[Piano Performance]
Xu Baichuan’s suggestion wasn’t impulsive—it was inspired by Fang Yinnian, who had given him both the idea and the confidence to try something new.
The concert venue for next month had already been booked at Yaan City’s Starriver Stadium, featuring a multi-level elevating stage. The stage design and construction alone cost over a million yuan. Top-tier lighting and sound equipment had been secured, and the company had partnered with a video platform for livestreaming—they were truly sparing no expense for the 10th anniversary celebration.
This ballad wasn’t suited for dance accompaniment, as dancers might distract from the vocals. Having five people standing in a row simply singing would appear too static. Adding a piano performance would not only create a more innovative format but also allow for more flexible positioning of the members.
From a stage design perspective, a rotating elevator platform could be incorporated.
During the performance, the platform would gradually rise from below, bringing the five members and the piano into view simultaneously.
Their harmonized vocals would be amplified through microphones throughout the venue. At the song’s climax, the platform could be suspended in mid-air with everyone singing above the crowd, creating a first-class audiovisual experience.
This would create a more captivating visual, both for the live audience and those watching the livestream.
The more Xu Baichuan considered it, the more he liked the concept. Looking at Fang Yinnian seriously, he asked, “Yinnian, piano performance requires dividing your attention. Can you handle playing accompaniment while singing harmony parts with all those high notes and transitions?”
Fang Yinnian thought for a moment before answering confidently, “Yes, I can.”
Xu Baichuan was surprised by his immediate acceptance. “Are you sure?”
Fang Yinnian nodded. “I’ve played piano since childhood and passed the level 10 piano exam when I was ten. This 3-minute-45-second ballad has a simple melody—it’s not challenging for me. I won’t miss a single note.”
Fang Yinnian closed his eyes as his long, slender fingers moved swiftly across the black and white keys, flawlessly playing the chorus melody of “Never Forget.”
He didn’t look at either the keyboard or the sheet music.
Even playing blindly, he didn’t miss a single note. Playing this pop song was as natural as breathing for him.
In his area of expertise, Fang Yinnian was extremely confident and never suffered from stage fright.
Xu Baichuan was thrilled. “Excellent! Then it’s settled! I’ll contact the concert’s stage designer, arrange for a piano rental, and we’ll go to Yaan City a week early to practice on-site and coordinate with the band.”
Fang Yinnian replied, “Sounds good.”
Director Xu left the piano room with a broad smile.
After he left, Mo Xun turned to Fang Yinnian with amazement. “You passed level 10 piano at age ten? That’s incredible!”
Fang Yinnian explained, “My mother is a piano teacher who was extremely strict with me. She monitored my practice every day, hoping I would become a professional pianist.”
A pianist? Fang Yinnian’s image and temperament certainly seemed well-suited for sitting quietly on stage playing the piano.
Mo Xun asked curiously, “Then how did you end up in a boy band?”
Fang Yinnian looked up at him. “I prefer singing to playing piano—I’ve always wanted to be a singer. I was discovered by a talent scout during a singing competition at school, which is how I ended up at Shengyao Media.”
Mo Xun nodded with understanding. “That makes sense. Singing is better for you anyway—you have a unique vocal tone. I think pursuing a career as a singer suits you more. It’s extremely difficult to make it as a pianist in this country.”
Fang Yinnian smiled and nodded. “I agree.”
Mo Xun said, “Let’s continue practicing. We should go through this section a few more times.”
—
The day quickly passed.
Back at the dormitory that evening, Tan Junwen collapsed on the sofa like a puddle of mud, sighing, “Teacher Qiao is such a sadist! She made me sing the same note dozens of times. I was nearly sick from all that singing.”
Tang Che responded coldly, “You’re complaining after just one day? We still have a whole month ahead.”
Tan Junwen irritably ran his fingers through his hair. “This is killing me! Had I known joining a boy band would be this troublesome, I would’ve stuck to rapping.”
Mo Xun walked over. “Junwen, what do you mean by that?”
