Chapter 33

After Xiu Si agreed to use the promotional song for 《Phantom River》 as their debut song, Jiang Ji was so happy he could hardly sleep. He immediately posted the news on the official Weibo account.

Meanwhile, Cheers Film made its own official announcement. Just like that, their first collaboration was settled.

Cheers Film: @OSOK-X, thank you for this encounter. X4, the promotional ambassadors for 《Phantom River》, will bring us an original promotional song. Please look forward to it.

Netizens who saw the news swarmed over like sharks smelling blood.

"What? These two movies fought so hard over their release dates, and now one has hired AUV and the other X4?"

"At the Azure Dragon Base public performance that day, AUV performed right before X4, didn't they?"

"So the two sides are going head-to-head."

"But AUV is a boy band that debuted ages ago and has at least been tested by the market. X4 is made up entirely of rookies. What do they have to go up against them with?"

The smell of gunpowder couldn't have been more obvious, and the onlookers eating melons all felt a stir of excitement.

Someone well versed in the workings of the entertainment industry even offered an analysis:

"With a strange boy band like X4 showing up, won't a lot of boy bands on the traditional path feel threatened? The pie is only so big to begin with. Who wants to see a slice taken away?"

"And everyone says X4 is mysterious, that they don't market themselves or cultivate fandom culture, but look. Whether it was the official photo incident before or the buzz around the Yingge Dance now, hasn't X4 been getting more and more popular along with it? Do you really believe there's no one pulling the strings behind the scenes, no plan at all?"

Reading this seemingly well-reasoned analysis, Jiang Ji was speechless.

They were deliberately marketing themselves?

The four members of Xiu Si hadn't even seen each other lately...

Yet the analysis won the approval of quite a few conspiracy-minded netizens.

Leaving everything else aside, the Yingge Dance was a unique part of the culture of a certain region of Chao. Yet lately, wave after wave of explanatory and educational videos had appeared on video sites, while imitation works flooded short-video platforms. There were signs that this hidden treasure was about to become a huge hit.

On the entertainment trending chart, one of the top ten topics was already #The Yingge Dance Is So Cool#.

It had started with a dance club at a sports school covering the Yingge Dance that Xiu Si had performed at the Azure Dragon Base.

It wasn't a one-to-one reproduction, though. Many of the sports school's young men were from that region of Chao, and they had added plenty of innovations based on their own understanding.

The moment the video was posted on a short-video platform, it blew up.

More than a dozen young people who already had striking physiques were dancing the Yingge Dance together... It was exactly what the short-video audience wanted to see.

"Ahhhh, the guys are so handsome!"

"They danced straight into my heart!"

"This is what the boys of our country should look like!"

"Still, there are girls in there too, commenter above."

"Sorry! This is what the youth of our country should look like!"

Some passersby felt an instinctive aversion to trending topics when they saw it on the chart and left comments before even watching the video.

"Obviously it's just suggestive content. On short-video platforms, only this kind of body-baring stuff can get popular. The entertainment industry is doomed."

But the moment they clicked on it, they were won over by the youthful vigor that came rushing at them.

"Boohoo, sorry. They're truly so valiant and handsome. Why hasn't a treasure of a dance like this become a huge hit yet?"

Even if they didn't understand a particular folk custom, as people of Huaguo, there were always aspects of culture that connected them at the roots.

Qiao Huan watched the comments grow more and more positive and felt satisfied.

He hadn't expected their performance to start such a trend and influence some young people.

As his name was mentioned again and again, his Weibo following gradually grew as well.

Because Jiang Ji had kept saying it over and over, he and Ye Yiwei had reluctantly opened Weibo accounts too. Jiang Ji had assigned them the task of posting once a day to establish their accounts.

Jiang Ji had originally thought they would post selfies or updates about writing songs. After all, if ordinary entertainers had faces, figures and talent like theirs, they would have plastered themselves all over the public feed and promoted themselves nonstop for a year.

But because they had become popular through their performance at the Azure Dragon Base, and because the Yingge Dance had been getting more and more attention lately, Jiang Ji had specifically told the two of them that it would be best to post something related to it.

To his surprise, neither of them resisted this time. They nodded their agreement like chicks pecking at grain.

Only then did Jiang Ji breathe a sigh of relief.

Those two had finally gotten on the right track!

However.

When he saw what the two had posted on Weibo, he nearly spat out a mouthful of soda and choked to death.

Qiao Huan: 100 little facts about folk customs.

Qiao Huan: A detailed breakdown of Yingge Dance movements @Zhuo Yang.

Qiao Huan: "On the compatibility of rap and the Chinese language" @Bai Jike

Ye Yiwei: Repost x100

Jiang Ji: ???

Fuck!

It was bad enough that those two had changed their Weibo names to ones that didn't sound like idols' names at all.

