Future Pet Shop

Chapter 249: A Song About a Panda

"In a little while, you two can go through the main entrance. I’ll take Hah’Er and Cheeky through the performers’ entrance, okay? There will be tens of thousands of people in the park, so it won’t be safe for Hah’Er to stay down in the crowd," Sun said while eating breakfast. "Hah’Er can watch the show from backstage, and I’ll bring him back to the hotel after the performance is over."

"Yeah, that’s safer than if we had him with us," Shen Yibin agreed. He had been to music festivals before. At these open-air events, there were no seats; the audience stood for the entire show. Plus, singers would sometimes call on the fans to play games or start a mosh pit, so it really wasn’t safe for Hah’Er to be down in the crowd.

At that moment, Shen Yibin was glad he hadn’t brought Shi Gaofei. If he were here and someone accidentally stepped on or bumped into him, he would absolutely fly into a rage and attack the unlucky soul. Shen Yibin might have ended up spending the night in a jail cell.

"Ah, the last time I went to a music festival was in the US. It’s been so long since I’ve been to a lively event like this! I’m going to buy a few beers to bring with us!" Sylvie seemed particularly excited, perhaps because this was her last bit of free time, which made it all the more precious.

"Which stage will you be on? And who else is performing today?" Shen Yibin asked. The Strawberry Music Festival usually set up multiple stages in one venue. This particular event had four, allowing four different artists to perform simultaneously. The audience could choose which artist they wanted to see, which in turn created a sense of competition among the four performers. The more people you had in your audience, the more popular you were considered. If you were singing your heart out on stage while the crowd flocked to someone else’s, it would be a huge loss of face for the artist.

Likewise, music companies would also use audience numbers as a key metric to decide which artist to sign. If not many people were watching your stage, they wouldn’t be interested in signing you.

"I’m on the Strawberry Stage. The others performing on the same day as me are Miserable Faith, Hang on the Box, Chen Chusheng, Good Sister Band, Mr. Turtle..." Sun rattled off a list of names that Shen Yibin had vaguely heard of.

Shen Yibin wasn’t a hardcore music enthusiast, so the fact that he’d heard of all these names proved they were truly leading figures in the music industry. One could only imagine the pressure Sun was under, having to share a stage with people like that.

"The Strawberry Stage must be the main stage, right? To get an opportunity like this right after your debut, that’s really amazing!" Shen Yibin said encouragingly. He also believed that Sun had the talent to win over this audience.

"It’s all thanks to you guys. I was originally scheduled for a different stage, but the promotional video had such a huge impact that ticket sales shot up right after it was released, so the organizing committee made an adjustment." After expressing her thanks, Sun added confidently, "But when it comes to the music itself, I definitely won’t lose to them!"

"Good, that’s the kind of confidence you need! You know what? I need to find a notebook first and have you fill it with your signature. Then when you’re famous, I’ll auction it off. I’m sure I could make a ton of money!" Shen Yibin was trying to lighten the mood and ease Sun’s pressure with his joke.

After breakfast, the group left the hotel. It wasn’t a long walk to the park hosting the music festival. Sun took Hah’Er and Cheeky through the performers’ entrance, while Shen Yibin and Sylvie got in line for the ticket check.

There weren’t many people yet. Once inside the park, they found the Strawberry Stage. Shen Yibin took out a moisture-proof mat, and he and Sylvie sat down, leisurely sipping their beers as they waited for Sun to appear. They chatted with some of the music fans passing by and frequently heard Sun’s name mentioned, which showed that her popularity was indeed quite high.

Shen Yibin’s group had eaten breakfast a little after ten. They spent another half hour on the road, so it was already past eleven when they arrived. After waiting for nearly two more hours, the show finally began. A burst of electrifying guitar riffs erupted, and a young band took the stage, kicking off the music festival.

The audience, who had been waiting for a long time, all jumped to their feet. Applause, whistles, and screams erupted as the atmosphere instantly became electric. Sylvie excitedly raised her hands and waved them in the air, and Shen Yibin copied her, waving his own hands and shouting along.

Each band or artist’s set was generally an hour and a half long, with a thirty-minute break in between for the audience to use the restroom, rest, or move to another stage.

Generally, the artists with the biggest draw would perform during prime time, around five in the afternoon and seven in the evening. He’d listened to two full bands perform without any sign of Sun. The time slowly ticked past four o’clock, approaching the most coveted performance slots. Shen Yibin’s anticipation grew. ’Sun must be next, right?’

"Sun! Sun! Sun!" The audience in front of the stage suddenly started chanting her name in unison. Spectators from near the other three stages also began flocking over. The crowd in front of the Strawberry Stage soon swelled, quickly surpassing the numbers for the previous two bands.

"Sun’s about to come on! I’ll stream it live for Sakai!" Sylvie quickly pulled out her phone, started a video call, and pointed the camera at the center of the stage.

The curtain was swiftly drawn back, revealing Sun on stage in a crisp, fresh outfit. She began just as she did in the promotional video, with a long, drawn-out vocal intro. The theme song spread out from the stage and into the ears of the countless spectators. Hearing it live was a completely different experience from hearing it on a computer or a phone. Sun’s voice quickly transported the audience to the beautiful Yunshui Riverfront, where they seemed to follow her song, riding a bamboo raft downstream as the beautiful scenery on both banks flashed by.

The entire audience around the stage began to slowly sing along with Sun’s voice, until it eventually became a massive singalong of several thousand people. Even Shen Yibin and Sylvie joined in. ’I wonder if Cheeky is singing along backstage, too?’ Shen Yibin thought.

Shen Yibin had a vague feeling that the song sounded quite different from the version he’d heard on his computer. ’Maybe Sun rearranged the music herself?’

When the song ended, a moment of brief silence was followed by a roar of cheers from thousands of people at once. The audience shouted Sun’s name, and their whistles and screams pierced the clouds. In that moment, the performances on the other three stages paled in comparison.

"This is my first time performing on a big stage, and I’m so happy to see that you all like my song." Despite it being her debut, Sun showed no signs of stage fright, speaking with poise and grace. "Next, I’m going to sing a new song for everyone. It’s a song about a panda."