Under Pei Hanzhou's extremely cold and deathly gaze, Luo Xun silently withdrew his hand that was cheating on him.
"It was just a joke, just a joke," Luo Xun said with a wry smile, patting his hat and putting it on. "We just stared at each other a few times for stage effect. There was no physical contact or affection, and we didn't even sing a love song. My sister-in-law is so nice. She's a modern, independent young woman."
After Luo Xun's rambling, the situation was finally salvaged. The man's face finally showed a hint of joy. He signed his name at the end of the document and said calmly, "We didn't hold hands when we left the stage."
At this point, Luo Xun remembered that the couple in front went up and went down hand in hand. It seemed that it was because the woman was wearing high heels and a long skirt, which made it inconvenient for her to move.
My sister-in-law also seemed to be wearing high heels, but...
Luo Xun approached stealthily, smirking and teasing, "You're quite observant, aren't you?"
“…”
The recording of "Audio-Visual Feast" ended at around 11 o'clock in the evening.
There was no suspense, Lin Luosang took first place on the spot.
Jiang Mei found a popular male rock singer to partner with her tonight. The performance was quite explosive and she won second place, with the number of votes not much different from Lin Luosang.
But Jiang Mei was clearly unhappy, thinking she could take first place. When the rankings were finally announced, her smile was extremely forced. However, she couldn't directly express her dissatisfaction in front of the camera, so she could only say, "I always thought prejudice was something that was difficult to eliminate. Because of my many identities in the past, I thought my songs would be difficult to be accepted by everyone. I'm grateful to everyone for letting me know that as long as you have the corresponding ability, you can wait for the day when you are recognized."
Jiang Mei firmly believes that it's because she has so many identities and looks more like a professional idol that people don't think she's a professional singer, and that's why she received so little recognition in the first few episodes. She never doubts her abilities.
Although the guests on the stage all knew that it was the rock singer who played a key role and contributed the highlights to the entire performance, no one pointed it out. Jiang Mei continued to be contentedly trapped in her own utopia, feeling fortunate that everyone was finally willing to look at her relatively objectively. However, she still felt that there was some bias in this ranking, otherwise she would have been able to reach the top.
Yue Hui was also shocked by Jiang Mei's speech on stage. After leaving the stage, he was still complaining to Lin Luosang: "How can you be so confident? Is it because you studied abroad and have a decent doctorate? Although compared to ordinary people, you are okay, but you are really not the best in the circle. You are not humble at all. How can you survive in the future?"
The assistant replied, "In her hometown, there aren't many girls who can study, and even fewer who leave the village. A college degree is considered impressive. Plus, she's portrayed as a highly educated, versatile, and charming goddess. She did receive quite a bit of praise in the beginning. So, all in all... she probably thinks she's a deity."
As the three of them were walking, Lin Luosang suddenly remembered that he had forgotten something in the lounge. When he turned back to get it, he heard a sharp quarrel coming from a conference room.
"Are you really useless or are you just pretending to be useless? You can't even handle a small artist? What are you afraid of?"
"It's not that we're scared...it's that Lin Luosang is hard to eliminate. Can you calm down a little?"
Hearing his own name, Lin Luosang paused and looked through the gaps in the door curtain to see Jiang Mei's team and the director group arguing inside.
Although they are called Jiang Mei's team, in fact, her agent and assistant are sitting behind her with indifferent expressions. Jiang Mei is the main force of output.
"Why not eliminate her? You guys are so annoying all the time!" Jiang Mei was arguing so much that her rationality was swallowed by anger. She slammed the table and decided, "At worst, I'll have to compete with her. Is it okay if it's just me or her?! I really don't want to see her!"
The director team was silent for a long time, and finally the chief director sighed: "If you really want this, then so be it."
"The next match is a battle mode. Each artist corresponds to a fruit, and they choose their opponents without revealing their identities. At worst, I'll tell you what fruit Lin Luosang is, and you can just choose her."
"OK--"
Jiang Mei's eyes flashed with ferocity: "I don't want to see anything go wrong this time. You've let someone with no investment run amok until now. Do you still want to attract investment for the next season of the show?"
Investment, investment again. The director now starts to get a headache whenever he hears these two words.
Because the show's biggest investor repeatedly demanded Lin Luosang's swift departure, and because Lin Luosang's company had no vested interests in the show, the directors were caught in a dilemma, struggling every second. They'd held several urgent meetings during the rainy episode, but finally, considering Pei Hanzhou had no experience in the entertainment industry and their marriage was likely a sham, and believing he wouldn't stand up for her or even know about it, they bravely took action.
