TO SHOU WITH LOVE

116 - SURPRISE

In the three days leading up to the finals, Sailub and Asperatus experienced an intense rehearsal.

Except for meals and sleep, they spent almost all their time in the studio.

Rehearsing repeatedly, modifying the scores, and refining details was actually a rather tedious process, far from the cerebral climax experienced when writing songs that afternoon.

However, witnessing a song transform from its initial fragmented form to gradually being polished into shape, and finally being played smoothly and cohesively by the band, even feeling a rare resonance during the performance, brought a sense of accomplishment that was extremely satisfying.

On the eve of the finals, after the final rehearsal, everyone packed up their instruments and prepared to go home early to rest.

As they descended the stairs, Topten was scrolling through his phone and suddenly said, "Our comments and likes are the most."

"What?" Thanapon asked.

"Well, "Topten handed over his phone, "the production team released the promotional image for the finals."

Sailub glanced at it, the production team had done a good job of keeping it under wraps, only mentioning that there would be a mystery guest performance at the final, plus they had put ambiguous gray silhouettes on the promotional photos of each band, leaving everyone to speculate who the guest singer might be.

Topten continued scrolling through the comments, "Some people guessed it was Teacher Sai..."

He clicked on the comment speculating about Sailub.

The top reply in the thread was: "How could it be Sailub? He was criticized last time for not singing, and now he has the nerve to come again?"

"Damn," Topten cursed, then quickly replied on the screen, typing. "What's it to you if he comes or not..."

Before he could finish, Sailub patted his shoulder, "Forget it, Topten, don't bother replying."

"It's okay, Teacher Sai," Topten continued typing on the screen, "I'll argue with them using a burner account, no one will know it's me."

"You don't need to worry about him, Teacher Sai. Sammy added. "He spends his whole day arguing with hundreds of people"

Sailub chuckled and didn't say anything more.

That night, lying in bed with the lights out, Sailub felt somewhat uneasy thinking about going on stage the next day.

Usually, he could fall asleep quickly when sleeping with Thanapon, but tonight he was tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Although he controlled his movements and tried not to disturb Thanapon's sleep.

Thanapon still sensed his unease. "Can't sleep?"

"Did I wake you up?" Sailub opened his eyes and looked at him through the darkness.

"I wasn't sleeping deeply either," Thanapon said, "What's on your mind?"

"Do you think we'll lose...?" Sailub said softly.

"Do I look like someone who cares about winning or losing? Topten and Sammy don't care that much either. Don't think too much about it."

"But I care. I've never participated in this kind of talent show before, and I thought I was quite indifferent, but now I suddenly realize that I actually want to win, especially don't want to lose to Urban Collapse.."

Thanapon chuckled, "Then how do you know you won't win?"

"I'm worried that you could have won, but I dragged down the popularity," Sailub sighed.