Chapter 161: Living Up to Youth

"Loyalty to the Country," the final song Luo Mo prepared for his new album, "Red."

From the perspective of musical genre, such a song filled with the sounds of war seems slightly abrupt compared to the preceding "East Wind Breaks" and "Lanting Preface," disrupting the album's integrity.

Actually, that is not the case.

Don't forget, the record version of "Red Actor" was also included in the album, and that song also sings of home, country, and the world.

Besides, the reason one must consider integrity for an album's songs is because in the era of records, everyone who bought a physical album listened from beginning to end.

Nowadays, people aren't so particular; everyone just downloads individual tracks.

Most importantly, even if you do listen from beginning to end, this "Red" by Luo Mo actually has foreshadowing and follows a progressive structure.

Before this old-school Chinese Style song "Loyalty to the Country," in the track order, there is not only "Red Actor," which embodies the spirit of home and country, but also another equally grand, atmosphere-rich, and unrestrainedly dashing representative work of old-school Chinese Style—"Laughter in the Vast Sea"!

From the listening experience, this album actually transitions from new-school Chinese Style to old-school Chinese Style.

From the present to the past, it also encompasses both!

Ending with "Loyalty to the Country" makes it even clearer why this album is titled "Red."

"Red" is the China Red!

Here, there is Opera, there is calligraphy, there is love, there is the world of martial arts, there is home and country...

In the music scene to this day, no album has ever dared to set its tone so high or make its scope so grand!

With his debut album, he wants to be the greatest of all time!

This is Luo Mo's ambition!

This year's National Day Gala, set against the backdrop of "Loyalty to the Country," can be said to have pushed the atmosphere to its absolute climax!

In a small county town, a teenager named Liu Wei was watching television.

He had just graduated from vocational school and planned to play at home for a few months before going out to find some work.

Tonight, he was originally playing Fight the Landlord at home with his grandparents.

Liu Wei's parents did not work locally, and he was raised by his grandparents.

The old folks liked to watch television; his grandmother liked to play Fight the Landlord, while his grandfather preferred to watch the gala, so their card game wasn't very focused.

Liu Wei was very simple; he just wanted to win money.

They weren't playing for high stakes, and the old folks would actually intentionally go easy on their grandson, letting him win about a hundred yuan a day as his pocket money.

When it reached 8:50, Liu Wei said, "Grandpa, Grandma, let's stop playing for a bit; I want to watch a program."

He didn't consider himself a "Mo-Born Person," nor did he think of himself as a fanatical fan; deep down, he didn't like fan culture.

But Liu Wei truly loved Luo Mo's songs, loving almost every single one.

He felt he was a die-hard fan, so he had been looking forward to Luo Mo's new song.

His grandfather had been wanting to watch the gala for a while, so he threw his cards on the table and silently turned up the television volume.

His hearing wasn't very good.

Although his grandmother still wanted to play cards, she doted on her grandson, so if her grandson wanted to watch, she would watch with him.

Immediately after, Luo Mo's image appeared on the television.

"Damn, if only I were as handsome as him," Liu Wei said, looking at Luo Mo in red, full of envy.

He felt he didn't need to be handsome to that level; if he were half as handsome as Luo Mo, it would be more than enough to dominate in vocational school—would he still have to worry about not getting a girlfriend?

When the sound of the big drums rang out, Liu Wei's eyes lit up.

This feeling, this burning passion—most men cannot resist it.

You might think it sounds old-fashioned while listening to the song, but if you combine it with the live visuals, you will definitely feel it's explosive!

"Isn't this more burning than some crappy anime?" Liu Wei thought to himself.

He glanced at his grandparents and found that they were also watching very intently.

His grandfather even turned his head and asked, "Xiao Wei, who is this little star?"

The old man called Luo Mo a "little star" simply because he looked young; there was no mocking intent regarding his status.

Liu Wei immediately said, "His name is Luo Mo, Grandpa. He has been learning Opera since elementary school, and his master is Tong Qinglin; he is his Closing Disciple."

"Whoa!" his grandparents said in unison, "Tong Qinglin is impressive!"

Both of them had heard quite a few of Old Master Tong's operas.

This caused the two elders' first impression of Luo Mo to rise significantly.

And when Luo Mo opened his mouth, Liu Wei was once again stunned.

"【The smoke of war rises, the land looks to the north.】"

"【The dragon flag unfurls, horses neigh long, sword Qi is like frost!】"

Grand, this song is so grand!

In his memory, this was the first time he had heard such a magnificent and majestic song.

Just the prelude and the opening alone could crush most songs on the market!

But even so, the further he listened, the more Liu Wei realized he had underestimated Luo Mo and underestimated this song.

He thought it had already reached the peak of intensity, but it turned out it was only just beginning.

When that line, "【The majestic China shall make the four corners—come to pay homage】," was sung, Liu Wei had goosebumps all over his body.

The shock of watching this live, the lethality of combining visuals and sound effects, was unparalleled.

Most importantly, his grandfather was hard of hearing, so the television volume was turned up very high!

For this kind of song, turning the volume up is absolutely perfect!

It stimulates not just your ears, but even your heart and brain!

"Thump! Thump! Thump!" Liu Wei felt his heartbeat quicken.

