291: Chapter 291 Grand Ceremony Opening

That sharp, piercing wail of the Suona, which sounded as if it were tearing through the sky, had certainly taught those arrogant Western musicians an unforgettable lesson during the rehearsal.

However, individual prowess and the penetrating power of the instrument itself could not, in such a short time, alter the deeply rooted arrogance and prejudice of Western capital.

The highest decision-making body of the GMA organizing committee still maintained the original program list.

Not only did they refuse to adjust the performance order for Lin Qingxue.

Instead, with a sinister intention of wanting to see a show—or even deliberately making things difficult—they firmly pinned her performance right after the finale grand show of the top South Korean boy band, "EX-Star."

As the saying goes, pearls and jade come first, and wooden boxes come after.

The organizers' plans were clicking away: they would use the South Korean boy band's most explosive, atmosphere-igniting heavy metal electronic dance music to crush the "Oriental lone girl" who would appear afterward, without even the accompaniment of a symphony orchestra.

They wanted to use this most intuitive sensory gap.

In front of tens of millions of viewers watching the live broadcast globally, they wanted to nail Chinese pop music to a pillar of shame as backward, outdated, and vulnerable.

… Night fell.

Los Angeles, Staples Center.

This super venue, capable of accommodating twenty thousand spectators, was now packed to capacity.

Hundreds of jib cameras shuttled back and forth in the air above the venue, transmitting every scene from the site via satellite signal to broadcast screens in over a hundred countries and regions around the world in real-time.

The GMA Global Pop Music Awards officially kicked off.

As the awards ceremony progressed, one award after another found its winner.

The atmosphere at the venue also gradually climbed to its peak amidst alcohol, lights, and the screams of fans.

10:00 PM. Prime time.

"Next, let us use the most enthusiastic cheers!"

On stage, the blond, blue-eyed male host held the microphone, his voice high-pitched as he deliberately drew out his tone: "Welcome the most dominant super idol boy band currently in Asia and even the world—EX-Star!"

Boom! The moment the host finished speaking, it felt as if the entire dome of the stadium was about to be blown off.

Below the stage, thousands of fanatic girl fans from all over the world waved their glow sticks, emitting screams loud enough to pierce eardrums.

The lights on the stage suddenly went out. Immediately after, "Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The deafening heavy bass electronic synth beat, like a heavy hammer, smashed fiercely into every corner of the venue.

Even the champagne glasses in front of the big-name European and American stars in the front-row VIP area were trembling slightly with this low-frequency sound wave.

Five blinding red laser beams descended from the sky, hitting the center of the stage. Accompanied by the rising of the lift platform.

Five South Korean boy band members, wearing heavy smoky makeup and black studded leather jackets, struck cool poses as they appeared amidst the smoke created by dry ice.

The music instantly reached a climax. They began their so-called "knife-group dance," which was uniform and extremely powerful.

It has to be admitted that in terms of visual packaging and the creation of stage atmosphere, South Korea's star-making industry indeed has a mature assembly line.

The intense strobe lighting, combined with the cold fireworks constantly shooting from the edge of the stage, made the entire performance look full of adrenaline-surging excitement.

The lead dancer in the center position, holding a diamond-encrusted microphone, performed high-difficulty dance moves with large movements while "belting out" a high note.

However, if one listened carefully, they would discover that his voice was filled with a heavy sense of electronic synthesizer processing.

That metallic electronic vibrato perfectly masked his unstable breath and pitch deviations caused by the intense physical activity.

Coupled with the "pre-recorded vocal track" played from the backstage at maximum volume, how could this be considered singing live?

This was clearly just lip-syncing along to a CD recording, occasionally squeezing out a couple of breaths from the throat to prove the microphone was on.

But this false prosperity perfectly fooled the audience at the scene.

When the center male idol, in the gap between dance moves, suddenly tore open his already thin black shirt to reveal his abdominal muscles coated in baby oil, and made a highly suggestive hip-thrusting gesture toward the camera.

The female fans below the stage went completely crazy, and some were even so excited that they fainted on the spot.

In the front-row VIP seats, several top-tier European and American music producers serving as GMA judges, along with executives from several major record companies, were holding wine glasses and watching the performance on stage with great interest.

"David, what do you think?" An old-school producer with a graying beard turned his head to ask his companion.

"An excellent industrial product." The companion swirled the red wine in his glass, watching the dazzling light show on stage, and nodded repeatedly: "The rhythm is strong, and the electronic sound effects are handled in a way that fits the tastes of young people in Europe and America today. South Korean entertainment companies are very smart; they know how to cater to the international mainstream market and turn pop music into a visual bomb for the fast-food era."

The old producer smiled in deep agreement: "That's right, this is the current peak level of Asian pop music. By comparison..." The old producer seemed to recall something, and a look of disdain appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Chinese music seems too old-fashioned and too dull. They always like to use some pentatonic scales that no one understands, and it's slow, without even a heavy bass that makes people want to dance. That era of so-called 'Chinese Wave' is long outdated; now is the world of electronic music and K-pop."

The companion agreed with a laugh: "I heard the next performer is that Chinese female singer. And she even refused the accompaniment of our symphony orchestra, insisting on using some wooden pipe they brought themselves? Truly ungrateful. After these South Korean boys warm up the crowd, her soft, mushy Oriental love songs will probably make the audience fall asleep."

