Chapter 60: What's the Point of Playing Rock and Roll If You Don't Have Bedhead and Bad Temper?

"Come on, let's get the instruments set up."

Entering the backstage of the broadcasting hall, everyone sprang into action at Li Can's call.

There were a lot of band components.

Li Can's drum kit alone was not a traditional standard setup; it had been expanded to meet more demanding musical needs.

Although Winnie appeared to be holding only a guitar, she actually had a full array of pedals at her feet: a wah pedal, a sustain pedal, and volume/effects pedals, leaving none out.

In addition to these components, Li Can also needed to thoroughly test the sound collection effect, account for sound absorption with a large crowd present, and check speaker monitor effects to ensure suitability for a live performance.

Without a sound check, the resulting acoustic performance would inevitably sound like a catastrophic car crash.

"The volume of the drums and electric guitar needs to be turned up a bit, and make sure it's well-balanced."

Listening to Li Can's requests, the sound engineer nodded earnestly.

Being a true professional, he wouldn't make any cliché rock and roll jokes—such as... the drums just need to be barely audible, and the bass doesn't even need to be heard at all.

The sound check didn't take very long.

With data from previous rehearsals already in place, this was merely a final micro-adjustment and confirmation.

With everything arranged, Li Can assigned tasks to the junior student union members helping out backstage.

"Quickly setting everything up during the breaks between programs depends entirely on you guys. You remember the placement spots?"

"Got it, Senior! Don't you worry!"

A junior from the student union patted his chest firmly.

He even lifted his foot and vigorously wiped the sole of his shoe with his hand to show Li Can.

"I specifically changed my shoes, and the soles are completely clean. No stickiness, no noise, and the floor has been mopped—definitely no dust, and it won't be slippery!"

"Holy cow, wonderful, wonderful."

Li Can gave a thumbs-up.

A truly slip-proof setup; truly worthy of professionals.

This scene made two companion performers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) standing not far away nod repeatedly.

This trip was well worth it; they had learned something.

"My goodness, professionals are truly professional. Learned a lot."

Several junior members demonstrated the process of clearing and setting up the props.

The level of smoothness was simply inhuman.

In the short span of a single announcement, aside from clearing away the scattered items of the previous act, the massive band setup—from pedals to keyboards, from wiring to the drum kit—was completely arranged in neat order.

The division of labor was clear-cut, neat and efficient, with a master-level familiarity with the equipment.

Watching such a standard of execution was pleasing to the eye, completely leagues apart from the backstage disorder they usually saw.

The two USTC performers couldn't help but gasp in admiration.

"C... could this be the true power of music majors?"

Zhao Ze, who was tinkering with a tuning clip not far away, overheard this exclamation.

He raised his head, pushed up the bridge of his glasses, and spoke calmly.

"No, bro, to be strictly accurate, this is music majors adapting to their future career prospects in advance."

"?"

Amidst the bewildered gazes of the two USTC performers, Zhao Ze spoke steadily.

"Studying music... will starve you to death."

"Zhao Ze, come check the in-ear monitors!"

"Coming!"

Zhao Ze stood up, leaving not a trace behind. Amidst the stunned gazes of the group, he walked away, his retreating figure carrying a rather poetic air.

"Huh? Look over there, isn't that Lin Feng?"

"What the heck? Was that big shot just now performing in the same segment as Lin Feng?"

Following the direction Zhao Ze pointed, the two instantly recognized Lin Feng, who had been frequently appearing in the media lately.

A mix of pressure and excitement surged within them.

But soon, they heard Lin Feng shout "Li Can," followed by the sound of indistinct, grumbling cursing.

The two exchanged glances, somewhat astonished.

"Li Can? That name..."

"Holy cow! It couldn't be the one I'm thinking of, right?!"

Glancing at the tall, model-like figure in the distance, they quickly took out their phones to search.

After confirming, they raised their heads again, the astonishment in their eyes growing even deeper.