Tan Junwen sat up to face Mo Xun. “Don’t you find it frustrating? Correcting the same note over and over again, constantly changing pitch—it’s so uncomfortable to sing. And you—you won’t even have a chance to dance at our debut stage! You’re such an amazing dancer, and there’s no opportunity for you to showcase that talent!”
The room fell immediately silent.
In truth, Fang Yinnian had suspected that Junwen and Mo Xun might be unhappy with the current arrangement.
However, as team captain, Mo Xun couldn’t easily express such complaints. Tan Junwen, being straightforward as usual, had no problem voicing his frustrations.
Fu Fei peeked worriedly in their direction, while Tang Che paused his toothbrushing in the bathroom.
After a moment of silence, Mo Xun spoke quietly, “There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. We’ll have many stages ahead of us. If we constantly obsess over who gets more content or who performs better at every show… are we really a team?”
He suddenly turned to Fu Fei, who was lurking nearby. “Xiao Fei, when you play support in games, do you steal kills from damage dealers?”
Startled at being called out, Fu Fei quickly responded, “Huh? Of course not! In gaming, everyone has their role—ADCs need kills to grow stronger. There’s no point in supports taking kills.”
Mo Xun turned back to Tan Junwen with a serious expression. “We’re a team—division of labor is normal. For this debut stage, we’ll support Yinnian and Tang Che. When it’s your turn to rap, the four of us will support you. When there’s a dance solo part for me in the future, I’ll naturally take center position.”
“We formed hastily as a group, each with our own strengths and weaknesses. Isn’t it good that we help each other improve together?”
Mo Xun’s words made perfect sense.
After a moment, Tan Junwen lowered his head and scratched it, his voice noticeably softer. “I was just venting a bit—why did it suddenly get so serious?”
Everyone: “…”
Mo Xun laughed and lightly tapped his head. “Stop complaining over nothing! I thought you were about to quit the team.”
Tan Junwen hastily replied, “I would never! We’re so close to debuting—only an idiot would quit now. Don’t worry, Mo-ge. I won’t drag you guys down.”
His words brought relief to everyone.
Tang Che raised an eyebrow and resumed brushing his teeth. Fang Yinnian also relaxed and headed to the shower.
Fu Fei observed everyone’s expressions and realized something fascinating about their group. Tang Che was cold, sharp-tongued, and difficult to approach, yet he listened to Fang Yinnian. Tan Junwen was often confused, impatient, and quick to anger, but Mo Xun could easily handle him.
Their team repeatedly seemed to hover on the brink of dissolution before finding its way back to stability.
Living on the edge.
This family wouldn’t fall apart anytime soon.
—
After showering, Fang Yinnian returned to his bedroom and asked Mo Xun, “Is Junwen okay now?”
Mo Xun replied, “He’s fine. Our young master just got frustrated after a day of practice—harmony scores really can be mentally exhausting.”
He pulled up a file on his phone. “Take a look at this video of Junwen in last year’s rap competition. When he raps, he can deliver several verses in one breath, with crystal-clear diction and smooth rhythm. He never blows out the mic, and his stage presence is incredible.”
Fang Yinnian leaned over to watch. Tan Junwen looked remarkably cool jumping around on stage while rapping, though his vocal foundation was indeed somewhat weak.
If everyone were already strong in all areas, forming a cohesive group would be quick and easy.
But they weren’t that kind of team.
As Mo Xun had pointed out, they each had their strengths and weaknesses. Coming together, practicing hard, and growing side by side was its own kind of beauty.
The challenges they faced now would someday become their most precious memories.
Mo Xun showed remarkable vision as team captain.
Fang Yinnian smiled and said, “We’ll take it step by step. I believe Junwen can overcome this. We’ll definitely perfect the harmonies for this song.”
—
The next day, Tan Junwen dutifully attended class, continuing to work under Teacher Qiao’s guidance.
Teacher Qiao had reorganized the training schedule. Each morning, she spent four hours exclusively coaching Tan Junwen. In the afternoons, she gave each of the others one-hour individual sessions, correcting their vocal techniques and helping them practice breathing control and pitch accuracy for singing.
In the evenings, all five practiced harmonies together.
