As soon as the alarm rang, Ji Yan got out of bed groggily, yawning as he finished washing his face and brushing his teeth. Still feeling sleepy, he went back to bed for a while.
The work-rest schedule during the creative cycle is very unhealthy. This is not only true for Ji Yan, but also for Xie Mingxuan, Lu Wei and Fang Yu. Ji Yan woke up early today. It was cool outside. The summer heat had not spread into the room. The air was nice and there was a slight breeze.
Ji Yan took a picture of the view outside the window.
The apartment DW Entertainment rented for them was on a high floor, so the view was very clear, especially in the early morning when the light slowly rose from the ground, giving Ji Yan the illusion that the whole world was bright.
"morning."
"Good morning, good morning."
After another nap, Ji Yan finally regained his senses. He greeted Xie Mingxuan and the others, sat down in his assigned spot, and started looking at the photos he had taken that morning on his tablet.
Summer weather is changeable, so the scenery in the photos is also very different. Ji Yan has photographed the sky on the hottest day, which is so blue that there is not a single impurity. There are also clouds rolling overhead on rainy days, and of course, there is a morning like today.
As he looked at the picture, he wrote the title "Dawn" in his notebook.
There were also drafts of sheet music in the notebook, all messy, some were inspirations he had gotten by chance, and some were long passages he had written smoothly. Ji Yan had a lollipop in his mouth and his fingers were strumming the strings—his guitar skills were much better than before, but unfortunately there were very few parts on the "Wings" stage that required playing the guitar, so Ji Yan didn't have a chance to show off.
He would play for a while, then stop and write or draw in his notebook, then play again after a while, and then stop again.
Throughout their creative cycle, the style of the "Wings" group is mostly like this.
DW Entertainment invited several producers and members to discuss their ideas for the next album. From Xie Mingxuan to Ji Yan, they didn't really have a clear idea about the new album. Their only idea was to make an album that exceeded their own expectations, but with the materials they currently had, it seemed difficult to achieve what that album would look like.
We can only try again slowly.
Ji Yan played the piano for a while, stopping and starting, when Xie Mingxuan suddenly stopped writing and looked at him: "Play it again, the whole time."
"Hmm?" Ji Yan looked a little confused. "There isn't a complete version right now, and I haven't decided which part to put in yet."
Xie Mingxuan silently moved next to him and stared at Ji Yan's notebook for a while: "Is this all?"
"right."
“My idea is to keep this part and this part, but delete this section in the middle. It feels a bit out of place here,” Xie Mingxuan said softly, lowering his head. “The rhythm you write is very pleasant to listen to.”
From the moment Ji Yan began playing the first section, Xie Mingxuan had been listening intently.
He saw the title written by Ji Yan, but in the picture he had in his mind, the song was more like a refreshing breeze, very attractive, even though the rhythm itself was simple, it could attract the ears immediately.
Xie Mingxuan glanced at Ji Yan silently.
He felt that Ji Yan was very talented in songwriting. Ji Yan himself might not think so, but from his first album onwards, the songs he wrote were very evocative. They might not be the most popular tracks, but they had a very distinctive personal style.
In Xie Mingxuan's view, this is a very important point.
"Then I'll play it again."
"Wait a moment."
Xie Mingxuan copied down the score written by Ji Yan, and then sat down at the piano, reminding Ji Yan to play it with him. After the two of them played the first section together, Ji Yan found that the sense of layering in the piece seemed to have become richer immediately. Looking at the photos again at this time felt different.
"It sounds good." Fang Yu silently gave Ji Yan a thumbs up.
"It sounds great +1." Lu Wei leaned closer, looked at the photos Ji Yan had taken, and couldn't help but blink. "Teacher Ji, your techniques for photographing people and landscapes are completely different."
He could hardly believe that the photos on the tablet were taken by Ji Yan.
In Lu Wei's memory, Ji Yan was the number one ugly photo expert in the "Wings" group, and his selfies were particularly amazing. He proved with his actions that Ji Yan himself was the number one hater of Ji Yan.
"That's because the scenery is beautiful, isn't it?" Fang Yu concluded. "But Teacher Ji's finger didn't wobble this time. It's clear I've taught her well."
Ji Yan: "...What have you ever taught me?"
"How to become a silly person." Fang Yu patted him on the shoulder. "This valuable knowledge is what I'm teaching you."
It has to be said that among the current members of "Wings", Ji Yan and Fang Yu are already recognized by fans as comedians, and Lu Wei and Xie Mingxuan are also showing a trend of being assimilated - thanks to the members' endless self-deprecation and mutual teasing, as well as the daily life of the Wings group that the official Weibo account updates from time to time.
"But this song is really good," Fang Yu praised again. "If it's paired with good lyrics... I'm looking forward to the finished product."
Ji Yan sighed: "Right now, I've only thought of the title; I haven't decided on the content yet."
However, the materials are all ready, and these photos will be very useful.
"How about... we all go out and relax?" Fang Yu suggested. "We haven't had a break for over half a month, have we? We've been busy writing songs, and our brains are almost worn out."