Watching the images flash across the television, his eyes turned red with emotion.

If his grandparents hadn't been by his side, forcing him to hold back his tears, he might have already been weeping.

"Incredible. Listening to him sing, I actually got the same feeling I had watching *That Rabbit* a while back," Liu Wei thought to himself.

For many viewers, the emotions were layered and progressive.

They had watched *That Rabbit*, and perhaps the military parade in the morning, which had already set the stage for their emotions.

Hearing "Loyal Heart Serving the Country" at this moment, and hearing lyrics about all nations coming to pay homage, they felt their blood boil and, at the same time, felt immense pride!

Every Rabbit has a dream of a great nation.

I have no regrets in this life entering Huaxia; in the next life, I shall be born in Zhonghuajia!

Beyond the pride, there was also a sense of profound Gratitude.

If not for the sacrifices of those most adorable people, how could there be today's take-off?

One hundred years of shifting stars and changing tides, one hundred years of seas turning into mulberry fields, one hundred years of daring to call for the sun and moon to change into a new sky!

As the interlude of the song sounded, Luo Mo did a flip and landed on the large drum.

This move stunned Liu Wei.

Without any Prop to help, he just flipped in mid-air, and flipped so high at that.

Most importantly, during this process, while he was flipping in the air, he actually grabbed the long sword on the drum surface!

His red clothes fluttered, his movements were dashing and crisp, and immediately after, the sword was drawn from its scabbard, cold light spilling everywhere.

The stage effects now were on a completely different level than a few years ago; every time Luo Mo struck with his sword, the stage effects were maxed out, truly giving the feeling of "sword energy like frost" as sung in the song.

Grandma remarked with emotion: "This star is handsome!"

Grandpa said: "He is worthy of being Tong Qinglin's disciple!"

Liu Wei watched without blinking, too stunned by how cool it was to speak.

In fact, there were a large number of boys or men similar to Liu Wei all over the country.

There was a reason why the proportion of men in Luo Mo's fan base was so high.

He was not the kind of traffic star who only attracted female fans!

"Damn, he's just too cool. I really Want to Watch him act in a wuxia or xianxia drama!" Liu Wei thought to himself.

This was like a seed, a seed buried in the hearts of countless viewers.

Luo Mo's period costume was too stunning, and his sword dancing was too dashing.

Among those "little fresh meat" actors, who could do this kind of fight scene? Who could pull it off!?

A group of actors couldn't even compare to a singer!

When the B-section of the song began, Luo Mo's singing style changed immediately, becoming more youthful, which made it easier for young viewers to identify with.

The first part sang of the sacrifices of the older generation, while the latter part sang of the will of the young!

——"【I am willing to guard the land and expand the borders!】"

For some reason, Liu Wei's eyes grew redder and redder.

Many young people are very reluctant to talk about patriotism, feeling that it isn't cool.

At this moment, he was puzzled himself, because in the depths of his heart, in his mind, there seemed to be a voice Shouting.

Is it because today is National Day?

——"Long live the motherland!"

At the end of the song, a video of a group of young people changing outfits appeared.

They were all around the same age as Liu Wei; at first, they looked like green students, but with one turn, they were already iron-willed, fine men of Huaxia!

Even though their youthfulness hadn't faded, the feeling they gave was as if they could single-handedly hold up the entire blue sky!

"Attention, everyone!"

"Salute!"

Swish—, the movements were uniform, crisp, and clean.

At this moment, Liu Wei felt his breathing quicken.

All he could hear in his ears was the Shouting of this group of people facing the firmament, that firm and unwavering Shouting, that Shouting on the Live Broadcast telling the people of the motherland!

"Willing to use the youth of our generation to guard this Prosperous Age of China!"

"Fortunate to serve the country, living up to our youth!"

In this world, there must always be someone carrying the burden forward, isn't that right?

Just as a well-known foreigner once remarked: "China is always well protected by its bravest people."

These few sentences were like a bomb, exploding in the mind of the young Liu Wei!

"Fortunate to serve the country, living up to our youth!"

"Fortunate to serve the country, living up to our youth!!!"

A thought rose in his heart just like that.

He knew this might be an impulse of the moment, but he believed that his future self would not regret it.

Liu Wei looked at his grandparents and said a sentence that shocked the two elders immensely.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I want to join the army!"

…….

…….

No one expected that a song and a stage performance could have the effect of a military recruitment advertisement.

Luo Mo had broadened his path once again, and the benefits were more than one could imagine.

Putting other things aside, do you think film and television works like "Soldier's Sortie" or "Operation Red Sea" are things anyone can film just because they want to?

Whether a script is excellent or not is an unknown variable before receiving market feedback.

It is absolutely not the case that you throw out a script and the whole world starts revolving around you.

There are too many ins and outs to it, and too many necessary paths that must be walked.

Yet every step Luo Mo takes is very steady.

"Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty" became a complete hit; the National Day Gala's viewership ratings, as well as the volume of online interaction and popularity, reached their peak before nine o'clock in the evening!

Qian Qingyun looked at the real-time viewership data, and he was completely shocked.

……

(PS: First update, asking for double monthly tickets! There should still be three updates today!)

(End of this chapter)