Chapter 49: Soundtrack

For several days in a row, Wu Yuchen kept calling Li Xiaoran's home, to the point that Li Xiaoran eventually became annoyed whenever she answered, telling him he was like a nosy old woman checking up on her.

When Wu Yuchen asked about that bar owner surnamed Lu, he stopped pestering Li Xiaoran, but the man had gone to the song and dance troupe once to demand a refund. The troupe naturally refused; how could they refund flower baskets sold through their own merit?

The Oriental Song and Dance Troupe was, after all, a national-level institution and was very firm. The man surnamed Lu had no choice, and after a quarrel, he never went back. It seemed he had given up.

Upon hearing this news, Wu Yuchen felt relieved. Later, he stopped worrying about Li Xiaoran and let her return to the apartment she rented outside on her own.

In the blink of an eye, it was December. Wu Yuchen had spent this period quite fruitfully: attending classes during the day, and spending time with Jiang Qinqin after class and in the evenings. He also occasionally found time to go home to check on his father's progress with the creation of *Drawing Sword*, offering his suggestions whenever necessary.

As for the *Dance of Martial Arts* documentary, thanks to his involvement, production was moving at lightning speed. Twenty of the twenty-two special segments were already completed, and the atmosphere throughout the production team was filled with joy and laughter.

This day, Jia Leilei asked, "Teachers, seeing as our documentary is nearing completion, we are still missing a theme song. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

"Little Jia, asking us is useless; none of us understand music."

"That's right, you should go to the academy and find someone who works in music~"

The Chinese National Academy of Arts had a dedicated music research institute, so they could naturally contact relevant talent.

Jia Leilei smiled and said, "I was thinking, what if one of the teachers here has a flash of inspiration? It doesn't have to be composing; writing lyrics would work too!"

"You have to ask Little Wu for that. If we're talking about who has the most inspiration, it has to be him!" As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present burst into laughter.

Everyone had witnessed Wu Yuchen's performance over the past month; he was truly quick-witted and had an endless stream of inspiration. The older comrades now highly recognized his ability and talent, and after becoming much more familiar with each other, they naturally teased him from time to time.

Jia Leilei also looked at Wu Yuchen with a smile: "Little Wu, what do you think?"

Wu Yuchen hesitated, then asked uncertainly, "I do have a bit of inspiration, but I can only hum; I don't know music theory and can't compose."

"You really do have some!" the older comrades exclaimed in surprise.

Jia Leilei was also delighted to hear this; after all, Wu Yuchen hadn't let him down over the past period.

"It doesn't matter if you can't compose. I'll find someone for you, and you can hum it for them to write down the music!"

Wu Yuchen nodded upon hearing this. He wasn't worried about anyone suspecting him; after all, in his past life, he had heard of more than one creative genius in the music industry who didn't understand music theory.

Looking further back, for example, Gao Jin, the one who sang "My Good Brother"—he didn't understand music theory either, only humming for others to transcribe, yet he wrote a whole bunch of songs. Regardless of whether people thought they were tacky, they contained sincere emotions, and the common people loved listening to them.

Looking closer to home, in the Taiwan music scene, UFO Records, which once pressured Rock Records, had seven top-tier gold-medal producers known as the "Five Chens and Two Lis." One of them, named Chen Dali, didn't know how to read music and could only hum, yet he created hundreds of songs. This included Sally Yeh's "A Carefree Life" and "Living Life with Sincerity," the Little Tigers' "Love," Jimmy Lin's "Why Am I Always the One Getting Hurt," and Aaron Kwok's "Love You," among others.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that music copyright protection in the mainland was currently so poor, Wu Yuchen would have really considered humming a few hundred songs to sell for money.

"Little Wu, do you have lyrics for this inspiration?" an older comrade asked directly.

"I do."

"Good, write them down first, let us have a look!" Hearing this, everyone showed interest.

Wu Yuchen didn't dawdle. Since he had already decided to bring it out, he would provide both the lyrics and the music.

He picked up his pen and wrote. Once he finished, the lyrics were taken by Jia Leilei, who gathered with the other older comrades to read them.

"

Light furs and long swords, fierce horses and wild songs,

Loyal hearts and righteous souls, bracing the mountains and rivers.

What a fine traveler of the rivers and lakes, coming and going like the wind,

Daring to sit as equals with emperors.

Gentle tenderness and iron bones, a promise worth a thousand gold,

Smoke and waves rise before and after life.

