging needed, just pure talent?"

"Am I the only one curious about what he's going to sing? A live performance with an open mic—if he messes up, he'll be the laughingstock of the internet."

Old Zhao looked up at Lu Zhixian.

Lu Zhixian set the water glass down on the table.

"Old Zhao, let's go. To the venue." He stood up, picked up his black coat from the back of the chair, and put it on.

Jingzhou Sports Center.

A nanny van slowly pulled up at the VIP entrance.

The car door slid open.

A dozen people were standing outside. Leading them was a middle-aged man.

This man was the chief director of the Penguin Music Awards, Sun Jianguo.

He was famous in the industry for his fiery temper; even some A-list singers usually had to walk on eggshells around him.

At this moment, however, Sun Jianguo was rubbing his hands together, approaching with a face full of smiles.

"Teacher Lu, I've been looking forward to this day for ages. You've finally arrived!" Sun Jianguo proactively extended both hands.

Lu Zhixian stepped out of the car with one hand in his pocket and shook hands with him.

"Director Sun, thank you for your hard work."

"It's no trouble at all! It's Penguin's honor to have you as our grand finale," Sun Jianguo said as he turned to lead the way.

"Old Zhao, this way. The lounge has been cleared out—the one in the best location."

Old Zhao followed behind Lu Zhixian, his back ramrod straight.

In the past, when attending such large-scale ceremonies, let alone the chief director greeting them personally, even a deputy director would only give a casual nod.

And now? Everyone was calling him 'Teacher Lu'.

Old Zhao felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him.

The group entered the inner arena.

In the center, a massive stage occupied nearly a third of the venue.

Sun Jianguo stopped and pointed at the stage, his voice tinged with pride.

"Teacher Lu, for your finale performance, we've spared no expense."

He turned and waved toward the control booth.

"Old Li, turn on the special effects!"

Sun Jianguo turned back to Lu Zhixian, his face full of anticipation.

"Look, this holographic projection equipment was imported from Germany. When you stand on that lift, with the sea of stars effect behind you, it will absolutely blow the audience away! Others can't build it, but we at Penguin can build it for you!"

Lu Zhixian looked at the stage and said nothing.

Sun Jianguo rubbed his hands.

"Turn it off."

Sun Jianguo froze.

"Huh?"

Lu Zhixian walked over to the side, pulled over a folding chair, and sat down.

He looked up at Sun Jianguo.

"I only want a single vertical beam of white light."

Old Li, at the control booth, frowned. He already had little favorable impression of these idol stars.

Today, the chief director had kept the entire technical staff waiting for ages, only for this kid to show up.

And now he was acting like a backseat driver?

Old Li strode over with a walkie-talkie in hand.

"Teacher Lu, is it?" Old Li's tone was brusque.

"If you stand alone on that empty three-hundred-square-meter stage, you won't be able to hold the audience's attention at all."

Old Zhao was about to speak up, but Lu Zhixian raised a hand to stop him.

Lu Zhixian stood up and walked over to Old Li.

He took the microphone from Old Li's hand and strode onto the center of the stage.

Standing in the very middle of the stage, Lu Zhixian raised the microphone and lightly tapped the metal mesh at the top twice.

Thump, thump.

Lu Zhixian lowered his hand.

"The matrix main speaker in Zone C on the left has a half-second delay."

"The second monitor speaker on the right has electrical floor noise."

He turned his head to look at Old Li.

"This is your top-tier equipment? With this kind of delay and noise, you expect me to perform live with an open mic?"

Old Li's expression changed instantly.

He spun around and sprinted back to the control booth.

He grabbed the monitoring headphones and clamped them over his head, his eyes fixed on the panel in front of him.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Old Li's finger froze in mid-air.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

It was actually there!

These two problems were extremely subtle.

Without professional instruments, an ordinary singer would never be able to hear them in a noisy venue environment.

Even an old pro like him, who had been an audio engineer for thirty years, hadn't noticed just now.

Old Li took off the headphones.

He picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Team two! Go to Zone C on the left and check the main speaker wiring immediately! Team three, unplug the connection to the second monitor on the right and re-test it! Move!"

The entire inner arena instantly became a hive of activity.

Sun Jianguo stood below the stage, looking at the frantic staff and then at Lu Zhixian on stage, unable to say a word.

Lu Zhixian put the microphone back on its stand.

"Fix it. Leave me a single spotlight."

Old Li nodded vigorously from below. He didn't have a single word of rebuttal now.

It would take half an hour to repair the equipment.

Lu Zhixian walked off the stage and sat on the folding chair to rest.

Not far away, several stagehands responsible for wiring and tuning assistants stood behind the equipment boxes, peeking over.

These young people were wearing black work uniforms with ID badges hanging around their necks.

They were used to seeing all sorts of big-name stars and knew they shouldn't approach casually.

Old Li was also standing nearby, but he was clutching a piece of cardboard in his hand.

It was the cover of Lu Zhixian's previously released physical album, 'Xian'.