The KPI he had set was one post a day. How come the two of them were posting dozens every day?

At first, their new fans were pleasantly surprised. They had never seen idols work so hard at keeping their accounts active.

Later, they realized that posting little facts about folk customs was one thing, but why were the two of them also tagging Zhuo Yang, Bai Jike and a whole series of the most obscure folk performance groups imaginable like crazy?

"Hahahaha, I'm dying. They're taking the marketing accounts' path and leaving them nowhere to go."

"I think their Weibo verification should say promotional ambassadors for all kinds of arts, hahahaha."

"I can't take it anymore. I had them on special follow, but their notifications were popping up more often than my WeChat messages, so I unfollowed."

"Emmm, am I the only one who thinks what they post is pretty interesting?"

Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei looked at the comments and thought, That's more like it.

Jiang Ji had only told them to make one post a day, but how could one be enough?

They were going to openly and aboveboard drown the masses in an ocean of knowledge!

And they weren't posting things at random, either. Every document and article was carefully selected to ensure it was sufficiently detailed and dry.

They refused to believe fans would still like them after that.

What was more, to keep those few fans from overlooking anyone, they had specifically asked Jiang Ji to open accounts for their good teammates Bai Jike and Zhuo Yang too, and tagged them like crazy.

Even so, the two men's follower counts continued to climb steadily, reaching over a hundred thousand in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, though, Zhuo Yang's and Bai Jike's accounts gained followers even more dramatically because the two kept tagging them while they said little themselves. Their follower counts were already heading toward several hundred thousand.

Every day, the comments under Qiao Huan's and Ye Yiwei's accounts, which they ran themselves, were full of "I learned something," "Knowledge +1," and "Please, Master, stop reciting."

Every day, the comments under Zhuo Yang's and Bai Jike's empty-shell accounts were full of "Now those are good brothers!" and "Looking forward to seeing you interact."

Jiang Ji felt he had truly surrendered.

Weren't Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei trying a little too hard to make their brothers famous?

In a daze, he felt he should change all their account names to "Folk performance and X4 internal promotion bot."

These past few days, Zhuo Yang had been so absorbed in building a good relationship with Uncle Yang that he hadn't paid attention to anything else.

But today, he found Uncle Yang secretly wiping away tears while looking at his phone.

Zhuo Yang thought something had happened and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong, Uncle?"

Uncle Yang wept for joy. "This is wonderful! The day has finally come when our folk arts can make the trending charts too!"

Zhuo Yang: ...

Then he discovered that he actually had a Weibo account.

So he asked Jiang Ji for his Weibo password. When he logged in, he saw dozens of mentions a day, all from his good brother Qiao Huan and Mr. Ye.

Zhuo Yang felt a warm current surge into his heart.

Those two have been secretly making me famous where I couldn't see it. This friendship is so touching!

The next second, he tagged them back like crazy.

How can I be the only one getting famous? I'm an undercover agent!

You should get famous. Good people like you deserve fame most of all!

Zhuo Yang noticed that the two of them mentioned the Yingge Dance every time they tagged him. Presumably, it was because he was in charge of dancing.

But that Yingge Dance had been a group creation. How could he be the only one in the spotlight?

So, to show his sincerity, he picked an evening and stayed up all night writing an analysis of Qiao Huan's and Ye Yiwei's dance movements in that performance.

As soon as the long post went up, the Xiu Si fans in the comments celebrated as if it were New Year:

"Holy crap, what kind of boy band is this? They're all so pure and unpretentious!"

"Yes! Usually, it's good enough if boy band members act like brothers on the surface. Who else promotes their teammates this crazily?"

"I don't think X4 is a Shura Field at all. They're totally a band of good brothers!"

"Debut song, hurry up!!! I'm seriously looking forward to it!"

Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei saw these comments: ...

No, you can't even guess how much of a Shura Field it is.

At last, amid countless expressions of "anticipation," Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei struggled through the completion of 《Phantom River》's promotional song, "Beyond the Frontier Star River."

When Ren Rong received the score, she immediately gathered the four of them, the screenwriter, the director and an outside music consultant for a meeting to review it.

On the day of the meeting.

Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei, Zhuo Yang and Bai Jike were finally reunited.

For a moment, the four had nothing to say, all of them gritting their teeth inwardly.

Bai Jike especially felt that he hadn't done anything at all. He had simply devoted his attention to helping the children at Huixin Welfare Institute move and renovate. How had he gone away for half a month and come back a newly popular star?

His Weibo follower count was now the highest of the four.

The comments all said he was especially cute because, no matter how his teammates interacted with him, he never said a word, perfectly maintaining the persona of a socially anxious younger brother.

Of course, this was thanks in no small part to the efforts of the other three members of Xiu Si.

After the earlier Weibo commotion, Qiao Huan, Ye Yiwei and Zhuo Yang had all noticed that they seemed to be bound together. As long as they tagged one another, they would all be mentioned together.

