Chapter 84

Curtain Call: Fame the Musical (1)

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Because the subject matter was niche and funds were limited, Waiting for the Midnight Sun hardly did any offline promotion, and all its promotional materials were based on the Internet. They had only a few hundred fans on their official Weibo account, but they were well-connected public accounts in the industry which they used to promote the first wave of audience members.

It sounded pitiful, but in fact, it was a dilemma faced by most domestic musicals.

Only half of the 320 seats were sold in the first show, while the remaining half were used for public relations, inviting many insiders to watch. There were dozens of tickets assigned to surrounding colleges and universities, as they hoped for young college students to become ‘tap water’* for this show.

[T/N: * = spontaneous publicity and recommendations]

With the ardent expectations of everyone in the crew, Waiting for the Midnight Sun finally arrived on the stage, under the view of the 320 audience members.

...

That night, the first wave of repo* quietly appeared on social networks.

[T/N: * = report of an event from fans who were there live.]

The well-known director Tang Fengyu in the musical circle and the gold medal producer Song Lin took the lead in posting good reviews to their circle of friends.

@Tang Fengyu: Today, I watched Xiao Xiang's new work Waiting for the Midnight Sun with Old Song; it is a story of self-salvation and self-reconciliation. There are still several areas in the script that need to be polished, the rhythm was a bit slow in the middle, and there were also some minor problems usually present in the first performance, but the flaws were not too obvious.

I have to say that the child Xiao Xiang grew up too fast. He is only twenty-three years old, but was able to take the lead alone and complete this two-hour one-man show with almost no flaws. At his optimal state; there are still hopeful successors in the domestic musical theater circle.

@Song Lin: I still remember the first time I met Xiang Cai five years ago in Huawu Affiliated Academy. At that time, the expression ‘newborn calves are not afraid of tigers’ was written all over his face. Even though his audition failed, he did not show any sadness. At that time, I felt that the future of this child was absolutely boundless.

Sure enough, he brought me new surprises in Waiting for the Midnight Sun. His singing, dancing, and acting were all excellent. I was fully engaged right through to his concluding song -  singing and dancing whilst trembling. When I met him backstage, the young man was exhausted and paralyzed. [smile][smile][smile]

The pictures the two seniors posted were exactly the same: a sweaty Xiang Cai, makeup un-removed, holding a bouquet of flowers, standing between them. His fatigue was obvious, but his eyes were still extremely bright.

The two seniors had very extensive contacts in the circle, and thousands of friends in WeChat. As soon as this was posted in their circle of friends, it was immediately filled with dense likes and comments.

Although this circle was full of ‘commercial exchanges’* due to owed favors, Song Lin and Tang Fengyu were always united when critiquing a work - praising if it was good, and scolding if it was bad. The two people's consistent praise towards the other party this time was enough to demonstrate the excellence of this drama.

[T/N: * = means complimenting each other.]

With the support of these two sponsors, many people in the circle remembered the name of Waiting for the Midnight Sun in their hearts. They even planned to go and watch when the show toured.

In addition to those professionals, many ordinary audience members who watched the premiere gave the show five-star reviews.

This play was very unique in terms of performance and stage style. Even people who often watched musicals would rarely see such an outstanding one-man show.

The male protagonist had excellent acting skills and appearance. He himself supported the whole show, which was particularly infectious. Many of the audience members were immersed into the plot by him, crying and laughing with him.

There were many fans of the movie actor Chang Yiheng on Weibo.

Chang Yiheng had bought the film adaptation rights of the original novel, intending to use it as his first self-directed and self-acted work. Since the film was yet to be released, fans of the actor went to watch the musical to relieve their hunger. Therefore, under the organization of the big fans, they bought dozens of group tickets to the musical.

They had originally wanted to ‘watch it casually’, but when they came out of the theater, everyone had cried so much that their makeup was ruined. After returning home, they immediately announced on Weibo that they ‘found a new wallhead!’*

[T/N: * = means they are calling themselves easily influenced fans who found a new star]

Thanks to their hard work, they dug up Xiang Cai’s verified Weibo. Although he hadn’t posted a thing this month, his fans still increased by a lot.

Waiting for the Midnight Sun was performed in Huacheng for seven consecutive shows. When it reached the fourth show, the internet community was ignited.


@Wang Qingyun’s little sister fan: Am I the only person on the whole forum who watched Waiting for the Midnight Sun!!! I was issued a free ticket by the student union. I was scared it would be a bit complicated, but unexpectedly, the few roommates who went together with me, all cried ourselves blind!!! However, that was not the point I wanted to say!!!

@Wang Qingyun’s little sister fan: When I watched the show, I felt that the voice of the ‘midnight sun’ was very familiar. At the time, I thought I had heard it wrong!!! At the end of the curtain call!!! The one who came out from backstage!!! Was Yun Da ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!

@Wang Qingyun’s little sister fan: When I saw that it was Yun Da, I screamed and yelled so loud that all the surrounding audience members will need to depend on hearing aids for the rest of their lives!!! It was definitely Yun Da!!! I have concrete evidence!!! It really was him!!!

The little sister fan directly posted the photos and videos on the Super Topic. The man who appeared on the center of the stage was indeed their idol Wang Qingyun!

The curtain call video lasted five minutes. Xiang Cai first introduced the band to the audience, and then revealed his ‘midnight sun’, the voice behind the scenes - Tan Yiming to them.