——After all, we are all here to make a living, and the opinions of investors are the most important.
They knew they had gone a bit overboard with the rain episode, but they had no other choice. As a result, due to Lin Luosang's popularity, the production team was severely criticized, and it was on the hot search list for a whole day and night. No matter how they criticized it, it was wrong.
After learning from their mistakes, they dare not act recklessly again. No one wants to experience the feeling of being scolded and become a hot topic again.
Thinking about how the program team had been criticized before, and Jiang Mei still being aggressive and unfriendly, the director was instantly furious. He let out all the anger he had been holding back: "I told you that things are not as simple as you think!"
"Stop, I don't want to discuss this with you. Just tell me the question and the fruit that corresponds to Lin Luosang in advance, and I'll eliminate her myself, okay?"
After saying that, Jiang Mei took a few deep breaths to calm her anger. She restrained her anger, took out her makeup bag and threw it to the assistant behind her: "Touch up your makeup."
The assistant hurriedly stood up to fix her makeup, and then put on a gentle and elegant aquamarine jacket for her. Jiang Mei then adjusted the curve of her lips, pretended nothing had happened, and walked out of the meeting room with an elegant smile.
When she saw Lin Luosang, Jiang Mei was stunned for a moment, but quickly returned to normal, picked up her coat and strode away.
Yue Hui, who had been waiting for so long, finally came over and ran to her side, panting: "I was wondering why you disappeared while we were walking. The tablet has been found and put in the car. What are you doing standing here?"
After he finished speaking, he glanced inside again and asked, "Did you hear any secrets?"
"I guess so," Lin Luosang shrugged. "Jiang Mei just told the director team that she's going to personally eliminate me in the next episode."
"Her? Eliminate you...?" Yue Hui seemed to have heard something ridiculous, the corners of his mouth almost stretched to the back of his head. "That's good, let her open her eyes and see the outside world, instead of just sitting in a well and looking at the sky."
Lin Luosang said, "She should have received the questions in advance and had much more time to prepare than I did."
After all, the director team also listened to Jiang Mei.
Yue Hui rubbed his chin and thought for a moment: "Are you afraid?"
Lin Luosang looked in the direction Jiang Mei left and answered easily, "I'm not afraid."
If she is afraid of even Jiang Mei's fancy moves, then all her learning over the years must have been in vain.
"But I'm afraid," said Yue Hui.
Lin Luosang:?
Yue Hui took out his mobile phone and started browsing the products.
"I was afraid she would cry too much, so I bought her some tissues in advance."
As expected, they had a fight. When recording the behind-the-scenes footage the next day, the director announced as planned that each guest would correspond to a fruit. In order to let Jiang Mei choose first, they also asked the guests to draw lots in advance. Jiang Mei drew 1 and was the first to choose her opponent.
Lin Luosang felt like the protagonist in a book who had read the script and knew exactly what the other person would do next, but he didn't need to expose it. He just sat quietly in his chair and watched.
Since Jiang Mei likes to be in the spotlight so much, let her be.
"I'll choose Grape," Jiang Mei seemed to think for a moment before speaking hesitantly but with a clear purpose, "Who is Grape?"
Lin Luosang waved the note in his hand.
The artistic goddess once again raised her semi-permanent elegant smile and extended her hand towards her: "Then... happy battle."
Even though the camera was right in front of her, Lin Luosang, still reeling from Jiang Mei's flirtatious actions from yesterday to today, still had to admire the goddess' fake smile. She really couldn't just give a fake handshake. She raised the corner of her lips, replied perfunctorily, "Hmm," and then politely said goodbye to everyone: "Then I'll leave now that I'm done here."
Ah Guai smiled and waved at her, "Okay, bye, Sister Sang. Remember to share my new song on Weibo tonight!"
"I understand." She patted Aguai's head.
Jiang Mei's handshake was ignored, but Lin Luosang was still so nice to everyone. In such a contrast, Jiang Mei was extremely embarrassed, but she couldn't say much when looking at the camera, so she just endured it.
After the recording was finished, he went back to the director's office, his excitement and anger intertwined. "Did you see how she treated me just now? This could have been edited into the main film. Being so grumpy and acting like a big shot off camera would only lower the audience's viewing experience, and wouldn't that mean fewer tickets?!"
The director looked at Jiang Mei, who thought she was very smart, and was speechless and sighed. "But the other guests all get along well with her. They even post on Weibo saying they are discussing music with her. The popular and naive Aguai even interacts with her frequently. Aguai has never interacted with you, right? Do the other guests exchange demos with you to discuss things?"
