Chapter 117: The Blue Sea Within the Nest

At half past seven in the evening, outside the Bird’s Nest, fans lined up orderly, scanning their tickets to enter. The concert was set to start in less than half an hour, yet many fans still shouted loudly at the entrance, eager to buy tickets at inflated prices.

This was Zhou Miao’s very first concert. For his fans, missing it would be a lifelong regret.

Backstage, staff were busy with the final equipment checks. Zhou Miao sat upright in front of the mirror, letting the makeup artist work on him. To ensure a perfect appearance for tonight’s performance, he had gone to a beauty salon early this morning for skin care and had his hair styled.

It was no exaggeration to say that Zhou Miao had reached the peak of his looks in life today.

While Zhou Miao was having his makeup done, the three members of the Countdown Band stood behind him, casually snacking on sunflower seeds and chatting.

Liu Huan, standing right behind Zhou Miao with a look of envy, said, “Why is it that all the good things in this world seem to belong to you?”

He counted on his stubby fingers, “Handsome, tall, talented, and filthy rich—damn it! You could at least share some with me!”

Even faced with such direct praise, Zhou Miao remained unfazed. “Didn't I already share one with you? Damn.”

Liu Huan pretended to grab his neck, but the makeup artist swiftly swatted his hands away. “Don’t move, I just sprayed the hair spray.”

At that moment, Zhao Li entered, dressed in a sleek black gown. She was set to perform as a guest at Zhou Miao’s concert tonight.

Noticing a few unfamiliar faces in the makeup room, she greeted them politely.

Zhou Miao introduced them to each other. “This beauty is Zhao Li, you all should know her.”

The three nodded eagerly; of course, they knew Zhao Li—former member of Foam Summer and currently one of the most popular female singers.

Zhou Miao then pointed to the three men. “These are my high school bandmates. Not sure if you’ve heard of us—we’re called the Countdown Band.”

The mention of the Countdown Band immediately sparked recognition in Zhao Li’s eyes. “Strawberry Music Festival! ‘Leaving the Earth’s Surface,’ right? I’ve seen the video of that performance.”

Their performance at last year’s Strawberry Music Festival had gone viral, and Zhao Li had indeed watched it. At the time, she focused on Zhou Miao’s singing and hadn’t paid much attention to the three playing piano and drums behind him.

After a while, a staff member knocked on the door. “Miao-ge, it’s time.”

Zhou Miao stood up, straightened his clothes, exhaled deeply, and prepared himself—the show was about to begin!

At exactly eight o’clock, the entire Bird’s Nest plunged into darkness. Instead of panic, the fans erupted into screams—the moment had finally arrived!

Suddenly, the air raid sirens blared. The quick-witted fans started shouting expletives in excitement.

The siren sounded several times as intense drumbeats joined the fray. The stage lights brightened, but Zhou Miao was still nowhere to be seen.

Just as the fans grew puzzled, a loud explosion echoed from the center of the stage. Zhou Miao rocketed up from a lift beneath the stage!

Simultaneously, fiery serpents shot out from both sides of the stage, and all the spotlights converged on Zhou Miao.

His dazzling entrance instantly ignited the atmosphere inside the Bird’s Nest. The cheers and screams were relentless, assaulting everyone’s eardrums.

Standing on the stage, Zhou Miao’s gaze swept over a sea of blue light sticks, creating an ocean of luminescence that made it feel as if he were surrounded by a radiant galaxy. The visual and spiritual impact sent a shiver across his scalp.

All these people had come solely for him.

By then, over a dozen backup dancers had taken their positions. Zhou Miao grabbed the microphone:

“Crossing mountain hills and passes,
The air up in the clouds is thin,
Hostility fills the streets,
But smoke and gunpowder won’t affect me.
Air raids are just a nuisance to me,
Where’s the alarm?
It’s just giving you time to leave.
I rely on burning my limits with willpower,
I rely on roaring to the heavens with fighting spirit,
I rely on my own creative runway,
Rely, rely, rely, rely, rely, rely, rely, rely!”

…

As an opening number, none of Zhou Miao’s released songs were more explosive than this one. This track, his musical retort to the Golden Melody Awards, sounded a hundred times hotter live than on the CD.

The fans kept waving their light sticks in rhythm, creating wave after wave of glowing “seas” throughout the Bird’s Nest.

By the end of the song, Zhou Miao was drenched in sweat. The excitement and thrill were one thing, but…

“Lighting guy, could you please move the lights a bit? They’re all pointed at me and it’s too hot, thanks,” Zhou Miao said helplessly.

The fans below burst into laughter, utterly surprised that Zhou Miao’s first words at the concert were a complaint about the heat from the lights.

Once the lighting was adjusted, Zhou Miao visibly relaxed, feeling much lighter; the heat from stage lights concentrated all in one place was no joke.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he addressed the crowd, “I’m really glad to be here with all of you. The original plan was to hold a nationwide tour after releasing the album, but due to some special circumstances, that got canceled. So this year, we’re doing just this one concert.”

“Honestly, I quite enjoy the feeling of performing live. It’s one of the reasons I love being a singer—the thrill of tens of thousands of people cheering for you is just amazing!”

As soon as he finished, the crowd erupted into another round of wild screams, as if responding to his words.

Zhou Miao grinned broadly. “Good spirit! Next up is ‘Nunchaku’!”

If fans could still sing along with the previous song, ninety percent of them fell silent during “Nunchaku.”

The song’s unique breaks and lightning-fast rhythm made it increasingly difficult to follow. It was catchy, but impossible to imitate perfectly!

Most fans could only shout, “Quick, use the nunchaku! Hm hm ha hey!”

As he got into the groove, Zhou Miao swung the baton-like nunchaku in his hands and shouted, “Watch out! I’m about to throw them!”

The fans below excitedly reached out. Zhou Miao took two steps back, then sprinted forward and hurled the nunchaku into the crowd.

Chaos erupted among the fans in that direction, but eventually a young man wearing glasses caught the nunchaku, grinning from ear to ear.

Zhou Miao adjusted his headset and asked, “Has everyone bought the new album?”

“Yes!”
“No!”
…

Zhou Miao narrowed his eyes. “Those who haven’t bought it, get out now!”

Laughter broke out.

Pretending to glare fiercely at the fans who hadn’t bought it, Zhou Miao continued, “There’s a song called ‘Rooftop’ on the album. I wonder if anyone here can sing it? I want to find a fan to duet with me live.”

The audience immediately went wild, jumping and raising their hands frantically. Zhou Miao’s hand scanned the crowd like radar.

Wherever his finger pointed, the fans’ excitement boiled like hot water.

Finally, his hand stopped. “Yes! You, the guy who came with a girl! I’ve been annoyed watching you stare at that girl for so long—come on up!”

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