Chapter 636

"It is always better for a matter to be brought to light by oneself than to have it exposed by others."

This sentence was said by Chen Ziyan.

Chen Ziyan was very satisfied with the production crew's reaction speed this time.

Some things may seem like insignificant trifles to you, but they can be like a butterfly gently flapping its wings, eventually evolving into a tornado on the other side of the ocean.

When it comes to matters involving Lu Yan He, Chen Ziyan always adheres to the principle that "there are no small matters."

Upon learning that Lu Yan He had been moved by this incident, Chen Ziyan only smiled.

"Reflection is a good thing, but I am not at all surprised that you acted that way before," Chen Ziyan said. "That was your first time as a director; you felt insecure inside, and your entire state of mind was just to keep the filming going, so in many cases, it was better to avoid extra trouble. If you say you truly didn't mind, I wouldn't believe it."

Lu Yan He: "Actually, besides that reason, I had another thought at the time."

"What thought?"

"I felt that they were just talking behind my back, and I happened to overhear it. Who doesn't say a few bad things behind others' backs? Moreover, the main thing is that I understood their frustration. They work hard every day but only earn a tiny bit of wages, while I enjoy the best treatment on set and my income is many times higher than theirs."

"You just have a bit of a guilt complex; I discovered that long ago. You always feel that everything you have received is undeserved," Chen Ziyan said. "Of course, you do belong to an industry that enjoys social dividends, but you didn't steal or rob to get it. This industry exists here; if you don't earn this money, someone else will. Those low-income industries and positions are not low-income because of this industry or your existence. You must change your mindset."

Chen Ziyan's words always hit the nail on the head.

She knew very well where the crux of Lu Yan He's various thoughts lay.

"At first, I thought you were a bit of a 'saint,' too tolerant of others. Later, I realized that wasn't it. You just want peace of mind in everything you do. You can do things that others find cruel if you feel at peace with them, but for things you don't feel at peace with, even if everyone calls you a 'saint,' you find it difficult to take a step," Chen Ziyan said. "You are a person who thinks a lot, which is a good thing. Of course, it's hard for any of us to truly empathize with your situation and circumstances, but I am actually a bit worried that you are reflecting on your past behavior this time."

"Worried about what? I thought you would praise me for making progress, realizing that my past behavior was actually wrong, and that I shouldn't have let those who slandered me behind my back off the hook," Lu Yan He said.

"But your reflection itself makes me unable to help but worry," Chen Ziyan said. "I would rather you be someone with a less high sense of morality, or be a true saint who defends your moral sense from beginning to end—either would be fine, and I would protect you. But what people fear most is being caught in the middle, not fitting in on either side, and suffering from frequent internal friction. Do you remember how your mental state was too tense before, leading to a loss of control over your facial expressions? That incident made me realize that your mental endurance isn't actually that high."

Lu Yan He wanted to defend himself.

He wanted to say that he hadn't had problems in that regard for a long time.

Chen Ziyan: "It's been so long, and you can still be hit by a boomerang, which shows that you didn't really let go of that matter or stop holding it against them at the time."

Lu Yan He: "Hearing you say that, why do I feel like my mental issues are a bit serious?"

"You're overthinking it. At least on this issue, fundamentally, you just have a guilt complex about getting so much now," Chen Ziyan said. "Therefore, you cannot be at peace."

Lu Yan He felt he had been dealt a critical blow.

It was too accurate.

Chen Ziyan said: "It's okay, I'm just telling you where your crux lies. As for whether you change or not, I've said it, and you might not be able to change right now; this requires you to slowly adapt yourself. You, you just got rich too fast and aren't grounded. Look at those rich second-generation kids born with silver spoons in their mouths; who among them feels uneasy or unjustified because of their good background? I believe you understand the logic; you just need time to adjust."

Chen Ziyan suddenly asked again: "Do you sometimes feel that this personality of yours is quite annoying?"

Lu Yan He gave a hum, "How did you know?"

"Because this is not rare," Chen Ziyan said. "Without internal friction, without being caught in a dilemma, without emotional ups and downs, how can you be a top-tier actor? I'm telling you so much, firstly, because I hope to tell you that your situation is nothing, it doesn't count as a problem; secondly, I hope to let you know that you actually don't need to change these things. You can accept that you are a contradictory person, a fickle person, a person who wants everything. If one day you become full of grand principles, achieving unity of knowledge and action, becoming a saint, or simply abandoning those moral standards and acting on your whims, you might become a more famous superstar, but you might not be able to be a top-tier creator anymore."

