Chapter 320 The Long-Awaited Song
"It seems like your friend is always surrounded by trouble and never has a moment's peace."
Zhang Wei held her hand up in front of her, carefully examining her freshly painted nails to check for any imperfections, while speaking to Li Zhibai.
Li Zhibai turned to look at Zhang Wei and said, "With fame comes trouble. Once you're famous, you'll be plagued by problems."
Zhang Wei is an actress who co-starred with Li Zhibai in "The Legend of Baiyu".
She debuted earlier than Li Zhibai and is now thirty years old, but she has always maintained a youthful image and is very popular. She is an actress of similar caliber to Jiang Yuqian.
After starring in the fantasy drama "Bai Yu Yao" with Li Zhibai, the two met again to promote the drama together as it was about to premiere.
In private, Zhang Wei is a female celebrity who is well protected by her team.
She was somewhat spoiled and arrogant.
However, Li Zhibai has matured a lot after experiencing Mengli. He has probably seen what the most annoying people are like. Li Zhibai feels that he can tolerate Zhang Wei's princess syndrome.
Zhang Wei said, "Your friend is so successful now, aren't you jealous?"
"Jealous about what?"
“You’re just jealous that everyone praises his acting skills,” Zhang Wei said. “Your acting skills are not bad either, it’s just that you haven’t acted in serious dramas like him.”
Li Zhibai nodded, "Yes, so I have nothing to be jealous of. Given the right opportunity, everyone will naturally see that my acting skills are just as good."
Zhang Wei laughed twice, "Just wait and see when 'The Ballad of White Jade' airs, it's bound to be met with a barrage of criticism."
"If you're so sure this show will be met with criticism after it airs, why did you take the role in the first place?" Li Zhi asked.
Zhang Wei shrugged and said, "It's a fantasy drama. The more people criticize it, the more popular it is. Anyway, it's not because I acted badly. These days, any fantasy drama will be criticized."
Li Zhibai found Zhang Wei's thought process amazing, even unbelievable.
"Then why don't you take on a role that doesn't get as much criticism?"
“No other dramas paid as much as ‘The Legend of Bai Yuyao’,” Zhang Wei said. “Criticism aside, everyone knows that fantasy dramas are easy to become hits and have a large fan base, so the production companies are generous with the pay. Don’t you know that?”
Li Zhibai: "I haven't really looked at the pay."
“Oh right, your family isn’t short of money.” Zhang Wei realized. “I am short of money, though. If the pay is high, of course I’ll come here.”
Just then, someone came to invite them.
The interview room has been set up.
-
After the interview, Li Zhibai parted ways with Zhang Wei, got into his car, and headed to his next engagement.
Zhou Pingan was also in the car.
"How come you have the energy to keep me company? Don't you need to keep Ma Zhiyuan company?" Li Zhibai started his daily sarcastic remarks as soon as he saw Zhou Ping'an.
Zhou Ping'an said, "Now is your promotional period, so of course I want to focus on you. I have high hopes for 'The Legend of the White Jade,' which will help you establish yourself as a top-tier male actor."
"Don't label me like that. What 'top male actor'? He's just a star in idol dramas, modern dramas, historical dramas. Even if he's popular, it's only because his fans like him," Li Zhibai said. "A top male actor, indeed."
Zhou Ping'an: "'Take You to the End of the World' is an idol drama, but it brought you a lot of good feedback. Why can't a fantasy drama be the same? Which of today's top actresses doesn't have a hugely popular fantasy drama in hand?"
Li Zhibai pursed his lips.
"Look at Lu Yanhe, he's still surrounded by troubles even though he doesn't film idol dramas."
“What kind of trouble is that? Nobody’s scolding him,” Li Zhibai said. “He can’t be blamed for this.”
"Ha, you think it's okay as long as the audience doesn't criticize him?" Zhou Ping'an said. "With 'Friends,' he broke up with Beijing TV, and with 'Three Mountains,' he had a falling out with the publicity company Sanhe. Do you think other people won't have any opinions about him when they see this situation?"
Li Zhibai: "Why do I hear that everyone is scrambling to cooperate with him?"
Zhou Ping'an: "What if Lu Yanhe stops being popular one day? An acting career is always full of ups and downs. Who can stay popular forever? When Lu Yanhe stops being popular, given all the trouble he's caused, who would be willing to give him a chance at that time?"
