After the interview, the show officially ended. Jin Chonglin returned backstage. He was greeted by the staff and the other artists congratulating him on a great performance. He thanked them in a hurry, looking for the one person he wanted to compete with. He wanted to know her reaction to his performance.
Fortunately, Iris Long and Pandemonium stayed backstage to wait for him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them. At least, he wouldn't have to look for her in the dressing rooms. He immediately marched towards her.
Before they could greet him, he asked her, "What did you think about my song? My performance?"
"Simple yet genuinely emotional." She looked at him straight in the eyes. "It was a great song, Brother Chonglin. I felt it here," she said, touching her chest above her heart. "You should be proud for creating such music."
"I am," he replied, also looking at her straight in the eyes. He could see that she was sincere in her words of praise to him.
"Hmm…" She nodded but then added, "But our performance was better than yours."
Pandemonium's eyes widened in surprise at her words, but they quickly became excited and proud. Their backs straightened and they all stood behind her to show their solidarity and agreement with her words.
Tang Yiyi and Lin Dong also appeared shocked. However, they remained quiet, not interrupting the conversation between the two. Their artists were still acting civil to each other. They would only step forward and separate the two if the situation escalated into a full-blown argument. Tang Yiyi especially wasn't that worried because she already knew the relationship between Iris and Jin Chonglin. They were future in-laws.
Jin Chonglin's eyes narrowed but he didn't contradict her claim.
Another great stare-down arose between the two of them. This time, however, Jin Chonglin appeared more subdued. It seemed that he somewhat accepted her claim.
"Aiya!" Dom exclaimed. When he saw the caller, he immediately answered it. "Hello, sir boss? Yes, please hold on. Boss, it's sir boss!"
"Hello, darling?" Iris' demeanour became sweeter and more feminine. She instantly became more attractive than she already was.
Jin Chonglin looked away and took a few deep breaths. For some reason, he didn't want to watch Iris acting all lovey-dovey to who he knew was his brother on the other end of the phone line. He was about to leave and return to his dressing room when Iris called him.
"Brother Chonglin, wait!"
"What?" he asked, a little annoyed.
She handed him the phone.
Sighing, he answered.
"You did well," Jin Liwei's voice told him without even a greeting.
"Thanks." Jin Chonglin felt a bit better.
Jin Chonglin scowled. Although he inwardly agreed, it still left a bitter taste in his mouth. He grunted in response and shoved the phone right back to Iris. With a nod to her and to the others, he turned and left. His manager, Lin Dong, followed after him.
"What did you say to him? His expression didn't look good," Iris asked.
"I praised him," Jin Liwei said.
She tilted her head to the side. 'If you praised him, why did your younger brother look like he's sulking?' she thought to herself.
"Don't mind him anymore, love. Like I told you before, he's a grown man. He can take care of himself." He changed the subject. "I can't wait for you to come home. I miss you already."
A big smile blossomed on her face. Her eyes softened and sparkled as she continued to exchange cloyingly sweet words with her darling. The other people around them couldn't stop looking at her. Her sweet expression didn't match her evil demonic queen attire, but the contrast only made her more alluring.
The members of Pandemonium all stared at her. They couldn't tear their gazes away, mesmerized by her beauty. Tang Yiyi looked a little alarmed and distracted them.
"Come on. Let's say goodbye to Director He and the others before we head home. You did well tonight. Make sure to rest up. You deserve it," she told them and started pulling them away.
She wanted to tell these rascals not to have any wayward thoughts for Iris. Their senior's fiancé was too powerful. If these rascals did anything to displease or offend Jin Liwei, their careers would be over. Even Bright Summit wouldn't be able to do anything to protect them.
Inside his executive van on the way home, Jin Chonglin felt exhausted. He set his seat on a reclining position and rested with his eyes closed. He wondered why he was feeling so tired. It was weird because he didn't even dance during his performance earlier.
The exhaustion he felt wasn't really physical but mental instead. He put so much of himself in his new music. From the conception, development and finally performing one of the songs for the first time to the public, he felt proud of himself. He knew that he improved so much as a musician this time.
Yet what was this feeling of dissatisfaction that was weighing down on him right now?
An image of Iris Long's performance with Pandemonium flashed in his mind. His hands clenched into tight fists.
As a musician, he recognized the technical genius of the song "Monster of Insanity". It was an explosive powerhouse when it came to difficulty in terms of playing and even singing. He was once again in awe of Iris Long's ability as a musician.
'I want to see how her mind works,' he thought.
He wondered if her brain consisted of musical notes or something. It was like all she needed was to sneeze and voilà! She just produced another masterpiece.
Compared to the innovative "Monster of Insanity", his song seemed too easy, simple and uncomplicated. He didn't think that "Hey, It's Me" was in any way inferior to "Monster of Insanity", but if the criteria was about musical techniques, then Iris Long would win hands down.
As for their performances, he also had to give this round to Iris and Pandemonium. Theirs was just too mind-blowing. He definitely believed it when they said during the interview that they trained long and hard just to be able to play the song at that level.
Jin Chonglin opened his eyes. The vehicle's dark ceiling greeted his sight. "Yeah, I know. But—"
"You were amazing," Lin Dong insisted in a firm voice. They had been working together for so long now that he already knew what was bothering Jin Chonglin even though the guy wasn't telling him anything. "Yes, their performance was more spectacular but yours was more heartfelt. I'm sure that the audience resonated more with you."
Jin Chonglin frowned. He was about to open his mouth to refute his manager, but Lin Dong's resolute gaze stopped him. He smiled instead.
"Thanks, man."
"At your service."
They chuckled. The two assistants in the driver's seat and front passenger seat also smiled. All of them had been working together for so long now, that they already started treating each other like brothers. Whatever happened, these guys would always support Jin Chonglin no matter what.
"Well, this is just the beginning. The true battlefield will be on the music charts when both our music debut next week. I'm Jin Chonglin, the king of the music charts. I'm not going to back down against anyone, especially since this is the best music that I've ever worked on so far in my career."
"Hear! Hear!" Lin Dong and the other two guys called out in agreement.
With that, the dissatisfaction roiling within Jin Chonglin transformed into determination and motivation.