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[Whale TV], Lu Chen's Live Streaming Room
Since Lu Chen re-signed his endorsement contract with Whale TV, his live streaming room was upgraded simultaneously. During the contract period, he had a celebrity express lane on the homepage and enjoyed the site's top-tier treatment.
MSN's platinum celebration was being live-streamed directly from Lu Chen's streaming room, and Whale TV had rolled out ads well in advance.
As soon as the live stream began, Lu Chen's viewer count quickly broke through the one million mark.
Though Lu Chen still couldn't compare to the big names in the show business community, he was undoubtedly the biggest star to emerge from Whale TV, with over 1.5 million fans currently following him.
Riding this wave of popularity, Whale TV seemed poised to reclaim its former peak glory!
Tonight's celebration live stream was the best proof of that.
Especially when Lu Chen took the stage to perform with MSN, the online viewer count climbed rapidly, 1.5 million, 1.7 million, 1.9 million, then 2.3 million.
By the time Lu Chen was about to duet with Mu Xiaochu, the online number broke through 2.6 million! This set a new personal record for any individual streaming room since Whale TV launched, and it was also the highest ever for Lu Chen. In just a few minutes, the total Fish Balls gifted surpassed 100 trillion!
Although Lu Chen no longer primarily earned income from live-stream tipping, with that portion shrinking in his overall earnings, tonight he undoubtedly enjoyed one of his highest daily incomes ever.
The speed at which he was making money would make many third- and fourth-tier stars green with envy! And no one doubted that this was not Lu Chen's ultimate limit; the record was meant to be broken!
The fans' excitement reached a fever pitch.
The barrage of comments and Fish Balls poured down like a torrential storm.
Lu Chen, present at the event, could not grasp the roaring commotion inside the live stream room, but the enthusiasm of the fans in the banquet hall was enough to elevate his mood, and his fingers pressed the piano keys with extra strength.
He turned to the shy-looking Mu Xiaochu and smiled as he sang, "You're a Song within My Heart."
"A flower blooms in my heart!"
The song was called "You're a Song within My Heart."
Mu Xiaochu gathered her courage, met Lu Chen's gaze, and raised the microphone: "You're a song in my life."
"A river flows from my longing!"
As she sang these lines, a brave and resolute sparkle shone in the girl's eyes.
She liked Lu Chen.
She also knew Lu Chen liked her, but that kind of affection was unrelated to romance.
Mu Xiaochu even knew Lu Chen's relationship with Chen Fei'er was special, probably romantic.
Yet Mu Xiaochu never once thought about giving up.
The first time she met Lu Chen was at the Singing China competition, where she was a backer. From that first glance, she had feelings for him. Later, Lu Chen's care deepened her affection.
At that time, Mu Xiaochu lacked the courage to confess, so she missed her chance.
But she still liked Lu Chen.
So she cherished the moments she spent with him, like tonight's duet.
This song expressed Mu Xiaochu's true feelings.
Youthful feelings are always poetic.
"...
You're a song within my heart,
Don't just be a passerby.
Leave a song in my life,
No matter how the ending goes.
I want to ask you,
Do you really feel something for me?
Silent for too long,
Only leads me to make mistakes.
You're a song within my heart,
Don't just be a passerby.
Leave a song in my life,
No matter how the ending goes...
..."
You're a Song within My Heart had a catchy and sweet melody. The lyrics were easy to remember, the style simple and fresh. The male-female duet format filled the song with warmth, no sadness, no melodrama, perfectly matching Lu Chen and Mu Xiaochu's age and vibe.
Although the lyrics hinted at love, given their relationship, no one misunderstood. It only felt extra beautiful.
Their coordination was so seamless it inspired envy.
Ning Tian and Su Jiajia were really jealous.
Because they knew clearly this was a last-minute surprise from Lu Chen for the fans at the celebration, and he chose Mu Xiaochu as the heroine.
Though everyone knew Lu Chen and Mu Xiaochu had a brother-sister-like friendship, seeing them duet in person still made them truly envious, why wasn't it me standing next to Lu Chen?
"...
You're a song within my heart,
A flower blooms in my heart.
You're a song in my life,
A river flows from my longing.
I want to ask you,
Do you really feel something for me?
Silent for too long,
Only leads me to make mistakes.
Unintentionally making mistakes,
You're a song within my heart.
Don't just be a passerby,
Leave a song in my life,
No matter how the ending goes!
..."
After the last line, Lu Chen raised both hands and smiled at Mu Xiaochu.