Jiang Mei suddenly choked.
The other female director almost rolled her eyes. "If we really edited the clip where she's targeting you, wouldn't that just prove you're unpopular? And eight marketing accounts will say you're being isolated. Is that really a good idea?"
"Please, auntie, can you please use a little logic before you speak or act, otherwise everyone will be exhausted."
"We understand your demands, but we hope you won't constantly interfere with the directors' actions. We don't want to mess up this show. We can only say that we'll try to do as much as possible when we have the chance. You can't resort to unreasonable tactics, right? It wouldn't do you any good if the show flopped, would it? Besides, Lin Luosang is so popular right now, she's the reason for the show's trending searches several times."
Jiang Mei was speechless, and after a long while she stomped her high heels: "I understand, isn't it just cowardice? I'll come by myself next week. It's tiring to communicate with a group of directors like you who never get to the point."
"Also," the female director said, "you chose this process yourself. Now that you've chosen it, you must accept the outcome. If you lose, don't use any sponsorships to pressure us."
Jiang Mei frowned fiercely, almost throwing her bag at someone: "Are you guys sick?! Can you please stop using your incompetence to criticize me?"
He rolled his eyes and walked further away: "This is the first time I've seen such a crazy director team. I'm so unlucky."
Parted on bad terms.
At this moment, Lin Luosang was sitting in the car, waiting for the director team to send him the battle questions.
This competition is about propositional songs, and the players are required to expand their thinking and create new songs based on fixed objects.
While waiting, the assistant recalled what had just happened and asked in confusion, "If you want to choose, just choose directly. Why bother with fruits? Isn't that complicated?"
Yue Hui replied: "You don't understand this, right? If you choose directly, it will be so embarrassing to lose... This way, at least there is still some room for maneuver."
Lin Luosang shook his head: "Jiang Mei doesn't think she will lose."
The look in Jiang Mei's eyes when she looked at her just now was full of a sense of superiority and victory.
Lin Luosang received the topic three days later, and was given the deadline of submitting the song within two days.
When Yue Hui forwarded the question, he was already furious: [I've urged them at least 100,000 times a day, and every time they either don't reply or say they're still negotiating. After ten years of negotiations, they're only sending me a camera? Do they even think it's suitable??]
This time the theme of her song will revolve around the camera.
Association is much more difficult than writing songs freely as one pleases, and this time she was only given two days.
——I’m afraid Jiang Mei got the questions the night after the last competition, so she had four more days to prepare than her.
The picture sent was just a simple digital camera picture, with absolutely no points that could be used to express emotions or create momentum. Lin Luosang clicked on it and then exited it, having no idea about the direction.
Disaster.
And no matter how you change the entry point, it seems mediocre.
What’s even more terrible is that I have to decide on my relevant topic today, otherwise I won’t be able to submit the song.
The more she thought about it, the more her headache grew. In just one hour, she drank four bottles of water out of anxiety. When she unscrewed the fifth bottle, the man reading the newspaper on the sofa finally spoke up, "You've already gone to the bathroom three times."
“…”
Feeling scorned, Lin Luosang gritted his teeth and whispered, "You've already taken two showers, why haven't you left yet?"
The man closed his eyes calmly and said, "I'll sleep here tonight."
"Okay," she put down her pen, "I'll stay up late tonight."
“…”
She has a habit of spinning a pen when she is thinking, but the pen usually gets caught in her hair while spinning. She is so absorbed in thinking that she doesn't notice it and just takes it out of the pen holder. As time goes by, there are more and more pens on her head.
Every time she washes her hands and looks in the mirror, she can probably judge the difficulty of the song for her by the number of pens on her head.
Finally, when she had used up all the water-based pens in the living room and moved to the study, a man passing by glanced at the back of her head with a curious look and asked a sincere question -
"Are you in need of a hairpin?"
She disconnected and reconnected for a few seconds before following his gaze to her hair, blinking to save her dignity: "Do you know what the pen represents?"
Pei Hanzhou:?
"The pen represents knowledge. It's the closest way to input inspiration into my brain," she said seriously. "Where do you think all these inspirations come from?"
The man glanced at her empty notebook and nodded approvingly: "...It's indeed a lot."
Realizing that she seemed to be being ridiculed by this man again, Lin Luosang angrily pulled out her pen and threw it at him. The man raised his hand to catch it steadily and placed the pen on her desk: "There is fruit downstairs. Come down if you want some."
After tormenting herself for a while, she resigned herself to her fate and stood up, planning to eat some fruit to replenish her energy.