So, without a word between them, the three undercover agents began working in service of another rising star—Bai Jike, of course.

That was how Xiao Bai had scored his second victory while lying down, overtaking the others on the curve with his persona as the only silent one.

Xiao Bai: Thanks for the invite, but I can't smile.

Ren Rong watched the four of them sit in the conference room without even drinking any water, merely looking at one another with polite smiles, and began to wonder.

Weren't the members of Xiu Si supposed to be close? Why does the atmosphere feel so strange?

Then another question occurred to her.

Could the four of them record the song well like this?

After all, Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei had written the lyrics and music, Bai Jike had written his own rap, and Zhuo Yang had handled the contacts and preparations for recording and arranging the promotional song, since it involved quite a few folk instruments and performances.

The more Ren Rong looked at the four of them now, the more uneasy she felt.

And when she carefully read through the entire score, even though she knew nothing about music, she couldn't help being startled.

The entire promotional song was over six minutes long, like an aria!

Never mind the newly debuted Xiu Si—even capable, experienced musicians might not be able to pull it off!

"The three of you, do you think this is... feasible as a promotional song?"

To have reached her current position, Ren Rong was naturally someone who preferred to play it safe.

Faced with rising audience expectations, she was terrified that taking an unconventional approach would backfire on the film's reputation.

So she looked at the director, the screenwriter and the music consultant, hoping fervently that they would say no.

However, before the music consultant could speak, the screenwriter spoke up.

"You two," she said, staring straight at Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei, "did you write the lyrics yourselves? Your understanding of the protagonist is so deep."

"Uh..."

The protagonist of 《Phantom River》, C30, was a human who believed he was an AI, so he was deeply afraid when he began experiencing all kinds of emotions.

He was also an undercover agent infiltrating an enemy planet's army, spending his days in constant apprehension...

How could characters like that not strike a deep chord with Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei?

"With the body of water, hidden beneath the blue sea"

"With the form of wood, lying within the mountains' embrace"

The screenwriter read the lines and exclaimed, "That's exactly the feeling I wanted to write—a character who... wants to hide among all living beings, yet knows he's different."

"Have you had experiences similar to the protagonist's? How could you write... lyrics like these?"

After reading them, Zhuo Yang and Bai Jike had each been touched in their own way. Now they both raised their heads and looked at Qiao Huan.

Yes, how could he write them so well?

Qiao Huan: "..."

He had written most of the lyrics. Mainly, he had spent the past few days telling Ye Yiwei about his earlier experiences undercover, and the telling had stirred his heart, so he had simply written whatever came to mind.

But this was his first time writing lyrics... Could he actually have a talent for it?

Fortunately, Ye Yiwei came to his rescue in time. "We've been watching similar films and shows these past few days. Maybe they struck a deep chord with us."

"Oh..." The screenwriter said, "To feel so deeply just from watching films and shows makes you a rare talent. As expected of Xiu Si. Amazing."

"The lyrics are pretty good, but what about the music?" Ren Rong asked anxiously. "Don't you think it's a little too complicated?"

Ren Rong still wanted to return to the simplest, most dependable music, afraid they wouldn't be able to handle this one.

The music consultant rubbed his temples.

Ren Rong grew even more nervous.

Was he fatigued? Tired? Did he think it was no good?

"...A profound foundation," the consultant said. "That's the only way I can think to describe it. Although it's an aria that embraces all streams like the sea, every part of it, whether classical music, opera, folk passages or electronic sounds, is extremely solid, and they've been blended very skillfully."

The director was pleasantly surprised too. "All those elements correspond one-to-one with elements in our film! Incredible!"

Ren Rong: "Huh?"

There's even more to it?!

"Do you come from a distinguished family, Mr. Ye?" Stars shone in the music consultant's eyes. "It's one thing to have such broad knowledge, but what's rare is that you're so young and have reached this level. You must have been immersed in it from an early age, right?"

Ye Yiwei said, "No, no."

In fact, it was because this was his first time composing, and he had simply gotten carried away.

Qiao Huan returned the favor. "The folk arts teachers Brother Zhuo Yang knows were all very attentive. They helped Brother Yiwei solve quite a few problems."

The arranger said, "Oh..."

Zhuo Yang looked at Qiao Huan, both annoyed and pleased.

Even when getting praised, Qiao Huan didn't forget to bring me along... But after spending so long with that cold-as-ice Ye Yiwei, Qiao Huan still hasn't lost that kind heart. That's wonderful!

Ren Rong let out a long breath. "And the rap section?"

She knew Bai Jike the least. The kid always seemed a little detached from what was going on...

"Absolutely gorgeous," the director said succinctly. "The imagery and rhythm are second to none. I've already figured out how I want to edit it just from watching! Not to mention how sincere the voice is, with a kind of childlike innocence. It's a work of genius!"

