Chapter 265: Annual Opening Drama

"Unforgettable Tonight," a track that in many people's perception, is considered a must-have for the Spring Festival Gala every year.

In reality, there were a few years when this song was absent.

If you were to say it has strong pop appeal, that is certainly not the case.

Although when it was born in 1984, many people criticized it for having too much pop appeal and being unsuitable as the closing song for a grand stage like the Spring Festival Gala. But, after all, so many years have passed.

This song is not something many people would take out to listen to on a daily basis, yet they always feel the Spring Festival Gala would be incomplete without it.

Admittedly, there is something at work here—sentiment.

Sentiment requires time to settle.

It is precisely because it repeatedly appears at the Spring Festival Gala, capable of awakening everyone's memories, and because everyone has already formed a habit, that it possesses even greater value.

However, everything must have a first time, doesn't it?

If there isn't even a beginning, where would your subsequent sentiment come from?

Perhaps at this year's Spring Festival Gala, when everyone hears this song, they will only feel it is very fitting for the occasion and very suitable as a finale, just like when this song first appeared on the Spring Festival Gala stage back then.

But what about in the future? That is hard to say.

Perhaps it will only appear at the Spring Festival Gala once, or perhaps it can truly become a sentiment.

Do your best, and leave the rest to fate.

As for what the future scene will look like, we shall just take it one step at a time.

What he could give Xu Chujing was a good start.

He helped her take the first step.

When Xu Chujing herself first received the lyrics and music, she also saw that this was not a song that met the current market's demand for pop appeal.

But she knew even better that as a top diva, she was no longer lacking that type of song.

She knew what she was missing.

And this "Unforgettable Tonight" might be able to fill in a portion of that missing attribute.

This instead made her feel that Luo Mo was truly putting himself in her shoes to consider things for her, considering them very comprehensively and thoughtfully.

Diva Xu felt a slight warmth in her heart at this and gladly accepted this gesture of friendship.

………

………

On the other side, for Luo Mo, the song "Unforgettable Tonight" also carried heavy memories.

This song is jokingly referred to by many netizens as 【Grandma Li's Pension】.

Because Teacher Li Guyi, despite her advanced age, can still repeatedly ascend the grand stage by relying on this song.

Under normal circumstances, when a Singer reaches middle age, their body is no longer at its peak in all aspects, and their singing technique will regress.

Teacher Li Guyi is very old and still possesses such strength, which is why she is called the 【Evergreen Tree of the Music Scene】.

Therefore, in Luo Mo's view, some songs should appear while one is still young.

"Don't just because some songs in your memory are sung by old people, feel that these songs must be written for old people, otherwise they won't have the right flavor."

"Please, many classic songs, they were also young when they first started singing them; it's just that they sang them all the way from youth to old age, which gave you this illusion..."

"What brings you the flavor and sentiment is precisely that they sang them all the way to old age, not that they only started singing when they were old."

Even for many songs that lean towards the mainstream, quite a few original singers performed them perfectly when they were in their twenties; it is not as everyone thinks.

Still the same saying, everything must have a beginning.

Director Qian Qingyun was personally very fond of it when he heard "Unforgettable Tonight."

He felt this song was most suitable as a closing track; it was very fitting.

After all, this song was originally tailor-made for the Spring Festival Gala from the start.

This made Director Qian incomparably excited; it felt as if he had asked Luo Mo for a high-end luxury suit, and the other party had turned around and given him a high-end custom-made one.

The two songs gave Qian Qingyun a bit more confidence in the 【Song Category】 stage.

"Let's use this 'Unforgettable Tonight' as the closing track for the rehearsal!" Director Qian made the final decision directly.

Xiao Liu and Li Gan exchanged glances, feeling incomparably envious in their hearts.

You must know, singing the closing track is an honor, and writing the closing track is likewise a special honor.

At this year's Spring Festival Gala, Luo Mo should be the Singer with the most presence, right?

If "Chinese Language" had not been kicked out during the rehearsals, he would have had three songs appearing at this year's Spring Festival Gala.

