176: Chapter 176 At the Same Time

"kepler" had become a staple in Ruan Xingyu's subsequent concerts, though Lin Chuyan didn't go up to join in the fun anymore.

Being able to quietly appreciate his girlfriend's beauty from the audience was also quite nice...

However, on the third day—which was also the final Shanghai concert—Wu Yue called him from Beijing.

"How is it? Coming back to work?"

Well, he was being urged.

Lin Chuyan was indeed reluctant to leave his girlfriend, but work had to be done; he couldn't just keep following her around everywhere, could he?

"I'm coming back..."

"Hmm, there's a music festival work offer, I think you should take it."

Lin Chuyan was quite interested: "What music festival? Where is it?"

"Strawberry. For this time period, it's in Shimen."

"Speaking of which, they actually thought of inviting a Singer like me?"

"What do you mean 'a Singer like you'? You're doing quite well now." Wu Yue explained a few things to him, "For music festivals, there are quite a few bands, and they have to invite top-tier Singers, and even traffic stars. Let's put it this way: brand sponsorship fees definitely don't make up the bulk of the income; a music festival's main source of revenue is still ticket sales. They have sales pressure, too. What if the sales rate is too low and they lose money? In recent years, inviting traffic stars to music festivals has become standard practice."

"Alright... so I'm that 'traffic'?"

Wu Yue joked with him on the other end of the line: "You could say that... if they can't invite the Heavenly Queen, can't they invite the Heavenly Queen's boyfriend?"

"Hahaha, that's bold. A person like me who hasn't really sung live much—they aren't afraid of things going wrong?"

"Don't be like that; they've evaluated you, alright? When you livestreamed 'New Voice Music Plan', you sang 'little yu'; when you livestreamed 'happy re-departure', you sang 'lonely patient' and 'a little red flower'; and at the concert, you sang 'loves flight diary'... especially the concert part, you sang really well."

Wu Yue got more and more excited as he spoke, fully unleashing his bragging spirit: "A music festival is nothing! At most, it's 30,000 people. And you? Roughly speaking, you're someone who has performed at an 80,000-person stadium! Well, even if you were just tagging along with your girlfriend..."

"Alright, alright, but regardless, they're still quite brave... After all, I've never had box office appeal for events like this."

"Pfft! There's no such thing as a sure thing. You can't expect to have all the advantages; sometimes you have to take a gamble. Besides, while you don't have a track record in music, that 'the hovering blade' which is currently showing has a very good box office."

That was true. 'the hovering blade' currently had a box office of 700 million, leading the pack among summer movies, and Maoyan Pro predicted a final total of 1 billion.

What was the concept of 1 billion? The champion of the Spring Festival Movie Season that just passed was only 3 billion-plus, alright!

Wu Yue started bragging directly: "Xiao Yan, what is this? You've joined the 1 billion box office club! Is 10 billion still a dream?"

Lin Chuyan: "..."

Brother Yue was really getting carried away. If he listened to him for a few more sentences, he would inevitably start to get full of himself.

He asked the key question directly: "Fine, as long as they pay... tell me, how much money can they give?"

"Since you have to sing for about 40 minutes, 8 songs, 1 million. If it's less, we won't go."

"Whoa, their costs aren't low."

"Yes, artist expenses are the biggest chunk of a music festival's costs, but there's no way around it. If you want to get the ticket sales rate over 85%, you can't do it without putting together a good artist lineup. The music festival lasts two days; to get all the artists together, it probably costs 12 million to 14 million. Things like stage setup and sound equipment—even if you cut corners, that's at least 3 million. All in all, one music festival costs at least 15 to 17 million."

"Got it, I have no problem with that."

"Hmm, then I'll go sign the contract. Once signed, they should be able to pay 50% immediately, and the remaining 50% will be settled when the music festival approaches."

"Alright, thanks for your hard work, Brother Yue."

"Hmm, you pick 8 songs, then practice well and make preparations."

"Hey, then I have to go back to Beijing. I can't focus on practicing here..."

"Understood..."

