Yaan City’s “Star River Stadium” was a massive venue capable of accommodating tens of thousands of spectators. This concert had opened 40,000 seats, which sold out within two weeks of the announcement.
All managers had received notice that the 15th and 16th would be preliminary rehearsal days, which artists could schedule at their convenience. On the evening of the 17th, there would be a full dress rehearsal requiring everyone’s attendance to run through the program sequence.
With numerous performers, the preliminary rehearsals were divided into two groups. Thanks to Xu Baichuan’s efforts, FTM was scheduled first at 4 PM on the 15th, giving them more time since they would arrive earlier.
On the way to the stadium, Xu Baichuan revealed, “I heard the stage construction, lighting, and sound systems cost several million yuan.”
Mo Xun remarked in amazement, “Shengyao is truly generous with their spending.”
Xu Baichuan replied, “Well, it’s the 10th anniversary—the executives consider it important.”
Fu Fei looked excitedly toward the distant stadium. “I can’t wait to see how they’ve designed the stage!”
“Come on, I’ll take you to the stands for a better view,” said Xu Baichuan, leading the five into the stadium with his staff badge.
Upon entering, all five were stunned by what they saw.
Fu Fei exclaimed, “Holy crap! Did they build an entire castle town?”
Standing by the railing, Fang Yinnian gazed in astonishment at the massive structures in the center of the stadium—
From their elevated vantage point, they could see three distinctively designed castle buildings on stage. The central castle stood four stories tall with a spire reaching skyward. The flanking castles varied in height, arranged in a triangular layout with pleasing asymmetry. The soft, muted colors harmonized beautifully.
The overall stage aesthetic resembled a warm, romantic, and vibrant “fantasy town.”
At the center of the three castles was a large circular plaza with three “ribbon-like” extended platforms stretching all the way to the audience seating. These extended stages were wide enough for two buses to pass through side by side, allowing performers to walk into the audience while singing.
Rows of colorful lights adorned all the castle rooftops. Each castle featured two enormous LED screens on top, decorated with “whipped cream” patterns that added a playful touch.
A total of six massive screens at different angles would ensure all audience members could see clearly when images were projected.
Several steel cables ran across the air above, supporting what appeared to be… equipment of some kind?
It was daytime now, but once evening fell and the lights came on, how spectacular would this “fantasy town” of castles look!
Fang Yinnian’s heart began racing.
—They were truly fortunate to perform on such a grand stage.
Xu Baichuan smiled. “Not bad, right? The theme is ‘Dream Castle.’ It’ll look even better when lit up at night.”
All five nodded in agreement: “Beautiful!” “Feels like we’ve wandered into an amusement park.”
Fu Fei asked curiously, “Brother Xu, what are those overhead cables for?”
Fang Yinnian had been wondering the same thing and turned to their manager.
Xu Baichuan explained, “Oh, those are for wire suspension.”
Fu Fei exclaimed in surprise, “There’s wire flying too?”
Xu Baichuan said, “Tao Yizhou will make his entrance suspended on wires, playing guitar and singing while seated on a moon. Do you see that cloth-covered moon-shaped seat up there?”
He pointed toward what Fang Yinnian had mentally labeled as “unidentified equipment” and continued, “He’ll be singing from that position during the show.”
Fu Fei responded, “That’s so cool!”
Fang Yinnian was also surprised. “So that’s a suspended aerial seat shaped like a moon?”
Xu Baichuan nodded with a smile. “Yes. When the concert begins, that moon will initially be hidden behind the castle. It will be brought forward when Tao Yizhou makes his entrance—our company’s ‘Prince of Love Songs’ always has romantic entrance sequences.”
Fang Yinnian: “…”
Tao Yizhou was a well-known popular singer in the industry, nicknamed the “Prince of Love Songs,” and Fang Yinnian quite liked him.
He wrote many of his own lyrics and compositions. Such talented “singer-songwriters” were already rare, and with his good looks, beautiful phoenix eyes, and gentle demeanor, he naturally attracted countless fans.
This “singing on the moon” stage design would certainly be spectacular.
Fang Yinnian felt somewhat envious of him. He hoped that someday, he too could write beautiful original songs.
Xu Baichuan pointed to the three castles on stage and explained, “These castles aren’t just for show. The central castle has four levels with the live band inside. The left castle houses the broadcasting control room for the livestream—TaoHe’s hosts will be stationed there. The right castle contains the sound engineers, lighting technicians, and various staff members, along with the director and the main control center.”
