Superstars of Tomorrow

Chapter 427: Poisonous!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Although the customer service teams and maintenance engineers were a little moody, traffic meant wages and overtime meant more pay. Everyone became happy again thinking about the overtime pay.

They were rather happy to see celebrities cause trouble, but why did they all like to do so in the middle of the night?!

What sort of sick habit is that?!

At Space, Fang Zhao finished the song, gave his thanks and left quickly. This wasn’t his special performance, and he wanted to leave the stage for tonight’s invited band.

However, all the band members were feeling a great deal of pressure, as though they had large rocks chained to their feet.

They hadn’t had a clear idea of Fang Zhao’s ability before he started his advanced studies. No one had known how good he was after his studies. But now, they had a clear idea.

“I knew he was good, but I never imagined he was this good!”

“You can only experience how strong his ability is up close.”

“We can only execute plan B now.”

They had previously thought that if Fang Zhao’s performance wasn’t good enough, they would execute plan A and perform with a little more restraint to save Fang Zhao some face If Fang Zhao was too impressive, then they would carry out plan B to save their own faces. Clearly, it was time for plan B now.

“In the future, let’s just compare notes with him in private.”

“When will Fang Zhao’s graduation concert be held? Where will it be? Let’s get a few tickets to attend live. The works in that sort of graduation concert won’t all necessarily be made public.”

The band members also were quite capable and performed out of their minds because of the prior pressure from Fang Zhao. Thus, the venue’s atmosphere also became fired up. The influence that Fang Zhao had brought wasn’t diluted in the least.

At this time, Natiwuzi didn’t care about anything else. He had given Fang Zhao his word on keeping him safe and blocking off entertainment reporters and various disturbances. He was determined to see this through. After dealing with some regular customers, he got his men to bring Fang Zhao upstairs to rest. Fang Zhao had already isolated himself for over ten hours today to compose already. He hadn’t had any time to rest before preparing for the Midnight Stage.

“Have a good sleep. Don’t worry about matters here; I won’t let anyone disturb you.” Natiwuzi hurriedly left to handle other matters after sending Fang Zhao up. Tonight definitely wouldn’t be peaceful. Fang Zhao had only performed for just a short while, and Natiwuzi had already received a great number of calls.

Many people coveted Fang Zhao’s business value. Some of Natiwuzi’s partners and close friends called to make discreet inquiries. A music variety program that Natiwuzi had worked with before inquired whether it was possible for Natiwuzi to rope Fang Zhao onto the program. The appearance fee was negotiable.

Natiwuzi had asked Fang Zhao regarding this and was declined. Fang Zhao still had to continue his advanced studies and didn’t want to be distracted by participating in too many commercial activities or variety programs.

Natiwuzi also understood that Fang Zhao showing his face in his nightclub was him repaying a favor. Would Fang Zhao even be lacking name recognition?

Zuo Yu didn’t plan on getting any sleep tonight. He looked out the window at the street below and saw many entertainment reporters camped outside. Who knew how many more people had entered Space nightclub downstairs? He had to guarantee Fang Zhao’s safety. Those men Natiwuzi had sent over were after all outsiders. As Fang Zhao’s true bodyguard, he couldn’t let himself fall behind.

Standing guard outside the room door, Zuo Yu browsed the latest news online. Indeed, all sorts of trending topics pertaining to Fang Zhao were revealed with just a tap.

#Fang Zhao’s Night Club Fingerstyle#

#Fang Zhao’s Godly Tune#

#True Artist#

There was also a segment from the live stream of Fang Zhao’s performance as well as snippets of noisy videos taken from different angles in the venue which led to a wave of disputes.

“I just saw the edited video from a certain webcast host. All I can see is that it is so-so.”

“Give me an effects synthesizer, and I can also play something like this! Me+effects synthesizer=Fang Zhao! See, with this, the difference isn’t that great.”

“Not exaggerating, but when it comes to strumming skill, there would already be at least ten people from my school alone who wouldn’t lose to Fang Zhao!”

“As someone who watched the full thing live, all I see are you all trying to be pretentious. Those who weren’t there would find it very difficult to imagine that sort of feeling of transcendence and loss of control of your body. Perhaps that is the difference. I finally understand the reason why so many people prefer listening to live music. It is truly only up close where you can experience that strong expressive power. Fang Zhao being able to reach such heights today is really no fluke.”

