Chapter 643: Song of Contrast

In Xu Wai's imagination, everything had changed drastically.

The initial feeling *A Spray of Plum Blossoms* gave him was retro, with a strong sense of the era.

Yet in his imagination, he felt that the reason his boss chose this musical style must be connected to some trait of the character he was playing in the movie *Charlotte Troubles*!

He felt that this character should possess traits like "mature," "steady," "highly educated," "proud," and "refined temperament."

Xu Wai even thought that during the Spring Festival holiday, he shouldn't eat too much rich food, and it would be best to lose some weight to make himself look more dashing.

"Once the holiday is over, I'll be able to see the script!"

"So looking forward to it!"

"But during the holiday, I can't just think about resting and relaxing; I need to calm down and polish myself."

"The boss values me so much; I must live up to the boss's trust!"

After listening to the chorus of *A Spray of Plum Blossoms*, he already understood that this was definitely a classic hit, a work that could remain popular for a long time.

"Hehe, the audience doesn't even know yet that it was tailor-made for me!"

"When the movie is officially released, I'll give you all a big Surprise! Haha, hahaha!"

For Xu Wai, this year could be spent in pure bliss.

……..

……..

On the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, Tong Shu was already wrapping up *A Spray of Plum Blossoms*, singing the final part.

His ethereal, clear voice, combined with the artistic conception of the song, made those special guests at the Spring Festival Gala have a very favorable impression of this song.

Especially some of the elders qualified to sit there.

"【Snowflakes drifting, North wind whistling,

The world is vast and boundless.】"

When he sang the chorus for the last time, stage effects began to emerge, and wind and snow covered the entire stage in an instant.

By the time he sang 【A spray of cold plum blossoms standing proudly in the snow】, Plum Blossom were in full bloom amidst the heavy snow.

In recent years, although the Spring Festival Gala has been heavily criticized, everyone can still see the progress of technology in terms of stage effects.

At this moment, He Ping'an was also at the Spring Festival Gala.

Sitting next to him was an elder who looked even older than him.

"Little He, this song is written well and sung well," the elder said.

He Ping'an smiled and said to him, "Last time we watched the gala together, you said almost the same thing when you heard *Loyalty to the Country*. These two songs were both written by the same person!"

"Oh? You mean Luo Mo?" the elder asked.

"Yes," He Ping'an replied with a smile.

The elder nodded slightly without saying much, but from his expression, one could see his appreciation for Luo Mo.

As the song ended, Tong Shu walked off the stage, and Li Junyi had been waiting for him at the stage passage early on.

The two were almost inseparable in their daily lives, so it was no wonder that among their fans, besides the fujoshi, everyone was urging them to find girlfriends.

"Brother Mo told us not to wait for him and to just leave," Li Junyi said to Tong Shu.

"Alrighty!" Tong Shu replied with a smile.

In the past, whenever they were free, they would go to Luo Mo's house to eat hot pot and then wash the dirty dishes he had left from the day before.

Ever since Brother Mo and Jing got together, they had reduced the number of times they disturbed Brother Mo.

Luo Mo Studio did not explicitly forbid its artists from dating, but there was a rule that they had to report it if they were dating so the team would be aware and prepare in advance.

Luo Mo actually felt that Li Junyi and Tong Shu were just pure and hadn't "opened their minds" yet; he had seen footage of them participating in variety shows, and when they played games with female celebrities, they were ruthless, and after winning, their smiles were so smug.

At this moment, in Luo Mo's lounge, Xu Chujing knocked on the door and walked in, sitting down beside him.

If one were to ask who was the freest in the backstage of the Spring Festival Gala now, it would be Jing, who was going to sing *Unforgettable Tonight*.

It was still a long time before her performance.

"A bit unaccustomed, right?" Luo Mo asked with a smile.

"Yeah, in the past when I came to the Spring Festival Gala, I would sing during prime time and could go home right after. If I was lucky, I could even make it back in time to eat something hot," Xu Chujing said.

"My fault, my fault," Luo Mo said.

"I wouldn't dare blame you, you ambitious person," Xu Chujing laughed.

She knew what Luo Mo was thinking.

He was too crazy; he actually wanted to make *Unforgettable Tonight* a regular repertoire of the Spring Festival Gala, becoming the strongest "stubborn tenant" in the gala!

Sometimes Xu Chujing didn't understand why Luo Mo could always come up with ideas that ordinary people couldn't even imagine.