The five members were utterly speechless with amazement.
Building an entire “fantasy town” inside a stadium—what a display of extravagant wealth!
This was no ordinary company concert.
It was the 10th anniversary celebration of a top-tier music company in the industry, with a full livestream broadcast of the gala event.
The five could barely contain their excitement as they all pulled out their phones to take pictures.
Fu Fei exclaimed while snapping photos, “I can’t believe our first mission after leaving the newbie village is such a high-level dungeon!”
Tan Junwen stroked his chin thoughtfully. “It feels like we’re rookie martial artists attending a grand martial arts conference, doesn’t it?”
His comparison was quite apt.
However, these rookies would also be performing on stage—they wondered what the “martial arts masters” would think of them.
Fang Yinnian stood to the side, taking a few photos with his phone.
Fu Fei waved and called out, “Let’s take a group photo while no one’s around!”
Xu Baichuan smiled at the excited youngsters and took out his own phone. “Come on, I’ll take it for you. Line up—we’ll call this ‘FTM’s first group photo outside the newbie village.'”
The five quickly lined up on the second-floor viewing platform. Xu Baichuan took two photos and sent them to the group chat.
For today’s preliminary rehearsal, they didn’t need to wear makeup or costumes—everyone was in casual clothes: some in shorts and t-shirts, others in long pants and sleeves. Despite the mismatched outfits, the group photo looked harmonious—except for Tang Che, who didn’t smile, while the other four beamed happily.
Xu Baichuan gestured toward them. “Let’s go—I’ll take you backstage to meet the director.”
The backstage area for this performance was built underneath the castles, with numerous staff members bustling about.
After following their manager around the backstage area, Tan Junwen felt dizzy from all the turns. “I’m definitely sticking with you guys during the show—I’d get lost in this maze-like backstage area for sure.”
Fang Yinnian, however, quickly got his bearings. The backstage layout matched the castle structure above, with the central elevator platform area spanning about 40 square meters.
Underground, there were three long corridors with staff rooms on both sides. Each corridor ended with a small elevator platform that led directly to the extended platforms above the stage.
At the center castle, there was a massive five-meter-tall hidden door.
Only after going underground did Fang Yinnian realize—the central castle could actually open up!
Performers could walk up steps behind the door and, when it opened, emerge directly onto the stage. From the audience’s perspective, it would look as if the castle split open in the middle with people walking out from inside.
Central elevator platform, three extended elevator platforms, aerial wire systems, motorized castle doors…
The stage design was incredibly complex and extensive, with various entrance options.
The group of nobodies had their minds completely blown.
Was their debut starting point intimidatingly high? Would netizens criticize them for this?
Before they could recover from their shock, Xu Baichuan led them to the executive director.
Xu Baichuan stepped forward respectfully to shake hands. “Director Liu, it’s been a while! Thank you for your hard work.”
The middle-aged man looked serious, his hair disheveled from what was clearly a hectic schedule. Holding a walkie-talkie, he scanned the five young men before him and said, “So this is the boy band? You’ve arrived quite early—the sun hasn’t even set yet. Xu, you’re really on top of things.”
Xu Baichuan smiled and replied, “They’re complete rookies—I wanted them to scout the location early and get familiar with the stage and camera positions.”
Director Liu frowned. “I was actually looking for you. We have a rather tricky problem right now.”
Xu immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”
Director Liu picked up the program schedule and pointed to it. “You’re performing eighth. Xie Shiqi, who performs right before you, will use the central elevator platform. After she exits, the platform returns underground, but there won’t be enough time to load such a large grand piano onto it.”
Xu Baichuan’s expression suddenly darkened.
Director Liu continued, “I suggest abandoning the piano idea and simply using pre-recorded accompaniment while the five of you rise on the elevator platform. Hauling a piano around in such a grand venue not only wastes time, but if the piano gets damaged or a wrong note is played, it could turn into a performance disaster.”
The five exchanged glances, feeling extremely anxious.
If they truly abandoned the piano plan, wouldn’t Yinnian’s practice these past weeks be wasted?
However, in a large-scale performance with multiple artists, everyone had to follow the executive director’s coordination arrangements. Not only did their elevator platform usage conflict with the previous performer, but a grand piano was indeed extremely difficult to move, requiring ample time for transportation and tuning.