Time passed very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the New Year was almost here.

Luo Mo had been extremely busy during this period, juggling between the "Sword Fairy" set and "Classics in China."

At the same time, he still had to prepare for the Spring Festival Gala, polish his acting skills, and oversee the general direction of New Yu in terms of music.

A few months ago, Luo Mo Studio also recruited a batch of Newcomers; during this time, they were all undergoing training and taking classes at the company. Some might stay and obtain opportunities to debut, but most would likely face Elimination.

The first season of "Classics in China" concluded yesterday.

The overall ratings and word-of-mouth were both explosive, repeatedly hitting new highs for cultural and propaganda-style variety shows, which made Run Jie's state of mind very good during this period, even happier than when "Creating Idols" was a great success.

Because of this variety show, her status within the circle had also become different.

Standing behind her now was CCTV.

Previously, she had viewed Luo Mo as a treasure; now, Luo Mo had undergone a transformation, becoming somewhat like her benefactor.

The only thing that made her feel a bit empty was that Luo Mo had been too busy recently, and the two of them rarely had the opportunity to drink together.

This caused this woman, who would have a little red wine every day before bed, to actually have a slight sense of emptiness.

"I was clearly used to drinking alone before," she thought in her heart.

At this time, Ning Dan, who had just finished the celebration banquet, returned to her home in Shanghai's Xicheng.

Luo Mo was still not in Shanghai today; with the New Year approaching, he was rushing the progress of "Sword Fairy."

Ning Dan first went to the large bathtub in the bathroom to run the water, and then, when the water in the tub reached the level, she took a small glass of red wine and immersed her whole body into the tub.

The thick foam on the surface of the water covered everything completely.

She took a small sip of the red wine in her glass, and then slightly bent her right leg.

Her knee broke through the foam on the water's surface, exposing a portion of her thigh's skin to the air.

A little foam clung to her leg, making the skin look smooth and fair, with a slight touch of enchantment under the glow of the lights.

—It was just so moist.

"I'm not any worse than those young women, am I?" Ning Dan thought to herself, not knowing why.

The warm water washed away the fatigue from Ning Dan's body.

But the emptiness in her heart remained somewhat impossible to fill.

This loyal Non-Marriage Advocate was seen by many big shots in the industry as the ultimate lover. But this woman had too many thorns on her, making her impossible to pick.

Yet at this moment, after she finished the wine in her glass, what surfaced in her mind was the scene of Luo Mo and Xu Chujing together.

She submerged her body slightly, half-slumped in the bathtub, and sighed powerlessly.

……….

……….

Early in the morning, Luo Mo and Guan Fei got together.

The two of them were paying attention to a major event in the film and television industry.

The data rankings for the four major video platforms had just been released!

It was the end of the year now, and everyone would definitely be brought out for comparison.

Guan Fei was very concerned about this data because it related to his future plans.

Luo Mo was very concerned because his old partner Penguin was in there, as well as his old rival Pineapple.

"In the 【Variety】 field, Penguin ranks first in data among the four major platforms," Guan Fei said.

"Well, of course, I had quite a bit of credit for that," Luo Mo started acting pretentious.

Guan Fei rolled his eyes at him, wanting to retort, but unable to find a rebuttal.

Among this year's entertainment variety shows, the biggest hits were "Creating Idols" and "King of Love Songs".

Luo Mo had made great contributions to both of these variety shows.

And among the orthodox variety shows, "Classic of China" was also something he had cooked up, which was broadcast exclusively on Penguin Video.

In the past, the variety show circle viewed Luo Mo as a treasure of variety; now, they view him as the God of Variety!

Therefore, in the 【Variety】 field, Penguin Video was crushing the entire platform.

In the past, the big brother in this field had always been Pineapple TV; Pineapple was professional when it came to making variety shows, but this year it only ranked second.

Actually, the biggest turning point was indeed Luo Mo.

Like at the beginning, "Creating Idols" was broadcast on both the Pineapple and Penguin platforms simultaneously.

