Chapter 406

Sarah Brightman passionately thanked Wei Ming, the songwriter, and the production team on stage.

After this award, she had another performance: her solo rendition of "Moonlight Shadow," which once again plunged the audience into the sorrow of Lennon's death; beneath the stage, Yoko Ono, wearing sunglasses, revealed no change in her expression behind them.

After leaving the stage, Sarah generously let Wei Ming touch her trophy.

Next up was the Award for Producer of the Year; "Only Time" was also on the shortlist.

This award went to the single's production team—including the singer, producer, recording engineer, mixer, and others—emphasizing recognition of recording technology and production craftsmanship; aside from the fact that Wei Ming wrote the song, the award had little to do with him.

The other nominees for this award were no less formidable.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Starting Over," from Lennon's final album before his death, had initially received modest reviews and sales, but after Lennon was assassinated one month after its release, it became a posthumous sensation, with sales and acclaim skyrocketing.

Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes," the 1981 hit that spent nine consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard charts, was a song uniquely of its era.

"Endless Love," the theme song from Brigitte Nielsen's film of the same name, also spent nine consecutive weeks atop the Billboard charts; later covered by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey (the "Cow"), it surged in popularity again over a decade later—truly a timeless classic.

There was also soul legend Bill Withers' "Just the Two of Us," perhaps the most easily digestible of the nominees.

"Only Time" spent seven weeks at number one on Billboard, yet had the longest chart presence among all nominees, still lingering near the bottom of the Top 100, and boasted the highest sales.

Three of the five nominated songs collectively dominated nearly half of Billboard's number-one weeks.

Wei Ming wasn't sure who would win this year's Grammys—he might still remember the Oscars.

At the final moment, he and everyone else heard the result: Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes."

She and the song's producer, Val Garay, took the stage to accept the award, and in her husky voice, thanked the Grammys and her husband, Dave Ellingson.

The students back at the villa, having exhausted their revelry, now sat on sofas or the floor watching TV; Chen Chong murmured, "Wei Ming didn't win again."

A male classmate beside him said, "It's normal—he's Chinese. American music is so advanced; just getting nominated was already lucky, maybe even because they wanted to court China against the Soviet Union."

Other students nodded in agreement, believing Wei Ming's nomination itself was a victory; besides, he wasn't a professional musician—he was a writer, wasn't he? His name still appeared on New York's bestseller lists.

Next up was the Award for Song of the Year—the real award for which Wei Ming had been nominated, given to the songwriter and composer.

Sometimes the songwriter and singer were the same person; in the U. . and Japan, original artists earned triple income from writing, performing, and publishing.

For instance, the nominated song "9 to 5," written and performed by country singer Dolly Parton, would later be heard in films and TV shows like "Sing."

Also nominated for Song of the Year were "Endless Love," "Bette Davis Eyes," and "Just the Two of Us."

The overlap between Producer of the Year and Song of the Year reached 80%.

The presenter walked on stage—a blind Black man—who opened the envelope, which had been specially prepared with Braille for him.

"The winner of this award is… 'Only Time.' Congratulations to a brilliant young writer and musician from Red China. Let's give him a round of applause."

The Black man's tone was warm; many of the words seemed his own additions. Later, Wei Ming learned he was none other than the legendary Ray Charles, the King of Soul, one of the few musicians honored with a Hollywood biography while still alive—his film "Ray" had propelled Jamie Foxx to the Oscar for Best Actor.

He had just passed away when the film was released.

Ray Charles mentioning Wei Ming's identity as a writer likely stemmed from his status as one of the earliest internationally prominent writers to support Nelson Mandela.

In the back row, Cheng Long asked Li Aiguo beside him: "Is this award impressive?"

"Of course it is—the highest honor a songwriter can receive. I never expected him to win on his first nomination—it's incredible!"

Hearing this, Cheng Long immediately stood up and clapped loudly; Li Aiguo followed, then Melinda, who tried pulling Wei Lingling to her feet.

Wei Lingling thought it was childish, but couldn't resist Melinda, so she stood up.

The TV broadcast briefly swept across this row of "fans"; an elderly woman in San Francisco spotted Wei Lingling and couldn't help giggling again, then tried to taste a bit of home flavor—only to be stopped by a nurse from taking the bottle of wine.

"Madam, you can't drink any more today."

"Ugh, boring. Time for bed."

She said she'd sleep, but still waited to hear Wei Ming's acceptance speech.

He began with the usual thanks—to the performer Sarah, the producer, and his fans—and solemnly honored John Lennon: "He guided me onto the path of writing English songs, making me realize my abilities weren't limited to Chinese compositions. Now I've written multiple English songs and even begun writing novels in English."

At this moment, the camera returned to Yoko Ono—undoubtedly the woman with the most screen time tonight.

Finally, Wei Ming thanked two Peking University exchange students: "Melinda from Britain introduced me to English songs; Tomson from America helped 'Moonlight Shadow' get released. I'm glad to know you both."