From 8 AM to 10 PM, everyone struggled through a full day of singing.
After a few consecutive days, it wasn’t just Tan Junwen who felt sick of singing—the sight of sheet music was starting to nauseate all of them.
Repeatedly singing the same score required extraordinary patience to endure.
During this period, they even dreamed about practicing harmonies.
But Teacher Qiao’s strict requirements had clear benefits—their progress was remarkable.
She taught them note by note, breaking everything down to ensure each section was flawless. With extensive practice, they were developing almost physiological memory for the music.
After a week, everyone had their parts memorized perfectly and could harmonize without relying on sheet music.
Hearing each other’s voices during live practice allowed them to adjust their timing, and the group gradually developed better coordination with their harmonies.
By the third week, they finally incorporated piano accompaniment.
When they first heard that Fang Yinnian would play piano live while singing, everyone except Mo Xun was concerned. They worried he might make mistakes—whether missing rhythm, forgetting lyrics, or otherwise causing performance issues. Dividing his attention seemed extremely risky.
That was until they witnessed Fang Yinnian sitting at the piano, playing fluidly while effortlessly hitting high notes along with the accompaniment.
His expression remained completely natural, showing none of the strain typically associated with singing high notes. The sound he produced was rich and full—neither cracking nor becoming raspy—as if he reached those notes with ease.
The four teammates: “…”
Tan Junwen looked stunned. “How did you manage to sing that high?”
Tang Che, with a complex expression, said, “I could hit those notes with my natural voice too, but doing it while seated is terrifying.”
Fang Yinnian replied casually, “Actually, this song’s key is within my comfort zone. I could sing even higher.”
The four members: “…………”
Fang Yinnian’s stable high notes gave everyone confidence.
If their lead vocalist could hit such high notes while playing the piano, how could they justify letting the team down?
In the following practice sessions, everyone’s attitude became even more serious, and their harmonies grew increasingly close to perfection.
By August a full three weeks of harmony practice, with only 10 days remaining until the concert.
After listening to their harmonies, Qiao Anhua finally smiled and said, “Very good! You’re ready for the recording studio!”
The five happily proceeded to the recording studio, spending an entire day formally recording their song.
The sound engineer selected the most perfect take for them to hear—this studio version would eventually be uploaded to various music platforms for public consumption.
They all put on headphones and carefully listened to their harmony version of “Never Forget.”
After hearing it through, they exchanged glances, eyes simultaneously lighting up with delight—it sounded amazing!
Their harmonies were distinctively unique. The five voices had such high recognizability that when blended together, they created something akin to a vibrant painting composed of different colors.
Compared to Xie Shiqi’s original version, their cover had a different style yet was equally impressive. The rearranged harmony chorus and modulated sections created a layered progression effect, making the emotional expression even richer and fuller.
At the beginning, Tan Junwen had indeed been extremely frustrated with the practice process. However, after hearing the complete recorded harmony track, he finally realized… how exceptional this harmonization was.
Alone, he could never create a song with such a rich vocal palette.
This was the power that only a team could possess.
—
That afternoon, Xu Baichuan came to listen to the final studio version and was completely reassured.
With a rare full smile, he said, “Well done! Keep this up—if you can perform at this level during the concert, it will be perfect. Make sure to thank Teacher Qiao—she’s hardly had any rest during this period.”
The five bowed together. “Thank you, Teacher Qiao.”
Qiao Anhua smiled warmly. “No need for thanks. Coaching your group has been very fulfilling for me as well.”
Xu Baichuan announced, “Tomorrow we’ll take a break from vocal practice. Instead, we’ll focus on styling and costume fittings. The day after, we’ll all fly to Yaan together.” Looking at the five, he added, “The stadium stage is already being set up—everything is in place. Everyone, stay focused. Starting tomorrow, we officially begin the countdown to your debut!”
Hearing this, the five simultaneously felt a surge of urgency.
Only 10 days remained until the concert.
Styling, formal photoshoots, on-site rehearsals, the actual performance…
Time was flying by, and they were about to face their most critical test.
——
