LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 165 If You Have Also Heard_2
He didn't need to maintain such a strict positive image, just keeping it low-key was good enough. The romance reality show had long settled its accounts with him, and now it held no allure whatsoever.
Compared to the fourth episode of "Love Hunter" that aired today, he was actually more looking forward to "I Am the King of Songs" airing in four or five days, which could give a boost to the single sales for Pei and Lin.
As the songwriter, he could also rake in more money with ease.
"Oh."
"Oh? Brother, aren't you looking forward to it at all?" Zhou Mian replied back quickly, "To be honest, half the traffic for the show is propped up by you, Brother Xu."
Xu: "What do you mean? Enjoy seeing me get scolded, huh?"
"It's not that. 'Love Hunter' was originally pitched as a show with non-celebrities in love, and that Bai person was crammed in later," Zhou Mian sent a barrage of messages.
"A non-celebrity love show? Pure non-celebrities?" Xu Qingyan straightened up in his chair.
"Yeah, the production team spent money to cooperate with a casting agency," Zhou Mian said, "I was in charge of running around for the files at the time; I might have even handled your file."
"The production team is quite rich, huh, to then switch to inviting celebrities," he said.
"Where's the money? At first, we were even worried about whether the prize money could be distributed; it didn't cost much to invite Sister Pei," Zhou Mian said, hearing that the director had begged for her presence.
Xu: "Favors, too?"
"Shouldn't be, that I don't know, I heard the contract was custom-made but the appearance fee wasn't high," Zhou Mian sent another message, "Oh, right."
"The little diva Lin Wanzhou also had a custom contract, she was parachuted in out of nowhere, the director directly notified us."
"Custom contract..." he murmured to himself, not replying to Zhou Mian's message, leaning back in his chair to ponder, "With their status, it seems there really was no need for them to appear on a love reality show."
Sometime after, Zhou Mian sent another message.
"Awesome, Brother! The song you wrote was a success in challenging the chart!"
Xu: "Hmm?? How do you know? Has the show aired?"
"No, Li Zhi told me." After Zhou Mian bought his house and got engaged, he visibly became more gossipy, "Both little divas challenged and both got second place."
He remembered the girl with large eyes and a melon-seed face from a couple of days ago, "How comes Li Zhi tells you everything, you guys aren't having an affair, are you?"
"I wouldn't dare talk nonsense!" Zhou Mian replied back rapidly, "Our relationship is purely friendly, and I'm engaged. Bro, don't spout nonsense."
Xu Qingyan's lips curled slightly, he had often seen the two interact in group chats. But asking why they weren't together over the phone didn't seem right, he'd ask face-to-face when he had a chance.
He replied with a groaning emoji and received six dots in response from Zhou Mian.
After a while, just when Xu Qingyan was about to put down his phone and work, Zhou Mian messaged again.
"Bro, I listened to the new singles from Sister Pei and little diva Lin Wanzhou, the songs you wrote are really good! Are you planning to stay in this line of work in the future?"
Stunned by the last message, Xu Qingyan paused for a bit.
"Honestly, I haven't thought about it."
"So what do you want to do?"
He hesitated, searched his mind for his two libraries, and then typed three words.
"Make some stuff."
"What?" Zhou Mian sent several question marks from the other end, "What are you planning to shoot, Bro? Short videos or long ones??"
Xu Qingyan didn't elaborate much; it was just a casual remark.
"Can't explain it to you, will talk about it later."
The quick and efficient route for shooting dramas is web series, both in terms of funding, scripts, and the team aspect, they are more friendly to newcomers.
Xu Qingyan's biggest advantage was his music and film libraries, lacking neither songs nor movie scripts. He could play them clearly in his mind, the only difficulty he faced was like pouring dumplings from a teapot.
To monetize, he would need to transcribe music; for the film and television aspect, he'd also need to learn by doing. He could fast-track learning about scripts and directing, but assembling a crew was another challenge, requiring a solid network.
He now knew a few people in the circle besides Pei, Lin, and then the folks in the small group, with Zhou Mian being the most familiar.
After all, he still needed to meet more people.