“There are already people who have uploaded their strumming covers. After listening to so many covers, it has to be admitted that there are many impressive people. All of these are played really well, and there are people who even pick difficult songs to show off their technical ability. However, it still isn’t the same. Those who listened to it live felt a peculiar infectiousness that cannot be replicated. This isn’t an exaggeration.”

“Indeed, the tempo looks stable, but the creative concept is very difficult to express. Therefore, would the person on top stop boasting?! You wouldn’t be able to produce it even with an effects synthesizer!”

“Is the technical aspect as easy as you all say it is? I’ve tried it already. The harmony is really difficult, and the timing is hard to grasp. I can’t even strum it smoothly, let alone even worry about the creative concept.”

“Fang Zhao still has a strong foundation in terms of technique. What is important is his expressive ability that cannot be replicated. The tune is indeed mystical. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to experience it live.”

“Yeah, Zhao God isn’t like a certain someone who only knows how to flaunt his technique on stage but can’t display his inner qualities!”

“Hey hey, don’t bash others if we are talking about Fang Zhao. We can’t compare others this way. Their styles are different, and their artistic expressions are different as well. Some value concept, others value form. Some works value the melody, while others value the tempo.”

“Let’s not talk about technique, artistic concept and what not. What I want to know is the name of this tune that Fang Zhao played! I used a music recognition software, but it wasn’t able to produce a name!!”

While the netizens were arguing, entertainment reporters who had rushed over were stopping customers coming out of Space.

Ron hadn’t been the only one caught up and deeply affected by Fang Zhao’s tune. Some people didn’t stay and left Space after Fang Zhao left the stage.

A journalist from Qi’an Morning Post was in the vicinity and hurried over when they received the news. They didn’t enter Space and instead camped outside to pick their targets.

This was a good opportunity concerning Fang Zhao who always seemed to generate a lot of news. If they couldn’t find Fang Zhao, interviewing others was fine too. They just needed to gather and edit some material and it would be ready for the morning paper.

Noticing a few men come out of the night clubs with their arms around each others’ shoulders, the journalist hurried over.

With one look, the journalist could tell that these people had had a lot to drink. It was good if they were drunk. Inebriated people spoke more freely without qualms and generally had a high degree of truth.

The journalist went over and probed a little. He found out that these people had come over for a small gathering. They had graduated thirty years ago and had gotten back together for a class reunion.

“Did you all listen to Fang Zhao’s song too?” the journalist asked.

That drunk man who was asked this question inhaled sharply. “Yeah, it’s a ‘wakes you up from any sort of tiredness’ kind of song. Suddenly hearing such an expressive song was simply...”

“Mmhm?” The journalist’s eyes were glowing.

“Killer!” The drunk man started to bawl again.

He was drunk, and his brain couldn’t function that well. He also had no idea why, but he just felt like crying. It was as if a deluge of sentiments buried deep down for a long time was finally being set free.

The handful of grown men hugged in a circle and bawled together like they were suddenly upset by something. They had tears and mucus rolling down their faces.

The journalist silently let them pass.

They were an upright publication and only reported according to standards. His boss had just said yesterday that they had to uphold an honorable attitude and not fabricate or publish content blindly unlike those entertainment reporters who embellished reports for the sake of attracting views. Although they had taken the opportunity to come here for interviews, they still had to do it the proper way.

Very clearly, the ones who had just been interviewed had painted an exaggerated scene with untruths. It didn’t follow the high standards of Qi’an Morning Post. He needed to interview someone more sober.

There were so many people coming out from Space so there wasn’t a need to take the words of that group of people seriously.

The journalist scanned Space’s leaving crowd and picked a person. Mmhm, this person seems very sober. Seems to be in high-spirits too. He will surely cooperate for an interview.

The journalist had confidence now and strode over to stop that person.

“Did you listen to Fang Zhao’s performance just now?” the journalist asked.

“Yeah.”

“Did you like it?”

“Loved it!”

“Then... in your opinion, what sort of standard is Fang Zhao song at?”

“What standard?” That man appeared puzzled.

“Right, meaning, in your heart, what level do you think this song is at?”

That person thought hard.

“Air purifier level!”

Journalist: “...”