Wei Ming waved his golden Grammy trophy triumphantly before stepping offstage.

For a moment, the students in the villa fell silent; then someone began clapping for their compatriot. Now, when someone said Chinese people lacked musical talent, they finally had a second example besides Yo-Yo Ma.

Officials from the Chinese Embassy and Xinhua reporters were also watching the broadcast; upon seeing the result, the reporter immediately began writing—this was a major morale booster for the nation.

With reform and opening-up, many previously banned foreign novelties flooded into China through various channels; the vast gap with the world left people confused, vulnerable, and even inferior.

Wei Ming's win was the most effective antidote to this mood: though we developed late, Comrade Wei Ming, after only two years of listening to English songs, had written music that conquered the world—Chinese people were still excellent; don't belittle yourselves.

Only one award remained: Album of the Year—completely unrelated to Wei Ming, since Sarah had only released singles.

The grand prize went to the late John Lennon and his widow Yoko Ono's jointly produced "Double Fantasy"; Yoko Ono walked onstage amid thunderous applause.

Many critics, including Wei Ming himself, had been unimpressed with the album; due to Lennon's privileged life, it was called "a narcissistic disaster."

But three weeks after its release, Lennon was assassinated; all negative reviews vanished overnight. On the Billboard album chart, "Double Fantasy" leapt from #11 to #1, holding the top spot for eight weeks; on the UK chart, it surged from #46 to #1 within two weeks.

Thus ended the 24th Grammy Awards; what followed were social events. Sarah had already met Yoko Ono during her prior U. . tour and seized the chance to introduce Wei Ming to the Japanese-American artist.

In the past year, countless songs had been written in tribute to John Lennon, but the most impactful remained "Moonlight Shadow."

Even Paul McCartney felt his own unreleased tribute song, "Here Today," paled in comparison—he hadn't imagined anyone could feel for Lennon more deeply than he did.

Wei Ming usually kept his distance from avant-garde artists like Yoko Ono; too avant-garde could cut too close to the bone.

Take her performance art piece "Cutting," where audience members used scissors to cut away her clothing until she stood naked, expressing the pain of female objectification and stigmatization.

Later, "Cutting" caused a sensation in London; the young Lennon watched it, was profoundly shaken, and fell in love with her.

Wei Ming could only admit he hadn't reached the level of an artist—he was a common man; he won an award and just wanted to make love to Melinda.

But taking photos was necessary—not just with Yoko Ono, but also with Phil Collins, Ray Charles, host John Denver, and the Jackson brothers; from now on, he was officially recognized in the European and American music scene—come buy my songs, everyone.

So far, writing songs earned faster returns than novels or screenplays, aiding initial capital accumulation.

After leaving the awards ceremony, Wei Ming and a few close friends headed to a bar on Sunset Boulevard; Cheng Long and Li Aiguo had long wanted to go, and now had a perfect excuse—Li Aiguo generously covered all expenses for the night.

Even the seemingly demure Sarah Brightman moved comfortably in this lively, noisy setting, but Wei Ming noticed Wei Lingling seemed uneasy.

He handed her a non-alcoholic drink: "What's wrong? Never been to a place like this before?"

Wei Lingling sniffed it, then took a small sip: "It's not even fun. Why come here?"

"Where did you go during your years abroad?"

Wei Lingling: "Interned at my aunt's company, or did outdoor activities—driving or hiking."

"You don't seem to have much social life?"

"Useless things are useless," Wei Lingling replied firmly.

Wei Ming strongly suspected she'd never had a boyfriend—anyway, with hands, men or women were equally useless.

After leaving the bar, only Wei Lingling hadn't drunk, so she drove Wei Ming and the other four back to the nearby Hyatt Hotel; when parting, she reminded Wei Ming not to be late tomorrow.

Wei Ming gave a thumbs-up—he hadn't drunk much; the real celebration tonight was for Melinda to enjoy, but his ideal state was lightly tipsy.

Yet just as Wei Ming and Melinda were entangled in passion, a plain-looking Asian girl arrived at the hotel, gave a room number, and said she was looking for someone.

Cheng Long, freshly showered and alert, answered the phone, hesitated, then told her to come up—and immediately pulled out his always-carried safety measures.

Wei Ming no longer used these with Melinda.

He knew he couldn't offer Melinda marriage, so he wanted to give her something else—though their time together was scarce, and timing was often inconvenient.

The next morning, Wei Ming woke Melinda early: "My cousin and I are going to San Francisco. Want to come?"

Melinda: "Sure. Sarah's leaving today anyway."

"Back to London?"

"No, to Broadway. Webber's already there—he's negotiating the Broadway run of 'Cats.'"

So after getting up, they went to find Sarah, told her they'd meet in New York, then Wei Ming knocked on Lin Zhengyi's door and invited him to San Francisco.

San Francisco was a hub for Chinese immigrants, with many from Taiwan—he dared not go.

He asked: "Are you going back to Los Angeles?"