What a fine wealth like clouds, what can you do to me?

Where the sword light flashes, it is like weeping and singing."

A chest full of blood, unable to exhaust the hero's true character,

Two feet, treading across the vast deserts and long rivers.

Three sighs, sighs, sighs, only for the homeland and the old nation,

People in all four directions, chanting the heroic song."

The wording throughout wasn't particularly flowery, but the imagery emerged instantly, making one feel as if they were immersed in a martial arts world of clashing weapons and galloping horses, swift revenge and deep grudges, ten thousand miles of wild sand, and sword energy as cold as frost. It seemed to show a carefree and unyielding martial arts hero, fearless of power and wealth, with soaring heroic spirit, wearing light furs, carrying a long sword, riding a fierce horse, singing wild songs, helping the weak and poor, eliminating violence and bringing peace, and sacrificing his life for righteousness to save the nation in times of distress!

"Good! What a fine heroic traveler of the rivers and lakes, what a fine heroic character!"

"Tsk tsk, a heart of loyalty and bones of chivalry, such spirit!"

"To be able to elevate the knight-errant spirit to the level of patriotism at the end, truly excellent!"

After reading it, everyone was unstinting in their praise. The old lady even joked:

"Little Wu, if you were placed in ancient times, you would definitely be a great knight-errant!"

Wu Yuchen smiled modestly upon hearing this.

Jia Leilei's face beamed with joy:

"Little Wu, your inspiration really hasn't let us down! Come with me, I'll take you to find someone to write out the music."

After saying this, Jia Leilei pulled Wu Yuchen along. A moment later, they arrived at another hall in the Prince Gong Mansion, which was another research institute under their Academy of Arts focused on music.

After entering a room, a young man in his thirties saw Jia Leilei and stood up with a smile to greet him:

"Brother Jia, what brings you here?"

"I'm here to ask for your help, Brother Sun! Our group has a song that we need you to help transcribe~"

Jia Leilei then introduced him to Wu Yuchen: "This is Sun Chuan, very talented. The music for Na Ying's 'Looking at Flowers in the Mist' was composed by him."

"Nice to meet you, Teacher Sun!" Wu Yuchen greeted him with a smile, while feeling a slight ripple in his heart. He hadn't expected Jia Leilei to bring him to the original creator of *Soul of the Chinese Martial Arts*. But thinking about it, they were all old acquaintances in the same unit, so it wasn't strange to be dragged over to help.

But he really hadn't expected that this Sun Chuan had also written the song "Looking at Flowers in the Mist," which could be considered Na Ying's signature song, helping her reach the 1995 Spring Festival Gala.

Sun Chuan didn't mind that Wu Yuchen didn't understand music theory and could only hum; even ordinary people could have musical inspiration, which wasn't strange. He then let Wu Yuchen hum the song for him to write down.

Over half an hour later, seeing Sun Chuan put down his pen, Wu Yuchen took the initiative to ask:

"Teacher Sun, what do you think of this melody? Also, I don't know much about the relevant instruments, what do you think?"

"The melody is quite good. I liked your lyrics as soon as I saw them, and I felt quite inspired while writing it just now. I'll fill in the accompanying instruments for you here, what do you think?" Sun Chuan was essentially volunteering to take on the job of arrangement.

"Then I am truly grateful to you!"

"However, Little Wu, you are indeed a bit tone-deaf. It will be difficult if you want to sing this song yourself!" Sun Chuan teased with a smile.

Wu Yuchen smiled embarrassedly and said, "Teacher Sun, please don't make fun of me. I have self-awareness; my singing talent is negative."

"Not necessarily~ If you like singing, practice more in your spare time, and you can still make up for it," Sun Chuan consoled him.

"Forget it, I'll just be a good listener in the future. How about you try it, Teacher Sun?"

"Me? My level isn't quite enough." Sun Chuan shook his head directly. If it were a song he had written himself, it wouldn't matter, but he felt embarrassed to sing someone else's song. In his past life, this song was sung by Sun Chuan himself; it had enough ruggedness but lacked heroic spirit, and his technique was indeed lacking.

He thought for a moment and said: "However, I have been collaborating with a singer recently. His voice is very explosive and grand; I think he is very suitable for your song."

"Which teacher is that?" Wu Yuchen asked curiously.

"Tu Honggang." ===== CHAPTER 50 =====