167: Chapter 166: First Solo Performance, Back to the Shopping Mall Plaza

Yanjing, 7:30 PM.

The open-air mall plaza beneath Morning Star Studio was crowded with people. White-collar workers off work walked hurriedly with briefcases, while young couples chatted on benches with milk tea in hand.

No one noticed that dozens of muscular men in black T-shirts were standing around the main entrances of the plaza.

Guan Heng wore a Bluetooth earpiece, standing beside the plaza fountain with his eyes scanning the crowd. "All posts take note, keep the pathways clear. Do not block pedestrians, and prevent stampedes."

Chen Yu's voice came through the earpiece. "Roger. When is Captain coming down?"

"8:00 sharp." Guan Heng glanced at his watch.

7:55 PM.

11th floor of Morning Star Studio. Yan Yu mounted her phone in front of the French window, aiming the camera lens at the plaza below.

She tapped to start the livestream.

Without any prior announcement, a hundred thousand people flooded into the stream within three minutes of going live.

[Why is Sister Yu streaming scenery today?]

[Where is God Su? Didn't they say there was a big move today?]

[This angle looks so familiar. Isn't it right below Morning Star Studio?]

[Don't tell me God Su is going to do square Dancing down there.]

[Camping here. Sister Yu's camera never points at nothing.]

Yan Yu looked at the screen, her eyes stinging slightly. She adjusted the position of her microphone.

"Five years ago, I stood right here and filmed Su Chen's first dance after returning to the country using a crappy phone," Yan Yu's voice trembled slightly. "Back then, he wore a mask, and no one knew who he was. Today, he is returning here."

8:00 PM sharp.

The glass revolving doors on the first floor of Morning Star Tower were pushed open.

Su Chen was wearing a faded pure cotton short-sleeve shirt, baggy black sweatpants, and white canvas shoes.

He wore neither hat nor mask. In his right hand, he carried a black Street Dance speaker half as tall as a person.

He just walked out swaggeringly like that.

Pedestrians on the plaza didn't pay much attention at first. A young man carrying a speaker was a common sight on the streets of Yanjing.

Su Chen walked to the open space right in the center of the plaza. He set down the speaker and pressed the power button.

"Zzz—"

A brief burst of static sounded.

Su Chen pulled out his phone and connected via Bluetooth. His finger opened his music library.

The next second, heavy, deep piano chords slammed onto the plaza floor tiles.

American rapper Eminem's "Lose Yourself".

This hardcore Rap track, engraved with the soul of street culture, instantly cut through the noise of the plaza.

Pedestrians stopped in their tracks and turned toward the source of the sound.

Su Chen moved.

No warm-up. The instant the first beat dropped, his body executed a textbook electric wave. From fingertips to shoulders, then down his spine straight to the soles of his feet.

The movements were clean and crisp, packing a beast-like explosive power.

A few young girls on their way to the subway station paused. One of them narrowed her eyes, staring at the figure Dancing under the streetlight.

"That person... looks a lot like Su Chen?" The girl tugged at her companion's sleeve.

"How is that possible! Su Chen is a world champion now, why would he be Dancing in the street!" Her companion laughed off the idea, yet couldn't help but be drawn to look.

Su Chen's movements grew faster and faster. He glided along with the drumbeats, his body sliding across the rough stone ground as if friction didn't exist.

Immediately after, he leaped into the air on the spot, landing straight into a one-hand freeze.

As he flexed this killer move, the surrounding crowd gasped in shock.

"Holy crap! Look at that control!"

"It really is Su Chen! Holy shit! It's Su Chen!"

A young man held up his phone and shouted at the top of his lungs.

That single shout was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a pan of hot oil. The entire plaza instantly blew up.

People from all directions surged toward the center of the plaza like crazy.

Guan Heng roared into his walkie-talkie, "Tighten the line! Form a human wall! Keep a ten-meter radius of open space!"

Fifty team members swiftly cut through the crowd, linking hands to form a human wall that forcibly carved out a circular stage amidst the wild surge of people.

