Iris’ eyes widened in surprise. She didn’t expect that her music mentor, Enrique Valdez, would be so eager to perform this particular song with her. Throughout his long and successful music career, he had composed and written far more technically difficult songs than her.
“Let’s go,” he said, heading to the stage ahead of her.
She watched his back, a little speechless. Then she saw the mischievous eyes of Grandpa Lu. The old man must’ve translated what Blaze was saying to Enrique Valdez and the others. Otherwise, how could the legendary hitmaker know that Blaze was talking about the particular song she wrote for Pandemonium?
When the people saw Enrique Valdez standing up and heading to the stage, they felt shocked. All members of the Pandemonium band froze. Their jaws fell down and their eyes almost popped out of their heads. They watched in amazed disbelief as the legendary hitmaker climbed the small stage.
As a left-handed lead guitarist, Eros idolized Enrique Valdez the most. Almost all southpaw guitarists admired the legendary hitmaker. Eros staggered back and clutched his chest, turning extremely red as if the love of his life who he had been pining for so long finally made eye contact with him.
“En-Enri…que…” Blaze couldn’t even form proper words anymore. It felt like he had lost control of his own tongue.
Night just stood there like a statue. Thunder had the most exaggerated expression among the band members. His complexion was already turning purple because he had forgotten how to breathe.
When Enrique Valdez smiled and nodded at them, Eros swayed and looked like he was going to faint.
The entire place was silent as the dead. Everyone wasn’t sure what exactly was going on. Could it be that Enrique Valdez would…? No way… They didn’t dare believe it but the hope burned inside their minds. Maybe…just maybe, he really would… No. Impossible. This was too good to be true.
Enrique Valdez held out his hand, palm up, to Blaze. He did this without saying anything.
“N-nice to…m-meet chu,” he stuttered in English.
An amused smile lifted the corners of Enrique Valdez’s lips. Blaze continued to shake his hand, refusing to let it go. The other band members finally started regaining their senses. They all felt envious of Blaze and began to make their way to the front of the stage to also shake their rock idol’s hand.
“I actually want the mic, but nice to meet you, too,” Enrique Valdez said in his low, smooth voice.
“Oh!” Blaze felt embarrassed so he handed the mic to his idol.
Enrique Valdez raised an eyebrow, his amused eyes glancing down.
“Let go of his hand. It’s my turn!” Eros said, pushing Blaze away.
The others band members also crowded around the legendary hitmaker, not wanting to miss the chance to speak with him, hold his hand, smell his godly scent, hoping that some of his overwhelming music success would rub off on them.
Before granting them their wish, Enrique Valdez looked at someone in the audience and spoke to the mic, saying, “Hurry up.”
Iris had already recovered from her earlier surprise. She was now on her way to the stage but her mermaid-style dress prevented her from walking quickly.
Not one to waste words, Enrique Valdez went straight to the point. “I need a guitar.”
“The venue only has an extra keyboard and acoustic guitar,” she replied.
Understanding their English conversation, Eros immediately lifted his own electric guitar. “P-please use my guitar! It’s left-handed!”
“No, you should use your own guitar,” Enrique Valdez told him before telling Iris, “Give me the acoustic guitar.”
“It’s right-handed.”
“No problem.”
“Alright.”
Later, the Pandemonium band members were back in position, but this time, with the addition of both Iris Long and Enrique Valdez. Iris stood in front of a keyboard while Enrique Valdez was holding an acoustic guitar.
Everyone in the audience was now certain that their earlier hope was going to come true. They were all freaking out. Phones were whipped out, recording and livestreaming this unbelievable moment. The viewers watching the livestreams were also going nuts.
“Enrique Valdez is going to perform live with Boss Iris and Pandemonium?!!!”
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”
“I’m outside the convention centre! Security is tight! I know some people who have already been hauled away by the police after the security caught them sneaking in, but this is something that I can’t miss for anything in the world! Wish me luck, my friends! I’m going to sneak inside!”
“Don’t do it! There are some scary people in the security. I also tried sneaking in with some of my bros but we were caught before we could even do it. We almost peed our pants when we were stopped earlier. I swear that those security guards are cold-blooded killers.”
“You’re exaggerating! Cold-blooded killers? Pft! Right~ I think you watched too many action movies.”
“Enough about the security! I don’t care about them! Guys, ENRIQUE VALDEZ IS GOING TO FREAKING PERFORM LIVE!!!”
“OMG OMG OMG!!!”
“Boss Iris is too formidable! Even a rock music legend like Enrique Valdez wants to perform the song that she composed!”
“Well, duh! ‘Monster of Insanity’ has achieved legendary status in rock music! That’s because Boss Iris is the best!! I love you, Boss Iris!!!”
This “Monster of Insanity” had a different flavor than the original version.
First of all, there were no flute, violin or cello.
Second of all, Iris was playing a keyboard instead of a piano. They may sound the same to the laypeople, but the quality of sound was vastly different between the two instruments. Iris had to make do with what she had at the moment.
Third of all, Enrique Valdez was playing an acoustic guitar, an instrument that didn’t have a place in the original version. In short, he had to wing it and compose his own chords on the spot.
When the beat changed with the eruption of both the electric guitars and the drums, Enrique Valdez didn’t join in the intensity. He held back, keeping pace with the mesmerizing melody of Iris’ keyboard instead.
Then all of a sudden, Enrique Valdez completely changed the melody. Eros, the lead guitar, wavered. For a moment, he had no idea what to do.
However, right at the moment, Iris’ fingers flew over the keys until she took control of the melody from Enrique. She also seamlessly connected it to Eros’ lead guitar, making him comfortable again.
Approval and pride flashed in Enrique Valdez’s eyes, but they quickly disappeared as he tested his student again and again.
‘Show me what you got,’ he silently challenged Iris.
(This novel is a contracted work with Webnovel.com. If you’re not reading this chapter on Webnovel, it has been stolen. Please read this novel from the original source. Thank you! -ArriaCross, author)
