Chapter 212: The Voice of Dreams (5) I'm so glad I met you...

While the words may sound cruel, it is undeniable that only the most heart-wrenching experiences can produce the most touching songs.

On this stage, there was not only a heart-wrenching yet hopeful song filled with emotion, but also a stark contrast – because of her mother's illness, Chang Xiaoman had no intention of dressing up and simply went on stage in the finals with a bare face.

Her haggard yet undeniably beautiful appearance attracted many viewers who valued looks, causing her popularity to soar once again.

The glory of winning the competition and the departure of her only loved one arrived at the same time, but seeing Chang Xiaoman rediscover her dream during the competition and have Dai Weiguang, who was not officially acknowledged but was in fact her "mentor," Grandma Chang closed her eyes in peace.

What follows is the story of this mentor and apprentice who came together halfway through their journey and depended on each other for survival—even if they were champions of a popular music competition, given the current forgetful nature of the general public, no matter how talented a champion is, without the support of subsequent exposure, they can only be a flash in the pan.

Compared to her predecessor, Ah Run, who was only the runner-up but had a very commercial feel in every aspect, Chang Xiaoman, the champion who won the competition by taking an unconventional approach, more or less benefited from people's temporary aesthetic fatigue with love songs.

But this benefit can't last forever. After the "retro trend" faded away, Chang Xiaoman only received an album as a prize for winning the competition and an opportunity to perform at a variety show. Moreover, she had to put in a lot of effort herself, not to mention any additional exposure on the show.

As for Ah Run, who was signed by judge and record company executive Ah Wen, he is currently busy appearing on various shows to increase his exposure and popularity under the company's arrangement. His album is also a popular upbeat song, and he is currently enjoying great success.

The entertainment industry's culture of favoring the powerful and belittling the weak is gradually revealed through the stark contrast between the two individuals.

However, Chang Xiaoman, determined to persevere, was not discouraged by these comparisons. On the contrary, she became more courageous and eager to learn all relevant knowledge, regardless of popularity or exposure. When she had a job, she would go out of the city to work at the TV station, and when she didn't, she would stay in the village and learn from Dai Weiguang.

Compared to the clueless newcomers to the music scene, Dai Weiguang, a seasoned veteran who has been in the industry for a long time, naturally has a clearer understanding and is more "desperate".

"This circle seems to have everything: fame, fortune, applause, men and women."

As long as you can afford the price, a person can give you whatever you want.

The night was cool and still. In the countryside, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, memories of the past became all the more vivid.

As Dai Weiguang spoke, he turned to look at him, his tone carrying a sense of helplessness that came from seeing through the ways of the world: "But this circle seems to have nothing, no friends, no lovers, no relatives... The further you go, the higher you stand, the more you lose."

"What if I stop when I reach a suitable spot?" Chang Xiaoman asked after thinking for a moment.

"Dream on. The Yangtze River's waves push the old ones forward. If you stop, others will catch up—and then you won't be standing still, you'll be falling behind." Dai Weiguang smiled, gazing into the distance, and said nothing more.

"I don't have such lofty ambitions... I just want to be like you, to be able to write good songs, and that would make me content." Although the song "Give Me Strength" in the final really used her grief at the time, Chang Xiaoman still had to admit that it was a very good inspirational song.

Aside from the author's overly "inhuman" methods in achieving a perfect performance.

Seemingly sensing what Chang Xiaoman hadn't said, Dai Weiguang apologized again for his impulsiveness at the time, and then shook his head under Chang Xiaoman's expectant gaze: "It's best not to. The premise for writing this kind of song is either separation by life or death. I'd rather not write it than write it."

He kept this song sealed away for so long because he didn't want to recall the unspeakable feelings of losing his loved ones. If it hadn't happened at that time, he wouldn't have used a new method to hurt a young girl who was about to lose her loved ones in pursuit of the perfect artistic presentation.

Strictly speaking, aside from some "innovative points" that seem too ambitious by today's standards, the core of this film is a very old-fashioned story about rediscovering dreams.

However, the old-fashioned style also has another name: classic. The part of the story where the two masters and apprentices "depend on each other for survival" in the walled village was filmed by Director Liu with particular delicacy and warmth. Anyone who is not too oblivious can feel the atmosphere between the two gradually warming up with time.

A young musician, frustrated and unsuccessful, chooses to withdraw from the world. He appears optimistic and accepting of fate, but in reality, he lacks the courage to fight to the end. Then, at this very moment, he meets a young girl who is willing to do everything she can for her dreams. This story of mutual reliance and growth encompasses childhood sweethearts and a serendipitous encounter, yet it is different from both, making it irresistible to those with rich emotions.

Amidst expectant gazes, the Mid-Autumn Festival fireworks exploded spectacularly.