That man patted his own chest, “Ah~~~~I feel like all the dust and haze has been expelled!”

Journalist: “...”

This person is definitely a Fang Zhao fanatic!

Fanatics were no good. There weren’t in compliance with the professional standards of their Qi’an Morning Post.

That man didn’t care what the journalist was thinking. He maintained a deeply moved expression and sheepish smile as he pushed past the journalist and hummed a tune as he walked over to his taxi.

As the journalist exhaled sharply, his assistant beside him asked feebly, “Are we still doing interviews?”

“Yes!”

The journalists picky gaze scanned the crowd meticulously. In no time, he chose a person who looked to be calm and steady. This person would definitely be neutral.

The reporter went over and inquired about this person’s evaluation of Fang Zhao’s performance tonight.

That person didn’t decline the interview and even replied seriously, “Evaluation? It’s a very good composition. There was grief and also beauty. My sentiments were enriched as I listened to it.”

“I saw some people crying. Did you feel sad after listening to it?”

“Not sad.”

“Melancholic?’

“Not melancholic.”

“Happy?”

“Not happy either.”

The journalist stared at that face that lacked emotion: “...”

Which part of your emotions were enriched?!

“Then you were?” The journalist refused to give up.

The interviewee maintained a stoic face of profound mystery. “You won’t understand.”

Journalist: “???”

“That sort of sublimation of the mental state.”

“???”

“Listening to it and returning to write a thesis would feel like an atonement.”

Journalist: “...”

Poisonous!!!

Fang Zhao didn’t know about the views regarding him. He received a call from Mo Lang after he entered his room.

It was already morning in Huangzhou. Mo Lang had been notified by his assistant about Fang Zhao’s matter in Yanzhou the moment he got up. He had originally thought that Fang Zhao had returned to Yanzhou to assist in the investigations. He never expected that Fang Zhao would still be able to cause a commotion. This worried the old master so much that he had to anxiously call and ask about it. Sigh. Indeed, the most worry-free time was when Fang Zhao was still under quarantine at Whale Island.

Fang Zhao explained this matter to Mo Lang.

Mo Lang revealed a satisfied smile and continued, “Hurry up and return after you are done with things at Yanzhou. You are still undertaking advanced studies. Don’t go applying for leave all the time. It’s fine this time since it is a friend’s invitation, but it is best to not participate in too many of those commercial entertainment programs. You still have the Fiery Bird endorsement, and you don’t lack money so there isn’t any rush to endorse others.”

“Mhmm, got it,” Fang Zhao said.

“That’s good. The song you performed was a new composition? It was not bad indeed. However, it isn’t suitable to be included in your graduation concert.”

Mo Lang analyzed the pros and cons for Fang Zhao. Academics had their own academic standards, and graduate concert pieces had their own auditing guidelines. He worried that Fang Zhao was too young and would be easily swayed so he felt the need to re-emphasize certain important things.

Mo Lang felt gratified seeing that Fang Zhao’s attitude was sincere and didn’t say much more. However, before he hung up, he asked, “Oh right, what was the name of the song you played?”

“A Journey Through Time”.

The Old Era, the Period of Destruction and the New Era spanned an inconceivable amount of time. Many things of the past had already been forgotten by Fang Zhao, and the school badge had reminded him of many of these things.

Ants on the ground, stars in the sky, masses of common people.

Situated at an unconventional passage, Fang Zhao could only move forwards. However, memories would occasionally open doors back to the past and let him see even more of those memories that had long been forgotten as well as changes, secrets and vicissitudes of time.

He thought he had only remembered the ruins, wreckage and destruction of the Period of Destruction. He never imagined that he would be able to clearly remember the Chinese Parasol Tree that had stood outside the classroom, swaying in the breeze.

Fang Zhao glanced at the school badge stored inside the box. He tidied up a little and didn’t head to sleep immediately.

Mmhm.

He was in a good state. The time was suitable for making some revisions.

Fang Zhao hung a “Do Not Disturb” sign outside his door and flipped open his notebook. Then, he began making amendments to his graduation concert pieces.

Natiwuzi, who had finished with his own matter, came over and saw the “Do Not Disturb” sign and fell silent.

Is inspiration so easy to come by?

Is it the difference of innate talent, or am I really growing old?