Lu Yan He was stunned.

She hadn't expected that Chen Ziyan would end up here at this juncture.

"Internal friction is nothing, but talk more to the people around you, don't keep it bottled up in your heart," Chen Ziyan said. "As long as you don't bottle it up, let the internal friction be."

"Sister Ziyan, I thought you would persuade me to stop the internal friction."

"Do you think that if I persuade you not to have internal friction, you will be able to do it?" Chen Ziyan said. "There's nothing to persuade when I know you can't do it."

Hearing Chen Ziyan say this, Lu Yan He felt a bit embarrassed.

He actually knew his own problems.

"I think the luckiest thing about you being an artist is meeting an agent like Sister Ziyan who understands you. When you are so famous and capable of writing scripts, she has never made making money the primary goal of your partnership."

After listening to Lu Yan He babble on the phone about his recent "life philosophy" reflections, Chen Siqi accurately summarized the most practical parts that needed to be distilled from this babbling.

"Sometimes I am the same as her, worried that like many outstanding artists, the further you go, the more detached from reality you will become, falling into a self-contained mental state," Chen Siqi said bluntly. "Although you look perfectly normal right now."

Lu Yan He was incredulous.

"No way?"

Lu Yan He never imagined that in the hearts of Chen Ziyan and Chen Siqi, he was actually a potential "mentally unstable patient"?

Chen Siqi: "Think about it, Yan He, how many things have you done in these few years? You act, write songs, write scripts. The things you have produced in the past five years might be more than what five people produce in a lifetime. We all know that creators cannot be viewed as ordinary people when they are at their creative peak, but we also have to pay attention to your mental state. Sister Ziyan has been trying hard to let you have more states outside of creation, and I am the same. We are all afraid that you will immerse yourself in it and become increasingly unable to extricate yourself."

Lu Yan He was really a bit dumbfounded.

He knew that sometimes because of tight schedules or when the feeling came, he would invest 100% into the creation of a work. For example, writing "Dragon Gate Inn" that night.

However, he was not a normal creator. Those stories were not his works; he was just transporting them over.

But he couldn't explain this point to others.

In the eyes of others, he was a genius.

A perpetual motion machine that could continuously create good scripts.

And this point, in the eyes of those who cared about him, became a hidden danger that they couldn't help but worry about.

Lu Yan He said very seriously: "Don't worry, I won't go to that point."

There are acting fanatics, and there are even actors who, upon encountering a role, cannot walk out of it half a year after the filming wraps.

Lu Yan He was not that type of actor.

He did have times when he was immersed in a certain role, but generally, two or three days after wrapping, he would be fine, at most a week.

Creation is the same.

Lu Yan He didn't dare to say he hadn't experienced that feeling of entering a realm of no one; he indeed had, but he often stopped at the surface.

He himself would realize that he couldn't stay in that state for long.

Lu Yan He didn't think he would really have problems in this regard because he knew he wasn't actually that "genius." He was just an ordinary person with ordinary flaws. If one were to say he might have a split personality because he could create different types of stories and different character roles...

Even if everyone thought so, he knew very well that it wasn't like that.

What Lu Yan He didn't expect was that a small matter that was originally just discussing whether he had too high requirements for himself and had some internal friction would eventually make him suddenly realize that the people around him had such hidden worries about him.

The day "Chinese Paladin" wrapped.

Luo Yuzhong patted him on the shoulder and said: "You acted well this time. Compared to the time of 'Golden Era,' you are much better. You are already a mature actor."

Lu Yan He smiled.

"Thank you, Teacher."

Filming "Chinese Paladin" this time, overall, didn't pose any challenge to him. He prepared solidly, acted seriously, and plus the fact that this crew was very good in all aspects, both Luo Yuzhong and he were very satisfied with the overall effect.

Lu Yan He certainly didn't need to rely on this drama to fuel his career anymore.

However, being able to complete a role well, Lu Yan He was still very satisfied.

This sense of achievement from completing a role was a unique feeling that truly belonged to him.

Li Zhibai and Yan Liang both still had to continue filming in the crew.

Yan Liang wouldn't wrap until mid-to-late November, and Li Zhibai's wrap time was even later, going into December.

