Chapter 133: The Concert Is Finally Coming

In his past life, those people he watched from afar were even his idols.

At this moment, he was actually on the same stage receiving an award with them.

The wonder of fate is truly something to marvel at.

However, he quickly pulled himself out of that reflective state.

Whether the people present felt appreciation, praise, or disdain toward him,

Cheng Chen could simply ignore it all; since heaven had given him a chance to start over,

then he must seize it well.

Cheng Chen took a deep breath, held the microphone, and said:

"I am grateful to the jury for giving me this opportunity; first of all, I am very surprised.

To be honest, I received this award today not because my acting skills are that great.

I feel it is because I am very lucky.

I am lucky that I knew earlier than many others what an actor should be like.

I thank the director of 'Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber', Director Lai Shuiqing; it was he who taught me how to find my position on set.

And what state an actor should be in while on set.

Present here are several highly respected seniors in the entertainment industry, such as Li Baotian, Chen Baoguo, and Tang Guoqiang.

Their virtue and conduct have also taught me how to walk this path well.

This is a path of innovation, and also a path of inheritance.

Art requires innovation, but the pursuit of art and a spirit of dedication require inheritance.

It is more like a spiritual practice; when successful, one might 'see all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day.'

When in hardship, one might be 'down and out, pausing at the cup of cloudy wine.'

You can look back, but you must never turn back.

Even if the 'perilous path is too steep to climb,' one must still 'reach the summit of the mountain.'

Thank you."

After speaking, Cheng Chen bowed slightly to the audience, took the trophy, and headed off the stage.

Thunderous applause immediately erupted from the audience.

The three hosts on stage were still immersed in Cheng Chen's speech just now.

Some of the veteran seniors in the entertainment industry who were not very familiar with Cheng Chen before,

upon hearing his speech, immediately gained a brand-new understanding of him.

From Cheng Chen's acceptance speech, it was not hard to hear that he is a humble, low-key,

and at the same time, a hardworking, ambitious, and outstanding young actor.

Especially the line he mentioned:

"Art requires innovation, but the pursuit of art and a spirit of dedication require inheritance."

This made the veteran actors present feel even more favorably toward him.

You must know that the biggest problem facing young actors today is that they are unrealistic and very impetuous.

Everyone wants to soar to success overnight, wanting to become a viral sensation after acting in just one film or drama.

There are fewer and fewer people willing to calm down to polish their acting skills and work hard to improve their own strength.

The temptation of money is far greater than their pursuit of quality in their work and their own self-improvement.

This is also one of the reasons why bad films emerge one after another.

Yet, this person, Cheng Chen, gave them a very reliable feeling.

The reason is simple: he is not lacking in fame or money.

You talk about fame?

Does a popular Heavenly King who is a hit across Asia count?

You talk about money?

From album sales alone, he has already reached eight figures.

And that is not even counting the copyright royalties and share dividends derived from his songs.

Since he lacks nothing, is it too much to ask that he has a pursuit for acting and thinks about inheritance?

"Please stay, please stay, Cheng Chen, why are you walking so fast?"

Wang Han had not yet reacted when Cheng Chen reached the edge of the stage, so he hurriedly shouted loudly.

Cheng Chen took the microphone from a staff member and said:

"Teacher Wang, I cannot go back over there now."

"Why?"

"Didn't I just say, you can look back, but you cannot turn back."

Upon hearing this, the whole venue immediately burst into laughter.

Especially the few highly respected veteran seniors in the entertainment industry whom Cheng Chen had just pointed out.

One by one, they cracked up, laughing until they were doubled over.

This young man is quite funny.

Wang Han was also speechless; how was he supposed to respond to that?

Fortunately, he was an experienced host, so he smiled and said:

"You don't need to turn back; we will come over and try our best to catch up with your pace."

Cheng Chen was amused by his words, thinking to himself that he truly lived up to being a future pillar of Mango TV.

He's got some skills!

With that, the three hosts walked over to Cheng Chen's side, and Wang Han said:

"Cheng Chen, you are the first person to make the three of us walk from the center of the stage all the way over here. How do you feel about that?"

"Doesn't this perfectly embody the 'inclusiveness' standard of our Xiang Province Satellite TV? Even a newcomer like me is being accommodated and embraced."

Cheng Chen said with a smile.

Although he didn't think highly of Mango TV's excessive focus on entertainment.

But Mango TV's entertainment-oriented approach had indeed stimulated the development of entertainment in the Mainland.

Flattering them a little wasn't excessive; after all, this was their turf.

Hearing this, Wang Han felt a jolt in his heart. This is what you call having vision!

He could almost see the station leaders down below, grinning from ear to ear.

After all, Cheng Chen was no ordinary newcomer; otherwise, he wouldn't have kept Cheng Chen on stage to speak.

