Chapter 156: Drums and Swords (Asking for monthly votes at the end of the month!)

The next day, Luo Mo boarded a plane to Beijing early in the morning.

For him, after this rehearsal ended, he could just happen to go home to visit his parents and his master.

During this period, he had been running around almost non-stop and had no time to spend with his family.

At the airport, it was still Liu Shixiong who came to pick him up.

However, this Liu Shixiong, who was only responsible for posturing on the inflatable doll assembly line, had no idea what had gotten into him, as he had bought a small car.

It was that kind of small MINI that many girls loved to drive.

He was dressed all in black, sporting a big bald head, looking like a middle-aged gangster, and it was extremely incongruous for him to be squeezed into this car.

To make matters worse, he had even bought a rose-red one.

"Liu Shixiong has such refined taste," Luo Mo said, stroking the car body.

"Right? I also think this car suits me very well." He pulled down the sunglasses perched on his bald head, his expression cold.

Luo Mo always felt that his Liu Shixiong had a talent for comedy and possessed an inexplicable sense of humor, which was why he had become an internet celebrity on short-video platforms.

There was a certain quality about him that was inexplicably similar to Shen Teng; although the two had different looks and temperaments, Luo Mo always felt that if he were to film *Hello Mr. Billionaire*, Liu Shixiong would be the best candidate.

Along the way, Liu Shixiong played *Sunny Day* in the car.

It was clear that whether it was his family or his fellow disciples, they were all silently paying attention to Luo Mo.

"Your senior brother here didn't download this song; I pay to listen to it every time to help you with the data," Liu Gongming said with a smile.

"There's no need for that; it just gives the platform a cut. Liu Shixiong could actually just send me a red envelope on WeChat," Luo Mo suggested sincerely.

Liu Gongming couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind and changed the subject: "Xiao Mo, among all the disciples, you are the most promising; you're already able to perform at a large-scale gala so soon."

"After Master heard the news, he drank two bowls of porridge the next morning," he said with a grin.

Luo Mo looked out the window, feeling that these few simple words from Liu Shixiong had dissipated most of the fatigue he had been feeling lately.

The gala venue was not too far from the airport, and after driving for half an hour, Liu Shixiong dropped Luo Mo off.

He had no interest in accompanying Luo Mo inside; he knew full well that with his looks and physique, if Luo Mo wasn't standing next to him, wandering around inside alone would easily cause unnecessary panic and trouble.

After arriving at the location, Luo Mo was led by staff to where General Director Qian Qingyun was.

Qian Qingyun's hair was already almost completely white, and he hadn't bothered to dye it black. He waved at Luo Mo from afar, and after giving a few instructions to the people around him, he walked over with a smile.

"Young Friend Luo, our first meeting." He shook hands with Luo Mo, then looked him up and down with a smile.

Logically speaking, looking at someone from head to toe like this upon first meeting didn't seem great, but his next words were enough to make most juniors feel stirred.

This Qian Qingyun, who ranked as One of the Four Old Directors, said: "Your looks and temperament are actually the type currently in short supply in the film market."

Luo Mo was very handsome, his brows and eyes were beautiful, and his face shape was also excellent; he was the standard type of handsome man for historical dramas.

Many so-called handsome men couldn't act in historical dramas; they lacked that feeling.

Moreover, his face had strong malleability for makeup; as long as his acting skills were up to par and the makeup was slightly adjusted, he should be able to play both righteous and villainous roles.

Luo Mo hadn't expected this to be the first thing Director Qian would say upon seeing him.

Qian Qingyun didn't seem to have any intention of going deeper, merely raising a hand to pat the shoulder of this young man who was half a head taller than him, saying: "Go and prepare first. Let's get the stage for the National Day Gala ready; we can look at the timing for other collaborations later."

"Hmm? Is this an intention to mentor me?" Luo Mo thought to himself.

