Chapter Fifty-Seven: Beyond Words

After Li Mu returned to Haizhou, the theory exam for this batch of students at Jin'an Driving School began. Fortunately, Li Mu had brought his study materials with him when he went back to the countryside, and with many years of practical driving experience, he managed the theory test quite smoothly. However, driving school exams in Haizhou in 2001 were still very outdated. There were no computerized test centers; all theory exams were closed-book written tests, and it took two or three days after the test to find out the results.

As soon as Li Mu finished his theory exam, he immediately took a flight to Jinling, then flew to Wencheng, arriving at the headquarters of Metersbonwe that very day to sign the contract and pay a cooperation deposit of several tens of thousands of yuan. That same evening, he flew back to Jinling.

For the Eting project, Li Mu had previously asked Ye Tianming to help him find an office, but he’d never had the time to check it out. He planned to take this opportunity to stay in Jinling for a day and settle the matter.

That night, the four members of Simple Plan picked Li Mu up at the airport and immediately dragged him to an upscale restaurant to eat, drink, and welcome him back.

Zhang Kexuan told Li Mu, “The recording of the preliminary round has already aired. First, it was broadcast once on the satellite channel, then replayed, and then it was rebroadcast twice on the second channel.”

Li Mu smiled and asked, “How does it feel now that it’s been aired?”

“Aiya!” Zhang Kexuan replied excitedly, “Wherever I go, young girls recognize me. Didn’t you notice I didn’t dare take you to that old food stall tonight?”

Li Mu nodded and looked at the other three, asking, “How about you all? How do you feel?”

The other three all said there wasn’t anything particularly different, because to those young girls, only Zhang Kexuan seemed to exist.

There was a hint of envy and a tinge of sourness in their words.

Li Mu worried that the other three might gradually develop resentment over this, so he deliberately said in a casual tone, “For a band to become popular, in the early stages you need to establish a core figure. Once that first core figure gains a foothold in the market, then you can start promoting a second core figure.”

He continued, “Just like Beyond. In the beginning, there was only Wong Ka Kui as the core figure, but once his image as the lead singer was established, Paul Wong, as the lead guitarist, was then positioned as the musical core.”

The four nodded in agreement.

Zhang Kexuan understood the true purpose of Li Mu’s words. This was exactly what had been troubling him lately. They were all good friends, playing in a band together, but now that he had suddenly become popular while the other three remained unknown, he worried they might feel left behind. However, as the one already benefitting, it wasn’t appropriate for him to bring it up. Li Mu had spoken at just the right moment, using Beyond—a band known to everyone in China—as an example, and the other three seemed to understand instantly.

Zhang Kexuan couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. This young man, not yet nineteen, seemed to see right through everything and could pinpoint and resolve issues no one wanted to mention at the most crucial moment. It was truly remarkable.

At this moment, Ye Tianming laughed and said, “I don’t really care about that. Anyway, the drummer is always at the back of the stage and rarely gets attention.”

Li Mu shook his head. “That’s not quite right. At your current stage, you’re far from being stars. After watching TV or seeing online promotions, the audience only has two impressions: whether the song sounds good, and whether you look good. But as you get more exposure, and the audience starts to become fans and admirers, they’ll want to know more about you.”

“For example, they’ll start noticing that, besides the lead singer, the guitarist is also quite handsome, and the drummer is pretty cool. Once you start performing live, Kexuan can give you more opportunities to shine.”

“For instance, when he finishes the chorus and it’s time for a guitar solo, Kexuan can step back while Xia Ji comes to the front of the stage, using his guitar, his solo, and his presence to draw the crowd’s attention. The same logic applies to the bassist and the drummer.”

“I get it!” Ye Tianming exclaimed joyfully. “That’s why, during Beyond’s concerts, Paul Wong would come to the front for his solos, with all the lights on him. They even let Wong Ka Keung play an extra-long bass solo during ‘Cold Rainy Night,’ and Yip Sai Wing also had a few minutes for his own drum solo.”

Li Mu nodded. “As a band develops, the best scenario is for everyone to become famous and have their own fan base. That’s what will strengthen the band’s overall influence. I’ll make sure to give the three of you more chances to stand out in the future—better solos, opportunities for harmony or even solo performances. But all this has to wait until Kexuan’s core status is firmly established.”