Placing a grand piano on the elevator platform would prevent other performers from using it for their entrances.
Xu Baichuan turned to Fang Yinnian and asked quietly, “Yinnian, what do you think?”
Without hesitation, Fang Yinnian replied, “I still hope to perform with the piano.”
Director Liu looked at the young man before him with some surprise. “You’re quite confident for a newcomer! With such a grand venue, over 40,000 audience members, and a complete network livestream—can you guarantee you won’t make any mistakes? If the rhythm slows or the melody falters, your entire song will be ruined!”
Fang Yinnian looked up at Director Liu and said seriously, “As long as the piano is brought up, I can guarantee I won’t play a single wrong note.”
“…” Director Liu frowned as he studied Fang Yinnian.
In such situations, most newcomers would feel nervous and intimidated, finding it safer to simply follow the director’s suggestion and abandon the piano performance. This newcomer was different—though his appearance was gentle, his gaze revealed remarkable determination and confidence.
Director Liu, recognizing that a piano performance would create a better stage effect than simply singing, considered their options. Since Fang Yinnian guaranteed he wouldn’t make mistakes, the director thought carefully, unfolded a floor plan, and pointed to a location: “How about this—you place the piano in front of the left castle beforehand. I’ll have the lighting team keep that area dark and mysterious until your performance begins. When it’s your turn, the lights will reveal you already positioned by the castle. How does that sound?”
Xu Baichuan examined the location on the floor plan. While this approach could work, the position the director suggested was somewhat off to the side, away from the stage center. He still hoped the five could rise on the central elevator platform, creating a suspended performance effect.
A debut performance rising from below had better symbolic meaning—representing their ascent to stardom.
If they insisted on the elevator platform’s floating effect, there was only one solution—ensure none of the previous performers used the central elevator. The piano would need to be placed there from the beginning, undisturbed by anyone.
Xu Baichuan made his decision and said, “Director Liu, please give me a moment. I need to make some calls.”
He stepped aside and made several phone calls.
The five couldn’t hear what he was saying, but they watched him pace back and forth with furrowed brows, seemingly negotiating with someone.
Fu Fei whispered, “Is Brother Xu having trouble? What if other artists refuse to let us use the elevator platform?”
Mo Xun looked serious. “If we can’t reach an agreement, we’ll have to abandon the idea.”
Nobodies in the entertainment industry had the least negotiating power.
Mo Xun gently placed his hand on Fang Yinnian’s shoulder and said quietly, “Don’t worry—if it doesn’t work out, we can still focus on singing well.”
Fang Yinnian nodded. He had already prepared himself for the possibility of giving up the piano performance.
They all waited anxiously.
After about fifteen minutes, Xu Baichuan finally returned with a hint of a smile. “Director Liu, among the first eight performers, only Shiqi was planning to use the elevator platform. She’s agreed to let us rehearse first and will adjust her entrance method when she arrives tomorrow. The performer after us who needs the elevator platform is number 12, and I’ve spoken with them as well. We’ll have the piano removed immediately after our performance—there will be enough time.”
All five exhaled in relief—
He’d actually successfully negotiated it?!
Fortunately, all performers belonged to the same company, and the managers knew each other well. Old Xu’s words clearly carried some weight.
Fang Yinnian unclenched his fist, a smile appearing on his face. He had been practicing piano intensively and truly hoped to present the perfect stage effect to the audience.
Director Liu nodded. “In that case, bring the piano up early and leave it in place. I’ll have the props team cover it with fabric and protect it with barriers. Don’t move the piano during rehearsals over the next two days. On the day of the official performance, remove it immediately after you finish.”
This arrangement was ideal—moving the piano repeatedly could easily cause problems.
Xu Baichuan shook the director’s hand excitedly. “Thank you, thank you so much! I’ll arrange for the piano to be brought up right away!”
He had already contacted a professional moving company in advance.
Shortly after, a white grand piano was carried to the center of the underground elevator platform, positioned correctly, and a tuner adjusted all the notes on-site.
Xu Baichuan waved to the five members. “Quickly, come take your positions.”
Director Liu raised his walkie-talkie and shouted, “Elevator platform standby! All departments in position! The five-member boy band will begin rehearsal in 3 minutes!”
Fang Yinnian took a deep breath, walked to the white piano, and sat down, placing his hands on the keys.
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