Chapter 68

The clock turned back to yesterday afternoon, May 22, 2002, Mei Yanfang's residence.

Assistant Da Ni and the socially anxious artist Zhou Jielun got off the car in front of the Heng'an Pavilion mansion, looking at the luxury mansion that was still beyond his financial ability as if he had never seen the world.

"Da Ni, can I afford this house now?"

"Selling yourself is about enough."

"Oh, not funny."

"Oh, you are very funny."

The two, whose conversation was extremely boring, went up to the second-floor terrace under the guidance of the butler. Mei Yanfang and Lu Kuan had been waiting for a while.

"Welcome, Jielun!"

Zhou Jielun stepped forward very carefully to shake hands with this Hong Kong big sister; although it couldn't be called an idol, she was a senior worthy of respect.

Actually, he didn't know why the other party invited him to her home.

The only time Mei Yanfang and Zhou Jielun were on the same stage in the later years was at the Hong Kong Jade Solid Gold Awards ceremony in January 2003.

Mei Yanfang passed away that same year, and in 2004, Zhou Jielun covered "Woman Flower" at his own concert to pay tribute.

Such occasions are usually handled by Da Ni for social interaction, otherwise, Zhou Jielun wouldn't be able to squeeze out a fart even with ten sticks.

This artist is very hard to bring!

"Hello, Sister Mei, I am Jielun's assistant Da Ni. Knowing that you have been unwell recently, this is Alishan black tea we brought from Bay Province, which can refresh and eliminate fatigue. It's a small token."

"Okay, thank you Jielun, thank you Da Ni, sit down quickly."

Mei Yanfang had also heard of this rising star in the music scene who had recently become popular across Asia, and after a few more pleasantries, they got to the point.

"Jielun, inviting you here this time is firstly to make friends and get to know a young person who is better than his predecessors in the Chinese music scene."

"Secondly, this is Mr. Lu, a domestic film director who wants to invite you to sing a movie ending song."

Zhou Jielun and Da Ni then cast their eyes on this young man on the side who was at ease. He looked handsome and dashing, but they didn't expect him to be a director; he was too young.

They are in the music circle and have an information barrier with the film circle. In this day and age, information dissemination is not as rapid as in later years, so they don't know much about Lu Kuan's affairs.

"The ending song is called 'Chasing Dreams with a Child's Heart,' these are the lyrics."

Lu Kuan took out the demo and lyric manuscript and handed them over.

"Please let Jielun listen first."

Zhou Jielun is a senior socially anxious person and couldn't wait to hide on the side to listen to the song. He nodded and took the things to Mei Yanfang's home music studio.

First was a melodious prelude. Xiao Jin had already tried his best to add some traditional instrument elements according to Lu Kuan's description. Listening to it in the headphones at this time, it still felt a bit strange.

Hmm? After listening for a few seconds, he felt something was wrong. Looking at the "Chasing Dreams with a Child's Heart" in his hand, it was completely not this song?

He flipped down a few more pages and saw a "Blue and White Porcelain."

Just as he wanted to ask clearly, he turned his head and saw the three people on the terrace laughing and talking.

Forget it, let's listen to the song first.

The volume was turned to the maximum, entering the main verse part:

The plain embryo outlines the blue and white, the brushwork turns from thick to light.

The peony depicted on the bottle body is just like your initial makeup.

The slowly rising sandalwood incense passes through the window, I understand the worries in my heart.

The brushwork on the rice paper stops here, half-finished...

Zhou Jielun couldn't help but sit up straight. Half of the main verse gave him a vaguely familiar feeling, very similar to the tonality of "East Wind Breaks" that he was currently creating.

He couldn't say what style this was either, but the company was very surprised by his sudden shift from the blues-based "Eight Dimensions Space" to this classical-style melody.

Looking at the lyrics again, the first three sentences describe the scenery of blue and white porcelain, and through the sandalwood incense passing through the window, it seems to be describing a lady applying makeup.

Continue listening:

The glaze color renders the lady's portrait, the charm is privately hidden.

And your sweet smile is like a budding flower.

A wisp of your beauty drifts away.

To a place I cannot go...

From the plain embryo outline to the color rendering, it is also from the beauty applying makeup to the fragrance disappearing. Then comes the chorus part with the highest singability.

After the song ended, Zhou Jielun replayed it without hesitation, leaving the matter of "Chasing Dreams with a Child's Heart" behind.

After another pure music enjoyment, Zhou Jielun awkwardly interrupted the three people's hot chat.

"That... Director Lu, may I ask if the demo was taken wrong?"

Boss Lu looked shocked: "No way? Let me see."

Flipping through his briefcase, another demo labeled "Chasing" fell out. Only then did he hand it over with an awkward smile.

"Wrong, wrong, it's this disc."

Zhou Jielun was unmoved: "That, I want to ask who wrote this song? If it's convenient, I want to buy it."

"Oh... that... that is another clumsy work of mine, I don't intend to sell it."