The man was watering the flowers on the open-air balcony. It was rare to see him so relaxed, while she was busy like a top.
Lin Luosang stuffed two orange slices into his mouth with a feeling of injustice.
After watering the flowers and plants, Pei Hanzhou returned to the sofa, sat beside her, opened his mobile phone, clicked on the camera to take a picture, and aimed it at a tree on the balcony.
Ever since he casually said that Luo Xun looked like the plants on his balcony in his Christmas clothes, Luo Xun had been harassing him every few days, insisting that he take pictures for him.
Lin Luosang glanced sideways at the blurry scene on the man's phone. The scene she had just been confronted with was still fresh in her mind. She couldn't wait to regain her composure and make a defense: "Is this how you straight men shoot? It really is..."
"It's just out of focus." The man clicked the screen to focus, and the photo immediately became clear.
As if he had heard something important, Lin Luosang paused while tearing the orange peels. "What did you say?"
"Just focus."
The man took a clear photo and handed it to her to prove himself. He also asked her what she wanted to complain about herself: "What's wrong with me?"
A certain word gradually became clear in Lin Luosang's mind. She blinked in surprise and handed the remaining oranges to Pei Hanzhou with great ceremony: "You are really a genius."
“…”
Then she quickly ran into the study.
The man didn't know what touched her nerves again. After sending the picture to Luo Xun, he disrespectfully ate the orange she gave him.
Lin Luosang felt that her husband was sometimes quite useful. For example, when he found inspiration and was writing furiously, she had never felt that Pei Hanzhou was so worthy of praise.
She wrote the lyrics and composed the music one day, arranged it another day, and handed in the song at seven o'clock the next evening, feeling relieved.
The sixth episode of "Audio-Visual Feast" also started rehearsals after the songs were submitted. This is a very important episode. It is not only the small final of the first half of the program, but also the episode in which Jiang Mei vowed to eliminate her.
When she arrived at the studio, she happened to hear Jiang Mei starting to rehearse. Yue Hui listened for a while and said, "What's going on? Not very good, right?"
Lin Luosang shook his head.
Before Yue Hui could even feel a moment of smug delight, he heard Lin Luosang continue, "It's not on the same level as her previous songs."
Yue Hui's heart sank: "What do you mean?"
"It's a complete qualitative leap. The arrangement is very skillful, the details are well handled, it's innovative but not abrupt, and it incorporates many difficult-to-arrange instruments."
"Fuck, what do you mean? Don't scare me."
"She didn't write this," Lin Luosang said. "The lyrics might be, but the music is definitely not hers."
Even if given ample preparation time, it is impossible to completely transform oneself. Not even the slightest trace or habit of the original can be found, just like an entry-level painter's year-long study alone cannot match the finished product of a painter in an hour - Jiang Mei had someone write this song for her.
No wonder Jiang Mei thought she could eliminate her. It turned out that she had no intention of relying on herself from the beginning.
Yue Hui didn't understand: "Aren't they required to submit original works? Can we find someone to help?"
"It's not like the show is going to record the song's creation process 24 hours a day. As long as you have the money to buy the copyright, if she says it's hers, then it's hers, right?"
“Oh my god…”
Lin Luosang took a deep breath.
Things seem to be more difficult than imagined.
"It's okay, just practice first," she comforted Yue Hui, "I just need to sing well."
The rest are added value, and the stage is the most important thing for a singer.
The show officially started recording on Saturday night.
The main theme of both Lin Luosang and Jiang Mei is a camera, and finding the specific theme in the camera depends on their own perception.
Jiang Mei's song is called "Group Photo", a love song from a relatively simple perspective. A camera has gone through three years, from group photos of couples to solo photos. It is easy for people to understand, but lacks some freshness.
Maybe she can make a breakthrough in this area.
The stage lights dimmed, and the host's voice echoed throughout the venue: "Okay, after enjoying Jiang Mei's "Group Photo," it's her PK opponent's turn."
"Welcome Lin Luosang to bring us the song, 'Out of Focus'."
At first, the audience at the scene and in the live broadcast room didn’t understand what she wanted to express.
Until the prelude created a scene of separation, the song reached the chorus, she sang in the dim light -
Before you leave the dream
Loved me briefly
The light of boiling tears
Out of focus and blurred period
The reaction in the live broadcast room:
Comparing the camera's loss of focus to the blurry vision caused by tears after a lover leaves, my goodness, what a divine metaphor! Sangsang is truly a creative genius.
I love this analogy! It's both poetic and accurate.
Her songs are gentle yet sharp.
