Poof.
The golden sunlight that had just brightened the room vanished again in an instant as layers upon layers of dark clouds once more obscured the sky, and the hotel lobby fell back into dimness.
However, Wyatt could still see a sky full of stars in Ronan's eyes.
Wyatt had to admit that even as he arrived at the entrance of the Hilton Hotel, he hadn't been particularly interested in this feature story. It wasn't about the band, A Day of Kings, but rather that there were just too many similar situations in the entertainment industry. Countless shooting stars blazed across the sky faster and more intensely than bands suddenly becoming popular. Right now, A Day of Kings had only played one opening act performance; they had no real achievements yet, and he really couldn't muster much enthusiasm.
However, his current thoughts completely overturned that. This band did indeed possess a certain quality that made people subtly anticipate something.
Evidence?
The most direct evidence was that the interview, originally planned for thirty minutes, had unknowingly stretched to an hour, yet Wyatt still felt there were many more topics to explore—
How did they persevere for seven years? What efforts did they make to continue pursuing their musical dreams? What were the sources of the band's creative inspiration? How did the band position themselves? What were the band's next plans after Bruno's concert ended? What was the deal with the band's YouTube account?
And so on and so forth.
Topics like these kept popping up because the band's unique qualities had attracted Wyatt, hence his interest.
Of course, rising stars with special qualities and talent were also countless in the entertainment industry. The road from a potential stock to a truly dazzling star was full of dangers and difficulties. No one knew if A Day of Kings could achieve a breakthrough, but Wyatt was willing to be hopeful.
Especially the one in front of him... "Ronan Cooper." After carefully considering the name, Wyatt truly remembered it today.
"Hmm?" Ronan thought Wyatt was asking him a question, so he made a sound to indicate he hadn't heard clearly.
Wyatt gently waved his hand without explaining, simply changing the subject and posing the last question for today's feature interview.
"What do you think is the driving force that has kept the band fighting for seven years without giving up and always maintaining hope?"
This was a standard official question, an open-ended question that gave the interviewee enough room to elaborate and fully showcase their style.
Ronan turned his head again to look at Cliff and Maxim, asking if they wanted to answer this question, as it had been a point of constant debate within the band for the past few months.
Cliff spoke up, "We've thought about giving up, countless times. I have to admit, I was the very, very pessimistic one. We argued about it many times, but in the end, we still persevered. I think..." Cliff paused, exchanged a look with Maxim, and then they both looked at Ronan.
"Ronan wrote a song called 'Born This Way'," Maxim added, explaining, "He said we might want to give up, but it's not in our blood."
Although they didn't say much more, the band's unspoken understanding flowed between them at this moment. Even Ollie looked up, following his bandmates' gaze towards Ronan.
Ronan was a little embarrassed, still not used to such attention, but he was slowly adapting. "I want to say it's dreams, because we believe in dreams, so we've always persevered, with a kind of unnecessary stubbornness, holding onto a meaningless persistence that has no future in sight." Ronan chuckled softly.
After a slight pause, Ronan continued, "But I think courage is a more appropriate answer, foolish courage, just like children still believe that Santa Claus is real and that fairy tales can come true. We still believe that music can change the world."
"What? Santa Claus isn't real?" Ollie's surprised voice, slightly distorted, came from beside him, his face displaying a look of "the world is collapsing" despair as he looked at Ronan in disbelief, seemingly anxiously waiting for Ronan to deny what he had just said.
Ronan blinked: It seems like the focus is a bit off, isn't it?
"Thank you," Wyatt interjected, "Thank you for agreeing to my last-minute interview request." Wyatt concluded the feature interview, which had significantly exceeded the planned time. He quickly packed up his recorder and other equipment, then picked up his camera. "Now, we need to take some photos for the magazine article."
Everyone looked at each other: In the hotel lobby?
But Wyatt was experienced. "Are your hotel rooms already tidied up? If not, we can go to the hotel's back garden. If I remember correctly, the Hilton here should have a small garden, and there's also a swimming pool. These would be perfect for taking magazine photos, we just need to set up the lighting properly."
Set up the lighting?
Looking at Wyatt's personal belongings, they couldn't imagine how he was going to set up any lighting.
Wyatt was the first to stand up and started walking towards the hotel's back garden.
Ronan lagged behind slightly and bumped Ollie's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Ollie shook his head, but after a pause, he still asked, "Santa Claus isn't real?"
"..." Ronan was speechless.
But Ollie had already gotten the answer from Ronan's expression, his shoulders drooping in disappointment. "I knew it. I actually suspected it before. Why was Santa's card always in Dad's handwriting? And Santa's gifts came down the chimney without any soot. Also, after I turned sixteen, Santa stopped giving me presents. Sigh, I had a feeling."
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Ronan was dumbfounded but still patted Ollie's shoulder to comfort him.
Ollie let out a heavy breath. "It's okay, I'll just buy gifts for myself in the future. There's no need to wish upon Santa Claus."
It seemed like the focus was still a bit off.
But Ollie didn't notice at all. He said to Ronan, "Let's go, get ready for the magazine photoshoot," and then followed along excitedly, seemingly without any lingering psychological trauma.
When Ronan and his group arrived at the hotel's back garden and saw Wyatt's busy figure, it was a truly jaw-dropping surprise.
Cliff quietly approached Ronan and asked uncertainly, "Are you sure this is an interview for 'Rolling Stone' magazine? Why..." Why does it feel so cheap?
At this moment, Wyatt was busy working alone, holding a makeshift reflector made of aluminum foil. The many creases on it showed that it must have been folded into a small square and kept in Wyatt's small backpack, only now getting a chance to see the sun.
In other words, Wyatt was basically "one person equals the entire team," responsible for all the work himself. This was very different from what they had imagined a magazine feature interview would be like.
Ronan was also a bit unsure. "That's why I said he might be a scam team." Ronan glanced at Maxim. "But maybe because the interview was scheduled too hastily, this wasn't originally planned, so the reporter could only rely on himself?"
Although Ronan was just guessing randomly, that was... the correct answer!
(End of this chapter)