As it was my first time to attend a concert, when I sat under that tree, I kept imagining what it would be like sitting before Jay and listening to all those familiar songs, to which I had listened repeatedly for over a decade and never got fed up with. My curiosity being thus excited, I grew more and more restless, and was tortured by waiting. So I got up and decided to take a walk on the other side of the Park. It would be better to tire my limbs than to strain my heart, and it was during that time that my mind was occupied with something entirely irrelevant to the concert. I was thinking about Chen Nian, CEO of VANCL., who called Jay 「rubbish」 not long ago. How the thought of him found its way to my mind at that hour I can’t account for, but I was sure if he came here at this moment, seeing the grandeur of this scenery, he would certainly regret and withdraw his words. Chen Nian had remarked to the effect that 「after one hundred years, nobody would remember Jay….he is 『rubbish』 compared with Mu Dan(who was a scholar).」 Actually, it is an insult that has given me so much pleasure….pleasure to see his ignorance, low IQ & EQ. He is ignorant in that he knows nothing about Jay’s music and little about Mu Dan’s works. In my opinion, the wisest thing a prudent man can do, when he does not know what he is talking about, is to be silent. He is low in IQ & EQ in that he compares two figures between whom no sensible man will draw a comparison. 「Rubbish」 is an insulting word for any one, and a decent and well-bred man will refrain from using such words. Indeed, those who lack the quality of good-breeding will always find a philosophy to justify it. This philosophy, for Chen Nian, is to compare Mu Dan with Jay. Unfortunately, it was a preposterous philosophy. As he has got low EQ, he has got no proper feeling. Judgment, whether right or wrong, untempered by proper feeling is too bitter and husky a morsel for human deglutition. Some memories will withstand the wear and tear of time, but certainly not the memory of VANCL or Chen Nian(of either I have only a vague memory, by the way). I respect old people in general, but 「age is no better, hardly so well, qualified for an instructor as youth, for it has not profited so much as it has lost」(Henry David Thoreau). This is especially true in Chen Nian’s case. He has been showered with the same dirty words from millions of Jay’s supporters, and I think he deserves it. I hope one of those dirty words may spring up in his heart as a good seed some day. But let’s stop here and leave Chen Nian alone, who conducted like a man incapacitated for good manners. If we were to bother our heads about all the ill-mannered people we should have no time for anything else. Besides, 「be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny,」 as Shakespeare put it.
Now, it was about half an hour before the concert, when the audience all began to swarm towards the concert hall, so I also plunged deep into the teeming crowds. Just as I stepped into the hall gate and was going through security, I heard the background music of《晴天》, one of my favorite songs, rising in my ears. Why! It was a heavenly tune! At that moment, my heartstrings vibrated to that tune of bass and guitar as they had never vibrated to thunder. It was the real sunshine of feeling –the tune shed it over me now. I do think this song, along with many others, has reached the peak of artistic perfection. I would have taken out my phone and recorded that down, had time permitted. I went through the long passage of the hall and walked about 10 minutes before I came to my seat. Then I sank into the chair, with a wonderful sensation of suspended excitement. The hall was ablaze with a sea of pink lights, the screen was playing MVs of Jay’s songs, and I, watching the MVs, got lost in my reverie, as numerous scenes of bygone days unfolded again before my eyes. Yes, bygones would never be complete bygones till we were bygones ourselves. I felt at once happy and sad—happy because my wish to attend this concert was fulfilled, sad because the concert would only last for a short time rather than eternity, and sad maybe because I came here alone. As I was thus engaged in my thoughts, the stage lights were suddenly turned off, plunging the whole big house into deep darkness, and a profound stillness pervaded the hall. Then, a glimmer of light, accompanied by music and loud cheers, began to stream down through the stage. Presently, the lights grew brighter and glistened tremendously, till the stage was blurred by a haze of light. With my eyes dazzling before the bright light, I could not see things distinctly. Next minute, the lights became dimmer and formed into the shape of a great gate, while the cheers from the audience grew louder and louder. Finally, the great gate of the wonder-world swung open, and out came Jay, singing Hero, one of his latest songs. At that time, the cheers had reached their culmination, everyone being bathed in immense joy. Next to me sat a young man, who kept yelling and almost screaming his lungs out and deafening me during every song, till an old song, called《她的睫毛》, calmed him down. This song was completed in the year of 2003, which was 13 years ago. In fact, with the advent of this song, the whole mood of the hall was changed from something wild into something nostalgic. As the song went on, I looked at that young man, whose former smile faded away gradually, and was finally replaced by glistening tears. I know why he was wet with tears, and also thousands of other audience. 13 years ago, when we first heard this song, it was sung by a brave young man, who was still fighting for his dreams. Today, this young man has become an accomplished father, who has a cute daughter with beautiful eyelashes. The gap between this brave young man and this accomplished father was filled with our entire youth. Now came the song《晴天》，and the hall was instantly turned into a grand chorus, joined by everyone. Again, old times crowded fast back on every one of us. I don’t know how many people were crying at this moment, but I did see tears in Jay’s eyes. He seemed to be in an effort to hold them back, and forced a smile, a smile that shone through tears. Indeed, the melody melted every emotion into those blessed tears. Those silent smiles and tears well expressed his innermost feelings. During the whole concert, Jay, who is a person of few words, didn’t say much. But when he came to know that many among us had great difficulty in obtaining the tickets and had to pay extra money, he asked us whether it was worth the effort, and all replied 「worth!」 On hearing this, he shook his head, wearing a faint smile with a touch of sorrow, and said, 「That’s why I decided to prolong my stay in Shanghai.」 He also promised he would still give concert at the age of 80, with his eyesight and memory failing, hair thinning and graying. His words were not many, but all genuine. After all, much good-will may be conveyed in one hearty word as in many.