Li Zhi remained silent.
"I think it's one thing for you to film 'The Legend of White Jade' that this drama will be a hit, but another thing is that you need to see that the production company for this drama is Zefan Film and Television, one of the biggest film and television production companies in the industry. If you don't take this opportunity to connect with them, how will they give you priority consideration for their big productions in the future?"
Zhou Pingan said earnestly, "I've always told you to control your temper. Do you think I'm just doing this for no reason? Avoid offending people. Who knows when those people might affect your career? Back then, you helped Lu Yanhe criticize Beijing TV online. Lu Yanhe had the success of 'Friends,' and Beijing TV was still trying to mend their relationship with him. But what about you? For the past six months, Beijing TV hasn't invited you to any events. It's like they've completely blacklisted you."
"I don't care, what difference does it make if they have a little bit of work?" Li Zhibai said with a sneer.
Zhou Ping'an: "You don't need one or two companies, but what about ten or twenty? If you don't control your temper, one day fewer and fewer people will want to cooperate with you, until you're surrounded by people who just want to use your popularity to make a quick buck. Think about what kind of people they will be then."
Li Zhibai: "If I had reached that level, what would I be doing in the entertainment industry? I might as well retire early. You say I have a bad temper and can't control myself, but I think I'm fine. Partners with ulterior motives don't dare to approach me. People who know my true nature won't mind. It's better to let things go between Beijing and Taiwan."
"Don't you ever think about it? There are only permanent interests. With Friends being so popular, Beijing TV has been throwing money at Lu Yanhe to try and bring him back. Once Lu Yanhe really goes back, you'll be the clown."
"Then you can wait for Lu Yanhe to go back." Li Zhibai sneered. "Do you think he's so stubborn about not agreeing? I regret it now. If it weren't for what I said on Weibo, which made him publicly state that he would never cooperate with Beijing TV on the sequel to 'Friends,' he and Beijing TV might have had a chance to reconcile. While you were trying to sow discord here, he refused to earn money that was obviously easy to make because he didn't want to embarrass me."
Seeing that Li Zhi was completely unmoved by anything Zhou Ping'an said, he had no choice but to give up again.
He said, "Go ahead and be stubborn. If you don't listen to me, fine. But don't go around saying that 'The Legend of White Jade' is a boring fantasy drama. Your fans and the audience who like fantasy dramas really like it. Don't provoke them."
"Why would I provoke them? I just can't stand you. There's a reason for this, and I'm a decent person."
Zhou Ping'an was so angry that he ground his teeth.
-
Although he remained stubborn in front of Zhou Ping'an, as soon as Zhou Ping'an got out of the car, Li Zhibai immediately took out his phone and sent a message to Lu Yanhe: Are you going back to Ziyuan Bridge tonight?
Lu Yanhe said: I'll go back, but it will probably be very late, as there's a long night shoot tonight.
Li Zhibai: OK.
Lu Yanhe asked: Is something the matter?
Li Zhibai: It's nothing. I just saw what Sister Ziyan said online and wanted to ask you what exactly happened.
Lu Yanhe: It's a small matter, it won't have much of an impact.
Li Zhibai: This is no small matter. Many people are talking about you. Even when Zhang Wei and I were promoting "The Legend of the White Jade", she was talking about you, saying that you are always in trouble.
Lu Yanhe: Well, it seems that's true for me.
Li Zhibai: Do you think this image of being constantly embroiled in trouble is a good thing?
Lu Yanhe: If I could, I certainly wouldn't want to give others that impression, but it's not something I can control. Once it happens, I can only deal with it.
Li Zhibai: Sigh, I don't know how to say it. I feel that you've gotten yourself into too much trouble. Ever since "Friends," it seems like all sorts of troubles have come knocking on your door. If "Friends" and "Three Mountains" hadn't been so successful, you might be in a completely different situation now.
Lu Yanhe was stunned when he saw the message sent by Li Zhibai.
When did he become so troubled that Li Zhibai had to worry about him so much?
Li Zhibai is usually the one who causes the most trouble and makes people worry the most!
Lu Yanhe had no idea that Li Zhibai had taken Zhou Ping'an's advice to control his temper to heart and was now using it to persuade him.