Filming TV dramas, especially long-form ones like this, is very time-consuming.

After wrapping "Chinese Paladin," Lu Yan He rested for two days and then went back to participate in the recording of the final stage of this season of "Young Days."

He could still make it, but Li Zhibai and Yan Liang couldn't.

Originally, Lu Yan He wanted to say, let's just not participate this season.

But Li Zhenzhen contacted him many times, always telling him that if he could return for the final few episodes, it would definitely be a surprise for the fans of this program.

Furthermore, Lu Yan He hadn't seen Liu Zhiyin and the others for a long time.

So, in the end, Lu Yan He decided to go.

By the way, he negotiated the collaboration for the two OSTs by Qin Zhibai and Song Lin Xin.

How declining is the music circle now? Just look at Qin Zhibai and Song Lin Xin.

The two of them already belong to the outstanding ones among the young generation of musicians in terms of image, fame, and talent.

However, because the overall influence of the industry is declining, their status in the circle has always remained in a lukewarm position.

Having debuted for several years, everyone's impression of them is still that of a newly debuted singer. Of course, this also involves deeper reasons.

Qin Zhibai is relatively better off.

He is a rich second-generation kid himself, and the main reason he came to the entertainment industry to be a singer is that he loves singing and music.

But Song Lin Xin's family is not like Qin Zhibai's, with money and background.

She really has to rely on this job to make a living.

Of course, she can't be said to be unable to make a living now.

It's just that Song Lin Xin has often felt a sense of powerlessness in the past two years. A powerlessness of not knowing how to improve herself. She has one or two new songs that are quite popular every year, and all kinds of data are very good, yet this is of no avail. No one denies that she is a popular singer, and she is an invited guest for all kinds of events and commercial performances.

But then what?

If actors want to be Best Actor or Best Actress, what is a singer's dream?

Twenty years ago, or even ten years ago, everyone thought about becoming a Heavenly King or Heavenly Queen.

At that time, there were people on the throne, and there was a clear path. Singers who weren't popular enough or didn't have high enough status had goals to catch up to.

But now, the so-called Heavenly Kings and Heavenly Queens are all products of that era.

Where are there any Heavenly Kings and Heavenly Queens now?

Not only is there no such thing, but the music circle doesn't even have a professional, influential award.

TV dramas and movies have the three major awards, while pop music... sorry, those awards have been abandoned in some corner, probably growing mold.

Song Lin Xin is often bewildered.

Not knowing what she is striving for.

Compared to Qin Zhibai, if the commonality is that both have excellent musical talent and love music, the biggest difference between them is that Qin Zhibai just loves music; he doesn't care that much about whether music can bring him secular rewards, such as industry status or a generous income; he doesn't rely on this. But Song Lin Xin cares.

So, is she short of money now? No, not short; she's better off than some, worse off than others. Is she short of fame now? Also not short; among the young generation of singers, she is doing quite well. But she lacks a professional goal; she lacks a goal to keep charging forward.

The road ahead is unclear, and there is no benchmark.

Of course, she couldn't talk about these things with her agent, Zhou Meng.

In Zhou Meng's view, any Heavenly King or Heavenly Queen is empty; popular songs and popular people are real, and hard cash is solid.

Perhaps Song Lin Xin will continue to be popular like this and won't be able to become a legend like those from the past era, but so what? Being a popular first-tier star, with an eight-figure annual income and generous dividends, what more could she want?

Song Lin Xin could only chat about her troubles with friends in private.

Unexpectedly, at this time, Lu Yan He came to ask her for a song.

Song Lin Xin sighed and said: "I really don't know if I can write it."

"What's wrong?" Lu Yan He also saw Song Lin Xin's look of melancholy and annoyance.

Song Lin Xin: "Too lazy to tell you; you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

"How do you know I wouldn't understand if you don't tell me?"

Song Lin Xin and Lu Yan He stared at each other.

【In one look】

"Fine, fine." Song Lin Xin still told Lu Yan He.

Lu Yan He: "Uh, this problem of yours is a bit big."

Song Lin Xin rolled her eyes at Lu Yan He, "I told you already, you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

"Who said I wouldn't understand? I just said the problem is big, I didn't say I didn't understand."

Song Lin Xin: "..."

Lu Yan He: "Although I, like you, have always felt that the music industry hasn't quite figured out how to play in the internet era, I don't think the demand for music has decreased."

