Since their debut, "Yi" has never expressed any intention to film a group variety show. Fans have actually been looking forward to it, and several video websites have contacted DW Entertainment, wanting to take on the filming and production of the group variety show.
"Wing" has not yet agreed.
Their schedules are already busy enough throughout the year, and they also need to ensure the album production time, so they really don't have time to spend their energy on group variety shows.
but--
The next day, the official Weibo account of "Wings" updated with a set of photos.
In the photo, four people are huddled in front of the hot pot, looking very well-behaved as they wait for the food to cook, like elementary school students sitting upright.
"Since we don't have a variety show to watch, are you just posting pictures of them eating hot pot to appease us? [doge]"
"I've discovered that whenever Wings Group doesn't have a performance, they go out for hot pot."
"Teacher Ji successfully infected the entire group."
Actually, this is a group photo of Ji Yan and the others having hot pot together many days ago. Since they are going to attend the "Blue" concert, they should eat less hot pot. Their manager thoughtfully provided them with chicken breast and boiled broccoli.
Ji Yan downloaded the Yimutian app specifically for this reason, and then concluded that DW Entertainment was incredibly stingy. They would buy broccoli for them when it was cheap, and radishes for them when they were cheap. Ji Yan was also ruthlessly refused when he wanted to order stir-fried pork.
"Oh."
What he couldn't understand even more was how Fang Yu, who was eating boiled vegetables, could have the motivation to go to the gym every day.
...
Despite their complaints, the group still performed their singing practice meticulously, daring not to be perfunctory in the slightest. "Thorn Jungle" is indeed much more difficult to sing than "Love Letter to the Earth," and they genuinely couldn't reach the high notes unless they performed a live, off-key rendition in a stadium with tens of thousands of people.
Xie Mingxuan silently looked at Ji Yan: "Ask Teacher Ning if it's okay if we rearrange 'Thorn Jungle'?"
As the middleman, Ji Yan received a positive reply from Ning Wei.
After a while, Ji Yan looked up and asked, "Teacher Ning said, should we add him to the group so we can discuss it together?"
Xie Mingxuan's eyes lit up as he looked at him.
"Teacher Ji, you've got some skills," Fang Yu urged. "Come on in, come on in, we're all family."
Ji Yan: "..."
"Teacher Ning is now a member of our Hot Pot Gang's Blue Branch, is that not allowed?"
Ning Wei eventually joined the group chat and discussed the adaptation of "Thorn Jungle" with the "Wings" group. He and Xie Mingxuan discussed it the most, while Ji Yan and Lu Wei would occasionally join in. Ning Wei was very serious when discussing the creative process and did not send a single rabbit emoji.
Ji Yan was taking notes diligently, while Xie Mingxuan frowned and pondered deeply.
"What do you think of this change?" Xie Mingxuan played the newly arranged piece for Ji Yan and the others—the high notes were lowered. In the original version, Ning Wei's singing would definitely be very impactful, but if the four of them sang it together, it would sound messy and chaotic.
Xie Mingxuan revised the song to make it more suitable for a duet.
"You're amazing, that's impressive!" Fang Yu gave Xie Mingxuan a thumbs up. "I think it's great."
“But I feel the last part still needs some revisions.” Xie Mingxuan looked at Lu Wei. “Wei-ge, why don’t you try singing it alone?”
Now even Xie Mingxuan calls Lu Wei "Viagra." After Lu Wei's protests were ineffective, she could only accept this less-than-pleasant nickname in despair.
After Lu Wei sang it solo, the group sang the adapted version of "Thorn Jungle" together again.
"I feel that the last line sounds better when Viagra sings it alone," Ji Yan said. "What do you guys think?"
Lu Wei's voice is the clearest in "Wings". His voice appears after the chorus part ends, and it is frighteningly recognizable. It gives you a feeling that the chaos is instantly sorted out.
"I'll cast my vote." Fang Yu raised his hand.
“One vote,” Xie Mingxuan said. “Brother Wei, raise your voice a little higher, don’t hold back, go as high as you can.”
I'll try my best.
"Let's practice a few more times," Fang Yu said. "It's rare that Teacher Ji has brought in outside help."
"To be precise, it wasn't that Teacher Ji invited the outside help; it was that the outside help came to him on its own initiative."
Fang Yu and Ji Yan used to send out emojis like crazy every day. But after Ning Wei joined the group, not only did his number of emojis decrease to single digits, but his style also changed from "Where did this dog come from?" and "Do you know you've broken the law?" to all sorts of cute "Go for it!" The others couldn't quite get used to this change, so they could only quietly shrink to the side and watch him act.
That's outrageous, absolutely outrageous.
They are already considering the possibility of creating a fifth group.
"My damn urge to create memes!"
...
During rehearsals for "Thorn Jungle," Ji Yan received another call from Director Li Xiang: "Little Ji, have you been busy lately?"
He hadn't been in touch with Li Xiang for a while, but he had sent him a New Year's greeting text message during the Spring Festival. Li Xiang told him that he was currently preparing a police and gangster film, but there was no suitable role for Ji Yan at the moment.
"Director Li, how have you been lately?"
Because the contracts were relatively lenient, and Ye Ying wasn't the kind of agent who would arrange a chaotic schedule for them every day, the members' workload was within a manageable range.
