Chapter 10: Whether in the Dead of Night, an Itching Desire Drives One to Rub Against the Hearth's Edge!

Currently, Yu Qian actually has three sons. The eldest is Yu Siyang, and the youngest is Yu Gengyin. Of course, in the crosstalk performances, the eldest son is sometimes called Guo Xiaobao. But besides these two biological sons, Guo Qiling could also be considered Yu Qian’s son. Although Zhou Le wasn’t sure whether Guo Qiling’s relationship with Yu Qian was genuine or not, or if it was true that there wasn’t even a toothbrush for him at home, Zhou Le knew that Yu Qian treated this godson very well.

“Hey, it’s not easy for you either. Honestly, many kids like you might become depressed from such family hardships. Nowadays, a lot of people don’t understand this and just think it’s nonsense or fussing, but until you’ve suffered yourself, you can’t truly advise others. Actually, you’re doing pretty well right now — at least you haven’t gone astray.”

At this, Gulina Za chimed in with a sarcastic remark: “Not gone astray yet? I’ve never seen anyone with an online name like that.”

Zhou Le didn’t mind the teasing at all. On the contrary, since he chose such a name, if no one paid attention or everyone just took it for granted, wouldn’t that be a waste?

After lunch, they returned to the hotel to rest briefly, then went to practice singing. Neither Gulina Za nor Han Tongsheng had experience with bass or guitar, respectively. After assigning their roles, Dapeng promptly arranged over forty guitar lessons for the newly sixty-year-old Han Tongsheng and found a bass instructor for Gulina Za.

However, seeing their skill levels, Zhou Le grew a bit concerned. The music director, Zhao Yingjun, reassured them it wasn’t a problem. They would use stand-ins for complex parts, and in scenes showing instruments or hands, Gulina Za would play only root notes, while Han Tongsheng would play simple chords. More complicated sections and solos would be handled through quick cuts to stand-ins.

“So, in the crew, only I, Xixi, and Shan Ge can actually play instruments, right?”

“That’s right. Shan Ge used to play guitar before, and there’s me too,” Xixi replied.

Though Zhou Le had only just met Zhao Yingjun and heard of him for the first time, he felt Zhao was a decent person. After all, who would truly dislike Bald Qiang?

In the following days, their routine was quite fixed. Three days later, the entire crew moved to Pinggu District, where they used an abandoned factory called Changjian Auto Repair Plant as the main filming location. All the necessary sets had been constructed, and the apprentices of Zhao Benshan, who were to appear early in the film, were already in position.

But at this critical moment, Han Tongsheng encountered a problem. Though he had mastered the guitar technically, as the rock emperor character in the film, he just couldn’t find that rock ‘n’ roll feeling. He was a seasoned actor but had little experience with rock music.

Therefore, at noon the day before filming began, Dapeng gathered several lead actors.

“Teachers, we start filming tomorrow. This is a rock-style movie, so I got five tickets for tonight’s concert. Let’s go find that rock vibe.”

Zhou Le asked, “Who’s playing?”

“Second Hand Rose. Tonight at the North Exhibition Center!”

Zhou Le’s eyes lit up. While Second Hand Rose wasn’t his absolute favorite domestic rock band, he had listened to them quite a lot over the past six months. Their songs perfectly matched his mental state.

However, Xixi, standing nearby, counted heads and found that including herself, there were six people.

“Brother Dapeng, is there anyone who’s not going?”

Dapeng looked at Xixi. “It’s you.”

Xixi was puzzled. “But I want to go too.”

Dapeng comforted her, “Xixi, that’s an adult place. When you’re older, you can come.”

He then looked toward Xixi’s mother, who agreed. After all, Second Hand Rose’s online songs were fine, but their live shows contained a lot of content not suitable for children.

“Be good, Xixi. Mom will take you out for something delicious and buy you a dress, okay?”

Though the little girl was reluctant, she knew if she fussed she'd get nothing, so she agreed.

That evening, Zhou Le and the others gathered at the North Exhibition Center. Although Yu Qian had helped secure the tickets, he wasn’t present tonight since he had a performance at the Deyun Society.

The theme for the evening was “Waiting for a Thousand Years.”

Zhou Le was very excited. Honestly, he had wanted to see this concert for a long time. Unfortunately, Second Hand Rose hadn’t performed live since 2013, aside from music festivals, which he didn’t like because of their mixed lineups.

Their seats were quite close to the stage.

As the concert began, Zhou Le and Gulina Za started dancing. Nearby, Dapeng, Qiao Shan, and Zhao Yingjun bounced along too. Han Tongsheng found it a bit noisy but kept the rhythm anyway.

On stage, Liang Long naturally noticed them. In other words, these front-row people were celebrities, all of whom he recognized—except Zhou Le.

During the band’s performance, the instrumentalists also had microphones. They sometimes communicated about changing keys or rhythms to add freshness, and occasionally chatted about trivial matters.

Li Ziqiang said: “Lan Ge, aren’t you going to cameo in their movie soon?”

Yao Lan: “Yeah!”

Sun Quan: “Gulina Za is really good-looking!”

Yao Lan: “Who wouldn’t agree!”

Li Ziqiang: “But who’s that guy?”

Yao Lan: “Which one?”

“The tall, handsome one next to Za!”

“No idea, don’t know him. Maybe they’re from the same crew? Being so close to Za, could he be her new boyfriend?”

“Damn, really? Let’s mess with him!”

“Go for it! Perfect for promoting Lan Ge’s movie!”

So, in the middle of the song, Liang Long suddenly came to the front and pointed at Zhou Le, signaling him to come on stage.

“Me?”

Zhou Le was stunned.

“With so many celebrities here, why pick me?”

But for Zhou Le, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He immediately went to the stage front, but the stage was too high to climb, and the staff hadn’t been notified in advance, so no one came to guide him.

Suddenly, several men rushed forward, bent down, and grabbed Zhou Le’s legs.

Seeing this, others rushed up as well. The security hadn’t reacted yet, and Zhou Le was lifted by seven or eight men and carried onto the stage.

At that moment, the previous song had just ended and the next was starting seamlessly.

Hearing the intro, Zhou Le immediately recognized the song. With such a powerful guitar intro, it could only be “Fate.”

“One line each!”

Liang Long didn’t waste time and quickly assigned lyrics to Zhou Le.

Dressed in a sexy sheer top, a short skirt, and long boots, his style exuded a sultry charm without any hint of masculinity.

Those who disliked this style couldn’t muster any interest.

But fans of this genre loved it!

“Are you busy every day just for one meal?”

Liang Long sang the first line, pointing at his own clothes, then at the others’, and finally at Zhou Le.

Zhou Le sang, “Do you imagine only silk and satin?”

He sang while spreading his hands.

At that moment, someone threw a tie onto the stage.

Liang Long and the band laughed.

Zhou Le laughed too.

“Has your lover become just a companion?”

Zhou Le immediately took off his short-sleeved shirt, slipped the tie around his neck, and, shirtless, leapt up with all his might.

“Do you scratch your heart at midnight, rubbing against the edge of the bed?”

At that instant, the entire North Exhibition Center went wild.

Zhou Le blended perfectly with the people on stage, without the slightest sense of discord.

No one found his bare chest vulgar or thought he was trying to seduce anyone.

They just thought it was insanely cool—so rock ‘n’ roll it bordered on the abstract!

Abstract and abstract fused perfectly in that moment.

Some even thought that if Zhou Le took off his pants next, it would be the ultimate showstopper!