Chapter 218: Rehearsal

At Feimin Entertainment's Beijing headquarters, Dong Xiaoming's office was completely surrounded.

"Dong Zong, our company's artists should have some perks, right?" Li Bingbing smiled and handed over a cup of coffee.

Zhou Xun sat directly on the desk: "Xiaoming-ge, I was promoted by Xiang Dao personally; you have to give me this face."

In the corridor, Duan Long and Hai Tian blocked the door on the left and right. Liu Xiaofeng held up fruit he had just bought: "Dong Zong, this is our small token of appreciation..."

Dong Xiaoming wiped his sweat: "Everyone, there really are no tickets left! The last twenty must go to the leaders of the Ministry of Culture..."

With a "Click," Cai Wen pushed the door open and was instantly surrounded by the crowd.

"Cai Zong!" Tao Hong, quick-eyed and quick-handed, grabbed his arm, "Back when we filmed 'Tang Tan 1'..."

Cai Wen smiled bitterly and took out a notebook: "Don't rush, don't rush, let me write it down..."

On the afternoon of April 1st, backstage at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

Xiang Fei stood on the empty stage, cleared his throat into the microphone: "Let's run through the process today first, everyone relax."

Cheng Long arrived first, wearing his signature round glasses, and shouted as soon as he entered: "Ah Fei! I brought specially made throat lozenges!"

Li Keqin walked in carrying a thermos: "My throat has been a bit dry lately, let's test the sound first."

Chen Huilin's assistant pushed three suitcases: "Kelly's performance costumes and shoes are all here; let's try the effect today."

Xu Guanjie held a guitar, sitting leisurely on the edge of the stage tuning his strings. Mei Yan Fang walked in with a cigarette in her mouth, saw the empty audience seats, and laughed: "Yo, is it a private booking today?"

Zhang Guorong was the last to arrive, followed by Tang Hede. He smiled and explained: "Traffic was bad on the road, sorry."

The music director made a gesture, and the intro to "Let Me Be Happy, Let Me Be Worried" began.

As soon as Xiang Fei sang the first line, Mei Yan Fang raised her hand: "Stop! Is the key too low?"

The band adjusted again; Xiang Fei tried again. This time the pitch was correct, but Cheng Long suddenly shouted from below the stage: "Expression! The expression needs to be more melancholy!"

The whole room burst into laughter; Xiang Fei helplessly said: "Big Brother, this is a rehearsal, not a film shoot..."

Chen Huilin went on stage to sing "Everything Is Beautiful Because of You" with him. It was their first time coordinating, and they almost bumped into each other while moving positions.

"Wait," Xiang Fei called a stop, "Kelly, you go left, I go right; that way we won't block the camera."

During the rehearsal of Li Keqin's "Half-Moon Night Song," the high notes were a bit strenuous. Xiang Fei quietly provided backing vocals, and as a result, both of them laughed out loud.

"No, no," Li Keqin waved his hand, "I need to practice this part alone."

Xu Guanjie played the guitar and sang "Laughing at the Sea" with Xiang Fei. Halfway through, he suddenly changed the rhythm, turning it into a rock version.

Xiang Fei raised an eyebrow: "Brother Sam, are you trying to subvert a classic?"

Xu Guanjie laughed: "Just try it; maybe the effect will be better."

When Mei Yan Fang sang "Song of the Setting Sun," she habitually handed a cigarette to Xiang Fei, realized it was a rehearsal, and took it back: "Oh, old habits."

Cheng Long's "A Man Should Be Self-Reliant" was full of incidents—he insisted on adding martial arts moves, but halfway through singing, he ran out of breath and his voice cracked directly.

"Brother Long," Xiang Fei held back his laughter, "how about we simplify the moves a bit?"

Cheng Long wiped his sweat: "No way! The audience loves watching this!"

Halfway through the rehearsal, Zhou Huimin suddenly appeared in the audience seats.

Xiang Fei was stunned: "Ah Min? How did you get here?"

Zhou Huimin smiled: "Came to see if you were slacking off."

She walked onto the stage and sang "The One I Love" with Xiang Fei. As soon as she opened her mouth, the pitch and emotion were perfectly in place, and the whole room fell silent.

After finishing, Mei Yan Fang whistled: "Wow, a wife is just different!"

Zhang Guorong clapped with a smile: "Once Ah Min arrives, Ah Fei sings more seriously than usual."

For the final group song "Goodbye," everyone stood in a row. During the first combined rehearsal, the rhythm was a mess; Xu Guanjie's guitar, Mei Yan Fang's maracas, and Cheng Long's drum beats were all off-beat.

The music director held his head: "Big Brothers and Big Sisters, can we get on the same page?"

On the second attempt, it finally looked a bit presentable. When reaching the climax, Cheng Long suddenly did a backflip, and upon landing, almost bumped into Mei Yan Fang.

"Hey! Be careful!" Mei Yan Fang scolded with a laugh.

The rehearsal ended; Xiang Fei stood in the center of the stage, looking at this group of old friends: "Thank you all for coming to help me."

Xu Guanjie patted his shoulder: "Rest assured, it will definitely rock the whole venue when the time comes."

Mei Yan Fang pinched out her cigarette butt: "Exactly, ten-dollar tickets, totally worth the price!"