Chapter 583: Don't Forget Peace of Mind

"Some say he owes a pile of debts back home and needs to lay low."

"Some say he has mastered martial arts but never had the chance to show them off."

"Some have lost themselves, at a loss and drifting everywhere."

"Some do it for their dreams, for their three meals a day, to feed their families!"

Intense and sincere emotion was packed into the rapid-fire rap; Wang Baoqiang, who had never studied music for even a single day, could be described in one word for his performance in this KTV private room right now—

No technique, all emotion.

This man, a year younger than Zhou Yi, was only twenty-two by the traditional Chinese method of counting age, or even younger by Western reckoning at twenty-one; yet in appearance, his "aged" look was such that people would likely believe him to be five or six years older than Zhou Yi.

Although Liu Dehua, a "doctor through long illness," was still half-baked in musical literacy, he certainly knew how to judge lyrics; while his right hand subconsciously tapped out the beat, he did not forget to praise Zhou Yi's lyric-writing ability.

Feng Xiaogang, who couldn't stand hip-hop music at all, sat on the sofa like an expert, holding a glass of wine, swaying his head to the rhythm, and occasionally emitting clicks of admiration from his mouth.

Eating grapes, Zhou Yi nodded repeatedly, offering applause to this young man from Hebei with complete sincerity.

To finish singing "Drifting North" alone without any musical training and still keep the beat—it had to be said that as a martial artist, his lung capacity was indeed fierce.

"Thank you, thank you. Hehe, thank you."

When the song ended, after singing this exhausting, screaming track in front of Zhou Yi, Wang Baoqang, panting for breath, immediately revealed a smile of relief.

After all casting auditions concluded, Feng Xiaogang, who had brought the initially selected crew of "A World Without Thieves" to the KTV for team building, seemed to feel that Zhou Yi truly favored his acting skills, so he specifically asked him to perform the Zhou Yi song he sang best—

Feng Xiaogang understood the principle that "everyone lifts the flower-carriage"; he casually educated Zhou Yi about Wang Baoqiang's impoverished background, even revealing his martial arts training at the Shaolin Temple, stopping just short of having Wang Baoqiang perform a Shaolin kung fu routine on the spot.

If he had messed up the song, he would have purely lifted a rock only to drop it on his own foot.

"No need to say more; even someone like me, who had never heard a hip-hop song before, knows this track is huge; almost every extra standing at the gates of the Beijing Film Studio can sing a few lines of it."

Getting cozy, Feng Xiaogang shared his listening impressions: "I even feel a personal connection, reminded of the days when I struggled alone; the greatness of this song lies in how it pierces the heart."

"Director Feng, why don't you try a different way of praising? I'm tired of hearing this; there's been too much of it."

Subconsciously opening his mouth to bite the grape Fan Xiaopang actively offered him, Zhou Yi teased while chewing, not forgetting to drag Liu Dehua, who was watching the show nearby, into the water: "If you don't believe me, ask Brother Hua; after so many years as a Heavenly King, isn't he already immune to this kind of praise?"

"Hey, I wouldn't dare claim to be a Heavenly King in front of you."

Liu Dehua's expression remained unchanged, maintaining his humble persona as always: "You are the true superstar now; you were so magnificent at the Grammys; do you know how many of us wanted to go up there and win an award back then? You broke new ground."

What was supposed to be a simple team-building event for the "A World Without Thieves" crew was turned, under the leadership of Feng Xiaogang and Liu Dehua, into a Zhou Yi praise session, with even Fan Xiaopang, Zhou Yi's accessory, reaping quite a bit of appreciation—such as comments on her good acting, her potential for a Best Actress award, and hopes for future collaborations.

It had to be said that this old rascal Feng Xiaogang really had a set of skills when it came to praising; no wonder, when making a cameo in "Kung Fu Hustle," he could often make Zhou Xingchi, that tyrant of the film set, break character and laugh out loud.

However, after releasing his goodwill, Feng Xiaogang naturally began to "reveal the dagger when the map is exhausted," probing into Zhou Yi's schedule and asking if he had time to compose something like a movie theme song.

Asking him to make a cameo appearance had already been ruled out by previous probing, so only the matter of the theme song remained.

"To be honest, I'm worried; no matter how I search, I can't find a suitable song; visual and auditory art is 'visual and auditory art'; without the 'auditory,' it isn't complete, right?"

Having placed Zhou Yi on the high pedestal of "can't do it without you," Feng Xiaogang feigned a sigh: "As you know, I've been preparing for this movie for a long time, so regarding the theme song, I definitely want everything to be perfect."

"It's hard to say, Director Feng; mainly, next year is indeed a bit busy; as you know, the matter of the Olympics next year cannot be taken lightly; if we mess that up, tens of thousands will spit on us."

Not shutting the door completely, Zhou Yi smiled slightly, even bringing out the Olympic Games as a massive mountain to highlight his own difficulties.

"Yes, yes, yes, that's for sure; I was just asking."

Somewhat disappointed, Feng Xiaogang nodded repeatedly; just as he was about to withdraw his probe, he never expected Zhou Yi to make a complete 180-degree turn—

"However, since Director Feng has put it that way, you can send someone to try communicating with my agent about scheduling, to see if we can spare some time."

