Chapter 436: The Family's Approval

To be honest, when singing this song, Sun Yanzi thought of herself.

Her parents loved her deeply, just as the lyrics sang: "Mom and Dad gave me not too little, not too much, just enough for me to hustle in this era."

The capital she had to make enough mistakes came entirely from her parents; even her contract was personally reviewed by her father to avoid Warner Bros. bullying her.

Watching Xiao Yaxuan was the same.

She wasn't as lucky as Sun Yanzi, with harmonious parents and a happy family.

But she had a mother who loved her.

Although this mother might have been a bit too controlling, even managing how many bottles of cola she drank at home, she clearly understood it was all for her own good.

Having grown up essentially without a father, her impression of her mother was more like a strict father's harshness—

"Rarely initiating a hug, even when proud," this lyric was the truest portrayal of the relationship between her and her mother.

At the end of 1999, she debuted in Taiwan, winning the record sales champion with her first performance, becoming a rising little diva with exploding popularity after just one album.

Yet even so, she who longed for her mother's encouragement received only a nod in the end, not even a single hug.

Her mother, proud of her, no matter how happy inside, still had to maintain her sternness as a mother on the surface, instead urging her not to slack off and to keep working hard, because her career was truly nothing compared to the career her mother had built with her own hands.

Every time this happened, a sense of frustration would always arise in her heart.

Over time, she learned to hide her emotions. Although she still respected her mother, she was no longer as close to her as before, even starting to try being rebellious—starting to do as she pleased.

Until she saw the fur coat she gave her mother treasured in the wardrobe, opened and touched again and again every night when she returned; the bag she gave her mother was carried with her everywhere, never forgotten no matter where she went.

"Still the same, too much taken for granted makes it feel ordinary"

"Not too small a room, the one warm in winter and cool in summer where my bed lies."

After the interlude, in the second verse, as emotions gradually intensified with time, Watching Xiao Yaxuan recalled in her mind the past misunderstandings between herself and her mother, and a glimmer of tears gradually welled up in her eyes.

Sun Yanzi, stepping to the beat, noticed her emotions; her left arm, which had been around her shoulder, slid down immediately to hold her palm: "Praising this ordinariness, one or two lines can't finish singing it"

"Gratitude as heavy as a mountain, sounds unnatural"

"Looking back, this is saying thank you, only then revealing the emotion of owing a debt~"

"Oh oh~ Mom and Dad gave me not too little, not too much, just enough for me to hustle in this era, enough for me to live~~"

Two unique tones harmonized at this moment; the emotional progression striking straight at the soul made many in the audience involuntarily redden their eyes—

When the camera shifted to Zhu Jun and Zhou Tao, the very obvious tears on their faces were enough to explain everything.

Especially Zhu Jun.

This host, who was always emotionally expressive and jokingly called someone who always liked to make people cry on shows, was actually made to cry by this song at this moment.

Family love is often the weapon most capable of striking the softest place in the Chinese heart.

Zhou Yi, seated below the stage, clapped his hands, just like the audience on-site and in front of the television, offering the most genuine applause for Sun Yanzi and Watching Xiao Yaxuan's wonderful performance.

"This is that song by comrade Zhou Yi, right?"

"These two sang well, but the lyrics are even better..."

Below the stage, a leader who rarely came into contact with pop music spoke with a slightly emotional tone.

One is a compatriot from Taiwan, one is a Chinese Singaporean, and the lyricist Zhou Yi is a proper mainland Chinese; isn't this exactly the embodiment of the Spring Festival Gala's concept of "Chinese people worldwide as one family"?

Singapore, the Sun family home.

Sun Dad and Sun Mom, who watched this Spring Festival Gala via the CCTV broadcast signal, had trembling lips; their eyes held both the joy of "our daughter has really grown up" and the worry of "our daughter is out in the world."

Fortunately, it seemed that Zhou Yaoguo's son, Zhou Yi, was taking very good care of their daughter in the mainland; she looked bouncy and healthy, with not a trace of the depressed mindset she had when she first arrived in Taiwan.

Xiao's mother, also on a business trip in Singapore, had specifically canceled a meeting in her hotel's presidential suite to watch her daughter's performance on the Spring Festival Gala stage—

At this very moment, this female CEO, who was usually formidable and stern in public, had two clear streams of tears sliding uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.

Perhaps, the meaning of the Spring Festival Gala lies in this, to some extent.

For someone like her, so busy she could no longer attend to her family, being able to see her daughter reconcile with herself on the nation's biggest stage, that sudden surge of emotion rushing to her head was enough to shatter all psychological defenses named "strong woman"—

No matter who her identity was to the outside world, internally she always had only one identity: Mother.

"Lyrics by Zhou Yi, composition by Zhou Yi..."

"Zhou Yi..."

Only now, amidst her myriad daily duties, did Xiao's mother truly form a positive impression of the name Zhou Yi—thinking it over carefully, the thawing of the attitude between Elva and her happened precisely after the rumors of Zhou Yi spread.

Perhaps, she really managed her daughter too strictly...?

Qingdao, the Fan family home.

While Fan Xiaopang, who had the Spring Festival Gala playing as background music, was playing cards with her parents, she turned her head and happened to see the two women performing this song on TV. Fan's father, an old singer within the system, actually spoke highly of the emotions contained in this song—

"Zhou Yi, who wrote this song, is rare; at such a young age, he understands gratitude to parents so well; how many people are still arguing with their parents at thirty."

"I heard Zhou Yi also wrote a song for you?"

"Mm."

With ambition burning fiercely in her eyes, Fan Xiaopang smiled and replied: "After the New Year, I'll go to the capital to find a Warner recording studio to record it; when I release it, I'll strive to appear on the Spring Festival Gala next year too."

She had always been like this; her ambition was always written on her face.

During the Golden Lock era, she wanted to play the lead role; now that she played the lead role, she still wanted to appear on the Spring Festival Gala.

"When does Zhou Yi's program start?"

"Before midnight; during the last rehearsal, the order of his program was adjusted; he was moved to be the grand finale right before midnight." Fan Xiaopang, tossing out an Ace of Spades, inevitably added a touch of boasting to her tone when speaking of Zhou Yi.

The midnight slot, for performers at other galas, actually wasn't considered prime time.

But for the current Spring Festival Gala, this time point held a somewhat special significance.

As the contestant who could anchor the domestic pop music scene, Zhou Yi's influence and appeal needed no elaboration. To save the ratings that were dragging around midnight, this year's Spring Festival Gala, after much deliberation, made this arrangement—

And those people who had been waiting for Zhou Yi until they were half-asleep, who were about to turn off the TV just before midnight, were woken up the next second by a childish voice—

"If the youth are wise, the nation is wise!"

"If the youth are wealthy, the nation is wealthy!"

"When the youth are strong, the nation is strong!

"When the youth are free, the nation is free!"

A perfectly unified shout rang out, its spirit as tender and fierce as a young tiger's, and the big screen on-site instantly flashed a sea of red!

No one had been seen, no voice had been heard—

Plenty of Zhou Yi fans, jolted awake from their drowsiness, stared at the screen in utter bewilderment.

What was going on?

Did Zhou Yi have this section when he performed this song at the China-Korea Song Concert?

And right after those four perfectly unified lines of lyrics, a brief introduction appeared on every television screen across the country that was tuned to the Spring Festival Gala—

"Young China's Say"

Lyrics: Liang Qichao · Qing Dynasty

Composition: Zhou Yi

Performed by: Zhou Yi

(End of this chapter)