-
Lu Yanhe didn't finish work until 1 a.m.
"Brother Dong, I'm going back to Ziyuan Bridge."
Zou Dong nodded and responded. Just as he started the car, he heard Lu Yanhe yawn. So he said, "Yanhe, why don't you take a nap in the car first? I'll wake you up when we get there."
Lu Yanhe hummed in agreement and closed his eyes.
However, probably because the long night shoot had stirred up a lot of emotions, I was still quite excited and couldn't fall asleep for a long time after closing my eyes.
Lu Yanhe opened his eyes, took out his phone, and looked at the latest news.
Today is the day "Idol Era" airs, and many related terms are trending on social media.
This show is becoming increasingly popular. Qin Zhikun is indeed a master at producing this type of program, with its topic marketing, artist competitions, weekly rankings, etc. Simply put, Qin Zhikun only sets up a stage; the actual content is all done by the artists themselves, which is very different from previous programs.
The stage for a top idol like Ma Zhiyuan looks much richer and more sophisticated than the stage for some ordinary artists. From the stage design to the dance choreography, the quality of each aspect is visibly different.
In order to compete for this ranking, everyone must bring out a better stage.
In the words of the show's fans, the quality of the stage performances has been getting better and better over the past few months.
It's rolled up really hard.
Lu Yanhe paid attention to this program mainly because Li Zhibai, Yan Liang, and Liu Zhiyin all had a performance stage on the show.
Especially Yoo Ji-eun, she focuses almost entirely on this stage, with an average of one performance every two weeks.
Her experience in an overseas girl group finally allowed her to put many of her skills to good use.
As she gained more and more fans on the show, her "Girl Group" column in the magazine "Jump Up" was frequently used as a topic of discussion, generating traffic.
In the "Young Days" group, people often discuss her stage performances.
Compared to Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, who have already started acting, Liu Zhiyin is wholeheartedly devoted to the path of becoming an idol artist.
Lu Yanhe watched some of the most popular performances from this episode of "Idol Era" in the car.
After watching it, I only had one feeling: this show is definitely getting better and better.
The stage performances are getting more and more spectacular.
Lu Yanhe asked Zou Dong, "Brother Dong, have you watched the show 'Idol Era'?"
“I haven’t watched it,” Zou Dong said. “I don’t really enjoy variety shows.”
That's true, Zou Dong is not at the age where he would like idol artists.
Zou Dong asked, "Do you want to return to the idol stage?"
Lu Yanhe shook his head, "I know my own limitations, I'm not suitable."
Zou Dong didn't quite understand why Lu Yanhe said he wasn't suitable. He had also debuted through an idol talent show, and although he wasn't very famous, there were various factors at play. Now that Lu Yanhe was famous, if he wanted to perform on stage, there would definitely be many people willing to help him; it just depended on whether he wanted to do it or not.
Lu Yanhe had no idea what Zou Dong was thinking.
In reality, Lu Yanhe himself didn't know what he was thinking. Why did he conclude so early that he wasn't suited to be an idol? He hadn't thought deeply about this question. However, Lu Yanhe didn't regret his decision. Since he didn't feel much excitement on stage, nor did he feel as comfortable as he did in front of the camera, often experiencing a feeling of "divine assistance," it meant he wasn't suited for it.
-
It was already 2 a.m. when we got back to Ziyuan Bridge.
Lu Yanhe quickly washed up and went to bed.
He slept soundly and didn't wake up until 10 a.m. the next morning.
His routine used to be very regular, but it has been completely disrupted during this period of filming.
When he came out of the room, Li Zhibai had already put on his bag and looked like he was about to go out.
"Oh, you're awake."
Lu Yanhe hummed in agreement, his eyes still half-closed, as if he were lost in thought. He looked at Li Zhibai and asked, "Are you going out?"
"I have a dance troupe rehearsal scheduled," Li Zhibai said. "Don't you have filming today?"
"I was filming until 2 a.m. yesterday, so I got a day off today and don't have to go this morning."
"Tsk tsk, they're treating you pretty well," Li Zhibai said.
"How are you going to rehearse? Isn't 'The Ballad of White Jade' going to be broadcast soon? Don't you need to do any promotion?"
"I was running around all day yesterday, so I finally have some free time today."