No one had ever thought about creating a "must-have" song for the Spring Festival Gala.

Yet he dared to think it, and he dared to do it!

Of course, whether it could actually be done remained to be seen.

Although *Unforgettable Tonight* could be performed for a second time on the Spring Festival Gala stage this year, it was only the second time.

It had indeed become the first song in the history of the Spring Festival Gala to be performed twice.

But whether it could fulfill Luo Mo's wish would depend on the situation in the coming years.

Luo Mo patted the back of Xu Chujing's hand and said, "With my Jing's status and popularity in the music scene, it actually doesn't matter whether you sing a new song at the Spring Festival Gala or whether you have the traffic from the gala; the difference isn't that big."

"But if *Unforgettable Tonight* can really succeed, then it will be different," Luo Mo said.

"Do you think I don't understand?" Xu Chujing rolled her eyes at him, feeling that he was treating her like those little girls from Aurora Girls.

"On the contrary, you're going on stage in a while; shouldn't you be preparing now?" Xu Chujing reminded him.

"That's just because you just sat down, and I wanted to chat with you for a bit first," Luo Mo said as he stood up.

After saying that, he began to warm up his voice in the lounge on his own.

As mentioned before, the song Luo Mo prepared for today is not that easy to sing; even for him, he must make all necessary preparations.

And just at this moment, Chen Luo is three minutes away from going on stage to sing a new song from his new album.

Once he finishes singing, followed by a dance and a sketch, it will be Luo Mo's turn.

In the stage passageway, Chen Luo raised his right hand to gently rub his Adam's apple, then shook his arms to let his whole body relax.

The Spring Festival Gala would not normally make someone as experienced as him feel nervous.

What makes him nervous is his opponent, Luo Mo!

It is very obvious that looking at the current music scene, no one can maintain a Heart Like Still Water when facing a challenge from Luo Mo.

Not even Chen Luo, who is known as the top brother of the music scene!

In the album arena competition before the new year, Chen Luo has already lost two rounds in a row.

"Things shouldn't happen three times," he said in his heart.

Although two albums mean there are 10 songs each to PK, having lost two rounds in a row is already a significant disadvantage.

And regarding the new song he is about to sing, Chen Luo is very confident.

He released a short Demo of this song online last year, and it received rave reviews, sparking widespread anticipation; a large number of listeners listened to the 20-second Demo repeatedly, never tiring of it.

This is a popular tactic in recent years called "Everyone already knows how to sing the song before it's released."

Because the feedback was so good, Chen Luo and his creative team spent even more time polishing this song.

If one had to pick a song from his new album to be the lead single, then it would definitely be this "Lang Man."

Yes, it is "Lang Man" (Carefree/Romantic), not "Lang Man" (Romantic).

At the same time, this format actually carries its own advantages.

Luo Mo's stage involves going up to sing a song that everyone is completely unfamiliar with.

Everyone is hearing it for the first time.

Chen Luo is different; this "Lang Man" has a full 20 seconds of content that allows many people to sing along, creating a sense of familiarity.

Why do many variety shows like to cover old songs?

One reason is that there are very few people with excellent creative abilities, and the music scene is regressing.

Another reason is that sense of familiarity, that resonance, that feeling of being unable to resist singing along!

If this weren't the Spring Festival Gala stage, but a Live Broadcast grand finale with ten thousand live audience members, imagine it: Chen Luo's "Lang Man" has 20 seconds of content that could trigger a massive number of audience members to sing along together!

The effect would definitely be even better!

And for some new songs, you might only think they sound good the first time you hear them, and you need to listen a few more times to find them increasingly enjoyable.

In this situation with its own inherent advantages, Chen Luo feels more and more that he will not lose.

The stage passageway opens at this moment, and Chen Luo begins to go on stage.

Although his song is called "Lang Man," its core theme is actually very similar to a saying: loving yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.

The song title appears, and as soon as he starts singing, many viewers watching the Live Broadcast feel incredibly surprised!

"Ah! So it's that song for which a 20-second Demo was released before!"

"Haha, I almost couldn't help but sing along!"

"Sounds great! The long wait wasn't in vain!"

"Finally released this song! I thought it was part of the 'competing to see who lives longer' series!"

"I unilaterally declare that this song is the biggest Surprise of this year's Spring Festival Gala!"

In many people's view: Very good! Now, the pressure has finally shifted to Luo Mo's side.

………

………

Chen Luo's song "Lang Man" ends, and the ratings and various data on online platforms reach the Peak Value for all song-related programs so far!

