The official countdown to the concert had reached three days.

The rehearsal intensity was hellish.

Lu Zhixian and Lin Shiya practically lived in the rehearsal hall.

“Stop!”

The Music Director suddenly called a halt, and the entire band fell silent.

He poked his head out from behind the console, looking at the two people on stage.

“Teacher Lu, Shiya, the emotion at the very end still needs some adjustment. It's a bit too full right now, a little over-the-top.”

Lu Zhixian and Lin Shiya glanced at each other, needing no further explanation.

Lu Zhixian gestured toward the band.

“For the last two bars of the drums and bass, keep the rhythm the same but cut the intensity in half.”

“Keyboardist, change the underlying strings to a single-note piano. Give me a bit of an ethereal feel.”

Lin Shiya spoke softly into her microphone: “For my trailing note, I’ll use a mixed voice to close it. I'll give it plenty of breath, but weaken the vocal cord closure.”

The two of them finished speaking almost simultaneously.

The Music Director froze for a moment, then slapped his thigh hard.

“Yes! That’s exactly it! Come on, let’s take it from the last line of the chorus again!”

The drumbeat started up again.

During a break, the band's drummer wiped his sweat and whispered to the guitarist, “I’ve been on tour with Sister Ya for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve seen her this hyped during rehearsal.”

The guitarist nodded frantically.

“Well, Teacher Lu isn't an ordinary guy either. Listen to those harmonic progressions and rhythm suggestions he's giving...”

“They're all paths we Old Cannons never even thought of. They're wild, but they sound damn good!”

Rehearsal began again.

This time, it was the second chorus of 'the beach'.

Lin Shiya closed her eyes, gathering her emotions for a moment. When she opened her mouth, the air in the rehearsal hall seemed to freeze.

“Only blue...”

There was a kind of fractured beauty in her voice.

The trailing note dissipated bit by bit, giving everyone goosebumps.

Just as everyone was immersed in this poignant beauty, a male voice appeared without warning.

“Blue...”

Lu Zhixian's harmony.

This harmony had never appeared in any previous rehearsal.

The Sound Engineer's hand shook, and he almost pushed the wrong fader.

The Music Director bolted upright, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

The movements of all the band members slowed by half a beat.

Lin Shiya was also visibly stunned. She opened her eyes and looked sideways at Lu Zhixian. Her clear eyes were full of shock and wonder.

Lu Zhixian merely raised an eyebrow and gave her a look that said, “Keep going.”

The Diva lived up to her title; Lin Shiya switched states in a second and picked up the song perfectly.

And every time Lu Zhixian's improvised harmony appeared, it was just right.

The song ended.

The rehearsal hall was pin-drop silent.

“Clatter.”

The drummer's drumstick fell to the floor.

“Teacher... Teacher Lu...” The Music Director's voice was a bit airy.

“That... that harmony of yours, we haven't... rehearsed that before, have we?”

“Yeah, I just suddenly felt something, so I tried it out,” Lu Zhixian said nonchalantly.

“Felt something?!” The Music Director nearly jumped.

“You call that 'feeling something'? That was a stroke of genius! It instantly elevated the entire concept of the song!”

Sister Chen stood below the stage, and the tension finally left her face as a genuine smile appeared.

She silently took off her glasses and rubbed her slightly aching eyes.

She knew that this collaboration was going to be a massive success.

...

The day before the concert, the final dress rehearsal.

All the lights, sound, and stage equipment in the venue were turned on for one last full run-through according to official performance standards.

As Lu Zhixian and Lin Shiya's guest segment came to an end, the last sound faded away in the empty stadium.

The entire venue was silent for a full five seconds.

Then, from the control console, the lighting area, and all over the stage... all the staff present stood up in unison, their applause like thunder.

This applause was pure, the highest respect for a perfect performance.

Sister Chen stood at the side of the stage, looking at the two of them standing side by side.

She turned to the Executive Director beside her and said softly, “This concert will be remembered for a long time.”

When the dress rehearsal ended, Lu Zhixian had just returned to the backstage dressing room when there was a knock on the door.

A middle-aged man in his forties walked in, wearing simple business casual clothes, but he possessed an unmistakable aura.

It was the CEO of Shengyue Culture, Zhou Zhen.

“Teacher Lu,” Zhou Zhen took the initiative to reach out, his handshake steady and firm.

“Thank you for your hard work. The performance just now was very stunning.”

“You're too kind, Mr. Zhou. It's thanks to Teacher Lin and the team,” Lu Zhixian replied politely.

Zhou Zhen looked at him with a mix of appreciation and scrutiny. This industry mogul, who held immense power, didn't say much, but every word carried weight.

“It's been a long time since I've seen that kind of light in Shiya's eyes during rehearsal.”

He paused and spoke with great sincerity.

“Thank you.”

...

The night before the concert.

Lu Zhixian returned to the hotel, took a shower, and then picked up his phone.

As soon as he unlocked it, various notifications popped up. He casually clicked on Weibo, and a glaring topic was hanging at the tail end of the trending list.

#Is Lu Zhixian Leeching Off Lin Shiya's Concert Heat?#

He clicked in.

On the feed, a group of obviously organized accounts were frantically stirring up trouble, their rhetoric suspiciously consistent.

“How can a newcomer who's been famous for less than a month be the only guest at a Diva's ten-thousand-person concert? I don't believe there isn't a story behind this.”

“LMAO, this is so tacky. Is he using Diva Lin as a stepping stone? This is textbook 'clout-chasing' behavior.”

“Did his head get too big because his album was a hit? Does he really think he's on the same level as a Diva? Just wait until he messes up live and drags down the quality of the whole concert. That'll be hilarious.”

Underneath these sarcastic comments, Lin Shiya's fans and Lu Zhixian's newly gathered fans were already fighting like cats and dogs.

“Bullshit! Lu Zhixian is a newcomer? I'm really going to have to school you guys!”

“Leave my girl out of this. She invited the guest herself. Haters, get lost!”

“Does our Lu Zhixian even need to clout-chase? His album sales and reputation speak for themselves. Gold will always shine!”

“Don't try to whitewash him. If he's really that capable, why doesn't he hold his own concert instead of being a parasite?”

Lu Zhixian scrolled for two minutes with an expressionless face, then locked his screen.

He opened Weibo and edited a new post.

There was no long-winded explanation, nor an angry response.

Only a photo he'd casually taken of the night view outside his hotel window, accompanied by three words.

“See you tomorrow.”

After posting it, he put his phone on airplane mode, tossed it onto the nightstand, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

A war of words was the most boring battlefield.

To him, the stage was the only answer.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Lin Shiya's apartment was brightly lit.

She had also seen the filth on the internet, and a hint of anger could actually be seen on her usually cold face.

She didn't post anything; instead, she directly dialed her manager Sister Chen's number.

“Sister Chen, it's me.”

Chen Zifang on the other end immediately sensed something wrong in her tone: “Shiya? What's wrong? Did you see the news online? Don't be angry, I've already had the PR team handle it. It's just some professional anti-fans...”

“No need to handle it,” Lin Shiya interrupted her, her voice calm but carrying an undeniable chill.

“Help me contact the platform.”

“Tomorrow morning at ten, before the performance starts, I'm going to personally issue a statement.”

Sister Chen was stunned: “You're going to respond personally? Shiya, if you speak out now, it'll only make things bigger and play right into their hands!”

“So what?” Lin Shiya's voice suddenly turned cold.

“That is my concert, my stage, and my invited guest.”

She paused, and every word came through the receiver clearly.

“If anyone dares to mess with my people on my turf...”

“...they will bear the consequences.”