Two days passed in a flash.
Before the Heartbreak band members, their large instruments had already arrived in T City. When Li Tingzhou and the others landed, their first reaction was: Did the whole country enter summer without telling T City? This place is freezing!
Mao Maoyu had complained on the plane that Li Tingzhou was dressed too warmly, his outer jacket zipped all the way up. Now it seemed the guy was just well-prepared. “I thought checking the weather forecast before going out was basic life knowledge.”
Li Tingzhou quickly adjusted his beanie, taking the chance while waiting for luggage to pull out his phone and reply to messages. Even when looking down at his phone, his back was straight, his shoulder and neck line flowing smoothly and beautifully. The beanie didn’t fully cover his profile. Under the extreme black-and-white contrast, the exposed bit of his silhouette was already captivating, especially the expression when Li Tingzhou lowered his eyes—it softened the sense of distance, making him look unusually well-behaved.
Dai Jier’s sharp eyes caught a girl looking like she was about to approach. Without batting an eye, he blocked her path and asked Li Tingzhou a casual question. “So you… entered a new phase?”
“Yeah.”
After that dinner, Li Tingzhou had directly laid things out. Amidst the delayed bloom of crabapples in late spring, nourished by his new relationship, he’d welcomed a new wave of inspiration. Even on the plane, he didn’t forget to jot down flickering, elusive melodies.
Another gust of cold wind swept in from the entrance. Mao Maoyu finally got his luggage. Immediately opening it and pulling out his jacket to put on, he shuffled over to Li Tingzhou’s side, muttering quietly. Li Tingzhou didn’t bother pushing his fluffy head away.
Dai Jier stood aside, holding his suitcase handle and making a phone call. He contacted Liu Lusi’s assistant, confirmed they were already waiting outside, and quickly herded his two bandmates out to find the ride. After nearly an hour on the road, Heartbreak finally managed to check in and sign in at the hotel the organizers had uniformly booked.
The T City Music Festival was bigger than the previous Z City one, with more guests too. As the Heartbreak crew was registering, the bassist from the Mint Candy band came over to chat. “Jier, is this your new lead singer?”
Dai Jier very honestly told him, “This is our producer.”
The man was stunned for a moment, then carefully confirmed Li Tingzhou’s face again before reaching out a hand in greeting. “Hello there, bro. If we get a chance, how about a collaboration song someday? Our lead singer sings really well and is very easygoing. Our studio has a fixed legal team for collaboration contracts. No problem on that front, I promise!”
You could tell he was really selling his band hard.
Li Tingzhou shook his hand calmly and nodded. “If the chance comes, for sure.”
By the time they’d put away their luggage and gone down to the buffet restaurant to eat, several more people came over to chat. Without exception, their goal was to request songs.
More and more people gathered around, so they just started chatting on the spot—
“In the past, collaborations were so common. Now, people won’t allow this, won’t allow that.”
“Fans will cuss you out. They curse so harshly…”
“It’s just a collaboration, not a romance!”
“This is a bad habit that drifted over from the singer scene. They want to control everything.”
“Back in the day, we could settle a song deal over a single meal. Now? It’ll cost you at least six figures, and they want an 82-split on the copyright. Is that reasonable?”
The Heartbreak crew, having suffered major losses before, tacitly kept their mouths shut and didn’t join the complaining session. Among them, Li Tingzhou was especially noticeable because of his relatively unfamiliar face. He hardly spoke, but he looked seriously at every person talking. Though this gaze had no weight, its presence was extremely strong. Wherever it landed, it felt as if someone had spontaneously ignited the air.
Everyone had their own thoughts running through their heads. It wasn’t until the gathering dispersed that a select few dared to glance at Li Tingzhou’s retreating back for a moment longer. Coming back to their senses, one of them suddenly cursed in embarrassment, “Why is it so hot? This hotel’s AC is blasted up way too high!”
This wasn’t Li Tingzhou’s first time traveling with the band for work. He was very familiar with performance protocols. The T City Music Festival had been running for 20 years now, its reputation deeply interwoven with T City’s cultural tourism. It was no exaggeration to say it offered the best performance experience for a B-list band like Heartbreak.
They received their work passes and rehearsal cue cards that very night. The organizers had long known about Jiang Hu’s sick leave. They’d initially planned to reserve a talking segment for Heartbreak—maybe to say some well-wishing for his speedy recovery, or to stir up some discussion about the new lead singer. It was all negotiable.