It blooms in the azure night sky—except, of course, for the proud cat on the right who clearly knows the plot should go this way but has a complicated expression when it sees the plot.

"Come closer, I have a secret to tell you." In the play, after overcoming the grief of losing a loved one, Chang Xiaoman seems to have returned to her former cheerful and mischievous personality, deliberately reaching out to Dai Weiguang.

Unaware of the sophisticated tricks of today's young people, Dai Weiguang approached without suspicion, only to be seized by Chang Xiaoman, who tilted her head back and pecked him on the cheek.

With a bang, a firework exploded in the azure night sky, just like the inner world of the character in the play, which was secretly shattered by the impact.

"Do you even know what you're doing?!" Startled by the sudden attack, Dai Weiguang rarely showed anger.

"Of course I know! A 'rice jar' must be paired with 'always full,' you see, even our names match so well..."

Chang Xiaoman blinked, then continued rambling on, using the homophones of the two people's names with an innocent expression.

Unfortunately, Dai Weiguang still maintained his usual serious demeanor as a teacher and elder, in order to avoid his feelings that things had changed: "Young girls don't know any better, so don't joke too much, or I'll really get angry."

"I'm a young girl, I don't know any better—but precisely because I'm a young girl, I don't know how to boast. The courage of young people is always to forge ahead until death, and they just stumble and fall like that, inexplicably like a novice punching an old master to death."

However, Dai Weiguang did not respond to her confession in the end, and because of this, the distance between the two of them actually increased.

So much so that he didn't attend the variety show concert on the day of the event.

Chang Xiaoman intended to use this variety show concert as an opportunity to persuade Dai Weiguang to return to the spotlight. To this end, she specifically contacted Dai Weiguang's old friends, the husband-and-wife team of Awen and Aling, who were in charge of the concert, and only then was she able to change her performance song to a classic hit duet that the two of them often practiced in the village karaoke room.

"How about... I go sing with you?" Ah Run watched her rise from the bottom. Although those youthful feelings were gone, their friendship of many years had never changed.

"No need." Chang Xiaoman shook her head, refusing his help.

Ah Run lowered his eyes, holding his guitar, and was about to leave so that Chang Xiaoman could have some time to think when Chang Xiaoman suddenly grabbed him and asked softly, "Can I borrow your guitar?"

When she was young, he taught her to play the guitar step by step.

Memories flooded back, and without much thought, Ah Run lent his guitar to Chang Xiaoman.

With the other singer missing, the originally planned duet had to become a solo performance. She asked to borrow a guitar, probably because it was no longer appropriate to use the original accompaniment, so she had no choice but to sing and play the guitar herself.

With this in mind, I watched on, only to find that Chang Xiaoman did not continue using the previous song accompaniment, but instead sang a new song she had composed on the spot—

"I'm so glad I met you, that dreamlike duet, where we fell in love while singing in this karaoke room, every word ringing out..."

Compared to Chang Xiaoman in the play, Li Sishi, who once sang the classic song "A Difficult Dilemma of Gratitude and Righteousness" with her master Le Yun on the stage of the Shanghai Gymnasium, has a different feeling about these lyrics.

The stories in the play always seem to stray from reality. When Li Sishi filmed this scene, she directly referenced this memory and then used it as a basis to develop the emotions of the characters in the play, which resulted in the tearful scene: "When it's time to change the chorus, I suddenly feel desolate. I'd rather practice a solo, half of which is silent..."

This song, "Half a Golden Melody," fully expresses the feelings of both the characters in the play and those outside of it, conveying the sorrow of going from hope to despair. Although it is a song written with emotions, it is not simply limited to the "path of love."

"See? If you back down this time, are you sure you'll have a second chance?" Ah Wen and Ah Ling stood behind the scenes, and with just a few words, they seemed to have finished telling the story of their youthful years.

A band with two men and one woman is inherently prone to conflict. But whether to be thankful or helpless, Dai Weiguang, who had grown fond of Ah Ling over time, discovered that his friend Ah Wen also liked Ah Ling. In order to avoid breaking their friendship and to no longer compromise with the tide of commercialism, he quietly left this glamorous yet bizarre circle in the dead of night, when no one knew him.

As this story unfolds, everyone has regrets, but everyone also gains something from those regrets—Awen and Aling lost their best friends and their dreams of making the music they loved, but gained love and status; while Dai Weiguang lost a lot, but in a moment of destiny, everything he had lost was reunited.

It's time to let go of those long-standing resentments.

With the encouragement of his two old friends, Dai Weiguang finally delivered a memorable scene in the play that fans of the "You Suosi" CP especially love: an old house on fire. He rushed over before A Run could pick up the person and grabbed Chang Xiaoman, who had thought she hadn't waited for anyone and was sadly leaving the stage.