The two big shots of the European and American music industry smiled at each other and clinked their wine glasses. Their eyes were full of anticipation for the upcoming Chinese joke.

On stage, the ten-minute heavy metal electronic bombardment finally came to an end.

Accompanied by the last dull electronic drum beat, over a dozen brilliant fireworks, ten meters high, shot out from the back of the stage.

The five boy band members struck their final pose, panting heavily, sweat running down their delicate cheeks.

The cheers and applause at the venue swept through the entire Staples Center like a tsunami.

The center male idol stood at the very front. He enjoyed the glory of being worshipped by ten thousand people.

Just at the moment the director's camera cut to a close-up of his face, preparing to hand the screen over to the host, his eyes, drawn with thick black eyeliner, suddenly looked toward the dim waiting channel on the side of the stage.

That was the channel for the next guest performer to enter. He knew that Su Zhe and Lin Qingxue were standing there at this moment.

The corners of the male idol's mouth curled into a cold, provocative sneer. He raised his right hand. Toward the high-definition camera broadcasting to the whole world, he slowly gave a thumbs-up. Then, he flipped his wrist and pointed that thumb straight at the ground. Immediately after, he used his thumb to make a clean, swift "throat-slitting" gesture across his own neck.

Wow! Once this gesture was made, the foreign fans below the stage thought it was just the idol's cool stage ending design and screamed even more crazily. But those in the know understood clearly. This was the most naked humiliation and declaration of war against the next performer.

In the domestic live broadcast room, those Chinese netizens who stayed up late and bypassed the firewall to watch the GMA awards ceremony were so angry that their lungs were about to explode when they saw this scene.

"[F*ck! These Koreans are too damn arrogant!]"

"[This gesture is clearly aimed at our Goddess Qingxue and Director Su!]"

"[It makes me so mad! Doing this on an international stage, and the organizers don't do anything about it?]"

"[Do what? Don't you see that even the performance order was deliberately arranged to disgust us?]"

"[It's over, it's over. The boy band just now really heated up the place. Although it was electronic music with pitch correction, foreigners just love that stuff. If Qingxue sings that kind of slow-paced national style song next, she definitely won't be able to hold the stage!]"

The Chinese audience across the entire internet was holding back a fire in their hearts, but they were also breaking into a cold sweat.

Amidst the deafening screams, the boy band members bowed and exited. The blond, blue-eyed male host walked to the center of the stage with a light pace.

"Wow!" The host exaggeratedly patted his chest and shouted into the microphone: "What an incredible electronic music storm! My heart is still beating to their rhythm! Let us thank EX-Star again for their perfect performance!"

Warm applause rang out from the scene in cooperation. Afterward, the host glanced at the cue card in his hand. The fanaticism and excitement on his face instantly subsided a bit. He raised his eyebrows slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled into a slightly perfunctory and indifferent arc.

"Alright, after the carnival, we always need something... different to relax." The host shrugged his shoulders, drawing out his tone, revealing a clear sense of condescension: "Next, there will be a female singer from China who will bring us her performance. I heard that due to some special reasons, they gave up our excellent symphony orchestra. Instead, they brought two ancient instruments known as... 'mysterious Oriental wood'."

The host deliberately emphasized the word "wood," causing a few foreign guests in the front row below the stage to let out a burst of light laughter.

"So, let us see what kind of sound this mysterious Oriental wood can actually make on this modern stage." After finishing, the host bowed perfunctorily and turned to walk off the stage.

"Snap!" The entire Staples Center. Tens of thousands of brilliant spotlights and laser lights, at this moment, were all extinguished. The venue plunged into deep darkness. Only the twinkling glow sticks in the surrounding audience seats remained, swaying, along with a few impatient urging sounds coming from time to time.

The cold shoulder. There was no warm-up BGM, and no gorgeous opening light show. This was the highest "treatment" given to a Chinese singer by the home turf of Western capital.

On the side of the stage, in that dim and deep waiting channel, Su Zhe stood quietly in the darkness. He wore that crisp, high-end black suit, like a leopard lurking in the night.

In his left hand, he held the [sad suona] by its base, which was crafted from century-old lightning-struck wood and emitted a cold, eerie glow. And his right hand tightly gripped Lin Qingxue's slightly cold fingers.

Lin Qingxue wore an evening gown as deep as ink, listening to the cold atmosphere outside and the host's sharp, mocking sarcasm just a moment ago. Her fingertips trembled slightly.

"Scared?" Su Zhe's voice rang out in the darkness, low, but filled with an absolute confidence capable of suppressing the vast ocean.

Lin Qingxue took a deep breath. She reached back and firmly clasped Su Zhe's palm, their fingers intertwined tightly.

In the darkness, those cold, clear eyes erupted with a resolute light: "I'm not afraid. With you here, even if there is a sea of fire ahead, I dare to walk through it."

Su Zhe's lips curled into a cold sneer. He gently rubbed the back of Lin Qingxue's hand with his thumb and led her a step forward. His gaze was like a knife, piercing straight into the huge dark stage ahead, which was filled with prejudice, arrogance, and hostility.

"Wife, let's go! Let's go open the eyes of these narrow-minded foreign devils."