But after some discussion, the band decided against it. Opting for the first option would, in certain people’s eyes, be seen as exploiting Jiang Hu for sympathy; choosing the second, people would ask—you’re only focusing on the new lead singer? Isn’t your old one still sick? Not a single word of concern for him? What a bunch of cold-hearted people! Doing both would probably get all of Heartbreak cursed out. “Band XXX is way more popular and they don’t get extra talking time. You Heartbreak guys want special treatment with your tiny fame?” Since there was no way to be completely safe either way, it was better to say nothing. The proper token of support had long been deposited into his bank account. As for paving the way for the new lead singer, it wasn’t worth a dozen seconds of effort anyway…
The next day was the official performance. According to the schedule, the morning was for rehearsals. Heartbreak’s performance order was early, so they arrived very early too. The originally sparse crowd suddenly sprang to life when they heard the live director shout into his walkie-talkie, “Heartbreak, get ready!” One called out, “Ah, where’d I leave my hat?” Another said, “Wait, I forgot to shoot some footage just now.” Feigning various reasons to stay in the inner field, everyone was itching to see what was what. They exchanged knowing looks, waiting with a shared, unspoken understanding.
Mint Candy’s bassist was named Zheng Bing. The first person he saw was Li Tingzhou on stage. Unlike yesterday, where he’d been completely bundled up, today Li Tingzhou still wore that knitted beanie, but the black jacket zipped all the way up had been swapped for a stylishly designed hoodie. The sleeves were pushed up, revealing his forearms, echoing the pale, slender line of his neck. Even from several meters away, it seemed you could smell a clean, fresh scent on him.
For a moment, Zheng Bing was dazed. Bro, what are you doing here?
The next second, the keyboard intro started. After two verses of the intro, he saw Heartbreak’s producer raise the microphone and start singing! The voice was a different style from Jiang Hu’s, clearer and more arresting. And yet, it had to be said, it miraculously fit Heartbreak’s flavor. The song had a distinct feeling that it was always meant to be sung this way.
“Huh? My eyes aren’t playing tricks, right?”
“Heartbreak… Holy crap, you guys really…”
“Isn’t that their producer?”
“The guy from yesterday, the one in the beanie who made Junko blush just by staring?”
More than half the song passed, and people who had lingered in the inner field under various pretexts were still in a daze. Li Tingzhou performed with complete ease. He showed absolutely no awkwardness from being watched while performing. He was open and natural, his stage presence effortless, his singing feel unexpectedly good. At this moment, that faint streak of wildness in him became the most dazzling halo! And this was just rehearsal.
Once the two songs were done, Heartbreak packed up their gear and headed back to the rest area backstage. Especially Li Tingzhou, he walked off the fastest. Zheng Bing was shaken. He quickly chased backstage, grabbed the first person he saw, and asked, “Wait, isn’t he your Heartbreak producer?” The backstage area was stuffy and hot, with staff weaving through carrying racks of costumes.
Dai Jier, caught by him, said helplessly, “He’s Heartbreak’s lead singer, Mengmeng, now.”
Zheng Bing: …
At 4:30 p.m., the long lines outside T City’s Frost Palace Stadium began filing in. Less than an hour before going on stage, Liu Lusi tried to give the new-look Heartbreak a little pep talk, but everyone wasn’t as nervous as she’d imagined. As for Li Tingzhou, facing his stage debut, this guy was even calmer, casually plucking his unplugged guitar, occasionally exchanging opinions with Dai Jier.
“How’s this key?”
“Too sweet, too sticky. Is that meant for Heartbreak?”
“We’ll see.”
Mao Maoyu temporarily played the role of a junior assistant, ripping open the thermal bag for milk tea to use as a reflector, scrambling up and down looking for angles to take photos of Li Tingzhou. “How exactly did the stylist agree to let Mengmeng wear the beanie on stage?”
Liu Lusi took a deep breath. “Because he also thought it looks cool this way.” The beanie’s folds fell in a nice, deliberate manner, paired with the intentionally messy strands of hair, creating that edgy, roguish vibe. At first impression, it made people feel a sense of danger, but it was hard to resist that kind of pull. It wasn’t like Li Tingzhou was some innocent blank slate. Why go through the trouble of crafting a pure, clean, naive public persona for him?