Ji Yan's main work recently has been being a guest at the "Blue" concert, as well as promoting the movie "Youthful Love Poems". The movie is scheduled for release in May, and the promotional work will probably start soon.
The production team did not choose the popular May Day and summer holidays, which are the domain of big-budget productions. The total expenditure of the "Youthful Love Poems" production team, including the salaries of the actors and the expenses of the main creators staying in N city for several months, was less than 20 million yuan. It is no exaggeration to say that this is not even equivalent to the publicity cost of a blockbuster.
Zhu Shuguang's films generally perform so-so at the box office, though they generate a fair amount of buzz. However, it's still difficult to recoup costs, and the production team doesn't really expect to. They get used to losing money, but at least they can manage to win an award.
“A friend of mine is currently filming a period drama, and he’s short of a suitable actor. I think you’d be a good fit. Would you be interested in taking a look?” Li Xiang emphasized, “It’s a TV series, and the main problem is that he really can’t find a suitable actor.”
“Your role isn’t long, it might take less than ten days to film,” Li Xiang said. “It’s a historical drama, and the production costs aren’t low. If you’re willing to go, I’ll have him give you a higher salary.”
Li Xiang sent over the relevant information about the production team, and Ji Yan then realized that the friend he mentioned was not some unknown director at all, but Chu Yunquan, a top-tier director in the television drama industry, who had firmly established himself as the leader in historical dramas.
Chu Yunquan's new drama is called "The Long Song of Lamentation," a historical drama about power struggles.
Ji Yan added Chu Yunquan's contact information through Li Xiang. Chu Yunquan was very straightforward and said that the actor who was supposed to play the role did not meet the requirements and was sent back by Chu Yunquan. Now that the role is available, it is difficult to find a suitable actor for the time being.
Like Li Xiang, Chu Yunquan is also an actor who has high requirements for the quality of filming. When the two were having dinner together, Chu Yunquan talked to Li Xiang about the troubles he had recently encountered. As soon as they finished eating, Li Xiang recommended Ji Yan to them.
Li Xiang didn't describe to Chu Yunquan how amazing Ji Yan was. He first sent Chu Yunquan a picture of Ji Yan's performance in "I, Nameless," and then told him that Ji Yan had recently played the male lead in Zhu Shuguang's drama.
Chu Yunquan didn't ask any further questions at the time.
He knew very well how much Li Xiang and Zhu Shuguang didn't get along, and that Ji Yan was at least competent in acting to be able to act in both of their movies.
Ji Yan told Chu Yunquan about his free time.
"That's no problem. This role will have about a week of screen time, it's not long."
The role wasn't long, but Ji Yan was happy to help, as a way of repaying Director Li Xiang's favor.
Ji Yan received a portion of the script for "The Long Song of Lament".
This drama tells the story of a monarch who ascends to the throne after a coup and consolidates his power through a series of events. The script doesn't focus on romance or sentimentality, but rather on the entanglements of human nature and interests.
However, in this drama, Ji Yan also plays an idealized character, the scholar Qin Xin.
This is probably why Li Xiang recommended him to Chu Yunquan. This character is somewhat similar to He Tang. He Tang sacrificed his life for ideals and justice, while Qin Xin defied the powerful minister to protect his teacher and ultimately ended up being beaten to death with sticks.
"Another troublesome character."
Ji Yan also saw the online reviews of him after the release of "I, Nameless", saying that he was very suitable to play the role of the white moonlight type. However, Ji Yan himself felt that this type of role is actually quite difficult to play because it requires pure immersion. If the balance of this type of role is not well grasped, it will appear greasy. To grasp it well, one must completely immerse oneself in the role.
Ji Yan doesn't think he's good at any particular type of role. He felt overwhelmed when he played He Tang, and he probably feels the same way when he plays Qin Xin.
...
In March, Blue's new round of tour officially kicked off. This is Blue's first tour after the release of the album "Silent Bell". Fans know that the tracks from "Silent Bell" will definitely be included in the tour setlist, so they are very eager to buy tickets.
Of course, even if that weren't the case, the concert ticket sales have never been slow, thanks to the influence of "blue".
In fact, the fact that the tour was restarted this year has exceeded the expectations of fans. After all, "Blue" has been somewhat lazy and has not released albums very frequently. The concert was also something that had been eagerly anticipated.
The first stop of this concert tour was in City A, and tickets sold out instantly as soon as they went online.
Ji Yan is now very glad that he got four tickets from Ning Wei—even though Ning Wei had just asked them in the group chat if they needed VIP tickets.
Despite Fang Yu and the others saying they wanted to get more tickets in front of Ji Yan, they immediately fell silent as quails when Ning Wei asked them, only using their eyes to signal Ji Yan to reply.
Actually, the four of them are enough to go see it.
On the day of the concert, before the fans even entered the venue, the four members of "Wings" were already backstage preparing. Ning Wei, Duan Yiran, and Du Jian were rehearsing and getting ready for the concert in advance.
Ji Yan and the others walked onto the stage with their arms around each other's shoulders, watching the "Blue" team rehearse while looking at the empty audience seats.
This place can accommodate a full 40,000 spectators, and just imagining the scene of the audience filling the seats makes them excited.
But this is a stage for "blue," a moment for "blue," not for them.
“Someday…” Xie Mingxuan suddenly murmured.
“Yes, one day.” Ji Yan bumped fists with him.
They can too.
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