Chapter 40: The Agency That Screws Over Dad

Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome with the warmest applause——the Broken Guitar Band!

As the host's voice fell, the stage instantly went pitch black.

Immediately, the low hum of an electric guitar came from around the stage, and suddenly, with a bang, the spotlight illuminated the center of the stage.

"Goodbye my love I wanna say goodbye……"

"Oh~"

At Shi San's home turf, he was naturally the lead vocalist.

The surging yet somewhat restrained singing voice rose, followed immediately by the fans' cheers.

The reason this song was chosen to open is because it was full of passion from the very start, grabbing most people's ears.

The strong sense of rhythm quickly brought the audience into the emotion.

To this end, Shi San painstakingly practiced rap, and could be considered to have achieved some success.

After Lao Zhao's few 'Hello's, it was Pang Zi and Chen Ci's time for the high notes.

"In the endless darkness, everything is about to be destroyed"

"At least I still have a dream, and I am moved for you"

"Oh!!!"

One line each, they took turns presenting alternately.

The perfect coordination amazed everyone, not just the audience below but also the 'friends and family' group behind the curtain.

The intense cheering almost drowned out the sound system, while Xiao Tong and the others remained stunned in place.

They had previously heard the Broken Guitar Band sing; although 'Old Boy' is also extremely moving, its style is completely different from today's song.

However, Chen Ci and the others paid no heed to their surprise; the rhythm kept soaring, moving from one climax to an even more intense one.

"As long as I still have a dream, I will see a rainbow~"

"In my sky!"

This line 'In my sky' was sung in unison by the four of them, shouting together.

The four were like an endless machine, hardly pausing before moving on to the next stage……

"Setbacks and partings are merely embellishments in life"

"Only after many years did I come to understand my family's tears……"

Xiao Tong, upon hearing this lyric from Chen Ci, first thought of her own mother, and then of Chen Ci.

His inspiration must also have come from his family, right?

Everyone perhaps had their own feelings; Na Zha stood behind the curtain, holding a large bouquet of flowers, frozen in place.

"As long as I still have a dream, I will see a rainbow, in my sky~~~"

The instruments hadn't stopped, and all four were gasping heavily.

"Wow~~"

The audience below had gone completely crazy; a few hundred people managed to create the momentum of several thousand.

Cheers and shouts came like a tidal wave; the host was also stunned in place, slow to react, even forgetting to follow the script.

But it didn't matter; with or without him, it was the same.

The Broken Guitar members exchanged glances, and this time Chen Ci began: 'Where exactly is the world full of flowers……'

Chen Ci prepared three songs for this performance; the first, 'My Sky,' first caught everyone's ears, getting them to listen attentively.

Next came 'Pursuing Dreams with a Child's Heart' and 'Old Boy'.

Without the host interrupting, they sang straight through, basically covering a man's life from ideals, to struggle, to nostalgia for the past.

The audience's reaction also went from initial excitement to near frenzy, then gradually calmed down to listen to the music.

'Pursuing Dreams with a Child's Heart' nearly screamed into distortion in a shocking performance that made everyone feel the ticket was truly worth it.

The closing 'Old Boy' even made a large crowd burst into tears.

Don't look at Shi San's plain appearance; he still has many female fans, and when they cry, they have no reservations.

But for the 'friends and family' group, since they had already heard this song, their emotions were still under control.

"Na Zha, hurry up."

Seeing that the three songs were about to finish, Na Zha was still standing there dazed; Xiao Tong gently pushed her.

"Ah? Oh."

Only then did Na Zha react, running toward the center of the stage.

Xiao Tong, Na Ti, and Xiao Dan, seeing this, couldn't help but laugh in unison.

Na Zha ran up to Chen Ci holding the flowers, smiling sweetly: 'Mao Mao's brother-in-law, this is for you.'

Chen Ci pointed to Shi San beside him, indicating it should be given to him.

Na Zha seemed not to have seen it, insisting on giving it to Chen Ci; he had no choice but to take the flowers himself and then pass them to Shi San.

"Hehe~"

Mei Na smiled embarrassedly, turned around, and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, she felt a bit dazed.

The stage was dark, with the spotlight only hitting the middle.

From the outside it looked fine, but from the middle outward it was all pitch black.

For a moment, Na Zha couldn't find the way back, so anxiously she turned again, looking pleadingly at Chen Ci for help.

In the hurry, Chen Ci helplessly grabbed her and pulled her behind him……

"Cheers to today's great performance!"

The press conference ran from afternoon to evening; it wasn't that there was really that much to announce, but the fans were so enthusiastic they strongly demanded an encore from the Broken Guitar Band.

An encore is impossible, an encore; fans can't be indulged, anyway it's not my own.

But it's still okay to chat more with them about movies and do some promotion; money can't be wasted.

Those who spend money to buy tickets are all loyal fans of Shi San; Chen Ci used Shi San's signature to exchange for their guarantee to spontaneously promote the movie.

Everything settled, Chen Ci felt extremely relaxed.

Today really is a good day; "Beijing Welcomes You" and the press conference are both settled.

His script also passed the preliminary review, so he can start preparing for the next phase of filming… Wait, that means his longed‑for rest is probably going to go down the drain again?

Chen Ci felt a bit overwhelmed; he hasn't slept until waking naturally for over two weeks straight.

The prodigal son returns, and indeed there is still a price to pay.

But today, Chen Ci still made an exception and had a little drink; there's also something worth celebrating: Shi San's demolition compensation has finally been paid in full…

"Brother Ci, come out for a bit."

Shi San stood at the door of the booth in the bar, calling Chen Ci to come out, looking as if his expression wasn't very good.

Chen Ci felt puzzled and followed Shi San out of the private room.

Someone was waiting at the door—it was Shi San's agent KK, arms crossed, leaning coolly against the doorframe.

Chen Ci took the initiative to greet: "KK sister, long time no see."

KK had no intention of being polite, getting straight to the point: "Let's go, I'll take you to meet a few people."

Chen Ci chuckled: "What kind of people? If you want me to see them, I have to see them; I don't care about face?"

"Brother Ci…"

Shi San wanted to advise, but Chen Ci and KK simultaneously raised their hands to stop him.

KK spoke first: "I know you have talent, but what does that matter? Shi San is the company's artist. If you're his friend, you shouldn't put him in a difficult position."

"Put in a difficult position?"

Chen Ci wanted to laugh upon hearing that—this lousy company's attitude toward artists is such that even organizing events and renting venues comes out of their own pockets.

The government's demolition compensation has been paid, but the bonus the company previously promised Shi San still hasn't shown up.

Going by Chen Ci's former temper, he would surely have told Shi San to just terminate the contract.

But that's easy to say when you're not the one suffering—this kind of pit‑of‑a‑company agency gives artists low pay, yet the breach‑of‑contract penalty is anything but low…

"I know what you mean—it's just about shoving people in through the back door, right? Is this how your company treats people when asking for favors?"