Spitting out the grape seed, Zhou Yi tilted his head and said: "After all, we shouldn't waste your sincere intentions, Director Feng."

Watching all this, Fan Xiaopang subconsciously tightened her grip on the man's hem, wanting to remind him not to make rash promises, but never expected the latter to care at all; instead, he gave her a reassuring look.

When the team building ended, Zhou Yi, who hadn't drunk any alcohol, personally drove Fan Xiaopang home—

"Are you crazy? Next year is your Olympic year; you are going to sing a solo piece for the Eight Minutes of the Olympics; your energy should be focused on that, not on their movie."

As soon as they got in the car, Fan Xiaopang, eager to persuade Zhou Yi not to be foolish, became anxious.

What a joke; in the second half of this year alone, there was a new album and a concert tour, followed by the Spring Festival Gala and the Olympics; wasn't this just piling pressure on himself?

"He's only requesting a song because he's jealous that Zhang Yimou's 'Hero' reaped the benefits; he feels that since he gave me a female lead role, he wants to leverage this friendship to ask you for a song; I'm simply not worth—"

"So what? I'm willing."

Driving the car, the corner of Zhou Yi's mouth curved upward; with just one sentence, he hard-controlled the woman for three seconds.

"You... I—I..."

Fan Xiaopang opened her mouth, her tongue brushing her lips; wanting to speak but stopping for a long while, she finally leaned back against the seat, propped her forehead with her right hand, and for a moment didn't know what to say.

"Willing my foot."

Finally, suppressing the surging emotions in her heart, Fan Xiaopang took a deep breath and slowly exhaled; turning her head to look at the man who was driving, she cursed—

The flashing lights on both sides of the road whooshed past, striking Zhou Yi's body, making his face alternate between light and shadow;

A few silent smiles climbed to the corners of his eyes as he turned the steering wheel and stepped on the accelerator.

"What benefit does doing this bring you?"

Having dropped Fan Xiaopang off downstairs in her residential compound, Zhou Yi watched her get out of the car and heard this question; after thinking for a moment, he answered honestly: "Does moving you count?"

"It counts as you being a damn turtle bastard."

Fan Xiaopang, whose emotional fluctuations had obviously increased significantly, didn't know if she was borrowing the momentum of alcohol or the topic itself as she cursed again—

After getting out of the car, she wrapped her arms around the man's neck, viciously yet gently biting him: "I think you're just moving yourself, deceiving yourself into peace of mind."

"... What a coincidence; how did you know that the title of the theme song I'm thinking of is 'Don't Forget Peace of Mind'?"

Feeling as if a kitten were scratching his neck, Zhou Yi chuckled softly; as if thinking of something, he lowered his head, raised an eyebrow, and said.

"I think that Thief King role of Liu Dehua's should have been played by you; your capital for stealing things is far stronger than his."

Fan Xiaopang loosened her arms, pinned the man against the car window, lifted her knee to bump him once, then rubbed it several times: "Choke you to death."

Zhou Yi smiled indifferently, tilted his head, and said: "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, you dog thing."

After watching Fan Xiaopang disappear at the entrance of the residential lobby, Zhou Yi finally smiled, returned to the car, and drove back to the hotel.

To be honest, Zhang Jie's future rearranged orchestral concert version of "Do Not Forget Peace of Mind" really does match the tone and temperament of the entire film "A World Without Thieves." From that standpoint, he really wasn't talking nonsense to Fan Xiaopang.

After returning to the hotel, he was about to head back to his room to shower and sleep, but as he pushed the door open, he saw sitting on the living room sofa watching TV... Chen Qiaoen'en?

Hm?

Did I walk into the wrong room?

Zhou Yi raised his eyebrows in surprise: "How did you get in?"

"I told your manager I had something to discuss with you, the very important kind." Chen Qiaoen'en, who had heard the movement, turned her head around, her tone noticeably livelier and more playful than before.

"Looks like it should be good news." Zhou Yi tossed the room card onto the shoe cabinet without committing either way.

"Someone from Sanli Television called to contact me. They invited me to star as the female lead in a new drama. The company's boss Sun Derong has also softened, saying he can support me continuing as an actress and won't interfere too much with my choices.

"If I want to terminate the contract, I just need to follow the penalty clause. He won't ask for a single cent more."

"That's good news. For you, it should be a double blessing. Congratulations." Zhou Yi, who wasn't surprised, took a sip of water.

With his current influence, public intellectuals outside the circle were hard to deal with, but those with vested interests inside the circle — he could nail them one by one.

"I have a question I want to ask you, Zhou Yi."

Chen Qiaoen'en, who had also risen and strolled over to the bar counter, propped her chin on one hand and proactively asked the man for a cup and a few ice cubes: "Have you always been like this? Not afraid that after I achieve my goal I'll just play dumb? Or run off?"

Zhou Yi, watching her drink ice water, was first stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook his head: "How should I put it — using someone's words from tonight, this counts as me deceiving myself into peace of mind."

"Only seeking peace of mind, huh."

Chen Qiaoen'en smiled, and instead took the initiative to lean forward: "Coincidentally, I also feel I need to put my own mind at ease."

Chen Qiaoen'en, wearing a bathrobe, had clearly come prepared. Not only did she display the virtue of being magnanimous, she also showed off another of her fine qualities—

Repaying kindness with a gushing spring.