Bai Jike said, "Th... thanks."

Wasn't it because visiting the children at the welfare home had left him with so many feelings? His memory was simply too good. He remembered many of the illogical things the children had said offhand, and they fit perfectly into the rap lyrics.

"Xiao Bai is a very talented young man," Zhuo Yang said with a hearty smile. "He's just quiet and shy."

Even Zhuo Yang froze after saying that. He seemed to have carried over the habit of showering Bai Jike with rainbow farts online and couldn't quite put the brakes on...

Ren Rong was in a great mood.

She had been worried about the relationships within Xiu Si, but now it seemed the four of them knew one another very well! They had even answered those questions for one another!

The rainbow farts they'd exchanged didn't sound like they came out of thin air at all. After they'd answered with a flurry of extravagant praise, she was even more confident in the four of them!

"Good!" Ren Rong's spirits soared. "We'll record it this afternoon, then shoot it tomorrow morning! Let's finish it all in one go!"

The four who had suddenly been saddled with high expectations said, "...Yes."

The song recording went especially smoothly, and Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei both felt much more relaxed.

Zhuo Yang and Bai Jike hadn't raised a single objection to their singing parts!

Especially Zhuo Yang.

Since Bai Jike was in charge of the rap, his part was relatively separate. But Zhuo Yang hadn't noticed that, in the full six-minute song, excluding the accompaniment, he alone sang for over four minutes.

Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei had deliberately designed Zhuo Yang's singing parts with a great deal of repetition. Combined with his powerful, resonant voice, the layered effect would sound like mountains and seas roaring.

They had thought Zhuo Yang would refuse, but unexpectedly, he had agreed so readily.

Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei exchanged a smile.

It seemed Zhuo Yang's desire to debut was still very strong.

After a detailed discussion later, they had agreed that Zhuo Yang and Bai Jike's unhappy expressions on the sports field that day had been due to worries about the future.

They should feel reassured now, right?

As for today's shoot, Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei didn't give it much thought.

After all, it was a promotional song for a movie, so the finished promotional video would naturally contain a lot of footage from the film. By rights, the four of them would only appear between those clips for show.

What was more, their scenes incorporated some folk performance forms, creating an effect that intercut them with the future world.

And Zhuo Yang had handled the contacts and design for all of that.

So the two arrived at the studio early, planning to shoot their parts quickly and get it over with.

The script had been sent to them several days in advance, and the design really was excellent.

To stack debuffs on themselves, the two had taken the advice of the relevant instructors from the Folk Customs Association and inserted a passage from the Jinghe Opera 《Wutai Brothers Reunion》 in the middle.

The transmission of Jinghe Opera was nearly broken, with fewer than a hundred people practicing it today. The selected passage, 《Wutai Brothers Reunion》, told a story from the Yang Family Generals:

After stealing his father's bones, Yang Sixth Son passed Mount Wutai on his way home and ran into his elder brother, Fifth Son, at a temple. The two sounded each other out, yet neither dared acknowledge the other.

That night, after hearing the folk customs instructor's recommendation, the two had immediately settled on that passage. Not only did it match a scene in 《Phantom River》 where the undercover protagonist and his own elder brother, who had already become a villain, sounded each other out, but it also matched the feeling of the two sounding each other out before, and it struck a deep chord with them.

The two looked over the script as they practiced one last time.

The folk customs instructor had also readapted the Jinghe Opera movements to fit the dance and music. The script was richly illustrated, even specifying the angle and force of every raised hand. Fortunately, the passage the two performed wasn't long, and sharpening their spears at the last moment proved quite effective.

Then the assistant director came over, looked at their script, and cried out in surprise.

"Wow, who made these notes for you? They really put a lot of work into them!"

The two looked up in confusion.

It was their first time seeing a shooting script, and they asked, puzzled, "Aren't everyone's like this?"

The assistant director held up his own script for them to see. "No. Look at mine—there are only a sentence or two."

The two, who were thought to have worked hard but had actually just been "following the script": Oh...

Then they lowered their heads and looked at their script again. Suddenly, they realized that the writing and blocking notes were looking more and more familiar...

Ye Yiwei had a sudden realization. "No wonder practicing felt smoother the longer I looked at it. Don't you think the way it's written looks just like an illustrated guide to moves?"

"Yes..."

They couldn't have been more familiar with this sort of thing. Back when they practiced martial arts routines for work, they had looked at them every day and even thought about them in their dreams.

Only after the assistant director mentioned it did they realize that the way this script was written was virtually identical to the official instruction manuals, which was why practicing from it had felt so natural.

But who had drawn it?

As the two pondered, they looked up together.

Zhuo Yang had just walked in.

There were obvious dark circles under Zhuo Yang's eyes. He had clearly stayed up late quite a few nights.