And he was only a young man in his twenties—how could he speak as seasoned as an old veteran who had been hanging around the entertainment industry for years?

"Hmm, well said. Don't forget to have our station head settle your advertising fee later."

Wang Han also took the opportunity to make a joke.

Cheng Chen smiled without a word; it was the same old saying, everyone helps carry the sedan chair for everyone else.

Then, Wang Han asked Cheng Chen some other questions, such as his recent situation and what other dramas he had appeared in.

Seeing that the time was about up, he let Cheng Chen leave.

After a few more awards were presented, the gala came to a complete end.

Overall, today's gala was considered a success.

Originally, there was a banquet after the gala, but Cheng Chen had to prepare for his concert and other matters, so he didn't attend.

However, he did get to know quite a few people; people like Li Baotian and Tang Guoqiang, whom he had mentioned earlier, all exchanged contact information with him.

Aside from winning an award, the biggest gain from this trip for Cheng Chen was getting to know so many big names.

……

Cheng Chen flew from Sha City to Jingcheng that same night.

The next day, major media outlets immediately reported extensively on this Golden Eagle Festival.

Cheng Chen attended the gala in a suit, won the Best Newcomer Award, and gave a high-EQ acceptance speech.

This was even more talked about by the media, quickly occupying the headlines of all major outlets.

"Cheng Chen appears at the Golden Eagle Gala, his brilliant speech earns recognition from seniors present"

"Making the three main hosts of the Golden Eagle Festival move to listen, what exactly did Cheng Chen say?"

"Cheng Chen's performance at this year's Golden Eagle Festival is eye-catching, advocating that acting should focus on inheritance and innovation"

The audience who watched via the text and image live stream yesterday were now like they had been injected with adrenaline, leaving comments online one after another.

"Damn, the boss looks so handsome in this outfit!"

"The boss's speech is truly high-level and high-EQ, a perfect score essay series!"

"I think Xiang Province Station is too stingy for only giving the boss a Best Newcomer Award, especially when the boss even advertised for them."

"The boss's journey has actually been very hard, crawling his way up from an extra to having lines, and winning an award for his very first drama."

"Whether it's acting or singing, I hope the boss has smooth sailing!"

The outside world was bustling with excitement, but Cheng Chen was in seclusion at this time.

The concert was imminent, and Cheng Chen's state of mind was incredibly anxious.

After all, this was his first concert, which was different from his last album.

This time, Tianhai Records and Xinghuo Entertainment were integrated together to jointly prepare for Cheng Chen's concert.

He definitely couldn't look after the *Legend of Sword and Fairy* crew for the time being, and he even turned down the rehearsals for the Spring Festival Gala.

Hmm, the 2004 Spring Festival Gala program team had invited Cheng Chen again.

Compared to last year, Cheng Chen appearing on the Spring Festival Gala this time was a done deal.

It was just that he couldn't get away right now, and he couldn't just turn it down, so he simply submitted a new song for review.

It wouldn't be too late to go over when the big rehearsals, the joint rehearsals in January, arrived.

And the tickets for Cheng Chen's concert had all sold out at the beginning of the month.

Eighty thousand concert tickets, as soon as they went on sale, they were snatched up in an instant as if they had evaporated.

When Wang Tianxiao reported this to him, Cheng Chen thought he had returned to the days of scrambling for "Xiao Mi phones" in the future.

The news of the concert tickets being snapped up was also scrambled over by the media.

And this kind of disguised publicity and advertising indirectly drove the prices of tickets in the hands of scalpers even higher.

A regular ticket worth over 200 was directly hyped up to over 700, and even then, there was no guarantee of getting one!

As the concert date approached, the media's attention on Cheng Chen grew higher and higher.

But since Cheng Chen was in seclusion practicing songs and preparing for the concert and couldn't be found, they reported on his career since his debut all over again.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Cheng Chen had passed away and the media was collectively mourning him!

……

In the blink of an eye, the end of the month had arrived.

During these past half a month, Cheng Chen spent almost all his time practicing singing, provided he didn't overstrain his voice.

Of course, he didn't forget to keep tabs on things in the outside world.

*Legend of Sword and Fairy* was progressing smoothly; according to Yan Danchen, the entire crew was moving very fast now.

But because he, the male lead, was missing, many scenes had been pushed to the back.

Once he returns, there will be a tough battle to fight.

Cheng Chen expressed that it didn't matter, as long as the concert could be prepared well.

Gao Yuanyuan also frequently sent messages and called to encourage him.

Upon learning of Cheng Chen's frantic practicing recently, she also wanted to come back to keep Cheng Chen company.

But she was directly vetoed by Cheng Chen; the concert was his own affair, and it wasn't something that could be solved just by having more people.