This was the telepathy between men.

Ruan Xingyu thought she could stay with him for a few more days; she didn't expect to hear the news of her boyfriend leaving right after the concert ended.

Her mood instantly soured.

She wanted to force a smile, but couldn't quite manage it, which was actually quite cute.

So Lin Chuyan couldn't help but stay with her for one more day...

How did that saying go? A comfort zone is a hero's graveyard!

However, now that the concert in Shanghai was over, they could finally have a proper meal together.

Lin Chuyan didn't think too much and picked a high-end restaurant that served Shanghai cuisine.

The restaurant overall had a Spanish Gaudí architectural style. The interior decoration style was also very unique, with no straight lines or right angles. Everywhere you looked, there were brightly colored Spanish tiles and murals, as well as various antiques and art pieces everywhere, like a handmade convertible sports car from the last century, a Piano with over two hundred years of history...

Each private room had a different theme and decoration style. The one Lin Chuyan chose was called "The Female Painter's Studio"—well, everywhere you looked, there were paintings.

Of course, the most important thing was that it was quiet, elegant, and had good privacy. Lin Chuyan was very satisfied.

Looking at the price of over 1000 per person, he felt that half of it was spent on the environment.

However, both of them had no appetite, so it was true that they came for the environment.

Lin Chuyan sat next to his girlfriend, feeling a bit embarrassed: "There's no other way, I have to make money. I have work, so I have to go back."

Ruan Xingyu blinked her eyes, her tone extremely natural: "Don't go, I'll support you!"

Lin Chuyan was a bit speechless and started spouting nonsense: "My expenses are very high. I go in and out of high-end places every day, and I just buy, buy, buy..."

Ruan Xingyu interrupted her boyfriend's spell-casting: "It's fine, I have money."

...That was too much, that was too much.

Lin Chuyan touched her little hand and said nothing, sighing in his heart that this 'eating soft rice' was truly tempting, especially when the other person was young and beautiful... He had wealth, and he didn't need to endure anything. Where could he find such a beautiful job?

He couldn't help but fantasize about this kind of life. Hmm, he felt that at that time he would probably be at the gym every day... building up his pectoral muscles to satisfy the daily needs of a beautiful woman.

That didn't seem impossible, right?

Thinking about it again, he left his girlfriend to go run a music festival and earned 1 million, while she might earn tens of millions from a single concert...

Damn, this really couldn't be thought about in detail.

Fortunately, he still paid more attention to spiritual pursuits; acting well was the most important thing.

Lin Chuyan pulled Ruan Xingyu's hand and made a grand wish: "Don't get too smug; one day I will support you."

Immediately after, he took a square box out of his bag: "Also, I have a gift for you before I leave."

He opened it directly; inside were two watches.

"Oh!" Ruan Xingyu was pleasantly surprised, "You even knew my endorsement expired."

The watch Ruan Xingyu previously endorsed had been switched to a male artist, and now her wrist was just right for it.

On the right was the ladies' watch, diamond bezel + black leather strap.

A white mother-of-pearl dial with teardrop diamonds, exaggerated Arabic numerals, and a tiny hand design; the contrast was pushed to the max.

On the left was the men's watch, also with a black strap.

White enamel dial, skeletonized blue steel hands, elegant and simple dial layout. The 12 o'clock position of the dial featured a moon phase, looking like a human's smiling face, appearing elegant and unique.

Ruan Xingyu recognized it immediately: "Breguet Reine de Naples and 7787, you have good taste."

Well, it was all thanks to Xia Zhi.

Lin Chuyan had asked Xia Zhi to pick several models for him to choose from, and he finally chose these two.

They weren't too expensive; they were no pressure for him right now.

Hmm, mainly they were good-looking, and he felt they matched their temperaments quite well.

Lin Chuyan put it on Ruan Xingyu and set the time.

He thought for a moment and then set both watches one minute fast.

Ruan Xingyu tilted her head, not understanding this operation: "What are you doing?"

Lin Chuyan smiled and touched her face again: "This way, we are in the same time."