At 5 p.m., the music festival began on time. When the staff notified Heartbreak to stand by, everyone did a final check of their mics. Li Tingzhou took a deep breath, adjusted his guitar strap, and was the first to push open the door leading to the front stage passage.
The act before Heartbreak was a female singer famous for singing OSTs. While she was still performing up front, the three Heartbreak members were already in position on the lift platform. After waiting a bit longer, the prompt came through their in-ear monitors from the control booth. “‘Brittle Glass,’ prepare, 30-second countdown.” With 10 seconds left, the control booth gave another reminder. Nailing the timing of the lift, Mao Maoyu’s keyboard intro could be played flawlessly with his eyes closed.
At 6 p.m., the stage, with its full lighting effects, caused Li Tingzhou a split-second of dizziness, but it didn’t affect his singing. More exaggerated than the dazzling lights were the audience in the standing pit near the front, who suddenly seemed to activate, all surging into motion at once!
“Heartbreak!”
“This is a brand new version of Brittle Glass, folks!”
“Huzi, focus on your recovery, the band is safe, no worries—”
More people were singing along, shouting even if they lost their voices.
“Brittle Glass,” the first new song released after Li Tingzhou took over production for Heartbreak, had caused quite a stir in the band scene. Because before this, that kind of gloomy, mournful, resentful-husband style wasn’t really popular. Jiang Hu’s “Brittle Glass” was good because his skills were top-notch and his technique rich; he could digest any style. After his rendition, works from the male lead’s perspective dealing with heartbreak saw a small boom. And now, Li Tingzhou’s “Brittle Glass” was great because of the seamless match between the song and the vocals. Matched with the current sky, too blue, too deep, it truly carried a sense of desolate fragility.
The song lasted just over three minutes. Li Tingzhou finished singing without even being out of breath. Other than playing his instrument, he didn’t even have much in the way of body movements on stage. Just as rehearsed, before the bridge solo connecting the two songs started, he needed a bit of stage movement, shifting to a spot closer to the front of the stage, where the mid-stage crane camera would get a close-up.
Li Tingzhou hadn’t forgotten this. He picked up his guitar single-handedly and walked.
The spotlight didn’t disappoint the brief “blue hour” before true nightfall. The deep blue night, the penetrating light, provided the best backdrop for Li Tingzhou’s first extreme close-up since stepping on stage.
It was no exaggeration—the crowd below just “BOOM”—erupted!
[When to Criminalize Lip-Syncing and Fake Playing | Heartbreak New Lead Singer]
———— [Blue Spotlight Extreme Close-Up.JPG]
So, how about it? Has Heartbreak gotten a new lease on life again? [T City Music Festival Ticket Stub.JPG] Proof I’m here.
1L: Was there live. Think the people around me have gone insane. From the moment he sang the first line, the chick in front of me started howling, singing along and shouting ‘hubby’ in the breaks. Is this okay? When did the band scene get so looks-driven?
3L: I know, right? Why are people randomly calling strangers ‘hubby’?
8L: Saw the totally shaky live video on Weibo. The new lead singer is indeed top-tier, especially the middle solo. He totally overshadows Huzi by ten lengths. Such effortless showing off. The most top-tier thing is his singing—also so captivating. You can tell right away he’s got naturally powerful lungs. Could barely hear his breaths throughout both songs.
10L: What powerful lungs? Come give me a powerful kiss~
16L: What a powerful hubby, seems like a great kisser.
17L: Hubby’s hair is thick, nose bridge is high, lips are rosy. So healthy and energetic. Mm, tonight I’ll be thoroughly blissed out~
19L: Damn, this time you deadpan girls in our group really scored a good meal…
23L: I knew it. This is the right flavor of ‘Brittle Glass.’ Brother Huzi, an old virgin, no matter how he sings it, it’s all technique. No wonder someone else’s cover was even more popular back then…
24L: Hey, using even this moment to slag off my Huzi?
…
49L: I just switched screens to watch the live video, how’s it already a new page?
52L: This is the hottest Heartbreak has been in our group for a while (rubbing hands together)
62L: Breaking news!!! Heartbreak’s official live is out. They didn’t give a special intro, just quickly cut a standard photo of the newcomer at the end of the video. Hmm, so he’s the legendary Mengmeng…
67L: He IS Mengmeng???
72L: No… what word games are you Heartbreak guys playing? Isn’t Mengmeng the producer’s alias? How is Mengmeng the new lead singer now?
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