The generators came online.
The lights returned.
The crowd erupted.
The entire venue shook from the cheers.
Backstage, the staff stared at the newly installed equipment as if they had witnessed a miracle.
Because, in a way, they had.
What should have been a disaster had turned into a spectacle.
And the livestream numbers?
They were still climbing.
4.1 million.
4.3 million.
4.5 million.
Every minute brought in thousands more viewers.
Li Chen looked at the monitor.
Good.
Very good.
The sabotage had become free advertising.
Exactly as planned.
Or rather—
exactly as adapted.
A good manager prepared for success.
A great manager prepared for failure.
And tonight, Zhou Kang had handed him an opportunity.
The host stepped back onto the stage.
His voice echoed through the venue.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
The audience roared.
"Thank you for your patience!"
More cheers.
The host grinned.
"And now..."
He paused dramatically.
"...let's begin."
The lights went dark again.
But this time—
intentionally.
The audience immediately quieted.
A low piano note filled the venue.
Soft.
Melancholic.
Beautiful.
Thousands of phone screens lit up.
Then a spotlight appeared.
At the center of the stage.
Lin Yueyin stood there alone.
A white dress.
No backup dancers.
No elaborate effects.
Just her.
And the music.
The audience recognized her instantly.
The cheers exploded.
But Yueyin ignored them.
For the first time since becoming an idol—
she wasn't thinking about popularity.
Or rankings.
Or competition.
She was thinking about one thing.
Proving herself.
The music rose.
And she began to sing.
Backstage.
Yara watched the stage monitor.
"...She's improved."
Xiaoyu nodded.
"A lot."
Wanqing remained silent.
Observing.
Analyzing.
Li Chen folded his arms.
Yueyin's voice was steadier than before.
Stronger.
More confident.
The girl who once depended entirely on guidance was finally finding her own identity.
And the audience noticed.
Every comment flooding the livestream reflected it.
"She's different tonight."
"Her vocals are so much better."
"Wait... she's actually incredible."
"Why does this feel emotional?"
On stage, Yueyin reached the chorus.
The crowd began singing along.
Not because they were told to.
Not because a fan club organized it.
But because they genuinely knew the song.
For a brief moment—
Yueyin felt tears threatening to appear.
She held them back.
A professional never cried on stage.
At least...
not during the performance.
The final note ended.
Silence.
One second.
Two.
Then—
The venue exploded.
Cheers.
Applause.
Screaming fans.
The loudest reaction of her career.
Yueyin stood frozen.
For a moment, she couldn't move.
Then she smiled.
A real smile.
Not an idol smile.
Not a practiced smile.
A genuine one.
And somehow—
the crowd became even louder.
Backstage.
Yara smirked.
"Not bad."
Xiaoyu laughed.
"Not bad? That was amazing."
Yara stood up.
"My turn."
The stage lights shifted.
Blue became red.
Soft melodies became electric guitar.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The audience felt it.
A different energy.
A different world.
Then—
A guitar riff exploded through the venue.
And Su Yara walked onto the stage.
The crowd lost their minds.
Inside the livestream chat:
"OH MY GOD."
"ROCK QUEEN."
"YARA IS HERE."
"TURN IT UP."
Yara grabbed the microphone.
A wild grin appeared.
"Let's make some noise."
The venue answered immediately.
The performance that followed was pure chaos.
Good chaos.
The kind that made people jump.
Scream.
Forget everything else.
Yara commanded the stage like she had been born on it.
Every movement.
Every note.
Every shout.
The audience followed her completely.
Even online viewers were flooding social media with clips.
Within minutes—
the performance began trending.
Again.
Backstage.
Wanqing watched quietly.
Then she asked:
"Does she always perform like that?"
Li Chen smiled faintly.
"Pretty much."
Wanqing looked back at the monitor.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
She finally understood why Yueyin viewed Yara as a rival.
Because Yara had something difficult to teach.
Presence.
Natural presence.
The ability to dominate a stage.
Few artists possessed it.
Yara possessed it in excess.
The performance ended.
Another explosion of applause.
Another flood of comments.
Another wave of attention.
And then—
The venue went dark once more.
This time, everyone knew what was coming.
The audience held its breath.
The livestream chat slowed.
For the first time all night—
people were waiting.
Not talking.
Waiting.
Because this would be the first public performance of the mysterious singer everyone had been discussing.
Mu Wanqing.
A single spotlight appeared.
The piano began.
Slow.
Elegant.
Smooth.
And then—
Wanqing stepped onto the stage.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the audience seemed uncertain.
No screaming.
No chanting.
No fan clubs.
Most of them had never seen her perform live.
That made the next few minutes even more important.
Backstage.
Li Chen watched carefully.
This wasn't Yueyin's audience.
This wasn't Yara's audience.
Wanqing had to create her own.
From scratch.
Tonight.
The microphone rose.
Wanqing closed her eyes.
The first note left her lips.
And the entire venue froze.
Outside.
Inside cars.
Inside apartments.
Inside offices.
Millions of viewers listening through headphones.
Everyone reacted the same way.
They stopped moving.
Because her voice felt different.
Not louder.
Not stronger.
Different.
It wrapped itself around the music naturally.
Effortlessly.
Dangerously.
The livestream comments slowed almost to a halt.
Then—
They exploded.
"WHO IS SHE?"
"THAT VOICE."
"WAIT."
"WAIT."
"WAIT."
"WHERE HAS SHE BEEN HIDING?"
Backstage.
Yara laughed.
"There it is."
Yueyin nodded slowly.
She understood that reaction.
The first time she heard Wanqing sing—
she had reacted exactly the same way.
Shock.
Pure shock.
On stage, Wanqing continued.
Calm.
Composed.
Unshaken.
As if singing in front of millions was completely normal.
And somehow—
that confidence made the performance even stronger.
Meanwhile.
Inside the black SUV.
Zhou Kang watched the livestream.
Silent.
Expressionless.
His assistant sat beside him nervously.
No one dared speak.
Not after seeing the audience reaction.
Not after seeing the numbers.
The livestream had surpassed—
6 million viewers.
And it was still rising.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
A smile appeared on Zhou Kang's face.
But this time—
it wasn't amusement.
It wasn't confidence.
It was interest.
Real interest.
Because now he understood something.
Li Chen wasn't a lucky manager.
He wasn't a temporary trend.
He wasn't an accident.
He was becoming a genuine threat.
And threats...
needed to be handled carefully.
Very carefully.
Zhou Kang looked at the screen.
At Li Chen standing backstage.
At the three artists dominating the event.
Then he spoke quietly.
"For now..."
His assistant listened.
"...let them celebrate."
A pause.
Then Zhou Kang smiled.
Cold.
Dangerous.
"Because the next move is mine."
End of Chapter 29