Chapter 81: Is He Going to Appear on the Spring Festival Gala?

"Mr. Chen, do you understand machine dyeing?"

Cheng Chen gave a dismissive smile and asked.

At the time, most fabric in the country was dyed by hand—time-consuming, outdated, and expensive.

As a returned overseas student, Lu Jiaju resented his father gushing over Chen Shouting and naturally wanted to put him in his place on this matter.

"I do."

Hou Yong chimed in.

"Oh, who taught you?"

Cheng Chen asked with a smile, but his expression clearly showed he didn't believe it.

"Last year, I went to Modu to source grey fabric and specifically visited the Cheng Tong Dyeing Factory, just took a look."

Simply put, machine dyeing is just easier than hand dyeing."

Hearing this, Cheng Chen shook his head with a careless smile, glancing at the walnuts he was turning in his hand—his demeanor was utterly casual.

"Good job—Cheng Chen nailed Lu Jiaju's state perfectly."

"His performance was natural, fully conveying Lu Jiaju's restlessness and disdain for Chen Shouting—excellent."

Director Wang Wenjie watched Cheng Chen's performance on the monitor and praised it.

Executive director Yu Weiping added beside him:

"Even more impressive—he carries the aristocratic bearing of a wealthy family's son, yet also embodies the new ideas of someone returned from abroad."

"His flamboyant manner fits Lu Jiaju perfectly, especially standing next to Hou Yong's Chen Shouting."

"The audience can instantly tell who's the boss and who's the worker—Old Wang, you've cast these actors like they were tailor-made!"

Yu Weiping and Wang Wenjie were longtime collaborators, having worked together on many films and dramas, such as later ones like "Creating an Era of Prosperity" and "Southward."

So when speaking to Wang Wenjie, he didn't hold back like others did.

An actor is either good or bad—he was blunt and spoke his mind directly.

"Yeah, it's good."

Wang Wenjie nodded, fully agreeing with his old friend.

Soon the scene was finished; both had nailed the performance and the plot perfectly.

Moreover, this scene didn't involve complex actor movements or emotional shifts.

Though simple, both found it deeply satisfying—no retakes, one take done.

"Cut! Wrap it up, everyone, thanks for your hard work!"

After Wang Wenjie called "cut," the entire crew instantly relaxed.

"Chengzi, that look you gave in that scene was incredible—I swear, did you study Peking Opera? That gaze… wow, amazing!"

"You mean the part where we two partner to open the dyeing factory?"

"Yeah…"

"Yongge, your lines in that part were also exceptional—I can't even put my finger on why."

"Hah, it's a little trick I developed when I performed with the theater troupe—I'll tell you…"

Hou Yong, who had just acted opposite Cheng Chen, walked over.

After greeting Wang Wenjie and the rest of the crew and actors, they walked and chatted together.

Discussing their insights from the scene—the crew had long grown used to it.

…

The next day, as Cheng Chen was about to go out to buy something, he suddenly received a call from Wang Tianxiao.

"Cheng Chen, have you read today's newspaper?"

"No, I don't have time to read newspapers."

Cheng Chen replied.

"You're in the paper! You're in the paper!"

Wang Tianxiao said excitedly.

Cheng Chen said casually:

"Being in the paper is common—any day you don't see me in the papers,

I guess I'm really done… uh, meaning I'm no longer popular."

At his current status, entertainment tabloids wrote several stories about his life every day.

"Cheng Heavenly King meets beauty late at night, passionately kisses on the street with no regard for others."

"Cheng Chen's childhood photos leaked—turns out he looks like this!"

"Heartbroken! After achieving fame young,

he started indulging in wine, women, and reckless behavior!"

Of course, all these were baseless gossip, carrying the same "one picture to start, content entirely fabricated" vibe of modern clickbait.

Yet many people still bought into them.

The reason? Cheng Chen was too famous yet too mysterious.

Everyone knew he'd spent years as a background actor before becoming famous, yet there were very few reports about it.

When you try to dig up his old roles, most were just a single fleeting shot.

That was still better—sometimes, in street market scenes or war crowd sequences, he was just one soldier among many, with no close-up at all.

Then suddenly, he rose to fame overnight, becoming a renowned singer, lyricist, and composer.

As for album sales, his first album reached heights no ordinary singer could ever achieve in a lifetime.

He had achieved both fame and fortune!

So the tabloids are willing to write about him, and readers love reading about him too.

"Not that kind of gossip tabloid—

Wang Tianxiao's excited voice came through the receiver.

"Mm? As long as it's not negative, that's fine."

"How could it possibly be negative? Positive—big-time positive. Just buy a copy of the paper and see for yourself!"

Wang Tianxiao said anxiously.

"Got it, I'll go buy a paper right now. Let's not talk anymore, hanging up!"

The soaring emotions contained in the song deeply touched the patriotic feelings of the masses, singing the praises of the era and eulogizing the magnificent mountains and rivers of the motherland.

Literature and art are the clarion call of the era's advance; the country's stability provides fine creative conditions for literary and art workers.

A large batch of outstanding works has emerged that profoundly reflect the great historical changes of the new era, depict the spiritual landscape of the new era, and sing the praises of the new era…"

The voluminous text on the page is both a high recognition of the song "Wanjiang."

And a high evaluation of Cheng Chen, this young singer.

After reading it, Cheng Chen was filled with deep emotion.

As long as he doesn't go courting death from now on, he won't be attacked for his work by people from Huaxia Yinyuehui like before.

"Artistic creations of the 'Guofeng' genre, rooted in traditional national culture, are rising vigorously.

As a 'red song' in the Guofeng style, 'Wanjiang' is ringing out brightly, greeting the rising red sun of the East…"

The term "Guofeng" has officially appeared in people's view in the form of music.

And at this time, there are actually similar "Guofeng" songs on the market, such as Zhou Dong's "Nunchucks" and "Madam."

Some media with sharp noses immediately sensed the implication, so they wrote at length:

"Mainland Heavenly King Cheng Chen outshines Zhou Dong—Guofeng songs may be the next trend."

"China's current is the strongest; Korean wave and the like shouldn't be so arrogant!

…