Then, hold tightly to what you truly love.

Old houses always burn fiercely when they catch fire, and besides, at this time he was beginning to learn to look at song types objectively, and to accept that "love songs are also a type of song with great artistry and commercial value..."

After the variety show concert failed to bring him back to the stage, Ah Wen and Ah Ling arranged another concert for Dai Weiguang at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Together with his fans who have never forgotten him, they look forward to the new Dai Weiguang returning to the music scene and bringing new life to the stagnant music scene.

"Have you ever tried writing a love song?" Chang Xiaoman shook his hand coquettishly, "I heard from Brother Wen that you used to write love songs, but back then they were mostly commercial fantasies..."

"But now, don't you have the opportunity to write truly genuine 'love songs'?"

“Writing songs isn’t that easy. Do you think you can just write a good song anytime, anywhere?” Dai Weiguang chuckled.

“My song ‘Half a Golden Melody’ is a direct descendant of yours; I wrote it on the spot, and it’s selling incredibly well now—you don’t want our story to be summed up by just one song forever, do you? Our story clearly has a sequel.” Chang Xiaoman said, then stopped outside a jewelry store window, sighing with a hint of regret. “Ah, I saw it before. I was thinking of sneaking in to buy it and propose to you while we were out shopping…”

"Are you kidding me? What kind of girl proposes to a boy?!" Dai Weiguang touched the small box in his pocket, becoming increasingly dumbfounded.

"In today's world, it doesn't matter who proposes to whom, as long as you end up together." Chang Xiaoman pouted, "Didn't I confess to you first? Since you're such an unyielding rock, then let me be the one to approach you."

“I’m not as interested in this as you think. You go over to the theater entrance first, I’ll buy some soda and popcorn and then head over.” After sending Chang Xiaoman ahead to the theater across the street, Dai Weiguang took out a small box he had prepared, then went into the flower shop next door to retrieve the pre-ordered bouquet, beaming with anticipation for this new stage of his life.

The screeching sound of brakes and the crimson blood, like the vibrant red of his dream wedding banquet, swept over him, leaving him completely unprepared.

"Xiaoman?!"

He walked over with the bouquet in disbelief, only to witness a truth that was hard for him to accept.

"Please remember... how you feel right now. You'll need it when you sing in the future..."

I left because I was too much of a perfectionist back then.

The words spoken to her as she wept in sorrow were, in a cruel twist of fate, returned to her today by the very woman who, enduring excruciating pain, forced herself to put on a final, poignant smile.

The characters in the play were so grief-stricken that they cried uncontrollably, while the audience looked on thoughtfully.

"You...did you do this on purpose?" Rong Juezhang pushed aside Ling Chen, who had just been fed a mouthful of dog food by the movie plot and then was so badly shocked by the car accident plot that he was stunned on the spot, and leaned over the person in a carefree manner, asking with a double meaning.

"Anyway, I acted according to the script." Li Sishi shrugged, not directly answering his question.

Whether Chang Xiaoman truly fell in love with Dai Weiguang, or whether this was merely a perfect act of revenge, what ultimately emerges is a love song that touches the heart, and a musician who, after experiencing great ups and downs, finally rekindles his dreams.

At the end of the film, the film first briefly and quickly passes through a series of news reports, omitting the unexpected car accident of the talented newcomer Chang Xiaoman; then, amidst a barrage of reports, it connects to the next Hong Kong Coliseum concert, in which Chang Xiaoman can only sing "half a hit song".

"I heard it was a really tragic story. Just as he was about to propose, his girlfriend was suddenly in a car accident, and so this loving couple was separated by death, never to have the chance to sing together again..."

"No wonder he can sing so well—although it's not exactly pleasant to listen to, but it seems like artists really need to have their wives die to sing with such moving feeling..."

"Anyway, I don't care about the stories behind them. If it sounds good, it sounds good; if it doesn't, it doesn't..."

Those who don't understand will always just watch the show and listen to the songs from an appreciative perspective, while those who seem to have some feeling look at these dreamy and sentimental lights and feel that it should be a magnificent and prosperous scene, but for some reason it always makes them feel melancholy and confused.

The audience members below the stage were either expressing various opinions or having profound insights, while the singer on stage remained immersed in his incredibly moving performance.

"Where I am, you are; true love never dies."

Passing through joy and sorrow, crossing life and death

As long as I am there, you will be there too, through countless centuries, never to be separated.

Love is eternal, when the one I love is you…

A person who once had no feeling for love songs sang the most moving love song after experiencing the most unforgettable love. The emotional performance, in which every word clearly spoke of happiness yet every word revealed sorrow, instantly won the hearts of countless people.

But ironically, standing on the stage of her triumph, basking in the endless cheers of returning to her peak, she could never again wait for that person who wanted to sing softly to her.