9:40 a.m., Riverstone City Sports Arena.
Today was the final day of the Riverstone City Piano Competition. The massive sports arena could seat up to 18,000 spectators. Originally, the organizers thought that if three to five thousand people bought tickets, it would already count as a huge success.
But unexpectedly, in the two days before the event, they sold 10,000 tickets. Each ticket cost 100 yuan, so 10,000 tickets meant a million yuan in sales. The organizers had actually prepared for a loss when planning this competition.
Now, with this million yuan, not only would they avoid a loss, they’d even make a tidy profit. After all, the first prize was only 100,000 yuan, and the earlier rounds were held at the Riverstone City Conservatory of Music, which cost almost nothing.
As for the judges, they only charged a small transportation fee.
The biggest expense was renting the sports arena. But Riverstone City was a second-tier city that rarely hosted major events, so the arena was usually empty. Plus, the chairwoman of the Piano Association was the vice mayor’s wife, so the rental fee was extremely low—just 80,000 yuan for the day as a symbolic charge.
So after deducting all expenses, the organizers could net at least 500,000 yuan.
But what really surprised the organizers was that just yesterday, the media began blasting news about the hijacking, and the heroic young man who saved the day became a national sensation.
And as luck would have it, JoyStream also released five more piano performance videos of Ian Song yesterday.
One was a national hero, the other the youngest Piano Master in history. With both identities stacked together, countless people grew intensely curious about Ian Song and started digging up information about him.
The organizers of the Riverstone City Piano Competition quickly seized the moment and made a high-profile announcement: tomorrow, the national hero and youngest Piano Master in history would perform at the Riverstone City Sports Arena.
Curious and admiring fans flocked to Riverstone City, and in just one day, the ticket price was raised to 200 yuan. The tickets sold out in a single day, bringing the organizers another 1.6 million yuan in revenue.
Because of this, they specially changed the prize rules, raising the first prize to 500,000 yuan. The organizers knew the competition’s popularity was all thanks to Ian Song, and since they used his fame for promotion, they felt it was only right to give him a bigger reward.
At the same time, the competition didn’t just attract people curious about Ian Song—it also drew in major media outlets.
Even Tianhe State TV paid 2 million yuan for the rights to broadcast the event live.
After that, rebroadcast rights were sold for 1 million yuan each to four other state TV stations, making the organizers a fortune.
So before the competition even began, the arena was packed with representatives from more than a hundred media outlets, all demanding interviews with Ian Song.
In previous rounds, Maggie Ma, chairwoman of the Piano Association, had only made brief appearances before leaving. But now, the competition she hadn’t expected much from had become a sensation, so before the event even started, she arrived to personally oversee everything.
“Zhen Yun, why isn’t Ian Song here yet?”
Maggie Ma asked Zhen Yun impatiently. All the outlets wanting to interview Ian Song were famous TV stations, newspapers, video sites, and magazines.
But Ian Song still hadn’t shown up, which made Maggie Ma worry about offending the media. After all, the media could make or break you with a few words, and she wanted to use this competition to boost the Piano Association’s influence. She hadn’t expected things to fall apart at the crucial moment.
Faced with the vice mayor’s wife and Piano Association chair’s questioning, Zhen Yun looked a bit embarrassed. "Ian Song had something to handle in Jiangzhou City yesterday. He’s on his way back now and has promised me he’ll arrive before the competition starts!"
“Alright.” Maggie Ma rubbed her forehead. “Call him again and tell him to hurry.”
At that moment, Ian Song’s car had already entered Riverstone City.
The problem was, the sports arena was all the way on the other side of town, and traffic was heavy. He probably couldn’t make it in twenty minutes.
Just then, his phone rang again.
“Sister Zhen, I’m already in the city. I’ll be there soon.”
“Ian, hurry up!
Chairwoman Ma is already getting impatient, and all the major media outlets are waiting to interview you!” Zhen Yun’s voice sounded anxious over the phone.
“Got it! I’ll definitely be there by 9:50!”
After hanging up, Ian Song activated Clairvoyant Vision and, combined with his superb driving skills, his car darted through the dense traffic like a fish in water.
It only took him five minutes to get through the crowded city center. From there, the road was clear—he could easily reach the arena in another five minutes.
Vroom!
The engine roared, a surge of acceleration pressed him back in his seat, and the speed shot up—soon he was flying along at 140 kilometers per hour.
Although this stretch wasn’t technically downtown, there were still plenty of cars on the road. Driving at 140 kph, Ian startled quite a few drivers.
Stella Shi was in a foul mood today. So what if she got a little rough catching a criminal and broke his leg? Did they really have to demote her to traffic cop duty?
From captain of Criminal Police Team One to an ordinary traffic cop—just thinking about it was enough to make her depressed.
Suddenly, the roar of an engine came from the distance. Stella Shi perked up and looked ahead, spotting a Lingdu sedan speeding her way at at least 140 kph from about three hundred meters off.
She had an instinctive dislike for street racers.
“Racing on my turf? You’re dead!” Stella Shi sneered and stepped into the middle of the road, signaling for the car to stop.
"Oh crap, why is there a traffic cop here!"
Seeing the female officer standing in the middle of the road, Ian Song felt seriously annoyed. First, he didn’t have a driver’s license; second, he was speeding. According to Yanhuang Republic law, driving without a license meant detention.
Thinking fast, he spun the wheel, pulled off a slick drift with a screech of tires, and switched into the right lane.
It would add a kilometer or two to his route, but with his speed, that was nothing.
"What? He actually ran for it!"
Watching Ian Song pull off a slick drift and switch lanes, Stella Shi was furious. She dashed to the curb, swung onto her police motorcycle, and sped off—knowing she couldn’t catch him head-on, she decided to intercept him up ahead.
Just as Ian Song was smugly thinking he’d shaken off the cop and turned onto the road to the arena, he saw the female traffic officer waiting for him two hundred meters ahead—already astride her motorcycle.
“Owner of vehicle Tian Z: EK680, pull over immediately!”
Hearing the officer’s voice over the loudspeaker, Ian Song reacted instantly, slowing down and pulling over to the side.
“You little punk, you think I can’t handle you?”
Seeing Ian Song obediently pull over, Stella Shi couldn’t help but smirk and strode toward him. But just then, Ian stomped on the gas—the engine roared and his car shot off like an arrow from a bow.
"That little punk! You dare mess with me? If I catch you, you’ll find out why the flowers are so red!" Watching the car disappear, Stella Shi’s face turned livid with rage.