The three expressed their agreement. Of course, they felt some disappointment, but they weren’t sure how much difference they could tolerate. Still, with Li Mu’s words, they felt much more at ease, knowing they wouldn’t be overlooked.

Zhang Kexuan was also relieved, and said to Li Mu, “The day after tomorrow at eight in the evening, we have the semifinals—eight teams, only one champion earns the right to go to Yanjing. It’s a crucial match; you have to be there.”

Li Mu didn’t promise right away. Instead, he asked, “How’s your rehearsal going for ‘Sunflower’?”

“Pretty good,” the four answered almost in unison. “We’ve been practicing it a lot lately.”

Li Mu said, “I might not have time the day after tomorrow. Let’s go to your rehearsal room later so I can see how you’re doing. Also, where are the résumés you found for me? Let me take a look. Tianming, can we visit the office space tomorrow?”

Ye Tianming replied, “No problem, we can go anytime.”

Li Mu nodded. “To be honest, I have a lot to do in Haizhou. I’ll need to head back tomorrow evening.”

Ye Tianming quickly said, “By the way, one of my dad’s former subordinates is doing business in Haizhou. He came to Jinling yesterday on business and was going to leave tomorrow morning. I asked him to wait for you. So don’t take the train back—just ride with him.”

Li Mu said, “That’s not right. I don’t want to hold him up. Let him go back in the morning; I can just take the train in the evening.”

Ye Tianming insisted, “No way. You’ve come all this way for us. We can’t have you take the train back to Haizhou. He’s like a brother to me—we’re really close. If you don’t want to ride with him, I’ll drive you myself. Pick one.”

Li Mu was about to refuse, but Zhang Kexuan chimed in, “Yeah, Xiao Mu, if you want, I can drive you too.”

Li Mu didn’t argue further and turned to Ye Tianming. “Then I’ll trouble your brother.”

“No problem, I’ll call him and let him know.”

Li Mu nodded, and just then his phone buzzed with a text message: “Your aunt has agreed.”

It was from his mother. Earlier that day, after signing the contract and before boarding his flight back, he’d called his mom to tell her everything was settled and asked her to talk to his aunt. Now, it seemed the aunt’s side was taken care of.

He needed to hurry back and make arrangements—either have his mother and aunt attend training together, or take his father along as well. In any case, this needed to be finalized quickly.

So, Li Mu finished the half glass of beer in his cup and said to the four, “Let’s finish this drink, but that’s it for tonight. Let’s eat up and head to your rehearsal room. I have a lot to do tomorrow, and I don’t know if I’ll make it the day after, but I must be back in Haizhou tomorrow night.”

The four heard this and didn’t linger. They quickly filled their stomachs, paid the bill, and went straight to their rehearsal room. It used to be called Jinling Noise Factory, but now it had been renamed Simple Plan.

In the rehearsal room, Li Mu looked over the résumés they’d found for him while listening to them rehearse “Sunflower.” The song wasn’t particularly difficult to play or sing. Thanks to his earlier advice, Zhang Kexuan was now trying to interpret the song in his own style—a sign of progress. The four had clearly practiced hard; they sang it three times without a single mistake.

Afterwards, Li Mu gave them a thumbs up. “Keep up this level in the competition, and there’s no problem going to Yanjing!”

Then he pulled out four résumés. “These four look good to me. Let’s arrange interviews for tomorrow.”

All four candidates were from southern Su Province, and one named Kong Lingyu left a deep impression on Li Mu. Kong Lingyu was a native of Jinling, graduated from Yanjing University of Science and Technology in 1998, and joined Yahoo China as a web developer in early 2000. At that time, Yahoo was one of the earliest and most prominent web portals in the country. However, Kong Lingyu had resigned from Yahoo at the end of March this year and returned to Jinling.

His résumé stated that after returning, he’d started his own business, creating a navigation website modeled after hao123. The site was still in its early stages, generating no revenue and requiring ongoing investment. Kong Lingyu hoped to find a job as a web developer to support his personal project.

Noting his side business so openly on his résumé, Li Mu wasn’t sure whether to call him honest or naïve, but given his profession and skills, Kong Lingyu was exactly what Li Mu needed at that moment.