He nodded, and after bidding farewell to Director Qian, he followed the staff to his designated rehearsal stage.

Later, he still had to change costumes, get his makeup set, and test the stage equipment.

"Looks like it'll be a busy day today," Luo Mo said in his heart.

His makeup for today was also leaning towards historical style, so it was quite time-consuming; just the historical hairpiece alone was quite troublesome.

During the makeup process, he took a moment to send a WeChat message to Xu Chujing: "Jing, I'm at the rehearsal site, currently getting my makeup set."

About ten minutes later, Xu Chujing replied to his message: "I'm still going through the process here. I should be done first, and I'll wait for you then."

"Okay." Luo Mo put down his phone, closed his eyes to take a nap, and let the makeup artist tinker with his face.

He didn't know that while he had his eyes closed, Qian Qingyun had come in once to take a look at the effect of Luo Mo's makeup, and the old man nodded slightly.

This older generation director had extremely high requirements for beauty on screen.

He felt that Luo Mo was born for historical dramas.

When it was Luo Mo's turn to rehearse, Qian Qingyun didn't come alone; he was accompanied by three people Luo Mo didn't know at all.

Among them, there was an old man who looked even older than Qian Qingyun, who gave him a deep look.

Standing in the center of the stage, Luo Mo couldn't hear what they were saying, but seeing them looking at him, he bowed slightly to greet them.

Standing next to Qian Qingyun was none other than He Ping'an.

"Old Brother He, since you've come in person, why not go meet him?" Qian Qingyun said with a smile.

"No need, I was just curious and came to take a look." He Ping'an looked at Luo Mo and said: "He is indeed quite handsome."

Qian Qingyun said: "Yes, he's suitable for historical dramas and serious dramas, but I always feel he has strong malleability; playing that kind of deep-hidden villain wouldn't be bad either."

He Ping'an nodded. He didn't understand film directing and had no interest in continuing the conversation, just pointing to the large drums on the stage: "I understand the marching drums on the side, but what is the one in the middle for?"

At this moment, there were four large drums standing on the stage, and in the middle lay an outrageously large one.

This large drum had a diameter of nearly ten meters and was custom-made by Qian Qingyun.

Listening to He Ping'an's question, he said: "That drum is for him to perform sword dancing."

"Oh?" Old Master He became a bit interested.

"His song isn't long enough, so the interlude was stretched out a bit. He personally suggested adding a sword dance in the middle, but I've only seen a video he recorded casually; this is the first rehearsal," Qian Qingyun said.

He pointed at Luo Mo on the stage and whispered to He Ping'an: "Old Brother He, don't be startled by this song in a moment."

He Ping'an hummed and said: "Then I shall wait and see."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire stage began to operate.

Four backup dancers stood in front of the drums and began to beat them, with great momentum.

And the prelude to the song was incomparably grand and magnificent, not at all overshadowed by the drums.

As soon as Luo Mo began to sing, He Ping'an's eyes lit up.

By the time the song's A-section ended, listening to the final line of lyrics, an incomparably moved expression appeared on He Ping'an's aged cheeks.

This old man only felt his heart surging, as if his blood were boiling.

For someone like him who had been on the battlefield, this song possessed an incomparable charm.

"Good! Good!" He Ping'an could not help but say.

Qian Qingyun stood to the side listening, also feeling that the live experience was far more intense than listening to the audio.

He thought more and more highly of Luo Mo.

"He is an inheritor of national essence, the originator of Chinese Style, and even wrote an anime script of the type like 'That Year Those Rabbits', and now he will bring a song like this to the National Day Gala."

"A limitless future!" Qian Qingyun gave this verdict in his heart.

Surely, the path under this young man's feet would be a broad and smooth road.

………

………

On one side, Luo Mo was busy with work.

On the other side, Zhao Xueqin and Huang Xishan were drinking tea again.

It was just that compared to the previous few times, today's tea seemed even more bitter.