The stage was gradually getting better. Lin Luosang was performing on the sofa with a camera hanging in her hand. However, just as she was about to stand up and walk off the stage according to the pre-rehearsed performance mode -
Her heel got stuck in the cracks between the tiles.
As soon as I lift my leg, the shoe will fall off my heel.
She suddenly stopped, feeling stuck in a dilemma.
It is impossible for her to maintain this posture while sitting on the sofa, as the stage requires dynamic changes; but it is even more impossible for her to take off her shoes on the stage, or perform with one foot wearing shoes and the other not.
She was quickly thinking of possible solutions in her mind. Because she was familiar with the song, she didn't miss a beat, so no one in the audience noticed the accident.
With the turning point of the music, the song also turns from the frustration of the parties breaking up to a carefree waving of hands.
Then, when Lin Luosang sang "Everything in the past is just a prelude/The future is always promising", she lightly retracted her legs and took off the high heel that was stuck in the gap.
There were intermittent exclamations from the audience.
She turned toward the sofa with her instep bent, her long and well-proportioned legs hanging casually on the edge of the armrest. She sang in a whisper while reaching out to untie the other leg.
Her long hair covered most of her face, leaving only her delicate jaw exposed. The half-covered part was even more suggestive. Then, she slid her slender fingertips over her ankle, hooked the high heel under her hand, played with it, turned it around, and threw it behind the sofa.
Just like the protagonist of the song throws away the complicated past along with the high heels, being able to pick it up and put it down, free and open-minded.
The entire performance was seamless, as if it was part of the overall plan.
Only the agent and assistant in the audience knew that this was a completely impromptu performance, and they were sweating in their hearts.
You must know that there are too many uncertainties in improvisation and accidents may occur at any time.
After taking off her shoes without any trouble, Lin Luosang lifted the hem of her skirt and walked barefoot to the stage. The light blue light gave her a lazy and cold allure. Her ankles were slender and white, and the curvature of her toes was beautiful. She looked like she was walking in the clouds, as clear as an elf.
If the audience was screaming when she took off her high heels, then they had already lost all their minds when she walked down the stairs.
The security guards were forced to take several steps back by the excited crowd. They then forcefully pushed everyone back to their seats, maintaining a safe distance. "Everyone, calm down... calm down..."
There was a lot of noise here, and in the hospital more than ten kilometers away, Pei Hanzhou had just finished discussing work and was putting the final touches on it.
The man lowered his eyes coldly, "You're not sterilized, why did you ask me to come here?"
Luo Xun was one of Zhou's shareholders, and the two often communicated about work. Pei Hanzhou was also planning to hold a video conference this time, but Luo Xun yelled, "I'm in so much pain that I can't turn on the computer, so I can only talk in person," and forcibly called him over.
Who would have thought that once he arrived at the ward, Luo Xun would be full of energy and even play a basketball game.
"Is this how you treat a friend who's in the hospital with stomach problems?" Luo Xun held his stomach in pain. "I'm lonely. I'm lonely when I'm alone. Will you die if you come to keep me company?"
The man nodded, "Yes."
“…”
"Are you in the hospital for stomach problems?" the man frowned and questioned.
Pei Hanzhou knew very well that in order to avoid a business marriage, Luo Xun would run to the hospital whenever there was something minor wrong, pretending to be weak and seriously ill, causing outsiders to think that Luo's youngest son was a weak and pampered child.
In fact, this person is having a lot of fun, if a woman can spin her skirt into a butterfly shape.
"I don't want a blind date or an arranged marriage. I'm still in my prime and haven't had enough fun yet. I absolutely won't be bound by a contract. Do you think everyone is as frigid as you?"
Luo Xun laughed playfully twice and was about to continue speaking when he was interrupted by a scream from the next room.
The people next door had been very quiet, but I don’t know what they were talking about just now, but they suddenly started to party.
"Such a fucking high-class sexy! I didn't know I could look so ethereal in such a conservative dress! Sister, marry me!"
After the woman finished howling, a boy next to her reminded her: "She's married."
"So what? How can her husband know? I love my wife!"
The content of the conversation sounded like some immoral transaction.
"What are you talking about? You're so excited." Luo Xun was also attracted by the voice over there. He lifted the quilt and said, "I'm going to the bathroom and take a look."
A few minutes later, Luo Xun returned with a mysterious smile on his face: "A large-scale wife-stealing Shura battlefield."
The man said casually, "Whose wife?"
Luo Xun chuckled twice and pointed at the protagonist: "Who else could it be?"
"Your wife."
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