The prey took the bait, and Boss Lu sat firmly on the fishing platform.

The Little Heavenly King was still unwilling to give up; he vaguely felt that this song would have miraculous effects on his breakthrough in Chinese-style themes.

"Director Lu, I will sing the ending song for you for free, I hope you can part with this song."

Boss Lu pretended to hesitate for a while: "This... how about this, 600,000, full copyright."

Seeing Mei Yanfang go to take medicine, Li Fengni became bolder: "Are you robbing money! No, our Jielun can write songs himself!"

Selling songs in the new year is not a good business. Wang Feng sold songs to others for less than 10,000 per unit.

It's a pity that the socially anxious artist couldn't understand her intention to lower the price.

"Da Ni, buy it."

He thought that if the company didn't agree, he would pay for it himself.

"I... you..." She felt that these two were on the same side.

"Buying songs is not something I can decide, I have to ask President Yang."

This is also true; she is just an assistant, Yang Junrong is his proper agent.

Boss Lu suppressed first and then raised: "How about this Jielun, I invite you to act in this movie, and the song will be given to you for free, how about it?"

The price of 600,000 he offered had already greatly exceeded the actual market price. He didn't expect Zhou Jielun to accept it while holding his nose, so he hurriedly changed his tone.

"Me? I can't, I can't even speak when facing the camera."

Because of the music, the distance between Zhou Jielun and Lu Kuan narrowed, and he refused the invitation without any affectation.

"Jielun, didn't you act in 'Star Garden' this year? You shouldn't be unfamiliar with acting, right?"

This drama has a unique theme and is 156 episodes long. It is a game organized by "Meteor Garden" producer Zhang Xiaoyan.

It invited 156 stars to appear under their real names, including Xie Tingfeng and Wang Fei who were having a sister-brother romance, Na Ying who was madly in love with Gao Feng, as well as Wang Lihong, Cai Yilin, and others.

The TV series interpreted emotional stories adapted from real life, and because of the participation of many stars, it was once popular for a while.

Zhou Jielun waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, that's just playing around, movies are too formal."

Lu Kuan sighed, only to increase the chips, and magically took out a demo of "Orchid Pavilion Preface" from his bag.

"Jielun, listen to this one again."

Li Fengni stared at Lu Kuan giving her artist a love potion, but she was helpless.

Just 5 minutes later, this new Asian Little Heavenly King, whose bangs were denser than his words, gave his assistant an unquestionable order.

"Contact President Yang, sign the contract!"

Evening time.

Lu Kuan happily held the memorandum of understanding faxed from Bay Province.

Because there are many details in the performance contract that need to be discussed, it is not something that a female assistant like Li Fengni can decide.

Therefore, the two sides first signed a memorandum of understanding on the consensus, and after a few days when Zhou Jielun arranges his itinerary and flies to Beiping, they will sign subsequent documents on the contract details.

"Kuan Zai, your means are tough enough, I really don't know how your brain grows."

Mei Yanfang looked at her little brother proudly. When she got excited, Cantonese came out.

Wang Minhui also didn't hide her admiration: "Sister Mei, I feel Mr. Lu doesn't look like 19, but rather like 91."

Mei Yanfang smiled: "Little brother, can you write a few songs for your sister when you have time?"

"Of course~"

Boss Lu had been with them for a long time, so he learned some Cantonese.

He carefully considered that if Xie Tingfeng, the most suitable role from the film perspective, decided to withdraw, Zhou Jielun would be the best choice.

There are three reasons:

First, Zhou Jielun has a huge fan base in Asia, and his "Eight Dimensions Space" will win this year's sales championship.

Second, Zhou Jielun has a better musical foundation than Xie Tingfeng. For him, jazz drums are not a problem after a period of intensive training.

Third, Zhou Jielun's personality is very similar to the character in the play; both are from single-parent families and are timid and reticent.

Although his acting skills cannot be compared with Xie Tingfeng, just like Liu Yifei's performance as Wang Yuyan and Zhao Linger is very brilliant, the fit between Zhou Jielun and this character is very high.

The remaining problem is how to convince him. For this reason, Lu Kuan specially found Jin Zhiwen to make these two demos before leaving.

He just wanted to copy songs silently and then amaze Zhou Jielun.

"Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding~~"

The Nokia 7650 in Boss Lu's pocket rang. This was a new machine found by begging for alms from the "Whiplash" sponsor, the first Motorola with a camera function.

"Factory Director Qiu, what's wrong?"

"Director Lu, the police station called and said the mastermind behind the sit-in protest has been detained. Now they are collecting evidence from the crew."

His voice was very excited. The Qingying Factory hadn't filmed for two years. Holding the indicators given by the superiors without any works, he, the factory director, was doing worse than the cleaning lady.

Lu Kuan clenched his fists secretly. It seems that the move he carefully laid out has played a role.

Young Master, oh Young Master, let me see how high you can still jump!

It still takes magic to defeat magic!

(End of chapter)