He did not open the box of fine white tea that Wang Shisong had given him to continue brewing it. Because whenever he drank it, he would think of President Wang's ugly face, and then feel immense pressure.

Wang Shisong had been in a very bad mood lately and even had a huge argument with his own brother, Wang Shibai.

Others might not dare to speak to Wang Shisong, but Wang Shibai certainly dared.

In Wang Shibai's view, failing to sign Luo Mo was the worst decision Wang Shisong had made in these past few years.

But such hindsight, the person involved naturally could not accept.

Who could have imagined that he, a mere individual, could trigger several tremors in the music scene?

At first, at most, they only regarded him as a very talented Newcomer, a traffic-driven Singer.

But who could have imagined that he was also a top-tier Album Producer, had become the founding originator of Chinese Style, and whoever he supported became popular!

Not to mention anything else, just look at the recent song "Not Settling", although the word-of-mouth is estimated not to be particularly good, it is expected to be a hit after it starts airing.

It possesses many attributes of a street song; Sun Yi relied solely on this one song to re-enter the vision of the Masses.

What does this represent?

This represents that what Pineapple lost might not be just a top-tier Singer, a top-tier traffic source.

If he could maintain this momentum and develop, what Pineapple lost was a……..

——MusicGodfather!

The power of one person is limited after all, and a top-tier company cannot rely on just one Singer to make a living.

A MusicGodfather who can make countless people popular is the most scarce resource for major companies!

This kind of person can directly change the future of a company with their own strength.

And Luo Mo already faintly had this trend.

The current music scene has actually entered a state of disconnection between the old and the new.

Among the new generation of Singers, there are not many with strong comprehensive strength. Otherwise, major programs would not be reheating leftovers, and a bunch of Singers in their middle age or even Old Age would not suddenly become popular again.

Actually, if you look closely, is what is missing now really just excellent young Singers?

Have you remembered any young, new-generation songwriters in the past few years?

Although it is said that songwriters and Singers are generally a relationship of mutual achievement, in the current music scene, you can almost no longer hear titles at the level of 【MusicGodfather】.

Even in the past, everyone paid close attention to who the Newcomer King of the year was, because every year there was a feeling of gods fighting.

But in these few years, everyone has become indifferent to the title of 【Newcomer King】; it is nothing more than picking the tallest among the short.

Many listeners even feel that the Newcomer King of these few years is an insult to the previous batches.

Until……. the sudden emergence of Luo Mo!

Zhao Xueqin poured a cup of tea for Huang Xishan and smiled bitterly: "Teacher, I am also a bit lost now."

He sipped the tasteless tea and said: "You don't know, when I was recording the program, I even took the initiative to show goodwill to Luo Mo, saying there might be a chance to collaborate."

"Guess what happened, he didn't even pause for a second and directly replied to me: I dare not, I dare not."

Upon hearing this, Huang Xishan glanced at Zhao Xueqin.

He knew very well that although Zhao Xueqin looked refined, he was actually very arrogant deep down.

Huang Xishan hesitated for a moment and said: "I have actually been considering some things these past few days, and I have roughly formed an idea."

"Please speak, Teacher," Zhao Xueqin said.

Huang Xishan looked at him and said: "Judging from the current situation, every time Luo Mo makes a move, his Kung Fu Hustle is put into the composition."

"The audience's focus, because of the first episode, will also lean towards the composition."

Zhao Xueqin nodded, only feeling his throat dry; nothing to be done, who told him to be "loose-lipped" in the first episode.

I, a dignified Heavenly King, am I not even worthy of critiquing a Newcomer?

Facts proved—not worthy.

Huang Xishan continued: "I am preparing to go find Yuan Hewen to compose."

"What!?" Zhao Xueqin was shocked.

There has always been a saying in the music scene: "Lyrics have Huang Xishan, music has Yuan Hewen."

