Chapter 632: We Are Always By Your Side

Xu Haofeng, the leader, completely vanished from view afterward, but he did not hand over the microphone in his hand.

Zhou Yi unconsciously licked his slightly dry lips with his tongue, watching the text composed in mid-air together with other unaware fans, as a peculiar emotion surged in his heart.

He wanted to say something, but the words that rushed to his lips were forced back into his belly by the sound of their unified singing.

After several attempts to speak and then fall silent, only standing there quietly appreciating the welcome message from his hometown remained, yet his eyes grew ever brighter.

"Willow-leaf oars splash the peach-blossom waves; in the islet, a crane gazes toward the distance."

"Drink a cup of time's lingering fragrance, sing a song of past events soaring~"

The chanting continued, even stirring the emotions of other fans present, who joined the chorus line.

One passed to ten, ten to a hundred, a hundred to a thousand...

The subtitles displayed on the large screen were enough for everyone unfamiliar with the lyrics to join in; he walked to the edge of the stage, casually picked up a bottle of mineral water, sat down on the spot, legs dangling, raised his right hand high, and waved the "glow stick" in his hand like a fan—

Swinging left and right.

At this moment, he was the audience.

The only audience member inside the entire Shangrao Gymnasium.

Zhou Yi considered himself not someone who liked to be sentimental, but he had to admit that staring at this peculiar family letter for long indeed made his eyes feel a bit sore—the illusion of wind and sand entering them followed, but he blinked it away several times.

The song ended, its lingering sound circling the beams.

The remote-controlled plane light show displaying "Welcome Home" had not dispersed, still hanging high above the stadium, shining brilliantly.

Sitting on the stage, Zhou Yi raised his hand to rub his nose and laughed: "To be honest, so many modified remote-controlled planes do require filing. I don't know if you filed, but I certainly didn't see any filing."

"Of course, I think this blame might have to be taken by Old Qian; he isn't a very competent manager."

Hearing this, Qian Jiang in the backstage area, while a smile spread across his face, also didn't forget to pull up his waistband, his expression full of pride—this was his doing.

Looking at it now, it was done beautifully.

For Zhou Yi, the opportunity to hold a concert at his doorstep was certainly rare, so he had secretly arranged all this to give him a surprise.

Zhou Yi sang "Swallows Return to the Nest," yet he himself was the swallow that had left the nest and soared across the sky.

Occasional returns home during festivals might, for the current Zhou Yi, feel more like a traveler pausing to look back along the road.

"Of course, what I want to say most right now is actually..."

Zhou Yi paused in his tone, glanced around the three stands, stood up, and slowly said: "Actually, it is still thank you. Thank you."

To gather so many people, some must have certainly taken leave.

After all, his classmates from his hometown have now become oxen and horses struggling in society.

Whether elementary school, junior high, or even high school.

Even those who finished high school and went on to university were relatively few.

Not everyone can get into university, even if it is just a junior college.

How many people started working after elementary school, became apprentices after junior high, or left home after high school to find a master to learn a craft or work in a factory.

The few who graduated from university, like Xu Haofeng, directly gave up struggling outside, returned, and in one step passed the exam to enter the system, taking up an iron rice bowl at the Tourism Bureau; then he came too, and he was the lead singer.

"Zhou Yi, we are members of your fan club. Recently, many people have been attacking you, criticizing you, and even spreading rumors about you online. But, we want you to know that you still have us; we are always supporting you."

Xu Haofeng, who had not handed over the microphone, passed it to a twenty-something young woman sitting beside him, then gave Zhou Yi a thumbs-up.

Accompanying the fan girl's emotional confession, the next second, the melody of "Stubborn" suddenly played from the concert's backstage, and the scene instantly boiled over!

On the three stands, three fan club banners were slowly unfurled by people standing up one by one—

"Zhou Yi"

"We Are Always By Your Side"

"Support You"

"When! You are different from the world, then let you be different."

"Persistence for you is overcoming hardness with hardness~"

After the melody played for a moment, acting like an introduction, it completely ignited the final madness; the accompaniment that fell silent again could not affect the fan girl's loud a cappella singing.

But just as Zhou Yi looked at her, preparing to enjoy this fan's a cappella, the next second, in the upper-left corner of another stand, another fan stood up, holding a microphone picked up from who knows where, and passionately began to sing—

"You, if you compromise with yourself, if you lie to yourself."

"Even if others forgive, I cannot forgive..."

Standing on stage, Zhou Yi raised his eyebrows in surprise and tilted his head slightly to look at this second female fan. But when his gaze shifted, the next person to sing had already changed—

Changed to the leftmost stand.

A young man wearing glasses spoke with slight nervousness, his trembling voice in the a cappella setting met with no mockery from anyone: "Yes, the one who loves you is not nervous; your stubbornness is kind..."

One, one, and another.

The melody did not play again, so they kept the beat themselves.

Someone took the lead, and the noisy surprise within the gymnasium gradually faded, replaced by the well-arranged clapping sound—

They were keeping the beat with their own applause.

"I, do not care about your arrogance; I see your wings, because only after being burned by fire can the phoenix appear..."

"The direction against the wind is more suitable for flying..."

The lyrics, slightly modified, became the greatest spiritual support this group of fans could offer their idol, who was being accused by public intellectuals.

The not-so-large gymnasium had now become a paradise of loud singing; the sincere eyes of the fans made Zhou Yi's heart filled with mixed emotions. He held the microphone to his lips, moved his lips twice, but could not speak—

He could only stand there, watching them cheer him on with their songs.

Occasionally pressing his lips together, when his blinking frequency became rapid, he would also tilt his head back for a few seconds.

Then, Zhou Yi spoke no more; he simply reined in all outward emotions amidst the fans' loud a cappella singing and stood there quietly—

Warm light fell upon him like a statue; hair blown up by the wind swayed in the backlight. The hand holding the microphone gently followed the beat of the thousands present, murmuring the lyrics, with a slight smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Zhou Yi! Welcome home! We will always support you!"

When the song ended, the unified shouts from the fan club members on the three grandstands made Zhou Yi's lips curl into the brightest, silent smile.

"Thank you."

Zhou Yi spoke, but his voice was already somewhat off compared to before, as if he had just emerged from his own voice-changing period.

He paused in his tone, pursed his lips as if pondering something, then looked up at the steady "Young man, welcome home" still hanging in midair, and added, "Also, you are amazing, I—"

The suddenly rising melody of "Glory" directly cut off the words Zhou Yi had not yet organized, or rather—

everything he needed to say was within this song.

"Thank you for the glory you gave; this young man was once so ordinary..."

Until the time to disperse arrived, Zhou Yi did not leave.