Preparations

The wrap party in Hengdian came to a noisy close, and the next morning Gu Zhiyan took an early flight back to Beijing.

Having spent days immersed in Fan Xian's world, he still carried the lingering scent of his period costume and the dust from the film set. Besides his personal belongings, a thick stack of preliminary concert plans took up most of his suitcase.

The following morning, the company's main conference room was already prepared. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the clear autumn sun shone over Beijing. On the long table were stage concept drawings, a list of alternative songs, a list of tour cities, a budget, and a security plan.

Xiuxiu, as the person in charge, sat on one side of the main seat. The music director, stage director, publicity, legal, and core members of the management team were all present, with a table full of laptops and tablets spread out.

At this moment, the hashtag "[When will Gu Zhiyan hold a concert]" is firmly occupying a high position on the trending searches, with tens of millions of comments below the hashtag, every word of which reflects the fans' fervent anticipation and waiting over the years.

Xiuxiu spoke first: "Brother Xiaoyan, filming for 'Joy of Life 3' has officially wrapped up, and your film and television schedule is finally completely free. The calls from fans across the internet have never stopped. At the previous crew dinner, you decided to start preparing for the concert. Today, we are officially finalizing the plan and execution."

Gu Zhiyan nodded and got straight to the point: "After filming 'Joy of Life 3,' a large part of my focus will be on the concert. I don't want to do a performance that damages our reputation as a hobby. We need to reach a consensus on this from the beginning."

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. Over the years, in addition to filming, I've sung dozens of songs. These melodies have accompanied countless fans through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and have accumulated a unique audience and sentiment for me. In the past, I was always on set filming non-stop, and I never had the spare time to bring these songs that have accompanied everyone to the stage in their entirety and with solemnity.

Now that Fan Xian's story has come to an end, it's the perfect time to fulfill my promise and give back to the fans who have been waiting for me.

Xiuxiu pushed the folder in front of her forward: "Our positioning is not to follow the singing and dancing tour route, but to be a story-based immersive theater concert. We will rely on the OSTs and classic songs from your past film and television works, and we will not rely on showing off our skills, but on storytelling and emotions to move people."

The stage design director then opened the electronic plan, pulled up the initial visual concept, and explained in detail: "Our team has initially decided to abandon the flashy and complicated gimmicks of popular tours in the industry. Your musical works have a narrative quality, a strong sense of atmosphere and storytelling, and are suitable for an immersive stage."

We plan to combine high-definition clips and behind-the-scenes footage from your hit films and television shows with stage lighting, melodies, and rhythms, so that the stage presentation of each song can recreate the story and emotion behind the OST.

As soon as the words were spoken, the staff member in charge of public opinion risk control in the team raised existing concerns in the industry: "Currently, there is a lot of controversy surrounding actors in the Chinese entertainment industry crossing over to sing. Many tours by non-professional singers are criticized by the public for being perfunctory, lacking substance, and of inconsistent quality. In this preparation, we must make our core positioning solid and stable, and avoid all public opinion risks."

Gu Zhiyan looked up at the sound of her voice, her expression serious and solemn, without the slightest hint of perfunctoriness: "I am very clear about this. I will not hold entertainment-oriented fan meetings, nor will I use the traffic-generating tactic of chatting throughout the entire event to pad out the time. Since it is named a concert, the core must be the music itself."

He spoke firmly and frankly: "The songs have been meticulously revised and polished, the singing skills have been repeatedly improved, and every detail of the stage performance has been carefully considered. Every presentation must be of a professional standard worthy of the ticket price, the audience, and the reputation."

The ticketing system is transparent and fair, strictly matching the quality of stage production, and we resolutely avoid shoddy, assembly-line tours that inflate prices or exploit hype.

After a brief pause, Gu Zhiyan's gaze softened, revealing a unique sincerity: "I hope this concert will not only be a fulfilling experience for my longtime fans, but also allow everyone to see, beyond my identity as a top actor and screen character, my purest and most sincere side as a singer."

Xiuxiu presented Gu Zhiyan with a meticulously planned timeline, clearly stating: "If the plan is finalized, we will immediately begin preparations for the first round of tours, prioritizing first-tier core cities in China as tour stops. Simultaneously, we will advance all tasks such as venue approval, stage design and construction, full rehearsal of the repertoire, and specialized vocal training. The overall preparation period is estimated to be six months. We will proceed steadily and avoid rushing into a launch."

Gu Zhiyan lowered her eyes to look at the densely packed and clearly planned schedule, her fingertips lightly tracing over the undetermined tour cities.

In my mind, the scene was already unfolding: the lights of the stadium, which could hold 10,000 people, lit up one after another; the audience seats, which were as big as mountains and seas, were filled to capacity; familiar melodies resounded throughout the stadium; and countless people cheered and cheered for the passion they had come for.

"Can."

He raised his eyes and nodded, his tone firm and resolute: "First, we will complete the selection, adaptation and polishing of all the pieces. Vocal rehearsals and stage rehearsals will proceed steadily and without any perfunctory work. We will polish every detail to the extreme before meeting all the audiences with dignity."

The discussion progressed steadily, with each aspect being repeatedly considered, including venue priority, ticket price tiers, scalper control, charity souvenirs, special fan channels, and off-site support management.

Everyone present knew perfectly well that this highly anticipated solo tour was not a quick, trendy fad following the mainstream entertainment industry, but rather a solemn commitment by Gu Zhiyan to give back to her fans after years of reflection.

After a long while, Xiuxiu smiled and closed her notebook: "Okay, then today's meeting will finalize the plan. We'll have a two-month closed preparation period, with the first stop tentatively set in Beijing. The concept promotional video will be released in a month, and then it will be high-intensity training and polishing."

After the meeting concluded, team members performed their respective duties and proceeded with the various preparatory tasks in an orderly manner.

The setting sun slanted across the conference room glass, and the lines of plans on the paper had already paved a brand new path for the stage.

Three days after the concert preparation meeting concluded, at exactly noon.

Gu Zhiyan's studio released the official announcement poster on Weibo right on time.

A minimalist white background with dark gold light and shadow stretching out to form a winding road, and a clean and crisp line of text in the lower right corner—Gu Zhiyan's "Walking the Road" Solo Tour Concert—Officially Opens.

The accompanying text is brief and sincere:

[Years of travel, narrated through sound.]

Shedding his on-screen roles, he embarks on a long-awaited rendezvous.

Gu Zhiyan's solo concert tour has been officially announced. Preparations are underway and we look forward to seeing you there.

Without any pre-announcement or build-up of suspense, this single official announcement instantly went viral across the internet.

The Weibo server experienced a brief lag, and the related hashtag rose in popularity at a visible speed, dominating the trending topics list.

[Gu Zhiyan's Solo Concert Officially Announced]

Gu Zhiyan arrived at the appointment using her voice as a narrative device.

[Concept poster for the "Walking Concert"]

[Finally, Gu Zhiyan will be singing!]

……

In just three minutes, more than a dozen related terms topped the trending searches, the main term garnered over 300 million views, and real-time discussions instantly exceeded one million, overwhelmingly surpassing all other entertainment charts that day in terms of popularity!