After soothing Yuanyuan, Cheng Chen took time out to meet with Ning Hao.

The moment he saw Ning Hao, Cheng Chen was truly startled.

He saw that he was now unshaven, his hair messy like a bird's nest.

His eye sockets were deeply sunken, and his eyes looked like a national treasure that had been punched.

This disheveled appearance was nowhere near the high spirits he had when he first returned from Japan.

At this moment, Ning Hao was the spitting image of a vagrant.

But none of this could mask the brilliant light in his eyes when he saw Cheng Chen.

"President Cheng, take a look at this; this is the script I rewrote after we finished talking last time.

After adding the plot line of the international thief, the entire story is indeed much more substantial and coherent.

Moreover, based on his character design, I have also added many comedic bits to the original script..."

Cheng Chen waved his hand, interrupting him, and said:

"Ning Hao, how long has it been since you last rested since we finished our discussion?"

"Rest?"

The incessantly chattering Ning Hao looked at Cheng Chen in sudden confusion.

"I rest every day, at least four hours of sleep, though sometimes when inspiration strikes.

I get up right away to write the script, hehe..."

Actually, what he didn't say was that for the past half month, he had been hunched over his desk, forgetting to eat and sleep.

In order to get "Crazy Stone" off the ground as soon as possible, he had been almost sleepless.

Between half-dreaming and half-waking, whenever he had a good idea, he would hurriedly pick up the paper and pen by his bedside to record it.

Anyway, he was a single man with no one else to support, so he just wrote and wrote in his room every day.

All social interactions and engagements were blocked outside his door so he could create in peace.

Hearing his words, Cheng Chen nodded and said:

"I'll finish reading the script first before we talk."

"Good, you read it first, read it first."

Ning Hao sat on the sofa, while Cheng Chen picked up the script and read it carefully.

Compared to the script he saw last time, this one was indeed much more brilliant.

And due to his negotiations, this version of the script was closer to the final film of later generations.

However, there were still some parts that were a bit stiff.

"Ning Hao, the logic of Mike's behavior..."

After finishing the script, Cheng Chen was about to communicate with Ning Hao, but he heard a slight snoring sound beside him.

Looking up, he saw Ning Hao had fallen asleep leaning against the sofa.

Cheng Chen had Su Qingya, who was guarding outside the office, bring a quilt to cover Ning Hao.

He himself picked up a pen and marked the places he felt needed adjustment.

He also wrote down his own suggestions for Ning Hao's reference...

By the time Ning Hao woke up, it was already dark outside.

"President Cheng?"

Ning Hao rubbed his eyes; the light in the room was very dim, and Cheng Chen was writing something at the desk.

The dim desk lamp emitted a soft glow, and the "rustling" sound of the pen tip touching the paper echoed in the room.

This was a habit Cheng Chen had developed early on; he particularly enjoyed the atmosphere of a pitch-black room with only a single light left on.

"You're awake. Seeing you sleeping soundly, I didn't wake you. I've finished reading the script, and I've also written some suggestions for your reference.

After all, you are the Screenwriter and director; you should absorb these suggestions as you see fit. Use what you can, and don't worry about my status."

Cheng Chen put away his fountain pen and said to Ning Hao with a smile.

Taking the script, he looked at the dense notes on it and the pitch-black sky outside.

He lowered his head and looked at the quilt on his body...

He seemed to have come at one o'clock in the afternoon.

Now... it was already six o'clock.

Which meant that President Cheng had spent five hours studying his script.

While he himself had been fast asleep on the side.

Looking at that handsome face, which was several years younger than his own, Ning Hao suddenly realized something.

No wonder this person could be so popular; this level of focus and hard work was truly admirable.

"Alright, stop spacing out. Let's go, I'll take you to eat."

Cheng Chen said with a smile.

"Oh... okay."

Ning Hao quickly got up from the sofa.

In the car, Ning Hao looked at Cheng Chen with a hesitant expression.

"Want to ask me how the script is?"

"Mm."

"The script is not bad; polish it a bit more, and it can be greenlit for production."

"After I finish polishing the script, when will we start filming?"

Ning Hao asked impatiently; this was the question he cared about most.

"Hmm... let's talk about it after my concert ends."

Cheng Chen nodded and said.

"Concert... President Cheng, you are going to hold a concert?"

Ning Hao asked in surprise.

Now it was Cheng Chen's turn to be surprised:

"You haven't seen the overwhelming reports outside?"

"Uh..."

Ning Hao scratched his head and said awkwardly:

"I've been writing the script during this time, so I haven't paid much attention to outside matters."

Cheng Chen was silent, and only after a long while did he say:

"That really suits your personality."

After having a meal with Ning Hao, a few more days passed.

The first concert of Cheng Chen's Renshen finally arrived...