Zhang Wei is extremely satisfied with this.

It is very obvious that the arena competition aspect alone is enough to attract a large group of onlookers.

Chen Luo and Luo Mo: "It's the New Year, and we don't have anything special to give everyone, so let's perform a clash of the titans for you all!"

But once Chen Luo finishes singing, the various data begin to drop.

It is very obvious that many people just took a moment to take a look, and for programs they are not interested in, people are too lazy to waste their time.

The subsequent dance program is passable, but by the time the sketch starts, the ratings and online data begin to slide rapidly.

However, halfway through the sketch, the various data begin to grow slowly again!

"What's going on? Why did the ratings and Live Broadcast data suddenly increase halfway through this sketch?" Zhang Wei is a bit puzzled.

You must know that this sketch is not a marquee program, and Zhang Wei himself didn't think much of it.

But strangely, as time passes, the ratings and Live Broadcast data are actually continuing to rise, and the speed of the increase is accelerating!

Later on, it could even be said to be soaring!

Zhang Wei quickly realizes what is happening.

"They are waiting early for Luo Mo's stage!"

Every director who has worked with Luo Mo speaks highly of him, and a special term has even emerged later—the Luo Mo Effect.

Zhang Wei now understands what the Luo Mo Effect is!

He has directed a large number of holiday galas at regional satellite TV stations and has never seen any star with such terrifying appeal for a gala.

Even the Heavenly King and Superstar Chen Luo does not have such a terrifying effect!

"Luo Mo is ready, right?" Zhang Wei asks.

As soon as he speaks, a staff member immediately replies: "He is already at the stage passageway."

Zhang Wei nods, feeling incredibly expectant in his heart.

Chen Luo and Luo Mo's win or loss on the Spring Festival Gala stage was not something he cared about.

He only cared about the ratings and online data.

"Whoever wins is fine, as long as the data looks good!"

Of course, the scale in his heart tilted toward Luo Mo; after all, Luo Mo had provided him with three new songs in one go.

In the Live Broadcast barrage, many people were already curious about what kind of song it would be.

Since this album was called On the Road, considering that the album's songs possessed a sense of unity, this new song would certainly have a certain connection to the album title.

"What kind of song could it possibly be?" Countless people were anticipating it in their hearts.

At the stage entrance, Luo Mo, having finished his preparations, began to walk forward with large strides, stepping onto the stage with confidence.

Just a moment ago backstage, he had already heard Chen Luo's new song.

It had to be said, it was very strong.

It was yet another love song that had no flaws or shortcomings in terms of lyrics, composition, and Singing.

Moreover, Luo Mo knew very well that this song had released a demo, and many listeners were very familiar with it; this was Chen Luo's advantage.

To be precise, Luo Mo also had this demo on his phone; he had downloaded it and could sing along to it too.

Although the two were rivals now, there were still quite a few of Chen Luo's songs in Luo Mo's playlist.

Presumably, it was the same on Chen Luo's side.

This made Luo Mo understand one thing: "When PK-ing against such a song, a new song that is catchy upon first listen, stunning upon first listen, and preferably carries a bit of innovation, is the best."

Fortunately, his new song met these Requirement-s more or less.

After Luo Mo stood in the center of the stage, a few seconds passed, and the camera cut to him.

The prelude of the song rang out at this moment.

From the very beginning, there were bursts of bell chimes.

The bell chimes were not the deep and resonant kind, but rather on the crisp side.

This was a work that was well-known on Earth, and it had even been on the 2008 Spring Festival Gala.

As soon as the prelude started, everyone imagined this to be an ancient-style or even a Chinese Style song.

Little did they know that the greatest characteristic of this song was actually—a sense of contrast!

The song title began to appear before the audience's eyes.

Through the song title, everyone could intuitively feel the connection between this song and the album title On the Road.

This song was written by Lyricist Fang Wenshan, composed by Zhou Jielun, and Arranger Lin Maike.

It was called—"Far Away".

(PS: An'an's fever has gone down these past few days, but purulent meningitis is a protracted war. Today, a lumbar puncture still needs to be performed to see the effect of the medication, sigh. Fortunately, through the connections of an acquaintance, the hospital will send a video every day, which makes one feel a bit more at ease.

I hope the pain passes quickly; I am working hard to earn milk powder money for An'an!

Finally, at the request of a good friend, recommending the book I, King of Witches)

(End of this chapter)