Song Lin Xin: "That's what they say, but honestly, look at how many companies and singers are seriously making music now? They have all become appendages of your film and television industry."

"Then who's to blame? You guys messed up those authoritative awards you had before; either you stopped holding them, or they became watered down. Now, everyone wants to find some good songs to listen to, opens a few music apps, and for centuries, they can't change a few songs; not only are they all old songs, but the new song charts are half idol artists' promotional songs, and the other half are film and television OSTs."

"Who can't complain?" Song Lin Xin said.

"Actually, if 'Small Song Gathering' could continue to be held, at least there would be an opportunity for you singer-songwriters to promote your songs, but this program is gone too."

"All current music variety shows are covers; where is there any room for original work?" Song Lin Xin said, "Look at how many music variety shows I've participated in; I can't even sing my own songs; they're all covers."

Lu Yan He said: "Original work has no fame, no traffic."

Song Lin Xin: "Desperate, I even thought, why don't I just go act? But my talent points aren't in acting."

Lu Yan He: "What do you think about the idol artist sector now? Compared to a few years ago."

"Needless to say, it's very popular. Now, besides the program 'Idol Era,' with the popularity of these idol performance stages, all kinds of events and programs have started inviting them, and music platforms have been occupied by them to a large extent."

"What do you think of their music?"

"Uh... I can understand why those songs are popular, but personally, I don't really appreciate that music," Song Lin Xin said, "They are basically all strong-rhythm songs, some rap, very new-generation."

"You're only in your early twenties yourself, what are you acting old for?" Lu Yan He laughed, "But look, film and television OSTs are still your old lyrical tunes, right? You can't say the territory for lyrical songs is gone, that no one is willing to listen."

"But the reality is that the investment cost for us to make a single, looking at the current market situation, has a huge possibility of loss. Singers like Qin Zhibai and me who have a certain fan base are a bit better off, but there are more who have no fame at all. In the past, those new singers had stable channels for record companies to promote them; now, where are there any record companies making new singers?"

Lu Yan He said: "The essence is still the lack of a market recognized by the industry and the market, so no one is willing to take risks."

"Yeah, look at me making an album. I'm not exaggerating; making an album at this time, I'm 100% losing money. It's just that as a singer, I have an obsession; I have to release an album to be a true singer," Song Lin Xin said, "Especially a singer-songwriter like me, without an album that can represent my own musical aesthetics, how can I introduce myself to others?"

Lu Yan He: "Any interest in doing something together?"

"Huh?" Song Lin Xin was stunned.

"Actually, I was planning a program before, but after hearing your confusion, I'm also thinking, perhaps we can change our thinking," Lu Yan He said.

Song Lin Xin looked at Lu Yan He with some doubt.

Lu Yan He: "Just like there is a program called 'Idol Era' on the idol artist side, since you singers, especially singer-songwriters, lack a stage where you can sing original works, why not make one?"

Song Lin Xin: "There's no platform to do it."

"Then do it yourself," Lu Yan He said bluntly.

Song Lin Xin was stunned, looking at Lu Yan He in shock.

Lu Yan He said: "Want to try it together?"

"A program like 'The Birth of an Actor'?"

"Yeah," Lu Yan He nodded, "But to be honest, I don't know if this program can be popular, because doing original work has the biggest risk: the songs might not be good, might not be able to move the audience. Music variety shows have many covers because those golden songs have been tested by time. As long as the singer performs well, the quality of the stage can reach a certain standard and move the audience. For an original stage, eight or ten songs per episode, even if two songs move the audience, it's not enough. But can you find so many good original songs in one go?"

Lu Yan He's words left Song Lin Xin bewildered.

"Then... you say it like that, the risk of doing this program is very big," Song Lin Xin said, "Are you willing to do it?"

"Let's try it. At worst, it fails. You guys didn't have a successful original music program anyway, so if it fails, it fails," Lu Yan He said, "But if it succeeds, it doesn't even need to reach the success of 'Idol Era.' Even if it can just keep going without losing money, for your music circle, isn't that one more channel to transport original singers and original works?"

Song Lin Xin couldn't deny that her heart was stirring.

After all, it was Lu Yan He who proposed it. If Lu Yan He was going to do this program, maybe there really was a possibility of success.

At this time, Li Zhenzhen suddenly appeared.

Lu Yan He and Song Lin Xin had found a place in the small courtyard outside to chat in low voices.