"Sure."
The atmosphere in the apartment was indeed quite tense. Although everyone had a positive attitude, once they got busy, the state of not allowing themselves to slack off was contagious. The tension in their minds became tighter and tighter, and in the end, they were very tired every day.
"Want some hot pot?"
"It's too spicy, I feel like my throat won't be able to handle it."
The creative period is also the singing practice period, which involves a lot of vocal exertion, so eating hot pot is indeed not very suitable.
In the end, the group voted and chose crayfish.
"You have to eat crayfish in the summer, and have a few pitchers of beer too."
In fact, the crayfish were also ordered spicy, and Fang Yu, who had just solemnly declared that he needed to protect his voice, was enjoying it the most.
Even while eating crayfish, the group was quietly discussing their new album, including not only the songwriting process but also the overall style, cover design, and musical elements.
"Didn't we come here to eat?" Fang Yu wailed. "My brain is about to explode just thinking about the new album."
In the idol industry, "Wings" is definitely considered a very hardworking group. The members don't want to fall behind, so they work harder than the next one. This is a well-known fact in the industry. But Fang Yu thinks that his teammates are working too hard!
"Why don't we think about what to do this afternoon?"
The lobsters were served in four large bowls, and they were almost all eaten. We didn't actually drink beer; we drank fruit beer, which was very sweet. Everyone was quite full.
"A movie or karaoke?" Fang Yu asked.
"Let's watch a movie." — This was Xie Mingxuan and Lu Wei's suggestion.
“Singing karaoke.” — That was Ji Yan’s idea.
“Then I won’t read ‘Youthful Love Poems’.” Ji Yan silently raised his hand. “I’ve already read it five times.”
There was one screening at the test screening, three screenings after the film's release, and one outing with Ning Wei. If he kept watching, he would definitely start to question his existence.
"Sorry, the nearest movie theater doesn't have a single showing of 'Young Love Poems'." Fang Yu swiped on his phone screen for a while, then suddenly frowned.
"What's wrong?"
Fang Yu silently looked at Ji Yan: "Teacher Ji, have you noticed? Among the new movies that have been released recently, there is one called 'Super Flying Man'."
The ancient name made Ji Yan pause for a moment: "...No."
It's already summer season, and all sorts of blockbusters are being released one after another. Almost every weekend there are various types of blockbusters being released in droves. After "Youthful Love Poems" grossed over 100 million yuan, Ji Yan didn't pay much attention to the box office rankings. Plus, he's been busy writing songs lately, so he hasn't had time to think about any new movies being released recently.
Of course, another reason is that, as the lead actor in "Young Love Poems," he couldn't help but feel a little envious when he saw other movies grossing over 1 billion yuan at the box office.
"Is that the movie that Ji Ruan was supposed to be in?" Xie Mingxuan asked. "Wasn't that movie canceled?"
Fang Yu scrolled down: "The director has been changed to someone named Dijon Khan. Was the previous one named Raymond or Howard? Let me check. The original one was named Raymond Dassou."
Fang Yu saw Ji Ruan's name among the cast.
He couldn't help but sigh that Ji Ruan was really good at stirring things up. The investment in "Super Flying Man" had been making a big fuss on the internet for a long time, and Raymond Daschot had said all sorts of nasty things during an interview. But judging from the current situation, it seems that Ji Ruan got the investment and then kicked Raymond Daschot out of the game.
Of course, the $1 billion investment previously announced for the film is long gone, and the current investment is... $50 million, a full 20 times smaller, but Ji Yan still couldn't help but mutter, "That's more than ten times the amount of 'Young Love Poems'."
They're really rich.
Of course, $50 million is not a big deal for a big-budget overseas film, and director Djourn Khan is not a well-known director. However, the "Super Flying Man" crew did not forget to emphasize during the promotion that Djourn Khan had served as assistant director on two films that grossed $1 billion.
Besides the director, the film stars two actors who were previously well-known in the television industry. Superstars are naturally not going to join the cast, but the fact that "Super Flying Man" was able to be released during the summer vacation shows that the creative team is confident in the quality of the work.
Ji Ruan updated her Instagram after nearly a year: "There was never any deception, it's just that Mr. Raymond Daschot had a misunderstanding about the total investment in the film. I have never given up on this film."
When news broke last year that Ji Ruan was starring in "Super Flying Man," Ji Yan was still filming in the deep mountains and forests and had no idea what was going on. Now that "Super Flying Man" is released, he naturally won't give her any attention.
However, being in the entertainment industry, Ji Yan can't escape the name Ji Ruan. During the period when "Super Flying Man" was released, some media contacted Ji Yan through various channels to ask him to express his opinion on Ji Ruan's new work.
Ji Yan usually brushes it off by saying he's busy with his creative work. When he really can't avoid it, he replies with words like "I don't know," "I'm not interested," or "It's none of my business."
It has to be said that his inseparable relationship with Ji Ruan has some advantages—the whole world knows that he and Ji Ruan have a bad relationship, so he doesn't need to pretend to be magnanimous when he is interviewed.
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