In this silent moment, their hearts truly connected; they understood each other completely. Mu Xiaochu's feelings for Lu Chen were love, admiration, and attachment.
Lu Chen's feelings for her were care, affection, and protection.
Applause erupted around them, lasting and enthusiastic.
Lu Chen's live streaming room completely exploded. The barrage comments flooded the screen, blocking the view with dense layers!
"What a beautiful song!"
"So warm and romantic, I really hope Big Brother Lu Chen and Sister Xiaochu end up together!"
"Sister Xiaochu is mine, no one can have her!"
"Hahaha, together! Together!"
"Can you sing it again? I want to hear it more."
"When's the new album or single coming out? My music player's starving!"
"Is this Lu Chen's first-ever male-female duet?"
"Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!"
Lu Chen stood up and reached out his hand to Mu Xiaochu.
She was momentarily stunned but quickly understood, a faint blush rising on her cheeks as she shyly slipped her small hand into Lu Chen's large, warm palm.
Their hands joined, and together they bowed deeply to the fans both present in the hall and those watching in the live streaming room.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall instantly reached the highest peak of the night!
After the bow, Mu Xiaochu suddenly grew bolder. She turned around and opened her arms to hug Lu Chen.
"Thank you, Brother Lu Chen!"
Lu Chen was a bit surprised but quickly smiled softly and returned the hug. He gently patted Mu Xiaochu's shoulder and said quietly, "You sang very well."
Lu Chen had always known the feelings Mu Xiaochu harbored for him. It would be a lie to say he wasn't moved.
But what he could give her was only this much.
This heartwarming moment was immediately captured by the event's photographers.
Many years later, when people recalled the story between Lu Chen and MSN, this classic photo would always appear!
They embraced briefly, but Mu Xiaochu was the first to let go.
"One more song!"
Fans shouted loudly from the crowd below the stage, and soon the call was echoed by many: "One more song!"
Lu Chen laughed and waved his hand.
One song was enough. Tonight was MSN's platinum celebration after all, he couldn't steal the spotlight.
Amid the fans' regretful sighs, Lu Chen left the stage and returned to his seat.
The celebration continued.
No sooner had Lu Chen settled down than Lin Zhijie came over and asked, "This song, did you write it specifically for Xiaochu, or was it something you already had in reserve?"
Any songwriter, even without commissions, would create when inspiration struck.
Such works became reserves, released when the timing was right.
Hence Lin Zhijie's question.
It mattered a lot. If the song was written specially for Mu Xiaochu, Flying Stone Records might consider releasing it as her solo single, positioning her as MSN's soul core.
If MSN ever disbanded, Mu Xiaochu would have a foundation for a solo career.
But if it was just Lu Chen's reserved work, and Flying Stone acquired it, it couldn't go to MSN, MSN was too hot right now; the company needed to give chances to its other wandering singers.
A male-female duet could launch two stars!
Such examples weren't rare. Over twenty years ago, a couple of wandering singers built careers off a well-known duet, occasionally still getting commercial gigs.
Lu Chen understood Lin Zhijie's point and replied thoughtfully, "It wasn't written specifically for Xiaochu. Since I promised your company, just arrange it yourselves."
He felt it wasn't right to let Mu Xiaochu carry MSN's main role yet. Flying Stone had chosen Ning Tian as MSN's captain for good reasons.
Their personalities were different.
Lin Zhijie smiled, "Alright, got it. You really…"
He shook his head playfully, "Aren't you afraid Fei'er will get jealous?"
Lin Zhijie was good friends with Chen Fei'er and also with Lu Chen, so he knew the most about their relationship.
Hence the teasing.
Lu Chen didn't know what to say: "Director Lin, I treat Xiaochu like a little sister!"
Lin Zhijie smiled but said nothing.
Turning a little sister into a romantic partner isn't always a big step, right?
Mu Xiaochu's feelings for Lu Chen were obvious to anyone, but unfortunately, Lu Chen was with Chen Fei'er.
Of course, young people's affairs were none of his business; he just gave a friendly reminder.
MSN was Flying Stone Records' cash cow now!
The rest of the time was for the three girls to interact with fans and for on-site prize drawings.
The lively celebration lasted until 10 p.m.
Three days after MSN's platinum celebration, Lu Chen left Capital City and returned to Jinling.
Because the second episode of Autumn in My Heart had finished filming, and the third episode was about to begin.
He would officially make his debut appearance in the latter half of the third episode!
(End of chapter)