The young people nudged each other as they walked over.

A female stagehand's face turned red, a pen in her hand.

"Teacher Lu..." Her voice was very small, even a bit timid. "Could I have an autograph?"

He stood up with a smile and took the pen from her.

"Where should I sign?"

The female stagehand was stunned for a moment before hurriedly handing over the back of her work manual.

Lu Zhixian rested it against his palm and quickly signed his name.

Old Li coughed and handed over the album cover.

He was in his fifties, and he looked a bit embarrassed.

"My daughter insisted I bring this," Old Li explained stiffly.

Lu Zhixian didn't call him out. He lowered his head to sign the album and even added a little drawing of a guitar.

After handing the items back, Lu Zhixian proactively took a step back.

"Want a photo?"

The staff members nodded excitedly.

Lu Zhixian took the female stagehand's phone, turned his back to the stage, and stood among them.

He threw an arm around Old Li's shoulder and raised the phone.

"Old Li, smile."

Click.

The image was frozen in time.

Lu Zhixian had a bright smile, while Old Li had an awkward but unmistakably happy expression.

The surrounding stagehands were making peace signs, their eyes full of light.

The whole sequence was smooth and natural, without any condescending air.

These low-level workers, who usually did the hardest work and took the harshest criticism, now looked at Lu Zhixian with completely different eyes.

Old Li tucked the album into his jacket.

He understood now.

The man's previous toughness was truly only about professional standards.

Faced with the actual workers, he didn't have any attitude at all.

"Team two reporting, delay line replacement complete," a voice came over the walkie-talkie.

"Team three reporting, floor noise issue resolved."

Old Li's spirits lifted as he grabbed the walkie-talkie. "Lighting team, get ready!"

All the lights in the venue went out in an instant.

A single spotlight fell vertically from the ceiling, hitting the center of the stage.

Lu Zhixian stood alone in that beam of light.

"Teacher Lu, you can test the sound now," Old Li's voice echoed in the empty venue.

"Do you need the accompaniment played?"

"No need."

Lu Zhixian held the microphone with one hand.

"I'll sing a few lines a cappella."

The hundreds of staff members in the arena stopped what they were doing.

Lu Zhixian stood under the spotlight and closed his eyes.

He just steadily hit the high note.

"Dreams watered by hard work."

The terrifying power of his voice struck the surrounding speaker matrix directly.

The air itself seemed to vibrate slightly.

"Love pushing from behind."

"Only when I look up do I realize."

"If I have forgotten someone."

The echoes circled the stadium, lingering for a long time.

Old Zhao sat in his chair, gripping his thermos tightly.

At the control booth.

Old Li gripped the edge of the desk with both hands, his jaw slightly slack.

Sun Jianguo stood frozen on the spot.

He had produced over a dozen large-scale galas and heard countless singers' disastrous rehearsals.

He had even long since become accustomed to using backing tracks and lip-syncing to deceive the audience.

But he had never heard a live performance of this caliber.

And it was just a few lines sung a cappella.

Sun Jianguo suddenly snapped out of it.

He grabbed the deputy director next to him.

"Quick!" he whispered urgently. "Contact the server management team immediately! Now! Right now!"

The deputy director was startled. "Director, what's wrong?"

Sun Jianguo stared intently at the figure in the spotlight on stage.

"For tonight's livestream, set the server bandwidth priority to the highest level! Add three more backup distribution lines!"

"But Director, that'll cost millions more in the budget!"

"Spend it! I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong!"

"If these netizens don't crash the server tonight, I'll wash my hair while standing on my head! Go get it done!"

On stage.

Lu Zhixian opened his eyes and put down the microphone. "The sound is fine now."

Old Li picked up the walkie-talkie, his voice trembling: "Teacher Lu, it's... perfect."

The spotlight went out, and the venue's house lights came back on.

Lu Zhixian stepped down from the stage.

Taking a tissue from a nearby stagehand, he casually wiped his hands.

Old Zhao didn't follow.

He stood by the folding chair, his eyes fixed on the phone screen in his hand.

Lu Zhixian walked over. "What is it?"

Old Zhao swallowed hard. Without a word, he turned the phone screen around and held it up to Lu Zhixian.

The screen showed an internal document just sent over by the organizers.

"Penguin Music Annual Awards · Inner Arena VIP Seating Chart".

Old Zhao pointed to the first row.

In this circle where seniority and hierarchy were strictly enforced, seating arrangements represented one's absolute status in the eyes of the capital.

In previous years, these most central seats were occupied by top-tier industry moguls or veteran artists with transcendent status.

Lu Zhixian looked where Old Zhao was pointing.

On the main table that represented the highest power in the venue, several names were printed.

On the seat at the absolute center of the main table, only three words were printed.

[Lu Zhixian]

He turned to look at Lu Zhixian and took a deep breath.

"Old Lu," Old Zhao's voice was tinged with excitement.

"Your seat tonight..."

"Is quite something."