To get money, he also needed more time, so there was no rush.
In the afternoon, he pored over the score for "Partiality" again and again, wondering whether he should sing it for Lin Wanzhou. But recalling that he seemed to have promised Pei Muchan to sing "Partiality" for her.
Forget it, he would choose another song to transpose.
The song for Pei Muchan's upcoming competition had been decided—it was "Riding the White Horse." So what song should he transpose for Lin Wanzhou? The last song was "Fleeting Years," so it couldn't be something of a lesser standard.
"Anhe Bridge" just wouldn't cut it; it was alright for folk music. But for a competition, in front of eight hundred listeners, holding a guitar and singing in a clear and loud voice.
"The bullshit we've blown! Will also be laughed off with youth."
Well... changing it to "bullhide" would actually make no difference in singing, but "Nanshan South" might be better for the competition.
Even if he gave "Nanshan South" to her to sing, the young girl wouldn't be able to capture its essence. He might as well figure it out himself another day, find a suitable stage, and just sing it and be done with it.
Although he had cleared his name from any wrongdoing, the name Xu Qingyan was almost as good as being a street rat at the moment. He needed to wait for a wave of image cleansing, maybe until the show "I Am the Song King" finished airing.
With this in mind, he circled and dotted and picked out "If You Have Also Heard."
He realized that Lin Wanzhou's emotional minefield was loneliness and despair. But since she had never been in love, singing sad love songs had no real impact on her.
As she confided to Xu Qingyan in her own words, "When I sing, I just imagine myself as the female protagonist in a masochistic romance anime, it's so easy to cry."
Crude talk, but sound reasoning—what could you do when her voice was so good? With these half-baked emotions, coupled with her absolute control over dynamics, she actually appeared "emotionally charged"!
Lin Wanzhou's strength lay in her wide vocal range, and her other comprehensive qualities were also commendable, fully capable of mastering "If You Have Also Heard."
No sooner said than done, he dived into the arranging room to begin transcribing, working tirelessly until four in the afternoon.
He had a rough draft of the score ready between breaks.
As Xu Qingyan was scrolling through his phone, suddenly a call from Mrs. Zhang Hongmei popped up. He couldn't help but be startled, his mom calling at this hour...
"Hello, Mom."
"Qingzai, do you have time today?"
"Yes, what's the matter?" Xu Qingyan stood up, always worried about his mother's health recently; any small thing could make him anxious, "Is your health okay?"
"I'm fine, with all that money spent, how could I not take good care of myself?" said Zhang Hongmei.
Hearing this, Xu Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief.
Mom's health was more important than any amount of money earned.
One thing that comforted him was that his empress dowager was not as rigid in her thinking as the older generation, willing to spend money on her health.
Being frugal and then falling seriously ill was a nightmare scenario for anybody.
Ever since Xu Qingyan had revealed his income to his mother last time, Mrs. Zhang Hongmei had also completely let go of her worries and was willing to spend money to take care of her health.
Zhang Hongmei had come to terms with it: as long as she took care of her own health, there was nothing else to worry about. Ensuring her own well-being at least meant leaving a decent home for her son.
"So, what's the matter?" Xu Qingyan, touching the edge of his desk, asked, "Do you have enough money? Otherwise, I'll send more; I've earned quite a bit with some help from friends over here."
"No need, no need, there's enough money, don't worry," said Zhang Hongmei hastily, "Do you remember that girl I mentioned to you last time?"
"Uh?" He thought hard for a moment and asked, "Li Yang?"
Mom had said that Li Uncle had passed away more than two years ago, leaving behind a daughter about to enter university. She had been bullied by relatives, stripped of her inheritance, and had lost her college tuition fees, so she had borrowed a sum of money for her.
"That's right, she's studying at Xinghai University," said Zhang Hongmei, "She's an honest kid, and when I called her, it sounds like she's found a part-time job off-campus."
"Go see that girl, don't let her get scammed."
"Mom, why are you so concerned about her?" Xu Qingyan held his phone at a distance, glanced at the time, and casually inquired, "You couldn't possibly be tired of raising a son and are thinking of adopting a daughter now, could you?"