Good grief!

It turned out that outrageous music producer was a student right here!

"Holy cow, it really is?!"

"The god-tier music producer who propelled Chen Meijing and Lin Feng to fame?!"

"Haha! *I Am a Rebellious Butterfly*! It's *I Am a Rebellious Butterfly*!"

"Right, right! *I Am a Rebellious Butterfly*! I remember now too!"

Being able to perform meant they certainly had some musical inclination and were naturally familiar with happenings within the music circle.

Recently, the name Li Can had been a hot topic within that circle.

"Holy cow, there's a mega big shot at tonight's gala."

"Who? Lin Feng?"

"No, it's Li Can—the guy who made Lin Feng and Chen Meijing famous!"

"Is he very famous?"

"Famous? He's practically becoming a mythical creature in the music circle!"

Passed by word of mouth between the two, this revelation spread not only among the other USTC performers preparing backstage, but even reached the audience waiting outside.

Even those indifferent to the entertainment industry developed a strong curiosity about Li Can upon hearing his exploits.

Though the people remaining backstage were extremely excited, they didn't step forward to disturb him, merely casting glances his way.

Whether it was the recent viral internet memes like "I Am a Rebellious Butterfly" and "So Cold," or the widely spread and extremely popular "nonsense literature," all of them had been popularized by this linguistic artist.

Such a rare talent was far more attractive than ordinary celebrities.

After all, as USTC students, they weren't obsessed with idols, but they certainly admired the delightfully quirky thought processes and ingenious imagination of such brilliant minds.

"The big shot must be getting ready for his performance."

"Obviously. Did you think he was going to sleep?"

"Haha, can't wait!"

As Li Can and his entourage walked into the room, the concentrated gazes finally ceased, and everyone returned to their own tasks.

Just like that, half of the waiting time passed in the blink of an eye.

Audience members began filing in successively.

From the backstage entrance, increasingly noisy sounds could be heard.

For both the Xinghai Conservatory of Music (NCMA) performers and the USTC performers, this final stretch before the show was something they had experienced many times over, making them well-accustomed to this thrill.

For those with little performance experience, this excitement easily turned into nervousness, but with enough experience, it morphed into pure exhilaration.

This was the anticipation and thrill before showing off.

A successful performance brought satisfaction; a botched performance would become a delightfully shameful memory for the rest of one's life, keeping one awake in the middle of the night upon sudden recollection.

Yet, the behavior of Li Can and his five companions was completely different from that of the other performers.

Nobody knew that inside the room, Li Can and the other five...

were all resting face-down.

They had fallen asleep.

The show officially began, and the backstage coordinators confirmed the program list one by one, arranging the order sequentially.

It wasn't until the show was past the halfway mark, and the backstage lineup reached Li Can's final act, that Li Can and his group finally walked out, bleary-eyed and wearing sullen expressions.

"Didn't sleep well, damn it, I'm getting cranky!"

"Wake up, slap yourselves a few times!"

"Aha, that's exactly the effect we want."

Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack!

As the group walked out of the room, yawning and slapping their faces, the big shots were employing various methods to snap themselves awake.

Seeing this scene, the expressions of the two companions who had been eagerly anticipating their performance instantly froze.

Both of them wore looks of utter incomprehension, the kind that lasts a lifetime.

"No, bro, how come someone actually fell asleep here?!"

Excitement was fine, nervousness was fine.

Even being completely expressionless and unfazed would have made sense!

Who had ever heard of someone taking a nap right before a performance?!

"Ah, that's Senior Li Can. Perfectly normal, we're all used to it. His reactions before every performance are a bit different, and sometimes even weirder than this. Nothing to make a fuss about."

Hearing this, the nearby NCMA performers showed no curiosity at all, instead explaining with chuckles.

"He said they're playing rock and roll, and it's best to bring a bit of bed-waking crankiness to the stage."

"Huh?!"