yournovel Chapter 59 garnered even more attention than when "Encounter" was released.
Chapter 59 garnered even more attention than when "Encounter" was released.
Liu Wei lit a cigarette and exhaled a long puff: "Professor Chen, what do you think of Li Xuan?"
Professor Chen slowly and methodically cleared away the teacups: "Being too ambitious makes you prone to making mistakes."
"That's the spirit we're looking for," Mr. Zhang laughed. "Without that spirit, how can you compete with Wang Bo?"
Liu Wei nodded: "Wang Bo is currently riding high, so it's most suitable for him to be a whetstone."
"A whetstone?" Professor Chen raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think Li Xuan can out-whet Wang Bo?"
"Whether he can get through the grind or not isn't important," Liu Wei flicked her cigarette ash. "The important thing is that with Wang Bo around, the show will have buzz. As long as Li Xuan doesn't perform too badly, he can ride the wave of popularity, and the company can package him as a 'new generation singer who dares to compete with Wang Bo on stage.' Then, popularity, buzz, and resources will all come to him, right?"
Mr. Zhang added, "Besides, Wang Bo is currently signed with Xiaoyi Media, a small company. What's the relationship between Xingguang Media and Lin'an TV? As long as the gap between Li Xuan and Wang Bo isn't drastic, the rankings will be negotiated between us and the production team, right?"
Professor Chen was silent for a few seconds, then gently shook his head: "You're using Wang Bo as a stepping stone."
"Isn't that how the entertainment industry is?" Liu Wei smiled meaningfully. "You step on me, I step on you, let's see who can step on you steadily and cleverly. Wang Bo is talented, but unfortunately, talent is sometimes worthless in the face of capital."
"Besides," Mr. Zhang interjected, "this program was originally prepared for a certain person. The sponsor has poured so much money into it; wouldn't it be unreasonable not to promote that person?"
Professor Chen asked curiously, "Who exactly is that person? Such a grand gesture!"
Liu Wei and General Manager Zhang exchanged a glance and smiled.
"You'll find out when the time comes." Liu Wei stubbed out her cigarette. "In short, whether it's Wang Bo or Li Xuan, they're just there to make up the numbers. But even making up the numbers has its value—Li Xuan steps on Wang Bo to rise to the top, and then that other person steps on Li Xuan to reach the top. Perfect."
Professor Chen did not speak again.
She picked up the now-cold tea and took a small sip.
The tea was bitter, but the aftertaste was slightly sweet.
Just like this circle, it looks glamorous on the surface, but is full of scheming inside.
"Oh, right," Mr. Zhang remembered something, "Xiaoyi Media made a few demands regarding Wang Bo: first, the copyright must be in his hands; second, the recording of the program cannot involve unlimited overtime, which would affect his normal creative work; and third, the program must be delivered within two days after the competition ends."
Liu Wei scoffed: "He has quite a few conditions. Just agree to them. Anyway... he won't last many episodes."
Do you think Wang Bo will be eliminated?
"I might not be eliminated, but I definitely won't get a good ranking." Liu Wei was very confident. "Among the judges on the show, there are two with whom we have a good relationship. No matter how good Wang Bo is, can he be better than the rules?"
Two days later.
In a small conference room on the third floor of the administration building at a vocational college in Lin'an, smoke filled the air.
Four school leaders sat around a conference table, the ashtray on which was overflowing with cigarette butts.
The campus outside the window was quiet, with only the streetlights shining alone in the night.
"Old Chen, play it again." The vice principal stubbed out his cigarette.
Dean Chen sighed and clicked the play button for the umpteenth time.
The laptop's speakers played a choral version of the school song written by Wang Bo—recorded by sixty students from the school choir, and finished after post-production by Wang Bo and Chen Mo.
The students' clear and powerful voices echoed in the conference room.
The four leaders listened intently, their expressions increasingly serious.
"How was it?" Dean Chen asked cautiously as the song ended.
The dean of academic affairs pushed up his glasses: "It sounds nice, but isn't it... a bit too tragic? Aren't school songs usually something like 'We are the sun at eight or nine in the morning'?"
"Exactly," the publicity minister chimed in, "Aren't the lyrics a bit too heavy? Won't parents feel our school atmosphere is too oppressive after listening to them?"
The vice principal didn't say anything, but simply lit another cigarette.
In fact, he didn't have a clue.
When we invited Xiaoyi Media to write a song, their requirements were very clear: it had to be authentic, it had to resonate with students, and it had to embody the school motto of "Seeking Truth Against the Light".
The song Wang Bo submitted was impeccable from a professional point of view; the melody was catchy, the lyrics were profound, and the choral arrangement was also very grand.
But it's just... too real.
It's so real it makes you uneasy.
"What did Wang Bo say?" the vice principal finally asked.
"He said this is his understanding of seeking truth against the light," Dean Chen replied. "It's not about forging ahead in favorable circumstances, but about choosing to move forward even in adversity. He said that students today are under a lot of pressure, and what they need is not empty encouragement, but to be understood and seen."
The propaganda minister muttered, "I understand, but this is just too obvious..."
"Actually," the head of the student affairs office, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up, "I had my daughter listen to her—she's a junior majoring in Chinese. Guess what she said?"
Everyone looked at him.
"She said," the head of the student affairs office paused, "that this was the most authentic school song she had ever heard, and that all four girls in her dorm cried after listening to it."
The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.
"She cried?" The dean of academic affairs frowned. "Is this... a good thing or a bad thing?"
"She said it was the kind of crying where someone finally understands us." The head of the student affairs office smiled. "She also said that if this song is played at the opening ceremony, she promises not to play on her phone."
The vice principal took a deep drag on his cigarette, the smoke rising slowly under the light.
Outside the window, the night was deep.
This song will be released online tomorrow at noon.
Whether it succeeds or fails, we'll find out tomorrow.
At the same time, the lights were still on in the president's office of Xiaoyi Culture Media.
Su Xiaoxiao broke the music platform's backend data for the third time—although the song has not yet been released, the number of pre-orders has already exceeded 50,000.
This number is ridiculously high for a school song.
But Su Xiaoxiao was not happy at all.
She knew all too well that the high number of reservations was due to Wang Bo's current popularity.
But if the song itself isn't good enough, those who made reservations might be disappointed after listening to it, might unfollow, and might even turn around and criticize Wang Bo for losing his talent.
"Sis, do you think she'll pounce?" Su Xiaoxiao rarely showed an uncertain expression.
Su Yiyi sat on the sofa in the reception area, holding a cup of tea that had gone cold: "No, the song is very good. I've listened to it more than ten times, and I'm always deeply moved every time."
"But it's the school song!" Su Xiaoxiao stood up and paced around the office. "What does the school song mean? It's meant to be played repeatedly at the opening ceremony, graduation ceremony, and school anniversary celebrations! If the students don't like it and the leaders aren't satisfied, how will Wang Bo accept these official invitations in the future?"
"Xiaoxiao," Su Yiyi said gently, "you're too nervous."
"How can I not be nervous?" Su Xiaoxiao stopped in her tracks. "Even though this is just a school song, it's getting even more attention than when 'Encounter' was released! Look at Weibo's trending topics, #WangBoNewSongSchoolSong# has already climbed to number seventeen, and it hasn't even been released yet!"