8:10 PM.

Over three thousand people had already gathered in the plaza.

By 8:30 PM, the crowd surpassed ten thousand.

The open-air corridors on the second and third floors of the mall were packed with people leaning over the railings. Everyone held up their phones, lenses pointed at the white figure in the center.

There was no fancy stage lighting or blinding spotlights. Only a few dim yellow streetlights on the edge of the plaza shone down on him.

Su Chen was dripping with sweat, his white T-shirt thoroughly soaked and clinging to his back.

Yet he didn't stop.

The music switched to The Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow".

Under the heavy electronic beat, Su Chen flawlessly blended Popping and Locking. Every single muscle pop hit precisely between the beats.

He was enjoying himself.

He threw away all competition rules and scoring systems. This was the purest Street Dance, a revelry belonging to the streets.

Surrounded by over ten thousand people, no one spoke—there were only spontaneous claps and whistles echoing to the rhythm.

In front of the French window on the second floor.

The online viewer count in Yan Yu's stream broke five million. The bullet comments were lagging so hard they couldn't even display properly.

[He's really Dancing on the street! Wearing just a plain white T-shirt!]

[I'm crying watching this. This is a true dancer—it doesn't matter where the stage is, what matters is that he's Dancing.]

[A street flash mob watched by ten thousand people! Who else in the Chinese Entertainment Industry has this level of clout!]

[He hasn't even taken a sip of water, Dancing non-stop for forty minutes!]

[This stamina is insane.]

[This is the confidence behind him turning down a two-hundred-million signing fee. He belongs only to himself.]

Yan Yu looked down at the figure surrounded by the crowd. The scene from five years ago overlapped with the present.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, dripping onto her phone screen.

"He's back," Yan Yu whispered into her microphone.

9:00 PM.

A full hour.

The final track in the speaker came to an end.

Su Chen rested his hands on his knees, panting heavily. Sweat dripped from the tip of his nose onto the bluestone paving, splashing into small wet rings.

The entire venue fell dead silent for two seconds.

Then, over ten thousand people erupted into deafening cheers.

"Su Chen!"

"Su Chen!"

The waves of sound rent the night sky of Yanjing.

Su Chen straightened up. Without holding a microphone, he simply raised his right hand and waved to the surrounding crowd.

Then, he bent down and picked up the black speaker with one hand.

Led by Guan Heng and Chen Yu, fifty security personnel escorted Su Chen, parting a pathway through the crowd.

Carrying the speaker, Su Chen strode back toward Morning Star Tower.

Leaving behind over ten thousand spellbound spectators and an internet that was boiling over completely.

9:30 PM.

11th floor of Morning Star Studio.

Su Chen walked into the conference room and casually tossed the speaker into a corner. He picked up a bottle of mineral water from the table, unscrewed the cap, and chugged down more than half of it in one breath.

Lin Yue walked in holding a tablet, looking at him with a complex expression.

"The trending searches online have exploded completely," Lin Yue said, her voice a bit raspy. "The heat from your unplugged street performance is even higher than the official announcement of the Birds Nest concert. Several commercial directors from big brands just called, saying that if you're willing, they'll fund the takeover of all outdoor screens in malls across the country to play tonight's video on loop."

"Decline them." Su Chen threw the empty water bottle into the trash can.

He walked over to the sofa, sat down, and took a dry towel to wipe his hair.

"The domestic scene has been warmed up enough." Su Chen dried his hair and draped the towel around his neck.

Lin Yue was stunned. "What do you mean?"

Su Chen raised his head, his gaze passing Lin Yue to look at a world map hanging on the wall.

"The Birds Nest concert in three months is an account given to domestic fans." Su Chen stood up, walked over to the map, and placed his finger on a spot in Asia.

"But before that, I have other things to do."

Lin Yue looked over, following Su Chen's finger.

That location was Japan.

"Get ready." Su Chen pulled back his hand and said casually, "In the name of an independent label, launch the Asia international tour."

Su Chen turned around, looking at Lin Yue.

"First stop, Tokyo."