They had taken off their microphones because they didn't want this conversation to be recorded into the program.

Li Zhenzhen walked over, and they thought it was because they had been away from the program recording for too long, so she was calling them back.

Who knew, Li Zhenzhen walked up to them, and what she said was: "Can you count me in for this program you're talking about? Let my team do it?"

Lu Yan He: "..."

Song Lin Xin: "... Sister Zhenzhen, are you eavesdropping?"

Li Zhenzhen pointed speechlessly behind them.

They looked in the direction Li Zhenzhen was pointing and realized, damn, under the eaves over there, there was actually a camera. Because of the night, they hadn't noticed it.

And they had spent a long time looking for this place they thought they could chat.

"..."

Lu Yan He looked at Li Zhenzhen with some hesitation and said: "Sister Zhenzhen, does your team... understand music?"

Li Zhenzhen: "We can cooperate with people who understand the industry, but I just heard your positioning and expectations for this program, and I want to join in. I have a premonition that this program will become a milestone program."

Song Lin Xin looked at Lu Yan He.

This program was proposed by Lu Yan He, and she wouldn't be silly enough to speak up at this time.

Lu Yan He smiled helplessly and said: "Sister Zhenzhen, I can't give you an answer right now; I have to make a phone call to a friend first."

Lu Yan He had long wanted to do a music-type program.

Actually, Lu Yan He's original first choice was "I Am a Singer," gathering washed-up singers together to compete; the explosive points and selling points of this program were very clear.

However, Song Lin Xin's words suddenly made Lu Yan He think of the program "Chinese Good Songs."

This program was equally magical. If "I Am a Singer" made many singers popular again, then "Chinese Good Songs" truly made many original songs explode in popularity overnight in China.

For example, Dai Quan's "Wukong," Su Yunying's "Wild Child," Huo Zun's "Rolled Pearl Curtain," and Liu Hutie, a singer who wasn't very famous but whose song was very famous, "Slow Down from Before."

Of course, of course, there was also the first golden finger Lu Yan He had when he came to this world, "Memory," which also came from this program.

Between "I Am a Singer" and "Chinese Good Songs," after listening to what Song Lin Xin said, Lu Yan He chose the latter almost without any hesitation.

People always want to do something meaningful for the industry.

Similarly, Lu Yan He had always wanted to do such a program to repay Director Hou Jun of "Small Song Gathering," who had given him a chance back then.

Lu Yan He's first choice for the director of this program was Hou Jun.

After "Small Song Gathering" stopped being made, Hou Jun almost became the designated director for Northern Lights Video's large-scale galas because his "Graduation Season" series and "Year-End Ceremony" series had very good responses.

However, Hou Jun had always wanted to do music variety shows again.

He himself was a person with extremely high musical literacy. For the soundtrack of the movie "Love Letter," almost all of it was done by Hou Jun alone, following Lu Yan He's requirements, finding the top musicians in the industry to create the dubbing for this movie.

Lu Yan He dialed Hou Jun's phone.

Hou Jun was very depressed.

The music variety show proposal he submitted two days ago was killed by Northern Lights Video.

The reason was that the budget was too high, but there were too many homogenized programs on the market, and the senior management didn't look favorably on the market feedback for this program.

Northern Lights also killed programs with budgets that were too low, and the reason was different: it was too much of a waste of Hou Jun's talent.

Hou Jun knew very well that Northern Lights didn't lack good directors for variety shows now, but for directors who could do galas and ceremonies, there really weren't many within Northern Lights. It just so happened that he hit the mark; the galas he did had such good responses that every year's graduation season series, one gala, could directly break 100 million in investment.

So, Northern Lights didn't want him to be distracted now, and basically, all the director work for large-scale events was handed to him.

Hou Jun couldn't say he was doing all this work against his will and wasn't happy; Northern Lights wasn't a stingy company, and his income in these few years was much higher than when he was doing the "Small Song Gathering" program.

But sometimes people have earned enough money and still want to do what they love after going around in circles.

He still wanted to do a program related to music.

A music program that could keep going.

He was dragging an old friend to drink in a bar outside to vent his frustration when his phone suddenly rang.

It was his friend who saw it first.

His friend's tone was a bit excited, patting him on the shoulder.

"Lu Yan He is calling you!"

I've been dizzy for a whole day today, maybe it's the flu. I have to go get tested tomorrow. (End of chapter)