Chapter 29: The New Year's Eve Gala Performance

The good news was that his first book had indeed been reprinted for a run of 40,000 copies, and with his royalty rate increased to 10%, he would receive nearly 70,000 yuan after personal income tax.

Though this was far less than the 500,000 to 600,000 yuan in royalties authors like Han Han or Guo Siwei could command for a first printing, Li Jingkun was very satisfied with this progress. He only needed to maintain a steady upward trend; there was no need to become famous overnight.

On the day he received the money, Li Jingkun transferred 20,000 yuan to his parents' bank account and withdrew 3,000 yuan in cash. That evening, after a celebratory dinner at home, he began distributing the money. He gave 200 yuan each to his two younger siblings and 300 yuan to his second younger sister, Li Xiaojie.

At first, his parents insisted there was no need to give them so much money, and Li Xiaojie also declined, saying she still had savings.

Li Jingkun replied, "It’s fine, it’s not much. Besides, I like sharing my earnings with you all, and I know you won't spend it recklessly—though you should still buy what you need. Your current school is different from the last one; there are more wealthy students there. I don't want you to feel inferior just because you are living less comfortably than others after getting into a good school."

"From now on, there will be a fixed weekly allowance. Just ask Mom for it."

Li Jingkun also considered buying them some items, such as MP3 players or clothes, and he decided a computer was a necessity.

"Is that really necessary? My sister and I rarely play games," Li Xiaojie said.

"Doesn't the house already have a computer?" Mother Huang added, referring to Li Jingkun’s laptop.

"I need the laptop for my own work," he explained. Although his younger brother, Li Jingming, used it often, he still needed it whenever he had to write.

"Let’s find a time to go look. At the very least, we need to buy a desktop," Li Jingkun said.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was the day of the New Year's gala.

The gala began at 7:30 PM. Huang Haotian’s younger sister, Huang Sisi, had arrived early with her classmates to claim chairs in their designated section. First-year students were typically seated at the front, giving them a good view.

In truth, she wasn't interested in such performances, as none of the acts on stage were as good as her own. She felt that time would be better spent at home listening to a master-class piano recital. However, since the school required every student to be present and her brother was performing, she sat obediently with the others.

"Do you want some potato chips? I bought two bags, one for each of us," suggested Wu Danrong, Huang Sisi’s desk mate. She was quite excited, holding snacks and drinks as if it were a holiday.

Oh, right, it was a holiday.

The second-year students were seated further back. Wang Yajing was in her place, though Zhou Jiani was not with her, having left to serve as one of the hosts. Wang Yajing was looking forward to the performances, partly because her good friend Zhou Jiani was hosting, and partly because she wanted to see Li Jingkun’s act.

"How are you? Are you nervous?" she messaged Li Jingkun. He replied shortly after: "I was born for the stage. Nervous? My foot."

Wang Yajing couldn't help but chuckle as she typed back, "Shameless. Be careful not to be outshone by others."

"Your best friend Miaotong is going to present flowers to our 'Aurora Band' later," Li Jingkun wrote.

"No way? How come I didn't know?"

"Because I arranged it. I paid for it. Hahaha."

"..."

The Aurora Band’s first formal performance brought more excitement than nervousness. After all, people are creatures who enjoy being in the spotlight. As performers, most of them waited in a classroom near the stage. They didn't talk much, watching the program while keeping an eye on their equipment.

The high school performances were admittedly a bit amateurish, but there were some impressive ones. Many students, like Huang Sisi, had been training since childhood, so a few of the skits and songs were quite good.

Finally, it was time for the Aurora Band. After the hosts introduced them, the stage lights dimmed for the setup, which mainly involved moving the drum kit into place. When the lights came back up, Gao Shun, Li Jingkun, Huang Haotian, and Wu Lei were ready. Huang Haotian sat at the back behind the drums; Li Jingkun and Wu Lei held guitars, and Gao Shun carried the bass.

They looked quite sharp, earning cheers from the crowd. These cheers were quickly drowned out by the music as Huang Haotian set the rhythm.

Gao Shun took the first lead:

"Walking in the rain, the blue streetlights emerge.
Looking at each other, embracing in silence,
To find the past,
To seek the warmth of the past,
That has vanished..."

Li Jingkun’s approach to the band’s training was to start by imitating established works. Since he joined the Aurora Band, they had practiced song by song, mastering each one completely before moving on to the next. This song was clearly one they had practiced the most, and the performance went well.

There were flaws, of course. They were still an amateur band, and while the guitar club advisor had offered some guidance, he rarely worked with bands himself, so his help was limited. Still, for high school students, their level was impressive.

Huang Sisi was surprised by their talent. She had assumed only her brother was capable and the others would be far behind. She hadn't expected everyone to be so skilled, with Li Jingkun’s guitar playing even standing out as a cut above. Moreover, singing Cantonese songs on campus was rare, and by the time the song ended, the students' cheers were even louder.

"That wasn't bad at all, it sounded great," Wu Danrong told Huang Sisi.

"Yeah," Huang Sisi nodded.

"Your brother is so handsome," Wu Danrong said. "Seriously, would you introduce me to him?"

"..."

In the back, Wang Yajing was also pleasantly surprised and couldn't help but clap. She saw her friend Zhu Miaotong quickly run up to deliver flowers and then run back down in a slightly comical fashion. She couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

After the song, the Aurora Band didn't leave the stage. The band leader, Gao Shun, thanked everyone for their support and announced they had one more song to present.

"This is an original song. It was written by our member, our guitarist and co-vocalist, A-Kun. It’s called 'Ten Thousand Sorrows.' We hope you enjoy it."

Gao Shun kept his words brief, mainly to provide a transition. In that short moment, the crowd’s reactions were mixed.

"An original song? Are they that good?"

"It’s probably average, right? Writing songs isn't that easy. And it has to actually sound good."