Both of these people are Great God-level figures in the songwriting world, it is just that Huang Xishan is better at writing lyrics, and Yuan Hewen is better at writing music.

The reason Zhao Xueqin felt shocked was not because of Yuan Hewen's status.

It was because Huang Xishan and Yuan Hewen had always been at odds.

The open and covert struggle between the two was no secret at all.

The reason is simple: Yuan Hewen comes from Cilong Entertainment, one of the four major companies, and just like Huang Xishan, he served as the Music Director of Cilong in his earlier years.

Both of them have managed the musical direction of the four major companies, and the Singers under them have frequently competed against each other; how could there not be friction?

At awards ceremonies, the two are unwilling to be on the same stage, and they have never been willing to be in the same frame.

If their relationship were to thaw and their lyrics and music were to be combined, it could be called a "once-in-a-lifetime series" for everyone.

The audience would be shocked, delighted, and amazed.

As for the professional jury, who would dare give a low score to a collaboration between Huang Xishan and Yuan Hewen?

Looking at Zhao Xueqin's shocked expression and poor complexion, Huang Xishan, who seemed to have aged several years, said, "I am about to retire, and I am thinking of settling all my past grudges before I withdraw from the world."

"Now that I think about it, back then it was just a breath of anger held in my heart; I think Yuan Hewen is the same."

"When you get older, you think more openly." Huang Xishan turned his small teacup, putting on a posture of having elevated his state of mind.

Settling grudges before retirement can also be considered a fine story.

As for suppressing Luo Mo, that was just incidental.

Zhao Xueqin said, "Teacher, then what about Yuan Hewen..."

"He will agree," Huang Xishan said very confidently.

When people get older and are semi-retired, they start to like this thing called a clean reputation.

Who doesn't like to make their own state of mind appear higher?

What's more, as time passes, many grudges aren't so much settled as... let it be.

"You have to know, Luo Mo's current momentum is too fierce; the title of 'Founder of Chinese Style' alone is enough to make Cilong Entertainment unable to sit still," Huang Xishan said.

Zhao Xueqin nodded, agreeing with this point.

Cilong's business in film and television songs is the best developed in the industry.

Therefore, they produce a relatively large number of ancient-style and national-style songs.

With a Founder of Chinese Style suddenly appearing halfway, how could they stand it?

Moreover, once Luo Mo's "Sunny Day" was released, its textbook-level composition and Arranger work caused a stir in the industry.

Yuan Hewen also became famous at a young age and stunned the entire music scene with his first move; now many people compare Luo Mo to him back then.

Don't underestimate everyone's love for making comparisons; never mind that they are both lyricists and composers, look at Earth where there are still many people comparing the combat power of Super Saiyans and Ultraman.

But even for Yuan Hewen, he did not reach the point of founding a school, so once someone makes a comparison, the online discourse is one-sided, all saying that Luo Mo has more spiritual energy than the young Yuan Hewen.

Zhao Xueqin looked at Huang Xishan and said, "I've troubled you, Teacher."

Looking at the timing, it is definitely too late for the next episode; this heavyweight collaborative song must be placed in the fifth episode, "No Love Involved."

Yuan Hewen's music, Huang Xishan's lyrics, plus my Singing.

The Heavenly King Zhao believes he can sweep through the music scene.

Never mind meeting Luo Mo, he wouldn't even be afraid of meeting a Song God!

Huang Xishan waved his hand, acting indifferent, and pointed to the teapot, saying, "Let's not talk about this; drink tea, drink tea."

Zhao Xueqin reopened the box of white tea sent by Wang Shisong and began to brew the tea skillfully.

The master and disciple took a small sip and then praised together:

"Good tea!"

(PS: Second update, 4600 words, the last day of the month, asking for double monthly votes!

Also, thanks to the alliance leader "Little l Book l Worm" for the 100,000 Qidian coin tip, +1 chapter owed, I will start paying off the debt diligently next month!)

(End of this chapter)