The reason Wang Shisong of Pineapple had long coveted Ning Dan was, first, because Ning Dan was a Non-Marriage Advocate—how great was that—and she was full of charm, sexy, and beautiful.

Their President Wang had been divorced several times and had suffered from divorce.

Second, because variety shows were Pineapple TV's signature field, and Ning Dan was the Godmother of Talent Shows, they could join forces as strong allies.

But outside of the 【Variety】 field, in areas like TV dramas and movies, Penguin was either third or at the bottom.

In the 【Anime】 field, this year only "That Rabbit" was holding things up; the rest were unwatchable.

As mentioned before, this was because the foundation was too shallow and they held too few old copyrights.

Once new dramas and newly purchased movie copyrights failed to make a splash, they would just go cold.

On the contrary, Pineapple TV was very steady, ranking second in all fields.

This result looked dazzling enough, but the two brothers Wang Shisong and Wang Shibai were absolutely furious.

Originally, their goal was to maintain first place in variety shows and catch up in other fields.

As it turned out, they didn't catch up, and they even lost variety shows!

"President Wang's secretaries are going to have a hard time again," Guan Fei sighed.

The business between Wang Shisong and his female secretaries was no secret in the industry.

His office was notoriously hard on silk stockings.

He himself was also notoriously hard on secretaries.

"By the way," Guan Fei suddenly patted Luo Mo.

"What is it, acting all jumpy," Luo Mo asked.

Guan Fei leaned in and whispered, "I've been asking around in the industry for the past few days, and guess what?"

"Stop keeping me in suspense, just say it," Luo Mo said.

"Penguin Video hasn't signed many film and television works recently, and big productions are even fewer."

"Why? Have they given up on the TV drama sector?" Luo Mo asked.

"How could that be? TV dramas have always been one of the most valued fields. I guess they're thinking of avoiding the big melee at the beginning of the year and are betting everything on the latter half," Guan Fei analyzed.

Upon hearing "melee," Luo Mo immediately perked up.

This made Guan Fei look at him speechlessly.

"I'm telling you this to discuss whether we should push 'Sword Fairy' back. Why do your eyes light up the moment you hear 'melee'?" Guan Fei was defeated.

Luo Mo looked at him, pointed at himself, and said seriously, "I am a Top Traffic."

"I know, so what if you're a Top Traffic? We're on the same side, can we stop acting?" Guan Fei said irritably.

"No! I am a Top Traffic!" Luo Mo emphasized again, saying, "Do you think I can avoid it?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Fei immediately understood.

Yes, Luo Mo is a Top Traffic; even if he doesn't want to enter the arena, there will be a crowd of people staring at him, wanting to fight him.

Fighting him brings high popularity!

Such a hot film and television Newcomer—it would be a real pity not to drag him out and bully him a bit.

Just like on Earth, back in the early years, when many films starring young, fresh-faced idols were about to be released, would many people avoid the battle and delay their schedules?

They would not!

They would be dying to crash right into them, relying on their trash to set off their own awesomeness.

With a Singer directing and starring in it, *Sword Fairy* has become a piece of fat meat in the eyes of many industry insiders.

"Rather than letting others pick us, it's better if we take the initiative to pick others," Luo Mo said to Guan Fei.

Guan Fei looked at the dead-serious Luo Mo, yet still felt something was wrong.

"No, no, no!" Guan Fei had grown familiar with him and understood him more and more: "I think these are all just your excuses; you simply like entering the arena! Just now, when you heard about the chaotic battle, your eyes were literally shining with Green Light."

Although he said this with his mouth, he also felt that what Luo Mo said was not wrong.

"Then which schedule do you want to find? We can go and have a good talk with the television station and Penguin," Guan Fei said.

"Let's go to the platform's opening drama for the beginning of the year," Luo Mo said.

Guan Fei looked at this "newborn Ox," unable to help but twist his mouth and raise his hands to applaud him.

(PS: First update, requesting monthly tickets!)

(End of this chapter)