Originally, there were barriers between the second and third dimensions. The musical theater circle and the voice acting circle were far apart. Except for the little sister fan, no one at the scene recognized Tan Yiming.

For ordinary audience members, they would just think the voice of the actor backstage was very appealing, and that there was definitely some chemistry between the two leads.

In the video, the little sister fan’s hands were trembling. When she zoomed the lens in, viewers could clearly see the movements and expressions of the two people on the stage.

They were dressed in suits and stood side by side, holding hands and bowing to the four sides of the theater one by one. Each time they bowed, they held it for at least ten seconds, then rose in unison to turn to the next direction.


Two people, one tall and handsome, one pure and delicate. In the musical, their relationship was full of imagination. The boy was chasing an invisible person, pinning everything he had on that imaginary voice.

The video accidentally recorded the little sister fan’s broken thoughts: "Wa...why are they bowing like they are worshipping heaven and earth*..."

[T/N: * = part of traditional marriage rites.]

In addition to the video, she also showed a magazine sold at the venue, which displayed Tan Yiming's real name marked after the character ‘midnight sun’.

When the ‘concrete evidence’ came out, Wang Qingyun's Super Topic began to boil.

Someone asked, "Isn't Yun Da only acting in movies and TV series? Why did he suddenly cross the border to act in a musical (or is it still considered dubbing?)? And he didn't give any promotions on Weibo?"

Someone replied: "I guess he didn’t want to be too high-profile, right? After all, his coming out not long ago caused the whole circle to explode..."

Many virtual fans had never watched a musical before, but after seeing the online repo, they immediately opened the official website to buy tickets for the show.

If they could hear the voice of the great god at close range and see the performance of this beautiful brother - then they couldn’t find anything more worthwhile to spend their money!!!

And after they watched the entire musical and walked out of the theater dizzily, they also turned into fans of Xiang Cai without exception...

※

The final performance of Waiting for the Midnight Sun in Huacheng was over.

The play's word-of-mouth promotion proved highly successful. The number of specatators that could be accommodated in any one show was limited. And due to the overwhelming demand, in the last few shows, they had to temporarily added seating. So the tickets went from being 'given away' to 'difficult to buy'. Xiang Cai and Tan Yiming burned their souls on the stage in exchange for this great success.

At the curtain call, there was thunderous applause from the audience. Fans rushed down from their seats like a flood, flocked around the stage, and raised their hands high to hand over the gifts they had prepared.

After a while, Xiang Cai and Tan Yiming's arms were full.

Xiang Guai had never seen a more passionate fan than the one just standing before him. This fan held several bouquets of flowers in his arms, so much so that their whole body was buried in the flowers.

He hurriedly said: "I will only take the flowers. You can take the gifts back, I don't accept gifts. You walking into the theater and watching my musical is the greatest support you can give.”

A fan asked: "If you don't accept gifts, do you accept letters?"

Xiang Cai didn't understand: "What letters?"

The little fans shyly took out letters, some wrapped them in pink, blue, and yellow, with pink hearts on the envelope.

Many fans would write letters to their idols. The letters are all about their admiration and encouragement for the idol, hoping that they would get better and better. They also promise to continue supporting him in the future.

After watching silently for a long time, and as Xiang Cai was about to take it, Tan Yiming suddenly asked, "Is this a fan letter or a love letter?"

Xiang Cai elbowed him and laughed: "Why, is Teacher Tan jealous?"

"Yeah." Tan Yiming's gaze flicked across the letters with admiration painted all over them, and said, "I'm quite jealous."

The little girls only thought that he was joking, so they reassured him: "We will also write to Teacher Tan for the second tour!"

After bidding farewell to the fans, the two took off their makeup and quietly left the theater through the back door.

The flowers they collected were all piled in the back seat, and the car was fragrant. Now that Tan Yiming had many vases at home, there was no need for them to worry about the flowers being without a home.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Xiang Cai opened the letters one by one and read them each under the warm yellow light above his head.

Tan Yiming asked sourly: "Don't you get dizzy reading letters while the car is moving?"

Xiang Cai had just finished seven performances. Although he was physically exhausted, he was extremely excited in spirit. He stood on the cusp of the wave now, and his mind is full of the musical and all the praises from the audience. Nowhere could he hear the undertones of the conversation.

"Don't faint." Xiang Cai flipped through the letters joyfully. After reading one, he folded it and put it back in their envelope, and then opened the next one. He excitedly shared with Tan Yiming, "Oh, aren’t girls such cute creatures? They are so literary, and their writing is so interesting."

"...How is it interesting?"

"The way they praise me! Look at this sentence - 'Brother, you are a snowy mountain, dazzling and bright.' And this sentence - 'It's a pity that I didn't know of you until today. I can't go back in time and see your previous musicals, but I will be your loyal audience member in each one in the future'." Xiang Cai read it shyly; and even though he was shy, he continued to read.

He pushed the seat back, and his two goose flippers shyly kicked under the seat, while his temperature sharply increased.

He brought the letters to the tip of his nose and sniffed, then said in surprise: "Wow, these letters are even scented!"

His face flushed, and his onstage persona could not be found. Now, he was just like an ordinary boy receiving a love letter from a girl!

Tan Yiming: "..."

Sure enough, when his boyfriend of his became more famous, there would be more love rivals!!

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The author has something to say: The curtain call comes after the main novel ~ it will last about 4-5 chapters.

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