"You rarely have free time, yet you don't rest and even take the initiative to arrange rehearsals. What is this...?" Lu Yanhe was startled and became alert, his eyes clearly saying, "What has possessed you?"
Li Zhibai: "..."
“The show ‘Idol Era’ is so competitive, what can I do? Am I supposed to put on a stage that’s worse than Ma Zhiyuan’s? I can’t afford to lose face like that.”
Lu Yanhe couldn't help but want to laugh.
Hearing that made me feel relieved.
Li Zhibai is a person who is afraid of being tired and afraid of losing face. They are mutually exclusive. When he is exhausted, he doesn't care about losing face and will lie down first. But when he really loses face, he will get up and work hard while cursing.
Li Zhi asked, "Have you considered trying your hand at 'Idol Era'?"
"I don't have time to prepare a stage. Besides, I'm not that eager to be on stage. I'd be okay with singing a song, but just singing doesn't fit the tone of 'Idol Era'."
Li Zhibai: "Don't forget the song you promised to write for me."
“It’s already written,” Lu Yanhe said.
"What?" Li Zhibai paused, a look of surprise on his face.
Lu Yanhe said, "I've written the songs for you and Yan Liang. I'll get you guys a demo after I have someone record it."
Li Zhibai made a series of "Waaaaaah!" sounds, incredulous, "When did you write this?"
"I wrote it while waiting for my scenes on set," Lu Yanhe said with a smile. "I kept saying I'd write it, but I never got around to it. It took me a long time to finally finish it."
"Quickly, bring it out so we can hear it."
"I told you I'd need to find someone to make a sample."
“Why bother with a demo? Just show us the sheet music,” Li Zhibai said. “It’s not like we can’t read sheet music.”
Lu Yanhe waved his hand, "What's the rush? Hurry up and go rehearse. I'm not even awake yet."
Li Zhibai glanced at him, clearly impatient and eager to see it immediately, but finally held back. "Fine, then hurry up and do it. I want to slap Ma Zhiyuan in the face hard."
Lu Yanhe said "I understand," and then yawned.
Li Zhibai is gone.
After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Lu Yanhe returned to his room, opened his laptop, and found the two songs he had created recently.
He didn't actually need to spend so much time writing the song; rather, he needed to find a song suitable for the two of them to perform on stage, which was quite a dilemma.
Finally, Lu Yanhe found a song for Li Zhibai called "Bewitched" by Deng Dian. The singer was not very famous, but when Lu Yanhe was in high school, the song was quite popular in school because of a music variety show, and the school radio station played it many times.
Lu Yanhe felt that this song suited Li Zhibai's "cool" personality. The song itself has a strong electronic feel and rhythm, making it suitable for Li Zhibai to create a stage adaptation.
The song Lu Yanhe found for Yan Liang, however, was one that would be more widely known and popular: Zhang Jie's "The Battlefield of Youth." In the timeline before Lu Yanhe traveled through time, this song was considered a "college entrance exam anthem." With about three months until the college entrance exam, it was the perfect time to prepare a performance for Yan Liang, to be broadcast in the episode airing before the exam in June.
The melody is fine, but the lyrics... Lu Yanhe only remembers some of the words, and he has to fill in many parts himself.
He went through the lyrics of the two songs again carefully and asked Chen Siqi: Are you still interested in doing the arrangement for me?
Chen Siqi: ? You're going to sing again?
Chen Siqi: You have quite a few tricks up your sleeve.
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated, and said: I won't sing it, it was written for Li Zhibai and Yan Liang.
Chen Siqi: I knew it! I thought you were going to go back to being a singer.
Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and said: Singing occasionally is fine, but I'm not going to pursue a professional career.
Chen Siqi: Okay, send it over.
-
Actually, if Lu Yanhe wanted to find someone, he could easily find a professional arranger. However, it was probably because of the song "Remembering" that Lu Yanhe suddenly had an idea: there might be many different arrangements of a song, but the first arrangement should always be Chen Siqi's version.
This inexplicable idea just popped into Lu Yanhe's mind.
Lu Yanhe didn't tell Chen Siqi that he didn't know how many more songs he would produce later, but if there were any, he would give the first arrangement to Chen Siqi.
As he thought this, he unconsciously curled the corners of his mouth into a smile.
(End of this chapter)
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